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17 Mar

March 17, 2009 |

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Huntington University freshman Ben Swartz is selling necklaces to raise money for orphanages overseas.

“I have known since I was 16 that God was calling me to care for the orphans,” said Swartz, a freshman nursing major from Botkins, Ohio.

Swartz said he had been praying for some time for a way to raise money for this cause. Then one day someone showed him how to make the necklaces he currently sells. He started wearing them, and when others expressed interest in the necklaces, he decided to sell them as a way to raise money for orphanages.

necklaces.jpegThe funds raised from approximately 200 necklaces was given to CKS Ministries, an organization building an orphanage in Kenya, Africa, and started by C. Kevin and Cheri Singer, a couple who attend Swartz’s church.

“I’ve been able to converse, meet, and befriend so many awesome people who are feeding and caring for orphans and the least of society,” Swartz said. “I know that the money that we have given to the orphanage being built in Kenya will affect kids’ lives that we may never meet, and it is hard to grasp the affect that the money will have.

“I know that this has affected my life so much. Just to see the amount of people who believe in the dream that God has placed in my heart is incredible. Our next step is to create a non-profit, and it is cool to see how God provides now even before we are a non-profit.”

17 Mar

March 17, 2009 |

Last Saturday night, March 14, fire completely destroyed the home of Ed and Jean Harvey, who pastor Lighthouse Community UB church in Dayton, Ohio.

They had been trying to trace a slight smell of smoke for much of the day, and a circuit breaker kept tripping. A friend looked in the attic and spotted heavy smoke, at which point the fire department was contacted. They fought the fire from inside until the ceiling began caving inside, at which point they retreated to outside. It took several hours to extinguish the fire.

17 Mar

March 17, 2009 |

The deadline for all annual reports, covenants, and lay delegate notifications was March 15. As of today, here is what Bishop Ron Ramsey has received:

  • 166 local church annual reports (out of about 200 churches).
  • 140 referenda results.
  • 144 national conference covenants.
  • 119 notifications of local church delegates.

The number of registrations for the US National Conference increased about 20 over the weekend. Here are the latest figures:

  • 379 people registered.
  • 70 registered for the UB Historical Society Banquet (which promises to be very well attended).
  • 32 signed up for the Golf Outing.
  • 65 are children and teens.

16 Mar

March 16, 2009 |

PhilDarleneBurkett_150.jpgGlobal Ministries is bracing for the absence of Darlene Burkett, their hard-working, multi-tasking, highly organized administrative assistant. Tomorrow, March 17, she undergoes serious back surgery at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The operation is scheduled for 1 p.m., and might last up to four hours. Darlene will then be out of the office for at least several weeks. There may be some conflict between when she wants to come back (sooner) and when doctors say she can come back (later). We’ll see.

Darlene has endured back pain for several years. Please remember Darlene in your prayers–that the surgery will be successful, and the pain will come to an end.

On a positive note: a big congratulations to Phil Burkett, Darlene’s husband, who is Minister of Worship at College Park Church in Huntington, Ind. This weekend, Phil was notified that he can add the title “Dr.” to his name (the Dr. Phil jokes began a long time ago). He received his Doctorate of Worship Studies from the Institute of Worship Studies in Jacksonville, Fla. (founded by Robert Webber). In the coming weeks, Doctor Burkett will spend a lot of time taking care of his convalescing wife.

13 Mar

March 13, 2009 |

Every Monday and Thursday, we tally up the registrations and reports that have come in, and let you know. We post XLR8 registrations and report totals here, and post the XLR8 numbers on the US National Conference website.

As of yesterday, the end of the day, the XLR8 registrations looked like this:

  • 360 people registered.
  • 70 registered for the UB Historical Society Banquet (which promises to be very well attended).
  • 31 signed up for the Golf Outing.
  • 63 are children and teens.

The deadline for all reports is March 15, just a few days away. Here are the new totals:

  • 138 local church annual reports (out of about 200 churches). Any church not submitting the church report by March 15 will not be allowed representation at National Conference. Looks like we’ll have a few of those, unfortunately.
  • 121 referenda results.
  • 120 national conference covenants.
  • 115 notifications of local church delegates (just send Bishop Ramsey a note using the Contact link on the right).

All of these numbers were sent to the denominational email list yesterday afternoon. If you’re not on that list, you can join.

12 Mar

March 12, 2009 |

Camp Adeline is a small summer camp currently operated by several UB churches from the former Rock River Conference. The camp is located at the edge of Adeline, Ill. (a little west of Rockford, which is west of Chicago).

The Camp Adeline board is requesting help with two projects. They are looking for short-term work crews to come and help with the following:

  1. Remove the top floor from an existing two-story building and convert the remaining structure into a maintenance garage.
  2. Replace the windows around the top perimeter of the tabernacle. This is quite high and will involve some roofing.

Teams will have lodging provided at the camp and will have access to a kitchen to prepare their own meals while there. Material costs will be covered by the camp.

For more details, interested groups should call Don Hubbard, President of the Camp Adeline Board at 815-225-7638.

This is an excellent opportunity for mission service within the United States!

12 Mar

March 12, 2009 |

On the right side, just below the XLR8 logo, you’ll see a new heading: “Recent Comments.” People sometimes comment on articles that have been posted for a while. The most recent comments appear at the top, regardless of how old the original article is.

Only ten comments are listed on the side, but there is a link to show all comments posted to this blog since we redesigned it last May.

11 Mar

March 11, 2009 |

Michele Vigil, Student and Discipleship Pastor, Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.)

Last month I went on an all-day conference and heard David Kinnaman, the author of the book Unchristian, speak on the research he and the Barna group have been doing with young people between 18-29 years old. vigil_michelle.jpgAlthough most of our teens are younger than that, I found the information valuable as we seek to understand a generation that is growing more and more skeptical of God and the things of the church. These are my thoughts on this book, and the topic it explores.

Not a week goes by that I don’t get questions in youth group or Sunday school about God being real. Things like–

  • “Does He really listen to our prayers?”
  • “How can a God that loves us allow such horrible things to happen in the world?”
  • Or my favorite, and most frequently asked, “If God is really a loving God, why are Christians so mean and judgmental?”

We hear these questions, or versions of them, time and time again in our own youth ministry. They are in fact, just a small sampling of the greater youth culture’s growing opinion about Christianity and the God we serve. Understanding the culture we serve and the culture that will lead the future church is vital.

Young people are all about conversation. Many will not even give you or what you are saying the time of day, without a relationship of trust built between you. That is why these statistics are so discouraging to me. According to this study:

  • 58 million young people under the age of 40 consider themselves non-Christians in our country.
  • 85-87% of that population feel Christians are judgmental and hypocritical.

Among young Christians, the statistic is not much better. 52% of church-going young people feel the church is too negative and judgmental. I am not saying these opinions are right, but they are real.
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As I ponder these statistics, I wonder if this perception is somewhat of our own doing. Are we so focused on shouting the truth at the world that we fail to balance that with love and a genuine commitment to building a relationship with outsiders, without an agenda?

Have we lost the thrust of the gospel? Did not Jesus teach in the temple AND sit and eat with sinners? I wonder if we have gotten so comfortable teaching and preaching, that we have forgotten to sit and eat.

Trust me, I am not about compromising truth; and I am not about watering down the need for a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. I am just struggling with how far I often feel we as believers have strayed from the example Jesus set in the gospels. Truth, spoken in love. Free-will allegiance, not forced servitude. And most importantly, a desire for authentic relationships, with those we are comfortable with and those we are not.

This seems to me to be how God the father presented himself to his people, through his son Jesus.

I found this to be an excellent book. If you are interested in learning more about what non-Christians tend to feel about God and the church today, it is well worth the time spent. It has challenged me, upset me, and moved me to evaluate, once again, my approach to a generation that seems to care less and less for a God that cared so much for them.

10 Mar

March 10, 2009 |

Roger Reeck, UB endorsed missionary in Honduras, left Honduras a few days ago to attend the funeral of his oldest brother in Michigan. Both he and Marilyn will fly to Trinidad later today–Roger from Michigan, Marilyn from Honduras.

Here is some information from the latest newsletter from Roger and Marilyn Reeck, UB endorsed missionaries living in Honduras.

Now that we are moving in to consultant roles our Wycliffe leaders are asking us to travel to several places. Our last trip was to Mexico. On March 10 we leave for Trinidad/Tobago to help facilitate at a Storying Workshop for people from several Caribbean countries. Yvette from Belize will be joining us as a facilitator also.

After just a few weeks home Roger will travel to Mexico(to the Zapotec town that we used to live in ) and carry on a similar type of workshop. Then we travel to the US where we plan to spend a few weeks at churches in the midwest. At the moment the plan is for Roger to study to improve his Hebrew in Israel during June and July.

Next stop is Africa-Guinea Bissau where Marilyn will meet up with him there. Back home to Honduras in the fall but still be two more trips–to Belize and Brazil.