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11 Jun

June 11, 2007 |

The US National Conference approved two changes to the National Church Covenant, which United Brethren churches must sign every two years (2007 was the first year for that). The covenant consists of eight points. By action of the 2007 US National Conference, points 5 and 8 have been removed.

Point 5 says, “They are intererested in partnering with other like-minded churches.” It was explained that this point is vague and nobody is sure exactly what it means (nor how to force churches to comply with this).

Point 8 says, “They support the work of the camps, university, and other ministries of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.” This line was added from the floor of the 2005 National Conference. Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries, explained that this is the only part of the covenant which is programmatic in nature, in that it requires supporting two “programs” of the church–the camps and university.

He pointed out that most of the camps are now separate entities from the denomination, organized with their own board of directors; so that part was already obsolete. He stressed that there is no intention of weakening the relationship with Huntington University.

This issue received a good deal of discussion at the spring 2007 Executive Leadership Team, and the ELT passed on the recommendation that item 8 be removed. The original desire with the covenant was to keep program issues out and stick mainly to matters of philosophy and relationship. If we include the camps and college, why not also specifically name Global Ministries and church multiplication, which are arguably more central to the work of local churches? Other potential additions might include Women’s Ministries, Bible quizzing, and the Youthworkers Summit.

There was some discussion, but not much. Both points 5 and 8 were removed. So when local churches are asked to once again sign the covenant in early 2009, it will look like the following, but without the two points in bold:

Every congregation shall…reaffirm their support of and membership in the US National Conference by signing a covenant which includes affirmation of these points:

  1. They are committed to the Confession of Faith.
  2. They agree with the core values of the United Brethren in Christ, International.
  3. They agree to abide by the Constitution and Discipline of the US National Conference.
  4. They are passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission through their local church.
  5. They are interested in partnering with other like-minded churches.
  6. They support the ministry and mission of the United Brethren Church, USA, through the annual partnership fee.
  7. They will participate in a cluster.
  8. They support the work of the camps, university, and other ministries of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.

10 Jun

June 10, 2007 |

Nailing_500.jpg

The past few days I have enjoyed reflecting on National Conference. It was such a joy to watch the interactions of all the attendees with each other. Sharing ideas, renewing friendships, discussing the speaker’s points, praying for each other, simply caring for each other. It was a beautiful snapshot of the Body of Christ.

The most potent memory for me will be Sunday morning. After some time of joyous, focused worship, we took time to give opportunity for us to write out on a piece of paper any sins that are easily entangling our lives or the lives of our churches. And we nailed them to the cross in confession before celebrating communion.

I had a powerful God moment in that. After introducing the process, I sat down on the edge of the stage, praying and reading Scripture. Periodically I would look up and watch. The lines on each side continued to grow and grow and grow. Some nailed their papers gently. Others angrily nail them to the cross, seemingly scorning the shame of it all. But hundreds upon hundreds of us brought things to the right place. I did. And freedom was found in Christ, once again.

Following, I watched (and personally experienced) as people went to each other, settling debts or asking forgiveness. Joy was abundant, the joy of the Lord. And we all were strengthened for it. The days ahead will require this same Spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps. 51:17) And then the Bishop reminded us of all the wonderful blessings and privileges that are ours in Jesus. The mission, the power, the desires. All found in our positional relationship to Jesus Christ.

Now we continue moving forward, renewed in the strength of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church.

So what was your take away? We’d like to hear from you. What were your God moments? What was most encouraging? What challenged you the most? What changed you and your fellow delegates?

07 Jun

June 7, 2007 |

The 2007 US National Conference drew over 920 UB people to the Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio. This may have been the largest UB gathering ever. The only comparable event was “Challenge 88,” the “Vacation with a Purpose” convention held in 1988 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Bishop Ron Ramsey assembled a planning committee of persons from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and pretty much told them to pull out all the stops to make this conference–the first of its kind–a truly memorable event. And so they did pull out the stops–with the speakers, music, decorations, equipment, videos, signage, promotional materials, give-away items, and numerous small touches. The event was also designed to focus on the future, to portray a church that is progressive and forward-looking.

Follow the link below to glimpse various tidbits from the conference, to help you catch a feel for it.
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07 Jun

June 7, 2007 |

Delegates to the US National Conference elected eight of the 12 members of the Executive Leadership Team. The ELT, the highest governing body between sessions of the National Conference, meets twice a year.

The delegates chose one layperson and one ordained minister from each of the four regions. Four of the persons chosen are new. The representatives from the East and North regions remain the same, but both persons elected from the Central and West regions are new–and in both cases, both the minister and layperson come from the same church. That’s just the way it worked out.

East Region

  • Todd Fetters (senior pastor of Devonshire Church, Harrisburg, Pa.).
  • Annette Sites (pastor’s wife, Jerusalem Chapel, Churchville, Va.).

Central Region

  • Marty Pennington (senior pastor, Mainstreet Church, Walbridge, Ohio).
  • Timothy Krugh (layperson, Mainstreet Church, Walbridge, Ohio).

North Region

  • Phil Whipple (senior pastor, Colwood Church, Caro, Mich.).
  • Dan Paternoster (layperson, Fowlerville UB, Fowlerville, Mich.).

West Region

  • Stan McCammon (senior pastor, Good Shepherd Church, Huntington, Ind.).
  • Cathy Reich (layperson, Good Shepherd Church, Huntington, Ind.).

Bishop Ramsey and the Executive Leadership Team will appoint four more persons to the ELT, one from each region (2 laypersons, 2 ministers). Bishop Ramsey is chairman of the ELT, but no other employees from the national office or denominational positions are voting members.

07 Jun

June 7, 2007 |

Ron Ramsey was re-elected as bishop of the US National Conference during the business session on Friday morning, June 1. He was the only nominee placed before the conference.

When Bishop Ramsey was elected in 2005, the understanding was that he would serve a four-year term. However, the Constitution required that each National Conference elect a bishop, and since national conferences now meet every two years instead of every four years, it presented a temporary problem.

That particular item in the Constitution was removed through one of the five referenda this year, but since changes won’t take effect until August, it was still necessary to elect a bishop. And so, a ballot with just one name was presented, and Bishop Ramsey was chosen unanimously.

The delegates also approved a statement in the Discipline saying that the National Conference will elect a bishop to a four-year term. We will elect a bishop again in 2009, but after that, the next election will be in 2013.

24 Apr

April 24, 2007 |

Thom and Sam Ranier, writing in the January-February issue of Outreach Magazine, talk about a church’s conversion ratio as one way to tell if a church is evangelistically healthy. Their research indicates that an evangelistically healthy church maintains an annual ratio of at least 20:1. That means that it takes 20 people within that church to win one person. They further state that of the estimated 400,000 US churches, only 3.5% are effective evangelistically. That means that four churches out of 100 maintain a conversion ratio of 20:1 or better.

The nation’s population is now 300 million. If only 3.5% of the churches are healthy in evangelism, there is only one healthy evangelistic church for every 21,400 persons in the United States. (Outreach Magazine, Outreach Inc., 2230 Oak Ridge Way, Vista, CO 92081, January-February, 2007 issue, page 16. NOTE: You might want to subscribe to this magazine.)

One of our emphases on healthy churches is that they are effective in their evangelism as evidenced by influencing unchurched persons to place their faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus says in Luke 19:10 that he came to seek and save the lost. A lot of churches are proud that they are fundamental, conservative and evangelistic, but they never really reach many unchurched, unsaved persons. I hear of wonderful altar services where Christians pray and make commitments to a deeper life. But rarely does the deeper life result in their leading lost people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. To me, and I think I’ve said this before in this blog, that spiritual depth is not measured by what you know, but whether you are using what you know to make new disciples for Jesus.

So, how are you doing in your outreach?

20 Apr

April 20, 2007 |

There was something that I wanted to say and just forgot, so here is a little add-on to yesterday’s SFD (Single Focused Determination) post.

What distracts us? I am sure we could develop quite a list. But after developing that list, most of the things would be good, decent things. Satan knows better than to try to distract most of us by suggesting something evil, bad, or unchristian. So he tries to get us so busy with so many good things that we do not focus on the best things.

Most of the distractions are good things, but developing a SFD upon that which is best helps us prioritize our day-to-day pressures and demands on our time. It seems to me that being able to identify from our to-do lists those items that are “best” is a sure way to live a life with SFD.
What do you think?

19 Apr

April 19, 2007 |

A few weeks ago EJ and I were in Wheaton, Ill., with our granddaughter celebrating here sixth birthday. She had received an Ant Farm as a gift at Christmas but hadn’t sent for the ants until just before her birthday. The ants arrived the same day we did. What excitement to open a package of ants and turn them loose in the ant farm.

Most of the ant farms I had seen consisted of sand, but not this one. It had a blue translucent gel material that had been developed by NASA. It seems they took some ants into space to see how they reacted to weightlessness and they needed a medium they could live in safely in space. So, this gel was developed. Anyway, we turned them loose. What an amazing sight.

The ants began running around the case in which they were placed. It looked like they were totally disorganized. But soon it became apparent that was not the case. Little balls of the blue gel began piling up on the surface. Looking closer, you could see the ants beginning to make their tunnels. There was an organization after all. Some did the digging with their mouth, laying aside small pieces of the gel, while others picked up the gel and took it away to pile it up out of the way of their tunnel. They worked and ran their little legs off to build their tunnels.
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18 Apr

April 18, 2007 |

Here is another question that has come to me.

What are we getting if we sign the National Church Covenant?
I have been a licensed minister in this denomination since 1964. There is nothing in the covenant that I did not agree to when I was licensed and then ordained. It is odd to me that some pastors want to object to signing, but they still want to keep their license. The covenant is not just a one-way street, from the church to Huntington. There also must be a path back to the church from Huntington.

I really do believe that the denominational office exists as a resource to the local church. We exist for you, not the other way around. We provide some services, such as:

  • In-depth weekend church assessments.
  • Mentoring/coaching of senior leaders, church elders, boards, and staff.
  • Helping pastors network.
  • Leadership development (i.e. seminars and conferences).
  • Pastoral placement services.
  • Church multiplication/church planting.
  • Counseling for pastors.
  • Full service bookstore.
  • Models of effective ministry.
  • Helping pastors network with other like-minded churches.
  • Helping churches and pastors partner with other churches in Global Ministry opportunities.

Those are some of the resources we provide to churches who choose to partner with us by entering into a covenant relationship. I am very committed to this office being a resource to the local church. Some churches may not feel as though they need us for anything, but by sending their 3.5% partnership fee (one item in the covenant), they help us work with churches that do have needs.

Most of the resources that we provide come with no cost attached. If you are participating by sending your 3.5%, our service to you is simply your “tax dollars at work.” The only resource for which there is a cost is the material you order from our bookstore.