Nu Oli “Glad Tidings”

Newsletter of Makakilo Baptist Church, Oahu, Hawaii

1st Quarter 2012

Inside This Issue

~~~~

Makakilo Church &

the Kingdom of God

Pastor Jon Elliff

Pages 1 & 2

Welcome Jim &

Elizabeth George

Pg. 3

2011 New Members

Pgs. 4 & 5

2011 Baptisms

Pg. 5

Women’s Ministry

By Dianne Nowak

Pg. 6

Men of God

By Loyd Fowler

Pg. 7

Important

Connection

Author unknown

Pg. 8

"Makakilo Church and The Kingdom of God"

Sometimes my wife, Becky, gets strange looks. Usually it is

when she says she does not work outside the home. "Then,

what do you do all day?" All my wife has to do is point to our

five little ducklings and the response changes dramatically.

"You must be busy!" is the usually transformed retort. Becky's

identity, her personality and her responsibility are all defined

by her discipling of five young ladies. Rearing our daughters

is her all-consuming job, sun up to sun down - every day of

the week.

Now we know, that one day this will change for Becky. One day, our last

daughter will go to school, or be married, or for other reasons grow up. That will

be a sad day for us, and I am sure it will be filled with tears. But, it will not just be

tears of sadness! Some will be tears of joy - "Finally!" we will say. Until that day,

however, this consuming job defines Becky - it is who she is, what she does, and

clearly the consuming thing to which God has called her.

Similarly, the people of God gather together in local congregations (churches).

And we have a consuming job that defines us - we are part of the Kingdom of

God. We are that visible, local manifestation of God's Kingdom in a dying and

depraved world. All of our identity, personality, and responsibility flows from this

truth. One day, at the twinkling of an eye, all of this will be changed. We will be

ushered out of this old world and into the presence of God, and our local

church will be no more. Until that day, however, we should be consumed with

being exactly what God wants a local church to be; dominated & consumed

with the identity, personality, and responsibility he has given us in Scripture.

As your pastor, then, I consistently seek to answer the following questions:

1. What is our identity?

This one is easy - Scripture gives it to us - the church of the living God should be

the "pillar and buttress of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15 ESV). We are all about the truth -

what truth? The truth of the Bible. If there is anything that I desire our church to

tell to the world is that our church is ALL ABOUT SCRIPTURAL TRUTH. My prayer is

that over time we develop a reputation, a reputation that will be loved by

many and, likely, hated by many; we are a BIBLE church.

Now some may say, "But shouldn't we be about love," or, "shouldn't we be all

about preaching and doctrine," or even, "shouldn't we be all about reaching

out?" These are all great things, and, as you will see below, they should play into

our personality. But you have to ask the question, "What kind of love? (pg 2 →)

Pastor Jon and

Becky Elliff

2

What theology? What kind of outreach?" Well, the outreach,

theology and love AS DEFINED IN SCRIPTURE, right? So though

those are things that should be part of our personality and behav-

ior, our guiding principle, our dominating identity should be that we

are a Bible church.

2. What is our personality?

I am near completion of a study we have been conducting in our

Sunday School class. I have titled the study, "Ethos." Ethos is a little

word that means, "The character of a community that is mani-

fested in its beliefs, attitudes, and actions" (my own definition).

As we read scripture, especially the New Testament letters to the

churches, what rises to the top is that there is a certain ETHOS that

should be present. There are certain attitudes, personality traits

that should be true of a BIBLE church.

In our class we have identified seven traits that seem to come up

over and over in these church letters: Thanking, Working, Telling,

Knowing, Loving, Hoping, and Persevering. It is my passionate

prayer that these attitudes (traits) define our personality. This takes

personal effort, though, doesn't it? We will not have a church per-

sonality of being loving if only a few do it. On the contrary, if all of

us are loving like scripture demands us, we will gain that kind of

personality. If you have missed the Bible study - don't worry! Due to

popular demand, I am going to refine it a bit and present it in a

future sermon series.

3. What is our responsibility?

When I think of responsibility, I first go to Titus. Paul wants Titus (who,

incidentally, pastored an island church) to preach in such a way

that the Scripture is the clear center of his exaltation of the truth,

and refutation of falsehood. Moreover, his church should be instru-

mental in training and equipping and commissioning of more eld-

ers (pastors). I think this would apply not only to elders inside Titus'

church alone but in establishing new pastors and new churches all

over the region.

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is my passion and the future of our

church. My prayer is that we establish truth-preaching elders in our

church and also in churches (new and old) all over the region.

Recently, a study reported in the Star-Advertiser showed that

Hawaii is high on spirituality - and even is warm toward Christianity.

But when it comes to BIBLICAL Christianity the data states only 4%

of those living here fit the definition of a biblical Christian (I was

surprised!). When you move beyond Hawaii, that number shrinks

even more as many false religions have aggressively dominated

Oceania. On top of that, most evangelical missions agencies have

completely overlooked the 10 million who live in this region. All of

that to say, we have our work cut out for us! We have yet to see

how this will all form and the role of our church, but we are gaining

clarity more and more each day. (Hint: our new Associate Pastor,

Jim George, was the dean of admissions at the Master's Seminary).

To conclude, my prayer is that we pursue our identity, personality,

and responsibility as it is defined in Scripture. And I pray that we will

vigorously pursue these things until the Lord returns!

“You are the light of the

world. A city on a hill

cannot be hidden.”

Makakilo Baptist Church

92-611 Makakilo Drive

Kapolei, HI 96707

Phone: (808) 672-3505

E-mail:

Makakiloc001@Hawaii.rr.com

Web site:

makakilochurch.com Pastor:

Dr. Jon Elliff

Nu Oli is a bi-monthly

publication of the Makakilo

Baptist Church. It is mailed

free of charge to members

and friends of the church.

Editor:

Judy Riley

Youth Editor:

Shelby Tobler

Writers:

The church body

Proof Readers &Production:

Ralph Riley

Karen Hockett

Mailing:

Judie Thomas-Benito

Matt 5:14 (NIV)

3

1990 where he also served as Dean

of Admissions and Placement and Assistant

Professor of Pastoral Ministries until June, 2000.

Presently, Jim is a speaker and an author.

His life aim is to write and teach God's Word

in a way that encourages believers in their

walk with Him. Jim holds a Bachelor of

Science in Pharmacy from the University of

Oklahoma, and a Master of Divinity and

Master of Theology from Talbot School of

Theology. Jim is a retired Major in the US Army

Reserves. Jim and his wife Elizabeth, who is also

a speaker and author, have been married 46

years. They have 2 married daughters and 8

grandchildren.

Jim George has written 16 books, that have

sold more than 1 million copies. Many of

Jim's books have appeared on the ECPA

and CBA Bestseller Lists. Two of Jim's books -

“A Husband After God's Own Heart” and

“A Young Man After God's Own Heart” -

were finalists for the Gold Medallion Book

Award. Jim is best known for his books

“A Man After God's Own Heart” and “The

Bare Bones Bible Handbook.” He is also a

contributing author of the book, Rediscovering

Pastoral Ministry, by The Master's Seminary

faculty.

Welcome

Jim and

Elizabeth

George

Editor’s Note: It is a pleasure to introduce Jim

George, our new Associate Pastor. He and his

wife, Elizabeth, have called MBC their second

home church for several years and finally

made the move to Hawaii. Their daughter

and son-in-law, Paul & Courtney Seitz, and

grandchildren, Jacob, Katie, Isaac & Grace,

are also members of MBC.

They are a very busy couple; both of them

are authors and speakers. So I suppose we will

still be seeing them on a somewhat part-time

basis. Please introduce yourself and say “hello”

when you see them. Here’s Jim’s biography:

In 1976 Jim joined the pastoral staff of Grace

Community Church in Sun Valley, CA as

Associate Pastor of Evangelism. He developed

Fundamentals of the Faith, a basic Christian

doctrine course. He also helped develop the

FLOCKS program, a ministry involving Bible

study and fellowship groups which met weekly

in more than 60 homes.

In 1979 he added the role of instructor and

Dean of The Logos Bible Institute. From 1981

to 1982, he and his family ministered in Singa-

pore. Upon his return, he filled a wide variety

of pastoral roles at Grace Community Church.

In addition, he has authored six manuals for

church use in evangelism, discipleship, and

leadership training and has served as visiting

professor in several Asian schools. From 1980 to

1983 he was Adjunct Professor and from 1983

to 1986 Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministries

at Talbot Theological Seminary. He became an

adjunct member of The Master's Seminary fac-

ulty in 1986, and joined the Seminary full time in

Elizabeth and Jim George

4

Michelle, Rob Joseph, Valerie, Clara & Julie

Cannaday January 9, 2011

Jay Dee, Dara & Drayton Kollasch January 9, 2011

Kim, DJ, & Marlon Price January 9, 2011

Kristie Bento, Kevin & David Green ~ January 9, 2011

Andrew, Michelle & Haley Davis ~ May 1, 2011

Mary & Larry Thrower May 1, 2011

Sara, Katie, Harley, Daniel, Harley Jr., David & Andrew Thompson ~ May 1, 2011

Matt, Leyna, Stefani & Kayleigh Koepke May 1, 2011

Toni Sheldon June 5, 2011

Russ Davis May 1, 2011

5

Julia, Addy, Oliver & Keith Stephens June 5, 2011

Joe, Mabel, Angela, Carter & Abby Halfmann ~ June 5, 2011

Elizabeth & Jim George November 6, 2011

Judy Enomoto (& Phil) March 5, 2011

Johnnie Caver, Jay Dee Kollasch & Cortnee Hendrick ~ March 2, 2011

Chloe Elliff September 7, 2011

Shawlawn Hildreth (& family) March 29, 2011

Vanessa Kroll, Deja Smith & Alan Kroll March 14, 2011

Matt Koepke (& family) September 7, 2011

Loghen Ramos (& Family) November 17, 2011

6

Women’s Ministry…Ladies Ministry…

Women’s Fellowship…Ladies Fellowship!

By: Dianne Nowak

Yes! All these ministries are

one in the same! Someday,

(although it has been years!)

we will finally settle on our

official group name. But in

the meantime, please note

we are ladies and women,

who minister to one another through

our fellowship! Here is our official mission

statement:

Our mission is to encourage one another

as whole Christian women – mind, body

and spirit in accordance with the follow-

ing verses:

Hebrews 10:23-24 (NIV): “Let us

hold unswervingly to the hope we

profess, for He who promised is

faithful. And let us consider how

we may spur one another on

toward love and good deeds.”

Proverbs 31:26 (NIV): “She speaks

with wisdom and faithful instruc-

tion is on her tongue.”

Practically speaking, we plan and execute

events quarterly to support and uplift the

women of MBC. (We also host a weekly

Bible study as described below.) Currently,

a relatively small group of women devote

their time and muscle (!) to prepare for these

functions. I guess you would call this our actual

core ministry team. But there is always room for

more on our core team! We welcome the

input, suggestions and brawn (!) of spirit-filled

women who wish to join us.

During 2012, we will have quarterly events in March, June, September and December.

While the December event is a Christmas

party, the other (3) events are yet to be

determined. We may do a “Tea”…or a “Craft

Night”… or a Girls-only “Movie Night”… We

strive to host events that incorporate the Word

and/or Christian testimonies. If you have other

ideas for events and activities, please let me

know.

Meanwhile, we recognize that meeting

every 3 months does not engender the kind

of fellowship that will grow into a deeper

knowledge of Jesus or each other. Not to

mention that over the years, we have had

many women express the desire for more

personal fellowship and encouragement.

Therefore, we also host a weekly Women’s

Bible Study at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays, to

discuss the Word on a more practical and

intimate basis. Through these studies we seek

to address specific issues: relationships with

God, our husbands, children, friends; spiritual

growth to handle the trials that come our

way; even encouragement to persevere

through difficult times. Any and all women

are welcome to jump in and join us at any

time. You do not have to wait until we “start”

another study.

Currently, we are being transformed through

our study of “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha

World.” We are taking this study ‘slowly’ and

savoring all the lessons to be learned. Some

of us are some pretty staunch “Marthas!”

Ultimately I expect that the study will continue

for another 8 weeks through mid-March. Then,

after a two week break or so, we will resume

with another study.

We look forward to planning fellowship and

studying the Word together with you! And one

last thought: please don’t be shy about at-

tending either the quarterly events or the

weekly studies. Your Christian journey may be

the blessing that someone else is craving to

know!

7

Men’s Fellowship

By: Loyd Fowler

What is Men’s Fellowship? It could be a group

of guys who gather every Sunday in the Fall to

watch football on TV. Many of those men are

in a state of loss now that the season is over.

Fishing buddies, hunting buddies, drinking

buddies - men fellowship in many ways.

However, our group does not fit into any of

these categories.

Our Men’s Fellowship meets on Saturday

mornings, from 7-8 am. I must be honest,

when I think of getting up to be anywhere

at 7am, other than work, it is a stretch. But

one morning some years ago the Spirit spoke

to my heart, and said you need to go. Of

course, I was not as willing as I would like to

admit, but I ended up there at 7:30. One seat

was open, as if it was waiting for me. It was

in that first meeting the discussion confirmed

I needed to be there and it has been a bless-

ing to me ever since. During these meetings

we encourage each other, learn from one

another’s experiences, and most of all delve

into the Word to attempt to understand how

it applies to each one of us.

The catalyst that invokes discussion each week

are the Christian books we dissect to see what

each author is explaining. The goal is to get

through a chapter each week, but if we only

get through a few pages, that’s OK too, for the

time used to deal with real issues in each of our

lives is well worth it. The most recent book we

completed was “Counterfeit Gods,” which

revealed the common idolatry we experience

in our everyday lives and how easily we are

deceived by the world in which we live. Just

because we say we are Christians, does not

exempt us from these deceptions, and not

knowing what the Bible says about it can

leave us open. While discussions sometimes

chase rabbits, and veer well off the beaten

path, there are times when subjects hit close

to home. When a member has a personal

battle, we come along side him and offer

prayer and support, no matter what the issue

may be. You cannot help but be changed

when real life hits you square in the face in

losing a child to cancer, financial and work

difficulties, charitable giving, sacrificial giving,

and the issues of real life in this fallen world.

Coming to church on any given Sunday

we worship, greet and listen to the Word

being taught, but unless we connect with

one another in some way we fight the good

fight at a great disadvantage. Sundays we

Praise Jesus, and the rest of the week we must

advance with the conviction that what we

have heard is true and it works. We cannot do

this unless we’re connected to others in the

Church Body.

Many have given our group a title of MAN

CHURCH, for various reasons. Our meetings

result in the real application of scripture where

“iron sharpens iron”. Mutual encouragement

and challenges are the norm when we discuss

the subjects each week. There is always an

open invitation to all men to join us, for some it

is the forum that fills a void, others look to it as

a family ministry, and sometimes we get more

out of Saturday mornings than expected. It is a

great way to start the weekend, and leave the

past work-week behind.

The Men’s ministry was founded some years

ago and has continued to meet every

Saturday morning at 0700HRS – 0800HRS.

We meet in the conference room and search

for better understanding of scripture, through

the study of various Christian books. Currently

we are beginning the book “Erasing Hell”, by

Francis Chan.

8

Makakilo Baptist Church 92-611 Makakilo Drive

Kapolei, HI 96707

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 33000 Waipahu, HI

IMPORTANT CONNECTION!

Hello God, I called tonight

To talk a little while

I need a friend who'll listen

To my anxiety and trial.

You see, I can't quite make it

Through a day just on my own...

I need your love to guide me,

So I'll never feel alone.

I want to ask you please to keep,

My family safe and sound.

Come and fill their lives with confidence

For whatever fate they're bound.

Give me faith, dear God, to face

Each hour throughout the day,

And not to worry over things

I can't change in any way.

I thank you God, for being home

And listening to my call,

For giving me such good advice

When I stumble and fall.

Your number, God, is the only one

That answers every time.

I never get a busy signal,

Never had to pay a dime.

So thank you, God, for listening

To my troubles and my sorrow.

Good night, God, I love You, too,

And I'll call again tomorrow!

Author

Unknown