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The Family Name: Who Are We?

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By Jason Comerford

Here at Elim, we’ve been asking ourselves some big questions over the last two years. As we embarked on the pastoral search process and prepared to enter a new season, we tried to discern who we were, our gifts, and how God had made us as a church. It was a time of serious introspection, getting at the heart of who we are underneath all our familiar traditions and practices.

There were some common answers. Elim is a warm and welcoming place. We pride ourselves on our hospitality to the new and old alike. We care about families and children. And of course, like any good church rooted in the Protestant tradition, we value the Bible. As one of the oldest churches in Washington State, we have a long and significant legacy.

Honestly, I’m happy to call Elim my home. And I know the same is true for others. But though I’m happy to be surrounded by such a wonderful spiritual family, I’ve remembered something sobering in recent weeks.

It would be really easy to look at Elim in the last 10–15 years, including our hospitality and other traditions, and take this on as my identity as a Christian. “This is who I am,” I might say. “I go to Elim, and we’re good at hospitality. We care about families, and we value the Bible.”

And that would be a mistake.

Aside from not everyone experiencing Elim the way I’ve described, it’s also not actually at the center of who we really are.

We’re marked not by Elim and its history, but by the work and purpose our Lord Jesus (Galatians 2:20) We are not merely a hospitable church; we are servants extending our Lord’s hospitable kindness (Luke 9:11). We are not merely a people who care about families, but we are a new spiritual family with Christ at the center of it (Matthew 12:46–50). We’re not just a people who love studying the Bible; we are a people who know our Lord personally (John 15:15) and seek to trust and obey Him (John 15:7–8).

So why does that matter?

Because the things we have in the past loved most about Elim as a community have come from earnest hearts seeking to serve the Lord, to trust His guidance, and to obey Him. And as this next season presents us with new and uncomfortable challenges, I think we’ll be helped in remembering where all the best parts of Elim have really come from—in loving, trusting, and obeying Jesus wherever He leads us.

Hang in there, friends. The Lord is, as always, doing a new thing.

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Identity

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By Brian Sharpe

Fear can be debilitating. I hate failing. Sometimes I would rather not try than fail. This fear of failure is ultimately rooted in a proper placement of identity. As believers, we are given a new identity. We learn in 1 Peter 2:10 that we went from people with no identity to a people who have an identity in Christ. Our identity as believers is different from other people’s identity. For those who do not follow God, their identity has been placed in what they do. As believer, our identity must be in what God says about us.

As a kid, I just wanted to be liked. In junior high, I was the class clown, because it was a way my peers would respond to me. I remember one time I received a box of hand-me-downs from someone in our church. I wore them to school the next day, and people commented on how good I looked. I remember feeling accepted by my peers. From that point forward, I always wanted to dress nice. In fact, when I went into high school and got a job, I spent a lot of money on clothes that I thought would make me look and feel good about myself. My identity was wrapped up in what others thought of me.

As humans, our identity can be wrapped up in many things. It could be how much money we make or the job title we have in front of our name. It could be the friends we have or our family. Our identity could be wrapped in how good of a musician we are or how great a fan we are of our favorite team (Go Bills!). Our identity could be wrapped in so many things that when things aren’t going the way they should, we are led to debilitating fear.

Instead of having our identity wrapped in what other people think of us, our identity needs to be wrapped up in what God says about us. What does God say about us?

Who I Am in Christ

(originally compiled by Neil Anderson)

I Am Accepted

John 1:12 – I am God’s child.

John 15:15 – As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 – I have been justified (declared righteous).

1 Corinthians 6:17 – I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 – I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 – I am a member of Christ’s body.

Ephesians 1:3–8 – I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13–14 – I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:9–10 – I am complete in Christ.

Hebrews 4:14–16 – I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I Am Secure

Romans 8:1–2 – I am free from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 – I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.

Romans 8:31–39 – I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be

separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21–22 – I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Colossians 3:1–4 – I am hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 1:6 – I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.

Philippians 3:20 – I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Timothy 1:7 – I have been given a spirit not of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

1 John 5:18 – I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I Am Significant

John 15:5 – I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.

John 15:16 – I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 – I am God’s temple.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 – I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

Ephesians 2:6 – I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.

Ephesians 2:10 – I am God’s workmanship.

Ephesians 3:12 – I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

As believers, we need to focus on what we know to be true about ourselves based on what God says. We do not need to be bound by our past sins and failures. Our family-of-origin issues can be overcome because of who Christ is and what He has done for us. We need to trust God with our identity and our life and surrender our life to Him. We do not have to live in fear, because perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18)!

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Identity Theft!

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By Bill Naron

We have been talking a lot about identity lately, and it has gotten me to thinking about my own identity and where I am finding it. I think about when you have conversations with people and they will ask, “What do you do for a living?” Now normally one would just say, I am a mechanic, or a salesman, etc. I find it interesting because what we do for a living oftentimes can shape our own picture of who we are, and it can become our identity. But what allows us to move to a more stable identity, not centered in doing, but centered on being? I think that it is coming into a deeper understanding of who God is and His character, as stated in Matthew 6:26-33 below:

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (KJV)

We as a society love to associate titles to so many things and to people. People will say that they identify as this or that, but they are never full — they are always looking for the next thing to make them feel valued or important. What if our identity were rooted in the God of the universe, in the God who reigns over the whole earth? The Bible says, “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). This means that He created everything, and since He created everything, He is not constrained in the same ways we are. This is what Jesus was talking about in the verse above not worrying but seeking the kingdom of God, finding your identity in relationship with the One who made you — not finding it in some societal title you are given or in the work you are doing, because our work is first and foremost the living out of the gospel and shining the light of Christ and bringing glory to God.

I would have been a person whose identity and value was rooted in position at work. But the reality is that in Matthew, Jesus says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. All the things that will be added are the things that our Heavenly Father knows that we need. You may be wondering what all this has to do with identity. God’s Word says that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I would argue that amongst the things that the enemy wants to steal is our identity. The ways in which it gets stolen is when we buy into how the world says we should acquire identity by pursuing whatever fad or trend the world says should define us. Or maybe we dive into what we do for a career and place our careers above all other things and soon our identity is derived out of who we are at work and how successful we are.

When our identity is rooted in the things that we do and the things we can accomplish, we are not leaving any room for our lives to be pictures of God’s glory and of His grace and mercy. We begin to shape our lives through the gospel, we begin to look at things differently. For myself for example, I now see differently my role at work. My role is not to work hard so that I can make more money and gather more successes; my role is to do my best work and to perform the tasks I am asked to with joy and a cheerful heart because that is what God expects of me as a passionate follower of Him. I perform my tasks diligently so that glory is brought to the name of Jesus, because He is the reason that I am able to do my work in the first place. We are in this place and in our jobs for a reason, and it is not so that we can be more successful and serve ourselves — it is so that we can help accomplish the work that God is doing in that place.

Even though I have grown up in the church, even though I have heard these things before, it spoke to me, and as I reflect upon it, I think it is because I myself struggled with my identity being wrapped up in my job and in the things I was doing. It was tied to the successes I was having and that was driving me to want to devote more and more of myself to my job. Everything would filter through how it would affect my job. Then, as I read and reflected on the verses in Matthew 6, it became clearer to me that if I am to be a disciple and my identity is to flow out of that, then the physical places that God has me are my mission field, and they are the places that God has put me to fulfill His purpose and to be a light and a voice that draws in and calls back the lost sons and daughters that He wants to redeem. And I do not need to worry about anything, because God will provide, just as He does for the grass and the lilies and the birds of the air. He will provide the things I need, and I do not need to worry about where they will come from.

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Supreme Court?

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By Jeff Foerster

The Supreme Court is the highest court in all the United Sates. Composed of nine justices, its rulings supersede those of any county, state, or federal court. Its decisions stand as final and serve as guidance for actualizing theory and implementing written law. Recognizing America’s status as the most powerful nation on the world’s stage, greater authority is exercised nowhere else. It has the last word, right?

A few days ago the Supreme Court of these United States declared biological gender irrelevant in regard to establishing marriage. This stands in stark contrast to the declared Word of God. “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)

So, what to think? I could take you on a ride through the land of reason and logic, down paths of historical textual reliability and walk with you beside streams of archeological evidence to make a case for Marriage as the Bible describes, but that is not our journey today. I will instead trust that you have come to a like-minded conclusion that God has authority to speak timeless truth and has done so in a way which we can plainly understand.

Through grace, we have been given the window of Marriage through which to peer at a mystery too great to contain with mere words of man. Our lives are intertwined in relationship, not simply by necessity, not only for practical purposes, but because God Himself is a Being existing in relationship: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we, we are like Him. When God richly dwells in us, we reflect to others the love that He has so generously and sacrificially poured out upon us through Jesus Christ. At the pinnacle of all human relationships is Marriage.

When a man and a woman come together as one, independence is laid aside for a commitment to pursue sacrificial service for the good of their mate and the glory of God. When a man and woman come together they declare the goodness and provision of their Maker. When a man and a woman are joined together by God (Mark 10:9; Matthew 19:6) they begin to picture the relationship between Christ and His Church. This is a profound mystery indeed, but one that we are commanded to live out before a watching world.

So, what to do? The Bible and Supreme Court are at odds with one another. Are we to obey man rather than God (Acts 4:19)? May it never be! This may prompt you to take a stand for righteousness, and I urge you to do just that. Here’s what I suggest: Repent, Love One Another, Rejoice, Rinse, and Repeat. It requires no letter writing or stamps, no boycotts or fundraising. It is very simple and extremely difficult. “Love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus declares (John 13:35). By these actions you will be known and Christ will be exalted (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:15).

To everyone I say:

Repent. Turn away from sins sexual and otherwise, not being stained by culture and its priorities. Live lives of purity and seek reconciliation and restoration of relationship where it has been damaged. Don’t be quick to attack, using Scripture or sharp tongues. Speak truth from a foundation of love, the same love that led Jesus to the cross, saving helpless, deluded sinners like us.

To the married:

Recognize God as of first priority in your life and the life of your husband or wife. Elevate your spouse to second place, beneath God and above yourself. Men, your wife is a rare jewel, one of beauty and wisdom. Listen to her. Women, your husband is a man of honor and courage. Tell him you value his leadership. Be purposeful as you pray for God to conform you both into the image of Christ. Reach out to other couples and singles that they may see the work God is performing in and through you. Rejoice that God is in the midst of your Marriage.

To those raising children:

Teach your children what is good, what is holy. Teach them about God, about His awesome, His unchanging character, His extravagant love and sacrifice. Then, show them. Be purposeful as you discipline, gently correcting as the Lord does for you. Use wisdom as you provide, as you counsel, as you are generous, as you teach them truth, as you love your husband or your wife sacrificially, as you take joy in one another, and as you pray in times of plenty and in your distress.

To those who are single:

Lead a life of purity. If Marriage is in your future, await your spouse. If you are not looking toward Marriage, take joy and comfort in the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly. Demonstrate to all that your sexuality does not define your identity, but the foundation of belonging to Jesus Christ directs your will and desires.

Rejoice! Give thanks to God that you live at such a time as this (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Know that God is working all things to the good of those who love Him. And you have been invited as His fellow worker to bring many in to celebrate at the family gathering of the Lord. No announcement, no declaration from any earthly authority can change the need that the hurting and the hungry have for Jesus. Each person in our community, our nation, our world is seeking relationship, identity, and significance. And these are all found in Jesus. Invite them to come and see where they can find rivers of water for their thirsty souls. Then, show them. Pour out the love that you have received and tell others why you are able to do this without draining yourself dry. Live such good lives that no one find fault, and God be glorified (1 Peter 2:12).

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“May I See Your Driver’s License, Please?”

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By Jeff Foerster

Looking at my driver’s license, I notice a few things. Most obvious is a photographic image, slightly smaller than a thumb. One note here before moving on: there is just no way to take a poor picture of me — wow. Secondly, and just as importantly, is my name, listed beside the picture. Also documented is information such as current residence, date of birth, and physical details including height and weight. Your license undoubtedly appears similarly.

Perhaps the most useful parts of my license are the image and the name. Though bearing just three names and a face a mother could love, police officers, bank tellers, airport security personnel, et al, use these as a basis to substantiate my identity. Though useful, it is incomplete. I am more than can be represented on a 2×4-inch piece of plastic.

The photographic image on any license is “flat” or two-dimensional. It pales in comparison to the three-dimensional person it represents. Likewise, each of us bears an image of God (Genesis 1:26). Like the picture on a license, the image of God we bear lacks a dimension (or two). Even so, each follower of Jesus is a reflection of the Father to a darkened world. This is a statement of truth; a fact that is based not on the worthiness of the Christian, but the presence and work of the Holy Spirit within the believer.

Like many others, my name has meaning embedded within it. I was given three names by my mother and father at birth. My surname represents my family and a German heritage dating back several centuries. The middle name I hold was taken from my father’s first name, while the meaning of my first name carries with it the grand expectations of “God’s peace.” These names, however they might distinguish me from others, do not fully define me. Many years later I was given a new name: “Christian.” Born again, of the Spirit, this new name became rich in meaning and powerful in significance. Now bearing the name of Christ, it is this name that provides greater identity than any other

Each time you take out your license and see the image and name upon it, remember the image and the name we bear because of Jesus. The image recalls God’s initial creation (Genesis 1:26) and our transformation into a new creation — “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The name “Christian” tells us to whom we belong. This does not change when we fall short of the glory of God (sin). “ — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13-14). Remember this, Christian: your identity resides not in good works, but in God’s declaration of righteousness through forgiveness in Jesus Christ!

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Reclaiming Our Identity as Followers of the Way

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By Martin Schlomer

Roots. They can grow deep and wide, overwhelming the ground around them, making it difficult to dig them out. Culture and popular opinion, encompassing all who are in a society, can be as tough as these roots to isolate and expose.

A lot of electronic ink and raw emotional energy has been spent recently, addressing President Obama’s comments at the National Prayer Breakfast. While I disagree with his assessment and judgment in what he said, his point that some in the Christian church have made a contribution to the horrors of our past is correct. All one has to do is look at the many churches which supported slavery and Jim Crow laws, not to mention the Crusades.

Why did the Church make such contributions during these horrific seasons in our history? This is a fair question today’s church must understand and address. Did these events originate in the believing church of Christm or was the Church simply complicit in going along with the prevailing beliefs and values of the surrounding culture.

Generally speaking, it was the latter. The Church was being shaped by the surrounding culture and values. This is understandable — the church was birthed in the midst of popular culture and values, and unfortunately she was slow to give up those values and beliefs, contrary to Jesus’ calling for her.

Christians were first called “followers of the Way.” What, or who, was the Way? It was Jesus and His teachings! This is to be the core of the Church’s identity, beliefs, values, and actions. When this is not her identity, she maintains and lives out the identity and beliefs of society and culture, or some perverted form thereof.

The church participated in atrocities such as slavery and racism because she failed to take on and be discipled into her new identity as those who have been called out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. She maintained her old secular identity, beliefs, values and behaviors, and lived like the culture around her.

Should the church be called to account? Absolutely! However, she is accountable for more than her bad behavior, which reflected the prevailing behavior and values of surrounding culture. She is accountable for not embracing her new identity in Jesus and reflecting His identity, beliefs, and behavior. Throughout history, present day included, too many churches are more like the surrounding culture than the character of Jesus. Those who comprise today’s Church need to reclaim their identity as followers of the Way.

Elim’s mission and vision is to develop passionate followers of Jesus and His ways. This is our identity, which shapes our beliefs and then our behavior. Honestly, nothing else matters as much as this one focus!

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