Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your browser www.the1project.org November 7, 2015 // Issue 185 Keepers of the Light I'M FASCINATED WITH lighthouses. Living in Australia the world s smallest continent or its largest island (the jury s still out on which) means there is a lot of coastline and lighthouses to investigate. Lighthouses are necessary. I live a four-hour drive from the Cape Otway lighthouse on Australia s Shipwreck Coast (southeast on the Australian mainland). Here the coastline is rough and the seas can be wild. An early British explorer, Matthew Flinders (1774-1814), wrote, I have seldom seen a more fearful section of coastline. Lighthouses are necessary. They guide ships away from danger. Opened in 1848, the Cape Otway lighthouse had a small village grow around it. It was a community of families and single men who worked to keep the light lit and a telegraph office operating. They were always prepared to rescue and care for shipwreck victims. A museum on site shows faded photos of former keepers of the light. They re serious-faced men, women, and children from an era before smiles were encouraged on film. They lived tough lives. Isolated lives. There was no other human contact except for what came with the twice-yearly delivery of supplies or a shipwreck. This community of keepers of the light kept the light shining. And it reminds me that we who are followers of the One who is the light of the world are
also keepers of a light. It s also a necessary light. I ve come to appreciate the advantages I had growing up in a small, country, Adventist church. This was my community of keepers of the light. They (we) were rather ordinary, actually. Thankfully, there were more smiles (and laughter) than those found in the photos at Cape Otway. Some of these light keepers struggled with life issues, but there was an earnestness about them that was real. One of my advantages was that, of the 50 or so attendees, about a dozen of us were teenagers together. I remember less about what the older folk were attempting to teach us young people, and more about how they related to us. These keepers of the light kept the light shining, but the positive impact on me came more from how they lived than from their words. The keeper of the light who had the most impact on me was my father. He was a leader of our church, an elder, and, for a number of years, senior elder. But it wasn t his church life that impacted me, it was the five years we worked together when he was my boss. As professional fishermen, we d leave our port early on Sunday morning to return Thursday evening. We worked and lived on the sea together five days of almost every week. That meant I saw him at his best and at his worst. He was a reflective man, one of few words. So, here I was working with a professed keeper of the light who rarely spoke about his faith. But his actions spoke loudly. He wouldn t take advantage of people. He was willing to help other fishermen in a very competitive business. As we motored across the bay I would often find him at the helm reading his Bible. I also saw him at his worst. I saw him angry. There were occasional loud words (never swearing I don t think he knew how). He made mistakes. I saw his weaknesses. But there was something solid about him that made the One he followed attractive. In my eyes, he was an effective keeper of the light. As a fisherman, I also learned the importance of light in darkness. To get into our port at low tide at night we had to know which lights to follow or we'd potentially end up stuck in the mud waiting for the tide to turn. The Cape Otway lighthouse may have once been isolated, but now it s an easy 10-minute drive off a major highway. You can book accommodation in the houses of the head light keeper or the manager. There s the museum, as well as a café and a couple of other buildings set up for tourists, but there are no keepers of the light. The lighthouse exists, but it no longer shines a light. It has been decommissioned. A light is still necessary, but the huge structure isn t. The old lighthouse building remains the major attraction at Cape Otway, but now the light comes from a small solar-powered beacon nearby. Times change. Situations change. But the light is still necessary. Much has changed since my fishing days. We keepers of the light now find it difficult to have people listen when we speak about the light of the world. But I m encouraged when I think back because I know that for me it was seeing the light at work in others that was the
most convincing argument. I suspect that s always been the case, though. Cyprian, an early keeper of the light and a martyr (d. 258) once told his Carthagian flock, We must labour not with words, but with deeds. That makes sense to keepers of the light because light is seen, not heard. Bruce Manners is a retired church pastor living in Melbourne, Australia. He devotes more of his time now to research and writing. Thank Bruce for sharing. "Keepers" illustration by Joshua De Oliveira. KEEPERS is a weekly One project devotional series exploring from a variety of angles the well-known rhetorical question, Am I my brother s keeper? (Gen. 4:9). This phrase expresses a central tension in our community lives. To what extent are we our brothers keepers? Even more crucial, to what extent are other people our keepers? Various cultures have different attitudes toward autonomy and interconnectedness, but probably few are as conflicted about the exact definition of community, its boundaries, and its responsibilities as Western culture is. We want help, but hate advice. We value friends, but resent obligations. We enjoy affirmation and seethe at rebuke. We want community, but only when it meets our intensely parsed criteria for what we deem helpful. Don t you dare look at me and tell me what you think I need, our attitude screams. I ll tell you what I need and you give it to me. Then you re my friend. Then we re a community. And when we offer help, we expect gratitude, maybe even adoration. We like being keepers better than we like being kept, but we re pretty poor at both. Yet existing in community is essential to our humanity. How can we balance the tensions we experience in positive ways? SHARE! Do you have a story to share related to the idea of keeping or being kept? Have there been times when other people have been your keeper with surprising results? Have you struggled with determining appropriate boundaries in your relationships with others? If you'd like to write a devotional for the One project Keepers series, email the editor. Share:
Pray for the New Zealand Gathering "His Passion, Our Purpose," based on the book of Ephesians, and featuring guest speakers Alex Bryan, Drene Somasundram, Sam Leonor, Mark Webster, Yvonne Hypolite, and others is taking place this weekend! Please keep the group gathered in New Zealand in your prayers as they focus their attention on deepening their relationship with Jesus, and discovering how He can bring change to their individual lives and communities. Watch for photos and updates on Instagram and Twitter. For questions about the gathering in New Zealand, contact Rod Long. Share: Seattle 2016 + Advance & Create Conferences Why don't you stay just a little bit longer? The 2016 One project in Seattle will be immediately followed by two new events. Advance Conference (February 15, 2016: 6-9pm) is a three-hour seminar offering a vision for a seamless blend of ministry and healthcare in the Adventist church, focusing on its vital role in gospel ministry. Short presentations will be followed by generous segments
of time for open conversation. Supper will be provided. Additional $50 per person for those attending the One project gathering. Advance is ideal for healthcare professionals,pastors, and students considering medical or pastoral careers. Create Conference (February 16, 2016: 9am-5pm) is a full-day conference focused on the future for the Adventist Church. Presentations by Alex Bryan, Lisa Clark Diller, Tim Gillespie, Japhet De Oliveira, Paddy McCoy, and Sam Leonor will be mixed with generous portions of time for open conversation. Additional $50 per person for those attending the One project gathering. We are accepting vision statements, which will be provided to all participants. Guidelines are on our website. All events will take place at the Westin Seattle. Book a room.
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TOP People in Seattle The speakers are wonderful and the music is unparalleled but it's the people you meet and the connections you form that make One project gatherings so unforgettable. In the weeks leading up to our Seattle gathering (February 14-16, 2016), we'll be highlighting a few of the faces you can look out for around the ballroom at the Westin Hotel. Judy Crabb "Last year our pastor, Matthew Gamble, invited a group of us to come along to the One project in Seattle. We had no idea of what to expect! And wow, were we blessed! The speakers presented meaningful Jesus-focused messages, and the round table reflections and inspiring music were wonderful. We came away each day filled with the desire to share Jesus and His love. When we returned to TOP San Diego early this year, I volunteered to be a table facilitator, and my husband and I were blessed to help support the music ministry financially." Sixteen years after surviving being a divorced mom of two great sons, Judy met the love of her life, Milton Crabb. There is no doubt in either of their minds that God miraculously brought them together, along with Milton s two daughters. The Crabbs celebrated their 25th anniversary this year in Hawaii. Judy says, Something very special to me was to finally complete my college degree when I was 50, and then 10 years later to complete my MA degree in pastoral ministry from
Andrews University. I did all this while working full-time at St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley, eventually becoming the director of spiritual care. I continue to minister as per diem chaplain there. For 33 years Judy has loved serving in various roles at the Haven Seventh-day Adventist Church. She has been earliteen leader, worship coordinator, and elder. My passion is to work with God to make a great project happen, Judy explains. Judy s life is filled with exciting adventures, including travel with her sons, and Maranatha mission trips with Milton to Dominican Republic, Peru, Mozambique, and Panama. She has also joined Andrews University students on an archaeological dig in Jordan. Four years ago, Judy was invited to be part of the Saint Helena Community Band, founded by Francis Ford Coppola. She absolutely loves to play in the percussion section, which she leads. She also serves on the board. Milton and I are very much looking forward to returning to TOP Seattle in 2016. It is like spending a few days with Jesus and friends getting filled at the table with them, and feeling more prepared to go back to our communities with love. Look out for Judy Crabb in Seattle in February! If you know of an interesting person who will be attending, drop us a line. We would love to feature a wide variety of people in the One collective. Share:
Weekly Goal It is easy to be the critical voice, and much harder to remember to lift up and encourage those around us. Everyone we encounter is dealing with something. Some problems are obvious and others are hidden, but we all experience daily frustration, pain, and discouragement. See if this week you can be the rainbow in someone's cloud. May everyone you encounter feel that much lighter and brighter for having met you! Share: Forward to a friend Update your contact info Unsubscribe
the One project headquarters is located at the Boulder Seventh-day Adventist Church 345 Mapleton Ave, Boulder, CO, 80304, USA.