End of year 2021 (2) – GoedBericht (GoodMessage)

Looking back on a year almost gone has something of a farewell. In yesterday’s blog I looked back on world events and placed this against the background of the countdown of this aeon. In this blog I would like to highlight the work under the banner of ‘GoedBericht’ and also look ahead a bit.

a Good Message!

I speak of “the work under the banner of GB” and that phrasing is correct. Because the activities in that regard occupy me literally day and night, seven days a week. And yet, it does not feel like work. Everything that I may do in this, asks of me not so much energy, it gives me energy. And inspiration. Every day I experience what I do as a great privilege. In my opinion that is also self-evident. After all, I may stand up for a message that in all respects and fully may be called a Good Message. Even the best message in someone’s wildest dreams can still not stand in the shadow of what God in his Word has to say. The one GOD who places everything and by whom nothing ever goes wrong, does not abandon the works of his hands. Through his Son whom He raised as Firstfruits from the dead, He is the Savior of all people and of the whole world! There you go! Nothing and no one can compete with that.

limitations

It is this solid message which also in 2021 could be heard again in various tones and could be passed on. Certainly, the work of GB also suffered from the restrictive corona measures of the government. The annual GB weekend could again not take place and also the conferences in Bilderberg‑Garderen were again cancelled. Also various study evenings could sometimes not take place and currently the community center in Benthuizen is also closed due to the lockdown. But despite these external factors, GB has let the gatherings take place to the maximum. Indeed, GB does not participate in ‘the new normal’ and does little with the hypes and panic of the mainstream media. But you already knew that.

the website

The work on the website consisted firstly of the daily column ‘Goed Belicht’. In addition nearly thirty blogs appeared and weekly one or more new lectures were posted with both MP3s (podcasts), PowerPoints and videos. The Bible evenings were also thereby freshly supplemented each time. For the first time this year all gatherings were broadcast via livestream. In the beginning that sometimes still produced some technical problems, but those now mostly belong to the past. Occasionally the live connection is still ‘a thing’, but watching the video later is always possible. GB has since the beginning of this year possessed a special livestream camera and also reaps all sorts of fruits from its own Vimeo channel through which, for example, direct broadcast is also possible via YouTube and Facebook.

many places

Twice a month there were gatherings in Benthuizen, monthly those “on Urk,” and additionally also in Rotterdam, The Hague, Nieuw Buinen, Zeewolde, Maarn, Lemele, Epe, and Nunspeet. The last three places are new to me. In the coming year I hope to continue the weekday studies in Nunspeet, alongside the monthly Bible evenings in Rotterdam. It is also the intention that on the last Wednesday evening of the coming months, gatherings will start somewhere in the northern tip of North Holland. Further details about this will soon appear on this website.

publication of books

New as well is that GB, in cooperation with EvangelieOmNiet.nl, has been able to publish two books. At the beginning of May, “Unprecedented Height” was released, a verse-by-verse commentary on the letter to the Ephesians (220 pages). And a few months later, in September, the twice-as-thick “Soulish is Not Spiritual” was published, a verse-by-verse commentary on the first letter to the Corinthians. Both books are available to read online for free or to download as PDF, but they are also available in printed form in bookstores or on the internet. From a marketing perspective, this approach is of course not convenient, but I can tell you that we are not concerned with sales figures and in any case no cent is earned from it. It’s about spreading the Word of God and nothing else.

Also for 2022, plans exist to let various books see the light. Among others, a book about typology in Genesis and one about Biblical chronology. Both books are in preparation. And when, in a few months, the series on the letter to the Romans is completed, we hope to publish that as well in book form. There is also a book in progress on the Gospel of John (based on a series of edited lectures) under the title “Living in His Name” (see the first draft here).

publication of brochures

Not only books but also brochures (bookazines) were published this year. Also in cooperation with EvangelieOmNiet.nl. First, in June, two brochures appeared under the title “The Seventy Books” (part 1 and part 2). Part 1 is the transcript of an interview by Wolter Brakshoofden with the undersigned about the essence of the Good Message, and the second part an interview about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ.

In July, the brochure “Fit for the home” was released, an edited lecture about the so-called “Christian house rules” in Colossians 3. In October followed “Why Born Blind?”, an edited lecture about the origin of evil, based on the story in John 9. And finally in December came the brochure “Model Fatherhood”, in which I go deeper in a lecture into what the fatherhood of God entails.

All these brochures, like the books, can be ordered physically or read online or in PDF (for free). Meanwhile, plans already exist to publish more brochures in the coming year. As early as January, one will appear titled “Always Joyful and Carefree?!” Wonderful to see that also in this area so many new initiatives are being taken!

outside the website

And then there are all kinds of activities that take place more or less under the umbrella of GB, but of which you are not kept informed. For example, this year I have been able to proclaim the Good Message six times during funerals and once during a wedding. Naturally, all of that is private and that’s why I don’t publicize it on the website.

I still try to reserve one day a week, when possible, to make visits especially to the elderly or the sick. Or to people who, for one reason or another, indicate that they are in need of that. In addition, I spend many hours per week answering questions that come to me, among others, via the contact form on the website. These questions can be about anything. Personal matters or problems, or all kinds of biblical questions. But also criticism (which I regard as free advice). In general, I take responding to such input very seriously.

And then there are also all sorts of gatherings that I don’t list on the GB agenda because they have a more or less private character. For example, monthly gatherings of young people around thirty years old fall into that category. And a few months ago, I was invited to give a few lectures during a (private) youth weekend. Wonderful!

support

This GB work has grown very organically over time. From a young age I had a love for God and His Word and I was already exploring the Scriptures early on. That has never been a choice of mine — that love was just there. Since 1988 I have also been speaking in real gatherings and from 2000 the GB website was added. The activities increasingly took up my time and so I decided to work less, which was made possible in part because my wife Petra supplemented the income through her work.

In 2009, the GoedBericht Foundation was established at request, to give people the opportunity to participate in the GB work so that I could free up as much time as possible for it. I have never promoted this because we believe that if it is meant to be, God will also provide the means. If not, then apparently it’s not meant to be. Call it naive, but that’s our stance. Gradually I was able to drop more and more freelance work (NT2) and for a few years now I’ve been able to fully dedicate myself to GB. GB is widely supported and without money ever being asked for, lovers of the Good Message spontaneously share in this work through donations. Is that not a demonstration of what a ‘community’ is and how ‘grace’ works? Without organization or obligations. It’s completely ‘free of charge’ and it truly works! Who else but our God should we give the credit for that?

With gratitude I would also like to mention how many others contribute in various ways to this work. To the website (the translation work!), to the activities related to the gatherings, and so on. I’ll not mention names, because I’d risk doing injustice to those I might forget.

And with these grateful observations I would like to conclude this end-of-year blog. It all comes down to one thing: to display and proclaim the Good Message as the apostle Paul once preached it among the nations, in all its richness. With that in mind, we head into 2022 — in the hopeful awareness: the BEST is yet to come!

Warm greetings from
André, Petra, and the rest of our family.

Delen: