05 Jun National Conference Business Update

The US National Conference business session started at 8:00. Here is what has happened so far:

02 Jun A Few Thoughts Before XLR8 Begins

It is now 8:17 a.m. (EDT) in Huntington, Ind. The staff in the office has been in a “full court press” for some time now to get everything done for National Conference. Sometime this morning we will begin packing the trailer to bring all the necessary forms, reports, supplies, packets, name badges, agendas, sermon notes, computers, printers, posters, pens and probably a whole lot more I can’t think of right at this moment.

We are checking and double-checking to be sure we have everything we need. I have checked with the main speaker, Tim Brown and he is set to be with us. We have had an excellent registration of over 850 individuals.

The point is: we are almost ready to make the trip to Sawmill Creek Resort, Huron, Ohio, for National Conference 2009. I am excited. Thanks to all who have been planning and praying for this National Conference 2009.

Just some thoughts….

• I am surprised how fast these past four years have flown by!
• I am thankful for travel safety for all who have traveled these past four years!
• I am so grateful for the staff that God has placed in this building!
• I am blessed to think of all the new friends who have come into my life in these years!
• I am burdened for far too many of our churches that don’t “get it”!
• I am flabbergasted at those who don’t know what “IT” is!
• I have realized just how dependent on God I really am to do anything of worth!
• I have been amazed to find myself in this position!
• I am so thankful for the planning team that helped plan every detail of this National Conference 2009.
• I am really looking forward to worshipping with all of you this week!
• I am blessed to be trusting in The One who has my future in His hands!

Well, that’s it for this time. Hope to see you on Thursday. Drive careful ‘ya hear!

01 Jun 30 Years – Yeah, That’s a Long Time

They said they needed my camera in the break room. Something was going on, something apparently newsworthy. So I grabbed it and went in, and there sat an ice cream cake. And it was for…me?

Indeed. Bishop Ron Ramsey instructed that the occasion appear on the Bishopblog–whether I wrote it, or somebody else. Since I don’t trust any of my coworkers, I thought I better do the deed. Besides, everyone is crazy-busy with National Conference preparations.

The occasion: June 1 marks 30 years of working fulltime at the United Brethren national office. I actually started on June 1, 1978, after my junior year at Huntington University, but I didn’t go fulltime until graduating in 1979. Back then, my title was assistant editor. I worked on the monthly United Brethren magazine, edited a weekly Sunday school take-home paper, and did some work on the adult Sunday school quarterlies.

We discontinued the Sunday school curriculum in 1982 and closed the printshop. At that point, I became editor of the United Brethren magazine. And the position has evolved from there. I took the title Communications Director in 1993, when we centralized all of our communications. And from there, this and that has happened, yada yada yada, you’re really not that interested.

Along with the ice cream cake, my coworkers gave me a card (of sorts) with comments like these:

• Way to go! Your endurance is amazing.
• You are a great asset here. Old and musty, but still a good asset.
• People who stay in one place for so long usually are honored with a statue. Have you posed for yours yet?
• 30 years! Most marriages last less time than that!
• Congrats! Putting up with everyone who has come and gone. Wow!
• You must have started here at the office when you were a child!
• Wow! 30 years! You must be older than I thought!
• How many Macs or models of Macs have you had in those 30 years? [I think 7, plus 2 laptops.]
• Amazing! You have worked here almost my whole life!
• I know that cars are considered vintage or antique after 20 years, so….

Now you know why I thought I better write this.

It’s been a joy working here and serving our churches. I’ve never NOT attended a United Brethren church. I’ve basically ordered the entire UB menu: grew up UB in four different states, attended our camps, participated in Bible quizzing, UB preacher’s kid, graduated from our college, and have now spent my entire career in the service of my denomination. No regrets. Unless you count eating that too-big piece of ice cream cake this morning.

01 Jun Book About the Pelley Murders

A new book, “The Prom Night Murders,” tells about the 1989 murders of United Brethren minister Robert Pelley, his wife, and two young daughters. They were found shotgunned in the parsonage on Sunday morning, just after the local high school prom.

Rev. Pelley’s son from a previous marriage, Jeff, was convicted of the murders in 2006 (the result of a cold case investigation). The story is that Jeff was grounded from participating in prom weekend activities, and that led to the murders.

Jeff Pelley, 37, is serving a 160-year sentence. His conviction was reversed by a Court of Apopeals, but this spring the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the reversal.

28 May The UB Youth Team is There for You

Bobby Culler, Youth Pastor, Mt. Pleasant UB (Chambersburg, Pa.)

Greetings from the UB Youth Lead Team. We are fresh off our amazing week of refreshment and refueling in Daytona Beach during the 2009 Youth Summit. It was an awesome time together, and God certainly did some neat things in us and among us during our time together. We were hoping to become more deeply “Rooted” in Christ and scriptures and in our relationships with each other, and that definitely happened.

Perfect weather and some great spiritual discipline experiences led by our speaker for the week, Dr. Jerry Davis (Huntington University), made for a fantastic week of connecting and reconnecting.

This is an annual event planned and organized by our team–a bunch of youth pastors who are and have been in the trenches of youth ministry for several years.

And speaking of the team–we would love to come alongside you and help you become better equipped and more effective in youth ministry as together we work to make an eternal difference in this generation of teenagers. If there is ever anything we can do for you and/or the leaders of your youth ministry, please do not hesitate to email us.

The names and photos of team members can be found on the UB website. It would be an honor for us to help you in any way we can. Also, keep an eye on the UB website for future youth ministry events and training opportunities. Together…let’s work hard to make teenage disciples for Jesus Christ.”

26 May Bad News About Your Wireless Mics

You may need to replace your wireless microphone, if it operates in the 700 MHz band. Here’s why.

On June 12, TV transitions from analog to digital. This move freed up space in the 700 MHz band, which the government auctioned off. Verizon, AT&T, and other companies spent billions of dollars buying the rights to this spectrum. And they’re going to use it for new services–cell phones, data services, emergency services, and more.

As a result, your 700 MHz mic system will encounter interference. The Federal Communications Commission didn’t set a date for when churches (and others) must stop using their 700 MHz systems, but you can bet that churches will be forced out at some point. Verizon and the others spent too much money to allow encroachers.

Christianity Today published an excellent article called “Understanding New Wireless Microphone Restrictions.” (Thanks to Tom Datema for notifying us about it.) Some points made in the article:

• Your 700 MHz mics won’t suddenly stop working. However, you’ll be at risk of interference from other services.
• Churches in cities will probably notice interference before churches in small towns and rural areas.
• The most efficient and cost-effective option is to replace the 700 MHz mics with mics in the 500 MHz band.
• Churches can donate their 700 MHz  equipment to churches in countries not affected by the US changes.

22 May A Church’s First Staffer

L-r: Pastor Dan and Mary Alice Drake, Zachary Kennedy, and Courtney Clark.

Last Sunday, May 17, I was privileged to participate in a service at Olive Branch Church of Lakeville, Ind. (just outside of South Bend). I was there to install Zachary Kennedy as the church’s Young Adult and Youth Pastor.

This is a historic thing for Olive Branchy–their first staff hire ever, as far as I know. Zachary graduated this spring from Bethel College in nearby Mishawaka, Ind. He and Courtney are to be married June 13. For now, the new position will be part-time, but the church is praying tha tit can become fulltime in the very near future.

21 May Easter Story: Stockport, Ohio

The US Postal Service brought us an Easter story from Liberty UB church in Stockport, Ohio. Mike Turner, a layperson, writes:

“We started at 7 a.m. with 46 in our sunrise service. Those present were encouraged to take part with testimonies, songs, readings, etc. After the sunrise service, Pastor Charles Simmons’ adult twin sons fixed breakfast for all attending. They do this for their dad every year to honor him. It was a great time of fellowship and good food. Charlie had 82 to preach to in morning worship.

“In 2008 we averaged 36 in morning worship. So far in 2009 we are averaging 52. Charlie is preaching the Word. Christians are praying. Seekers are coming. God is good, all the time.”

19 May Camp Days and the Fear of God

Dr. Paul Fetters spoke that summer during Pacific Annual Conference, the summer after my ninth grade year. He spoke on the family, and it was excellent, even to this budding sophomore.

We used a camp in Watsonville, Calif., outside of San Francisco, which meant a nine-hour drive for those of us from Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Most of our youth group was there for the conference Bible quizzing finals.

But this particular night, I wasn’t paying much attention to Dr. Fetters’ message. Instead, I was flirting with Tammy, a shy but very cute girl. We were sitting beside each other about in the middle of the left-hand section of the tabernacle. It’s all branded deeply in my memory because of what came next.

As I carried on–and it would have been mostly me, because Tammy was so quiet–I apparently disrupted people around me. Suddenly, I felt a big hand clamp onto my shoulder from behind. I looked over my shoulder.

One of our ministers, a big guy, well over six feet tall, had grabbed me from two rows back. He then said to me, in the type of hushed voice Jack Bauer uses, “If you don’t quiet down, I’m going to take you outside and whip you like one of my own kids.”

I quieted down, fast.

I doubt that, in my traumatized state, I actually listened to much of Dr. Fetters’ message. But at the end of the service, my heart still beat in overdrive.

That hand, that large physique, that Voice of Intimidation, belonged to the pastor of our church in Sacramento. A guy named Ron Ramsey.

16 May Worship Services–Past and Present

John Authenreith, Minister of Music at Mainstreet UB church (Walbridge, Ohio), gives some great observations about how worship service planning, particularly the music side of it, has changed over the years. He’ll take you down Memory Lane.