ECCU Blog

When people ask me, “What leaders have made the biggest impact in your life?” ECCU’s founding director, Dr. George Vouga, is always at the top of my list. His friendship, constant encouragement, mentoring, and life example of vision and faithfulness have inspired and challenged me over my entire career. His deep love for his wife Agnes was a powerful example of what it means to “love your wife even as Christ loves the church.”

Dr. Vouga entered into eternity with our Lord on Saturday, September 15, after 102 short years on this earth. George shared with me on more than one occasion the almost comical way ECCU came into existence: Back in 1964, when George was general director of the Conservative Baptist Association of Southern California, he was initially opposed to starting a credit union. He told his close friend, Dr. I. Cedric Peterson (pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Whittier and fellow Dallas Seminary classmate) that the Association had too many obligations on its plate and there wasn’t room for another major initiative. So Dr. Peterson proceeded to tell George that he would be at his office every week to pray that the Lord would change his mind. After some time, and week after week of Dr. Peterson praying earnestly on his knees in Dr.Vouga’s office, George freely admitted that the Lord did indeed change his mind—and heart. ECCU was launched in October of 1964—48 years ago. George became a champion for the credit union and his passionate support never waivered. I thank the Lord for George’s obedience and humble leadership at a time his rational mind was telling him “no way.”

I was privileged to meet George in 1975, the year I started with the credit union, then known as Conservative Baptist Credit Union. George retired the following year, but our relationship grew as George became a close friend and mentor, even while serving many years on the board of directors. From those modest beginnings when a few pastors and friends made their first $25 deposits, the credit union grew and prospered. Today ECCU serves more than 2,000 ministries across the country and about 3,500 missionaries in 100 countries around the world. The credit union stewards over $1 billion in core assets and nearly $3 billion in assets under management.

My wife Cindy and I shared the joy of hosting Dr. Vouga (we still called him “Dr.”) along with his two sons and their wives in our home for dinner just a few months ago. It wasn’t long before he asked, “So, what are our assets?” Even at 102, the credit union and its well-being were still top of mind. We enjoyed a wonderful evening together and will cherish that last time of earthly fellowship with him.

The Bible Dr. Vouga used in his first pastorate in the Chicago area (around 1932) is secured in our ECCU auditorium podium. Every time I stand before our staff during our weekly chapels, I think of George’s Bible, his constant encouragement, and enduring legacy for our Lord. 1 Peter 5 tells us that those who faithfully shepherd the flock of God will receive the “unfading crown of glory” directly from the Chief Shepherd. That must have been a beautiful Heavenly ceremony when Dr. Vouga finally arrived home!

Do you have any “Dr. Vougas” in your life? We’d love to hear about who has significantly impacted your life and ministry.

There’s no avoiding it. Sooner or later, we are all accountable. When it’s welcomed as an integral part of our lives, accountability is the very foundation of personal development and organizational health. When accountability is absent, delayed, or dysfunctional, our character, reputation, and effectiveness suffer. And when the inevitable consequences arise, weakly accountable people are surprised when their lives begin to fall apart.

Scripture is clear that there will come a day of ultimate accountability for every single person. “…for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:11–13)

So what keeps us from welcoming or inviting personal accountability?

• Sometimes we are fearful of being told the truth, or fearful of the consequences of our vulnerability, so we close off ourselves from giving and receiving much-needed, refining, character-building truth about ourselves.
• Those close to us avoid offering feedback because it doesn’t seem safe for others to tell us the truth about ourselves. We get defensive, or even go on the attack, so people just avoid even gentle words of counsel.
• Some accountability suffers when churches and organizations lack the will or processes that enable consistent feedback. It’s not a priority, so most accountability is ad hoc and inconsistent.

As a result, most people and organizations—particularly Christians—aren’t very good at holding one another accountable. This tension at times leads to frustration, inconsistency, lack of fairness. The very thing that Jesus prayed for the church—unity—is weakened or destroyed.

Yet it is in God-honoring accountability that we break down barriers to unity and build up the body of Christ. A stronger, more God-glorifying church emerges from a healthy culture of accountability. “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 NIV, emphasis mine)

In my next few blog posts I will explore with you what the Bible says about God-honoring accountability. We’ll answer the question: What should accountability look like and how can we do it well?

God’s glory is the manifestation of all that God is—His divine attributes of holiness, grace, judgment, eternality, omniscience, and love, to name a few. To acknowledge God’s glory is to come to a greater understanding of who He is, to grasp a glimpse of His beauty, brilliance, effulgence, and radiance. 

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints… (Ephesians 1:18)

To glorify God is to reflect on and give back the glory He has revealed to us—in His Word, in His creation, and in our own hearts. At its core, giving God glory must start with ascribing to God all that He is.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

1 Chronicles 16 gives us a beautiful tutorial, a worship guide, of how we give God glory. It is by no means exhaustive—it will take eternity and beyond to give God all the glory due his name—but it’s a wonderful start, and the essential foundation for the fulfillment of the Pauline command: Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

How do we give God glory?

Sing. Beautiful, worshipful songs are a gift of God. Music fills heaven today and will be an all-encompassing part of our heavenly experience. Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day (v. 23). 

Tell. Giving God glory means we tell of His divine attributes and the immeasurable sacrifice of His Son to all who will listen. If you are Tim Tebow or Albert Pujols, you tell everyone on national television of God’s grace and faithfulness every chance you get. The rest of us may not have a celebrity spotlight on us, but others are watching. And we can speak of His love, His faithfulness in our lives, at every opportunity. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples (v. 24). 

Praise. We give God glory by praising Him for all He is and that He has done. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place (vv. 25–27). 

Sacrificial Giving. Beyond our weekly offerings at church, giving calls for sacrificing to God things that we would, in our honest moments, rather keep for ourselves. (Like taking credit for things God is actually doing—pretty much every good thing.) At the heart of what “glory” means is this principle: We glorify God by giving Him all the credit due Him. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him(vv. 28-29b). 

Worship. God tells us that even His inanimate creation worships Him. If inanimate rocks and oceans and trees glorify God, how much more must those created in His image? Worship the Lord in holy array. Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved(vv. 29c–30). 

Thanks. We glorify God by giving thanks to Him. O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name, And glory in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting (vv. 34–36a). 

Finally, we glorify God by doing all these things together. Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord (v. 36b).

One of the most amazing things to me about being a follower of Christ is that we never stop learning about—and marveling at—the glory of God. Remember in 1 Samuel when the ark of the covenant disappeared and Scripture records that God’s glory departed from Israel? Then again in Ezekiel, chapters eight through ten, the story is told of the Shekinah glory of God departing from the temple. What a sad and dark time. For hundreds of years, the people lived without the glory, without the recognition of God’s holiness.

But God is as rich in mercy as He is in glory, and He did not leave His people forever. When Jesus was born, the glory of the Lord returned to earth! When we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are also celebrating the return of God’s glory.

Yet the birth of Christ was only the beginning of the restoration of God’s glory on earth. Jesus’ sinless life and sacrifice on the cross displayed God’s glory as no other event in history. And Christ’s ultimate return and heavenly kingdom will display the fullness of the glory of God.

Every time we enter the presence of God in our worship, we reflect His glory. It is only by receiving His glory that we may, in turn, bring Him all glory and honor and praise (2 Corinthians 3:18).

This Christmas season, may our hearts be filled with praise for the God who became flesh…for the glory of the Lord has returned!

“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:13)

This Thanksgiving, 21 out of my 27 family members who came together to “celebrate” ended up with the stomach flu. My house turned into an infirmary and Thanksgiving weekend looked slightly different than we all anticipated. As I did my best to help out with the grandkids (while trying to avoid catching this nasty bug), I reflected on a few reasons for thankfulness we don’t often think about—perhaps the ultimate reason for thankfulness.

It comes down to this: We are included in God’s unshakable kingdom. If we can act on this truth, we can find thanksgiving in any circumstance. And Jesus gives us some specific commands to help us set our minds on the kingdom.

1. Ask for the kingdom. When Jesus gave his disciples the model for prayer, the first thing he instructed them to ask for was God’s will to be done, God’s kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven. That’s an amazing request. Before any other request—before food, forgiveness, or protection from evil and temptation—we are to ask for God’s kingdom to be firmly established on earth, exactly like it is in heaven now.

There is a present sense to that prayer—that God would work through his church to proclaim the gospel and serve others in the name of Christ. There is also a future sense of God’s kingdom. Someday Jesus will return to restore and recreate the earth and make it perfect. He will completely reverse the effects of sin. Believers are to long for the kingdom now…to make it so important in our lives that it’s the first thing we ask for. Because we know, according to Romans 8, that the sufferings of this present time are not even comparable to the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2.  Be thankful for God’s kingdom. There are infinitely good reasons to long for God’s kingdom, but perhaps the greatest is that it can’t be shaken. These are difficult times. Many are out of work; many are concerned about their jobs. God knows we have needs on this earth and can’t wait for heaven. That’s why Jesus’ model prayer starts with a call for God’s kingdom but moves immediately to our immediate need, daily bread.  That’s also why Jesus was so careful to emphasize that God knows our every need. He knows the needs of the sparrows and counts the very hairs of our heads. But our cry for daily care must be grounded in our hope and anticipation of the kingdom to come. And in our commitment to live out God’s kingdom now on this earth, as the church, lives in the likeness of Christ in all that we do as we await his coming. So choose to live there—now. Hebrews 12 tells us that someday God will remove the “things that have been made.” Everything material will be removed, the earth will burn, but God’s kingdom is eternal and perfect and indestructible. Nothing can even shake it: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28).

3.  Worship God for including us in his kingdom.  God bought us and brought us into his kingdom through the sacrifice of his Son. Thankfully, living in God’s kingdom results in deep, often spontaneous, worship. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12: 28 -29)  

Acceptable worship is thankful worship. 

Jesus reminds us that while the world around us may be shaken, he has brought us into his unshakable kingdom. Because of this profound truth, we have every reason to rejoice and be glad even in the midst of our deepest valleys—and Thanksgiving-day flu bugs.