Remember the Poor

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September 2017

Dear Friends,

            During tumultuous, eventful times, it is easy to forget the basics. The fundamental message of the gospel is that redemption has been accomplished through Jesus Christ, and that the great benefits of his finished work are available to anyone who asks, by faith. During epochs such as ours, which features terror attacks in Europe, a troubled American presidency, mass emigrations, but also medical advances, and so much more, if we want to respond sensibly we will want to stand on solid ground.

            One of the principal gospel essentials is care for the poor. Poverty relief was a principal sign that the Kingdom of God had arrived (Luke 4:18). A mark of true apostleship was remembering the poor (Galatians 2:10; Hebrews 13:16). This ministry is not an appendix, but an integral part of the gospel message.

            For anyone who knows them, the French are an extraordinarily compassionate people. If you are ever in trouble, you’ll want to be in France! French believers are particularly sensitive about the neediest. This is attested by the hundreds of Christian relief organizations in that country. One of the best is called Le SEL. It was created in 1980 by the Alliance Évangélique Française, with the purpose of being obedient to the biblical mandate to match words with actions. While its primary mission is poverty relief in developing countries, it has a strong educational commitment, which one can verify by accessing one of their web sites [https://www.topchretien.com/auteurs/sel/].

            Our Seminary in Aix is close to Le SEL. As you know, it trains leaders to be gospel proclaimers and also proper social activists. It does this in the classroom, and through mentoring, as well as special colloquia on such questions as “Pauvreté, Justice et Compassion”. In that particular symposium, seminars included, “Jesus’ Attitude toward the Poor”, “Obstacles to Poverty Relief”, “The Causes and Cures for Poverty”, and the like. Such conferences are broadcast far and wide through communications outfits such as Trésorsonore.

            This month, the Faculté Jean Calvin begins its forty-third academic year. Please pray that it remain faithful to the full message of the gospel!

                                                            Very Truly Yours,

                                                            William Edgar, President

Faculté Jean Calvin's 2017 Faculty Team

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From left to right:

Kim TRAN, Director
Michel JOHNER, Professor of History, Ethics and the Dean
Paul GIRAUD, Accountant, Choir Director
Aguy KHAYIGUIAN, Academic Assistant, Head of Recruitment
Yannick IMBERT, Professor of Apologetics, History
Mikaël DELUCA, Associate Professor of Hebrew, Head of Distance/e-Learning
Rodrigo DESOUSA, Professor of Old Testament, Hebrew
Donald COBB, Professor of New Testament, Greek
Jean Philippe BRU, Professor of Practical Theology
Gert KWAKKEL, Professor of Old Testament, Hebrew
Pierre-Sovann CHAUNY, Professor of Systematic Theology (not in photo)

We Owe You The Truth On...

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... YOUR ORIGINES

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... YOUR FUTURE

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... YOUR VOCATION

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS again this year that all of the teaching at the Faculté Jean Calvin will be faithful to the Word of God, and that day by day the students will be enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit.

And, for the Back to School Service, Sunday September 17, with Thierry LE GALL of CNEF.

FACULTÉ JEAN CALVIN
The faculté that is not afraid of the Truth.

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Who Is Jean-Philippe Bru?

           Jean-Philippe and Dana Bru

           Jean-Philippe and Dana Bru

      Jean-Philippe Bru is the current occupant of the James Montgomery Boice Chair of Practical Theology at the Faculté Jean Calvin, the Reformed seminary in Aix-en-Provence, France.

      The Rev. Bru was born near Bordeaux in 1965, but grew up in Nîmes, a major center of Protestantism in France. His family embraced the evangelical faith in the 1970s. After high school, Jean-Philippe attended the Seminary in Aix for a year. He then trained as a missionary in the Baptist Church, and was sent as a church-planter to Rumania. There he met his lovely wife, Dana. Together they returned to Aix so that Jean-Philippe could complete his studies. Dana is a scholar in her own right, an expert on European literature.

      After receiving the Masters degree at Aix, the Brus accepted a call to help with a church-planting effort in Lyon, alongside Francis Foucachon, another graduate from Aix. After six years in that work, the Brus were called to do evangelism in Saint-Girons, a town at the foothills of the Pyrénées, the mountain range bordering on Spain. He has also been a regular translator for Editions Excelsis, the largest evangelical publishing house in France. Jean-Philippe was ordained in the year 2007 in the Evangelical Reformed Church.

      Here is how Jean-Philippe describes his sense of call to the Seminary at Aix: “If I accepted the position of professor-coordinator of practical theology, it is of course because I have always been drawn to teaching, but it is especially because I have become more and more aware that pastors needed, in addition to their formal training, to be able to reflect theologically about their practice and to enlarge their toolbox in order better to face the challenges of their ministry.” Jean-Philippe believes the Faculté Jean Calvin is the right place to carry this out.

New Way to Contribute

There’s a new way to make financial contributions to The Huguenot Fellowship. Amazon is willing to make a contribution on your behalf whenever you shop using AmazonSmile. There is no extra cost to you. The amount they contribute is 0.5% of the purchase price on the items your order.

To get started go to smile.amazon.com, and follow the instructions below.

On the right side of the page, see the area: Select a charity. Another charity will be suggested, but you want to type ‘The Huguenot Fellowship’ in the box below the phrase: Or pick your own charitable organization, then click on the Search button. (‘The’ must be included, not just ‘Huguenot Fellowship’.) This will bring up a new page that shows The Huguenot Fellowship. Click on the yellow Select button next to ‘Glenside PA’. Thankfully, one only needs to perform this selection process once!

This is very important. Contributions are only made when shopping at smile.amazon.com, and not at amazon.com. So, please delete any links or shortcuts you may have to amazon.com and replace with smile.amazon.com. There’s no learning curve as both sites have the same look, features, and items for sale.

Your motivation for participating and Amazon’s motivation for contributing are likely as different as serving God versus serving mammon, of which, one cannot serve both. (Matthew 6:24) Let’s keep serving the Lord, and let Amazon answer for its own!

While Europe Slept

"Europe cannot remember who she is unless she remembers that she is the child not only of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and the Enlightenment but also of Judaism and Christianity—the child, therefore, of Catholicism and the Reformation. If Europe abandons her religious heritage, the idea of Europe dies. And Europe has abandoned, or forgotten, her religious heritage. Europe is now “post-Christian.” What does this mean? What does it portend?" ~ Jean Bethke Elshtain, the late American ethicist and political philosopher

Although Elshtain "...speak(s) here not of faith but of sustaining cultural memory...", her 2009 essay While Europe Slept is a thoughtful analysis of Europe's floundering self-identify and cultural malaise.

The Faculté Jean Calvin (Aix-en-Provence, France) is one of a few points of light in Europe that not only help to retain its fading memory of the Reformation; but most importantly, trains and prepares those who minister in calling Europe back to the Faith of the Reformation.

The Huguenot Fellowship's primary mission is to support the Faculté in order to keep its light shining brightly in the spiritual twilight of France. 

Please share this post with friends who may have a burden for the spiritual renewal of France and Europe.

Click here to read Elshtain's entire essay While Europe Slept.

Enduring The Race That Is Set Before Us

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

Quant à nous, nous sommes entourés de cette grande foule de témoins. Débarrassons-nous donc de tout ce qui alourdit notre marche, en particulier du péché qui s’accroche si facilement à nous, et courons résolument la course qui nous est proposée. Gardons les yeux fixés sur Jésus, dont notre foi dépend du commencement à la fin. Il a accepté de mourir sur la croix, sans tenir compte de la honte attachée à une telle mort, parce qu’il avait en vue la joie qui lui était réservée ; et maintenant il siège à la droite du trône de Dieu. ~ Hébreux 12:1-2 (La Bible en français courant)