Journal

2012 Jones Family Newsletter

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Dear friends,

It’s a joy to look through our calendar at the end of each year and see how God has been at work. This newsletter is intended to be a blessing to you, but it’s also a type of “memorial stone” for us. It is a time to reflect on the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Will you rejoice with us again this year?

Ministry. God has been so gracious to us and the ministry in Yucca Valley. Our church has grown to 80 regular attendees. Stephen is preaching through the Book of Isaiah on Sunday mornings and is developing a basic discipleship program called “Growing in Christ” on Wednesday nights. He conducted 3 weddings, 3 baptisms, a marriage class, and a membership class this year. Exciting!

We’ve also been blessed by our first college intern who began in January. Ryan is a BAT (Bachelor of Applied Theology) student at Cal Baptist University and hopes to go into full-time ministry. What a privilege to help train up future leaders! And what a blessing he is to us!

At the beginning of the year we began hosting a young adults/singles lunch once a month in our home. Our singles have ranged from college students to widowers in their 80s. We love the diversity in our congregation.

It’s also been encouraging to see a growing evangelistic spirit at the church. We hosted summer VBS, fair booths on Memorial Day weekend and July 4th, a one-day missions trip to Pomona, and a Halloween outreach to over 600 trick or treaters.

Travel. We traveled a lot this year. Stephen was able to return to Together for the Gospel in Louisville and attended a Nine Marks “Weekender” conference in Washington D.C. While in the capital, he got to visit the Smithsonian and see the actual B-26 bomber that his Grandpa was crew chief on during WWII!

In May we took our summer vacation. We tent camped off the Santa Barbara coast for four days,  spent two days visiting the Monterey Bay aquarium, then joined Grandpa and Grandma in their cabin (our first visit) in some gorgeous mountains. Just look at our van! Tent camping, hotel life, long drives and food meant taking a lot of stuff. And yes, the door did close — barely!

Some of our other excursions included a field trip to the Natural History Museum of L.A., an Angles baseball game, and an anniversary getaway to watch The Screwtape  Letters brilliantly performed by Max McLean.

Family. After some serious health problems in the spring, Natalie has been feeling much better and her blood pressure is much more under control. Thank you so much for all your prayers.

Dylan (2nd grade) and Heidi (Kindergarten) are learning lots of fun new things. We just finished studying inventions like the cotton gin, and concluded by designing our own dams using dirt, popsicle sticks, and pebbles. We’re not sure who enjoys the experiments more – the kids or us parents! Dylan really enjoyed learning more about the Civil War and even meeting “President Lincoln” at a Civil War reenactment in October. Heidi is starting to read and got so excited the other day when she spelled the word “rat” in a game all by herself!

Abigail is nearly two now and talking in her cute little toddler voice. One of her favorite phrases is to playfully say, “Mommy? Mommy? Umm!” She’s finally able to play with her big brother and sister and loves it! From playing with Duplo blocks to sitting on   people, to discovering her alphabet, there’s rarely a dull moment with Abby around! And she loves Christmas lights. As we drive around, she’s constantly on the lookout.

We were able to visit with Natalie’s parents and Stephen’s mom several times this year (and with Stephen’s dad through Skype). We travelled to San Diego for Cousin Cara’s wedding (welcome to the family, Alex!) and to San Clemente to remember the life of Stephen’s Uncle Dave. In the spring Natalie’s Grandpa Parker also passed away. We dearly miss them.

The Lord blessed us with some extra time, funds, and energy to tackle several projects around the house. We painted and organized our family room, bought solar panels, tiled the living room, and installed a wood burning stove. We’re thankful for these improvements that will make our home more energy-efficient and comfortable for visitors.

So those are some of our highlights from 2012. We’ve seen God’s faithfulness in new ways and old, and are one year closer to heaven.

We love you and pray for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, Stephen, Natalie, Dylan, Heidi, & Abigail Jones

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Shepherding

Pastor’s Update for Winter 2012

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Here’s my quarterly update for next Sunday’s business meeting…

Last month’s election was very eye-opening. We saw two states legalize marijuana, several more states redefine marriage, and a President be re-elected who openly supports homosexuality, mandatory abortifacients, vast government expansion, and a liberal Supreme Court. The results of the election were like an x-ray revealing a body full of cancer.

The days are increasingly evil (Eph. 5:16), but God has raised up our church for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). In a nation plagued by spiritual disease, we have the remedy – the healing power of the gospel. Let’s stay focused on our mission to “make disciples of Jesus Christ by reaching and teaching everyone.” As we love God and love others, we can help many more people find hope in Jesus.

God is faithful and mighty. He is not bound by the government, by the media, by terrorists, or by the economy. He is sovereign over these things. In fact, since the “Great Recession” began in December 2007, our church’s weekly attendance has nearly doubled (from 44 to 83) and our financial situation has dramatically improved. We have watched God do the impossible, and all glory goes to Him.

But I pray this is only the beginning. As a tree becomes strong and healthy, its fruit should multiply. This next year, we hope to expand our missions support, community outreach, youth ministry, music ministry, Spanish ministry, and leadership development. As you will see later in our business meeting, our 2013 budget changes reflect many of these emphases.

On a different note, I asked everyone at our last business meeting to pray about what you can give to support our ministry. I am pleased to report that September and October were very strong months, though November was down a bit. As we approach a new year, let’s all take time to review our budgets and ask how we can increase our offerings to the Lord.

Finally, I would ask your prayers for me as I plan next year’s California Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference. It will be on Oct. 21-22, 2013 in El Cajon, CA. Our theme is “Betrothed: a Call to Sanctification for Christ’s Bride.” My goal is to encourage pastors to persevere. Ministry includes many trials and setbacks along the way. But we must always keep in mind the ‘big picture’ of what Christ is doing. He is daily sanctifying His Bride through the water of the Word. This is a gradual work often measured in years and even decades. Like the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 11:2, ordinary pastors have the joy of serving Christ by preparing His bride for a glorious reunion. I currently have Dr. Russell Moore and Dr. Walter Price as keynote speakers, and have a request in with Dr. David Jeremiah. Please pray for God’s wisdom and provision, and that many pastors will be encouraged.

Teaching

Why So Many Warnings in the Bible?

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Have you noticed how the first 24 chapters of Isaiah are dominated by warnings, oracles, and graphic descriptions of God’s judgment? Was Isaiah just having a bad day (or decade)?

Take a quick tour through other Major and Minor Prophets – or even the Book of Revelation – and you’ll notice a similar pattern. Most of their time is spent on calls to repentance and warnings of judgment. In comparison, precious little time is spent on joy and restoration.

Thumbing through Alva McClain’s classic book The Greatness of the Kingdom this afternoon, I came across a golden nugget that explains why prophecy is so lopsided:

Scripture generally gives more space to its warnings of judgment than to its descriptions of the joys of heaven. And this is wholly reasonable. On our highways, men do not ordinarily put up signs telling the traveler that ‘This is a safe road’; but for the most part all such signs are those of caution and danger. The world in which we live is one of sin and hazard and death. Some day all this will be ended, but until that day we should be thankful for the abundance of warnings concerning wrath and judgment to come.

A good reminder for preachers, as well. We must not only encourage, but reprove and rebuke. Yet always “with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2).

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Teaching

Spiritual Discipline

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Imagine looking in the mirror one year from now and seeing someone familiar — yet different. Someone wiser, more mature, more peaceful.

Picture someone who loves God more and loves sin less. Who is more patient, kind, and caring. Who weeps for the lost and is bold to share the gospel. That someone could be you.

How do we grow in godliness and become more like Jesus Christ? The Bible offers a spiritual workout routine, but it will not be easy. For the path to holiness involves discipline.

“Train yourself,” Paul said, “for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also fro the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8).

The most valuable things in life usually come at great personal sacrifice. This is true of raising a family, earning a degree, building a home, or pursuing a career. And spiritual growth is no exception. No pain, no gain.

As Philip Yancy wrote, “Human beings grow by striving, working, stretching; and in a sense, human nature needs problems more than solutions” (Disappointment with God, p. 207). 

Last summer, we spent some time studying the Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life. Using Donald Whitney’s book as a springboard, we looked through several core disciplines God uses to consume our dross and purify our hearts, conforming us more into the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). This was the second module in our Wednesday night series Growing in Christ.

Here’s the complete set of lessons:

“Spiritual Disciplines”
Growing in Christ, Course 2

Lesson 1: Intro to Spiritual Discipline (handout | audio)
Lesson 2: Bible Intake
     Hearing the Word (handout | audio)
     Reading the Word (handout)
     Bible Study & Teaching Worksheet (handout | audio)
     Memorizing & Meditating (handout | audio)
Lesson 3: Prayer (handout | audio)
Lesson 4: Fasting (handout)
Lesson 5: Worship (not available)
Lesson 6: Stewardship (handout)
Lesson 7: Learning (handout)
Lesson 8: Simplicity (handout)
Lesson 9: Evangelism (handout | audio)
Lesson 10: Journaling (handout | audio)
Lesson 11: Suffering (handout | audio)
Lesson 12: Fellowship (handout)

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Theology

Is the Rapture Near?

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Hamas Launches Rockets from Gaza City
 
Israel May Declare War

America Reaches Fiscal CliffSyria in Civil War

 
Iran Expands Nuclear Program
Today’s headlines are just the kind we would expect to see in the last days (Matt. 24:4-8; 2 Timothy 3:1-9). The rapture may be near, but we shouldn’t set dates or pack our bags just yet.
The fact is, the rapture could be today. It could be this year. Or it could still be 500 years from now. This would not be the first time Christians thought “This is it!”
Here’s part of an article written by John Walvoord in 1999, showing how current events point toward a rapture that could occur very soon – and how we should respond. It sums up well what I believe…
Undoubtedly [in the 21st century] there will be changes in the Holy Land, where now the Israelites and the Palestinians are in tension over the possession of the land. Any fair assessment of the situation reveals immediately that the Palestinians are not going to be content until they possess all the land, not just part of it. Palestinians believe, based on the Quran, that Abraham gave the land to Ishmael, Abraham’s son by the Egyptian handmaid Hagar, and that the land belongs to them, not to Isaac and the children of Israel. The fact that the promise to Isaac was written 1, 500 years before Christ and that the Quran did not appear until hundreds of years after Christ does not deter them from accepting its legitimacy…
…With this evidence before us it is obvious that, if the Rapture occurs soon, there is an unparalleled opportunity at the present time for aggressive evangelism, using all the modern means that are available for dissemination of the truth. While evangelist Dwight L. Moody could only reach twenty thousand people because this was the limit of the human voice unaided by electronic means, today millions of people have heard the gospel at one time.
In my own experience of responding to questions regarding Armageddon at the time of the Gulf War, I either appeared in person or was discussed on television stations reaching a hundred million people, and I was able under that circumstance at least to affirm that Christ is coming and that the world should get ready. Such a widespread publication of the facts of the coming of Christ was impossible in many generations. Obviously we should do what we can to get the gospel out, and the many means that are being used today—radio, television, Internet, and the printed page—all need to combine to accomplish this task.
The present prophetic situation also puts emphasis on the necessity of Christians walking in the light (1 John 1:7), that is, walking in the will of God and bearing a testimony to the transformed life that follows a new birth. Too often Christians have clouded their testimony by being identified more with the world than with the church, and this of course hinders the winning of people to faith.
In my own experience of teaching prophecy more than sixty years and seeing the development that has occurred in that period, I find there is every reason to be excited and to believe that the coming of Christ could be very soon. One of these days, without further waiting, the Rapture will occur, and everyone who belongs to Christ will be caught up together to meet Him in the air to go to heaven. What a tremendous event that is, and now each day, as the light of day comes upon us, we naturally raise the question, “Could it be today?” The fact is that it could be.
(Emphasis added. Source: “Signs of the Times,” Journal of Ministry & Theology Vol. 3:2, p. 16).
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Thoughts on Life and Leadership