RETURNING HOME THIS EVENING

(Editorial)

Returning home this evening, after an afternoon spent with brethren in evangelizing, in talking about Jesus with people, I thought anew about several things: how often, in the last twenty years, we had evangelized; how many brochures we had distributed; how many persons we had brought a closer to the kingdom; what little success we had had. To believe in God and in His son, Jesus Christ, seems a luxury that people don't want to allow.

Returning home this evening, I thought again about the words of that woman: "Ah-ha, you are Christians, so you want to change the world?" "No, mam," I answered, "We will be satisfied to change ourselves. Jesus did not come to change the world; rather, He came to save it." Men today are not much different than those of two thousand years ago because man's heart and the feelings that move it have not changed. If we analyze, with a commercial mentality, the history of Christianity, we might describe it as a failure. What has remained of the Master's words after two thousand years? How many of His faithful children are there in the world? How are we to interpret the thousands of divisions that dismember the Church? These are hard and difficult questions to which we can not give an answer unless we want to begin writing a historical-theological treatise. We will content ourselves by remembering Jesus's words: "However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)"

Returning home this evening, I had sadness as a traveling companion. Thanks to God, however, immediately afterwards, a series of good thoughts began to gather themselves in my mind, the discouragement went away, the sadness disappeared, and I again felt strong and ready for other activities. Discouragement is a seed that Satan strews in the hearts of God's children to draw them away from Him. "But who is making you do this," whispers a small voice, "don't you see that it is all useless, that the world runs towards its destruction, and that men are always getting further from God?" Yes, I see it, and it is for this reason that we Christians must "strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble (Hebrews 12:12)" and must continue to believe and to behavior ourselves as "ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us (2 Corinthians 5:20)." We can neither change the world, nor make all the evil around us disappear, nor successfully defeat forever the sickness, the pain, the wars, and the divisions among Christians. No, all this we will not be successful in doing, but as much as it depends on us, we will try to bring to reality a small piece of the Kingdom of Heaven here on the earth, knowing full well that we are waiting "for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13)."

Returning home this evening, the words of the prophet Zechariah come to my mind: "Return to the stronghold, O Prisoners of Hope (9:12)". The book of Zechariah addresses itself to the Israelites that have returned to their Homeland after a long exile and the author intends to reinvigorate their hope. But it also addresses all of us when we feel downcast by the icy winds of adversity and discouragement. And Zechariah helps us to remember that the Lord will be for us "A Wall of Fire Round About (2:5)". Despite everything, it seems Zechariah says to us: you are imprisoned by the hope that your God is greater than all and He will be for you as a wall of fire, a storm-proof rock.

Returning home this evening, I thought again that there are two ways of looking at things: with the eyes of reason and with the eyes of faith. With the eyes of reason, we see the desert and the enemies which are waiting for us, like the Hebrews did in Moses's time. But with the eyes of faith, we see the Promised Land, as did Caleb and Joshua (Deuteronomy 1:29-30). We the eyes of reason we see our guilt and our weakness, but with those of faith we see our God's power and Christ's blood. With the eyes of reason we see a stormy sea which we must cross, just as it happened with Peter, but with those of faith we see Jesus, who comes to meet us and says, "COME!"

Returning home this evening, I thought that it is beautiful that we feel prisoners of this hope, which succeeds in being stronger than our delusions and our defeats and which causes us to exclaim with Paul of Tarsus: "If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31)"

(Vittorio Vitalone)

MANUAL ON THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH

In the November 1997 issue of CHIESEinFORMA, we provokingly advertized a non existent manual entitled: "HOW TO HAVE CHURCH GROWTH IN A SHORT TIME WITHOUT PREACHING THE GOSPEL".

To our great surprise, NOT A FEW BRETHREN have requested this "manual" and this has caused us great worry!

HOW IN THE WORLD CAN WE THINK THAT WE CAN CAUSE THE CHURCH TO GROW WITHOUT PREACHING THE GOSPEL?

We ask if this fact is a sign of immaturity or of something else!?! We beg you to excuse us if this news disturbed the conscience of some -- this was not our intent. We wanted to try to awaken the conscience of Italian Christians and spur them on to a greater evangelistic activity in our country.

KOINONIA 1998 (Fellowship 1998) will be held May 1-3 at the HOTEL DEL LAGO in the Sila Mountains. The theme will be ETHICS and will deal with introductory questions concerning a biblical ethic, Christian ethics and moral and existential issues, and ethics and scientific progress. For more information or reservations, call Paolo Mirabelli at 06-871.93.697.

GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN THE LORD FOR 1998

Among the many letters sending greetings and best wishes for 1998 that arrived, we chose to publish the following:

"From Bondeno, 12 Dec. 97 -- Dear Brethren in the Lord, May 1998 be bountiful with heavenly blessings and with spiritual strength. May you continue to evangelize with persistence and with the trust that, even in difficult times, the Lord will continue "to reap" desirous souls who are searching for salvation. The Church of Christ in Bondeno"

We take this opportunity to thank all that, with hard work and perseverance, send us "good news of your faith and love (1 Thessalonians 3:6)". CHIESEinFORMA was born to be a newsletter of service for the churches of Christ in Italy. We hope for you that the news and the information items, which are given each month, can encourage, cheer, and support our fellowship.

COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS

Meetings, like this one which, God willing, will take place in Florence on February 6-7, are born from a series of individual and congregational needs. We would like to briefly remember one, which very often is underestimated in its importance. The public character of such a get together not only provides the possibility that there may be times of comparison between Christians but also permits an objective analysis and a reciprocal brotherly evaluation on the respective positions and convictions. "The lone wolves", with time, elevate their own conscience and their own convictions as if it is God's Word and forget that God's Will is and remains only and exclusively in the Holy Scriptures. "The lone wolves", with time, forget that their discipleship must be a walk by faith in the Gospel's truth instead of raising themselves to be the truth. The Lord did NOT call us to be "a voice in the wilderness", but He has made us "able to comprehend with all the saints ... the love of Christ ... so that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19)."

NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATIONS

NEWS BIRTHS IN CHRIST

"And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).

--With great joy the congregation in CATANIA has welcomed into the communion of the saints three new souls who have been baptized into Christ: Nello, Mariella, and Milagros. Thanks be to God for the fruit that His Word has brought in our congregation. (Salvo and Giorgio)

--On 9 Nov. 97, the church in VICENZA rejoiced again at the new births of three other Ghanian souls. After this numerical growth, the congregation is planning to enlarge their auditorium. We hope to have the work completed during the Spring. Furthermore we are praying that the Lord will "send out workers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38). We have asked a young American couple from Harding University to come to do evangelistic work in Vicenza. Pray for us and for our plans that all will be done to the glory of God and to the progress of His Kingdom. (Dan Reed)

BONDENO

The congregation in Bondeno communicates that Bro. NAPOLEONE FERGNANI, known to all by the name "MORO", went to sleep in the Lord on Jan. 8 at the age of 89. For more than 30 years he followed the Lord with joy and an unshakeable faith. Many brethren have been encouraged by his example. In these last days, he ardently desired to end his last days of suffering in order to be able to finally reach that heavenly Homeland with the Lord. "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them (Revelation 14:13)." (Francesco Fergnani)

CONEGLIANO

--The Church of Christ in Conegliano thanks all those who participated on Dec. 8 at the lectureship: "Let's Study Together '97". There was a good participation and we enjoyed moments of fellowship and communion. We had the joy of sharing together, with the brethren who were present, the text of 1 Corinthians 6. A special "Thanks!" goes to Bro. Paolo Mirabelli.

--Bro. Paolo Di Luca would like to complete a listing of all the churches of Christ and of the brothers and sisters who are accessible by means of Internet. Everyone who has an e-mail address or a homepage are asked to send it to the following address: p.diluca@aurora.it (Paolo Di Luca)

PRAYER REQUESTS

--Franco and Cristina De Vincentis (Rome--Viale Jonio congregation) ask our prayers for Cristina's mother, Lella (Catania).

--Sister Adele, of the congregation in Palermo, telephoned us to ask for prayers for the Christians of her city and to pray at the same time "that God may open up to us a door for the Word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ (Colossians 3:4)."

--The young people of the congregation of Petilia Policastro ask us to pray to overcome the difficulties and obstacles which Satan continually puts in the way of their walk in the faith.

CHIESEinFORMA thanks all in 1997 who have worked together, prayed, and contributed financially for this newsletter. God bless everything which is done to His glory and praise!

NEW VIDEOTAPES

"LA STORIA UNICA E SENZA UGUALI" (The Only Story Without Equals)

AN OPEN LETTER BY ROBERT OGLESBY TO THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN ITALY

"Dear brothers and sisters in Italy, The director, Tom Moore, and I are happy to present you with the fruit of our most recent cinema production--for years in preparation: an audio-visual aid to help churches of Christ around the world to bring as many people as possible to the Lord before He comes again: "THE ONLY STORY WITHOUT EQUALS" of (God's) redemption of the human race effected by Jesus Christ which is revealed only in the Holy Bible. It is a most effective evangelistic tool. Everyone can use it, just slip the cassettes into the VCR and away you go!

Thanks to the great and meticulous (if not difficult) work of brothers Mauro Cervellati (Ferrara) and James "Jay" Young (Pistoia), our film is now available in the Italian, in 5 recorded episodes on 5 video cassette (VHS-version PAL). Brother "Jay" Young is available to show the various congregations in Italy how the film series can best be used in order to obtain excellent results in both personal and collective evangelism programs. Phone him: (0573) 27699.

My prayer is that the use of this film project will contribute to the numerical and spiritual growth of the churches of Christ in Italy. May the Lord bless you and best wishes in your good work for the Lord! Robert Oglesby"

The cost for this work is L. 150,000 ($86.00). For more information, you can call Bro. James Young of Pistoia - tel. 0573-533.037 or 0573-27.699.

You can write to Brother Young at: Viale Adua, 213 - 51100 Pistoia - Italy.

A CLARIFICATION

The books and publications reviewed and reported in this newsletter should NOT be requested from the editor of CHIESEinFORMA, but from the addresses which are provided each time with each review or report.

BRIEF NEWS ITEMS

Bro. Carl Mitchell writes us and wishes us the best in our work on the CHIESEinFORMA. He also asks us to let the churches of Christ in Italy know that he and his wife will be in Italy at the Florence Bible School from Jan. 21 to Apr. 15 and that he will be very happy to hold studies at the congregations where they will be invited. The address is: