Announcing.... "Reach Beyond"

     Yes! That's right. HCJB Global is Now Reach Beyond... No, its not a corporate buy out. We are still the same organization and our direction and goals have not changed... It just seemed like an appropriate time to change our name to better reflect the growing reality of our ministry.

     HCJB are really the call letters of our flagship radio stations in Ecuador, and they will continue to use these letters in their name.  And for now, the technology center, where we will work in Indiana, will retain the name, HCJB Global Technology Center. However the letters "HCJB" don't really convey the ministries that we do in healthcare, training, or leadership development. Nor do they convey the international scope that our ministries now enjoy.

     If you support HCJB Global (now Reach Beyond) or our missionaries, know that you don't have to change anything. Keep giving as you are now. But you will notice a change of name on your receipts, credit card statements or EFT bank charges.

Now, here is a brief video from our President, Wayne Pedersen, who will explain the reasons for the change in a little more detail.



Doug

Grab & Run!

     Having lived overseas for 20+ years, I have often rehearsed in my head what I would do if I ever found myself in a "rapid evacuation". It's the kind of thing that you never think will happen to you, but Ruth and I have talked for years about what we might take with us in that kind of scenario.

View to the East as Daniel Left for School at 6:37 a.m.

     As our son Daniel was on his way to school yesterday, we noticed thick billowing smoke in the sky above our apartment. As we looked around the side of our building we saw the source... the beginnings of what now is being called the "Colby Fire" in Los Angeles. As Daniel headed off to school I decided to keep an eye on the smoke plume coming from behind the hill to the east. Within half an hour the flames had crested the hill and the westerly Santa Anna winds were driving the flames down the other side, hopping and leaping as they came. It took just 15 minutes more before the flames were so close that we started packing our most precious belongings.... we were in the midst of our very own "grab & run" nightmare.

View to the East at 7:10 a.m.

     So what would you take with you? How would you prioritize your belongings? What are the most important things in your life that you would not want to lose in a fire? We had only 10 minutes to think about that, grab them and get them to the car. Ready?... Set?... Go!

     Priorities are a tricky thing. We think we can't live without a lot of things in our lives... the latest fashion, that big screen TV, our favorite book series, that ultimate stereo system, our baseball hat collection... But are those the really important things in life?

View to the West at 7:34 a.m. as We Drove Off the Property

      Family memories were at the top of our list. Photo albums were the first things in the car. Then hard drives and computers, cameras, medical records, passports & birth certificates. In the rush to get out before the fire got to us we didn't have time to pack any clothes. By the time we left the property the Colby Fire had already burned behind our apartment and was headed down the hill to the west, threatening to block our way of escape.

      So I would just like to encourage you today to think about what is really important to you? Hopefully you will never find yourself in a "grab & run" situation like we did, but if you only had 10 minutes to clear out of your house, what would you take with you? Then remember to thank God for those things, and His protection over you each and every day.

Doug

PS. The fire burned to within 100 yards of our apartment. We are all safe and have returned to our apartment, thanking God for his protection of us and the Church of the Open Door, on whose grounds our apartment sits. Thanks for praying for us. You can see more pictures on my Facebook page by clicking on... https://www.facebook.com/DouglasBWeber .

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Well, the Christmas Season is in full swing.... Black Friday.... Cyber Monday.... Giving Tuesday.... Snow storms across the country.... It's even been cold the last few days here in Southern California. It's a time when we think about giving to others. Shopping for just the right gift. Hoping it won't cost an arm and a leg.

Christmas is a wondrous time of year. It's one of the few times in the year when we stop thinking about ourselves and we focus on others for a while. It's a time when we think about the homeless, the poor, the shut-ins, and the sick. We give special gifts to people... Take them a plate of Christmas cookies. Buy them a food box. Give a little extra to our missionaries, pastors and churches.

The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

But I've been thinking about that one great gift this year, the gift of salvation. How can I give the gift of salvation to some of my friends this year? There are probably more opportunities to share our faith with our friends, family and co-workers during this season than at any other time of the year. After all, Christmas is all about Jesus coming to save us. There will be special Christmas programs, concerts, parties, Live Nativities, cookie exchanges, Christmas teas, you name it!

So as we move through this Christmas Season, let's not forget about giving the greatest gift ever. Let's decide to be deliberate and invite someone go caroling, or attend a Christmas brunch with us. Then let's use that time to help them understand the real significance of Jesus' birth on earth. And the best part of this gift is that it is still free and it will last forever!!

Doug  

Does the Church Have OCD?

     We are talking about the people Jesus met on the street during our indoor soccer half-time devotions at church. Jesus never seemed to be too busy to stop and engage the people that he met along the road. Some of the people he met were wealthy tax collectors and rulers of the people. Others were poor beggars. Still others had broken homes, were prostitutes, outcast lepers or sick, lame, or blind. Jesus stopped to talk to all of them, and often did the unexpected. He ate with sinners. He healed the lepers. He forgave the prostitutes. He healed the sick. And he chastised the rich for thinking they could get into heaven because they were wealthy and successful.
     Jesus didn't seem to have a problem getting his hands dirtied by associating with people of the world. In contrast, the modern church seems to suffer from a bad case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Oh we are willing to get our hands dirty in the world, as long as we can get back to our safe little enclave where we can get cleaned up and wash off all the filth of the world. But we become very uneasy whenever someone with real problems wants to join our community. We don't know how to deal with that.
     It's really a sad commentary on the church that we have to go outside our four walls to find real people with real struggles in this life. We tell ourselves that we couldn't make it through life without Jesus, that He is the answer to all of life's struggles. But when someone from "the world" comes into the church with real problems, seeking help, we find ourselves washing the germs off the door knobs as they leave. After all, we don't want to be contaminated by the world...
     I am afraid we have not progressed much from the early church. In James Chapter 2, the half brother of Jesus chastised the church for making distinctions between people. Sadly, we still seem to be doing that. Hospitals are filled with sick people. And people who work in a hospital are there to help the sick get well. Everyone knows that. So why isn't the church of Jesus Christ known as a place filled with damaged, hurting, and lost people, who are seeking God? And why aren't church people known as loving healers who are doing everything they can to help the broken find Jesus. 

Doug

Looking Back to See the Way Forward

     I have always been fascinated by the way certain characters in the Biblical text stop at very important transitions in their lives and re-tell the history of the Jewish people. They often do this just as the people of God are embarking on some new adventure or plan for the future. That doesn't seem to be the way we do it these days. Modern leadership gurus tell us we need to focus on that end result, that thing that we want to achieve, that place where we want to end up. We hype up the crew with words of confidence about how we can get there. We tell them that we have the the unique experience, vision, skills, talent, etc to make it.
     The Bible likes to look backwards, re-telling the story of how we got to where we are today. But the stories don't focus on our great achievements. They don't recount how the 7 great wonders of the world were created. They don't talk about how humanity put together a "dream team" to solve the days pressing problem. The stories all focus on what God did. They talk about how when we were stopped in our tracks, God came through. They talk about when all was lost, God acted.
     How many times do we retrace what God has done in our lives? How many times do we do this as part of our plan for the future? One of the great things about being a missionary is that people are always asking us how we got to the mission field. We have told and retold the stories of how God brought me to the place where I would even consider missions. We tell the story of how God allowed us to go to new missionary orientation during the school year and how Ruth got paid time off to do that. We tell the story of how God protected me from a community that was intent of sending a message in no uncertain terms that they didn't want a new church in their community.
     As we move into this new phase of ministry and look to the future, I find myself wondering if it will become a reality. I wonder if I am up to the task. I wonder if we will have the resources to pull it off. And then I find myself retelling those stories in my head.... and I realize that I am only here today because God acted. And if I ever get to that goal in the future, it will also be because God acted. That is a comforting thought...

Doug