John Fischer The Catch

The Catch Ministry is pleased to announce that Marti and John are finally taking time off starting today, August 31 for two weeks. The first week is designated primarily for rest and will include an operation on Marti’s eyes on Wednesday. (How’s else are they going to get Marti to rest for a few days?) Then, given Marti’s sufficient recovery, they will spend the second week praying and planning for next year.

Meanwhile, the Catch will be in the good hands of Prayer Pastor, Cynthia Cody Vera and Associate Pastor Wayne Bridegroom who will also be writing the Catch for this first week.

Wayne is from Modesto, California and was the pastor at Central Baptist Church for four decades. His unique experience there was to share their ministry with 7 separate ethnic groups and also supported the African American population and their churches in Modesto. For his work supporting these communities Wayne received the Martin Luther King, Jr Award, the only white person to ever receive the honor.

Doug Stevens is not new to the Catch community, having been a popular, frequent guest on our BlogTalkRadio podcast. As well as being a pastor for years, in these later years he has perfected a specialty at being a temporary pastor and consultant to churches in crisis. Doug’s humbleness, compassion and way with people have suited him perfectly for this unique job. He also has a ministry to pastors and travels extensively for various global missions. We welcome both Doug and Wayne and their wise statements of grace in these troubling times.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-4).

If “seeing each other through” had a scripture passage to go with it, it would be this one. Notice how helping someone else avoid temptation includes a realization of your own susceptibility. You can’t help your brother or sister with a splinter in his/her eye without dealing with the log in your own. And don’t forget: dealing with the log in your own eye makes you a different person. You approach his/her speck from an entirely different perspective than if it were only the other person’s problem. No, it’s your problem, too. You have personal experience.

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My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin… (1 John 2:1)

This first sentence of the next chapter of 1 John appears to contradict the statements he made at the end of the last chapter where he stated that if we claim to have no sin, we are fooling ourselves and making God out to be a liar. Now he’s telling us he’s writing this so we won’t sin? What gives?

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