AT-16 >>away!

Jubilee Christian Center is a beehive of energetic activity: In early July, we shipped out 2 missionaries to the mission frontier.

(JCC is also an incubator of Great Commission Christians!)

I drove Jubilee Receptionist Lisa Rich and Jubilee Deaconess Virginia Obregon to SFO, where, at 1300 hours aboard Korean Air, they deployed for the Philippines on AT-16.

Virginia and Lisa were invited to preach at a Youth Crusade to be held at the end of this week in Baguio City, north of Manila.

(Coincidentally, Virginia and I had just completed a terrific time with many youth on K-Team in Vietnam--where we ministered to animated Vietnamese Youth Leaders in Ho Chi Minh City; see after-action report)

We are all members one of another, but it seems that the community of Christian youth is high on God's list of important people. Although youth do not possess wealth, rank or influence --legions of young people possess one important thing --God's heart.

Subjective well-being

We all have many perspectives on life. Well-being, i.e. how a Jubelite (JCC church member) evaluates life, is mostly in the head.

Things like life-satisfaction, marital-satisfaction, even missionary-satisfaction are related to pleasant experiences, or unpleasant experiences.

Mrs. Obregon and I have found that a cardinal characteristic of subjective well-being is related to the friends we fellowship with in our ecosystem.

It's true. Take the closely related class of humans above: all 3 are Great Commission Christians, and all 3 have followed Christ to the mission frontier.

My hypothesis is that our subjective well-being is generally very good because our ecosystem is teeming with life and with like-minded Christians; caramba!

JCC Ecosystem | What is it?

JCC Ecosystem .... JVC Ecosystem .... some have wondered, "What exactly does this mean?"

The meaning is simple really. All you have to do is carefully observe the goings-on at church. If you do, it is readily apparent that: Jubilee Christian Center (JCC) is a biodiverse ecosystem.

In fact, Jubilee Christian Center supports 3 unique human communities, each with its own ecosystem. Throughout our Silicon Valley campus 3 unique churches find life:

_ Jubilee Christian Center, served by Senior Pastor Dick Bernal
_ Jubilee Spanish Church, served by Pastor Osbaldo Perez
_ Jubilee Vietnam Church, served by Pastor N. David Bui

Is your spiritual life stagnant? Do you want personal direction in life? Do you want to hear God's voice? Muster to church!

You see, each ecclesia, whether JCC, JSC, or JVC, is a human community and this is where we all belong. Each ecclesia is an ecosystem and through its members they transmit life!

Although each ecosystem is imperfect they are nevertheless useful to God. God uses each for equipping, teaching, imparting, and for blessing--through participation. Indeed, Mrs. Obregon and I learn much about God not only from religious worship each Sunday morning, but also from supplemental instruction: human interaction.

You say you desire an encounter with God? Interact with members of your Ecosystem. You will encounter God there.

It's interesting, but at times God speaks to me and Virginia through people we may not want to listen to. But in this, God is entirely blameless. Our ecosystem is imperfect on account of its members. Nevertheless, will we choose to receive God's prophetic utterances? We must.

Let's muster to church! Each ecosystem is teeming with life, and it's there that you will find God.

Kelvin Deemer

Here, at the party following Jubilee Bible College graduation, India missionary Kelvin Deemer found me in the press of so many people. We discussed God's mission frontier, including the current status of the Burmese people following the deadly Nargis Cyclone.

Some from Jubilee Christian Center mistakenly believe that Kelvin is a member of the famed pop band The Beach Boys. But he's not.

God likes you

Jubilee Bible College: Virginia hands Hanh Nguyen a graduation present. Hanh's mother and Professor Bui look on. Virginia once saw something special in Hanh that she liked, and is why she invited Hanh to enlist on K-Team--even before she had graduated.

(I once said from the pulpit that if Virginia likes you, there's a good chance God likes you.)

J.B.C. Commencement speaker

When asked who they wanted as their Commencement Speaker, the 2008 Graduating Class of Jubilee Bible College asked to hear Pastor Dick Bernal for inspiration.

During his charge to the graduating students--I couldn't believe my ears!--Pastor intimated the exact idea that I wrote in Andrew Le's Hallmark graduation card: "...press-in; don't give up..."

Burma's cyclone | Some observations

The deadly cyclone, Nargis, swept through Burma last weekend and tens of thousands are missing; tens of thousands (probably many more) have died. A million people are homeless.

The worst hit area is the large Irrawaddy Delta (below, in dark blue). This is Burma's rice breadbasket. Burma's old capital, Rangoon, is also flooded.

I've noticed General Than Shwe, Burma's junta leader, and the rest of the military leadership have by and large stayed out of public view. (They're probably holed-up in the new capital, Naypyidaw, which may not have been affected by the cyclone.)

Mrs. Obregon and I have traveled extensively along the Burma/Thai frontier and served in the refugee camps that dot the frontier. *Sigh* I wish President Bush would dispatch us --we know our way around that area and have developed our own contacts with the KNLA and KNU (Karen National Liberation Army, and its political arm, Karen National Union.)This is the fundamental problem: Burma is a police state, their army and police are strictly designed for security functions. That's it. Disaster relief is left to the communities themselves, and, to brave NGO's (non-governmental organizations, like for instance, Regions Beyond-USA, World Aid, or Jubilee Christian Center, and the like).

The missionary inside us fears malaria, dengue fever, and hepatitis outbreaks that could be spread by mosquitoes, dirty water, and very, very poor sanitation conditions.

Burma's military junta needs to take off their military caps, humble themselves, accept Western expertise and begin to think like stewards of their country to make plans to help their masses of displaced people, and control outbreaks of disease.

Burma's cyclone path

Mrs. Obregon and I learned that Saturday's cyclone killed more than 22,000 Burmese. Indeed, the U.S.A., a Christian nation, is mobilizing to help a Buddhist nation. Our U.S. Navy, with its global omni-presence, is already in the Gulf of Thailand.

Geo & Virginia have many Christian friends in Burma's sprawling refugee camps along the Burma/Thai frontier.

Outside assistance is good but it will expose the full extent of the disaster and the inadequacy of the Burmese government's response.

Beautiful Moon; Beautiful Angel

Our two favourite daughters in Ho Chi Minh City, Beautiful Moon and Beautiful Angel (and we have a daughter in Nha Trang, too). Beautiful Moon just graduated with a degree in Landscape Design; Beautiful Angel is a micro business loan officer. Mrs. O and I are seated downstairs in a spare room of the A.G. church during a break in the Leadership Conference.Beautiful Moon was our assigned pointman for K-TEAM while in Ho Chi Minh City. Beautiful Angel, on the other hand, was assigned as pointman last year, on J-TEAM. When deployed overseas, God always assigns us the best help possible.

Feng Shui ("fung shway") | Jubilee Vietnam

For thousands of years the Chinese have studied the dynamic relationship between humans and the surrounding environment. It is called "Feng Shui" and it helps in making adjustments to our surroundings in order to create harmony........indeed this Jubilee hand-out photo shows, Caleb, Geo, and David Bui. We three have studied the dynamic relationship between humans and the surrounding environment: groups of humans fellowshipping downstairs in the Jubilee galley, --this is the art of perfect placement.

We are the ones we've been waiting for!

R.I.P. Charlton Heston

On Sunday, Charlton Heston died. He was 84.

The man who played and epitomized Moses--and for whom Pastor Dick Bernal often alluded to from the pulpit on Sunday's and in the pages of his published books--was the last of the old school patriotic Hollywood actors. Lordy, he was a fine actor and a fine American. Charlton Heston was also terrific in the Sci-Fi classics like, Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green, --anyone remember those?I mourn the death of Heston. He was a good American, oh, yes, a consummate total actor: Heston could play any part, from Moses, John the Baptist, even a washed up NFL football player. I wish Heston could just once have declared in one of his movies:

"Aaron, give me my staff, that the Lord hath given me, so that I may smite those Leftists."

Hollywood now is forcing upon us lightweights like George Clooney and Brad Pitt. (Clooney has another bomb on his list of failed movies.) Why are these men "movie stars"?

Mr. Heston:
You were the best actor of two generations. Thank you for all your great performances over the years. As you walk through the pearly gates of heaven, please notice the gentleman sitting at the table to the right. Ronald Reagan frequents that table and meets new friends. Please tell him I say hello.

Well sir, Heaven just acquired another great film actor. And now you can see the Burning Bush in real life.

After-action (K-Team)

Vietnam's Assemblies of God Leader, Rev. S., was able to sit in on 2 of our 4 meetings. His wife is shown seated, above. Above, Samuel Lam introduces K-Team.

Do you see the metal door behind Rev. S. that is behind the orange curtains? On the last day of the Conference, Virginia and I had to climb and sneak into the sanctuary--thru that 3rd story door--in order to stay out of sight of the local policia who, from time to time, kept an eye out for foreigners at the front of the church.

The rest of K-Team was at another meeting location).

(All the while I was reminded of the American pop song, Secret Agent Man.)

Pinocchio

Christian faith & practice

Those familiar with Christianity, and Jubilee's missionary history realize that Christ is the greatest liberator of mankind.

Indeed, God's presence fills the hearts of people wherever Christian faith and practice meet.

Thank you! --for sending us.

Pastor of the sheep

We have 3 churches on our Silicon Valley campus: the JCC main Church, our Spanish Church, and our Vietnam Church. Whoever preaches to the masses on Sunday morning, the prime focus of the worship service is the sermon.

Each of us congregants is expected to encounter Jesus not only in the bread and wine, but in the spoken word. To this observer, the theology of the sermon is the word of God --a declaration of God's will, and it is received as such by those of us in the pews.

Therefore the sermon should not be flippant, or contain half-thoughts, or angry prejudices from one's mind.

It is a frightfully serious thing to mislead the people of God.

Your Pastor's sermons

When the sermons of your Pastor are turned into campaign ads by your opposition --your presidential campaign is on very rocky shoals, in grave danger of running aground.

~

While serving Christ in Vietnam

Imagine my surprise: that while serving Christ in Vietnam, I discovered that Prince Harry was serving his country in Afghanistan.

I couldn't believe it.

While waiting for the Hotel front desk to retrieve my room key, I glanced down at the nearby table and eyed a British newspaper, left by some Brit, apparently, and there was Prince Harry --in all his glory, wearing his distinctive British desert camo fatigues, holding an M-16, (not the later image above). His picture filled the entire first page of that British newspaper!

It was a revelation to this missionary that Prince Harry had been courageously serving in Afghanistan for 3 months. (When the British papers mistakenly released the news of his deployment, Harry had to return to England). Prince Harry should be applauded by all citizens who believe that the war against Islamo-terrorism is vital to our free world.

This is amazing to me. The last time I remember learning of Prince Harry in the news was when he was busted by his father (and the British media) for wearing a Nazi armband to a British nightclub. (Does anyone remember that?)

I can forgive youthful indiscretions. We've all done crazy things in our youth; but this Harry chap is a credit to his nation!

Harry's bravery reminds this grateful American citizen that the Briitish warrior spirit is still alive and well --because, my gosh, he must've been a bullet magnet to terrorists everywhere.

I love the 80s

Hey, --the 1980s are back! -- Sylvester Stallone has prepped another Rambo movie. Not only that, Chuck Norris is an Internet icon and is donating his time for a presidential candidate, (and even Mr. T is doing commercials!)

I loved the decade of the 80s: Faith Bible College for Virginia and me, getting our Great Commission calling from God, Jubilee Christian Center's formative years, --and, stonewashed jeans!

And, think about it, even in the new millennium these tough-guy actors are still as ripped as they were 20 years ago!

Conservative men are cool.

Everytime the wind blows

In the coming weeks Americans will choose only 2 finalists in the job search for the most important CEO position on planet earth. Mrs. O and I believe that leadership/character traits are more important than technical knowledge of, say, foreign policy or economics. But these seem to get all the attention.

These and other things can distract us from the real issue of examining a candidate's fitness.

I remember a long time ago (when Jubilee was across the street in our old sanctuary) Virginia and I were in a Home Fellowship Group leader's meeting, and Pastor and Doug & Danae Roberts called a meeting to invite couples to become "captains" in the H.F.G. During the course of the meeting one of the cell leaders blurted out, "Pastor, I really love you brother, if you were running for President I'd vote for you."

We all chuckled profusely--and it happened to be during a presidential election season--nevertheless everyone in the room instinctively knew that Pastor had this intangible quality to inspire and lead people.

And later, when Pastor asked an older Jubelite (a dentist) to start a Home Fellowship Group, this individual hesitated and told Pastor that he wasn't a Bible scholar. Pastor replied that he wasn't looking for a student of the Bible, --he was looking for a leader to lead a Home Fellowship Group. This was very telling, and I remember this exchange as if it happened yesterday.

If you think about it selecting a President has little to do with their having academic skills. Presidents have to learn a lot on the job, and must surround themselves with advisors much smarter than themselves anyway.

The candidate we want to vote for --has he had some good robust life experiences, personally and professionally? The presidency is a job for a kind of generalist. We never know what crisis or emergency will come calling, nor from what direction it will hit us. A generalist type of President will know the correct actions to take that make sense in whatever context it appears.

Oh, sure, there's something to be said for a candidate's style, grace and charisma, but those things don't take you very far in a showdown...

...How does the presidential candidate view our country? Liberty is America's greatest national asset. Therefore a President must be ruthless in guarding our nation from foreign enemies. Christian citizens should recall how 20-something David of old ruthlessly protected his sheep from lions in the wilderness.

Of all presidential attributes, the American people must see a leader who loves this duty, because if our homeland is threatened or breached --nothing else matters.

They're all colorfull candidates! But would the front-runners make good presidential leaders? Everytime the wind blows can a leader stay the course on his convictions? Lone Wolf Liberties is reminded of two leaders, one in recent memory and one today, unchanged by the direction of continual fierce blowing winds: President Ronald Reagan and President George Bush the Younger.

I hope they still make 'em today.