Words of Encouragement

In memory of a dear sister, Sister Bessie Parks

Theme: Women charged by the Spirit

Preached Metropolitan Church of God (part 2 of 3)

Detroit, MI, 2007

There is a kid’s movie “Rudolph the red nose Reindeer” that I thought about when I prepared this message. I see things in the everyday. If you remember in this cartoon, there was a group of toys that were rejected so they were sent to the island of misfits. There was a train with square wheels, and a jack in the box, with the name Charlie, who wants to play with a jack in the box named Charlie in the box? There was a boat that didn’t float. These toys wanted to belong to someone, but they could not fulfill the purpose of what the toy should be, so they were rejected.



Rudolph, who was a misfit himself, went to this island and met the misfit toys. In the course of the movie, Rudolph found his purpose. That stormy night when they thought Christmas wouldn’t come; Rudolph’s nose, (his time to shine, his bright light) was what was needed. That nose of his that everyone laughed at, talked about, and said didn’t belong, was just what was needed to help. And you know what happened, that misfit Rudolph didn’t forget about those that he had met on the island of misfit. He went back to that island and got those misfits. He helped those misfits find places of importance. I hope you’re following me.



There are many women in our world that are misfits. We have some that have been banished to the island of emotional misfits. They have been hurt by life. They have been so wounded that they don’t fit in anywhere. They feel discarded, angry, lonely, hurt and the list is endless. They don’t know if they’ll be able to make it, so instead they are left stranded on the island of emotional misfits.



There are some women that are banished to the island of worthless misfits. They have been told all their lives they won’t be anything and will not amount to much. Nothing they do seems right. They have sought approval from one relationship or another, but again they are abandoned. So instead they are stranded on the island of worthless misfits.

There are some that are banished to the island of rejection misfits. They wanted to belong somewhere, but everywhere they went, they were told you are not good enough. You are not smart enough, you are not pretty enough, or you just are not our choice bunch. So banished they are to the island of rejection misfits.



What will get them from those places? That is where we, as the church come in. Each one of us was a misfit. We didn’t fit in somewhere. Some were in the pitiful group. Some of us didn’t trust, we didn’t have faith, we flip-flopped in our decisions. We didn’t understand fully what we were supposed to be doing. Jesus didn’t choose you or I because we were the best or the brightest. Sometimes I wonder why he chose me at all? Yet he did. He chose us and what he did was tell us to come and follow him.



When we do, he promises us he will give us his Holy Spirit to equip us for the task ahead. What is that task, to tell others about the transforming power of God.



What does a transformed woman look like? A transformed woman is one that has been changed; she is no longer the same as she was before. She doesn’t walk the same, talk the same nor does she think the same. There is a conversion that takes place. The old self is exchanged for a new one. In other words, the old man is dead and the new one is made alive through Christ Jesus. There is a switch that takes place. Jesus took your punishment and mine so that we would not have to, and he replaced our old, sin sick spirit with a new one, a cleansed one. So when we accept Christ the first thing he does is give us his Spirit and we must give him access so he can transform us. If each of you stood up and gave your testimony of where God really brought you from, we would rejoice in hearing how great a God we serve.



Unfortunately, we are too afraid sometimes of being transparent before others. We are afraid others will judge us, or look at us crazy because of where we came from. But let me tell you this that is especially the reason you have to tell. There is someone stranded on the same island of misfit, that you were rescued from. You have to be like Rudolph and let your light shine through the elements that blind others from seeing, so you can help them get off the island. See misfits know where other misfits are. You know what someone looks like that is depressed, if you fought with depression. You know the signs of someone lonely if you faced loneliness. Jesus came for the ones in need of healing. He came for the sick in soul and spirit. He needs you and I to go and offer this gift of transformation to the other misfits.



If you look up misfit, I believe my picture might be under the definition. If you look at me, it doesn’t look like anything could have been wrong with me or in my life. But I was a broken child, who became a broken woman. I was on my own at the age of 14, looking to find somewhere to live. I lived with my father, but his live in girlfriend hated me. She would not allow me to eat in the home unless I did things she told me to do. She had my father put out all of my other brothers and sisters and moved her nephew into our home. This nephew tried to rape me. When I told my father, I heard his girlfriend say, I was a liar. He never stood by me. When I had to go to court for this, he stood with the accused. Talk about rejection for a young girl.



So I went to live with my mother. That wasn’t any better. My mother had become an alcoholic and my stepfather was verbally abusive to my brother and me. He was physically abusive to my mother and I would hate to see the bloody fights and having to leave the home with my mother drunk, hoping that wouldn’t be the night we died at her hands. My stepfather thought it was his responsibility to tell me daily I would be nothing, I would have nothing and no one would want me for anything other than my body. He tried to sell me to the old men in the neighborhood, and when I refused, he made a joke about me being gay. What made me decide to leave my mothers home was she was fighting with my stepfather with a gun and it went off. She told me to come get it, but I thought if he kills me, she’d probably still be with him, so I said no. I decided then I would leave. The day I left my mother’s home I thought to myself, is this all there is to life? These were just a few of the scares because I had others. I was sexual abused, the first time I was seven years old and the last time when I was raped in college. Not by the same person, but by 5 different, random people. Truly something had to be wrong with me, why would these things happen to me? I had to be defective or something, right?



So you can image I was a misfit with residency on several islands. I could not image me being useful for anything or anyone. Yet, one day, Jesus said, follow me. And I did. He took this broken person and created something wonderful inside. He took the ashes of my life and brought beauty from it. When the Lord called me to preach I couldn’t accept it, because in my mind the words of my stepmother rang in my spiritual ear, she is a liar. Yet God told me, I know you. I have tested your heart and I know you.



You expected one person to be standing here today, but in his own way and for his own purpose, God ordained for me to be standing her. That’s what is so wonderful about our God. I might no be well known, I might not seem to be one chosen to have entrance to see the president, but that doesn’t matter to God. His Spirit worked things out so that this once misfit could tell some other once misfits and current misfits the good news. See there is somebody stuck on the island of misfits waiting for you. You have been charged by the Spirit to go and rescue them (come back next week for the final installment).

The Week in Review

The Role of the Pastor in Church Administration (Part 2)

Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams

October 11, 2007

This leads us to examining the congregation’s relating and functioning style. In week one’s lecture, it states, “These two things contribute to a church’s duality. Every church as a relating style that stems from its unwritten rules and expectations, as well as an organizational style or functioning style that is more easily identified by espoused values” (Toombs, pp. 7-8).

A pastor helps the church to live out both their functioning style alongside of the relating style by trying to help the congregation connect both to the mission of God. In some churches there are by-laws and rules, however everyone may not be aware of what the rules or laws really are. They may be written down, but they are not related to the congregation as a whole. This might be due to the church being comfortable in her past. The church may have become caught in her tradition (like the Brownstone church in a scenario’s from a previous lesson) that she does not remember everyone does not know about the church’s past or importance. This discourages some because you are expected to live up to laws, ways and ideas that you do not know and were never taught. I jokingly call it the “secret minister’s book”.


Some are expected to know how to function in areas of ministry, yet they may not have ever been taught the values of the church, which can discourage them in their walk. Individuals may not have been taught what is expected, but are criticized if you do not match up to the “mysterious standard”. I believe the pastor needs to help the body in this area by making sure that there is full disclosure of the by-laws of the church. I also believe this is one area that the church needs to teach.

I wanted to make sure I was prepared for ministry so I returned to school so that I could be trained in the best way possible for the mission of God. Going forward, I see that in whatever church capacity I function, I must teach those for whom I am responsible. That is the reason I set in motion “Student teachers” for the teenage class I teach. The oldest teenagers are taught how to study the lessons, prepare for class and teach. I allow them to teach the class with my assistance to gain competence instructing in the word. This process of growth and development involves some extra work and risk, however it is critical to the furtherance of the teaching ministry.


John Galloway, Jr. in the book Ministry Loves Company suggest to the reader regarding vision this, “If we cannot grow together to the point where we tilt forward in risk, the Lord can never teach us to walk. What we are saying is that we make a transition from listening to leading, not by drafting a vision statement or a long-range planning report, but by adjusting attitudes and procedures…Churches like families, get rather set in their ways…Our task is to free up the visionaries and then help them focus their vision” (p. 40). This is the biggest hurdle that faces the church today. There are those that do not want to change things or move outside of their comfort zone, even though they see their local church dying. The pastor then has to try and help those with a vision for the church that lines up with the will of God to have the freedom to grow and motivate others to grow. One of the suggestions from this author on how to move individuals forward in a positive way is, “Be yes people ourselves” (Galloway, p. 35).

Many pastors are receptive to hear individual’s ideas regarding the needs of the congregation. I have seen believers get excited because of the support of their pastor regarding the work in the church and due to his “yeses” others have wanted to be involved in the ministry. “Without strong pastoral leadership the reins of a church may well wind up in the few hands of an overworked, though saintly core, who have so much church business on their plates they gag on even the thoughts of something new” (Galloway, p. 37).

Galloway also gives us other criteria on how to function, as a church should. He writes about accountability. The pastor has a major role in helping the church understand whom she is accountable to. As Galloway states it, “To whom or to what are we accountable?” “For whom are we playing the game?” (p. 42). Sometimes believers think they are accountable only to the leader of their organization or to what someone has said, or just to themselves however, the pastor must help the body understand all are first accountable to God and not to holding to their traditions or ways of doing things. “Don’t get me wrong. The will of the congregation cannot be taken lightly. After all, we are a people who believe in collective wisdom…What the ruling board needs to grasp is that, while we take the input of the congregation with great seriousness, perhaps even wondering if the Lord might be speaking to us through the will of the congregation, we are to see ourselves quite differently from politicians who have been elected to represent their constituents…Our task is repeatedly to remind them that we take serious the will of the congregation but are accountable to God” (Galloway, pp. 42-43).

Reforming. Galloway also speaks about being “always reformed, always reforming” (p. 47). This speaks to the church’s ability to continue to grow in holiness of purpose and commitment. “In other words, ministry is a terribly difficult balancing act of getting people enthused about a particular work, but not so narrowly enthused that the work becomes an idol…Remember, folks: Our work is in service to God. It is not itself God” (p. 49). The pastor then has the responsibility to help us understand that we must be willing to change our attitudes and behaviors so that we are doing things for the Lord and not making our traditions, or work a god in itself. The pastor must help us keep a clear vision of how we look at what we do. It is also his responsibility to help us with “self”. “Nowhere do we need to be more intentional in our work of reforming than we do with our own idolatrous worship of our own sinful egos” (Galloway, 52). – Came back next week for the next installment.

The Week in Review

Characteristics of the Goat and the Sheep (part 2)

Read Matthew 25:31-46

When Jesus comes back he will separate the sheep from the goat, which will you be?

SHEEP

Sheep are “follower-types” of animals. (Matthew 4:19 – God wants us to follow him and he will make us fishermen of men)



Sheep are relational and will link with 4 or 5 sheep while grazing. (Acts 2:42 – God wants us to continue in the work of the Lord and to fellowship one with another)



Sheep are passive animals. (Ephesians 5:21 & James 4:7- God wants us to be submissive to each other as well as to him)



Sheep are highly sensitive to smell and sound. Their senses are very high. (Hebrew 5:14- God wants our spiritual senses to be high so that we can discern what is good and what is evil.)



Sheep seek touch of other sheep. Sheep also have a great demand to have physical contact with their keeper for survival. (John 15:4 – God wants us to abide in him for without him we are lost.)



Shepherds have contact with their sheep because they are aware of predators that will kill the sheep if they were not present. (Psalm 46:1 – God is our present help in times of trouble. He knows what will kill us and he is there to take care of us)



Sheep generally present few behavioral problems. (Leviticus 11:45 – God wants us to be holy because he is holy)



Breeding for sheep is easy and more successful and there are fewer complications with the breeding process mainly because of their social behavior. (Unity – Ephesians 4:13 – God wants us to dwell in unity because when we do that we bring about “birth” into the family with less complications and with more success.)



Sheep are tough animals where sickness is concerned. However there are things the shepherd looks for to tell if his animal is sick or well.



If a sheep is healthy it will be evident in its habits. Such as eating. It will eat and the more it eats, the more eager it will become in eating. It will be eager to consume and the hunger will increase along with the eagerness. (Jeremiah 15:16 – God wants us to eat his word and the more we eat the more we should want to consume and to be eager to eat. Our desire to consume God’s word should increase.) This is evidence that we are healthy to the shepherd.



Healthy sheep are active. (1 Corinthians 15:58 – God wants us to be always working for Him. He wants us active in the work of the kingdom)



Healthy sheep love to climb and seek higher grounds. (1 Corinthians 2:10 – God wants us to grow. He wants us to love to “climb” to higher grounds to deeper understandings in him.)



Healthy sheep are curious. Yet in their curiosity they do not wonder but will explore their living areas thoroughly so that they have little difficulty locating things. (2 Timothy 2:15-God wants us to study so that we have no difficulty in understanding the word of God)



Shepherds also look for these unhealthy signs in their sheep to help keep them from dying: isolating themselves (Hebrews 10:25 -God does not want us to forsake coming together, he knows this will lead to our death), Not interested in eating (Proverbs 19:15-God doesn’t want us forsaking the studying of his word for he knows we will lose our zeal for him), Lagging or depressed (Psalm 55:22 - God wants us to cast our cares on him, because he knows it is only through him that we can be sustained), Excessive time lying down and reluctant to move about (Proverb 19:15 – God doesn’t want us to be slothful because he knows we will become useless), Anxiety and restlessness (Jeremiah 6:16 – God will give us the rest from our cares because he knows that we will be destroyed if we do not), Depraved appetites(1 Peter 2:11- God wants our desires to be for the things of God for he knows when we fulfill the desires “the appetites” of the flesh we will die and we war against our own souls). These are signs that the shepherd looks for to help the sheep be as healthy as possible. (God is that shepherd and he gives us a detailed list of what healthy behavior looks like and we only have to follow to be as healthy as we can)

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 2)

The people understood that God was unique from all other gods. He was a faithful and trustworthy God. “This God has a distinct character — he is who he is — to which he will be faithful and which he reveals in his historical actions. Not only does God name his presence as active being, but his name also discloses his essentially relational nature. The Baptist scholar Gwynne Henton Davies explains that the Hebrew words ‘have the quite practical meaning I am who and what, and where and when, and how and even why you will discover I AM. I am what you will discover me to be’…God already is in himself what he intends and promises to be in his deeds through and among his people. The text implies that this is and will be the case and that it is and will be manifest historically; hence we can expect to be able to ‘read’ his acts as an assertion of his character and as leading to the fulfillment of his promise. Using language from speech act theory, we can say that God’s revelation of his name is assertive of his being, and a commissive promise to act in faithfulness to his being. God’s nature is expressed in his unbreakable word: that he means to be his word is implied by his promise, and that he will keep it is implied in his self-assertion” (Moore, 167).

God revealed himself to the Israelites and their history became available for all to understand God’s move in times past and what it means for today. “…the history. God’s revelation becomes part of the concreteness of daily life, in the language and in the mentality of a people, showing what the meaning of the flowing of days is. “History, therefore, becomes the arena where we see what God does for humanity. God comes to us in the things we know best and can verify most easily, the things of our everyday life, apart from which we cannot understand ourselves” (Dotolo, pp. 20 – 21). God also showed himself to the Israelites to establish a relationship with them for their good. “In establishing a priesthood for Israel, God assured that the priests would provide guidance for his people, especially with respect to their continuous instruction in his law. This priesthood and their assistants, the scribes, were the teaching authority, or the official magisterium, of the religion God set up for them. As long as the priests and scribes remained loyal to God, they were also faithful in communicating God’s wishes to his people. However, at times when the teaching authority slipped away from its responsibility and did not reflect the will of God for his people, God then bypassed the religious authorities and used prophets to deliver messages directly to the people” (Girzone, pp. 15 – 16).

“In time past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe” (Dotolo, 20). God also reveals himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Before touching on Jesus, one must first look at the Bible or the word of God as he reveals himself to humanity. God showed himself to the Israelites and thus began the process of writing down the word of God as he revealed it to individuals. The author, Norbert Max Samuelson in his book, Revelation and the God of Israel states, “Whatever the view is of God in general, the deity affirmed as the sole deity worthy of worship in these religions is the creator of the world, the revealer of sacred scriptures, and the redeemer of humanity. For Judaism, at least God as the creator is revealed both through the Hebrew Scriptures (especially the opening chapters of Genesis) and through nature (especially physical cosmology and cosmogony). The deity known in this way is a God of natural law whose will, identifiable with that law, is concerned equally with every creature, without differentiation, and primarily with the whole rather than any of its parts, be they animal, mineral, or vegetable. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of justice. In contrast, God as the revealer is known through the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and the tradition of the interpretation of those words in biblical commentaries. This deity is a God of moral law whose will, identifiable with that law, has special concern for the Jewish people, with whom he has a special love relationship, comparable to that of a loving spouse or parent. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of love. Whether or not it is coherent to claim that the same being is both the deity of universal law and the deity of concrete love is not obvious, and much of the discussion of theology in rabbinic texts deals with ways to reconcile these two characterizations of God” (12). Scripture confirms itself in these verses, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment #7 – Synthesis (part 2)

The believer now begins the transformation process. None of this is possible without God’s spirit. Roberts states, “We have seen that there can be no true holiness without the love of God. Neither can there be without love for our fellow men. The two are joined together. The second great commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ – Matt. 22:39” (1)

One of the changes in the new believer is in fellowship. The relationship between God and the new believer has been restored. The relationship between the new believer and others has also been made new. Howard states, “Sin produces a double alienation – on the vertical and horizontal plane. ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ’ Eph. 2:13…this is double reconciliation – between man and man, and man and God” (74).

The new man now must give control over completely to God so that the transformation can begin. Sins were forgiven but an instant change in man’s behavior and thinking did not occur. Howard states, “Life by the Spirit is a personal relationship that must be cultivated and maintained…The experience of most men reveals the need of constant renewal and revival – it is an essential part of humanity” (179). The new man begins to transform into the image of God. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2).

In this growing process, one must be amongst other believers. This is the importance of the church. The church is made up of the believers coming to worship together, encourage one another and fulfill the mission of God. What is the mission of the church? In the book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Mission, the author Gailyn Van Rheenen states, “The church is not a human organization. It is the result of a mission or a sending that began with God. The mission of God, initiated through Jesus Christ and continued through his disciples, led to the formation of the church” (29). “The Church is God’s people called out from the world to be his witness in the world. As an institution, it appears fallible and weak, but paradoxically it has outlasted states, nations, and empires” (Rheenen, 30). So the mission of the church is God ordained. The people of God come together to worship and evangelize because of the instruction given by God and not due to man’s wishes.

Josh McDowell on his web site, answers the question what hope does Christianity offer the world, in this manner, “We are living in a day in which people are pessimistic about the future. There have always been pessimists, but now there is a general feeling of hopelessness regarding the future. Against this pessimistic and fearful backdrop, Jesus Christ offers real hope. He gives mankind the opportunity to become right with God and his fellowman. Thus Christianity offers a full life to those who will accept Jesus” (1). Some of the disillusionment in men is in their unrealistic and selfish expectations of others and in God. J.B. Phillips, the author of Your God is too Small, states, “God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use Him as a convenience, a prop, or a comfort, for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to co-operate with His own purposes” (49).

The church is an important part of God’s plan in presenting truth to the world. The church is to be God’s light, like a beacon calling all towards it. “Because most people in this modern age have almost no sense of God there is also almost no sense of ‘sin’ – for in human experience there is a significant connexion between the two. Where the sense of God becomes something like a reality there springs up, sooner or later, a sense of guilt and failure” (Phillips, 97). The church, through the keeping of God’s ways, shows the world what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. “The follower of the new way is therefore called to do all he can to spread ‘the good news of the Kingdom,’ but to realize at all times that the success or failure of the Kingdom can never be judged by simple reference to statistics of ‘Christians’ at any particular time” (Phillips, 123). Believers are to spread the message of salvation but not to get held back by what looks like failure or success. Phillip states the success of this mission is known in the “real time” which is eternity.

The church is vital to get the truth to the world. Josh McDowell agrees with this in his statement, “All religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. They all may be wrong, but certainly they all cannot be right, for the claims of one will exclude the other. As to matters of salvation and the person of Jesus Christ, only historic Christianity recognizes Him as the eternal God becoming a man who died for the sins of the world and arose again the third day. Salvation is obtained only by putting one’s trust in this Jesus” (2). The Christian church is the only avenue that is founded on this truth of the Bible, that Jesus is the only way of salvation.

It is important to the church that believers encourage one another. Luis Palau suggest this on his web site, “Having a part in leading a friend or acquaintance to faith in Jesus Christ is exciting. Actually praying with someone who wants to make that decision is even more exciting. Yet I’ve seen Christians panic when someone comes to that point of decision. Take the time to encourage and help each other learn to lead someone in making that decision” (1). The church is significant in educating believers to be able to share the Gospel. This can be an intimidating idea. It is important for believers to be trained and then walk along side another believer to teach them.

The church in sharing the message of salvation must be willing to go outside of the church building. Scripture calls for us to reach out to the lost of this world, because when we do it to others we do it unto the Lord. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matthew 25:35-36). One such organization that holds to this belief is Prison Fellowship. Their goal is to exhort, equip and assist the church in its ministry to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. This is what their web site states regarding their mission, “Our foremost calling is to be in daily fellowship and communion with Christ. But we are also called to go beyond an exclusive ‘Jesus and me’ relationship; Christ calls us to be a light to the world around us, an instrument through which He can work to restore and redeem broken lives and a broken culture” (1).

Work Cited

Alter, Margaret Gramat. Christianity Today: The unnatural act of forgiveness. Vol. 41 Issue 7, P. 28, 3p 2c. 1997. 22 February 2006. http://library.macu.edu.

ccci.org: How to know God personally. 2006. 22 February 2006. http://www.ccci.org/wij.

Howard, Richard E. Newness of Life. United States of America: n.p., 1975.

Josh.org: Previous Questions -Christianity. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.Josh.org/apologetics/.


McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.

Palau.org: Scripts – Encourage One Another. Palau, Luis. 2005. 22 February 2006. http://www.palau.org/ryw_new.

Pfm.org: Prison Fellowship. 2004. 22 February 2006. http://www.pfm.org/AM.

Phillips, J.B. Your God is Too Small. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Rheenen, Gailyn Van. Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies: Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.