Letter from the President - August 2010
Dear Friends of FGA,
The great British statesman Benjamin Disraeli declared "The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." We of the Free Grace Alliance have been privileged to know some of the heroes of grace and as such we have inherited a great example. But our culture, both secular and sacred, is experiencing a massive change of both chronos and kairos. Therefore, the seminal question that must be asked and answered is: “How are we transferring both the passion and knowledge of Free Grace theology to the next generation?”
Having been a pastor and a professor during the past 35 years, I know that truth is both caught and taught. I also know that time is tough to control in the ministry. The urgent often wins over the important. But we must never simply live by the clock at the expense of the compass. So the “compass question” for all of us is this: How are we doing in our intentional discipling of the next generation of young leaders in our ministries regarding the theology of grace? Who are you pouring your life into and influencing? You need to be close enough to infect so as to influence. I know this takes time and time is what you run out of all too quickly. “But anything less than a conscious decision for the important is an unconscious decision for the unimportant.”
I believe and have acted on what the great Harvard scholar William James said: "The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." I have spent the majority of my life and ministry building into young men whom I have hoped would one day return the favor to others. My philosophy has been as the old Greek proverb states: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit under.”
The Free Grace Alliance- that is you- must provide to the next generation, mediated and manifested by your life and lips, a biblically accurate and culturally relevant understanding of the truth of the grace of God. We can accept no excuses.
One of the tools of exposure that can help is to invite the people on your staff or people you are discipling to the FGA National Conference in Dallas Texas. We expect this year’s conference to be one of the best yet! We have excellent speakers lined up including Dr. Charles Ryrie as our banquet speaker. For more conference details see the link on this page. Friends, we are called by the Lord Jesus to invest our lives for that which is significant. And therefore we must remember the salient words of Goethe;“Things that matter least must never come about at the expense of things that matter most.”
Serving Him with you
Until He comes for us,
Fred Chay, Ph.D.
The great British statesman Benjamin Disraeli declared "The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." We of the Free Grace Alliance have been privileged to know some of the heroes of grace and as such we have inherited a great example. But our culture, both secular and sacred, is experiencing a massive change of both chronos and kairos. Therefore, the seminal question that must be asked and answered is: “How are we transferring both the passion and knowledge of Free Grace theology to the next generation?”
Having been a pastor and a professor during the past 35 years, I know that truth is both caught and taught. I also know that time is tough to control in the ministry. The urgent often wins over the important. But we must never simply live by the clock at the expense of the compass. So the “compass question” for all of us is this: How are we doing in our intentional discipling of the next generation of young leaders in our ministries regarding the theology of grace? Who are you pouring your life into and influencing? You need to be close enough to infect so as to influence. I know this takes time and time is what you run out of all too quickly. “But anything less than a conscious decision for the important is an unconscious decision for the unimportant.”
I believe and have acted on what the great Harvard scholar William James said: "The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." I have spent the majority of my life and ministry building into young men whom I have hoped would one day return the favor to others. My philosophy has been as the old Greek proverb states: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit under.”
The Free Grace Alliance- that is you- must provide to the next generation, mediated and manifested by your life and lips, a biblically accurate and culturally relevant understanding of the truth of the grace of God. We can accept no excuses.
One of the tools of exposure that can help is to invite the people on your staff or people you are discipling to the FGA National Conference in Dallas Texas. We expect this year’s conference to be one of the best yet! We have excellent speakers lined up including Dr. Charles Ryrie as our banquet speaker. For more conference details see the link on this page. Friends, we are called by the Lord Jesus to invest our lives for that which is significant. And therefore we must remember the salient words of Goethe;“Things that matter least must never come about at the expense of things that matter most.”
Serving Him with you
Until He comes for us,
Fred Chay, Ph.D.
