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24 May

May 24, 2009 |

Chuck McKeown, pastor of First UB of Holly Hill, Fla., reported yesterday (Saturday, May 23), “As of Friday we had 29.5 inches. Today (Saturday) we got another inch. The water is going down quickly and work teams will start cleaning-up tomorrow.”

Vicki McKeown, from First UB of Holly Hill, Fla., add this on Sunday, May 24: “This newspaper article confirms what we knew to be true already. Our community in Holly Hill seems to have taken the brunt of the rain and flooding this week. The forecast predicts more rain on the way. We have several church families with inches of water standing in their homes. Many more in the community are affected. Pray that we’ll be effective as the body of Christ to our neighbors! Unfortunately, this area is probably the poorest and will suffer the most.”

22 May

May 22, 2009 |

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries

I received a call from Chuck McKeown, pastor of First Church in Holly Hill, Fla. They had been in a drought condition, but since Monday have received 26 inches of rain. There is nowhere for it to go, and most of the area around Holly Hill and Ormond Beach (just north of them) is totally flooded. Chuck said it is almost worse than when they get hurricanes.

They are setting up the church as an emergency care center. They are in need of any teams that would be willing to come down and help their families and other families in their community to pull carpets and mattresses and help begin the process of recovery. He indicated that most of the folks do not have flood insurance, so this is going to devastate them financially as well.

If you have folks who can and would like to help, please coordinate through Chuck. His contact info and the address for the church are:

Pastor Chuck McKeown
First UB Daytona
1650 Center Avenue
Holly Hill, FL 32117
Office: 386-677-6940
Cell: 386-547-4005

His cell would probably be the best way to get him.

22 May

May 22, 2009 |

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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

May 21, 2009 |

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.”

20 May

May 20, 2009 |

A one-day workshop on “Strategic Planning for the Local Church” will be held July 16 in Fort Wayne, Ind. It’s limited to 30 persons–the first 30 to register. This seminar was previously held in February, and it filled up.

The presenter is Dr. Rick Upchurch, director of the Huntington University EXCEL adult education program. His office, along with all other graduate school offices, is in the Healthy Ministry Resources building (and all of us agree that he’s a great guy). Rick is an ordained Nazarene minister who has worked with local churches the past ten years as a consultant in leadership-related areas.

Date: Thursday, July 16, 2009
Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Innovation Center, 3201 Stelhorn Road, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Cost: $99 (or $79 each if 3 or more persons come from the same church). Includes lunch.
CEU Credit: .5 CEU

The class will focus on:

  • Steps to an effective strategic plan for your church.
  • How to implement change in a way that produces results.
  • Leadership types and how to maximize your personal type.

You can register online. You can also contact Dr. Upchurch by email.

19 May

May 19, 2009 |

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.

18 May

May 18, 2009 |

On Saturday, Huntington University awarded degrees to another 235 graduates. This 111th commencement was held in the Field House of the Merillat Complex for Physical Education and Recreation. The break-down included:

  • 7 Master of Arts degrees.
  • 6 Master of Education degrees.
  • 62 Bachelor of Arts degrees.
  • 198 Bachelor of Science degrees.
  • 7 even Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
  • 21 Associate of Science degrees.
  • 3 honorary doctorates.

You can view more photos from Commencement and Baccalaureate at the Huntington University site.

15 May

May 15, 2009 |

While reading from Trial and Triumphs: History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, I came across a quote from our Bishop’s quadrennial report of 1929:

“We stand in need of a great spiritual awakening throughout the Church. A greater emphasis should be placed upon the actual presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit in the lives of our people. A consciousness of the intervention of God…is the only antidote which will counteract the poison of materialistic teaching which is everywhere pouring in upon Christianity, killing the spirituality of the church and rendering the lives of thousands barren and unfruitful.”

Wow!  That could have been written about the Church in 2009 as well.

14 May

May 14, 2009 |

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At the Cristo Rey UB church in Costa Rica.

Before Charlene and I went to Spain as missionaries, we spent a year attending language school in Costa Rica. When I visited San Jose in January to see our churches in that city, I discovered some major changes.

The city is much more violent. I used to walk all around the city with no sense of danger. Now, I was told, even the locals don’t go out walking on the streets.

Probably the biggest crime now is extortion–not only in Costa Rica, but all through Central America. Someone calls you on a cell phone and says that if you don’t leave a certain amount of money at a certain place tomorrow, they’ll kill you, or your wife, or your children. They don’t even bother to kidnap you. They just threaten you over the phone.

Anyone who appears to have any money is at risk. You don’t need to be rich; a middle class person will do. The police don’t know what to do about it, because how do you prove anything from a phone call? And people don’t go to the police, because they have no idea who called them. Maybe it was a policeman.

In Honduras, one day I walked from the Bethel School, where we held the conference, back to my hotel. I heard about it. They said I shouldn’t put myself at risk like that.

The same is true in many places around the world. In the Philippines, Sierra Leone, and other places where United Brethren churches operate, you just don’t go walking around. Even locals get mugged, have their pockets picked, have cell phones taken off their belt. If they’re hitting the nationals, sooner or later, if you visit regularly, you’ll get victimized if you don’t take reasonable precautions.