Lucretia Kellers, beloved wife of Fred Kellers, died Tuesday morning, July 4. She had been bedridden for some time. We are all greatly saddened by this loss of a faithful Christian, wife, mother and helper in the ministry of Jesus Christ. It's moments like this that directly focus us on life's greater purpose, the Resurrection and our eternal relationship with God. We are all praying for Fred and his family at the time of this loss; we also know that there will be a time of joy when God brings her back to life eternal.

UYC camp Hye Sierra in California is in progress at this moment. From reports I've received from directors and staff, it has been exciting for all. Camp Cotubic in Ohio and Pinecrest in Missouri are behind us, with Woodmen in Alabama and Northwest Camp in Oregon still ahead. These are the summer camps in the United States. This year's theme "Building Your Relationship with God" has been most conducive to discussion among our teens and staff and has received great reviews.

Yesterday, Sue Dunkle dropped by to show me the work done on the Festival Activity books for this year's Feast of Tabernacles. She and other volunteer workers are putting together four levels of booklets. They are for grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and grade 6 through teen. The work done is producing creative and educational materials. It is intended to be a help for parents. The theme of the workbooks will be the same as our Youth Camps. They will be printed in late August and sent to all the Feast sites. A downloadable version will also be posted on the Feast website that can be printed yourself. A Spanish-language version will be available, too.

The new and updated Good Works website was launched this past week. You can see the new website by clicking here: https://www.ucg.org/members/outreach/good-works. It is greatly improved both aesthetically and functionally. And it's mobile friendly. On the UCG members page the "Good Works" tab replaces the former "Outreach" tab. Youth Corps will become part of Good Works and new projects will be featured on the Good Works page with application information. Members can receive automatic e-mail updates by subscribing to this newsletter which prominently features what is on the Good Works and Members pages. To sign up for e-mails click here: https://www.ucg.org/subscribe-to-email-updates. 

Undercover Boss

There is a popular reality TV show that has been embraced by a record number of people. Based on a British TV show by the same name, the American TV program Undercover Boss captured a record 38 million viewers when it first aired back in 2010. It continues to be popular.

You may have seen it. If you haven't, the program format features an upper-management professional at a major business who quietly "re-joins" the company at an entry level. He or she begins working with other employees who don't know who the executive really is.

CEOs and other high-ranking executives go incognito to gain firsthand knowledge of the faults and strengths of their company. The unrehearsed experience is recorded, and oftentimes takes unexpected turns. Coming out of the turbulent Great Recession, the program was originally thought to expose corporate distrust. But it quickly "uncovered" some amazing stories.

In various episodes (including one about the Great Wolf Lodge organization where coincidentally we have been conducting our Winter Family Weekend in the Cincinnati area), the "undercover" executive learns firsthand about the lives of his or her company's employees. The executive learns about trials they face. He (or she) often finds out some deep thoughts from employees. Sometimes some bad things show up and employees are uncovered who aren't performing well.

For those who have not seen it, at the end of the program the identity of the senior executive is revealed. Surprise! Sometimes the negative behavior is exposed. Often the executive extends some form of aid (financial or educational) to help an employee deal with a long-standing problem. Hard-working formerly unrecognized employees are surprised to find themselves promoted or rewarded financially. As one TV reviewer noted, "Undercover Boss has clearly touched a nerve with viewers." Others described the show as "irresistible" and "undeniably touching."

One of the reasons that my wife Bev and I like it is for the strong parallels that the program seems to have with the greatest "undercover boss" of all: Jesus Christ.

The Gospels point out in several places that until the very end of His public ministry, Jesus largely kept undercover. When He performed a miracle like healing, He often charged the fortunate recipient with a warning: "See that you say nothing to anyone" (Mark 1:43-44).

In its first few verses, the Gospel of John spells out exactly Who and What Jesus was. In the first chapter Jesus is identified as the pre-existent Word. The Word, John declares, was God and was with God the Father throughout all eternity leading up to the present. The Word, we read, became flesh and dwelt among men (John 1:14).

As a human in the early days of His ministry, Jesus was the ultimate incognito "undercover boss." As Isaiah prophesied of Jesus, "There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us [physically] to him" (Isaiah 53:2, New Living Translation).

Jesus mixed with all social levels of humanity (Matthew 9:10), from Jerusalem to Tyre to parts of what is modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. He hurt for them. He healed them. He spoke to them. He truly experienced the humanity that He had Himself created (Hebrews 1:2-3).

Like the reality TV program, it was only in the last months of His ministry that Jesus revealed Himself to actually be God, the Great "I AM" revealed to Moses (John 8:58). Then, in His last days as a human, Jesus finally declared to the high Roman authority in Palestine that He was and is a King (John 18:37), whose kingdom was then "not of this world" (John 18:36).

Interestingly, for us today, Jesus still often acts in an incognito fashion. As we read in Matthew, at the time that the prophesied Kingdom of God is actually beginning, Jesus will say these awe-inspiring words: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world" (Matthew 25:34, NLT).

Why does Jesus say these newly transformed saints are so blessed? "I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was naked, and you gave me clothing." (Matthew 25:35-36).

Note the reaction of those whom Jesus is speaking to. They are puzzled. They don't remember doing anything like what Jesus described for Him.

How does Jesus clarify the thought? "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" (Matthew 25:40, NLT). Jesus Christ is completely aware of what we do for Him figuratively when we care for the disadvantaged and vulnerable.

We also see how humble Jesus was during His incognito human ministry. Paul instructs us that "You must also have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God...he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being...he humbled himself in obedience to God" (Philippians 2:5-8, NLT).

As the ultimate "Undercover Boss," Jesus Himself was rewarded at the culmination of His incredibly successful human ministry: "God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:9-10, NLT).

Of course, the reality TV series Undercover Boss is not perfect. But it does have some elements that we can reflect on in terms of what Jesus did and does today.

As Jesus instructed us, we are not to be obvious and vain-seeking in our worship of God, but to have in some respects our own form of being incognito. As we do so, "your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:18).