10 Jul With Darren Duncan at the Air Force Academy

Phil Whipple, Bishop, US National Conference

On June 20, I visited Chaplain Major Darren Duncan at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Spring. Darren is in his fourth year serving as a chaplain there. He met me at the gate and took me to the chapel.

Darren started out at Living Word United Brethren church in Columbus, Ohio, serving on staff and then as senior pastor. He did some chaplaincy work in the Reserves for a few years, and then was approached about going fulltime. He went on active duty in the spring of 2003. Since then, he has served in several locations, including at an “undisclosed location” in early 2004.

The Air Force Academy is a prestigious posting, and looks good on your resume if you’re looking to climb the military ladder. Usually, the Air Force moves you every two or three years, so this is an extra-long posting for Darren. The Wing Commander, who oversees the religious programs at the Air Force Academy, was asked to stay one more year before retiring, and he didn’t want to break in anybody new during his last year. So, Darren was asked to stay an extra year.

In the past, the United Brethren denomination has been the endorsing entity for military chaplains from UB churches. That is changing. The National Association of Evangelicals, of which we are one of many denominations, is now the endorsing organization for UB chaplains, and there are some advantages to that.

As it turns out, Darren is in the process of switching his ministerial credentials to the Anglican Church. They are an evangelical church in doctrine, but more liturgy based. However, I caught up with Darren while he was still under the United Brethren umbrella. (more…)

18 Jun Out to the Ballgame

Parkview Field

At the ballgame. Global Ministries director Jeff and Charlene Bleijerveld (middle) with Dr. G. Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University, and his wife Chris.

On Thursday night, June 14, Bishop Phil Whipple took the staff and family of Healthy Ministry Resources, the UB national office, out to the ballgame. In this case, it was the Fort Wayne Tin Caps vs. Lansing. The group had a spot behind home plate, and when the team recognized the various groups present, “Healthy Ministry Resources” was flashed on the big scoreboard. Unfortunately, Lansing won 5-4.

This happened to be the stadium’s third highest attendance in the team’s three-year history. The Tin Caps are a single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The stadium, considered among the best minor-league stadiums in the country, is located across the street from the Grand Wayne Center, where the 2013 US National Conference will be held.

A full gallery of photos of the group at the game can be viewed on the United Brethren Facebook page.

02 Apr Birthday + Baby + Bagels

Frank with little Levi.

Peggy Sell (holding Levi) and Ginny.

Frank Y, associate director of Global Ministries, celebrated a birthday on Thursday, March 29. But he received a special surprise that afternoon, when his wife, Ginny, showed up with infant son Levi, who was born in October.

It was also a surprise for the rest of the office staff. We knew Ginny was coming, but none of us had yet seen Levi.

Plus, Ginny brought bagels from Panera Bread.

10 Feb The Bishop’s Close-up View of Our Churches

Phil Whipple, Bishop of the US National Conference

In July 2011, I concluded two years as bishop. When I started in this role, I decided I wanted to see things for myself. So I set a goal of visiting every United Brethren church in the United States during my first two years. I wanted to meet our pastors on their turf.

I accomplished that goal. Here are some observations from my travels.

1. I found our pastors to be enjoyable people with a strong love for the Lord and his church. Our pastors are mostly male and of the baby boom generation. They are committed to their families and have a fairly strong commitment to the UB church. We have some strong pastoral leaders among us and many who want to learn how to lead more effectively.

2. It is no surprise that many of our churches exist in rural locations. Most of them have been maintained very well, both inside and outside. Many are developing their facilities to reflect the changes that have emerged in the methodology of doing church today.

3. We are slowly and with some struggles moving into a balanced style of worship in many churches. Some churches are far ahead of others. Some remain very traditional.

4. We have many good cooks among us. I can attest to that from many potlucks.

5. Our people are friendly. I was impressed by the warm hearts of so many of our people.

6. We have some sharp leaders at the local church level. These men and women desire to see the church advance and impact their community.

7. A number of churches are changing their structure to an accountability governance model.

8. I saw churches and people engaged in the Great Commission. This clearly needs to be the rallying cry for UB churches everywhere, so that we reach the people Christ wants us to reach in these days.

9. I have met with a number of our cluster groups. The cluster system is still a work in progress, but it has made some huge strides forward in the last two years.

Denny Miller, in his role as Cluster Coordinator, has helped keep the connection with our cluster leaders. We have many cluster leaders who are doing a great job with their clusters, and who are being the first point of contact when issues arise with pastors and churches.

I have concluded that while we have some significant issues and room for improvement, we have a bright hope for the future.

I believe our commitment to the Great Commission is improving. But we can do more to reach people for Christ and grow strong disciples in our churches.

Our churches must do a better job of outreach to open the front door, and be more effective in assimilation and discipleship to close the back door. We need to move discipleship away from just a learning experience. Discipleship should be a lived-out relationship with Jesus that impacts everything we do.

I want us to remain committed to our confession of faith and our core values. At the same time, I want us to aggressively move into the flow of God’s Spirit to see the church advance. We began as a movement of the Spirit of God, and that is where we must return.

07 Feb Goodbye to Elizabeth Holtrop

Lots of thread for Elizabeth

Elizabeth opening her parting gifts. (click to enlarge)

Food is required whenever someone joins or leaves the staff.

On February 2, Elizabeth Holtrop concluded 8 months of service on the Healthy Ministry Resources staff, working in the bookstore. During that time, she shipped hundreds of boxes of Sunday school literature and other items to churches across the country. But she decided to move to Indianapolis, sharing a house with her brother and sister and making her way in Indiana’s  Big City.

The staff said goodbye to her with a Pizza Hut meal brought to the office. Since she likes to sew, she was given several gifts of thread and other related items.

Elizabeth graduated from Huntington University in 2011 with a degree in History and Political Studies. Her father, Steve, is dean of the Huntington University Graduate School.

It was a joy to have Elizabeth with us, with her big smile and eternally sunny disposition. We wish her well.

19 Jan Where UB Churches in the USA are Located

We participated in a study through the Church of the Nazarene, giving them information about our churches in the United States. In return, they sent us some interesting maps showing where our churches and constituents are located. The map above has been added to the “About Us” section on UB.org, our official website. (Click to enlarge.)

10 Jan Cluster Leader Training

Rev. Denny Miller speaking to the cluster leaders.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders.

Former bishop Paul Hirschy, under whose watch the NCD survey was first promoted.

Every January, clusters leaders are brought together for a time of training, to make sure everyone’s on the same page. On January 11, 22 of the 28 cluster leaders gathered at Huntington University for an afternoon of training under the direction of Dennis Miller, the denominational cluster coordinator. Much of the training focused on the Natural Church Development survey, which churches will be encouraged to take this year. This survey has been offered for many years through the national office, and a number of churches have taken it, but it hasn’t been emphasized in a while.

21 Dec UB Staff Support a Family for Christmas

Jane Seely (left) and Cathy Reich load gifts for delivery to our family.

For the third year, the staff of Healthy Ministry Resources (the national office) collected gifts for a needy family. Administrative assistant Cathy Reich and Bookstore manager Jane Seely delivered the gifts to a family in Bippus, Ind., on Wednesday, December 21.

20 Dec Merry Christmas from Healthy Ministry Resources

The Healthy Ministry Resources staff. L-r: Donna Hollopeter, Cathy Reich, Steve Dennie, Jane Seely, Mabel Mundy, Jeff Bleijerveld, Peggy Sell, Phil Whipple, Marci Hammel, Gary Gates, Elizabeth Holtrop, and Frank Y. (Click to enlarge)

The staff at the national office in Huntington, Ind., hope you have–and are having–a truly delightful and wonderful Christmas.

16 Dec 2011 Annual Report Forms

At the end of each year, pastors are required to complete forms which tell about the church’s ministry during the past year and their own ministry.

The annual report forms are being mailed December 28, 2011. Each church office will receive a packet of forms which will need to be returned to the bishop’s office.

Deadline: February 15, 2012. Reports need to be returned to the bishop’s office by that date.

These are the reports:

• Local Church Report. This is the responsibility of the senior pastor.
• Minister’s Report. There is a separate form for active ministers, inactive ministers, and retired ministers.
• Women’s Ministry Survey. This brief survey will go to the Women’s Ministry Leadership Team.

These reports can also be downloaded from the UB website at ub.org/reports. They are available as:

• PDF documents.
• Microsoft Word documents which you can fill out on y our computer and email to the bishop’s office.
• Online forms–fill in the blanks and hit “Submit.” The Local Church Report is the only one without an online form.

Note: If you need your report forms sent to an address or to someone’s attention other than the address the national office has on file, please contact Cathy Reich as soon as possible at 260-356-2312, ext. 311.