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11 Mar

March 11, 2009 |

Michele Vigil, Student and Discipleship Pastor, Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.)

Last month I went on an all-day conference and heard David Kinnaman, the author of the book Unchristian, speak on the research he and the Barna group have been doing with young people between 18-29 years old. vigil_michelle.jpgAlthough most of our teens are younger than that, I found the information valuable as we seek to understand a generation that is growing more and more skeptical of God and the things of the church. These are my thoughts on this book, and the topic it explores.

Not a week goes by that I don’t get questions in youth group or Sunday school about God being real. Things like–

  • “Does He really listen to our prayers?”
  • “How can a God that loves us allow such horrible things to happen in the world?”
  • Or my favorite, and most frequently asked, “If God is really a loving God, why are Christians so mean and judgmental?”

We hear these questions, or versions of them, time and time again in our own youth ministry. They are in fact, just a small sampling of the greater youth culture’s growing opinion about Christianity and the God we serve. Understanding the culture we serve and the culture that will lead the future church is vital.

Young people are all about conversation. Many will not even give you or what you are saying the time of day, without a relationship of trust built between you. That is why these statistics are so discouraging to me. According to this study:

  • 58 million young people under the age of 40 consider themselves non-Christians in our country.
  • 85-87% of that population feel Christians are judgmental and hypocritical.

Among young Christians, the statistic is not much better. 52% of church-going young people feel the church is too negative and judgmental. I am not saying these opinions are right, but they are real.
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As I ponder these statistics, I wonder if this perception is somewhat of our own doing. Are we so focused on shouting the truth at the world that we fail to balance that with love and a genuine commitment to building a relationship with outsiders, without an agenda?

Have we lost the thrust of the gospel? Did not Jesus teach in the temple AND sit and eat with sinners? I wonder if we have gotten so comfortable teaching and preaching, that we have forgotten to sit and eat.

Trust me, I am not about compromising truth; and I am not about watering down the need for a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. I am just struggling with how far I often feel we as believers have strayed from the example Jesus set in the gospels. Truth, spoken in love. Free-will allegiance, not forced servitude. And most importantly, a desire for authentic relationships, with those we are comfortable with and those we are not.

This seems to me to be how God the father presented himself to his people, through his son Jesus.

I found this to be an excellent book. If you are interested in learning more about what non-Christians tend to feel about God and the church today, it is well worth the time spent. It has challenged me, upset me, and moved me to evaluate, once again, my approach to a generation that seems to care less and less for a God that cared so much for them.

10 Mar

March 10, 2009 |

Roger Reeck, UB endorsed missionary in Honduras, left Honduras a few days ago to attend the funeral of his oldest brother in Michigan. Both he and Marilyn will fly to Trinidad later today–Roger from Michigan, Marilyn from Honduras.

Here is some information from the latest newsletter from Roger and Marilyn Reeck, UB endorsed missionaries living in Honduras.

Now that we are moving in to consultant roles our Wycliffe leaders are asking us to travel to several places. Our last trip was to Mexico. On March 10 we leave for Trinidad/Tobago to help facilitate at a Storying Workshop for people from several Caribbean countries. Yvette from Belize will be joining us as a facilitator also.

After just a few weeks home Roger will travel to Mexico(to the Zapotec town that we used to live in ) and carry on a similar type of workshop. Then we travel to the US where we plan to spend a few weeks at churches in the midwest. At the moment the plan is for Roger to study to improve his Hebrew in Israel during June and July.

Next stop is Africa-Guinea Bissau where Marilyn will meet up with him there. Back home to Honduras in the fall but still be two more trips–to Belize and Brazil.

10 Mar

March 10, 2009 |

Dr. David Jeremiah is having a pastors’ breakfast in conjunction with an appearance in South Bend, Ind., on Thursday, April 2. Perhaps you’re interested. Here’s the description:

All pastors are in need of encouragement and replenishment. Having shepherded a church for more than thirty years, no one knows this better than David Jeremiah. His desire is to build you up and minister to you, so that you might go back to your congregation with a renewed desire to share the Word of God with strength and conviction.

This breakfast will be held at the College Football Hall of Fame.

10 Mar

March 10, 2009 |

John Christopher, senior pastor of Brooklyn Park UB (Baltimore, Md.), sent this report:

It has been a long time coming but we can say, “The roof is going up!” We have finally come to the point of covering the addition. Now we can get the electric run and start setting up the basement.

Once we get everything set up, get ready for a day of celebration. We will be inviting a crowd for our Grand Opening and Dedication Program. Since the weather is getting better, we will pull out the grills and smokers and have a blast. We will be inviting some special people to provide special music that will help us praise the Lord for what he has helped us accomplish.

My heart is full of joy and my eyes are even now filled with tears just sharing this blessed news with all of you. Your prayers, donations, and encouragement through some of our tough times have helped made the expansion of this ministry possible. You helped us become a more effective ministry for some very needy children and teens. This will help us make a greater impact on our community.

10 Mar

March 10, 2009 |

Before going home last night, we updated the numbers on the homepage of the US National Conference site. They now show:

  • 296 total registrants (with the registrations that came in during the night, we’re over 300).
  • 67 persons registered for the UB Historical Society banquet.
  • 28 persons registered for the golf outing.
  • 46 teens and children registered.

We also have updates on the reports coming into the office. The deadline for all of these is March 15. As of March 9, Bishop Ron Ramsey had received:

  • 120 local church reports.
  • 109 reports from churches about their referendum results.
  • 103 signed local church covenants.

09 Mar

March 9, 2009 |

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Francisco Raudales (center) with the plaque presented by Global Ministries.

In January, I was privileged to attend the Honduras National Conference. This was the going-away conference for Francisco Raudales, who had served as superintendent since January 1997.

There were many expressions of appreciation for his ministry over the years. I presented a plaque on behalf of Global Ministries.

Juanita Chavez was elected as the new superintendent. They didn’t announce the vote tally, but her selection definitely pleased the crowd, and people were supportive even if they personally didn’t vote for her.
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Praying for Juanita Chavez as she begins her new role as Honduran Superintendent. L-r: Francisco Raudales, Juanita Chavez, Jeff Bleijerveld.

I wasn’t able to stay for the closing service on Saturday night, but Francisco told her 2000 people attended. My last official act was to pray for Juanita Chavez.

Prior to the election, Juanita had been working on a strategic plan for the coming years. It wasn’t a plan with specific outcomes in terms of numbers, but outcomes in relation to healthy church development and healthy conference development. That was exciting to see. They were looking down the road–how do we get there? how do we know when we’ve developed healthy ministries?

It was something their governing council, the junta, put together, and they gave her the lead. It’ll be neat seeing her work through that in the coming years.

06 Mar

March 6, 2009 |

In a seminar on Church Consultanting, I learned a concept that I found to be very helpful. You may have heard the Berry Bucket analogy before. You have four buckets of berries in your church.

  1. The Older Former Berries (those who are older than the pastor and were there when he arrived).
  2. The Younger Former Berries (those who are younger than the pastor and were there when he came).
  3. The Older New Berries (those older than the pastor but came since the pastor).
  4. The Younger New Berries (those younger than the pastor and have come since the pastor).

The Older Former Berries usually want the pastor to be a chaplain. The Younger Former Berries are mostly related to the Older Former Berries and are the “yes but” people. The Older New Berries are on board with the direction of the pastor and they bring some wisdom to the discussion. The Younger New Berries are the “Let’s Go” people.

The former berries can never get heavier. So a great deal of the pastor’s time is reaching and training new berries. And the closer you get to equilibrium, where the new berries equal in number the former berries, the level of conflict increases. You must count all four groups and help them know each other. And there should be a time in one’s ministry where the new berries outweigh the old berries. That, of course, requires reaching new people for Christ.

I found this very helpful when trying to transition Mainsteet Church to be an outward -ocused church whose purpose was to “See Everyone Become a Fully Devoted Follower of Jesus Christ.” How you treat each group is extremely important to the health of the church in transition.

If there are just a few new berries, it’s more difficult to make a significant transition. Some former berries may get on board with transition, but the greatest momentum in the transition will come when there are new berries. Hopefully a good percentage of new berries are people who have recently come to Christ and are being discipled.

05 Mar

March 5, 2009 |

The number of registrations for the US National Conference now stands at 212, Almost a fourth of them have signed up for the UB Historical Society Banquet, at which Pat Jones will speak.

With ten days to go before the March 15 deadline, Bishop Ramsey has received:

  • 106 local church reports.
  • 96 reports from churches about their referendum results.
  • 99 signed local church covenants.

04 Mar

March 4, 2009 |

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Back row (l-r): Carlos Salazar (MC – Holland, MI), Jimmy Santiago (MC – Chicago, IL), Volfi Valenzuela (MC – Ft. Wayne, IN), Tulio Duran (MC), Dalton Jenkins (UB – Yonkers, NY), Gary Rowland (MC – Ft. Wayne, IN), Martin Roman (MC – Kalamazoo, MI), Tom Blaylock (MC/UB – Everywhere), Gordon Kettel (UB – Grand Ledge, MI), Brian Reinhardt (MC – Sebewaing, MI). Front row (l-r): Bob Loar (MC – Blissfield, MI), Jeremy LeVan (MC – Mishawaka, IN), Matt Woodburn (MC – Macomb, MI), Roy Scott (UB – Brooklyn, NY), Howard Matthews (UB – Grandville, MI), and Josh Hossler (MC – Macomb, MI).

Church planters from the United Brethren Church and the Missionary Church held a retreat together January 29-31 in Orlando, Fla. They focused on three things: encouraging the church planters, sabbath rest, and learning from each other’s experiences. Tom Blaylock, who works part-time in church planting with both the UBs and MCs, headed up the event.