16 Dec State Line UB Church Closes
Living Hope UB church in State Line, Pa., closed October 5 in order to merge with Crossroads Brethren in Christ church. Mike Wentz, the senior pastor, resigned as of the same date to take secular employment.
(260) 356-2312
16 Dec Dale Miller Resigns from Montgomery
Dale Miller resigned as pastor of Montgomery UB church (Montgomery, Mich.) effective the end of December 2008.
16 Dec Something To Believe In
Scott Hardaway, pastor of Pathway Community Church, the UB church in Jackson, Mich., wrote a superb blog post called “Something to Believe In.” He talks about how we too often squander laypersons’ time and energy in ministries that lack purpose.
Here are three paragraphs from the middle of the piece. You should read the whole thing, including Scott’s own purposeful goals for himself in 2009.
I believe that churches too often simply assume that everything they do is worthwhile. It might even be true (although, usually it’s not), but I guarantee that the average person in the pew does not make that same assumption. The average person wants to know, “OK, if I give my time to this thing, what difference is that going to make? What’s the impact that my contribution is going to have?” And if we can answer that question satisfactorily, we’ll find people lining up to serve because every single one of us has an innate, God-given desire to make a real difference with our lives.
Part of answering that question satisfactorily, however, lies in our ability to own up to the fact that we have in fact wasted people’s time and efforts in the past. We have invested them in places that really didn’t make any difference. We have created ministries that were not strategic, that were not well-planned or excellently executed. We have mis-shepherded the hearts and lives of our people and put them in positions where they were destined to fail, usually due to no fault of their own.
So we must commit to not doing that anymore. We must solemnly promise (and then, of course, follow through on that promise) to do our part in developing ministries that matter–ministries that really allow those serving to make an impact or an investment in the lives of other people; ministries that tangibly bring glory to God, instead of simply supporting our structure. And the best way to do that is to set clearly defined, concrete goals that spell out plainly what will be accomplished through any particular ministry.
15 Dec Other Items About Huntington University
- Students bought nearly $500 in gift cards to help people at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., in response to fires that devastated the Westmont campus.
- Students collected 52 boxes for Samaritan Purse’s Operation Christmas Child drive, mostly through group efforts by residence hall floors and athletic teams.
- This year’s unique January Term courses.
15 Dec Huntington University Board of Trustees elects new members
The Huntington University Board of Trustees elected four new board members during its fall meeting. Two of them are United Brethren ministers:
- Daltons Jenkins, pastor of Bethel Temple of Praise in Yonkers, N. Y.
- Brooks Fetters, an ordained minister who now works for Myers Funeral Homes in Huntington, Ind.
The other two members chosen are Calvin Hawkins and Candace Curie.
15 Dec HU Students Present Research Papers
All 21 Huntington University students from Dr. Wayne Priest’s Applied Research Methods course have had their research projects published in the online Undergraduate Research Journal of the Human Sciences. The students, who worked in teams of three, have seven papers in the journal’s seventh volume.
“Having practical experience in research and presentation is essential for students seeking application to graduate school,” said Woods, a history major from Hillsdale, Mich.
The seven papers are:
- “Death and Social Life: How Death of a Loved One Impacts Social Style.”
- “Self-Esteem and Class Standing in Liberal Arts Undergraduate College Students.”
- “The Relationship of Fear of Negative Evaluation and Perfectionism in College Students.”
- “Divorce, Its Implications on Children: The Onset of Sexual Relationships in Adolescents.”
- “The Impact of Sleepiness Levels on Academic Achievement for College Students.”
- “The Relationship Between Stress and Eating in College-Aged Students.”
- “The Relationship between Body Mass Index and Self-esteem in Female College Students.”
The students also presented their research projects at the 21st annual Michigan Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference on April 19 at Albion College in Albion, Mich.
15 Dec Death in the Pastoral Family
Evelyn Woodall passed away December 6. She is the mother of Nick Woodall, pastor of Stryker UB church in Stryker, Ohio.
15 Dec New Beginnings Church
Central UB church of Montpelier, Ohio, has a new name: New Beginnings Church. Mike Martinelli is the pastor.
15 Dec A Christmas Thought
Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
I woke up to this amazing thought and had to share it. While there is nothing new in it, my heart was blessed to contemplate it all in a new way. So here is my new, old Christmas thought.
The One who created all things, left that which was comfortable in order to take on a form that was unnatural.
The Creator became created.
The Omnipotent One became dependent.
The One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills was born in abject poverty.
He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we may have life.
And He simply asks that we be willing to leave our position of comfort, enter into the zone of unknown, and tell the world what He has done for us. All by the power of His Spirit living in us.
All I can do is say “Thank you” and “Here am I, Lord, send me.”
13 Dec IAmSecond.com
Here’s a pretty incredible website, Iamsecond.com, with excellent testimonies from a number of people–some of them well-known, some not. They’re communicating that God is first in their lives.