This year’s North American Convention of the Church of God is officially over. It concluded last evening with a powerful candlelight service at the Madison Park Church of God in Anderson, IN. I was blessed to attend the final 3 days of the event. It was by far the best convention I’ve ever attended. (I’ve only attended 3, so take that assessment with a grain of salt.) But I am not the only person who was moved by this year’s gathering. Many people echoed the opinion that there was just something different in the air this year. I haven’t really taken the time to digest all that I experienced, but I thought I would share a few random thoughts and impressions.

1. I am increasingly impressed with the transparency and honesty of our General Director, Dr. Ron Duncan. In his report to the General Assembly, he was gracious, but very blunt. As one of my colleagues commented, “You may disagree with him, but you can not say that he is vague or unclear.” This year included a Town Hall meeting, where anyone who attended the Convention could ask any question. Dr. Duncan did a great job of answering every question.

2. This year was the 100th anniversary of the Church of God’s involvement in international missions. We heard from missionaries from around the world this week. One especially stood out. Angel Pinta is a missionary from Colombia – one of the most dangerous and violent places in the world. He pastors churches in the midst of the violent drug trafficking industry. He has been kidnapped repeatedly; persecuted; and beaten. Yet, he is known in his country as “the peacemaker.” On one occasion his captors asked him what his occupation was. He replied, “to heal what you break.” His story challenged me to repent of being a coward and to face the challenges of my ministry context with courage.

3. Despite the general encouraging spirit of the meeting, there was still a small contingent of criticism in the crowds. I actually overheard one person explaining to a friend that they left their church because “of all of the enthusiasm.” I just can not understand this mindset.

4. Mission requires money. The Church of God, like most faith communions is having to make very difficult decisions regarding budget cutbacks. There are ministries on the ground in countries around the world; there are indigenous pastors that are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel; there are American missionaries willing to forsake all and go to foreign lands. But all of these are limited because there just isn’t enough money to fund their ministries. This reality should cause our churches to re-examine our budgets. It should cause every family unit to find something to give up, for the sake of the mission. We just can not let money be the limiting factor in God’s mission in the world. We just can’t.

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