January 2016

The Smartest One in the Room

Who would you say is the smartest person who ever lived? Albert Einstein? King Solomon? A philosophy
professor I had in college told me the smartest person he had ever met was my mother. They were
classmates in college. He made that confession right after he introduced me to her. He hadnt seen her since
they left school. I guess he hadnt noticed the resemblance in our abilities. Someone who doesnt often get
mentioned in the list of the smartest people who ever lived is Jesus.
Just how smart is Jesus? Ive been having a friendly debate on that subject. My friend argues that Jesus was the
smartest person who ever lived. I am skeptical. The human Jesus didnt have to be the best at everything to
accomplish his work. Would Jesus have to be the strongest man that ever lived or have the best eye sight?
Like any good debate it got me thinking. Id never thought of how intelligent Jesus is, but Ive come to the
conclusion he is a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.
Consider the story of Jesus in the temple from the gospel of Luke. Jesus is impressive. Their culture valued
knowledge and understanding of the Scripture above anything else. Jesus was able to impress the best minds
of his day when he was only 12.
Im not sure how the two natures of Christ affected his human intelligence, but there is a phrase in
Colossians 2:2-3 that suggests they do. ...to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the
knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. Maybe my friend is right.
In college on my daily commutes I used to listen to a radio show called Ask Dr. Science. It had the tag line,
He knows more than you do. One thing I am sure of Jesus knows more than I do. More importantly Jesus
understands what he knows and is able to use it. Maybe that does make Jesus the smartest person who ever
lived. I find that tremendously encouraging.
One of my favorite sayings is, If youre the smartest one in the room, you are in the wrong room. The
cross settled the question of how much Jesus loves us. We know he wants what is best for us. The
intelligence and wisdom of Jesus should give us confidence that he knows what is best for us and we can trust
what he says. Turning control of your life over to someone is much easier if they love you and know more
than you do.
In the words of Jesus, The Bible, we can find the wisdom we need. All Scripture is inspired by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may
be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16. You can trust Jesus. He knows more than you
do.

- Pastor Steve

Know Gods Word

Dear Faith Church,

Merry Christmas and happy New Year! The year has wrapped up well in Colombia, but instead of recapping
the year in writing, I want to point you to my blog (www.kevinuwm.blogspot.com). In the December 2015
section you can see a five-minute video I made reviewing this past year, where you can hear from a few of
my students about their experiences and see a bit of Colombia through photos and video. If youre
interested in the more academic and theological side of things, I also posted a blog about the books I have
read this year (mostly for preparing my courses), giving some recommendations of those I found most helpful
or interesting. If you go to November 2015 on the blog menu, you can see a post with photos of our
seminary graduation a few weeks ago.
The past few weeks since the end of classes have been a blessing. I have been able to rest a bit more as well
as devote a significant amount of time to reading related to my Christology research project. I also translated
a paper I wrote in my Masters program on the Christology of Acts 2:36 to publish soon in our seminary
journal, Ventana Teolgica (which means Theological Window). The journal isnt indexed or peer-reviewed
(academic terminology for a certain higher level of recognition and quality control), but were seeking to
move toward that in the future, and contributing some of my writing is a way to help toward that process.
I have been celebrating Christmas and New Years in Colombia with my parents, who have been making a
two-week visit. I will be back to work on January 12 and classes start up January 26. While I havent been
home for the holidays, I am planning to make a visit back to Montana around late June to early July of 2016,
between semesters here, and I look forward to seeing you then!
I hope you have had a wonderful celebration of Jesus' birth. Spending so much time reflecting on the doctrine
of Christ, the reality of the incarnation never ceases to amaze me! May we take the time to stand in awe of
the mystery that God came to be with us in the most intimate way possible.

In Christ,
Kevin

Show Christs Love

Ministers of the Month

To start off 2016 we would like to honor the Building Committee as our January Ministers of the Month.
These men have spent many hours planning for, praying for, and building Faiths new sanctuary. We are
grateful for all they have done to help build our new worship area. Thank you Dan Brien, Brent Councilor,
Mick Diede, David Gibson, Greg Greene, Randy Johnson, Randy Kjos, Alan Olson, Bryan Puch, Marc Rold,
Lindy Smith, Steve Snipstead and Micah Horneman. Our congregation is blessed to have you all on the
Building Committee! Thank you!

Thrivent Action Teams

One of the initiatives our church is planning for the coming year is to increase the use of Thrivent Action
Teams. Last year grants from Thrivent helped support activities in our church like the Friendship dinner, the
Spring Block Party, Vacation Bible School, The Fall Festival, and our Harvest Dinner. In 2016 we would like
continue to use Action Team grants for activities like these and add additional projects that benefit our
community.
Think about an unmet need in your community and how you could help. Apply to lead your volunteer team
in a one-time fundraiser, service activity or educational event that can be completed within 90 days. Once
your project is approved, you'll receive a Thrivent Action Kit, including: promotional banner, invitations and
thank-you cards, Thrivent Action Team T-shirts.
A $250 Community Impact Card you can use as seed money to purchase project supplies and create
promotional materials.
All Thrivent members are eligible to lead a Thrivent Action Team. There are 20 plus action team members
connected to Faith church. However, the number of teams each member can lead per year depends on his
or her membership type. Benefit members are eligible to lead two Thrivent Action Teams per calendar year,
and associate members are eligible to lead one per calendar year (maximum of three).
If you would like to get involved in blessing your church and community contact the church offices and stay
tuned for our first organizational meeting in January.

Do You Have Something to Share?

We would love to hear from you in our newsletter! If you have a story or devotional which highlights Gods
work or character, we would like to publish it in our newsletter. All articles can be submitted for review and
editing to our church office. We look forward to hearing from you!

Grow Disciples

Next Step Progress

The building project continues to move ahead at a fast and furious pace. For the last few weeks multiple
decisions had to be made almost every day. Preparations for every part of the exterior and interior are being
finalized in this stage of the project. Electrical work was one of the big areas last month.
A lot of time was spent determining how much additional support would be necessary for the proposed
natural river rock facing for the front of the sanctuary. The total amount of rock will cover most of the front
of the sanctuary and will weigh in excess of 15,000 pounds.
The walls will be sheet rocked, and heat will be cranked up in the building. Soon siding, building the stage,
misc. projects and as always clean up will provide opportunities for anyone who wants to get involved.

Treasurers Report End of November 2015

Operating Funds Giving/Income:
$ 16,840
Expense/Outgoing:
$ 14,749
Budget/; (Monthly Budget amount is $ 15,052
Restricted Funds Giving/Income:
$ 9,626
Restricted Funds Expense/Outgoing: $ 170,197
Year To Date
Operating Funds Giving/Income:
Expense/Outgoing:
Budget/; (Budget YTD $ )

$ 150,280
$ 146,474
$ 160,798

Restricted Funds Giving/Income:

$ 146,663
Restricted Funds Expense/Outgoing: $ 380,569
Bank Balances (as of November 30, 2015): $392,925
Whitefish Credit Union = $50,185
Glacier Bank = $342,740
Operating = $22,985
Restricted = $319,755
Thrivent Loan = ($498,909)THRIVENT LOAN ($49,799)

One person at a time