06 Jan Funeral Arrangements for Phyllis Cherry

Phyllis Cherry, wife of retired UB minister, Herb Cherry, passed away on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Her funeral arrangements are as follows:

Visitation: Friday, January 8, 5-8 pm

Location: Chas. J. Burden & Son Funeral Home, 1806 E Michigan Ave, Jackson, MI 49202-3646 (517) 784-3104  www.dignitymemorial.com

Funeral: Saturday, January 9, 11 am. Visitation 10-11 am

Location: Eden UB Church, 1938 Eden Road, Mason, MI 48854 (517) 676-1376

Herb Cherry’s address is: 3913 Sage Court, Bloomington, IN 47401

09 Dec Podcast of Bishop Whipple on WBCL

Last Thursday, Dec. 3, Bishop Phil Whipple was a guest on the popular Mid-Morning show on WBCL, a Christian radio station in Fort Wayne, Ind. He was joined by two Huntington University graduate school professors, Mike Cook and Jerry Davis, along with another Fort Wayne pastor. The topic: “Healthy Church, Healthy Pastor.”

08 Dec Death of Thelma Sommers

We received word that Thelma Sommers, wife of Pastor Walter Sommers, passed away on November 9, 2009.

08 Dec Six from Mount Pleasant UB Heading to Mexico Dec. 9

A group of six persons from Mount Pleasant UB (Chambersburg, Pa.) will fly to Mexico tomorrow, December 9. Youth pastor Bobby Culler, his wife, and four other persons will meet up with Bishop Denis Casco of the Mexico National Conference. They are looking for a UB church with which to partner. Mount Pleasant has partnered with one UB church in Mexico for the past five years, but has released those reigns and are looking for a different church.

19 Nov Rick Warren: More than a Junk Twitterer

Rick Warren got into the Twitter game a couple months ago, and I’ve been following him. His tweets are some of the more interesting and redeeming ones. Lots of fluff and nonsense out there, but Warren sends out very useful and sometimes provocative tidbits.

Last week, Warren sent out this tweet:

Finding time to read the great spiritual classics is no mystery. Turn off the TV. Nothing on TV today will matter in 10 years.

Then, to drive home the point, he sent this tweet:

“A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash.” Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)

All I can say is: touche.

13 Nov Our Continual Quest for New Worship Music

At Anchor Community Church, we’re always on the prowl for new worship songs. Most new songs we learn from Christian radio.  When we attend Christian events, we’re not particularly interested in hearing songs we already know. We want to hear new stuff. It’s disappointing to leave an event having heard the same ol’ songs.

We brought back two songs from last summer’s US National Conference, which we’ve incorporated into our repertoire: “Revelation Song” and “Let Me Sing.” Thanks, Mainstreet worship team!

A Willow Creek conference taught us “Lord I Will.” A Promise Keepers convention provided “I Am Free,” “Strong Tower,” and “How Great is Our God.” MinistryCOM introduced me to “Yes You Have” and Michael Neale’s “More and More.” All of these are now regular songs at Anchor, songs our people enjoy. The latest batch of “possibles” includes two songs I heard at this year’s MinistryCOM.

I’m no music expert. I’ve been playing on worship teams for 20 years, but I’m still basically a keyboard hacker with a rock-and-roll bent. But I see a lot of wonderful music being written today, music that connects with me and with our congregation.

And it’s not necessarily fluff or repetitive (as too many people stereotype contemporary Christian music). We’re talking songs with multiple verses, plus a bridge (which you don’t find in hymns). Songs that, if written in another era, would have been included in a hymnal and revered today.

Too many churches still fight music wars, with parishioners who have sung the exact same hymns for 60 years resisting the introduction of any new music. That always makes me sad…and very grateful for the wide-open attitude at Anchor.

29 Oct Bishop Whipple Begins 12-Day Eastern Trip

Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple left today on a 12-day trip that will take them to churches in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The trip includes a consultation weekend at Bethel Temple of Praise in Yonkers, N.Y. It culminates with the Mid-Atlantic Pastoral Resource Day November 8-9 at Rhodes Grove Camp (Chambersburg, Pa.). Bishop Whipple will speak during the opening service on Sunday night, November 8, and lead devotions the next day.

19 Oct Mattru Hospital Undergoing Major Work

Mattru Hospital in Sierra Leone is undergoing a renovation, which is expected to be completed in October. Funds are being provided by the United Nations Population Fund, through the office of the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma.

On a visit to the hospital, Mrs. Koroma lamented the poor conditions, and included Mattru Hospital in her vision to establish hospitals of excellence.

In a special service on October 3, the hospital was handed over to the contractor to be refurbished. Bishop Billy Simbo, who also chairs the hospital board, thanked the First Lady, and admonished the people of Mattru Jong to monitor the progress of the project and not engage in stealing building materials.

02 Oct Assaulting the Gates

The mission that Jesus gave to us was quite clear and simple.

• He told his church to go and make disciples.
• As we do that, we would teach those disciples the commands of Christ, which are summed up in loving God with all our heart and loving others.
• Then, to make sure that the testimony of our lives is seen to all, we would baptize that new disciple in the name of the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

You have heard it before, but the beauty of it to me has never changed.

It was my privilege to attend a conference with about 55 denominational executives who are on the same page about the mission. We met September 14-16 in Nashville, where we:

• Shared stories of how our God is working through our churches to make new disciples.
• Discussed strategies for being more effective in reaching out to a lost and dying world.
• Prayed together that we would remain faithful and fruitful in accomplishing this mission.
• Reaffirmed that Christ had clearly told us that the gates of hell would not hold back the church of Jesus Christ.

The one thing that we did NOT talk about was changing the mission.

So I want to encourage each of you to stay focused on the mission Christ has placed before us. Let’s recognize the opportunities to push back the darkness and  bring the light of Christ into a broken and hurting world. Let’s together assault the gates of hell.

28 Sep Precautions Churches Can Take Against H1N1

Here are some precautions churches can take regarding the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. These ideas have been gathered from here and there.

• Encourage people to get a flu shot, and make people aware of where they can get one. Offer church funds to pay for flu shots. 
• Make sure church staffmembers get vaccinated.
• Encourage people to stay home if they are sick, if they feel like they might be getting sick, and for a couple days after they’ve had the flu. Encourage children with ill household members to stay home.
• Take extra precautions with at risk populations: anyone under age 24, and especially children under 5.
• Be very strict with nursery workers, since infants are at greatest risk. If an adult has had the flu recently or been exposed to persons with the flu, find someone else to serve in the nursery. You might require that nursery workers be vaccinated.
• Churches might want to take extra care in cleaning areas where people congregate–sanctuary, lobby, children’s area.
• Place hand sanitizer in high-traffic areas for public use.
• Announce a temporary alternative to handshaking, like just saying hello, giving a little hand-wave, nod, or bow. Don’t feel obligated to shake hands or give a hug. If you have a greeting time during the service, don’t force people into this by saying, “Shake hands with three people you don’t know.” Provide a substitute greeting.
• If you do shake hands with people at church, be sure to wash your hands afterwards (good advice even when it’s not flu season).
• Have ushers, children’s workers, and persons serving communion use hand sanitizer.
• Encourage people to cover a cough or sneeze. Use your elbow or shoulder instead of your hands when a tissue or handkerchief isn’t available.
• Some frequently-touched areas to clean with an alcohol-based cleaner: doorknobs, desks, counters, keyboards, lightswitches, crash bars, drinking fountains, bathroom levers and knobs, toys, potluck utensils, refrigerator handles, remote controls.
• Some churches have announced that pastors will, for the time being, no longer shake hands with parishioners after the service, and have done away with holding hands while singing, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, etc.