May 27, 2015
Registration lines were long but the streamlined process kept them moving quickly as Alliance Council 2015 launched its first full day in Long Beach, California.
Informative seminars and meetings started early with the Great Commission Women National Leadership Meeting and Pastoral/Member Care Training convening at 8:00 a.m. Then, a seminar guiding pastors and lay people into helping their churches commit to regular, biblical prayer was well attended. Dr. David Butts reminded the crowd that prayer is vital to the spiritual health of individuals and congregations. “You are the house of God,” he proclaimed, “and God has forever made His house a house of prayer . . . because [prayer] transcends culture, language, and time.”
Also on Tuesday, Rev. John Corby presented an Alliance Missions Network Seminar at which the regional directors for our mission fields spoke about the various ministries that Alliance workers are leading or participating around the globe as The Alliance continues to make gospel access a priority. “There is a great disparity of gospel access in our world today . . . ,” said Dr. Tim Crouch, vice president for International Ministries. “It is a matter of justice in our overall ministry efforts, that we should always invest in reaching people groups that have the least opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus.”
At Caleb and Co., retired international workers met for prayer and fellowship, concluding with a humorous performance by Don Dillavou, who memorably played A. B. Simpson at General Council 2011 in Kansas City.
Pastor Francis Chan, Tuesday evening’s keynote speaker, gave an afternoon seminar encouraging men and women in ministry to not loose heart, despite America’s hostility to the Truth. “Who are the people who do amazing things in this Book?” he asked, holding up the Bible. “It’s not the people with the strategy or the plan. It’s the people who know Him.”
“Be strong, confident and courageous,” he exhorted the crowded ballroom, noting that in preaching from the Word, ministers will “either be offensive or deceptive—because this in an offensive Book.”
“I want you to get your life back, your soul back . . . Go back to the time when you just had this edge,” he said. “Sometimes we can worship accomplishment—we can worship revival—rather than worshiping Jesus and recognizing what an honor we have . . . just to be His ambassadors.”
Pastor Chan continued his ministry to the Alliance family in the evening service, where he spoke from the heart about the necessity of love in the Christian faith.