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REJOICE AS YOU LOOK TOWARD THE DAY OF GOD

There was a staff conference for leaders of the UBF USA chapters in the Midwest region from January 19-21, 2017, with the title, “Rejoice as You Look toward the Day of God.” This conference was held at Wonderland Camp in Wisconsin and was attended by twenty-five staff members from Lincoln Park, Triton, DuPage, IIT, Hyde Park, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago. We were especially glad to welcome Mother Sarah Barry and Dr. John Jun to pray for this conference. The main emphasis was the study of the book of Habakkuk in small groups led by Teddy Hembekides, Augustine Suh and Ron Ward. Staff members came well prepared and the Bible studies were rich and meaningful. We learned how Habakkuk—distressed by the injustice and godlessness of his times—cried out to God. But God’s answer was surprising. God was raising the Babylonians to invade Judah and bring God’s judgment. Though the prophet accepted God’s sovereignty, he honestly confessed his surprise that God would use the ungodly to judge his chosen people. The Lord’s answer was, “the righteous will live by faith.” It means that God is just, no matter how unjust things may seem. God is almighty, no matter how powerful worldly kings may seem. God accomplishes his redemptive purpose with love and wisdom, no matter how difficult it may seem. Those who have faith in God can rejoice in God our Savior, even when there are no sheep in the pen. Those who have faith in God can find strength and agility to leap like deer in the high places, even amid worldly disasters. Strengthened by this faith, we could pray for God’s salvation work to be done on our campuses in these times. We prayed to plant faith and hope in God in our brothers and sisters in each UBF chapter and on each campus.

A highlight of the conference was a special message by Mother Sarah Barry, “By his wounds…” based on 1 Peter 2:24. Her testimonial message moved the hearts of all attendants to realize that by Jesus’ wounds we are healed. We find in Jesus all that we need for healing and healthy reconciliation. We could affirm our unity in Christ as the members of his body. After Mother Barry’s message, we celebrated her 87th birthday with many special songs and poems and stories, realizing how wonderfully the Lord has used her in our lives over the past decades.

There was also a special lecture by Dr. Jolene Erlacher, who is the founder of Leading Tomorrow: Strategies for a New Generation. Her ministry is devoted to helping equip leaders in the Millennial generation to serve God’s purpose for them. Her lecture was targeted toward the older generation and helped us recognize how to serve a new generation. We were moved that she calls Millennials the “Daniel Generation.” She sees the Lord raising young Daniels throughout America. Daniel is different than a temple priest. Daniel had to serve in secular Babylon, where the culture was not based on the Jewish law and there was no temple. Equipping Daniel is different than equipping a temple priest. In some ways, America is trending toward a secular society. In equipping young leaders, we need to be more aware that their context and challenges are different than those in the previous generation. We need to equip them to serve in their generation. When they do so effectively, the result can be amazing. Through Daniel’s ministry, the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell to his knees and confessed the God of Israel as the one true God. Through the young Daniels of a new generation the gospel can be spread even more powerfully than in the previous generation. We were greatly encouraged to pray for the raising of young Daniels on our campuses.