CELEBRATING FAITHFUL PASTORS

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers”  (Ephesians 4:11)
 
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”  (1 Corinthians 4:2)
 
Since October of 2014, Denise and I have had the privilege of traveling the great Chicago Central District, visiting churches and working with some of the finest pastors in the world. We have been especially impacted by the level of long-term faithfulness of 16 of our pastors who have served for more than 15 years in the same community, the same church, loving and pastoring God’s people.
 
In the midst of our summer schedule, it seemed appropriate for us to recognize their being “given a trust” and “proving faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). The following is the list:
 
        Pastor                              Church                Date Begun     Years
Dave & Lori Anderson        Danville First           Dec. 2007          15 
Doug & Michelle Ward       Mundelein               June 2004         19
Robert Killion                      Milford                      March 2003       20
Bill & Rora Luttrell              Wilmington First      June 2002          21
Bill & Marcia Wright            Danville Westside   Nov. 2001           21
Hoang Van Huynh             Uptown Vietnamese Sept. 2001         22
Enrique & Gloria Polanco   West Chicago         Oct. 1998            25      
Greg & Marcie Chambers  Kankakee Eastridge June 1998         25
John & Karen Mohler          Kempton                  March 1998       25 
Victor & Linda Walker         House of Prayer      Dec. 1997           25
Leonard Martz                    Worth                       Aug. 1996          26
Pedro & Berta Aguilar        Emanuel Spanish     Dec. 1994          28
Jamil & Merya Qandah      Oak Lawn Arabic      Feb. 1989          34
Jeronimo & Mayda Gutierrez Mundelein Spanish  April 1988      35
Jose & Irma Alfaro             Chicago First Spanish  Oct. 1985       38
Debora White                     Sheldon                     Aug. 1985         38
      
We cannot say it often enough – to every one of our 283 ministers and especially to the local pastors and ministers who serve in multiple ways all across our district, thank you for your service to Christ and your love for His church. Thank you for the long hours, the consistent prayers and poured-out lives of love that you offer up to Jesus every week! 
 
Thank you for your sacrifices. There are so many that only you and Jesus know. Thank you for the ministry and the labor of love that you give to the people of God and to the communities where the Head of the Church has placed you. Today, would you please lock arms with your pastor in a fresh new way? Encourage him/her in the calling God has graciously given them. “Christ Himself gave…pastors.”   
  
Thank you for your commitment this summer to keep spiritually learning and personally growing as you serve God’s church. We always close with a reminder to help each of us move forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples

We have such wonderful days ahead!  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

A TIME TO NATIONALLY REFLECT

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)
 
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.” (Romans 13:1,5)
 
Next week we will celebrate July 4th all across the United States. This weekend many of our churches will reflect on what it means to live in the United States and celebrate the freedoms we enjoy. This is a time to also remind us of our responsibilities and relationship with our government. We all know life is much better for believers when the people who lead our government are humble, prayerful and submissive to God’s leadership (Psalm 33:12). Under good government, “rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.  For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good…” (Romans 13:2-4).
 
It is true that different Christians interpret Romans 13 differently. All Christians agree we are to live at peace (Romans 12:18) with the government as long as the state allows us to live by our religious convictions. However, different Christians interpret differently how we should relate to the government in our day-to-day lives. First, some Christians believe the government is so corrupt we should have as little to do with it as possible. Second, some Christians believe God has given the government authority in certain areas and the church authority in other areas. They believe Christians can be loyal to both but we should not confuse the two. While church and state should complement each other, these Christians believe we should not cooperate or work closely together.
 
The third interpretation is that Christians have the responsibility to make our country and our government better and this is done politically, by electing highly principled leaders. This is done morally, by serving as an influence for good. In this third view, church and state are separate but work together for the good of everyone. The difficulty comes when the church is seen by unbelievers as being aligned with only one party and not speaking prophetically to both parties when sin and wrong appears. We are living in one of the most politically divisive times we have ever known as a country.  “Red” and “blue” thinking has never created greater differences in thought. 
 
This coming week would be a good time to reflect on what unites us as Americans. We have had many challenges we have overcome and others we have yet to fix as we move forward. But in 1954, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren, was a social liberal from California. In a February 15, 1954 article published in Time Magazine, he made the following statement:
 
"I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses. Whether we look to the first Charter of Virginia or to the Charter of New England or to the Charter of Massachusetts Bay...or to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut the same objective is present: a Christian
land governed by Christian principles...
 
"I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it: freedom of belief, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, the dignity of the individual, the sanctity of the home, and equal justice under the law...I like to believe we are living today in the spirit of the Christian religion. I like also to believe that as long as we do so, no great harm can come to our country."
 
While Chief Justice Warren did not quote Psalm 33:12, the essence of his message was this: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."  As you prepare to celebrate July 4th this coming week, please remember we are Christians first and Americans second. Our first allegiance is ALWAYS to the Kingdom, not any political party or political position. However, we are SO grateful we live in a country that gives us the freedom to worship God as we choose.
 
Thank you for your commitment this summer to keep spiritually learning and personally growing as you serve God’s church.  We always close with a reminder to help you move forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples 

We have such wonderful days ahead!  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REFLECTIONS

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now… (Philippians 1:3-5)
 
My friend Rob Prince is a great pastor from Flint Central Church of the Nazarene in Flint, Michigan and also a great writer. On the way back home from Indiana, he was able to think about the 30th Nazarene General Assembly. In part, his reflections were that the Nazarene Assembly could be summarized in the following ways. (I’ve done a little adapting).
 
A Family Reunion. I mean a real family reunion— not a sappy idealization of a family reunion, but the good, bad, and ugly family reunion. You know what I mean. There are those in the family to whom you want to give a hug and not let go, and there are “the others.” At this family reunion, there are those who talk way too much, and those you’d wish talked more. All shapes and sizes and colors. Some wore interesting clothes (I saw one lady who had the Nazarene logo all over her dress). Still looking across the room filled with scholars and goofballs and everyone in between I thought: “These are my people and I love them!”
 
A Little Like Heaven. Whenever you worship with 12,000 people on Sunday, you can’t help but imagine heaven. I loved it.
 
A Preach-a-Thon with No Losers. All the GS’s preached. They were all very good. I’ve heard Dr. Duarte preach several times, I thought that was his best sermon. I’ve heard Dr. Busic tell the story about his dad several times. It makes me cry every time. Dr.’s Graves, Chambo, and Crocker hit it out of the park. Dr. Sunberg’s report was more like a sermon and it had us all shouting in a Bresee like fashion, “Good Morning!”
 
The Tower of Babel. With several languages spoken and several folks needing words and documents translated, things can get a little confusing. We weren’t building a tower like in Genesis, and the folks in Genesis didn’t have top-notch translators. Our language challenges are a beautiful problem of an international church.
 
Paper, Rock, Scissors. Sometimes I was voting with the majority and sometimes with the minority. Sometimes I wished someone would hit me with a paper, a rock, or scissors because I was baffled at the voting. Crazy things can happen on the floor of the assembly with 1,000 delegates voting from 100 different countries.
 
The Royal Gorge. There is a small divide in the church (maybe more than one). It was evident in voting on resolutions and for the General Superintendents. There seem to be “thought differences” between some in the USA/Canada and the world. But over and over, our call is to be one in Christ. Everyone’s prayer is that we will be. Wherever we are from and whatever our thought process happens to be.
 
United As We Closed.  In the end after all the votes cast and two new General Superintendents were installed, our international body in unity sang the doxology. It was a fitting closure to a GREAT week.  
 
Thank you for your commitment to the Nazarene movement this summer to keep spiritually learning and personally growing serving God’s church.  We always close with a reminder to help you move forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples 

We have such wonderful days ahead!  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

OUR GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGINS

The Passover was to be “a festival to the Lord” (Exodus 12:14); in it, God called for a “sacred assembly.” (Exodus 12:16).
 
From 164 countries and mission areas and over 500 districts, Nazarenes are coming to the 30th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene. It begins this week-end in Indianapolis, Indiana in the downtown Convention Center. Between 15,000 and 20,000 Nazarenes will gather for worship, fellowship and the business of the church.  
 
The idea of “Assembly” has been around a long time – 3,400 years in fact.  It’s a very biblical word, mentioned 161 times in the Bible. The assembly represents the people of God as they gather. The first assembly the Old Testament talks about is during the Passover. The Passover was to be “a festival to the Lord” (Exodus 12:14);  in it, God called for a “sacred assembly” (Exodus 12:16).
 
The principles that drive the General Assembly have all of these same deep spiritual roots. In the General Assembly, our General Superintendents will gather all of the elected representatives of the church together to celebrate what God is doing among us. We will celebrate achievements, our unity, our diversity and our leader who is alive – Jesus the Nazarene! We gather to not only celebrate but also renew our accountability, our relationships, our vision and our common mission. 
 
If you have never attended a General Assembly of Nazarenes, we invite you to join us in Indianapolis this Sunday! It is just a short drive away. If you cannot make the drive, join the celebration by watching via video streaming. Thank you for your commitment this summer to keep spiritually learning and personally growing as a Christian serving God’s church. Thanks for all your church is doing to move forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples 

We have wonderful days ahead!  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

SUMMER IS HERE

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)
 
“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:17)
 
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.” (Mark 13:28).
 
The Bible has a number of things to say about summer. It is such a beautiful season of the year. Denise and I were out in the yard this past week and it has been amazing how everything has changed in just the last few days. Once dead flowerbeds are now alive with color, the grass is green, everything is in bloom and the sun shines most of the time. School is out, and the pace of the church is different. With General Assembly in Indianapolis, Nazarene Youth Conference in Tampa, Kids Camp, Teen Camp, Everyone Cares Camp, vacations and more, in some ways it can seem really full.
 
But in other ways, we usually live summer at a different pace. Summer can provide us with time to slow down and reflect. We encourage you to take time to pause and think about the year thus far.  God has made the seasons for a reason. They provide rhythm to our lives. While you may be looking forward to going on vacation, getting packed, meeting your itinerary, or even having a child prepare for their first year of college, this is a time for a breather.
 
Drink deeply and let God’s Word wash over you. Spend some time dwelling on the positive. Summer is joyous because God has made beauty and abundance all around us. No matter what you are facing, the Word tells us that God will bring good from it. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). David writes that our mouths can be “filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy...The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Psalm 126: 2-3).
 
Summer is a good time to be reminded of the heart-cries we are hearing through the Spirit all across hundreds of churches: 

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples 

Thank you SO MUCH for your commitment to follow Jesus, being refreshed by the Spirit this summer! It is going to be a great one together. You are loved.   

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

DAY 27 - JOURNEY TO PENTECOST

We have joined 5,000 churches and 500,000 other Nazarenes across the USA/Canada during these days on a prayer journey from Easter to Pentecost. Today is Day 27, and our devotional is written by Rev. Tim Fisher, Lead Pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Goshen, Indiana. You can download an entire copy of our prayer journal here.
 
Colossians 3:17
 
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
 
Scripture Insights
 
The principle of doing everything we do in the name of the Lord reflects the idea that we are called to act as representatives of Jesus in everything we do. This is a powerful challenge because, when we begin living our daily lives with this level of intentionality, everything we do becomes significant. There is no word too little. There is no deed too small. Our lives point people to Jesus!
 
In a culture filled with people who are desperate for hope, do we dare to dream what it would look like if five hundred thousand people were intentionally mobilized to act as representatives of Jesus? This movement would reverberate through eternity! It would transform families, spark revival, and change the world.
 
The challenge we have been given to live as representatives of Jesus is especially powerful because, when we apply this principle to our lives, we will begin to realize that this is a movement that begins with us! So let the movement begin.
 
Today’s Prayer
 
Thank you, Jesus, for your many blessings in our lives. Give us the power today to represent you well. May all our words and all our actions bring you glory, and may our lives point others toward you.
 
Prayer Journal Reflections
 
Reflect on mobilizing all Nazarenes in the church in Canada and the United States. Pray for your church as it joins the movement and takes positive steps forward by focusing on the heart-cries we are hearing through the Spirit across the church: 

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you SO MUCH for your commitment to mobilize every believer across the Chicago Central District attending our churches. As we move from Easter to Pentecost, let’s pray together for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in every church! You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

DAY 20 - JOURNEY TO PENTECOST

We have joined 5,000 churches and 500,000 other Nazarenes across the USA/Canada during these days on a prayer journey from Easter to Pentecost.  Today is Day 20, and our devotional is written by Dr. Sam Vassel, Superintendent of the Metro New York District. You can download an entire copy of our prayer journal here.
        
Ephesians 4:4–6
 
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
 
Scripture Insights
The focus of Jesus’s last prayer for all his followers was for their unity. Paul signals here that the prayer of Jesus is answered. Unity is a present, established reality. It is not merely an aspirational idea, nor is it optional.
 
In view of the ugly divisions observed in the visible church today, this established unity is clearly not a reference to the structural or organizational unity found in doctrinal consensus, denominational agreement, and/or commitments to shared faith traditions. The basis of the unity of the church is profoundly spiritual. It is a Spirit-mediated induction into a global spiritual community that embraces together the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ—his exemplary life, atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and sovereign rule as King of the kingdom of God.
 
All members of God’s family share this experience of spiritual unity across race, culture, and class. It is, therefore, a truly diagnostic mark identifying those who are really part of the invisible church and those who are not. Unity is the shared grace of being children of God the Father.
 
Today’s Prayer
Father, deliver us from the evil one, who seeks to destroy our unity. Triune God, fill us with yourself so that your holy love will bind us together as a witness of your grace in a polarized world.
 
Prayer Journal Reflections
Reflect on the unity of the church in Canada and the United States. Thanks for all your church is doing to take positive steps forward by focusing on the heart-cries we are hearing through the Spirit across the church: 

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples 

Thank you SO MUCH for your commitment to operate in spiritual unity all across the Chicago Central District. As we move from Easter to Pentecost, let’s pray together for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in every church! You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

JOURNEY TO PENTECOST

We have joined 5,000 churches and 500,000 other Nazarenes across the USA/Canada during these days on a prayer journey from Easter to Pentecost.  Today is Day 13, and our devotional is written by Pastor Pascal Permis, leader of our Haitian Strategic Readiness Team. You can download an entire copy of the prayer journal here.
        
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Scripture Insights
There is a lot Christians can learn from today’s scripture. The two words that caught my attention are “vision” and “perish.”

Most Bible translations and commentaries refer to “vision” as God’s revelation, instruction, guidance, and prophecy, while “perish” means “deprived of moral restraints.”

In that context, this verse could mean: where there is divine revelation and obedience to God’s law, victorious life can be won and a transformative impact made in our communities.

As Nazarenes develop a greater understanding of the relevance of this verse, we must prayerfully mobilize in these three aspects:

     1. Be guided by divine revelation.
     2. Live a life of obedience to God’s demands.
     3. Faithfully and joyfully proclaim God’s revelation (i.e., the gospel) to various people groups and communities around us.

Today’s Prayer
Lord, we pray for our various ethnic churches across the United States and Canada, where finding a location to worship is a constant struggle. We pray for transformative ministries to take place among all people groups in the United States and Canada.

Prayer Journal Reflections
Reflect on the vision of the church in Canada and the United States, in all of its ethnic diversity. A recent report from USA/Canada multicultural ministries identified that we have 1,357 multicultural Nazarene churches now. Non-Hispanic whites are no longer the majority population in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and the District of Columbia. Because of a number of factors including birth rates and immigration, projections are that non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. will be below 50% in the years soon to come. Pray for the Nazarene movement that God will help us multiply churches in EVERY language group in the U.S., including all of the new groups the Lord is sending to live among us.  What in incredible opportunity for evangelism that we have!

Thank you SO MUCH for your commitment to love everyone among us on the Chicago Central District. As we move from Easter to Pentecost, let’s pray together for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in every church. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

COMPASSION FOR THE POOR

Matt 25:37-40  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
 
Many, many people all across America are committed to developing enough financial resources so they will not be dependent on others and will not have to be overly concerned about money and providing for their basic financial needs in retirement. Many Christians are committed to this as well, which requires us to regularly spend less than we make and live frugal lives. But the question we need to ask ourselves is why?  Why do we save? One of the main reasons we do so as Christians is because this allows us to be generous in our giving to those around us and throughout the world who are less fortunate than us. We consistently save for the future because we live by John Wesley’s philosophy: “make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”   
 
The Church of the Nazarene has captured these principles in the Nazarene Manual, par 28.3. We believe every year it is good to review our beliefs in this regard. Here it is. “The Church of the Nazarene believes this new and holy way of life involves practices to be avoided and redemptive acts of love to be accomplished for the souls, minds, and bodies of our neighbors. One redemptive arena of love involves the special relationship Jesus had, and commanded His disciples to have, with the poor of this world; that His Church ought, first, to keep itself simple and free from an emphasis on wealth and extravagance and, second, to give itself to the care, feeding, clothing, and shelter of the poor and marginalized.
 
Throughout the Bible and in the life and example of Jesus, God identifies with and assists the poor, the oppressed, and those in society who cannot speak for themselves. In the same way, we, too, are called to identify with and to enter into solidarity with the poor. We hold that compassionate ministry to the poor includes acts of charity as well as a struggle to provide opportunity, equality, and justice for the poor. We further believe the Christian’s responsibility to the poor is an essential aspect of the life of every believer who seeks a faith that works through love. We believe Christian holiness to be inseparable from ministry to the poor in that it drives the Christian beyond their own individual perfection and toward the creation of a more just and equitable society and world.
 
Holiness, far from distancing believers from the desperate economic needs of people in this world, motivates us to place our means in the service of alleviating such need and to adjust our wants in accordance with the needs of others.” Thank you SO MUCH for your commitment to this kind of holy lifestyle on the Chicago Central District. As we now move from Easter to Pentecost, thanks for being Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

THE ATONEMENT OF GOD

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)
 
There is an island kingdom on the other side of the ocean from us. Many years ago, missionaries were trying to win this island kingdom to the Lord and having an unusually difficult time doing it. The natives of the island were vehemently savage. The missionaries worked hard to win them to Christ, but they found it so difficult because the natural inhabitants of the island were pagan worshipers. They worshiped the gods of the night, the gods of the moon and the gods of darkness. They would worship out under the oak trees and gather under the full moon to practice their witchcraft.  It was a vicious land to try and win to Christ and the Christian faith.
 
But finally, after many years of effort by these early missionaries, they began to change the course of the island's history. Those who followed realized that to evangelize the island fully, they needed to put the Bible into the language of the people. Hundreds of years ago, monks and scholars, some at GREAT personal risk, started to translate the Scriptures into that language. The island we are talking about…is England. The Bible translation we are talking about…is English. Looking back on human history, aren’t we glad missionaries brought the truth of God to us, in our language!
 
As those early Bible translators were struggling to get the Bible into the English language, they came to Good Friday – to the cross of Jesus Christ. There was not a word in the English language that described what the Son of God did for humanity on the cross. The missionary translators had to create a brand new word.  Here is what they did. They took three little English word fragments and put them together; At, One, Ment. In doing so, they created a brand new English word – atonement. 
 
Atonement is the “at-one-ment” between God and man!  This is what Good Friday is all about! “We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation” (Nazarene Manual, Article of Faith, VI). The Atonement is our sixth article of faith.
 
This is what happened on this day, over two thousand years ago on the middle cross!  Because of the cross, God and man are “at-one” again, no longer separated because of our sin.  “He was wounded for our transgressions…by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).  At the moment of Jesus’ death, supernaturally, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51), no longer separating us from God!  At-one-ment – this is the meaning of the cross.  This is why we call it – Good Friday.  Easter’s coming.  Jesus is alive!  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE ASSEMBLY

The Passover was to be “a festival to the Lord” (Exodus 12:14); in it, God called for a “sacred assembly” (Exodus 12:16).
 
Ordination happened. Aaron was ordained, Aaron’s sons were ordained and were set apart for sacred service, serving God’s people; this all happened in the Assembly (Leviticus 8:1-13).
 
From 12 counties, where 2/3 of the people of Illinois live, we come to Assembly. In a mission field that is home to 8.7 million people, 4.6 million who are Anglo, 1.8 million who are Hispanic and 1.4 million who are African American, we come to Assembly. From 5 Mission Areas, where 110 different languages are spoken, and over a million people speak neither English nor Spanish, we come to Assembly.  
 
The idea of “Assembly” has been around a long time – 3,400 years, in fact. It’s a very biblical word, mentioned 161 times in the Bible. The assembly represents the people of God as they gather.  The first assembly the Old Testament talks about is during the Passover. The Passover was to be “a festival to the Lord” (Exodus 12:14); in it, God called for a “sacred assembly” (Exodus 12:16).
 
In Leviticus, the assembly was a place for confession of sin. The entire “assembly,” broken in spirit, would then sacrifice. (Leviticus 4:13-21). Confession of sin and cleansing from sin all happened in the assembly. The assembly was also a place where ordination happened.  Aaron was ordained and Aaron’s sons were ordained, all set apart for sacred service, serving God’s people. This all happened in the Assembly (Leviticus 8:1-13).
 
Jesus picks up the theme of ordination with His disciples when He said, “You did not choose me but I chose you and ordained you to go and bear fruit…” (John 15:16). In the New Testament, the church gathered to make big decisions in the assembly. As Paul instructed Timothy, in the Church of the Nazarene, we never do this in a hasty way (1 Timothy 5:22). 
 
The principles that drive the Chicago Central District Assembly have all of these same deep spiritual roots. In the Assembly, we gather to celebrate what God has done among us. We celebrate achievements, our unity, our diversity and our leader who is alive – Jesus the Nazarene! We gather to celebrate and in the Assembly, we all gather to renew our accountability, our relationships, our vision and our common mission. 
 
District Assembly begins today (March 31), can you believe it? What a joy it is to serve with you. Thank you for your commitment to keep learning and personally growing on the Chicago Central District. Thanks for all your church is doing to take new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

We look forward to seeing you tonight at Assembly! You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

EFFECTIVE IN PUBLIC BEGINS IN PRIVATE

Mark 1:35 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
 
As God’s leader, it is always helpful to ask the question, “What does God need to teach me before He can use me?” Do you remember this lesson from the life of Moses? After Moses left Egypt at 40 years of age, we find that "Moses was tending the flock of Jethro” (Exodus 3:1).  Back in Genesis 46:34, we are told that "all shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians."  What an adjustment Moses had to make – moving from the life of a dignitary to life in the desert. But again, it was all part of God's plan for his training. So in your honest moments with God, what "far-side" desert lessons does God need to teach you about yourself and your specific calling, before He can truly use you as He would like?
 
As followers of Jesus, we must always remember this truth. Every great man or woman of God who has been used mightily by Him has been a person who has spent time alone with God. There are no exceptions to the high value of having a deep devotional experience with the Almighty. Moses had his at Horeb (Exodus 3), Elijah had his at Kerith (1 Kings 17), Ezekiel had his at Kebar (Ezekiel 1), Paul had his in Arabia (Galatians 1:17) and John had his on Patmos (Revelation 1). 
 
The time we spend in private WITH God is usually years longer than the time we spend in public FOR God. Jesus is a prime example of this truth. After spending nearly 30 private years in the carpenter shop (Luke 3:23), Jesus had only three years in public ministry. And even during those times, He spent regular time away, alone with His Heavenly Father (Mark 1:35).  We must follow His example if we would be effective like He was. Because no one can teach us like God can when we are alone with Him. Every leader who would truly learn FROM God must spend time alone WITH Him. Being effective in public – begins in private. 
 
You will not want to miss our District Assembly next week! While we gather to do the business of our Assembly, we want to make a higher priority of seeking God together, as we prepare for a Journey to Pentecost, from Easter to Pentecost Sunday on May 28th. You will again be able to download the Half Million Mobilization Prayer Journal, follow along with the Scriptures, and join with 500,000 Nazarenes…on the journey to Pentecost.
 
We look forward to seeing you next week at Assembly. Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. We’re going to have a great time together! You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

LET GOD CONSUME WHAT IS NOT HOLY IN YOU

Exodus 3:5 "'Do not come any closer,' God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'"
 
As a church leader, God is deeply interested in communing with YOU. We all know the story that surrounds this passage in Exodus 3. We know the chorus, "We Are Standing on Holy Ground." The truth is, the time we spend with God can be just as real as the time that God first appeared to Moses on Mt. Horeb. When we come into His Presence, we are standing on ground that is declared "holy."
 
It is important to note here how God chose to reveal Himself to Moses and to His people. This shows us part of the essential nature of God's character. God gives Moses a commission to lead His people out of Egypt. It is a commission that includes them becoming God's holy people and His dwelling place. So, how does God chose to reveal Himself? He does it through a burning bush that is not consumed (Exodus 3:2-3).
 
The Hebrew writer tells us, "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).  So what does God consume? God's plan is NOT to consume us, but rather to consume everything IN us and ABOUT us that is contrary to His holiness. What is unholy in your life? If Jesus had a chance to visit with you personally, what private areas would He probe? How does He want to take your private character to the next level so that everything unholy in you is consumed, "so God may be all in all!" (1 Corinthians 15:28). 
 
"I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters" (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). God declares to us as His holy people, "Since we have these promises…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Holiness adorns your house for endless days, O Lord!" (Psalm 93:5). Thank you for making a fresh commitment today, to let God consume what is not holy in you. Thanks for all your church is doing to take new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Also, thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District.  Let’s continue to be Christ in Action.  You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

DIVINE LESSONS FROM THE DESERT

"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God."  Exodus 3:1
 
When you are in a desert as a church leader, do you keep learning? Moses did. The Bible tells us Moses spent the second 40 years of his life, the prime of his life, on the back side of a desert. Yes, the first 40 years were spent in the house of Pharaoh and that certainly was valuable. But while the first 40 were valuable, the second 40 were indispensable. In these desert years, Moses learned many things from God and many things about himself, though he probably didn't even know God was training him at the time. 
 
This is the way that God many times works. He is preparing us for what He has in mind, even before we have any idea of what it is. "The far side of the desert" (Exodus 3:1) in our own lives is usually where God gets our attention. This is the place where the world, our self and present circumstances become focused in the light of the Divine Presence. It is here we learn to think correctly about ourselves and the “task the Lord Jesus has given us” (Acts 20:24). The noise, bustle and confusion of "Egypt" will not touch us as long as we are here. For here, "in our desert," is where God's voice is heard, where His Presence is enjoyed and where His thoughts are received.
 
"The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue...He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught" (Isaiah 50:4). This experience with God is indispensable for every Christian who wants to be led by God. It is to "the far side of the desert" (Exodus 3:1) that we must go if we are to be truly educated for the ministry of Jesus, and it is here that we must learn to regularly come if we want to remain effective in our service.  If you're in the desert now, don't fight it, embrace it. Learn from it. God has some divine lessons for you, from the desert. Thanks for your obedience as, your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

COMMITTED TO A PERSON, NOT JUST A CHURCH

"I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you" (Acts 26:16)
 
As church leaders, we have something in common with the Apostle Paul. Just as the Apostle Paul received a clear vision on the Damascus Road, we too have met Jesus and He has changed our lives. We should always remember that our primary commitment “is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given us, the task of testifying” about a Person who was dead and has come back to life (Acts 20:24). Paul’s vision (and ours) is not a doctrine or even a message to proclaim. Paul’s vision from heaven that he could not be disobedient to (Acts 26:19), flowed out of a vital, vibrant relationship with the living Person of Jesus. Christ had been sent from the Father above and God Himself had entered the bloodstream of humanity.
 
Because Paul personally met Jesus, everything in His life changed. It was Jesus who made very clear what Paul's calling was to be. Jesus had told him, "I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you" (Acts 26:16). As church leaders, when we come into contact with Jesus and we too are called by Him, it always involves a personal call. Just as it was with the first apostle, Jesus wants to appoint us "as servants and witnesses." Our service to Christ’s church is only effective as we are vitally connected in a personal relationship with Jesus Himself.
 
Jesus reminds us of this truth when He says, "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). This truth explains why and how many spiritual movements and churches lose their effectiveness over time. Somewhere along the line, they lose the vitality of living in relationship with a Person. Instead, they substitute and become devoted to “a church” or "a cause" or "a doctrine" or "an ethic." None of these things are wrong in and of themselves. They are all worthwhile and helpful. But no church, or cause or doctrine or ethnic CAN NEVER REPLACE our central passion of receiving the “heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) of meeting Jesus personally.
 
Nothing feeds our soul or nourishes our spirit like maintaining our commitment and relationship with Jesus, a Person! Let’s remember we are not just committed to a church, or cause or doctrine or ethic. We are devoted to a resurrected Person, who is alive, is with us and lives in us! As we serve Jesus, we hope this will be a season that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

IT BELONGS TO GOD, NOT US

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
 
Here God offers a powerful lesson to every Christian. It is a lesson of becoming attached to what God has given us. Abraham, God's man of faith, was tested as few people have ever been tested before. The long wait for Isaac was part of Abraham's test. His separation from Ishmael sharpened his love for Isaac. The happy years now as an old man with a son who would be his heir simply increased the force of Abraham's love. But God saw that He needed to test Abraham. The big question that God had to answer was, "Would Abraham obey?" Where was Abraham’s heart? Did he truly love God first and foremost? Or would he fall into the trap of so many and "worship created things rather than the Creator?" (Romans 1:25)
 
It was through this experience that Abraham learned a lesson and modeled an action that every Christian must learn to model as well. What we must always seek is God, not what God gives us. If a person gives all they have to God, including everything God has given them, they will receive all of God in return! The result will be the end objective of all life which Paul explains is, that God may "fill everything is every way" (Ephesians 1:23).
 
Just as God sovereignly gives growth and blessing in our lives, He also has the freedom at any time to ask us to give it back to Him. We must never forget that we do not own any thing or blessing God gives us. It all comes from Him. It all goes back to Him (1 Chronicles 29:14). We are never to be possessive of what God gives us. That is the lesson that Abraham learned here. Each of us must learn it as well, and live by it.
 
This is why as a Christian, we must give what God has given to us, back to Him regularly. We do not own it. It does not belong to us. It is all God's. To keep from getting too attached to what God has created and given to us, do not forget this crucial spiritual principle. God has given what we have to us to create, to nurture, to care for, but we are not the owners; we are simply God's managers. Remember, it belongs to God, not us!  We also hope this will be a season that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

GOD'S TEST OF YOUR CHARACTER - FAITH TO WAIT

Genesis 16:4  "When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress."
 
In this passage we find one of the most powerful character lessons in the Bible. Can you imagine how strained and bitter the feelings were between Sarah and Hagar? Hagar, who was now pregnant, carried around in her body the child of her husband! Every time Sarah saw her, Hagar was a living indictment of her own failure as a wife to mother children for Abram. What was even more difficult in this situation was the fact that Abram her husband, lived with only one life-long dream – to have children! He made it openly known that he believed God would give him a promised child.
 
Sarah knew Abram's passion for children, but her main problem was, she could not wait for the promise of Abram to come. So she decided to do what all too many Christians have decided to do at times. She worked out the will of God, in her own way. When this happens, the results are always the same. We would all do well to learn the lesson that she and everyone else always learns from this mistake. Do you remember the results? After Sarah did it her way, it not only messed things up according to God's plan; it also made Sarah personally miserable all through the process. 
 
As church leaders, we must remember what Sarah learned the hard way – sometimes the greatest mark of spiritual character is having the faith to wait. As with Abram, so with us. A real test from God for both our maturity and our faith is, "How long am I willing to wait for God's promise to come?" In the New Testament, James reminds us of this principle when he writes, "Be patient, then, brothers...See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm" (James 5:7-8). During your days of greatest challenge, never forget! God’s test of your character is many times having the faith to wait!
 
We also hope this year will be a year that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. mobilizing everyone in unity

2. blessing your community

3. bringing people to Jesus

4. becoming Christlike disciples 

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District.  Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

WHAT FAITH SYMBOL HAS GOD GIVEN YOU?

Genesis 15:5 God took Abram outside and said, "Look at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them."  Then God said to Abram, "So shall your offspring be."
 
When we cooperate with God in doing His work (1 Corinthians 3:9), we sometimes need something to keep us going during the dry times – something we can hold onto. It may be a vision, a picture of the future, or what Abram was given – a “faith symbol.” Here in Genesis chapters 13-15, Abram was given two of them. His first faith symbol from God was, ‘I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted’ (Genesis 13:16). The second faith symbol was God saying to Abram, “Abram, look at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them...So shall your offspring be" (Genesis 15:5). These were both a powerful picture – an incredible vision for Abram to guide his thinking. With no Bible, no Ten Commandments, no salvation history to cling to – Abram lived by faith alone! 
 
These were the two “faith symbols” Abram lived his life by. All through the lonely years of silence, over 20 years of God's promise for a son not yet coming to pass, Abram had these two pictures he was able to cling to. Every time he looked down at the dust of the earth, or every time he looked up at the stars in the sky, the words of God Almighty would ring in his ears..."Abram, so shall YOUR offspring be" (Genesis 15:5). No matter if he looked up (the stars) or down (the dust), the picture of God’s promise was always there! 
 
As we begin the month of February, what is it that you sense God has promised you? What is the vision, the picture of the future God has given you? Do you have any “faith symbols” that you cling to as Abram did? If we are to persevere, if we never give up, if we finally receive God's promise in our lives, we must learn to believe God like Abram did and take God at His word. Nothing less will work in our spiritual lives. 
 
Usually great spiritual growth comes in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. This is the way God many times works. He is the One who sovereignly chooses to do what He will do.  Our role is to trust Him, to obey and to believe. To keep steady, look for what Abram looked for.  As a church leader, what faith symbols has God given you – and be encouraged! We also hope this year will be a year that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples 

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

PERSEVERING UNDER APPARENT LACK OF RESULTS

2 Corinthians 4:1 "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."
 
All of us as pastors and churches have come through a very difficult season of global pandemic. For many churches, there is the need to “reset” our focus and start fresh.  Instead of looking at the church of three years ago, we need to look at the church today.  So how do you respond when you feel you are doing something God has told you to do, and the results are not immediate? Or what you have expected? As a church leader, what attitude do you maintain? When things are not going well, are you the type of person who gives up, gives in or perseveres and keeps going? While Noah built the ark, we are told through the words of the apostle Peter (1 Peter 3:19-20) that Noah carried on an active program of witnessing about the coming flood to those around him.  From a worldly perspective, Noah had little or no results. But he WAS obedient to the call of God. 
 
This is why in our work for the Lord, we must always keep the big picture, with an eternal perspective. This is not to condone a lack of planning or sloppy spiritual work – we must always do our best. But we must also realize that as God's leader, we are not going to be judged before God just for your numerical results – He wants to say to you, "well done, good and FAITHFUL servant" (Matthew 25:23). Not all fields of labor are at the same harvest level or have the same harvest potential. 
 
God has placed you where you are for a purpose. We are often times too short term in our thinking. The question is, "Will you persevere and let God refine your character as He did Noah's, even when you labor under an apparent lack of results?" Be encouraged by Noah's perseverance. If you feel discouraged and sense that you are called by God to serve in a difficult field, trying to win the unresponsive, remember!  Righteous Noah, who by faith built an ark (Hebrews 11:7), preached for 120 years with little visible results. Few of us will face what Noah did.  
 
As church leaders in all kinds of ministry situations, let's allow the words of Paul to wash over our spirits – "therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart!" (2 Corinthians 4:1). We also hope this year will be a year that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action. You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene

GOD'S PROMISE FOR WAYWARD CHILDREN

Isaiah 29:23-24  “When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction.”
 
As a church leader, nothing is more difficult to live with than to have a deep faith in God and watch one of your children not embrace that faith for themselves. You know how much joy and contentment Jesus has brought into your life and to watch a child you have raised make spiritually harmful decisions that will injure themselves is heart breaking.
 
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). In Isaiah 29 we read about atheists “who turn things upside down,” who say that “God did not make me,” who say that “God knows nothing” (v 16).  But even for these difficult cases, the Lord has a word for you today. This may be for you or you may be led to use it to encourage someone you know. The Lord says, “the eyes of the blind will see” (v 18) and “the needy will rejoice” (v 19). You can “see among these your children, the work of God’s hands. They will keep God’s name holy; they will acknowledge God’s holiness, and they will stand in awe of Him!” (Isaiah 29:23). 
 
“Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who [spiritually] complain will accept instruction” (Isaiah 29:24). If you are a parent who is praying for a wayward son or daughter, do not despair! Do not be discouraged (Joshua 1:9). Read God’s promise and believe God’s Word. Your child can and will come back to faith. They are the work of God’s hands, and through faith, “they will one day stand in awe of Him” again (Isaiah 29:23). Thankful for remaining faithful until this happens (Acts 18:1-8).  We also hope this coming year will be a year that your church takes new steps forward by focusing on the basics of a healthy church:

1. Mobilizing everyone in unity

2. Blessing your community

3. Bringing people to Jesus

4. Becoming Christlike disciples

Thank you for serving so well on the Chicago Central District. Let’s continue to be Christ in Action in 2023! You are loved.

Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene