On an ordinary Monday in November, three others and I headed from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to the country's southern area to prepare for a Work and Witness team. However, when we stopped in Saint-Michel along the way, what we saw at the Saint-Michel Church of the Nazarene wasn't ordinary. On the morning after a weekly Sunday worship gathering, the life of the church was still going on. That's because the people who make up the Saint-Michel congregation actively love and serve the people around them, every day of the week.

Possibility Amid Poverty

It was a contentious meeting, the likes of which the Palo Alto zoning board had not seen in a long time. Things were getting out of hand as opponents of the addition of a liquor store to a local strip mall near the high school shouted out their objections and proponents defended their right to open the store.

Someone spoke out, "We don't want a liquor store within easy walking distance of our children, it will be too much of a temptation." The owner of the store stood up to defend his position: "If they want alcohol, they will get it no matter where my store is located."

When I was deployed to Iraq as a doctor and soldier, I never thought I would end up a patient, cared for by the same doctors and nurses with whom I had served as a caregiver. Fortunately, God used my experiences as a patient as part of His purposes for my life. In God's providence, I ended up at an Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and while there was able to meet one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado.

Doug Flemming, Brad Firestone, Peet Voges, Jan Weisen, and Todd Edgerton

HT: What is the purpose of a regional communication center?

Peet: The purpose of our communication center is to be a valuable resource to the different ministries on the region by helping them with video projects, graphics, posters, and more.

HT: How do you make what you do appropriate for the many cultures represented on your regions?

Q: I've heard many terms used to describe holiness in the lives of believers. Are some terms more correct than others?

The holiness of God is majestic, awe-inspiring and wonderful. (Perhaps we should also include fearful.)

God's gracious invitation for us to be called by His name and participate in His holy character is an invitation to be holy as God is holy. Holiness in the lives of believers is humbling, powerful, life-changing, and hopeful. It cannot be easily captured in a single word or phrase.

Shirley Pieratt sat in church during an evening service, trying to concentrate. For six months Pieratt had struggled with a contentious situation, and she felt weary to the bone. Pieratt and a business partner were trying to buy the company she had worked at for 13 years—Lady Primrose Royal Bathing and Skin Luxuries, a Dallas-based manufacturer of high-end bath and skin products.

Many of us have constructed a private world in our lives that we don’t want anyone else to see. This veiled world could include behaviors and choices we’re not ready to share or discuss with others. It might also contain issues that we want to keep in the dark because they are not consistent with our Christian faith. Perhaps they are hidden sins we sometimes keep as secrets from others and from God.

In Luke 12:3, Jesus tells His disciples to be aware of hypocrisy.

Many of us have constructed a private world in our lives that we don’t want anyone else to see. This veiled world could include behaviors and choices we’re not ready to share or discuss with others. It might also contain issues that we want to keep in the dark because they are not consistent with our Christian faith. Perhaps they are hidden sins we sometimes keep as secrets from others and from God.

In Luke 12:3, Jesus tells His disciples to be aware of hypocrisy.

I visited a store this week and thought twice about my purchase when I reached the checkout register. A sign on the register read, "All sales final. Absolutely no returns." What? I may freely purchase items, but later I can't change my mind? I don't like that.

Many Christians believe this concept describes the way God offers us salvation. They think we can freely accept God's salvation offer. However, once we accept that gift, salvation becomes irrevocable. We cannot change our minds.

I believe that Nazarenes, regardless of age and personal culture, are deeply committed to Christ and His Church. We care about its mission to reach lost people with the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.