Jonathan David

Angels Names Association

October 8, 2016 Memorial Service Speech

My name is Dean Brown and I serve as Lead Pastor of Vantage Pointe Church in Queensbury, NY. I also serve 39 Wesleyan Churches in Eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island as District Secretary. I am, too, Chaplain for the Corinth Fire Department. While all of this might seem to provide fodder for a handsome resume, behind all of the titles and uniforms is a human being whose life has been touched, as has yours, by too-soon separation from a child.

His name was Jonathan David. His young mother eagerly anticipated his arrival to her world. She sang to him the songs of Zion, rocked him to rest as often as she could, and whispered to him her silly stories that surely made him grin in utero. Like every mother who caresses the child of her love, she knew he would make her so happy one day and his face touching hers would make the world seem a much safer place for them both.

But one morning pangs of dread wrapped around her heart like a tangled fishnet upon the tail of a restless sea mammal and she knew her body was being dragged under a merciless wave of rejection and nothing she could do, or pray, or wish could stop the insistent trajectory of loss that was tearing her baby boy from her frame.

She would have parroted the words of John Green’s, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, where it was said, “I'm so proud of you that it makes me proud of me. I hope you know that.”

But now certain pride turned its back on her and hope took the last train to a faraway place where she could neither go nor leave at will. Her womb and her will were emptied and what remained would need to be carried silently, secretively, surreptitiously, almost covertly because she knew, like those she’d observed before, that no one would understand and ignorant souls would toll to her, “Come on. Move on. There’s nothing to be done now.”  

I met this woman on a -19-degree day in January, the day John F. Kennedy was inaugurated President of these United States. She heard his clarion call: “Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” And turned the phrase - by affirming: “Ask not what your family can do for you-ask what you can do for your family” and she did it. And she committed. And she sacrificed everything to be certain that had Jonathan David lived, he would have been proud to call her, “Momma”.

How did I know this woman? She was my maternal grandmother. And I, I took the place of Jonathan, and received the warmth of her embrace, and learned the songs of Zion, and grinned at her silly stories and felt the heat of her face against mine and knew more than once that the world was a safer place because she was in it with me.

I leave with you her hopeful determinations so as not to let HIS life be swept away. And may they be for you instructive and encouraging:

• ·      Nan could not forget her boy, JD, and never let us forget him, either
• ·      Nan reserved a garden in her heart where she could slip away to be with him whenever the need arose
• ·      Nan carried on, had another child and invested in both her children – and their children – with a ferocity of love and care and faith that was staggering to behold, comforting to experience and transformative for generations to come
• ·     *Her loss became the world’s gain and the same can be true for you, too

Thank you, Nan, for showing us the way around the hurt by living through it. The first flower will be for you!

John 1: 1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Final Moments of Beulah Camp

Remembering Beulah Camp tonight as a result of finding this on the internet. Anyone remember singing this old hymn before we launched out into the world and back into our ministries?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQlv_xUYATg

Before I die I hope to be in attendance for another service on the hill.

Bible and Prayer. Me?

Plain and simple: we're fooling ourselves if we think we can live "Christianly" apart from regular intake of God's Word and purposeful prayer. Funnily, we go about singing the words of Cinderella and try to apply them to our faith walk:

In my own little corner in my own little chair

I can be whatever I want to be.

On the wings of my fancy I can fly anywhere

And the world will open it's arms to me.

That may be true in a Broadway musical but not in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. In our own little corner, in our favourite easy chair, we'd best strive for being what Jesus wants us to be. Then the kingdom will open to us and the world will be damned to our affection. Then we can fly on wings of faith that lift us into His presence where their is fullness of joy!

Infinite Stakes

Infinite Stakes

By Dean Brown

On Sept. 15, 1940, while visiting the RAF’s No. 11 Group in Uxbridge, England, Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood in silence as his air force came under assault by 250 German Luftwaffe planes. As his pilots returned to refuel and rearm, and the gravity of the situation began to weigh in on Churchill, he asked an Air Vice-Marshal standing nearby, “What reserves have we?” The answer he received was grim: “There are none.” Reflecting on that moment in his book, The Second World War, Churchill recalled, “The odds were great; our margins, small; the stakes, infinite.”

Churchill’s descriptive phrase could be applied to local church ministry today. Satan and his comrades are aligned against the outposts manned by pastors and their people. Faulty thinking reflective of a secularized worldview permeates many corners of the Western church and leaves people confused and rudderless. A fresh foe, terrorism, attacks our sensibilities each morning and whispers fear throughout the day. We wonder, “Where can we turn for help and hope?”

Jesus opens our eyes to reality as He interacts with Simon Peter in Matthew 16: 17-18 (Msg.):

“God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”

When the odds are great and our margins are small, remember, church leader:

1. The help and hope we long for comes from one source - the Eternal God - and cannot be found in the shifting values of a decaying world.

2. Ultimate Truth is found in a Person and not a philosophy.

3. A proper understanding of who we are, and to Whom we belong, is critical if we are to overcome the real enemy.

4.  Our eternal success is guaranteed because Jesus’ church is so expansive with energy that nothing of hell can defeat it.

Because the stakes are infinite, and the odds and margins of these days are restrictive, let’s learn from the examples set in September 1940 in the skies over southern England: keep flying, keep refueling and keep rearming because the victory is ours if we walk with God and do not quit.

Advance! Weekend at Vantage Pointe Church

District Transformation Project 2.0

Event Name: Advance!

Date: October 2-4, 2015

Statement of Intention:

Vantage Pointe Church was born when a small but determined group of people joined Pastor Dean Brown in July, 2011 to investigate forming a new faith community in the Glens Falls region. The new church would be called Vantage Pointe and it would reach people who were waiting to meet Jesus Christ and become involved in a healthy, growing community of faith. The group believed that from God’s Vantage Pointe, nothing would be Impossible for them.

They followed though on their faith by acting on three core values:

·       Loving God and loving people to God;

·       Growing people through biblical discipleship; and,

·       Engaging with the region so that the unchurched would know that Vantage Pointe’s God loves them and that He has a place of service for them in His kingdom

The fledgling group reached out to their family, friends and yet-to-be friends by gifting the community with events designed to touch the lives of people for Jesus and introduce them to Vantage Pointe’s ministry. This happened in city parks through annual Easter Egg Hunts, Family Fun Days, Trunk ‘n Treat events and through a backpack ministry in a local school. The group also partnered with community agencies like Open Door Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Warm the Children, and the Open Arms Pregnancy Center. It also offered the region a “City’s Biggest Baby Shower” to reach and support young families in need of baby clothing and supplies. An Antique Car Rally also occurred to share donations with needy veterans. Thousands of people have been touched by these outwardly-focused events.

The leaders of Vantage Pointe Church have invited the Eastern New York/New England District of The Wesleyan Church to partner with them in a special weekend called “Advance!”. It will be held October 2-4, 2015.  While the church has made good progress since its launch 3.5 years ago, Pastor Dean and the church’s leaders believe that there is yet much ground to take for Christ and for the people whom He died to save. The weekend will better equip the congregation and her leaders for effective ministry well into the next decade.

You can be a vital part of this event in one or more of the following ways:

·       Pray for the leaders and volunteers of Vantage Pointe as they prepare for the weekend and for open minds and hearts for what we will be taught/caught during this time

·       Attend special prayer events to help us “turn the soil” and receive whatever seed the Holy Spirit will plant in us

·       Offer to serve on a team that will do research in the areas of church history, demography, community reference, finances, food preparation and facility set-up

·       Commit to give so that whatever recommendations come our way, we can act on them without a shortage of volunteers or financial resources

The next days will be filled with much activity as we prepare spiritually and organizationally for our Advance! weekend. I’m excited to share these days with you!

Why I Do It

I have the privilege of serving as District Secretary for the Eastern New York/New England District of The Wesleyan Church. This weekend my church - Vantage Pointe - is hosting the DBA for its Fall Retreat. There is a lot of work to be done behind the scenes to make this a powerful event in the lives of the members who serve with us:

• Reports must be completed, collated and distributed
• Facilities must be cleaned and set up
• Food must be purchased and restaurants booked
• Lodging must be secured for weary travelers
• Schedules must be harmonized and confirmed
• Prayers must be prayed for Divine Intervention to occur

We are blessed with an amazing office administrator who does a tremendous amount of work on our behalf (thanks, Cam!) and lay volunteers who do so much to help get things ready. 

As Rosalie and I left Wal-Mart at 11 PM last evening after picking up supplies and food stuffs, we talked about the weariness we felt after a very long day. One could be tempted to ask, "Why do you do it?" A variety of responses could float through the mind:

• I have nothing else to do (not true!)
• Someone has to do it (true, but a shallow response)

Here is some insights into why I serve:

• The middle judicatory places rigorous demands on the superintendent. If I can lighten the load for him by caring for the myriad of details, this gives him freedom to serve without the strain of minutia bogging him down.
• I believe in our district mission and gladly to do my part to help achieve what it is God is calling us to do and become as a people.
• I know that a well-presented DBA Retreat results in members gaining clarity on the work of the district and discovering insights to help them make good decisions on behalf of the 40-some churches and many more pastors that labor to fulfill their calling in the local environs where they do life and serve those who are journeying toward eternity. 
• There is joy in serving Christ, even when buying groceries, setting up chairs, and typing out meeting minutes. After all, He washed dirty feet and received a thorn crown in service to me!

In a few hours we will welcome our members from across the district to our facility in Queensbury, NY. They will serve with distinction with our superintendent and conduct what they pray will be beneficial service to the ministry that is ours. Most will not notice (nor should they!) the details that are in place so they enjoy an exceptional experience for the twenty-some hours they are with us. 

After I finish my administrative work, and re-set the church for Sunday, and care for the details that will be mine to manage before the day is done, I will turn out the lights and go home knowing that I played a small part in "Unleashing a team of energized leaders to multiply life-changing churches."

Now you know why I do it!