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20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Dr. G. Blair Dowden (right), as president of Huntington University, is automatically the Director of Higher Education. Here are some tidbits from his written and verbal report to the Executive Leadership Team on October 12, 2010.

The overall enrollment his 1278 for the fall 2010 semester, exceeding enrollment projections by 44. That includes:

  • 1040 traditional undergraduates.
  • 148 students in the EXCEL Adult Degree Program.
  • 90 students pursing master’s degrees in the HU Graduate School.

Other notes about the student body:

  • There are students from 35 states.
  • 33 international students represent 20 countries–the largest grow of international students in at least two decades.
  • The incoming class of 320 new fulltime students was the second largest in the university’s history.
  • The number of new Untied Brethren students increased from 28 in 2009 to 35 in 2010–the highest number of new UB students since 2002. The UB church is consistently the largest single denomination represented in the student body.

The Campaign for Huntington University is approaching the $10 million mark toward an overall goal of $21 million.

  • Renovations are currently underway in Becker Hall (the former Administration Building) to create new classrooms, studios, and labs for the Digital Media arts program.
  • New bleachers were installed in the Merillat Complex–the first of many planned renovations.

Huntington University has received some noteworthy rankings:

  • US News: #8 among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest Region, and #5 in the Best Values category for Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest.
  • Forbes.com: Among the top 15% of colleges in the United States.
  • Princeton Review: on the “Best in the Midwest” list.
  • Washington Monthly: one of the Top 50 baccalaureate colleges in the nation.

HU hired 7 new faculty this year. Of the 60 fulltime teaching faculty, 48 (80%) hold earned doctorates.

Huntington University is gaining a greater presence in Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana. Significant on-air and off-air promotion of HU has developed through a strategic alliance with Fort Wayne Christian radio station Star 88.3. The number of students form Fort Wayne has increased.

HU made significant progress on several diversity initiatives. United States ethnic minorities now comprise 5% of the student population. In 2009-2010, the university community had a year-long emphasis on diversity. Book studies, chapel program, special guest lectures, and other activities centered on the theme “One in Christ” explored racial reconciliation as an outgrowth of our Christ-centeredness.

State funding was cut 31% last year and another 7% this year.

20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Retired minister, Jim Sturgeon, has discontinued dialysis as of last Wednesday, the family reports. Hospice care has begun and he is ready to go be with the Lord. Please hold Jim and his family up in prayer during this time of transition.

You can send cards to:

507 W. Market St.
Rockford, OH 45882

18 Oct

October 18, 2010 |

All senior pastor and churches are required to participate in a cluster, which is generally a group of senior pastors from 6-8 churches. During the past year, Dennis Miller (right), senior pastor of Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.), has been working one day a week as Director of Clusters. In that role he oversees the cluster system.

The cluster strategy was reorganized this year, with four types of clusters:

  1. Geographical Clusters. Pastors that serve in a certain geographical area (which is true of most of the clusters).
  2. Affinity Clusters. Pastors who have the same focus, church size, ministry philosophy, whatever.
  3. Social Clusters. A cluster that has fellowship as its primary purpose.
  4. CECL. A cluster using training from the Center for Excellence in Congregational Leadership.

Here are some items from Denny Miller’s written and oral report to the Executive Leadership Team on October 12.

  • There are 28 clusters. Two meet for fellowship only, one uses the CECL training, and one cluster hasn’t been meeting. The other 24 clusters use a common video curriculum we developed for cluster meetings.
  • A training event for cluster leaders was held in January, with most of the leaders attending.
  • On January 10, 2011, another training event for cluster leaders will be held in Huntington, Ind., with a focus on coaching. Each cluster leader will be asked to coach one person from his cluster in the coming year.
  • The curriculum for 2011 will focus on church systems.
  • We will offer two new clusters–one for pastors leading churches with over 200 people, and one for pastors leading churches with fewer than 200 people.
  • A system was devised whereby Bishop Whipple, Jeff Bleijerveld, and Denny Miller will each meet with one-third of the clusters during the year, thereby giving each cluster a personal contact.
  • Former bishops Ron Ramsey and C. Ray Miller each call and encourage half of the cluster leaders each month.

Information about the cluster system and the constituents of the various groups is given on the UB website.

14 Oct

October 14, 2010 |

Bishop Phil Whipple leading the ELT meeting, as his administrative assistant, Cathy Reich, takes notes.

The Executive Leadership Team met October 11-12 in Huntington, Ind. The ELT, the highest governing body between meetings of the US National Conference, meets twice a year to handle business. There are 13 members: Bishop Phil Whipple (chairman), 8 persons elected by the National Conference, and 4 persons appointed by the ELT itself.

The bishop and the various directors all presented one-page bulleted reports. Here are some items from Bishop Phil Whipple’s written and verbal report to the ELT:

  • Bishop Whipple, often accompanied by his wife Sandy, traveled over 44,000 miles during his first year as bishop. He has been in 87 of our approximately 200 churches in the United States.
  • The church in Lansing, Mich., will close October 24. All assets will be given to a Lansing restart project headed by Tim Flickinger, former senior pastor of Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.). It is not known yet if the building will be sold.
  • Andy Sikora has begun planting a new church in Berea, Ohio.
  • Another new work is Eternal Waters, located in southern Ohio. They report decisions and baptisms. This self-supporting work requires no funds from the denomination. Their founder, Allen Layne, is employed fulltime and takes no salary.
  • The denomination now owns the property of Fountain Hills Community Church (Fountain Hills, Ariz.). That church closed in the fall of 2009. The former congregation had outstanding loans with both the denomination and Global Ministries. The building underwent some significant repairs and is now being leased to an independent congregation called Four Peaks Church. Bishop Whipple will visit Fountain Hills in January 2011 to meet with the Four Peaks elder team.
  • Two churches were closed: Central UB (Rohersville, Md.), and Convoy (Convoy, Ohio).
  • Felida Christian Fellowship, our church in Vancouver, Wash., withdrew from the denomination. They are becoming a satellite campus for Summit View Church, a megachurch in Vancouver.
  • “We must do a better job of developing leaders among our pastors and help them to raise up leaders in their congregations.”
  • “I believe that God has great things in store for us as a body of churches together. Let’s lift up our eyes and look to the God who is more than able to accomplish more than I can dream of. Let’s move forward in faith believing that he is going to do a new thing, with or without us, but he delights in doing it in the hearts of those who are willing to trust him fully.”

14 Oct

October 14, 2010 |

The Executive Leadership Team approved the 2011 minimum fulltime salary formula for United Brethren ministers.

  • The recommendation includes a base salary of $36,500 (a 1.1% increase from 2010). That is a starting point.
  • Other factors–such as experience, education, church attendance, staff size–add to the base salary.
  • Benefits such as parsonage, utilities, SECA, insurance, and pension round out the compensation package.

To be a fulltime pastor, the compensation package must meet all of these criteria in full. If a church cannot meet these guidelines, a pastor may pursue supplemental employment to achieve the compensation level.

You can read the current compensation recommendation on the UB website.

06 Oct

October 6, 2010 |

We’re beginning work on a redesign of the UB.org website, the official website of the United Brethren in Christ Church, USA. The current design has been in place for over 5 years. Time for an upgrade.

We want your suggestions as we begin developing a new flagship site.

  • What would you like to see in a revamped UB.org?
  • What is missing in the current site?
  • What frustrates you about the current site?
  • What bells and whistles would you like to see?
  • What types of information would be most valuable?
  • What information needs to be most accessible?

Please send your suggestions to Steve Dennie, the Communications director.

Anything is fair game. So fire away!

UB.org will complement these two new sites:

  • UBCentral.org, a centralized place for all types of UB news, with hooks into Facebook and Twitter. Created in October 2009.
  • UBGlobal.org, a new site for everything related to Global Ministries. Unveiled in September 2010.

28 Jul

July 28, 2010 |

Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple are making a sweep out west to visit our churches and bring a message of hope. They started their trek this past weekend, with the whole weekend spent at Adeline Christian Camp, Adeline, Illinois. The rest of their itinerary is included here:

  • Milltown UB, Parkston, SD (July 26)
  • Cream Ridge UB, Lenore, ID and Pastor Fred Browning (July 30)
  • Dayton UB, Dayton, WA and Pastor Greg Brownell (August 1)
  • Felida Christian Fellowship, Vancouver, WA and Pastor Ian McIntosh (August 2)
  • Philomath Community Church, Philomath, OR and Pastor Rick Finley (August 4)
  • Log Cabin Church, Boise, ID and Pastor Armond Taylor (August 8)
  • McGuire Bend UB, Dayton, IA and Pastor “Dot” Hasler (August 12)
  • Garden Prairie UB, Arlington, IA (August 13)

27 Jul

July 27, 2010 |

The 2011 US National Conference is less than a year away. So you need to get it on your calendar, and churches need to allow for it in their 2011 budget. Every active, licensed minister is a delegate, and each church can send at least one lay delegate. We will need to know each church’s delegate(s) by February 15. Churches can look for their info packet to arrive sometime in August.

Dates: July 6-9, 2011.

That’s a Wednesday through Saturday, as opposed to the Thursday-Sunday schedule in previous years. The conference will begin with a service on Wednesday night, and conclude with a service on Saturday morning.

Location: Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio.

This facility served us well in 2007 and 2009, so we’re returning.

Theme: the Great Commandment of Luke 10:27.

The past two national conferences have focused on the Great Commission–evangelism. In 2011 we’ll focus on the inner life–loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.

Cost: Registration will range from $55 to $90 (single and family rates)

Lodging at Sawmill Creek will still be at the 2007 rate of $95 per room, per night.

Registration will open sometime in January 2011.

09 Jun

June 9, 2010 |
Bishop Phil Whipple (middle) speaks to the Church History class. Beside him are Jeff Bleijerveld (left) and Dr. Howard Cherry (right).


Bishop Phil Whipple (middle) speaks to the UB Church History class. Beside him are Jeff Bleijerveld (left) and course teacher Dr. Howard Cherry (right). (click to enlarge)

Bishop Phil Whipple (far right) giving a tour of the offices to the Church History class. At their workstations are Cathy Reich (left, administrative assistant to the bishop), and Darlene Burkett (administrative assistant in Global Ministries).


Bishop Phil Whipple (far right) giving a tour of the offices to the Church History class. At their workstations are Cathy Reich (left, administrative assistant to the bishop), and Darlene Burkett (administrative assistant in Global Ministries). (click to enlarge)

The annual United Brethren Church History class has been meeting this week, Monday through Thursday (June 7-10). On Wednesday, the national office hosted them for:

  • Lunch
  • Some words from Bishop Phil Whipple and Global Ministries Director Jeff Bleijerveld.
  • A tour of the Healthy Ministry Resources building.

Howard Cherry is teaching the class for the umpteenth time.