Time to Downsize my Car

The last few weeks I have been thinking about getting a smaller car. Most of the time, when I am driving now, I am going by myself so there was a lot of empty space in my Optima. With the the price for regular unleaded sitting at $4.67.9 per gallon on Guam, I also wanted something that would get a little better gas mileage. So, a couple weeks ago I decided to sell my Optima and buy a Kia Forte. I got a really good deal from my friends at Triple J (I highly recommend buying a car from Jeff Jones at Triple J. Jeff is on our PIU advisory board and takes very good care of his customers. Jennifer was our sales person and she was very helpful as well) and a very good interest rate so I signed the papers this past week. Titus and Courage picked out the color (I like the 49er red too) and so far I really like the car. I can still fit all 3 grandkids in the back seat too. The car has a 10 year warranty so I figure that when the warranty runs out I can give it to Titus. He will just be getting his driver’s license then. Yikes! 

It is Rainy Season on Guam Again

As I get ready to head over to PIU this morning, this is the view from the front of our house. It seems like rainy season has come in earnest. The nice thing is that it keeps the island cooler, but one needs to have an umbrella ready at all times. The thunder and lightning storms should start arriving soon as we head toward typhoon season. We have not had one hit Guam in almost 11 years and would appreciate your prayers that we get “missed” again this year!

Further Up, Further In #2

We have completed our first edition of the “Further Up, Further In” youth retreat on the PIU campus this weekend. I think the youth had a great time and were about to learn a lot about the Bible, missions, themselves and each other. We are looking forward to the next two groups of young people that will be coming the next two weekends. There are still openings to sign up and be part of the retreats June 27-29 and July 4-6. Here are a few more pictures from this weekend.

The weekend featured some very competitive, fun team-building games

Sessions were taught on how to read the Bible, Old and New Testament overviews and missions.

“Further Up, Further In” Begins

The first PIU “Further Up, Further In” retreat began last night with 20 high school students, 2 church youth leaders and several PIU students and staff. The purpose of the program is to give the youth a good overview of the big message of scripture, build relationships among churches and their youth, help the youth leaders with discipleship and expose young people to the ministry of PIU. Samantha Owen and Sarah Brubaker have done great work organizing the program and so far it seems that everyone is enjoying it. I am looking forward to teaching an overview of the Old Testament in a few minutes. 39 books in a little over an hour. We will see what we can do! In the pictures here Samantha leads the group in opening get to know you games.

Games were followed by hot dogs, rice, veggies and brownies for dinner

Mike taught a session on how to read your Bible with a “bird’s eye view”

The session included some projects and an entertaining and informative discussion

Our June Prayer Requests

Greetings from Dave and Joyce,

We are settling into our summer classes, retreats and other activities as we prepare for another school year to come. God has given us several opportunities for ministry in the community as we reach out from PIU. We appreciate your prayers very much because we realize that it is what God does through us that has real meaning and is eternally significant.

Here are a few urgent and critical issues for prayer.

1. One of our Bible faculty members, Steve Bradley, had a massive stroke last week. Steve is a long time missionary in Micronesia who returned to PIU a few years ago as a volunteer after his wife passed away. He was back in South Carolina for the summer when it happened and his family there is ministering to him. Please pray for his recovery and rehabilitation. Also this is big blow to our ministry at PIU as “grandpa Steve” has been a tremendous blessing to the school as a teacher and a wise listening ear to the students, staff and to me personally.

2. We are beginning our “Further Up, Further In” high school youth retreats on campus this weekend. The program is designed to focus high schoolers on biblical truth and discipleship and building relationships with each other and their church youth leaders. We are also hoping that it will help the churches and young people see PIU as a resource for their spiritual growth and as a possible place to further their education.

3. We have made application to the US Department of Education for a grant for developing a student center. This would pay for some additions to our campus building, but mostly it would provide for staff we need to take care of student remedial education needs, counseling (many of our students come to us with serious family or personal issues) tutoring, job training, etc.

4. We are beginning our summer fund raising effort. The “Rising Tide” is our annual fund that helps us pay our teachers and provide scholarships for students so that we can keep student costs affordable to Pacific Island people. I will be sending you the official email for that later today.

5. Please praise God that Joyce and I continue to have a lot of energy, even though we are both officially manamko (Chamorro word for senior citizens) now. Joyce just finished two weeks of labor to get the dorms ready for “further up and Further in” and I am running around all over the island teaching, preaching and representing the school. We are really blessed to have meaningful work to do in God’s kingdom and the bonus we get is the joy of relationship with our co-workers and with the students.

We appreciate your prayers and your support for what God is doing at PIU and in the islands.

Blessings

Dave and Joyce

PIU “Rising Tide” Summer Fund Raising Letter

Make a special gift to the Rising Tide Fund today!  

• Low Tide - $50
• High Tide - $100
• Rip Tide - $500
• Tidal Wave - $1000
• Tsunami - $10,000+

Or, become an Annual Donor

• Tide Pool - $600+ Annually

I appreciate your commitment to PIU and am thankful for your contribution.

Blessings,

Dr. David L. Owen, President

DONATE NOW

Further Up, Further In

There are still spaces open for the “Further Up, Further In” weekend retreats for high school students and youth groups which will be happening at PIU this month. I am looking forward to teaching the students the “big picture” of the Old Testament.

Saturday Afternoon with Grandpa

With Samantha gone to Palau on a PIU student recruiting trip and Joyce working on the dorms, I thought last Saturday was a good day to have the kids spend an afternoon with grandpa. So we spent the afternoon at a playground, got lunch at Chuck E Cheese and finished the afternoon with a dessert frostie at Wendy’s. We had a great time and I learned a lot about their opinions in many areas. You would think from the pictures posted here that Titus was not with us. He was, but he has now decided he would prefer not to be photographed and whenever I pointed the camera at him he covered it with his hand. I thought it was a good way to spend a Saturday.

I think Serenity was hungry. She ate about half of the large pizza

Serenity and I played the games at Chuck E Cheese together

The girls enjoyed the rocking horse

The girls clowned around a little as they ate their frosties.

Sunday Sermon Ephesians 5.21-6.9

Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach at Agana Heights Baptist Church. I was scheduled to speak on June 30, but after some shuffling around due to illness I spoke yesterday. I have been doing a lot of study in Paul’s letters lately and reworked a sermon on a passage I have preached several times based on what I am seeing all through Paul’s letters. Here is the outline below taken from the power point slides…

Practical Application of Spiritual Power

Ephesians 5.21-6.9

• Context
• Driving Command: Be Filled with the Spirit 5.18
• Five Evidences (Participles) 5.19-6.9
• Speaking to one another
• Singing Songs
• Making Music
• Giving Thanks
• Submitting to another in fear of Christ (expanded)
• Exhortation about Spiritual Power/Armor 6.10 ff.
• Overview of Passage
• Driving Idea: Submission to One Another  5.21
• Practical Examples 5.22-6.9
• Husband-Wife Relationship 5.22-33
• Parent (esp. Father)- Child Relationship  6.1-4
• Master-Slave   6.5-9
• 1st Century Background
• Wives Were Property
• "Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women, because of their innate weakness, should be under the control of guardians."  Cicero
• Children Were Property
• Children legally belonged to the father, even after a divorce.  An orphan was said to have lost only his father, not his mother, and sometimes went to live with a tutor rather than his widowed mother.
• Slaves Were Property
• Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution.
• Structure of 5.21-6.9
• Main Evidence: Mutual Submission 5.21
• The Powerless Positions          The Powerful Positions
• Wives  5.22-24                     Husbands 5.25-33
• Children  6.1-3                      Fathers 6.4
• Slaves 6.5-7 (8)                    Slave Masters 6.9 (8)
• The Issue?
• The Question is not, “Who is in charge?”
• If you are asking this question something is wrong and someone is not walking in the Spirit
• The Correct Question is, “How can I serve?”
• Submission of the powerful to the needs of the powerless and Selfless service of the powerless to Christ in whatever relational situation they are in are the best evidences that the Spirit is at work in the community.
• Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” New Living Translation Mk 10:45
• The Main Command/Evidence
• The Best Evidence of “Spirit Filling” is living out Christ’s example in basic human relationships. 5.21
• Key Evidence: Transformed Relationships
• Motive: Every Relationship is Under Jesus’ Authority
• Mission: To Serve Others
• Purpose of Power: To Protect, Train and Serve
• Position: Both “in” and “under” authority
• Transformed Roles #1
• Powerless #1 – The Wife  5.22-24
• “Submit” is not in the text. There is no verb but it is implied from 5.21
• The wife is a “corresponding helper” Gen. 2.18-25
• The wife should submit herself to work to benefit her husband 23
• Resist the desire to control the husband. Genesis  3.16
• Wife should do everything she can to develop the oneness (Head) with her husband as with Christ 24
• “Head-Body” primarily refers to “Connection” and secondarily to “authority”
• Whatever the cultural situation, the wife should live to benefit her husband
• Powerful  #1 – The Husband 5.22-24
• The Husband’s role is to submit to his wife’s needs by loving her 5.25-29
• He is to serve and care for her
• Give up own rights for her benefit
• Develop her love relationship with God and himself
• Set her free and enable her to reach her God-given potential
• Treat her, not as property, but as his own body
• The reasons for this…
• If the marriage relationship is bad all others will be bad 30
• Marriage is the picture of the image of God. 31
• Marriage pictures the relationship of Jesus and the church 32
• We are accountable to God for our marriages 33
• Transformed Roles #2
• Powerless #2 – The Children 6.1-3
• Children Serve Christ by Obeying Their Parents 1-3
• Definition: Children are people living in their parents’ home and culturally under their authority
• Command: Obey
• Limitation: “In the Lord”  Parental Authority is not absolute
• Reason: “It is Right”
• It is a child’s spiritual duty
• It is the way society is ordered
• It shows trust in God
• Result: A stable, prosperous culture
• Powerful #2 – The Father 6.4
• Note change from “Parents, γονευσιν” in 6.1 to “fathers, πατερες” in 6.4 He is speaking to the authoritative parent
• The Father is responsible to God for how he uses his authority to raise His children; He must not mistreat them …
• By disciplining them in anger
• By trying to make into his own image rather than God’s image
• Perfectionism, Criticism and Unreasonable Demands
• Smothering
• Responsibility: “To bring them up”
• Provide for their needs
• Training and Discipline
• Instruction by Word and Example
• Transformed Roles #3
• Powerless #3 – Slaves 6.5-7
• Paul is dealing with slaves who were property, not employees
• Paul undermines slavery throughout his letters but…
• Instead of rebellion commands service and building of relationships
• Command: Obey as if Jesus is giving the orders
• Give Respect
• Practical Recognition of cultural authority
• Singleness of Purpose: Serving God
• Advance the prosperity of the master because he is a brother
• Reasons
• Your obedience serves Christ
• Jesus will reward your work
• Powerful #3 – Masters 6.8-9
• Masters are not allowed to objectify their slaves. They must treat them as brothers and sisters
• This is how Paul undermines slavery throughout his letters
• See Philemon
• “The Same Way” = Submission
• Masters are to submit to the needs of their slaves
• They must model God’s authority  (serves and dies)
• Masters serve God by Advancing the prosperity of their slaves because they are brothers and sisters
• Reasons
• Slaves belong to God, not you.
• Same master: There is a basic equality before God.
• Jesus will reward your work. This could be good or bad depending on how the master, father, husband (same guy) uses his authority.
• Conclusion
• You serve God by serving others in daily, basic relationships
• The more authority and power you have the more accountability you have for how you use it.
• God gives us power, prestige, position and privilege so that we can give it away to others
  

Stop Over in Hawaii

One thing I forgot to mention about my recent trip was that after Pohnpei I headed to Hawaii before flying back to Guam. I did the full loop of the “island hopper” through Eastern Micronesia. My purpose for going to Hawaii was to explore a partnership with New Hope Christian College in Honolulu. I am especially hoping that we can work together to develop the Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary. Both New Hope and PIU have the same desire to develop church and community leaders for the entire region. Our main barrier right now is having the financial resources to develop the seminary and provide scholarship money for key students to attend. There is no government financial aid available for seminary education and most of the students that we would like to target do not have any personal resources for seminary education. So, while there at the end of May, I made a proposal to the people at New Hope for how we can work together to provide well-educated pastors and church leaders for the Pacific Islands. I am thankful for the gracious hospitality from all the New Hope people. They have a lot of great people and I am hoping that our relationship will continue to grow. We are island people! It was also amazing to have breakfast my last day in such a beautiful spot. I didn’t have time to do any touring while there, (all business!) but, as you can see from the pictures the view is beautiful everywhere there.

Goodbye Party for the Collins

As president of PIU I get to (have to?) make a lot of speeches. Sunday night I had to make the speech I dislike the most: saying goodbye to one of our PIU families. Sunday we had a surprise (no sure how you pull that one off but Samantha did it) going away party for Joe and Lisa Collins and their kids. I did, along with a few others, make my speech and talked about how much we will miss Joe and Lisa since they were such a part of the PIU family. Lisa also did a great job building up our library and left a legacy there that will go on far into the future. The best thing about them was their willingness to just get in there and do whatever needed to be done. After four years of living closely with people, dealing with hard issues, joking and laughing together and being such a part of each other’s family it is really hard to see them go. We pray that God will continue to lead them and, of course, we selfishly pray that God will lead them back our direction some day. Lisa will continue on with us, from a distance, as a library consultant and maybe we will see her sooner than later.

Christel Wood baked her famous bread in the shape of a “C” in honor of the Collins.

We ended the evening with a time of prayer and goodbyes

Interview on 101.9 Guam,

For those of you who did not listen to us live yesterday, here is the recording of Nino and I being interviewed about PIU on the Damdaming Pinoy show on Megamix101.9. You can view the recording here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/33600967.