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24 Aug

August 24, 2009 |

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Pastor Tim Hallman prepares to unleash the kids, ready to part with their toys.

On August 17, 2009, Pastor Tim Hallman of Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) preached from Luke 12:33, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” The message was directed at children, who gathered around the front of the church.

He gave them an assignment: go through their toys and bring some to church the next Sunday. We would then sell the toys and give the money to the poor–specifically, to a micro-business opportunity in Peru which would benefit a poor family. The money would be channeled through UB endorsed missionary Anna Geivett, who serves with Food for the Hungry in Peru.

These were the options provided by Food for the Hungry:

  • $25 buys a fruit-bearing tree which can produce hundreds of pounds of food each year, helping feed that family and produce additional income.
  • $20 buys 4 rabbits, which can become 80 rabbits in one year’s time.
  • $40 buys a sow, which can produce 20 piglets each year, yielding income for the family. In just six months, each piglet can grow to 200 pounds.
  • $150 buys a dairy goat, able to produce up to a gallon of milk each day.

On August 23, the children showed up with all kinds of toys, books, stuffed animals, and other items. After a short message, Tim told the children to walk through the sanctuary with their toys. Adults then bought the items from the children–a quarter, a dollar, a couple dollars. The kids then brought their money to the front of the church, where it was counted. Over a period of about ten minutes, the children sold all of the possession they had brought.

When it was all counted, the total raised came to $241–enough to finance each of the four projects!

It was a great lesson not only for the children, but for adults, who have much bigger toys which could be sold to benefit someone in need.

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Emily brought a whole bag of stuffed animals, which she placed on this cart and wheeled around the sanctuary until they were all sold.

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Two adults count the money as kids bring it to the front of the church.

24 Aug

August 24, 2009 |

Church legal expert Richard Hammar talks about the 10 greatest legal issues facing today’s churches. Here’s the list. The article, on the Brotherhood Mutual site, gives brief explanations of each, along with good links for additional reading.

1. Negligent selection of youth workers.
2. Registered sex offenders.
3. Same-sex marriages.
4. The duty to warn (giving employment references).
5. Child abuse reporting.
6. Church security.
7. Church computer policies.
8. Employment liability: the ministerial exception (staff classified as clergy).
9. Discrimination based on morals or religion.
10. Automatic excess benefit transactions (taxable fringe benefits for pastors). 

20 Aug

August 20, 2009 |

The reason Healthy Ministry Resources exists is found in the success of each of our local churches. I want to be a lead cheerleader in encouraging each of our churches to be engaged in the harvest that God has for us. We are here for you. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and the United Brethren in Christ Church in this capacity.

I believe the local church is the vehicle that God uses to reach a hurting world and to grow people up in their personal journey of faith. I believe that God wants to create in us a movement that shows our communities the love and compassion that is born out of the lives of believers who are sold out to follow hard after Christ.

19 Aug

August 19, 2009 |

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Owen Gordon, President, Jamaica Bible College (Mandeville, Jamaica)

We completed another successful camp for boys at Jamaica Bible College. We had a total of 27 boys from Tuesday to Saturday. The boys were mainly from neighboring New Green and Greenvale communities, with one from Clarendon and another from St. Elizabeth.

The boys were exposed to presentations on health, security, and conflict management. We had lots to sporting activities, food, and a good dose of challenges from the Word of God.

Each boy was presented with a special shirt highlighting the importance of doing all things thru Christ.

We received much help from young men from Salem UB Church and Jamaica Bible College. As usual, Ms. Joan Scott and the Police gave us solid support.

This is the fourth year for this important outreach program. Several of the boys  committed their lives to follow Christ.

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19 Aug

August 19, 2009 |

We received this letter from a girl who attends Mount Zion UB in Wayne, Ohio. It was addressed to Darlene Burkett, the Global Ministries administrative assistant. I was touched by the letter. We deposited the money the kids raised into Billy Simbo’s support account.
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18 Aug

August 18, 2009 |

Beulah “Dot” Hasler has been named senior pastor of McGuire Bend UB (Dayton, Iowa) effective July 1, 2009. She is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. McGuire Bend continues sharing pastoral leadership with three United Methodist churches in that area. The previous pastor at McGuire Bend, Remigio Panlaqui, was assigned to UMC churches in Fremont and Cedar, Iowa.

18 Aug

August 18, 2009 |

My wife Sandy and I moved to Huntington on July 27. Our belongings followed us a few days later. Since then:

  • I have officiated at 3 weddings back at Colwood, the church I pastored in Caro, Mich..
  • I have visited 4 different churches on Sunday mornings in 3 different states.
  • I have been involved in stationing committee work.
  • I met with a group of pastors.
  • I have been appointing people to serve on various teams.
  • I have begun meeting individually with each member of the fine staff here at Healthy Ministry Resources.

As I write this, I am at the end of my first official day as bishop. I am glad that I have had a few days over which to stretch all of that activity. But it raises a flag to me of the importance of making sure I do what is needful and productive. Staying busy is easy, but working God’s plan is where we all need to focus.

17 Aug

August 17, 2009 |

I came across this article, “Quoting Satan,” on SermonCentral.com. It is by Chad McCallum, pastor of Compass Point church in Byron Center, Mich. While we often kick ourselves for not being effective Christians, this article imagines how we must look to Satan–a strong, flexible, resilient force that he’s been unable to stop.

14 Aug

August 14, 2009 |

I know a church where people have strong opinions about what their church should be, but their opinion has no relation to what God says the church should be. They are people of power. And in the UB church–probably all churches–people with power tend to be people with money.

Nobody will say to them, “We’re going to build a church here, and we don’t need you or your money. We could use you and your money, but if you’re just going to be an obstinate person used by Satan to create problems–no, we don’t need you.”

I’ve had those conversations. It’s not easy, not something I relish. But it’s necessary.

14 Aug

August 14, 2009 |

David Datema, UB endorsed missionary who is director of the US Center for World Mission, wrote a blog post called, “My Unsolicited Advice for Mission-Minded Singles.” He offers three pieces of advice, with explanation. The second one include:

Instead of stopping to look, look while going. I wouldn’t expect anyone to stop looking for someone. But don’t make it the main thing. Go after the vision of the kingdom before you. If someone gets in your way and you like them, by all means marry them. But the Kingdom waits for no one. Get on the Kingdom train and you’ll be surprised who else might be on board.