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Fowlerville and Maranatha Seeking a Senior Pastors
Two churches have been added to the list of churches needing a senior pastor:
- Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.)
- Maranatha UB (Perrington, Mich.)
Move, Pitch, and Clean
The Healthy Ministry Resources staff spent Monday and Tuesday cleaning out the warehouse. We threw out gobs and gobs of stuff, and totally rearranged the space. We're making room for the Huntington University Graduate School to put in a new classroom. Bishop Ron Ramsey and Pat Jones provided the muscle. Administrative Assistant Cathy Reich roamed the heights, stacking boxes atop an existing classroom and climbing through shelves to rearrange boxes. Jane Seely directed traffic, giving instructions about where things should go, since she's the main person who works out there.
And Steve Dennie did the least-strenuous thing he could think of--take photos.
"Don't you dare take a picture of me." Pat Jones, Marci Hammel (below), and Cathy Reich.
"You missed a spot." L-r: Pat Jones, Ron Ramsey, Jane Seely, Cathy Reich (foreground).
Cathy, Marci, and Pat move one of the large cabinets.
Evangelism Remixed: New Book by Dave Rahn
Dr. Dave Rahn, who teaches youth ministry at Huntington University, has co-authored a new book: "Evangelism Remixed: Empowering Students for Courageous and Contagious Faith." It'll be released July 1. He co-authored the book with Dr. Terry Linhart of Bethel College. It'll be available through Amazon.
"Your Three Words" with the Dunten Family
Good Morning America ran a "Your Three Words" video collage which included Polly Dunten and her three children. They are the very last clip. It begins with a photo used in a "Your Three Words" segment last summer, after Polly's surgery to remove a brain tumor. Husband Darwin Dunten is pastor of First UB church in Findlay, Ohio.
Military Coup in Honduras
A military coup occurred in Honduras on Sunday, June 28.
Good Shepherd's New Website
We mentioned back in April that Good Shepherd UB (Huntington, Ind.) won a nationwide contest for "The Ugliest Church Website." The prize was a complete redesign, for free, by a professional web design firm.
The new website is now in place at GSUBC.org. Take a look.
Evaluation Results from XLR8
We completed tabulating all the evaluations from the US National Conference. People were asked to rate various aspects of XLR8 on a scale of 1-10, with "Poor" on the low end and "Great" on the high end. When people circled "Great," we gave them an 11. That's why you see scores above 10.
On that note: way to be, children's and teen workers! You were obviously deeply appreciated.
The lowest scores went to the business session (no real surprise there), and music (music is a huge point of disagreement in local churches, so you would expect the same at a national church conference).
| Registration Process | 9.7 |
| Helpfulness of the Conference Staff | 10 |
| Tim Brown | 9.9 |
| Missions Night | 9.1 |
| Business Session | 7.9 |
| Sunday Morning Service | 9.5 |
| Music during various Services | 7.9 |
| Multimedia used during Conference | 9.1 |
| Receptions | 9.6 |
| Workshops | 9.3 |
| Morning Prayer | 9.4 |
| Printed Materials | 9.5 |
| Decorations/Use of Theme | 10 |
| Sawmill Creek Facilities | 9.7 |
| Hotel Costs | 8.4 |
| Free Time | 9.4 |
| Location | 9.4 |
| Women's Events | 9.4 |
| UB Historical Society Banquet | 9.8 |
| Church Multiplication Luncheon | 9.8 |
| Golf Outing | 9.9 |
| Nursery | 10.8 |
| Children's Activities | 10.1 |
| Teens Activities | 10.5 |
| Overall Evaluation | 9.7 |
Through the Neutral Zone
When I went to Mainstreet, the church had been on a steady decline for several years, going from 330 people to 220. The worship service was so structured that if you went in at 11:10 any time of the year, they would be doing the same thing. If they did the responsive reading at 11:10, that's where they did it every Sunday. The preacher quit at 11:30 whether he was done or not.
The power brokers of the church were members of the fully-robed choir. They marched in and sang the anthem.
Then I showed up. My first Sunday, in 1993, I told them I wanted to begin the service with the song "Majesty." "You'll march in from the back, through the double doors, and charge forward like you're capturing the mountain. And I want you to sing."
They groused about it, but they complied. Because the new guy said so.
They had been doing things one way. I took them into the neutral zone. But what I wanted was to get to the point where we didn't have a choir at all. That's not something you pull off overnight. But in time, we got there.
Death of Ed Mast
Rev. Ed Mast, a former United Brethren minister and church planter in California and Arizona, passed away Monday, June 22. Details are on the UB News page.
2010 UB Women's Conference
The Women's Ministry Team holds a convention for United Brethren women every two years. They are now announcing their 2010 conference, which you can get on your calendar:
September 17-19, 2010
Willow Valley Resort, Lancaster, Pa.
2009-2011 UB Discipline Available
The US National Conference made over 20 changes to the United Brethren Discipline, including two changes to the Constitution.
The revised Discipline is now ready. You can view it online, or download a PDF copy. The only way to get a printed copy is to download the PDF and print it out yourself. Since the national conference now meets every two years, instead of every four years, the Discipline's shelf-life has been cut in half. It's just not worthwhile to print up copies for that short period of time.
But the PDF is good. Plus, in the extraordinary event that an error is discovered, it can be easily corrected.
The other major document is the Pastoral Ministry Handbook, which gives information about our various ministerial licenses, our assignment procedures, etc. That document is updated regularly by the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team. You can download the latest version as a PDF file.
Interested in Touring the Holy Land?
Randy Carpenter, from Walbridge, Ohio, is leading a trip to Israel November 1-13, 2009. Currently, 14 people are signed up, but there is space for others who may be interested in going. The cost is $3200 per person (not including taxes and tip to tour guides). The trip is using Bible Lands & Reformatin Group Travel, which we mentioned previously. If interested, contact Randy at: (419) 708-7994. Or email him. (Itinerary in a MS Word file)
The Mainstreet Worship Team on YouTube
If you search for it, you can find a lot of United Brethren stuff on YouTube. Here are some videos which show the worship team of Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio. This team provided music during Thursday and Friday nights at the 2009 US National Conference. It also shows the platform setup for Mainstreet's new facility. These videos were uploaded by John Authenreith, the worship pastor at Mainstreet.
Gordon Kettel Speaking at XLR8
Church planter Gordon Kettel spoke during the business session of the 2009 US National Conference about Imagine This LLC, the church he started in Grand Ledge, Mich.
Death of Mert Lahr
Some of you may remember Phyllis Lahr, who was executive secretary for nearly 20 years to bishops C. Ray Miller, Wilber L. Sites, Clarence Kopp, and Ray Seilhamer. Phyllis's husband, Mert, passed away June 8, and the funeral was held last Friday. They had been married since 1963.
Mert had been in a nursing home in Markle, Ind., but Phyllis wasn't content with the care he was receiving. So she sold their home in Markle, bought a place in Fort Wayne, and moved Mert into this new home where she could take care of him herself. That's what she did for the past several years.
As a Child Thinketh....
At Corunna UB, the church my husband Jason pastors, we started Vacation Bible School last night. I am co-teaching with another person.
During the lesson, as I talked about what sin is, I asked the young children, "How many of you have never sinned?"
One little five-year-old girl shot her hand up.
"You've never sinned?" I asked her.
She answered, "I've been naughty, but I've never sinned."
A Long Way to Travel for Babysitting
Jeff Bleijerveld was in Macau last week, visiting our missionaries, and he spent some time at the home of David and Melissa Kline. Dave Kline sent the above photo, showing Jeff with the Kline kids, with this subject line: "The work of Jeff Bleijerveld in Macau. There was some other stuff, too."
New Website: New Hope Community Church
New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio) has published a really impressive new website. It was designed by AspireOne, a top-notch organization that helps churches in the areas of media strategy, design, and branding. The pastor of New Hope is George Kreger.
Praying for the Bikers
Andrew Atkins, pastor of Monticello UB (Spencerville, Ohio), sent us this testimony. It happened on Saturday night, June 6, after the evening service at the US National Conference. Andrew said we could publish the story, but emphasized, "I just want to make sure that the focus is about the fact that God provides opportunity when we are obedient to Him."
My wife and I arrived back at our hotel around 11 pm, and in the parking lot were the "Bikers." There were guys doing burnouts, drinking, and basically kickin back. As I walked back to my van to get some pop that I had forgotten, God began to break my heart for these guys and ask me what I was willing to do to reach them with the Gospel.
I walked into our hotel room and told my wife that we needed to go out and bless some bikes.
About three years ago at Monticello, we started doing a Biker Sunday. At the end of the day we have guys pull through on their motorcylces and we pray for them to be safe and encourage them to follow Christ on the highway of life. I never realized how important that was to guys that ride, but because of our Biker Sundays, I have learned that.
So at about 11:15 pm, my wife and I headed into the parking lot to the first group of guys. I asked them if they had been prayed for, that they would ride safely. They said, "You mean, blessed? No, we haven't had that yet." I told them I was a pastor and I would love to do that for them.
Immediately they said, "That would be awesome, but go down there and ask those guys too!"
So in two separate locations, my wife and I watched bikers stand by and even kneel at their bikes as we prayed that God would keep them safe, and that they would know the joy that comes from riding with Christ as their Saviour. We went back to our hotel room knowing that the reason we were at National Conference during bike week was to reach out to those guys.
The following morning before the closing service, we went down to check out of our room. One guy that we prayed for was looking at the back tire of his bike; it was in pretty bad shape. I asked if it was rideable, and he said it was. Then, as I turned to walk away, he said, "Hey hold on." Then a very big, bald biker came over and wrapped his arms around me and said, "Thanks so much for praying for us last night. We won't forget it."
Bishop Ramsey Speaking at Church Closing
The Center Hill church of Mt. Carroll, Ill., will hold a closing celebration service tomorrow (June 14) afternoon at 2 p.m. The attendance has dwindled to only a few people, and the remaining members voted in April to close the church. Center Hill dates back to 1856, and officially organized in 1870.
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