Speaking Of Life | Neither Jew nor Greek, Male nor Female

Greg Williams

 Many organizations call themselves “international.” In most cases this is having a minimal affiliation with a few people in one or two countries outside of the United States.

The “international” in Grace Communion International carries a lot of weight. We currently have congregations and members in over 90 countries and our membership overseas actually out numbers our US membership. The international connection is one of our greatest organizational strengths, and we count this as a great blessing.

This international aspect of who GCI is pairs well with what the Apostle Paul declares in Galatians 3:28

 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Sonship and daughtership is not by race, class or gender but through the bonding relationship of Jesus.

Matthew Henry states the condition of humanity because of Jesus very well in his Bible Commentary:

But it is not so now; they all stand on the same level, and are all one in Christ Jesus; as the one is not accepted on the account of any national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so neither is the other rejected for the want of them; but all who sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition, soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God through faith in him.

 Identity in Jesus trumps all other conditions – be it nationality, gender, or station in life. And as we are one in Jesus, united in him we can then rightly celebrate the diversity that we see in the wide array of people that make up the human race.

In our celebration of diversity, we will add multiple presenters to Speaking of Life. I will continue to be the primary speaker, but it is my distinct privilege to introduce and include an assortment of other voices that will make our program richer and provide a better representation of who we are in GCI.

The new presenters you will be seeing from time to time are:

Michelle Fleming – Michelle is the Director over Media for GCI

Jeff Broadnax – Jeff oversees Generations Ministries

Heber Ticas – The Superintendent of our Latin American churches

And Anthony Mullins – The National Coordinator of our Intern and Pastoral Residents Program

This group are all involved in development and new innovations for GCI. I have great confidence in each of these new presenters and I believe that you will enjoy hearing the lessons and stories that they will be bringing.

One other new aspect to our program is that each week our lessons and stories will be tied in with the scriptural themes that flow from the Revised Common Lectionary. This connects Speaking of Life to the sermon themes that so many of our pastors will be speaking about in our local churches. As Paul told us that we are “one in Christ,” it is in this spirit that we are striving for greater continuity in what we provide for you, our viewer.

I am thrilled to announce these new developments and share the studio with my fellow presenters. It is my hope that these innovations will better reflect the diversity and unity in GCI.

I am Greg Williams – Speaking of Life!