“The king
of Love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never. I
nothing lack if I am his, and he is mine forever.”
How many faiths are there in the world? In
his World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) David Barrett identifies
10,000 distinct
religions,
150 of which have a million or more followers. 10,000! Harry
Wendt, Author of ‘Crossways’ bible study, has
a different
view,
“Actually, there are only two. One bases its hope
for salvation, enlightenment, or paradise on what a person
does and what
they
offer to God. The other bases its hope for salvation on
what God has done and freely offers. The first promises
that we will get
good
things for our piety: wisdom, inner peace ... perhaps even
wealth, success, and popularity. The second calls us to
understand
that
we can neither get nor give: God made and owns everything,
merely entrusting what is His to us. Yes, this latter faith
is
Christianity.
The former is every other theological system that has surfaced
in the sweep of history.” In John’s Gospel Jesus
offers us
the truth of his coming into the world, and the kingdom
that he came to establish “I am the way, I am the
truth, I am the life, no one
comes
to the father except through me” To be a Christian
is to be a brother or sister of the eternal king, and to
follow where He
leads.
Rev. Mark Kindem
May
2008
Intern Update
We have been assigned an intern-pastor beginning in the
fall of 2008. Ryan Gage will be serving Bethel beginning
some time in August. Ryan is married to Edith Gage,
who will be serving Calvary Lutheran as their intern. Ryan
enjoys history, reading, camping, jeeping, and good coffee.
He hopes to be called to a rural or small-town parish as
a solo pastor, an associate, or in a joint call with his
wife. When asked about his feelings as he anticipated
internship he said, “I am excited for the opportunity
to apply what I have learned, and to be out “doing
ministry”. I’m anxious to find out what
being half of a “clergy couple” is like in real
life situations.
Do you
wish to send Pastor Kindem a message?
Are you interested in becoming
a member
of our church?
If
so, you can e-mail Pastor Kindem at
pastor@bethelbemidji.org
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