(260) 356-2312

UB.orgUBGlobal.orgChurch Search

09 Feb

February 9, 2009 |

Ron Ramsey, Bishop

winningonpurpose.jpgJohn Edmund Kaiser in his book, Winning on Purpose, proposes that a new organizational structure is needed to assist and support church growth. The structure is called “governance” which is described this way:
  • The church board govern.
  • The pastor leads.
  • The staff manages.
  • The congregation ministers. 
This book and system is one that both Pat Jones and I have advocated for our local churches.
I came across an article written by Bill Essum on the Church Central website (www.churchcentral.com) and I wanted to excerpt a paragraph from that article for our consideration. The overall theme is that churches need to reproduce themselves in order to stem church decline in the US.
Bill writes: 

There needs to be an end of democracy and consensus. Apostolic-led churches are structured around the Spirit-led leadership of a man or woman who listens to God rather than following a board. The more democratic the church is, the less likely it is to grow, much less become reproductive. Reproductive churches have small boards and very few committees if any. If you dig under the covers of the large megachurches and the churches that are planting churches, you won’t find much structure; and the sheep aren’t leading the shepherd. (Emphasis added)

I am tired of dealing with churches more interested in who is in charge than they are about being a Great Commission Church that is reaching lost people and seeing them become fully devoted followers of Jesus. I am tired of being called to churches where the sheep are trying to lead and the shepherd is just a “hired” employee.  
I recently was in one of our churches talking about the need for that particular church to become more focused on Great Commission issues. One of the attendees took offense and pounded the table, “This is my church and we don’t want to be one of those big churches.”  
I was able to inform the person they were wrong, it isn’t our church. The Church belongs to Jesus. He is the head. And because Jesus is the Head of the Church, he is also the head of our church. Wasn’t received real well.  
Anyway, this whole debate about who is in charge in a local church is diverting much of our energy away from Great Commission ministries. To me, there are two crucial elements to what Essum is arguing:
  1. That the congregation sees the pastor as a Spirit-led man or woman who listens to God first.  
  2. That the pastor is willing to lead. As Essum says, “The sheep aren’t leading the shepherd”.
I think that Essum makes a lot of sense. What do you think?

07 Feb

February 7, 2009 |

Earlier this month, I was among 15-20 people working in a warehouse in Garret, Ind., to pack a container of materials for Sierra Leone.

As two of us hauled hauling trash to a dumpster on the opposite end of the warehouse, a worker stopped us.

“What is everyone doing there?” he wanted to know.

I told him we were shipping medical supplies to Sierra Leone, and that two teams of people would be going.

“Are they getting paid to do this?” he asked.

“No, they are donating their time, and paying the cost of their own trips. Many are using vacation time.”

This man was overwhelmed that people–right there in his neighborhood–would do this.

“What’s the particular reason you’re going?” he asked.

I said because we love the Lord and want to be his servants to other people.

He was blown out of the water. He had heard about this kind of thing, but had never known anybody in his area who did anything like this.

06 Feb

February 6, 2009 |

Many of you know Harold Wust, or at least recognize his name. Harold and his wife, Dee, served as missionaries in Honduras, and Harold later served many years as Associate Director of Missions. They live in Huntington, Ind., and attend Good Shepherd UB church. He is an ordained UB minister, and has been a tremendous servant throughout the years.

Harold Wust has been diagnosed with leukemia. The report this week is that his liver and kidneys are doing well. The chemotherapy is over. Now, they must wait to see if it worked. If it did not, they will not do another dose of chemo. He would not survive it. We have to pray that the chemo worked and for daily continued strength.

Harold could use cards of encouragement and very brief visits. And your prayers.

You can contact Harold by mail:

Harold Wust
5320N – 200W
Huntington, IN 46750

05 Feb

February 5, 2009 |

Harold Wust
Harold Wust has been diagnosed with leukemia. Harold and his wife, Dee, served as missionaries in Honduras, and Harold later served many years as Associate Director of Missions. They live in Huntington, Ind., and attend Good Shepherd UB church.

The report this week is that his liver and kidneys are doing well. The chemotherapy is over. Now, they must wait to see if it worked. If it did not, they will not do another dose of chemo. He would not survive it. We have to pray that the chemo worked and for daily continued strength.

Harold could use cards of encouragement and very brief visits. And your prayers. You can contact Harold in these ways:

Email: haroldee@sbcglobal.net
Mail: Harold Wust
5320N – 200W
Huntington, IN 46750

Wilmer Houck
Wilmer (Bill) Houck, pastor of Coleta UB church (Coleta, Ill.), is in Texas for 5-9 weeks of “stem cell” treatment. He drove to San Antonio on Monday, and his treatments started Tuesday.
He can be contacted here:

Wilmer Houck
3809 Pine Hill Road
Sterling, IL 61081
Email: whouck@thewisp.net

Barb Osgood
Barb Osgood, former missionary to Sierra Leone, will undergo exploratory surgery on February 11 to determine the cause of a large amount of fluid accumulating in her abdomen. The fear is cancer, but we won’t know till after the operation.

05 Feb

February 5, 2009 |

janeseely_250.jpgJane Seely has joined the staff of Healthy Ministry Resources. She is pretty much taking the place of Phylis Stouder, who retired at the end of the year but who still comes around quite a bit to help out. Jane works with the bookstore to ship Sunday school literature and other materials, and also does miscellaneous stuff around the office.

Let’s start with connections. Jane is the sister of Mike Caley, pastor of Banner of Christ UB church in Byron Center, Mich. That makes her the aunt of Erinn Caley, who served here for six months as administrative assistant to Bishop Ron Ramsey. (Erinn now teaches at a school in Boston.)

Jane and her husband, Rodney, live in Huntington and attend First Nazarene Church. Rodney is a sales rep for a building materials wholesaler. They have three children. Michael, 26, and his wife, Heather, live in St. Paul, Minn., with their two children. Son David, 23, lives in Fishers, Ind. And Rachel, 12, is still at home.

04 Feb

February 4, 2009 |

February is when UB members throughout our churches vote on the two referenda items (proposed changes to the UB Constitution). Churches will handle it different ways, but technically, people should be able to vote throughout the month.

This is just a little reminder, with one Sunday in February gone.

If half of the UB members who vote approve a referendum, then it goes to the US National Conference. If two-thirds of the delegates approve that referendum, then it becomes official.

04 Feb

February 4, 2009 |

The Haiti team from Canada is back, almost. They got stuck in Miami Tuesday night, but today, Wednesday, will continue back to Ontario.

Follow the link to read Joan Sider’s account of their final three days in Haiti. And don’t miss the song at the end, written to the tune of “This is the Day” to recap the entire trip.

(more…)

04 Feb

February 4, 2009 |

A former doctor in Sierra Leone has been gathering a lot of equipment for Mattru Hospital, where he served in the 1980s. He received several donations of medical equipment and medicines from hospitals in northern Indiana–Fort Wayne, Auburn, Bluffton. Some of the hospitals had closed certain units, and they donated equipment they no longer needed.

The equipment was stored in a warehouse in Garret, Ind. The first container was sent on January 9 with 14,300 pounds of goods.

It takes about a month for a container to reach Africa. Donna Hollopeter, Associate Director of Global Ministries, says this is the first of what will probably be three containers they will send.

Two shipments from other organizations are also in progress:

  • Samaritan’s Purse will be sending a shipment from their own warehouse. We don’t know yet exactly when it will go.
  • Brother’s Brother is also preparing a shipment of beds and mattresses for the hospital. They are not necessarily a Christian organization, but provide help in Third World countries.

As mentioned, we’ll be sending a second, and possibly a third, container to Sierra Leone. While the materials we send are usually donated, we still need $12,500 per container to cover shipping costs. Global Ministries would greatly appreciate your help in underwriting the shipping costs. Just send your gift to Global Ministries, and write “for container shipment” on the memo line.

03 Feb

February 3, 2009 |

Ernie Herndon, Sr., Associate Pastor of Olivet UB (Dayton, Ohio), passed away Sunday, February 1.

Vewing: Thursday, February 5, from 5-8 p.m.
Funeral: Friday, February 6, at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Phillip Marxson will officiate.
Both the viewing and funeral will be held at the Robert L. Crooks Funeral Center Preble Memory Gardens, 3377 US Rte. 35, between Eaton and West Alexandria, Ohio.

Rev. Herndon was born May 8, 1924, in Somerset, Va. He was a World War II vet, serving in the Army 1943-1946. Over the years he worked as a farmer, a self-employed carpenter, and in private security. He is survived by his wife, Carol J. (McKee) Herndon, whom he married January 6, 1968; and by six children.