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We announced this morning the death of Paul Webster on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. Here are the arrangements:
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team. L-r: Chuck Wheatley, Robert Bruce, Craig Burkholder, Lee Rhodes (chairman), Chris Little (red shirt, back to the camera), Bishop Phil Whipple, Cathy Reich (secretary, hidden), Terry Smith, Dennis Sites.
The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team (PMLT) met Monday night and Tuesday, March 15-16. The main agenda item involved pastoral training. The Huntington University Graduate School will discontinue the Pastoral Leadership track in June. That has always been our primary vehicle for training ministers. The PMLT needed to figure out how to replace it.
They settled on a list of 11 core courses for the National Conference license, and 24 core courses for ordination. If no college can be found that offers a particular course, the PMLT may cover the subject through a workshop of some kind. A Masters degree is no longer required for ordination.
Here are the course subjects. If you have questions, ask them in the “Comments,” and Bishop Whipple will respond.
| National Conference License |
Ordination |
| Spiritual Formation | Bible Study |
| Old Testament Survey | Mentoring and Time Management |
| New Testament Survey | Christian World View |
| Systematic Theology | Christian Ethics |
| UB History | Church History Survey |
| Pastoral Care and Counseling | Missions |
| Preaching | Worship |
| Ministry Internship | Relationship Building |
| Evangelism | Equipping the Church for Service |
| Bible Elective | Conflict Management |
| Bible Elective | Leadership of a Governing Body |
| Leadership of a Congregation | |
| Staff (Lay or Paid) Management |
Just a reminder to senior pastors and licensed ministers: your annual reports are due to Bishop Phil Whipple on Monday, March 1. Lots of reports have been coming to the office this week.
We prepared a flyer which you can distribute to your congregation on Sunday. This 8.5-by-11 document includes information about:
Just download the flyer (it’s a PDF document) and print as many copies as you need for your congregation. You can also use the information in other church publications (bulletins, newsletters, etc.).
L-r: Paul Plato (Canada), Bishop Phil Whipple, and Juan Pavon (Nicaragua) during the Tuesday night service at General Conference.
Bishop Phil Whipple speaking during the General Conference business sessions.
I enjoyed attending General Conference in January. I thought it went very well.
Every country, regardless of size, sent two delegates to Honduras. That was a change from before, when the number of delegates was based on size. It was healthy that the United States church agreed to that change. If the United States had come with far more delegates than any other conference, it would have been hard to see each other as partners. Instead, we were just one among equals.
We shared ideas and information about what was happening in our separate countries. We all wanted to support, learn from, and cooperate with each other.
Delegates from Canada and Jamaica were interested in the materials we are developing for clusters. I told them, “If it applies to your situation, great. You know what works for your people.” It’s good when we can create a resource and share it.
The Hondurans were warm and gracious hosts. They set a high standard for a host nation, particularly with the opening service, which both wrapped up their national conference and launched the international meeting.
We didn’t talk about where to hold the next General Conference in 2013. However, I suspect it’ll be a while before we come back to the United States. The visa problems people had were all American issues. I’d like to continue going to other countries, as long as cost isn’t prohibitive. I look forward to the next meeting in three years, wherever we end up.
Denis Casco in Mexico City
During his General Conference report on January 11, Bishop Denis Casco of Mexico told this story when invited to mention prayer requests.
“First, pray for my physical safety in Mexico. I was attacked a couple years ago in Mexico City while at a hotel. Three men came after me and held me down. I defended myself. There was a car stationed outside. Providently, a police car passed by, and they left.
“They broke my upper arm, they hurt my head, and they hurt my back from kicking me. The policeman took me to the Red Cross and then to the justice office for my report. After being interviewed about the circumstances of the attack, they concluded two things: the three men had mistaken me for somebody else, or they wanted to kidnap me.
“I didn’t want to stay in Mexico. I asked them to take me to the airport. I arrived at the international airport in Los Angeles and went to the emergency room. It took me six months to recover from my injuries.
“Pastors are in danger. Drug dealing, organized crime, developing poverty—half of the people live in poverty, and it seduces people to get money however they can.”
Brian Magnus, bishop of the UB Church in Canada, gives his report on Canada as Donna Hollopeter, General Conference secretary, takes notes.
Since General Conference reports were given in alphabetical order, Canada went first. Brian Magnus, bishop of the United Brethren Church in Canada, opened his report on January 11 by talking about the secularization of his country.
“I believe North America is coming to a place, soon, where Europe has been for a while. People are already calling North American post-Christian. Christian values are being dropped all over the place. Marriage in Canada is now between any two persons, regardless of sex.
“I predict that very soon, polygamy will be legal in Canada, too. We have many people who have immigrated from Muslim and other countries, and they want to bring over their second, third, and fourth wives. Marriage itself has dropped in popularity; the majority of people simply move in together and never get married. The divorce rate has gone down, but it’s only because so few people get married.
“We have a partnership with a Christian organization called Christian Horizons which provides services for handicapped people. A case currently making its way to our Supreme Court will affect all Christian organizations in Canada. One of the 3000 employees of this organization had signed an agreement to live by Christian values, but then she entered into a lesbian relationship and was fired.
“The courts have found the Christian organization guilty of discrimination. The question before the courts now is whether Christian organizations can hire only other Christians, or must hire anyone. This specifically relates to doing social work, which of course as Christians we want to do.
“The country has become very secular. But we want to take advantage of the opportunities we have, and not just feel sorry because our country is changing. God has us there for a reason. We want to be his servants.”
Denny Miller (far right) leading the cluster leader training.
Today, 22 cluster leaders came to Huntington, Ind., for several hours of training with Bishop Phil Whipple and Denny Miller, pastor of Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.). They met in the Habecker Dining Commons at Huntington University. Denny Miller works one day a week as Director of Healthy Church Ministries. He led much of the training.
Here are some photos from the event.
Ajiax Wo gives his report as superintendent of Hong Kong Conference. L-r: Brian Magnus (chair), Donna Hollopeter (secretary), Ajiax, and Orville Brown (translator).
Theresa Musa and Billy Simbo (Sierra Leone) during the prayer time for Haiti. Billy also opened with the day's devotional.
Juan Pavon Pavon (Nicaragua) speaking.
Laughter: the universal language. L-r: Isaac Nugent (Jamaica), Denis Casco (Mexico), Ajiax Wo (Hong Kong).
The Honduran women fed everyone well, three meals a day.
Juanita Chavez, Honduran superintendent, talks about her country's long-range plan.
The closing prayer time.
Wednesday’s General Conference meeting opened with a devotional from Billy Simbo, bishop of Sierra Leone conference. He used the story where Jesus brought a huge catch of fish to an astonished Peter and his fellow fishermen.
The group then spent some time praying for Haiti and for Superintendent Oliam Richard, who at that point was traveling to the La Ceiba airport with Denis Casco (bishop of Mexico), hoping to get a flight to Haiti. (He eventually opted to stay in La Ceiba. The January 13 posts tell about that.)
Ajiax Wo, superintendent of Hong Kong Conference, was welcomed to his first full day of General Conference. He got hung up in New York City, needing a Honduran vissa. He reported on the ministry in Hong Kong. Karis Vong, the other Hong Kong delegate, had reported in his place, but restricted her report to Macau, where she ministers.
The delegates discussed, and unanimously passed, two changes to the international governing documents:
Next: they approved changes to the governing documents of the various national conference. One role of the General Conference is to monitor changes in the member documents to make sure they remain in conformity with United Brethren doctrine and core values.
Each national conference mentioned any significant changes to its governing documents. There were various structural changes in some conferences, but nothing that caused any concern. All changes were approved. As expected.
A few miscellaneous matters were cared for. Then Brian Magnus called for someone to adjourn this 50th meeting of the General Conference.
They adjourned.
But before you drive away….
The executive committee met for a while. They re-elected Brian Magnus as chairman of the International Executive Committee, a position he has held since 2001. The executive committee will decide where the next General Conference is held, in 2013.
The delegates reassembled for a presentation on the long-range plan of Honduras Conference by Abdiel Lopez, a Guatemalan whose organization is assisting the conference.
And THEN everyone was done for the afternoon. Most of the delegates squeezed time in at the local mall–just like any modern mall in the United States–before supper and the evening service.
L-r: Jeff Bleijerveld, Phil Whipple, and Alan Simbo in Chicago.
Steve Dennie (left) and Jeff Bleijerveld waiting for the flight to Fort Wayne...home,
A tired group of General Conference delegates left the Gran Paris Hotel in La Ceiba, Honduras, at 4:15 a.m. The conference bus (“Followers of the Lord” in bit white letters across the windshield, but in Spanish) came to pick us up. David Raudales, director of the Bethel Band and son of Francisco and Maira Raudales, tagged along with the bus driver to see us off.
The two Guatamalans, Francisco Najera and Rolando Valenzuela, deboarded at the bus station on the outskirts of town. The rest of us continued on to San Pedro Sula.
In San Pedro, the Americans, Jamaicans, and Sierra Leoneans boarded a flight for Miami about 9:30. they left four persons behind. Carlos Quesada, a workshop leader, would be catching a flight to Brazil to continue his presentations on behalf of Operation Mobilization. Jeff Dice waited for a flight to Costa Rica. And the two Canadians, Brian Magnus and Paul Plato, also had a later flight back to Canada.
In Miami, we lost Winston Smith and Isaac Nugent, who continued on to Jamaica. That left five Americans and three Sierra Leoneans.
On to Chicago. There, the Sierra Leoneans and Americans parted company. Billy and Alan Simbo were heading to Philadelphia, while Theresa Musa caught a flight for Baltimore.
Phil Whipple waiting for the flight to Fort Wayne.
That left the Americans waiting for a tiny American Eagle flight to Fort Wayne, Ind. Phil Whipple, Jeff Bleijerveld, Jason and Donna Hollopeter, and Steve Dennie arrived in Fort Wayne just after 8:30.
Meanwhile, back in Honduras….
And that’s it. The end of a great meeting.
