This web site and blog are named for a particular event--the Haystack Prayer meeting of 1806--as well as the 200th anniversary (leading up to, during, and now after that occurence).  Meetings and celebrations were held around the time of the anniversary.

Another milestone has been studied and feted for months.  This July 10th marks the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birthday.  Not very many people realize that he was born in France (Noyon in Picardy) rather than Geneva--the city that became synonymous with the name of Calvin.

In 1533 or 1534 Calvin experienced a conversion.  Here is how he puts it:  "By an unexpected conversion [God] tamed to teachableness a mind too stubborn for its years."

He would serve a French Protestant refugee church in Strasbourg.  One day while travelling, he was compelled to stop in Geneva.  He only lasted a few years before he was kicked out.  He returned to Strassbourg and enjoyed serving his countrymen. 

Then he was called back to Geneva where he served until his death in 1564.  He would influence Christian leaders from other countries and, through them, America and many other countries.

I hope to write a number of posts on John Calvin during the month of July.  In the meantime, I hope you will seek to learn for yourself the true story of John Calvin and his love for God and passion for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is "one sole means of recovering salvation....  Christ was given to us by God's generosity, to be grasped and possessed by us in faith.  By partaking of him, we principally receive a double grace:  namely, that being reconciled to God through Christ's blamelesness, we may have in heaven instead of a Judge a gracious Father; and secondly, that sanctified by Christ's spirit we may cultivate blamelessness and purity of life"  (Institutes, III.11.1--cited by Dr. Charles Hambrick-Stowe).

In a response to an April article, a letter writer in the June Christianity Today shares the following."In planning a New England vacation, I included a trip to Williams College in western Massachusetts in search of the Haystack Prayer Meeting monument.  While visiting this now-obscure memorial overshadowed by ancient pines, I felt somehow connected to the four young men who were inflamed with a passion for foreign missions, particularly to Southeast Asia and India, and launched a worldwide movement thereafter.

"My brief time at that quiet monument wasn't necessarily a holy moment, but it connected me to a powerful work of God in history, a work that spanned the globe and touched my life.  It was a pilgrimage I'll never forget."

The following two paragraphs are from the conclusion of the Reverend John E. Chung's "Park Street Church and the American Mission Movement" article in the June Foresee newsletter.  As with the previous posts, it is used with permission.

"It has been a privilege as a church to be a part of this [mission] history.  As we celebrate 200 years of our ministry we are inspired by the hundreds of men and women who were sent out from here, and tens of thousands of people who have given sacrificially to advance the good news of Jesus, and trusting in God, we are even more escited about our future than our past.

"In this Bicentennial year we want to challenge the students of New England today to match the passion, creativity, and sacrifice of generations who have gone before us.  We want to challenge them to think creatively, deeply, and passionately, to think of new and tried ways of sharing the good news of Jesus and bringing transforming change to our world.  We believe Jesus is the solution for this world's most intractable problems, and that he changes the human soul, offering salvation and hope, bringing the possibility of peace in the places and for the people who need it most desperately."

The following two paragraphs continue the Rev. John E. Chung's article in Foresee entitled "Park Street Church and the American Mission Movement."

On October 15, 1819, Opukiah's "dream was realized when 17 men and women (including three Hawaiians, businessmen, teachers, doctors, a printer, farmers and pastors) were commissioned at Park Street Church and set to Hawaii.  [Opukiah] was not part of this group [because] he had died the year before, but his dream lived on.  On that occasion speakers offered encouragement, and a collection of $200 was amassed with which to fund the endeavor.  (In today's dollars that $200 would represent a sacrifice of $42,608.)  Shortly thereafter the team set sail on a 163-day voyage to reach Hawaii, commencing many years of what was then pioneering evangelism in the South Pacific.  Park Street had begun her engagement in world missions.

"On the occasion of Park Street Church's 100th anniversary in 1909, W. E. Strong observed 'I suppose... there is no church in America which stands quite so close to the American Board of Foreign Missions' as does this church--and 'there is no other spot in America more continuously and intimately associated with the life and progress of the American Board than the square feet embraced within this anctuary.'  Hundreds of young men and women sent out from Park Street Church have brought the good news of Jesus to every corner of the world.  While they may have made mistakes in their earnestness, they built hospitals, schools, universities and medical colleges; they initiated commerce and new relationships; they advocated against injustices such as slavery, infanticide and bride burning; and they planted churches and shared the love of Jesus as best they knew how."

Park Street is a Congregational Church in Boston, Mass.  This year it is celebrating it's 200 years of praising and serving God.  As part of that, the Rev. John Chung--Minister of Missions--has written an article in the CCCC Foresee June 2009 newsletter.  Entitled "Park Street Church and the American Mission Movement," the below paragraph is presented with the permission of the author.

"By 1809, as Park Street Church was forming, this group of students [see below post] was now in graduate studies at the newly formed Andover Theological Seminary.  They began making plans and urging their churches to send them out.  By February of 1812 the Congregationalists of New England formed the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission.  At the Salem Tabernacle Congregational Church they set aside a group of five men and three women, led by Adoniram and Ann Judson [who would become Baptists], to go to India and then [the Judsons went] on to Burma.  Park Street Church was right in the thick of things as our first minister Edward Griffin opened the commissioning service in prayer and laid his hands on these missionary candidates.  Soon after this service Park Street was raising funds to be sent with these missionaries.  Herbert Kane writes on this occasion, 'Such was the humble beginning of the American foreign missionary movement... a movement that within a century and a half was providing almost 70 percent of the worldwide Protestant missionary forces and about 80 percent of the finances.'  The passion and commitment of these students touched the church and soon Americans were offering themselves for service and giving sacrificially in ways that had never before been seen."

The Rev. John E. Chung is the Minister of Missions at Park Street Church.  He has graciously granted permission for this blog to share his very fine article "Park Street Church and the American Mission Movement."  The article is found in the June 09 issue of The Foresee--the newsletter of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.

"The year was 1806 when five young college students from New England met together to pray.  Gathered under a haystack to escape the rain, they felt God calling them to look beyond the shores of America to bring the good news of Jesus to every continent of the world.  These young students from Williams College ended that meeting with a commitment to God, offering themselves for foreign mission service, saying, "We can do this if we will.'

"Forming the Society of Brethren, they quickly went to other schools, including Union, Middlebury and Yale to share this newfound passion and vision with other students.  Samuel Mills, the leader of this group, went to Yale, where his heart was moved by a native Hawaiian Islander, Henry Obookiah [in the Hawaiian langue, Opukiah].  Obookiah had become a follower of Jesus and desire to go back to Hawaii to share this good news about Jesus with his family and friends."

In the Book of Revelation we read in chapter one that "blessed is the one who reads" and "blessed are those who hear."  The original audience for this apocalyptic letter were the churches addressed in chapters one and two.  John's revelation arrived by ship from the island of Patmos.  It then went from city church to city church via the postal route of that time.

I thought of the Book of Revelation as I read Wycliffe's president Bob Creson's April letter.  "Sitting in church l last Sunday, I was reminded again, of the privilege of worshipping God and of having His Word that I can access anytime, anyplace.  I must confess that my thoughts momentarily journeyed to another place of worship--where the Word is not so easily accessible.  It's a scene played out many times in Africa.

"A young man rides his bicycle along a dusty, deeply rutte road.  At the end of the road he walks his bike another 10 miles across a scrub plain.  He walks with energy and doesn't stop to rest or cool down under the jacaranda trees.  He feels the day's heat; sees it shimmer against a harsh blue sky.  Finally, he sees the village.

"His arrival has been expected, and he is welcomed.  He brings with him a black plastic box, and as he parks his bike next to the central hut in the village, the people ask him when they can begin.  Excitement has been building for many days.

"The black box is called a Proclaimer, and recorded on the Proclaimer is the whole New Testament.  The meeting is for the people to hear the Word of God in their language.  Romans 10:17 delcares:  'So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.'  This is as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago.  Many of the world's people are not yet able to read, and many are from cultures where information is transmitted orally.

"The goal of Wycliffe Bible Translators is to create access to Scripture.  We want to see the translated Scriptures used by people--listening is a powerful way to put the lviving, active Word of God into the hearts and minds of people.  For millions of people, that access is in audio format, and thanks to our partnership with Hosanna Ministries, Faith Comes by Hearing, the Word of God is reaching the eharts of people where we have compelted translation of the New Testament.

"People's lives are being transformed."  One man says, "'I have decided to become a believer because of what I have learned by listening to the Scriptures.'"

"Using new completed translations of the New Testament done by Wyucliffe personnel, Faith Comes By Hearing  takes the finished product and produces a high-quality, dramatized, word-for-word audio recording.  The Proclaimer is a digital device that replaces audiocassettes and tape players.  Preliterate Christians and non-Christians are gathering in hudnres of 'listening groups' all over the world--and God is changing lives."

Mr. Creson then goes on to describe the costs involved in the project and to invite financial partnership in the endeavor.   He notes that the "Proclaimer is durable, self-containeddigital player that can be plugged into a wall outlet to run off electricity, or run by batteries to play the Scriptures.  And the player's volume is loud enough so that groups of up to 300 people can hear it clearly."

He continues, "I have seen firsthand how hearing the Word of God gets the gospel rapidly and effectively to those who can't yet read.  When the Word is proclcaimed orally, it is powerful.  It gives birth to faith, and it changes lives for eternity.

"I believe God has called us to take His Word to people still needing to hear the Good News of the gospel--and to make sure they receive His message in the language and form they can understand best.  For millions of people worldwide, that means thay have to hear it.

"With more translations completed by Wycliffe teams, listening groups can now be established in more than 28 countries across Africa, Assia, and the Americas in language communities where translated Scripture is now available."

We've come a long way since the days of the last book of the Bible!  Creson concludes, "I hope you will rejoice with me over the many lives that have already been changed through hearing the Word in these listening groups."  I hope you will pray for this project and consider making it happen.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of all Christian organizations--both churches and parachurch groups.  Such organizations as Young Life, Inter-Varsity, and so many others rely on the valuable donation of time by people to reach out to others in evangelism and discipleship.

The global mission endeavor is no different.  One organization focusing on people in and from East Asia writes about a new ministry reaching various groups of people right where you live.

The volunteers are dexcribed as  "Curcial.  Essential.  Influential.  Valuable.  Special."  Examples are given of people serving various groups in various places.

"Today more than 30 volunteers are the bridge for God's message to move across the United States in order for more prayer, resources and workers to be sent out.  Volunteers serve by advocating, praying, encouraging, mentoring and educating the church in the U.S. about the needs in East Asia."

"Ordinary people are stepping out in faith to serve in extraordinary ways as volunteers in their hometowns.  We are seeing increased awareness for the unreached, prayer teams starting, short-term teams being sent, workers being recruited and resources distributed.  You can be a part of this movement."

Do you see that God is bringing the world to your doorstep?  The fields are white to the harvest right where you are!  "We believe volunteers around the United States are bringing in the harvest by serving hre and now."

Have you ever left a movie theater and said, "Now THAT's the way a movie should be."  We all know what makes a great movie.  I like to think we recognize it as well in a book.

Mortimer Adler prepared Encylopedia Brittanica's "Great Books of the Western World" series.  While the book I am about to recommend does not rise to that level, it nevertheless provides hours of enjoyment, education and edification.

On Palm Sunday evening I saw on TV more of the movie Ben Hur than I had before.  It piqued an interest in me to read the novel by Lew Wallace.  By the way, no one was killed in the chariot race scene in the movie.  Two dummies were used.  There was one serious injury, but the stunt man recovered.  If you want a listing of the differences between the 1959 movie and the 1880 book you will find a listing at the Wikipedia page on both.

I have a few quibbles with the book.  One is that he premises the wise men (and, to a certain extent, the entire plot) on the three virtues of faith, love and good works.  I'm fine with the first two, but Christianity is based on justification by faith--being saved through grace alone.  Granted we "walk in those works which God has prepared before hand for us to walk in" (Ephesians 2:10), but those come after we are saved by grace.

Also, some of the philosophical discussions are of such length that they make my eyes glaze over.  With that having been said, Wallace develops a very fine plot that is both believable and readable.  He develops his themes in a masterful way.

The afterward in the 1992 Reader's Digest Edition (but it is not abridged in any way!) provides many helpful insights.  For instance, Wallace became a Christian while writing the book.  "The novel's power of conversion may be due, in part, to the intensity of the author, who found himself converted to belief during the seven years that he worked on the project.  Wallaced confessed that 'long before I was through with my book, I became a believer in God and Christ.'"

Jewish people liked the book because for most of the novel Judah ben Hur is unabashedly Jewish.  When his mother calls up the memory of the heroes of the faith (see Hebrews 11) I am reminded of Virgil doing the same for Aeneas--looking into the future--for Rome while he is in Carthage.  That heritage continues after he becomes a Christian as well. 

Christians of all kinds liked the book.  "For many, Ben-Hur was not merely entertainment but a deeply moving experience.  One minister wrote of 'the immense missionary work Ben-Hur has done.  I am sure the author will receive the blessing of the Master of the Harvest for the countless souls his labor has garnered."

"Many missionaries recorded that they were inspired to their calling by reading Ben-Hur. Albert Shelton, who spent many years in China and Tibet, said that he never thought of becoming a missionary until he read Wallace's novel.  In turn, some of the missionaries translated Ben-Hur into Oriental languages.  The Reverend Cornelius Van Dyke, senior representative of the American Board of Foreign Missions, who lived in Syria for 50 years and was considered the world's greatest Arabic schlar, translated the novel into Arabic."

I commend to your reading the book that is the finest in the biblical novel genre, a book Carl Van Doren spoke of as having "a vitality whwich probably has a atouch of genius."  That book is Ben-Hur:  A Tale of the Christ."

The above title is drawn from a section of the Urbana09 brochure.  I hope that you will prayerfully consider registering for this event in the next few days.

From the brochure--"At Urbana you'll see the world in a whole new light, learn about critical global issues, worship with thousands in one of the most diverse gatherings in North America, and hear missional students and recent graduates testify to God's faithfulness to the ends of the earth.

"There are many ways you could spend five days of your [Christmas] break.  But, if you want to be challenged by the spiritual and physical needs of the world, and get connected to opportunities to partner in God's work around the world, sign up for Urbana 09."

Before you leave campus for the summer, I strongly urge you to register for Urbana09.  You can do so online.  If funds are an issue, consider setting aside a portion of what you earn this summer to help defray the costs.  Then, in August or September go ahead and register.

The following two paragraphs are drawn from the Orbana09 brochure.  Attendees:  20,000+.  Who:  college students and others, ages 17-30.  From:  across US and Canada + 120 countries.  Where:  St. Louis, Missouri, USA.  When:  December 27-31, 2009.  Missions agencies:  300+.  Working in:  150+ countries.  Seminars:  200+.

EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF.  We'll begin each morning studying the Gospel of John.  Morning and evening plenary speakers from around the world will share what God is doing in their context, and we will worship together with one voice.  Afternoons are spent learning in seminars, prayer and fellowship groups, talking with friends, and meeting some of the hudnreds of reps from exhibiting agencies and schools.

So, please pray about going.  Talk with friends and mentors.  If needed, begin the process of applying for a scholarship or two.  I have attended two--once as a student, once as a rep.  And I can testify that each time was an incredibly formative time for me.  I pray that it will be for you, too!

As readers of this blog probably already know, Urbana09 is focusing on the first four chapters of the Gospel of John.  In (four) recent posts, I have looked at each of those chapters.

In this post, I turn to the final section (also called a "pericope") of John 4.  In verses 43 through 54 Jesus visits Cana (where he turned the water into wine at a wedding--see John 2).

While in Cana He is told of a royal official whose son is sick.  Jesus tells the father that his son will live.  When the father arrives home he learns that his son was healed at the very time that Jesus said "Your son will live."

What amazing love!  What amazing grace!  May the power of that same God operate in your life and the life of those to whom you are ministering!

With this post I conclude (for now?) my look at the first four chapters of John.  These vital chapters are the basis for proclamation and study at Inter-Varsity's Urbana09 in St. Louis at the end of December.  I hope you are already making plans to attend this strategic meeting of over 20,000 people examining God's will with regard to missions.

In John 4 we witness Jesus being both transcending in His conversations and transforming in people's lives.  He arrives at a well just outside the Samaritan town of Sychar.

He sends His disciples into town to buy some food.  While at the well at noon, a woman arrives to draw some water.  Jesus shows that He transcends peoples' bias with regard to gender, ethnicity and social standing.

He transcends when it comes to gender because most Jewish men of that time would not condescend to visit with a woman in a public place.  He transcends ethnicity because at that time the Jews and Samaritans were vicious enemies of one another.  Even though they were related going back a thousand years, like "the Hatfields and McCoys" of modern fame, they despised one another.

He transcends biases with regard to social standing because this woman is at the well alone at this hot time of day because she is an outcast.  The reason why becomes clear during the honest and compassionate conversation that ensues between Jesus and the woman.

Jesus shows His humanity by asking her for a drink of water.  She responds, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink?"

Jesus answers her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

She takes him literally when she says, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with the the well is deep.  Where can you get this water."  Jesus gets to the spiritual point by saying, "Indeed, the water I give [any person] will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

The woman wants what Jesus offers:  "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."  With that, she indirectly touches on the reality of her being an outcast.  Jesus asks her to call her husband.

She admits that she has no husband.  Jesus shows His divinity by indicating He knows all about her:  "You are right when you say you have no husband.  The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.  What you have just said is quite ture."

As so often happens when someone gets too close the truth of a personal matter, the woman tries to change subject.  She tries to steer Jesus onto the subject of worship.

Her comment, however, leads Jesus to say something even more profound:  "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

She brings up the Messiah, who "will explain everything to us."  Jesus declares, "I who speak to you am he."

While the woman rushes back to town with amazing news, the disciples show up with food.  When they urge him to eat, he says "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."  He makes it clear that his "food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."

Jesus calls His disciples to ""open your eyes and look at the fields!  The are ripe for harvest."  What Jesus might be indicating is almost the entire population of Sychar pouring out of their town wearing flowing white robes to come meet with Jesus.

The reason for this blessed and salvific exodus is because the woman at the well has become an evangelist in town!  And, she has a most remarkable testimony.  She breathlessly says to the townspeople--her fellow Samaritans--"He told me everything I ever did."

So, because Jesus is willing to have a transcending conversation, we see that lives can be transformed.  The woman's is.  And so are many of the Sycharians who eventually say to her, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

Continuing my series on John 1-4 (based on the chapters to be used at this year's Urbana meeting in St. Louis), I look next at the conversation in John 3 between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Nicodemus comes to visit Jesus in the night time because he is afraid that the other religious leaders (of which Nicodemus is one) will find out that he sought out "the Rabbi," the Teacher Who was stirring things up talking about radical concepts such as obeying what God teaches in what is now called the Old Testament.

Nicodemus needs to learn that there is no such thing as a secret disciple:  either you don't stay secret about it for long or you cease being a disciple.

Jesus jumps right in by saying that unless a person is born from above, he or she cannot enter the Kingdom of God.  Nicodemus takes Jesus' words in a physically literal way.  Jesus clarifies it for him, letting Nicodemus know that He's talking about the Holy Spirit.

Later in the conversation Jesus speaks the words/the verse that is best known around the world:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

I once had a conversation with a person from a far away country.  This person had never heard of John 3:16.  Even though I spoke the words in English to that person I am not sure whether the words registered with that person.  It is up to the Holy Spirit to work in that person's life.  I continue to pray for that person.

I put a question mark at the end of the title because the Bible does not tell us the ultimate outcome of Nicodemus' response to this conversation.  The positive signs later in John are that Nicodemus:  1)speaks up on Jesus' behalf at a religious leaders' meeting that is full of animosity toward Jesus; and 2)assists Joseph of Arimathea in getting Jesus' body to the Garden Tomb.

But we do not know for certain whether Nicodemus allows the Holy Spirit to fully transform him.  What is the situation for you?  Has John 3:16 become something more than a memorized verse and has God written it on your heart?  I hope you'll have a life-changing conversation with Jesus today, as you read His written Word (the Bible) and let the Holy Spirit explain it to you and respond in prayer to God the Father.