The situation in Russia

On Nov. 21, I was at a conference in the office of the Russian-American Association for Spiritual Renewal. More than 100 pastors came together to pray. The main agenda was to organize an evangelical association to act as an umbrella for all Protestant religious organizations and evangelical churches.

Today in some cities the evangelical churches are being closed because they are considered "sects". For example, on Saturday, Nov. 22, I got a call from pastor Serge Belov. He asked for prayer for his church. Officials cancelled an agreement with them for space they had˙20rented. They are Baptist, and they were accused of being a "sect".

Another example: A pastor related that in the city of Rostov a big billboard shows one man beating another. Under the picture are the words: "Let's beat all Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists....All are sects!" That is what our new religion law has already created!

We sent our Christian programs to eight radio stations recently. Several days ago, a priest from Saxalin called us asking questions such as: Who are you? For whom do you work? Which denomination do you belong to? When we spoke with the head of the radio station in Blagoveshensk, he said they have received our tapes, but he was going to give them to a local priest for approval; only then will he air them.

We are praying about our contacts with radio stations. At this time, we have not received any negative responses from radio producers about our programs. In our studio, we continue to do˙20what we always do. Thank you for praying for us. We wish all of you a Blessed Christmas. Leonid Sergienko,
Russian Program Producer, MB Communications

A dose of reality

Redekop should take a more humble view of the world.

Nellie Taylor, (E)
Abbotsford, B.C.

E-mail needs to be read

I lost my sister in a car accident Oct. 21. I sent e-mail to all in the church. Unfortunately, some did not read it, so condolences were a little late in coming. Many messages are entertaining,˙20but some need quick attention. I urge readers to check their mail daily if possible. They do not˙20need to reply, but at least they can be informed of such tragedies and other needs for encouragement.

Gord Mathison, (E)
Langley, B.C.

More dos for youth pastors

Do not expect the youth pastor, any more than the Christian school, to make up for parenting deficits, to fix the teen who is out of control.

Do expect the youth pastor, if he does not have the necessary skills for his job, to say so, to seek to increase his abilities and/or to seek out gifted and trained people with whom to work.

Do expect the youth pastor to establish a friendly working relationship with parents and other ministries in the church.

D. Stewart, (E)
Vancouver, B.C.

Protecting the family reconsidered

The first "attack" is federal tax legislation that favours dual income over single income families. It's not fair to label this legislation an attack on the family since it seems to stem from a concern for the welfare

of a family that is forced to have both parents working full-time. Under appropriate circumstances, daycare and other costs should be subsidized to help maintain the "fabric of our society" that Redekop is so anxious to defend.

The second "attack" is that only "children in broken homes are eligible for educational support payments after age 18". Doesn't it make sense that these children, who are victims of their parents' actions, should get some breaks in their lives? Does Redekop really believe that this legislation encourages parents to divorce?

The third, fourth and fifth "attacks" relate to the growing prominence of homosexuality in our society. Redekop concludes that by promoting homosexuality as normal, the traditional family is being attacked. The truth is that it is homosexuals that continue to be˙20attacked in our society, whether through verbal assaults or denial of basic human rights, such as˙20the right to employment. There is much more of a negative social stigma attached to being gay than there is to being a married Christian couple with a family.

Redekop's assertion that the British Columbia Teachers Federation is "assaulting" heterosexuality is an exaggeration. The BCTF's stand seems to stem from a concern to protect individual students from extreme homophobic attitudes. Redekop's argument is the equivalent of a white person in the American South claiming that seeking equal˙20rights for black people is an attempt to undermine the rights of white people.

Additionally, Redekop argues that just because homosexual tendencies may be considered natural, it does not necessarily mean that they are good. He then lists tendencies that would be˙20considered sinful: pedophiles, sex with teenagers, murder, thieves, arsonists, suicidal people, bestiality, necrophilia. All of these are felonies that would disgust 99% of our population. The homosexual tendency is not criminal. Redekop could have made his point in a much more˙20sensitive manner without resorting to such unfair connotations.

We live in times where it's far too easy to remain in our ideological/theological camps without making the effort to dialogue with the other side. Clearly, the issue of homosexuality˙20won't go away, and both sides of the debate have a tendency to fuel the fire with incendiary˙20language and simplistic distortions. We, as Christians, should not be contributing to the polarization and hatred that often occurs between heterosexuals and homosexuals. The church needs to make more of an effort to understand homosexuals, their needs and the deep scars they carry as outcasts in society. If a church focusses only on traditional families, these who don't fit into that grouping--singles, single parents and homosexuals (even if they are not practising)--will feel excluded and misunderstood. "Protecting the family" should be within the context of reaching out to all in our community.

Dale Enns, (E)
Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan

The lord looks at the heart