Editorial by Chad Stuart
In 2017, when my family moved into our neighborhood in Maryland, our boys were 9, 7 and 5. Our street felt like a small-town movie: more than a dozen kids the same age, bikes on the roads, doorbells ringing— “Can your boys play?” Each afternoon, the children stitched families together with shared driveways and impromptu games of soccer or tag in front yards.
Editorial by Charles A. Tapp
Many years ago, while a college student, a good friend gave me a book that would change my life forever. The book is titled “Living God’s Love” by the author Douglas Cooper. For me, the most profound aspect of this book was Cooper's definition of love.
His definition resonated with me so strongly that I memorized it and have used it countless times since. On page 126, here’s how Douglas Cooper defines love. He says, “Loving is using one’s God-given power of choice, to do or say, that which is in the best good or interest of another, regardless of feelings.”
Editorial by Charles A. Tapp
As the Potomac Conference begins its new quinquennium, there is much for which we must be grateful. And as you can imagine, there are far too many blessings to list. But there is one thing we, as a conference, are thankful for and would be remiss not to mention—over the past five years, God has been incredibly faithful to His people. And His faithfulness has little to do with our faithfulness to Him. Rather, God’s faithfulness in the lives of His people has more to do with His goodness than it does with anything else.
Editorial by Carl Rodriguez
Many gift-giving traditions occur during Christmas in North America. Each family that celebrates the event has their own historical and cultural basis for the exchange of presents.
Even the Magi in the time of Christ’s birth gave gifts to show appreciation for the bountiful blessings God had bestowed on them. Matthew 2:11 records this event: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (NIV).
Editorial by Jerry Lutz
With all the evangelistic meetings and prophecy seminars that have been going on in our conference this year, such as our twin outreach initiatives, Pentecost 2025 and Reach Baltimore 2025, there are likely some unfamiliar faces and new members in your church. For this, we praise God and welcome them with open arms into the fellowship of believers. How wonderful it is to see how the Lord is blessing Chesapeake churches with hundreds of baptisms and many more who are preparing to join God’s great advent movement.
While we rejoice with the saved and celebrate every new soul who enters the kingdom, we who are more mature in our walk with Jesus and better grounded in the faith must be mindful of the special care and needs of our newborn brothers and sisters in Christ.