22 > Garden Valley expands ministry with new facility 23 > Exploring church-to-church relationship
24 > Visit sparks ongoing relationship
25 > Respected MB missiologist dies
> Conference challenges young adults 26 > Visit highlights fruit of MCC's work
Facing the unintended consequences
FEATURES
Planting]
10 THE GARDEN by Don Morris
The gardener surveyed his plot of ground. Weeds grew everywhere. This could become a productive garden filled with good things, but it would take a lot of work. Did he and his wife have the energy and determination to see the project through?
13 AN INSIDER'S LOOK AT CHURCH PLANTING A CL Conversation
America needs more churches and Americans need to hear the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. But planting churches and ministering to the is a task marked by failure as much as success. Four Mission USA church planters from diverse locations talk about the surprises, obstacles and joys they have encountered while working in God's gardens.
17 THE GREAT CHURCH PLANTING CHALLENGE
By Sam Sarkissian as told to Paul Bartel
Throughout the process of planting a church, fear and trust do battle in the mind of the church planter. What kind of reception will I get when I knock on this stranger's door? Who will be in church Sunday? But when we rely on God and are guided by the Holy Spirit, we witness the mighty and transforming power of God in our own lives and the lives of the people who come to know him.
> FiRST WORDS
(from the editor]
ON A SHELF IN OUR soN's CLOSEr IS A BOX OF RESCUE HEROES, a line of action figures first popular when Harry was really too old for them. I bought several characters anyway and for a while he played with Billy Blazes and Sam Sparks and enjoyed the video stories that came with the figures. But Harry's interest in the Rescue Heroes didn't last very long.
At the time, I thought playing with firefighter action figures would help broaden Harry's understanding of the kinds of people he should admire. One of the troubling things about our culture is that kids are encouraged to look up to sports figures or TV and movie stars and most of the time these people don't demonstrate the kinds of behavior I want my children to imitate. As it turned out, Rescue Hero action figures weren't the answer.
Hebrews 10:24 encourages us to "consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." One of the ways we can do this is by telling the true stories of people who are worthy of our esteem Here's one story that recently made national news.
The Bluffton (Ohio) University baseball team was on their way to Florida March 2 to play Eastern Mennonite University and to play in a spring break tournament when the chartered bus the team was riding plunged 30 feet from an overpass onto Interstate 75 near downtown Atlanta, Ga The bus driver and his wife as well as four students were killed; a fifrh student died from his injuries a week later. Nearly a dozen of the 35 people on the bus were injured, including the coach. Both Bluffton and EMU are affiliated with Mennonite Church USA.
Reports from the Toledo Blade newspaper tell of players' efforts to rescue their teammates following the predawn crash. 'We had guys stuck under the bus-legs, arms-and we had guys trying to pick the bus up," said 21-year-old shortstop Ryan Baightel. ''You are not going to pick a bus up, but yet they were still trying to pick the bus up."
We need to share stories like this-of love for friends, bravery and a determination that defies common sense-because in the retelling we uphold these characteristics as ones to which we should aspire. True stories also underline the fact that ordinary people can demonstrate great courage, strength of character and other admirable qualities-all attributes the dictionary ascribes to a hero . Sharing our own stories will do more to define who we are and who we become than playing with plastic action figures. So instead of shopping for Rescue Heroes, I hunt for true hero stories to tell our children about the men and women who do the sorts of things I want them to do. -CF
> QUOT ABLE
''Your quarterback's tired ." -senior pastor and best-selling Christian author Max Lucado in advising his elder board in early March that he would be stepping down due to health concerns after nearly 20 years of pastoral ministry. Lucado was recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation "My health concerns are not so severe that I feel I'm in any danger, just severe enough that I think a change needs to be made," he says.
> UP & COMING
• July 5-9-Central District Conference Convention Rapid City. SD
• Aug 2-3 -Southem District Conference Pastors' Gathering, Hays, Kan.
• Aug. 3- 5-Southem District Conference Convention. Hays. Kan .
• Nov. 2-3- Pacific District Conference Convention. Shafter Calif.
Connie Faber EDITOR
Myra Holmes ASSISTANT EDITOR
Elaine Ewe rt GRAPHIC DESIGNER
MANDATE The Chris t ian Lea der liSSN 0009- 51491 is publi shed monthly by the U S Con ference of Mennoni te Brethren Churches The Christian Leader see ks to infor m Menn oni te Brethren m embers and churc hes of the events, activities decisi on s and iss ues of their denom inat ion and to instruct inspire and initiate dialogue so members will aspire to be faithfu l disci ples of Christ as un derstood in the evangelicaVAnabaptist theologica l tra dition
EDITORIAL POLICY The views expressed in thi s publication do not nece ss arily represent the position of the Christian Leader. the U S. Con fere nce Leadership Board or the Me nnoni t e Brethren Church Scripture references are from New International Ve rsi on unless otherwise not ed The edi tors invite freelance article submissions A SASE m ust accompany articles
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CONNIE FABER I (/Ift),
> READERS FORUM
Rethinking the Pill
Why oral contraceptives contradict our commitment to the sanctity of human life
Ihave a confession to make. I may have had an abonion. Actually, I may have had many of them. I'm not really sure. I am also a Christian who grew up in the Mennonite Brethren church. I have been monogamously committed to my husband for five years. I am pro-life and have panicipated in demonstrations and voted for pro-life candidates. I am strictly opposed to abonion and work toward the rights of the unborn.
So how is it that a pro-life, married, committed Christian may have had multiple abonions? For four years I have been on an oral contraception, commonly called the Pill. During that time I may have been pregnant-once, twice, many times, I don't know-and have refused my baby a home because I took the Pill.
Until recendy I did not question the morality of the Pill. Neither did my Christian community: my local MB church, my parents, my Christian university and my peers. Mennonite Brethren have traditionally held the highest value of life. The denomination's Statement on the Sanctity of Human Life says, "Because God is creator, the author and giver of life, we oppose all actions and attitudes which devalue human life."
While the MB church's teachings clearly oppose abortion, we have made no mention ofthe use of contraceptives, not even the emergency contraceptive "Morning After Pill." While there are some situations about which we need to be prayerful, I have concluded that oral contraception is not one of those. If we agree that abonion is wrong then it must also be assumed that this would include taking any medication while sexually active that could cause the expulsion of a fetus.
All oral contraceptive pills work in the same way. The Pill is a regimen of artificial hormones (estrogen and progestin) that mimic the woman's natural fertility hormones. The oral contraceptive pill works in three ways: suppressing ovulation, thickening the cervical mucus to inhibit the movement of sperm and significandy thinning the lining of the uterus such that implantation of an embryo would be impossible. This final property would not be necessary unless break-through ovulation occasionally happened, which it does The first two means are truly contraceptivethey work against conception. The final, however, acts as an abortifacient (a substance or device used to induce abonion).
If we agree that life begins at conception then we must also agree that an abonion has taken place when the implantation necessary for the growth of a human life is deliberately and artificially prevented. The U.S. Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith states, 'Therefore, we hold that procedures designed to take life, including abonion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, are an affront to God's sovereignty." There is a raw contradiction between the church's opposition to abonion and its lack of opposition to oral contraceptives. Historically, however, this has not been the case. Perhaps we should consider a return to the time when Protestant and Catholic churches considered all forms of birth control as sinful and immoral. Foundational religious leaders including Luther, Calvin and Wesley as well as every pope in history condemned contraception in all its forms. It wasn't until 1930 that Protestant believers began to accept any form of birth control as morally permissible. Birth control didn't even become legal in the U.S. for married persons until 1965 and for unmarried persons in 1972.
With such recent religious and legal acceptance-and in light of the revealing biological information-it is nothing less than irresponsible for the MB church to continue in a latent, nonpartisan stance on this issue. This modem moral conundrum should be a hot topic for youth groups and marriage classes church-wide. Pro-life couples should be aware of the abonifacient propenies of this method of contraception, and alternatives should be readily available. Our churches provide guidance on virtually every trivial worldly matter from dancing to credit cards. Our inability/refusal to provide guidance on issues related to the creation and destruction of life is confusing to say the least.
Our denomination gready values and defends life, but we are giving mixed messages. By not issuing a formal statement against the use of the Pill, our denomination has led parishioners to assume that use of such contraceptives is acceptable. Perhaps it is time for a new season, one that maintains the highest standard of respect for life while giving legitimacy to our cries against abonion. Let us ''become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation" (Phil. 2:15) Certainly, such a call cannot be too big a cross to bear.
Rachel (Boldwyn) Shinn lives in Costa Mesa, Calif., and is a member of Dinuba (Calif.) MB Church.
> CONFERENCE CALL by
Chrls Eidse
Exerting our influence
Does our influence give people a sense of hope and love?
There's a lot of talk these days about Americans exerting their influence around the world. Recently I read several articles about the negarive ways that America is doing this. Usually these articles focus on the wars in the Middle East, the effect of capitalism
was recently bragging to him about the 30 kills he got in Iraq These soldiers certainly exerted influence in the Middle East. But is this the kind of influence we want to have?
Sitting in the airport, I wrote down the Marine's comments in .the ma.rgins of my book and then continued reading Living FaIth by JImmy Carter. As I read, I was struck by the irony in the difference between the influence these two soldiers exerted and the influence Carter illustrates in his book. The former president gives examples of two American corporations that chose to exert their influence in a very different way. Carter writes of the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. who learned that a common drug they manufacture to prevent heartworm in animals could also on the environment and oil.
While I ' rhis .is a command to exert cOllsiderab1c int1ucn ce ill the world . The trick is h g urin g out how to exert the
enjoy reading different opinions on these topics, I find it interesting that part of our culture has demonized the term «exerting influence." This phrase is rarely used positively. It is more often used along the lines of «forcing our beliefs on others" or «shoving beliefs down people's throats." Is «exerting our influence" really that bad or is this phrase another example of an expression that has been hijacked?
«Exerting our influence" can be tremendously positive. This concept is actually woven into the great commission. Jesus told us to «go and make disciples of all nations." This is a command to exert considerable influence in the world. The trick is figuring out how to exert the influence that Jesus is talking about. How can we as Westerners and more importantly as Christians exert our influence in a way that leaves a good taste in people's mouths?
I was recently in the Atlanta airport and was reading a book as I waited for my flight. I found myself listening in on a conversation between a young Marine and another traveler. The Marine, just off the battleground in Iraq, was vividly describing a recent situation he was in. His company of soldiers was pressing the enemy and a group of Iraqi allies were with them. But the «cowardly" Iraqis were not keeping up with the U.S team. As the Iraqis fell behind they got caught in «friendly fire" as a soo -pound bomb was accidentally dropped on them. «Killed about 40 of them," the Marine said with an air of indifference. 'They should have kept up." The conversation reminded me of something one of our church youth had told me a week earlier when we were talking in a restaurant. The young man said that the soldier sitting across the room from us
influence that lesus is talking about.
prevent a disease called river blindness in Third World countries. Faced with a decision that could make a huge profit, they contacted the Carter Center and offered to provide enough tablets for all of the affected villages in the world free of charge if the Carter could find a way to deliver the drug. Another example mvolved the DuPont company that teamed up with the Carter Center and a chemical company and together they virtually eliminated guinea worm, a painful disease that was affecting over 3.S million people at the time.
For us as Christians the question is not, Should we exert our influence? but rather, How should we exert our influence? I believe we can do a better job of exerting our influence. We carry our influence around with us all the time. Often we are unaware that we are influencing others everywhere we go. We need to take a sober look at how we are stewarding our influence in the world around us, in our families and schools, and in our places of work and worship.
Jesus calls us to influence others through our Christ-like love, by forgiving others as he forgave us and by caring for the poor and hurting. We need to exert this kind of godly influence both personally and nationally. Some of us have a lot of influence; others have a little. But we all have some. Let's use it to make a constructive difference around us . I hope that the next article I read praises the virtues of a people who are exerting influence around the world in a way that leaves people filled with hope and love. Whether that article gets written may depend on what you do to exert your influencetoday.
Chris Eidse is the North Carolina District Conference youth minister. He and his wife, Rebecca, live with their children in Lenoir NC.
MDS crews respond to New Orleans tornado
Volunteers at work "within hours"
Mennonite Disaster Service crews in the ' New Orleans, La., area quickly changed their plans for the day Feb. 13 after strong winds and a tornado damaged the area. About 80 MDS volunteers from the New Orleans, Bayou La Batre and Mobile, Ala., MDS project sites traveled to Westwego where the tornado touched ground and then spread over the affected areas in Franklin, Carrollton and Westwego counties.
Jerry Klassen, MDS Gulf States coordinator, reports that "typically it takes at least a day or two before volunteers will be allowed in the area; MDS volunteers responded within hours of this disaster."
Crews were hard at work cleaning up debris, helping homeowners find and save precious personal items, tarp roofs and console those who needed time to tell their story. Volunteers also shared several buckets of homemade cookies with other relief personnel, homeowners and children.
The February tornado and strong winds killed an elderly woman, injured at least 15 other people and damaged
dozens of businesses and homes in a region still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. "In the Franklin area, houses were partially collapsed, garage roofs blown off and FEMA trailers turned upside down in the middle of streets," says Ron Enns, MDS project director in New Orleans.
The tornado hit Westwego at a time when another MDS team was in central Florida investigating the Christmas Day and Groundhog Day tornadoes for long-term recovery work.
MDS has been responding to Hurricane Katrina and Rita since the fall of 2005 with over 6,800 volunteers from Canada and the U.S. contributing to the rebuilding efforts. Currently there are 12 project locations in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. MDS is expecting to work in the Gulf for several more years. MDS is a channel through which various constituencies of the Anabaptist church can respond to those affected by disasters in Canada and the United States. -MDS
First lady cites MEDA project
First lady Laura Bush recognized the work of Mennonite Economic Development Associates in Tanzania at a White House conference Feb 15 on controlling malaria in Africa Allon Lefever, vice-chair of the MEDA board, was one of five panelists invited to share "best practices' at the conference Lefever had just returned from Tanzania where MEDA distributes insecticide treated bed nets to pregnant women and infants. Laura Bush addressed the meeting to encourage wider cooperation among faith -based, business and government efforts to combat malaria, the largest single killer of African children She referred to the President's Malaria Initiative. a five -year $1 2 billion program launched by her husband George W Bush in June 200s to combat malaria in 15 of the hardest-hit African nations MEDA devised and manages a Tanzania government program to use commercial channels to make bed nets available throughout the country Recent new U.S funding has enabled MEDA to expand the program to
include young children Bush cited MEDNs program as an example of public-private coordination
"In Tanzania." she said. "the government's malaria program subsidizes bed net vouchers for pregnant women Now through a partnership between PMI and Mennonite Economic Development Associates the programs will be expanded to cover all of Tanzania's children ."
Since this part of the program was launched in late November. nets have been supplied to nearly 390.000 infants . The program will reach an additional 1.5 million babies every year
"I was thrilled that this reference to MEDNs program was part of her speech, especially in front of all those other NGO and government policy personnel attendees. " says Lefever
In her remarks Bush also praised other nongovernment efforts like Malaria No More Rick Warren's Saddleback Church and Christian Children's Fund. She said religious groups ' beal the sick and suffering with the faith. hope and love that governments can't provide "MEDA News Service
MCC shipping supplies to Iraq
Mennonite Central Committee, the relief, peace and service agency of Anabaptists in North America, is responding to the growing humanitarian needs in Iraq where persistent violence and civil tensions are driving people from their homes. About 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes for other areas inside Iraq this past year and internal displacement is continuing at a rate of about 50,000 people per month, says Rick Janzen, director of MCC's programs in Iraq.
In response to the growing humanitarian needs, MCC is sending 4,200 relief kits, II,ooo newborn kits. 22,000 school kits and 16,000 blankets to be distributed by local humanitarian agencies working with wlnerable families in Baghdad and surrounding communities. The first three containers were sent in early March from MCC . warehouses in Canada and the u.s. Four more containers will be sent within the next few months.
"Our supply of relief kits is very low," says material resources manager
David Martin, explaining a large number of relief kits were sent to Lebanon last summer and the warehouse stock has not yet been replenished. 'We are hoping to raise the needed kits for Iraq as soon as possible."
MCC is also accepting cash contributions to create relief kits and to cover shipping and distribution costs totaling $60,000. It costs about $40 to assemble one relief kit and about $4 to ship and distribute each kit, explains Martin.
'These people need urgent assistance," says Janzen, explaining MCC's local partners are requesting assistance to help them respond to the needs of people who have lost their homes and sources of income
MCC has been working with loCal partners in Iraq for 10 years. MCC's Iraq staff is based in Jordan. For more information, visit mcc.org. -MCC
McNeal attracts record crowd at FPU
With a prophet's voice and a comedian's timing, Reggie McNeal brought the importance and characteristics of not just leaders but extraordinary leaders, to the 2007 Central Valley Ministry Forum organized by Fresno Pacific University. McNeal spoke to a record crowd of nearly 400 pastors and lay leaders from a variety of churches and organizations Feb. 15. McNeal is part of Leadership Network, a church-leadership agency. He was also the keynote speaker for the 2006 Pastors' Conference immediately preceding the 2006 u.s.Conference convention in July 'We are desperate in our culture for great leaders," said McNeal, who presented a list of seven habits of effec -
tive leaders: self-awareness, self-management, self-development, mission, decisioning, belonging and aloneness. The list is not a menu, said McNeal. "You don't get to pick five," he said. All seven spring from Jesus' redefinition of leadership as service and humility. For Jesus, service is a challenge as well as a comfort. "He served the Pharisees when he whupped them out of the temple," McNeal said.
The forum was sponsored by MB Biblical Seminary, One by One Leadership, Growing Healthy Churches, the Pacific District Conference and Strongtower Financial. FPU is the MB-owned university headquartered in Fresno, Calif.-FPU
BULLER TO WORK FOR PALM VILLAGE
Charles Buller, most recently the U.S. Conference executive director, has been hired by Palm Village Retirement Community of Reedley, Calif, as director of planned giving. Buller is responsible for developing the fund that will help Palm Village to sustain itself through an endowment fund of contributions from estates and wills.-PV
MB HERALD STAFF TRANSITIONS
Dora Dueck, associate editor of the MB Herald, the publication for MBs in Canada, has announced her resignation, effective July 2007. Dueck has been an integral member of the Herald team since June 2003. She plans to resume working as a writer and editor on a freelance or contract basis. The Herald is searching for a new associate editor. The Herald welcomed Barrie McMaster as British Columbia regional correspondent in early February. In his newly created part-time position, McMaster will ensure that the province receives high quality, comprehensive ongoing editorial coverage. About half of all Canadian MBs live in B.C.-MB Herald
STUDENTS OFFER TAX ASSISTANCE
The Tabor College business department has revitalized an income tax preparation program for area seniors at the request of the local senior citizen's center. Business students were available in the Tabor College Business Studies Building one night a week through March to assist area seniors wanting aid on income tax preparation. The service is free; however if the returns are deemed too complex, participants will be asked to visit a professional. "Benefits for both the students and senior citizens are fairly discernable," says Norm Hope, professor of busess administration. "This benefits the community because their taxes get done. It benefits the students because they get the experience of working with clients and interviewing them to get information to complete the returns." Tabor College is a four-year, Christian liberal arts institution located in Hillsboro, Kan., with a second location, Tabor College Wichita, in west Wichita, Kan.-TC
Planning
First there had to be a plan for what this plot of soil would look like in the future. The gardener first needed advice. and the best advice comes from the Master Gardener. The gardener spent many hours talking with the Master Gardener about what to do and how to do it. The gardener asked about getting rid of the weeds how to tum the soil. what seeds to plant and especially when the time would be just right to plant. The gardener often read the Master Gardener's manual to gain some futther insight as to what this new garden should be like. He talked at length with other gardeners to glean ideas and strategies from them and to learn from their experience As he processed, the vision of this new garden became clearer and clearer.
Resourclng
Hmmm ...this was going to cost. The gardener needed hoes, shovels, a wheelbarrow, stakes, fettilizer, mulch, hoses, water, buckets, gloves, sunscreen and even a hat. There were some other gardeners around that said they would bring some of the supplies, and they did, which was a great help The Master Gardener promised to supply the seed, and he did. Without all this help the gardener knew that with his limited resources he would never have been able to get everything he needed to tum this nasty plot into a lush garden And it seemed like the further he got into the project the more tools and supplies he needed. There were plenty of things he didn't even think about needing or even planning for. As he worked, the gardener was so, so thankful for those that helped and brought supplies
Working
The gardener had no idea it would take this much work! He and his wife spent hours just hoeing down the weeds Some of the weeds were thick and tough and didn't especially want to be cut down Then the weeds had to be carried off and disposed of because otherwise their seed would recontaminate the soil Hoeing. chopping. hauling. The work in the hot sun was incredibly hard and the sweat poured.
Once the ground was cleared, the soil had to be turned over and then over again to make it suitable for planting The gardener spent hours preparing the soil for the seed. He mixed in fertilizer and turned the soil once again. He trenched furrows, broke clods. watered and laid mulch on top. Even though he had gloves, blisters formed ; his wife had them too And then new weeds would sprout. Would they never end?
The gardener continued to talk with the Master Gardener, seeking good advice. He kept reading the manual to make sure he was doing the right things. He continued talking with other gardeners who had been through it all before And he kept working. often late at night. All the effott was beginning to show on that plot of ground . No longer were there massive weeds. Instead there were mellow seedbeds now ready for the seed supplied by the Master Gardener
was time. The soil was prepared. It was now the right time to sow the seed. The the wasn't ius t one variety of seed but many. Some of the seed would grow into large, strong plants producing large fruit. Other seeds would bear thin, graceful plants that provided smaller yet delicious fruit. The gardener studied the seed packages trying to determine the best way to sow each variety and how to provide the best possible growing conditions.
The sun shone, the earth warmed and the seeds began to sprout. Small tendrils emerged from the soil seeking more sun and additional care from the gardener. Then something amazing happened. As the plants grew, they began to support and shade each other. Just one plant would have been windblown but together they formed a tent of protection from the summer heat and wind and they grew more. They became a garden.
The gardener worked very, very hard at watering, fertilizing and training the plants. Sometimes he would pull a weed here and there, but overall he watched over his garden as the plants grew and grew.
We are planting churches
Reaping
And then garden began to produce fruit. The fruit started with a bloom and was small at first, but it kept expanding. Some blooms ripened into green fruit, some yellow, some orange and some red. And it was delicious. All the hours of toil and sweat could be seen in the
thriving plants that were now producing fruit, fruit that would create more plants and more fruit. On and on it would go. This was what the gardener had envisioned that day as he looked at his weed-infested plot of ground. This was the Master Gardener's plan: a lush new garden where once there were weeds .
But what if the gardener had decided not to go to the trouble of creating this garden? What if he had let the weeds have it? There would have been no new garden-no new plants producing fruit out of soil once given over to weeds. It was essential that he do this. Other gardeners were doing good things in other places, but they couldn't cover his plot.
Look around. There are many, many weed-infested plots in our towns and cities that need a gardener. We need more gardeners with a vision for new gardens. And as we all help by providing hoes, shovels and fertilizer, there will be many more such gardens in our future.
Don Morris is the director of Mission USA , the U.S. Conference church planting and renewal ministry.
U S Mennonite Brethren are currently tend ing 11 "gardens" in the form of dist rict -supported church planting projects And that's not all. Local congregations in some areas are also band ing together to give birth to daughter churches
Watsonville, Calif , Spanish - language church plant
Southern District Conference
Tra ilhead Church, Centennial, Colo Providence Fellowship, Edmond , Okla Emerg ing work among Hispanics in westem Kansas
An insider's look at church planting
It's been reported that 70 percent of Americans have no meaningful church relationships. These four Mennonite Brethren church planters are committed to changing that statistic.
A SUNDAY MORNING DRIVE AROUND your community will likely confirm what researchers are saying: People don't go to church. While Gallop polls suggest that 40 percent of all Americans go to church, recent work by church planter and researcher Dave Olson of the Evangelical Covenant Church suggests that the actual figure is more like 20 percent. With 195 million unchurched people, the u.s. is the third largest mission field in the English-speaking world and the fifth largest globally.
What might not be quite as obvious is the fact that our countty needs more churches. In the 21st century, the net gain in churches (the number of new churches minus the number of churches that closed) has amounted to only 800 each year, says Olson. Meanwhile, ftom 2000 to 2004 a net gain of 13,024 churches was necessary to keep up with the U.S. population growth. So rather than growing with the population, the church incurred a deficit of almost 10,000 churches.
Mission USA is one way in which U.S. Mennonite Brethren are working together to address the need for new churches, and in the past six months we saw three new churches launched. Mission USA director Don Morris cites research showing that new churches are the most effective means of evangelism and church growth-important tasks if we want to bring people into the family of God and reverse current national trends regarding church attendance.
The Leader recently asked four church planters to reflect on the process of planting a church These pastors are leading congregations supported by district conferences and Mission USA, the U.S. Conference church planting and renewal ministty. Veteran church planter Rod Anderson and his wife, Donna, moved to Sioux Falls, SD, this summer to plant Christ Community Church, a project supported by
Mission USA and the Central District Conference. Launch Sunday was April I.
Michael Trostrud and his wife, Rachel, previously on the pastoral staff of Reedley (Calif.) MB Church, are planting South Mountain Community Church@Daybreak in the greater Salt Lake City area using the satellite church model. SMCC@Daybreak is a partnership project between the Pacific District Conference, Mission USA and a group of West Coast MB churches. Easter Sunday 2006 was their Launch Sunday.
Mission USA has partnered with the Southern District Conference on two projects. Jeff Nikkel and his wife, Lianne, formerly on the pastoral staff of Belleview Community Church in Littleton, Colo., are planting Trailhead Church in Centennial, Colo. The congregation began holding services Jan. 14. Jason Gilbow, a newcomer to the MB denomination with 20 years of pastoral experience in other denominations, and his wife, Beth, are planting Providence Fellowship in Edmond, Okla. Launch Sunday was Nov. 12, 2006.
Anderson, Trostrud, Nikkel and Gilbow are enthusiastic about church planting. Their passion for the church and the unsaved prompted lengthy answers to our questions. So we did some pruning and are publishing only a portion of their comments about the challenges and joys of being church planters in God's garden. -the editors
What has surprised you about your church planting experience so far?
Gilbow: Our first Sunday caught me off guard. We had some 250-275 people attend our first service. Wow! I have been surprised at the number of people interested in being a part of our core group. There are so many quality people looking for a stable church home that cares about them. I have a 20-year history in this community and was able to easily network with a great group of people that were seeking "something new" and were ready for a fresh work in their lives. Finding this core group has been a blessing.
Nikkel: Church planting is hard. We've got a great team of leaders-a part-time worship pastor, people responsible for leading six sma 1 1 groups and peowho handle children and
administration-which has taken a tremendous burden off of me. However it's not uncommon that I am preparing a sermon, having coffee with a new friend, serving the homeless, meeting with a small group leader, writing bylaws, working on a fund-raising letter and taking one of my kids on a date-all on one day!
I've seen in new ways the importance of prioritizing my personal health, which includes my relationship with Christ. This feels like a pretty dangerous profession. I'm scared of failing, scared about going down in flames morally like a whole host of other church leaders and scared of presuming to know what I'm doing
Anderson: The most surprising thing for me is the strong commitment toward Sunday and Wednesday as the days for churchrelated meetings. While many do not participate in church activities, there is a strong community commitment to church.
While it's not surprising, I also continue to be amazed by how
Church planting guide
There are many styles of planting ch urches, but here are th e three strategies that U S Mennonite Brethren are currently using Partnership style: Thi s is the most common church planting method that we are currently us ing in the U S Partnership planting , involves several supporting agencie s helping a church plant get up and running by providing finan ci al and administrative resources This approa c h typically includes church planting partnerships between districts and Mi ssi on USA, the U S Conference church planting and renewal ministry Often, both partners are heavily involved in the in itial phases of the church plant and provide substantial funding As well. many of MB congregations have taken an active " partnership role " with church plants within their dist rict. Many of our distri ct c hurches are providing significant financial resources directly to the new church they have partnered with as well as providing ongoing prayer and even on - site assistance
Mother- daughter style : This style of church planting focuses on an established church taking on the challenge of birthing a new church usually nearby Often the church planter will be involved and trained within the mother church for a period of time before launching the new daughter church When the new church is birthed , normally some people from the mother church who have a vision for church planting will join the church planter and help provide stability, time , giftedness and resources to the new ministry Several church planting organizations feel like this is the most su ccessful church planting method of all, mainly due to the high level of emotional ownersh ip that the mother church has for the daughter church
Multisite style: This style of church planting has increased in popularity over the past few years Like the mother- daughter approach, it involves a new gathering of people (church plant) supported by the mother church But the key difference is that the mother church pastor's messages are " piped in " and are shown on a large screen at the daughter church The mother church may have several new " satellite " church site s, yet everyone is taught by the same pastor or pastoral teaching team At the new church sites worship is led by an " on - site " wors hip team, and the church plant pastor is heavily involved in developing disci pleship , small groups , connections with people and overseeing worship .-Don Morris
God works. Every church is unique in its start and its existence, exhibiting varying strengths and weaknesses. It's fun to watch God do his thing.
What has been the greatest challenge in going from dreaming about starting a new church to actually doing it?
Trostrud: We had to overcome our fear. Was itreally wise to uproot our family and leave friends and family to try out this venture? We are so glad that we moved through this fear and pursued God
I also had to overcome my impression of what the typical church planting guy looks like. I had the desire (to be a church planter) and saw the need but I couldn't see myseH parachuting into a location and starting from scratch. Then the satellite model (see sidebar) became available to me. MB Biblical Seminary, my family, a loving home church family and coworkers at Reedley (Calif.) MB Church and the assessment and training track that South Mountain Community Church created have all played a part in getting me into the position I am in today.
Anderson: The demand to be not only theologically sound but also practically proficient and legally astute is a challenge. The legal challenges of our day greatly complicate ministry. One doesn't just meet as a body of believers. Building ordinances, laws and zoning issues must be handled from the onset. Policies must be in place or a church's ministry can be compromised from the beginning.
Gilbow: The greatest challenge has probably been seeing the business model come together and making sure that finances were in order: proper accounting, a system for gathering the offeting, end-of-year giving statements, etc. There is simply an enormous amount of work to accomplish . The challenge is how to best involve as many people as possible. It is important for lay people to understand that their calling is critical and that they don't exist to simply clap for the gifted and talented that are up front.
Nikkel: This past year has been a tremendous testimony to God's faithfulness and provision. At each step God has provided for our needs: a clear sense of mission and vision, strong prayer and financial support, an amazing core group of people, a variety of leaders, an affordable place to gather for corporate worship and opportunities to bless our community with the good news and good deeds of Jesus . I give a lot of credit to Mission USA and to the Southern District churches for their belief in what God might do through us and for enabling our church plant to get off the ground so quickly. Their expertise, financial support and accountability have significantly eased the way for us without being unduly restrictive as we dreamed about what a missionary church might look like in Denver. What setbacks have you experienced?
Trostrud: One difficulty was not having facilities. In our county in Utah we are not able to rent school facilities and there were no other places in our community to meet. When a brand new community center opened up at a pre-
mium price we geared up and purchased everything, with no promise other than that we could rent the facility for one day-Easter Sunday 2006. We had an overwhelming attendance that day and God opened the hearts of the decision-makers. We have just recently been allowed to have a second year lease. God has provided.
The satellite model is a problem for some people. Churched people who visit and stay and those who have converted to Christianity have no issue with it whatsoever. They're just thankful to have a church. But some churched people have an expectation of what church is. When they see teaching pastor Paul Robie on the screen they wonder if the pastor is on vacation or ask why I'm not preaching. Then they drive off looking for something that suits their preferences. Getting to the point that I'm OK with this has been a process in my heart.
Anderson: Winter weather has been an obstacle. January was a tough time to begin regular worship services. It's difficult getting people out when it is 20 degrees below zero or there is a driving snowstorm. And at our first two meetings the heat was set too low and it affected our worship.
We had a schedule conflict and could not use our rental facility one Sunday. It is interesting to see how God used this to our benefit. We improvised and met for a Valentine's brunch at a local restaurant. Many people invited friends and family. It became an awesome opportunity to be a wimess for Christ and to have a creative service that reflected Acts 2. The early church ate together as a part of worship and we did as well. We plan on doing this again!
What things are you doing in the church planting process because of your target population or the community?
Trostrud: We are in a patticularly sensitive community. The fear in people's hearts has been built up by the predominant religion and we walk on eggshells around certain words. At the same time, we treat the predominant religion as if it doesn't exist and enter into genuine transparency. This is very endearing to any person who is disillusioned with the legalism found in any religious system.
We have a set of core values that are crafted to create a counterculture, and we use a house metaphor to determine the value of the programs we offer. If we see that a patticular program doesn't move people along in their process of following Jesus, then we don't do it. The foyer (our Sunday morning service) is where everyone is welcome. This is where we are about others, realizing that they are about themselves. The living room (small groups) is where people connect and grow and shift in their thinking ftom "me" to "we." The kitchen for women and the garage for men (service opportunities and small groups) are the places where we focus on serving others.
Gilbow: We seek to be an integrated body that is cross-generational. A strong church needs the energy and vision of a younger crowd along with the maturity and wisdom of an older crowd. Couples in their 50S connect with our 20S crowd. The younger group is really blessed to be in strong relationships with our more experienced crowd.
Anderson: We are appealing to the visual senses more than ever before in ministry. We have designed the services so the visual becomes the primary component. All announcements are in PowerPoint form and stream automatically before the service, during our greeting time and following the service . I generally use a short
Mission USA church plant profiles
Mission USA. the national church growth and renewal ministry of the U S Conference, is working in partnership with district conferences to assist in planting four new Mennonite Brethren congregations.
Christ Community Church, Sioux Falls. SO
Web site: www christcommunitysf com
Planter: Rod and Donna Anderson
Partners: Mission USA/Central District Conference
Launch: April 1, 2007
Attendance: 35 -45 (March)
Location: Discovery School gymnasium
Community: Targeting the unchurched on the western side of Sioux Falls
South Mountain Community Church fa Daybreak, Herriman, Utah
Web site: www.smccutahwest.org
Church planter: Michael and Rachel Trostrud; Mike , 12; Sierra, 9; Josh and Becky Rosenthal; E- mail MichaeL at mikera chlasosinet.net :
Partners: South Mountain Community Church assisted by Mission USA and other partner churches
Launch: Easter Sunday 2006
Attendance: We are growing each month Average attendance in September was 115 and 140 in January; 209 people attended our Christmas Eve service
location: Daybreak Community Center- check out Daybreak and notice the West Bench Plan ·· on this link :
Community: Targeting those disillusioned by religion
Dates to note: July 2- 14 visit by a missions group
Trailhead Church, Centennial, Colo.
Web site: www.trailheadchurch .org
Church planters: Jeff and Lianne NikkeL; Garrett, 12 ; Alison. 9; Ashley 7; Gary and Melanie AronhaLt E- mail Jeffatnikkel5rajuno com
Partners: Mission USA/Southern District Conference
Launch:January14,2007
Attendance: 75 (late February)
Location: Goodson Recreation Center in Centennial
Community: White, well - educated, upper middle- class traditional families (significant age diversity) who are obsessed with their careers and attaining financial security, who care a lot about their families and spending time outdoors, who have a concern for social justice, and who are open to "spirituality·· and interested in finding life direction, but aren t necessarily looking to church to lead the way
Providence Fellowship, Edmond. Okla
Web site: www.providencefellowship .org
Planter: Jason and Beth Gilbow; Grant, 5; Jack, 4; Cate, 2; emaiL Jason at goodgiglajuno com
Partners: Mission USA/Southern District Conference
Launch: Nov 12, 2006
Attendance: Average s 130
location: Silhouette Event Center
Community: Edmond is a white - collar community north and east of Oklahoma City
Dates: Looking to hoLd a charter member night under an officially adopted church constitution sometime in the next few months
video clip to stimulate interest or application. All sermons are presented in PowerPoint with sermon notes that match. The person in the audience sees and hears the content of the message and then sees and writes the major aspects of the message. We appeal to the senses to encourage learning and retention as people incorporate the truth.
Nikkel: I live in one of the least churched cities in America. In general, people in Denver don't want to go to church, don't sense a need for church and certainly don't want to be contacted by a church. So planting a church in Denver will probably look a lot different than planting a church in Dallas or Delhi.
Considering our ministry context and what we see prescribed in Scripture, we have abandoned the "attractiona!" church model in favor of a more incamational missionary mind-set. Instead of seeing "church" as a place where people go on Sunday mornings, we're trying to live out "church" as a people who exist to bless our community with the good
ure." A lot of apparently "successful" church plants grow artificially by attracting Christian consumers from other congregations rather than through conversions. Meanwhile there are plenty of small churches making a kingdom difference that, according to popular definitions, are failures.
Anderson: Success in a church plant is not based on how long it exists. Success is grounded in the impact a church plant has on the people with whom it has come into contact. Success is a changed life for Christ. Success is a person who has been encouraged to grow closer to God. Success is realizing even in the midst of the failures of life that God is in control and to him belongs the praise.
Gilbow: The success ofthis church plant is not on my shoulders. Christ said he "would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it." I am not responsible for the success of our church. I am
I live in one of t he lea st churched cities in America. In general, people in Denver don't w ant to go to church, don't sense a need for church and certain l y don't want to be contacted by a church.
news and the good deeds of Jesus. We're finding that people are quite interested in participating in these efforts (e.g., tutoring kids, adopting a school, cleaning up graffiti, delivering meals to people with life-threatening illnesses, visiting older folks, etc.)
Even though people in Denver don't want to "go to church," they are longing to be a part of authentic , genuine, life-giving relationships. We see our small groups as the very core of church. When we gather for corporate worship on Sundays, it's our small groups, which have been meeting throughout the week, coming together. Our hope is that our small groups will actually be the "front door" to Trailhead. We also hope that perhaps someday-perhaps sooner than later-one of these small groups might be the start of another church plant.
Statistics for church starts are pretty gloomy. What thoughts do you have on success and failure in church planting?
Trostrud: Our model has taken this reality to heart. It's a fact that franchises are more successful than new business starts. The same trend is true for church starts. A satellite model like ours has the validity of the founding church behind it. This model has a built-in trust factor and the "Pastor in Residence" apprentice track builds trust between church planters and future leaders. The success of the original congregation/campus has ascribed validity and esteem for the new campus.
Nikkel: Over 90 church plants have failed in the last three years here in the southern part of Denver alone. Many of these churches were just as funded, focused, trained, gifted and dedicated as we are. So what's going on? Although each situation is different, my sense is that it goes back to the "attractional" versus "missional" philosophy of church.
You could have the most gifted communicator coupled with the most impressive music ever heard in the fanciest building ever imagined and people still aren't going to come. If we're going to succeed, humanly speaking, we've got to be externally focused.
It's also important to define what we mean by "success" and "fail-
responsible to be obedient and to be a loving and passionate man of character. I believe that God has called me to walk with him and to love and lead others while trusting God to do the things that can only be explained by a work of God.
How can we pray for you?
Trostrud: We will celebrate our first year anniversary Easter Sunday and are praying that attendance that Sunday will be over 300 and that we will average 170. We are praying for generous giving by our congregation that will wean us from subsidy and allow us to contribute to the next Salt Lake City church plant Pray for us as artendance typically declines in the summer. Pray for the team from Mountain View Community Church in Clovis, Calif. They will do children's play days in surrounding city parks. Pray for the "Downtown" campus led by Rod and Lynette Jost. They started in March and are entering their first summer of ministry.
Gilbow: Pray for Providence's leadership group, that we will be led by God. Pray that our home groups will provide atmospheres for people to be cared for. Pray that our people will not simply invite people to church, but will invite people into their life.
Anderson: Pray that the un-churched, de-churched and fed-up-with-churched will find a home at Christ Community. Pray that God brings talented people willing to serve him. Pray that God will give us wisdom in how to best reach Sioux Falls for Christ and will increase our contacts with those who are searching for him. Pray that God will unite us so we might reach out in strength.
Nikkel: Pray for opportunities to bless our community with the good news and good deeds of Jesus. Pray for changed lives. Pray for protection from attacks (spiritual or otherwise) and the courage to be faithful to the Gospel. Pray for families with children our kids' age. Pray for joy in ministry, that we will have great compassion and for our personal health.
A S
The B Y T 0 L D SAM SARKISSIAN TO PAUL BARTEL
Great Church Planting Challenge
Trusting in the transforming power of Christ is sometimes easier said than done
WE WI1NESSED THE BRIDE OF CHRIST IN her power and glory at Bible study last night. We heard a 20-something man who has been sober for three weeks talk about his freedom and forgiveness in
Christ. Listening to him was Gloria, whose husband left her six months ago for another woman. Gloria had never been in church and last night she was beaming with the manifestarion of a life transformed by God. Next to her were
On the other side of the living room was Sara, a single mom with an 18-month-old child Sara had recently commitred her life to Christ. She says that at The Grove Community she has found a body
Planting a church is one of the most challenging yet exciting tasks of which a person can be a part . Those involved in church planting mu st rely on the power of God through the Holy Spi rit every step of the w ay
Bob and Kelly, good salt-of-the-earth seniors who had been members of a mainline church. They started attending our baby Mennonite Brethren church because it was closer to their home and they could "feel the love and the Spirit" when they came.
of believers that are authentic and love her. Others in the room included a child psychologist, an auto mechanic, the zwieback master and her engineer husband, a young Romanian family, a man just released on probation and a businessman who sold his home in an upscale part of town to relocate near the church Does church planting get any better than this?
In 2003 my wife, Annette, and I left our ministry in Los Angeles and moved to Fresno to plant a church. After conducting feasibility studies, we quickly reali2ed that southeast Fresno was the area of the city most in need of a new church. Southeast Fresno is the most diverse area in town, both economically and ethnically, and it is full of "dying" churches.
But according to church planting experts the need for a church does not necessarily correlate with where a church should be planted. The key word for experts is 'bomogeneous" and southeast Fresno is not homogeneous, to be sure It has some of Fresno's oldest wealth and some of its greatest poverty It is 46 percent Caucasian, 30 percent Latino, 17 percent Asian and 7 percent African-American. The residents range from third and fourth generation immigrants to those who have been in America for only weeks These statistics suggest church planting in southeast Fresno is a surefire failure
One beauqful part of the church of Jesus Christ is its diversity. So we decided not to allow the "experts" to deter us from where God would have us plant a church After many prayer walks through the neighborhood and wrestling with our questions and fears, we decided to plant a church in southeast Fresno.
One of our first tasks was to develop a core group. Our core group came primarily from Mountain View Community Church, our mother church in Clovis, Calif., but included people from four other congregations The core group began meeting in our living
room for a Bible study. During that first stretch of meetings, fear and doubt knocked on our door more often than people. Eventually we stabilized at about 45 people, including the kids.
During the first year our core group met regularly in homes. It was a challenging year. As the day for our first public worship service grew closer, the stress mounted. We lost three families from our core group and our worship leader left due to the stress church planting placed on his family. We postponed the launch for another two months and found and hired another worship leader. Two weeks before our second launch date, the second worship leader pulled out. With two weeks left and thousands of ads in the mail, we had to go forward Mountain View stepped in and sent us one of their worship leaders.
It was also a challenging year for us personally. We lost our unborn child and my father went through his ninth cancer surgery and then moved into our home so we could care for him. Ten days before the second launch, we were told that my father would not recover from the cancer. He died two days later and we buried him on Tuesday, just a few days before the launch. Still, on April 9, 2006, The Grove Community Church was launched and the kingdom of God in the manifestation of this congregation boldly declared the Good News and began to reclaim southeast Fresno for Christ.
Planting a church is one of the most challenging yet exciting tasks of which a person can be a part. Those involved in church planting must rely on the power of God through the Holy Spirit every step of the way. Throughout the process, words like fear and trust continue to do battle in the planter's mind. Of course the goal is to rid oneself of fear and to trust wholly in the Gospel that has the power to change the lives of all people. Here are a few of many examples of areas where this occurs during the process of church planting.
Going door-to-door. One of the first things we did to better understand our community was to conduct a survey. This in itself is a faith-building practice. To approach a stranger's door, wondering what they will say or do, is a scary task. And we were not even doing evangelism! We would simply ask questions like, "Why do you think people do not attend church more regularly?" We got a variety of answers: 'We
How can I help plant a church?
Pray All (hop efully!) church planters have a huge prayer base and supportive pray- ers all over the city. state and even the country Church planters often send out praye r newsletters. eithe r via mail or e- mail. Committing to pray regularly for a church plant is probably the best way to be involved from a distance
Get involved in a project. If there's a Mennonite Brethren church plant w ithin 100 miles you can become involved in projects Church planting teams are often happy to host a team that comes to help with outreach events. advertising (handing out flyers. etc). building projects and other parts of the church planting process
Commit temporarily Most church plants have people from mother or sister churches that comm it to being a part of the launch team These people commit to help out for a specific amount of time and then they go back to their mother church Beware you might fall in love with the church or, with church planting
Provide financial support From one - time gifts to monthly support. financial support from people helps all of our districts and national church plants until they have established themselves enough to be f inancially self- s ufficient. - SS/PB
probably can't afford it. How much does it cost?" 'We would have to leave our children at home." "It's like a diet We should do it, but we don't know which one to pick or how ro start." To take on this daunting task each week certainly brings fear. Yet four families have joined our church as a result of this practice.
The weekly meeting. Throughout the week church planters cannot help but wonder who will show up on Sunday moming. For the previously unchurched we are told there is a six to eight week cycle of attendance. If they come one time duting that cycle they consider themselves "a regular." So some Sundays they show up and others they do not. Our goal and a significant challenge is to provide opportunities for people to become involved outside of Sunday morning. Some opportunities are discipleship oriented. and others are much less intrusive and provide a safe place for pe0ple to feel comfortable. At The Grove we have men's and women's meetings. LifeGroups (small groups) and monthly game nights. Our goal is to continue to reach people with the Gospel, so we must continue to find ways to meet people where they are We must go to them and not wait on them to come to us.
People and programs. We always remind ourselves that people are the most important part of ministry. Church planting is about people. The second we allow ourselves to focus on the programs and tasks as the heart of ministry we have lost the true vision for church planting. And in church planting there are a lot of tasks to complete Again, the word trust comes to mind We have to continue to work faithfully, seeking to get things done but in a way that does not neglect people. In doing so we have to constandy trust that God will accomplish his goals, whether or not all the tasks are completed
Church planting is both a daunting task and a wonderful opportunity. We are incredibly excited to be able to take part in planting a church. We can say without a doubt that planting a church is worth the faith challenges and the personal challenges. Throughout the history of the church God has used church planring to expand his kingdom into all parts of the world-and all parts of Fresno. And we believe that God will continue to use church planting to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to people as long as there are Christians willing to take on the task and existing churches willing to support this ministry of reconciling people to Christ and to the entire world.
Sam and Annette Sarkissian are graduates of MB Biblical Seminary. They live with their two toddlers in the southeast part of Fresno, Calif.
Paul Bartel wiU graduate from MB Biblical Seminary later this month with a Master of Divinity degree Bartel and his wife Amanda have been serving in a volunteer ministry role with The Grove since its inception in the Sarkissian's living room in 2005 The Bartels and their son Micah. II months, hope to find a ministry opportunity "back home" in the Midwest and to eventually plant a church .
"We are living proof"
MB churches sponsor recovery programs
We live in a world of unknowns. Any event beyond the range of one's knowledge, experience or understanding causes change - sometimes costly change. Divorce, death and substance abuse are among such costly events, and each has its own set of consequences.
Many u.s. Mennonite Brethren congregations-including the two highlighted hereare recognizing that unknowns don't play favorites. These churches are addressing the tough issues of divorce, death and substance abuse through several nationally recognized recovery programs: Divorce Care, Grief Share and Celebrate Recovery.
Responding to divorce
The national divorce rate is on the rise, and Oklahoma is near the top, says Divorce Care facilitator Jackie Aaron of Pine Acres Church in Weatherford, Okla. That is why Aaron along with her husband, Mike, has facilitated the nationally recognized recovery program in Weatherford fur five years .
'There was a need in our community and in the surrounding area to provide this type of program," says Aaron. "It has been a very good outreach ministry."
Divorce Care provides a Christ-centered recovery group for those going through divorce or separation Materials used in the 13-week program are provided through the national Divorce Care program. Those who have experienced the pain of separation or divorce are encouraged to serve as facilitators. Both Aaron and her husband have gone through a divorce and were encouraged by a previous Pine Acres minister to begin the Divorce Care ministry
'We do not believe this was a conscious decision on our part but God has led us in this direction," says Aaron. "He has been very faithful to us and the participants ."
The program touches on subjects such as anger, depression and loneliness. A portion of the program is also dedicated to explaining how God uses human weakness and mistakes to glorify him.
'We are living proof that just because we have been through a divorce, it does not mean that God cannot use us, " said Aaron. 'The people that are going through divorce are hurting. In many instances we can show them that if Christ is at the center of their life they can get through the difficult times they are experiencing.
"Our hope is that they don't stop at recovery, but instead are healthier emotionally and spiritually than they have ever been throughout their life," says Aaron
The Pine Acres program is not limited to church members. Participants come from other area churches, have not been to church in years or have never been to church. Through local advertising in newspapers, sending information to newly divorced individuals and making attorneys and physicians aware of the people have been served not only from Weatherford, but from approxImately 10 surrounding communities.
"God continues to give us the strength and the desire to help those who are suffering," says Aaron. 'When each new session begins my husband and I always feel blessed that God has placed us in this ministry. We truly believe that time can cover some wounds, but only a relationship with Jesus Christ can heal all wounds."
Individuals interested in joining Divorce Care or starting a Divorce Care program can find more information at the program's website , www divorce-
care.com. Although not available at Pine Acres. Divorce Care for Kids is national program that helps children recover from the hun of divorce Information on the children's program can also be found at the Divorce Care Web site.
Sharing grief
"If you've lost a spouse. child. family member or friend. you've probably found there are not many people who understand the deep hun you feel." states the Grief Share Web site. Joyce and Lyle Miller. also of Pine Acres Church. understand the struggles involved with the grief process . The Miller's son Jason was killed in an airplane accident in Mayzooo.
"
At the hean of Celebrate Recovery. a nationally recognized substance abuse program. are eight recovery principles based on the Beatitudes. According to the program's Web site. Celebrate Recovery was designed to 'belp those struggling with huns. habits and hang-ups" by showing them the loving power of Jesus Christ through a recovery process.
'i\ddicts and other people with dysfunctional relationships and/or dependences are trying to find the thing, substance. bigh' or person that will meet the vague but gnawing need for completeness and satisfaction." says Pat Whalen, facilitator of Celebrate Recovery at South Mountam Community Church in Draper. Utah. 'We believe that God can fill this gap. and God is the bigher power.' The acceptance of Christ. his sacrifice and God as our creator is a very critical step to full recovery."
Stopping the hehavior is only the heginnin g ---spiritual g rowth and a signiHc.lnt change
in the way we look at t o the wo rld are needed for lon g term recovery and happme ss.
'Those coming (to Grief Share) seem to have a real desire to begin their journey through grief." says Joyce. who serves with her husband as Grief Share facilitators. "People who parricipate in the program seem to benefit from it. although grief recovery is difficult to measure."
The nationally recognized program consists of 13 weekly sessions designed to be repeated in regular. yearly cycles. Sessions are built around three components: video seminar, suppon group discussion and personal study and reflection. Patticipants are encouraged to commit to all three key aspects in order to grow and heal.
In addition to building a suppon group, Grief Share encourages patticipants to build a strong foundation for healing. The program is Christ-centered. stressing the imponance of a relationship with Jesus Christ as the foundation to personal healing. Grief Share is also biblically based. presenting the Bible as a source of "real-world. practical answers to tough issues including the death of children. the death of a spouse or someone close and the theological questions that we bring to God at these times," says the Grief Share leader's guide.
Additional materials are available for people caring for grieving children and teenagers The program is designed to help caregivers understand what a child or teen needs. and what adults can expect from a grieving child or teen. While not implemented at Pine Acres at this time. the Millers are looking forward to using it in their Grief Share program.
'We continue to see a need for a program such as this. as we feel churches often are not well-equipped to help people through grief," says Joyce .
Individuals interested in joining Grief Share or starring a Grief Share program can find more information at the program's Web site. www.griefshare.org
Whalen. a recovering alcoholic. says he volunteers with Celebrate Recovery as a way to improve his own life and that it is "working wonders."
''Before I accepted Christ I was in and out of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and constandy relapsing," Whalen says. 'With God's help and the change in my life and attitudes since becoming a Christian. my cravings and interest in not only the drugs and alcohol but also in most of the dysfunctional behaviors I was involved in disappeared or become much less of a problem."
South Mountain's Celebrate Recovery meetings try to provide an environment where people feel safe. accepted and supponed, says Whalen. He explains that each meeting begins with an hour-long focus on the eight recovery principles and discusses how the principles apply to the lives and problems of the patticipants. Patticipants are then invited to share personal situations, struggles and victories.
"I feel it's imponant for South Mountain to have an active Celebrate Recovery group to help our current members with their needs and to help others in the community," says Whalen. "Stopping the behavior is only the beginning-spiritual growth and a significant change in the way we look at and relate to the world are needed for long-term recovery and happiness "
Individuals interested in joining Celebrate Recovery or statting a Celebrate Recovery program can find more information at the program's Web site, www.celebraterecovery.com.-by Malinda Just. Leader newswriter
Editor's note: Other Mennonite Brethren churches involved with national recovery programs include Reedley (Calif.) MB Church. North Oak Community Church in Hays. Kan .• Ulysses (Kan.) MB Church. Shorelife Community Church in Capitola, Calif.. and Mountain Vrew Community Church in Clovis. Calif. If your church sponsors a recovery program. wea like to hear about it for future articles. Please e-mail editor@usmb.org.
Nikkel announces retirement
Tabor president oversaw significant growth
Larry w. Nikkel, the 12th president of Tabor College, has announced his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, a decision nearly a year in the making. Tabor College is the four-year Mennonite Brethren liberal arts institution located in Hillsboro, Kan., with a second location, Tabor College Wichita, in west Wichita, Kan.
Nikkel issued a written statement Feb. 16 because health-related issues prevented him from being present at the Board of Directors meeting that weekend. Nikkel's statement was also read to the faculty and staff and those attending the Feb. 16 President's Dinner, an invitation-only event for major donors to the college's annual fund.
''This was arrived at in the midst of significant ambivalence," says Nikkel in his prepared statement. ''The forces that were compelling for continuation include our mission and vision, the development of relationships that extend
well beyond raising money and other functions of management. However, when one considers what will be required in the immediate years ahead, it has become clear that such a committnent is beyond what we can or should make."
Nikkel said he made the decision prior to the mild heatt attack he suffered two weeks prior to the announcement. "While the decision to retire came before the heart attack, that incident has seemed to provide a punctuation mark of some sort!" Nikkel writes in his prepared statement.
Nikkel was inaugurated into office as interim president in 1998 and president in 1999. During his presidency, the college's endowment grew from $2 55 million to $4.45 million. The campus also increased in size and was improved by the addition of several houses for student use, a sttength ttaining facility and internal and external remodeling to residence and academic facilities. Nikkel also oversaw and brought to completion the "Continuing a Legacy of Distinction" campaign for new residence halls and was the driving force behind securing the college's
two single largest gifts in its history.
In the 10 months remaining before his retirement, Nikkel believes the following things can be completed: residence hall construction, planning and fundraising for the footballltrack facility and beginning construction, essential elements for Tabor College's centennial year celebration in 2008 and the campus development plan which will begin to yield the priorities of the centennial campaign and identifying leadership gifts for the campaign.
In his written remarks Nikkel recognized the contribution of the college staff and faculty members in Tabor's success during his presidency. 'What we've done, we've done together," he writes. 'We've had a lot of people pulling in the same direction, and when we've done that, we've been able to get a lot of good things done. This has been a team effort."
A search committee appointed by the Board of Directors has begun the process of securing a new president. Members include Ted Faszer, Sioux Falls, SD; David Wiebe, Kearney, Neb.; Diana Raugust, Wichita, Kan.; and Rusty Allen, Judy Harder and Steve Schroeder, all of Hillsboro.-TC Information Services
Assistant Editor
This full ·time person will work from the Winnipeg office of the Canadian Conference of MB Churches as part of the MB Herald team. The successful candidate will:
• Demonstrate faith in Christ
• Be a member of a Canadian MB church
• Hold a BA in a relevant field of study
• Have previous editorial or journalistic experience
• Be self-motivated, creative, well -read, and curious
• Be able to work well in a team environment
• Possess the ability to handle multiple projects and priorities, to work quickly, and to meet deadlines
• Have excellent internet/search engine skills
Duties include:
• Copy editing, proofreading, fact checking, and writing articles as assigned by editor
• Reviewing submissions
• Communicating with and cultivating writers
• Providing input on Herald themes and content
• Liaising with the Canadian Conference com· munications director, provincial conference ministers, and other agencies rdated to the MB denomination
• Representing the Herald at provincial conventions and professional associations (such as Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press)
Start date: July 1, 2007
Please send resume and writing samples by April 30 to Laura Kalmar, Editor, ME Herald, 1310 Taylor Ave., Winnipeg, Man., R3M 3Z6 or email mbherald@mbconf.ca For more information call 204 -669 -6575
MENNONITE BRETHREN
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Garden Valley expands ministry with new facility
Grassroots vision kept alive over decades
If everything is proceeding as planned, this month Garden Valley Church will be putting the finishing touches on a new Family Life Center that's been a long time coming
The story begins in the late 70S and early 80S, when the Garden City, Kan., congregation sensed that in order to expand their ministry in the community, they would need to expand their space. The congregation kept that vision over many years and through many twists and turns and is now seeing it fulfilled in the new facility, which they expect to complete and move into this spring.
"This has been a grassroots effort in the church," says current pastor Tim Davis ''The people have really done a tremendous amount of work and made a lot of sacrifices and contributions to accomplish this goal. That's pretty encouraging to see the active body at work," he says.
The congregation has been squeezed for space for decades. The fellowship hall, for example, couldn't accommodate even half the church family for meals or other gatherings. Lack of space for youth and children was a particular issue. The youth group been meeting in youth pastor Steve Ensz's basement, a 12-foot by 30-foot space that simply cannot contain the energy of 30 youth. Active games have been limited to good-weather days or to creative solutions, such as an indoor game the youth call "sanctuary baseball." Midweek AWANA programs for children have been meeting in a local school about two blocks away, which is not only labor-intensive but also creates hesitation among some parents who would prefer to have their children near.
Although the need was clear, the way forward was not. Kathy Isaac, a member of the building committee, tells of a history marked by what she calls" option paralysis." Over the years the church had a variety of ideas and two plots of land on which they could potentially build: one in a newer part of town and another across the street from the current facilities.
'We just couldn't come to unity as a church body as to which way we should go," Isaac says, "so we just didn't build."
Then another church offered to purchase the property in the newer part of town, breaking the "option paralysis " The congregation voted, although not unanimously, to sell that property, which provided seed money for building on the land across the street.
When a final building plan was presented in January 2006, the congregation that once couldn't find unity approved the plan with a unanimous vote, a confirmation says Isaac, "that we were working together as a congregation ."
Like the initial vision, the fundraising was a "grassroots effort," according to Marvin Thieszen of the financial task force. Rather than hiring an outside fundraiser, the congregation used their own creativity to raise the funds.
In one project called "hidden talents," interested members were given $10 along with a challenge to grow the money for the building fund. Thieszen's partial list of activities includes: making picture frames, building bird houses, selling on eBay, making and selling food and contributing a day's wages.
Anonymous individuals within the congregation offered matching funds, which gave a jump start to giving. All pledges were made anonymously, and members faithfully met those pledges. 'We saw the faithfulness of the Lord when we noticed that the contributions kept coming in week after week," says Thieszen.
So far, these grassroots efforts have provided over $900,000 of the estimated $1.3 to $1.4 million needed for the project. The church will fund the rest with a loan through MB Foundation.
The new Family Life Center will be nearly 15,000 square feet, with a large gymnasium, classrooms, a new youth space, kitchen and bathrooms, a shell for future office expansion and enough space on the lot to add a new sanctuary in the future if needed. Davis hopes the church will be moved into the new facility by early May. A dedication and dinner has been tentatively scheduled for May I
As the congregation sees its vision for more space finally realized, the excitement for expanded ministry builds. Ensz dreams of new possibilities for ministry to youth, especially since the new facility is located right across the street from the local high school. The AWANA program cannot only move to church facilities, but "they'll have all the space they need," says Ensz.
Davis says they hope to open the gym for seniors to walk in the winter, and he looks forward to more "face-to face-contact" among members of the church family through all-church meals and events . Other possibilities are being talked about: perhaps a men's basketball league, a preschool or after-school care for kids or even a Thanksgiving meal for those who can't afford one.
"It's exciting to see the potential that we have for ministry to reach this community with the love of Christ," says Ensz . 'That's our vision . This is just a step in that vision process." - by Myra Holmes
Exploring church-to-church relationship
Delegation encouraged to "take it all in"
To explore a church-to-church relationship between two Mennonite conferences in Congo and Mennonite Church USA, a delegation of 13 people traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa for two weeks in February.
The group, of various ages and church positions, spent a week in the capital, Kinshasa, then divided into smaller groups to visit three Mennonite communities in rural areas, staying in homes and visiting churches. The delegation fonned out of conversations that began at the 2003 Mennonite World Conference Assembly in Zimbabwe.
Many delegations in the past formed to see "the (mission) field," says Pakisa Tshimika, Mennonite World Conference associate general secretary. ''That language is shifting in this group." Tshimika is from Congo and is a member of College Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Clovis, Calif.
The delegation's purpose was to visit the Mennonites in the Congo, says Tshimika, and to experience where they live, how they worship and what they value. He hopes the members would "take it all in," and not feel pressured to plan a concrete response at this point.
The democratic election in 2006 brings some hope to Congo. but the memories of past devastation remain. In 2006, Congo ranked number two in the list of failed states, behind Sudan and before Cote D1voire. Failed states can no longer provide basic functions, such as education, governance or security, due to violence or poverty.
Mennonite churches bring Christ's message of peace to these dismal times. While meeting with the delegation members who traveled to Tshikapa in February, Pastor Kikuga Mavule, a provincial president in Tshikapa, said war has many dimensions. Weapon violence is one dimension, but there is also violence in people's hearts . The social dimensions of peace involve resources for people, Mavule added. '1\ person who can't eat and is hungry can't have peace," he said.
Last year representatives of the churches and Mennonite Central Committee, the relief, service and peace agency of North American Mennonites, sponsored four day-long seminars on peace and evangelism in seven locations in Congo. Pastors then returned to their congrega-
tions to share what they learned.
Mennonites in Congo evangelize within Congo and in surrounding countries. Pastor Damien Kakhenda, coordinator of missions for Congo Mennonite Church (CMCO) in Tshikapa, says in past decades only foreigners were seen as "missionaries," and Congolese people only served as pastors. Now both can carty the term missionary.
While the church-to-church relationship only involved Mennonite Church USA and Congo Mennonite Church and Congo Evangelical Mennonite Church (CEM), members of the delegation did attend gatherings that included members from the Mennonite Brethren Church of Congo (CEFMC). According to MBMS International, the CEFMC claims over
82.000 members, the second-largest 'MB conference in the world.
The delegation met with the Mennonite Women Theologians of Congo, which includes women from the three churches. The association began in 2001 following initiatives by Mennonite World Conference. Pastor Swana Falanga Sidonie, secretary of the Association of Mennonite Women Theologians of Congo, advocates for interdependence in the new church-to-church relationship, saying it should be based on an "exchange of experiences, cultures, ideas, correspondence, prayer needs, gift sharing in short. a partnership of both giving and receiving." she said.
During the delegation's final day in Kinshasa, the young adult delegation members met with 20 young adults from the three churches. -by Anna GroffforMeetinghouse
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Congo Ju111-30
Nigeria Aug 15-Sep 3
Tanzania Sep 5-24
Ukraine Sep6-24
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2007 OMl MISSIon Trips
Through prayers, e-mails and a followup visit, the results of a 2006 exchange between a Reedley, Calif., retirement village and a Serbian organization working with seniors in Belgrade continue to spread.
Jasmina Tosic of Bread of Life, a Mennonite Central Committee parmer in Serbia, came to California in February and March 2006, spending six weeks at Palm Village, a Mennonite Brethren retirement community. In November 2006, Palm Village's chief executive officer David Reimer, Wayne Brandt, chair of the board of directors, and Brandt's wife, Eleanor, spent a week with Bread of Life, visiting Belgrade and Sarajevo
And even now, more than a year after Tosic's visit, the impact of the ongoing exchange-and the relationships she formed-continues at Palm Village. "She's a person I will never, ever forget. I found it one of the wonderful experiences of my life," says 88-year-old resident Cornelia Neale. "Her presence, her face, her enthusiasm, she just meant so much to me."
Neale is part of a group that meets every Friday at Palm Village to pray for Tosic and Bread of Life. One member ttades almost weekly e-mails with Tosic Tosic shares the Scriptures she is reading and her prayer requests for Bread of Life and asks group members how she can pray for them, Neale says.
"It means so much to us-as well as, I trust, to her and her staff," Neale says . When she visited Palm Village, Tosic
spoke in chapels about how Bread of Life began assisting refugees in Belgrade after wars in the former Yugoslavia displaced millions of people in the 1990S. The organization provided food, clothing and other aid to about 100,000 refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo over the next decade. She spoke of how Bread of Life's staff and volunteers make daily visits to several hundred retirees and people with disabilities in Belgrade, cooking meals, doing household chores and providing assistance with taking medication.
"It opened up to me on a very personal basis some of the needs in the world," Neale says.
Tosic had asked to get to know as much about Palm Village as possible, and officials arranged for her to live with residents during her stay, including spending three weeks at Neale's home. In addition to sharing in chapel, she also spent time daily talking with residents.
"She did more than just collect information for her plans and ideas," Neale says. "Her life speaks a lot of faith and courage and enthusiasm, passion She's such a determined woman, wonderful to behold."
After her visit, members of the Palm Village community donated more than $6,600 to her minisny. ' We have an affluent life here and when you hear about people who are struggling. it makes an impression," Reimer says. "Jasmina was the picture of Christ's
love with hands and feet "
Visit sparks • ongoing relationship
Palm Village and MCC partner build ties
Reimer notes that many of the Mennonite Brethren residents in the home have strong family ties to Europe. 'They have a heart for what's going on in Europe," he says. "It's very easy for them to identify with the people back there in Serbia."
In Belgrade, Reimer visited a day center that Bread of Life operates in addition to the organization's daily home care visits. The center offers activities, blood pressure checks and a chance to fellowship. He saw seniors making artwork to sell. And he asked elderly people what they hoped for in Bread of Life. 'They all said the same thing-we want to live together in community," says Reimer. MCC arranged for Tosic to come to Palm Village in part to explore how a church-based home offers all levels of care, including residential services.
During his trip, Reimer was moved by the stories from Bread of Life's work with refugees and by the staffs reliance on God. 'They were of the firm conviction God had put them in that spot and wanted them to work with people who had nowhere to tum, and, in doing so, God would provide," Reimer says.
As he saw Bread of Life's work today, Reimer was struck by how it followed the call of Christ and reflected the work the church is called to do. 'They have such a heart for pe0ple who have so few resources," Reimer says . - by Marla Pierson Lester for MCC
This group of Palm Village residents meet every Friday to pray for Jasmina Tosie and Bread of Life, a ministry to elderly Serbians.
Respected MB missiologist dies
Hiebert influential within, beyond MB c irc l es
Paul G. Hiebert, former Mennonite
Brethren missionary to India and internationally recognized missiologist, died of cancer March II, 2007, at the age of 74.
Hiebert was a third generation MB missiQnary to India, having been born Nov. 13, 1932, to missionaries John and Anna Jungas Hiebert in Shamshabad, India, and serving there from 1959 to 1965 with his wife, Frances. «His own experiences in India were often the basis for his keen insights on bridging of cultures in global mission," says Harold Ens, former director of the MB missions agency.
Hiebert was also an educator, most recently professor of mission and anthropology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, TIL Prior to that, he taught at the University of Washington, Seattle, Wash., and Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif He was a graduate of Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan., and MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif., and earned his doctorate in anthropology from the University of Minnesota.
His expertise in missions was widely sought-after in both MB circles and in the broader evangelical world. He was often called upon as a resource person and consultant for MB missions projects. Victor Adrian. who served as director of the MB missions agency from 1983-1992, says it was a «privilege and pleasure" to work with Hiebert. «He was always open to inquiries and ready to join us at mission board meetings to make his contributions in assessing new ventures," says Adrian.
At a 2004 consultation on missiology in Hiebert's honor, it was said Hiebert influenced «thousands of lives." During the twoday event attendees and presenters, some from overseas, presented papers and highlighted Hiebert's accomplishments. Colleagues and former students described Hiebert as both modest and brilliant an original thinker and a man of gracious integrity who influenced many and «radiated" his identity as an Anabaptist
Hiebert's influence was extended by the more than ISO articles and books he authored . Some are now considered standard texts in mission and anthropology. Hiebert continued to teach both formally and informally after retirement, mentoring international students and teaching in India, Singapore. Australia and Brazil. Harold Ens says, «Hiebert was committed to the training of non-Western missiologists not only through his role as a professor but also through close personal mentoring of students and overseas leaders."
Greg Waybright, president of Trinity International University, calls Hiebert "one of the leading global Christians of the past century." Waybright says, "He was one of those alltoo-rare people who continued to learn and grow throughout his life. Thus, although he grew older physically, he always seemed young in his vitality, energy and passion for God. In these past few years, to be in Paul's presence was to have the experience of being with one who was close to God." -by Myra Holmes
"We made a good decision when we moved to a Patio Home at Palm Village. It 15 a wonderful, friendly, peaceful and active place. We feel blessed that God has led us to live here."
- Henry Dick.
Find out about the options available for quality senior retirement living by calling to arrange a tour today.
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Henry and Erica Dick with Palm Village Director of Development Jim Dueck
Conference challenges young adults
Wes t gate calls for "sp i ritual edgewalkers"
Iwant to be your hands, I want to be your feet, 111 go where you send me, go where you send me," proclaims Audio Adrenaline in their hit single "Hands and Feet" from the Underdog album.
These lyrics can also represent the group of 115 20- to 30-year-olds who recently attended The Rising conference held Feb 2-4 in Hutchinson, Kan. Conference attendees, representing 10 Mennonite Brethren chu rc hes in Kansas and Oklahoma, appreciated the opportunity to connect with their peers and were eager to talk about putting faith into action, say conference organizers.
"I think this age-group is sensing some specific needs that maybe are more difficult to address and are real challenges," says Vaughn Jost, associate pastor at Ebenfeld MB Church, Hillsboro, Kan., and a member of the conference planning committee. 'The conference was an outlet for dialogue about how we can put feet to our faith in our communities and how our churches can find ways to be Christ to our communities."
Jim Westgate, associate professor of practical studies at the MB Biblical Seminary, Fresno, Calif , was the featured speaker at the conference and challenged attendees to become what he called "spiritual edgewalkers ." Westgate described edgewalkers as "followers of Jesus Christ who skillfully engage the world with the transforming power of Christ through their walk and talk."
In addition to Westgate's lectures, each session concluded with round-table discussions. 'The dialogue times and round-table discussion in the sessions were really beneficial for people to hear that other people, even in different communities, are struggling with the same things and are asking the same types of questions," says Jost.
Wendell Loewen, associate professor of youth, church and culture at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan., served as the conference facilitator. Loewen played a key role over the weekend to guide discussion, says Jost.
"Part of his role was asking Westgate the questions he thought were out there, and part of it too was asking questions people might not even be ;; l inking of, but should be," says Jost "I thought he did a good job atthat."
The Rising organizers hope that conference attendees will continue to wrestl e with the issues Westgate addressed. Feedback from participants suggests that this is happening. Conference attendees from one church are surveying their community looking for new opportunities of service.
Mea nwhile, organizers are processing how best to continue addressing the full gamut of needs that prompted The Rising conference in the first place, including the need to provide continuity for young adults who have been involved with MB youth group activities as teens and who are now moving into church life as adults and to address frustrations you ng adults have with current church methods. - from a news release by Malinda Just
Visit highlights fru i
U.S.
delegation meets with Iran
Ina February visit to Iran, Ed Mattin of Mennonite Central Committee saw an unexpected fruit of nearly two decades of MCC work in that country. The delegation of u.S. religious leaders, in Iran Feb. 19-25, was told they were the first American delegation to meet face-to-face with a sitting Iranian president in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"I would have never dreamed that our work in Iran would lead to such a meeting," says Mattin, who directs MCC's Central and Southern Asia program and has overseen the Iran program for 17 years. 'We usually work at a community level. Yet, through the relationships built up over the years, to be suddenly sitting in the presidential offices was amazing."
MCC, the peace, service and relief agency of North
Ron Flaming, MCC's director of international programs, presents a handmade wall hanging to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. Flaming was part of a delegation of U.S. religious leaders co-sponsored by MCC Helen Dueck, of Ephrata, made the wall hanging, which was titled " Hydrangeas.
tf MCC's work
Jresident
American Mennonites. began working in Iran after a devastating earthquake in 1990. providing the humanitarian aid the organization is known for lluough years of work on other relief projects as well as a student exchange program founded in 1997. MCC built networks of ties that led to the February delegation.
The 13-member group of u.s. religious leaders. co-sponsored by MCC and American Friends Service Committee. included representatives from the United Methodist. Episcopal, Catholic. Mennonite and Quaker churches as well as representatives of Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Pax Christi and the National Council of Churches. Following their visit in Iran. they visited U.S. policymakers in Washington. D .C.. March 6-7.
Delegation members from MCC say
they are encouraged by the conversations they had with leaders in Iran. that they will continue work to call U S. government leaders to meet with Iranian leaders and that they hope U.S. Christians continue to pray for Iran and its people.
Delegation leader Ron Flaming. MCC's director of international programs. says that as the delegation met with leaders in Iran. he was struck by how sharply the Iranian view of the country's history differs from how most Americans would view it.
For Iranians. the overthrow of a democratically elected government in 1953 and the installation of the Shah by the U S. government was a sore point. as was U S support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980S. The delegation met with Iranian leaders who described the Shah as a brutal dictator known for his opulent living. The overthrow of the Shah, from this point of view. was a liberation movement.
Americans, on the other hand, remember the overthrow of the Shah as a hostage crisis. the 444 days that Americans were held hostage. Night after night. television news would broadcast images of angry Iranian students and U.S. hostages. More recently. after the Sept. II terrorist attacks. President George Bush cast Iran as part of an "axis of evil."
Iranian religious leaders spoke passionately of the need to work for peace. An Armenian Evangelical pastor said even small steps are important. Sometimes in building a bridge, he told them , you must begin with placing a few pebbles to start a foundation.
"It feels like what we need right now is somebody to help start building a bridge," Flaming says. "We've got two governments who are posturing-neither wants to seem weak. If somebody would start a dialogue. there's the possibility of the other responding."
Delegates came away convinced they need to work diligently to call on the U S. government to talk to Iran about the current tensions between the two nations. They are also hoping that Christians in the U.S. will contact their lawmakers to express their
desire for talks between the U.S. and Iran. "Our two governments need to find a way to engage each other, and that's critical. If that doesn't happen. the current tensions are not going to get resolved," Flaming says.
The group released a statement calling on the U.S. and Iranian governments to immediately engage in direct, face-to-face talks and to cease using language that defines the other using "enemy" images The delegation's statement, online at www.irandelegation.org. also calls on governments of the two countries to promote more peopleto-people exchanges including religious leaders. elected leaders and civil society. Any points of contact can help lay the foundation for relationships and peace, Flaming says.
For years. MCC workers in Iran have known that small gestures of gratitude, thoughtfulness and welcome can mean a lot. So the group took small ceramic oil lamps along with wall hangings to give as gifts. 'We told people the lamps are a symbol of our committnent to remember the Iranian people in our prayers at this time," Flaming says.
Flaming noticed that when delegates gave the gift of a handmade wall hanging, faces lit up . "That was the time in the conversation where they were the most animated-the twinkle in the eye, the warmth in the smile. the firmness of the embrace," he says.
Flaming also gave the president a note from sixth-graders at Akron (Pa.) Mennonite Church, saying they were praying for the president and for peace between the two countries. It made a visible impact on the president, and President Ahmadinejad said he would like to write a response to the children.
The February delegation comes after 45 religious leaders, organized by MCC, met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad for 75 minutes during his visit to New York, Sept. 20. 2006. "It was a clear result of a network of relationships built over years," Martin says. "MCC's strength, I think, is developing relationships with people with whom we work and act." - by Marla Pierson Lester for MGG
MISSION USA
We welcome and appreciate your generous support of Mission USA.
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Mission USA U.S. Conference PO Box 220 Hillsboro, KS 67063
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Blazing a Trailhead
Jeff and Lianne Nikkei, church plant couple in Centennial, Colo., with Trailhead Church, are excited about what is already happening in this Southern Distria and Mission USA partnership church plant. A core group of SO-6O adults is already on board along with many children.
Young families are being attracted to this church plant that focuses on community outreach and Involvement. Small groups are a central core value for this flediJtng cJ:1U rch. Jeff "Trailhead is committed to being a church of sma" il9t church with small groups."
Sunday, March 4, the congregation was commissioncKt by District Conference minister nin Sullivan, 10m the SOC church planting board/and Miss19n USA (1Jn!«o. Mbims. This celebration focused on the dedication of included- an affirmation . Inr na Nlllbhi-...arld for Gary and
The church opportunities to serve nity and is looking for serving as nave a passionate desire to cOnlllect with people by meeting needs al'OllIl1(I them.
Whether or not you live support thIs project by alVllnlJ
>ON THE Journey by
Purring for God
Rose Buschman
"I don't think God wants us to ignore him."
f 1 was in California, I'd go for a hike today," my husband said to me one Saturday morning this past January.
'Well, you're not in California," 1 responded, "but maybe we can still go walking here in Kansas. The way the weather is today, though, the zoo is the only place that makes sense."
Just weeks earlier we had been to California and he had gone for a long hike with his brother into the hills near his brother's home. That exhilarating experience was still fresh on his mind. The problem was that it was still winter in Kansas, the temperature hovering around the freezing point with lots of snow and ice on the ground from a recent storm. The one redeeming factor was that there was no wind. It was cold but calm. We bundled up with layers of clothing and drove to the zoo. For most of our walk that morning we were the only visitors there.
The big cat area that housed the lions, tigers, jaguars and pumas caught our attention. We visited each cage and then walked away. Then we heard loud noises coming from the puma's cage, so we backtracked. By the time we got there, the puma had retreated into his den at the back of the cage All we could see were his eyes surrounded by a bit of forehead.
1 love to talk to the animals at the zoo, so 1 started talking to the puma Almost immediately he came out of his lair and walked over to the fence where 1 was standing He was obviously very aware of my presence and several times we made eye contact At one point he actually answered me with a "nyet" sound similar to one that our cat makes when 1 talk to her at home. Mr. Puma walked in front of the fen ce a few rimes and then did a most extraordinary thing. He lay down against the fence, as close to me as he could get, and started to purr. That was a first for me . No wild animal had ever purred for me before.
The bobcat in the next cage, hearing the purring, also began to purr. The black jaguar in the third cage, however, ignored us completely. He gave no indication that he was aware of our
presence. With his back to us he paced in a crazy-eight neurotic manner on the other side of his cage. as far away from us as possible.
The purring puma was the highlight of our morning. Eventually, the cold got to us and so we lefr, awed by what we had just experienced.
The next morning my husband commented, "I wonder if our experience with the puma yesterday isn't a picture of what God wants from us He wants us to pay attention to him. 1think God wants us to stop and purr for him 1 wonder if we aren't sometimes busy and self-consumed like that jaguar was, frantically going about our affairs without paying any attention to God. I don't think God wants us to ignore him."
I can't seem to get that experien ce and its interpretation out of my mind God is my father who loves me and cares for me. I am his child. 1 think he wants me to purr for him My question becomes, what does it mean to purr for God and how do I do it?
I purr for him when I make a deliberate effort to be aware of God's presence in my life. One way for me to accomplish this is to tum off the TV and to listen to a C D of some of my favorite hymns as I peel potatoes for supper.
I purr for God when I take time to read his Word and think about what I am reading. I purr when 1 just sit quietly and listen. 1 purr for him when I talk to God and leave my burdens at his feet I purr when I visit a friend who is lonely or I make sure she gets to her doctor's appointment as needed. I purr when I send a card or note of encouragement to someone who is going through hard times and needs to know that I care.
I purr when 1 work with a group of women to make comforters and school kit bags for distribution by Mennonite Central Committee to the poor around the world . I purr when I make an extra donation to a missionary family who is struggling to make ends meet.
I purr when I stand with others in my church on Sunday morning and sing, "Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me Silently now I wait for thee. ready, my God. thy will to see."
I believe God likes it when I purr for him!
Falling short of truth
Thinking about false witnesses and talking too much
QThe Bible says. 'i\ false witness will perish and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever." How do we detennine who the false witnesses are? (Home state not given in e-mail)
AThe inquirer cites this passage from Proverbs 21:28 and assumes that a false witness is a liar and leads others astray. Questions then arise in hislher mind: Do cult leaders fall into this category? Does this apply to leaders who teach pseudo-Christian theologies such as the Judah (sic) teaching that we need to pay more attention to keeping the laws as taught in the Old Testament or Gwen Shamblin and her
eight years and made its (her) mark in evangelical churches around the world. In addition to her book sales, WDW trinkets and paraphernalia, Shamblin had over a million participants in the program at $103 per person.
Many benefited greatly through weight loss, restoration of marriage relationships and learning to pray. Things began to unravel however when in 2000 in her mission statement Shamblin denied the doctrine of the Trinity. She also charged that most local churches today are "counterfeit churches" because they don't teach members to lay down all Remnant Fellowship Church?
My first response to the question is that the text probably does not speak so directly to tellers of untruth leading others astray. The writers of The Interpreter's Bible suggest that the meaning of the second half of verse 28 is
The rash and abundant speaker has the law of averages him ; sooner or Lller slIch a speaker wi11 cause damage by unrestrained talk. -
"obscure." They then go on to say that the Revised Standard Version and American Standard Version translations that speak of "whoever listens to him (the false witness) have no basis in the Hebrew." In other w(,)rds, the best resources for the biblical text do not give the meaning the inquirer uses. Most translations and modem paraphrases say something like "a false witness will perish, but the man who listens to the truth will speak forever."
Proverbs speaks often about the use of the tongue. In Proverbs 18:21 we read "death and life are in the power of the tongue." I suspect this is the primary meaning of the verse quoted in the question. Those who speak rashly before they have given themselves time to think will get into trouble. The rash and abundant speaker has the law of averages against him; sooner or later such a speaker will cause damage by unrestrained talk. Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
Having said this, I will attempt to respond to two of the examples the inquirer poses I'm aware that by so doing I may be among those who remove all doubt whether or not I am a fool. The Bible instructs us to "test the spirits." I confess that I find it increasingly difficult to do this in our age and culture. There are so many "gospels" that do so much good yet fall far short of being truthful. Gwen Shamblin is a good illustration of this. Shamblin, a nutritionist, founded Weigh Down Workshop/Remnant Fellowship, a weight loss plan that is supposedly biblically based. Begun in 1992, the program marketed videotapes for
Have a question about a Bible passage, doctrine, conference policy or other spiritual issue? Send your question to "Inquiring Minds." c/o Marvin Hein. 3036 East Magill Avenue, Fresno, CA 93710 or e-mail Marvin at marvinhein@sbcglobal net
sin (adultery, greed, deceit, pornography, overeating, etc.). Essentially her argument was that" unless sanctification has been completed, you cannot be saved." Shamblin is quoted as saying, "Much of the church has been drunk with the 'safe grace' message." Her conclusion, similar to a wellknown radio broadcaster whose traditional music many of us enjoy, calls for all believers to come out of counterfeit churches and get under a true, God-given authority-presumably Remnant Fellowship. I will leave it with the reader to decide if the above description, incomplete and superficial as it is, stands up against biblical evidence. I don't see that it does.
I hesitate to be equally critical of the "Judah" movement, although I am skeptical. '1udah" movement participants believe that Old Testament feasts and celebrations should be observed today as they were under Judaism I have no objections to such practices, unless they are seen as essential to salvation, are detettnined to be essential for all Christian believers or cause serious rifts and divisions in the church. I have sought to carry on dialogue with an adherent of this movement but the correspondence has faltered because of the other person's failure to respond as promised. Two things become clear as we look at modem movements that are or approach being cultic. They all bting some spiritual benefits to some people and they usually have elements of truth in them to which we should give careful attention. This, however, often makes them the more dangerous and deceptive
BAPTISM/MEMBERSHIP
Wichita, Kan. (Firstl-Ron Grundman and Morgan Wiebe were baptized March 4.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Rosedale Biblel- Taylor Witcher-Page, Melissa Lytle, Stephanie Haskell, Billy Nolan, and Amanda, Kathryn and Ben Brinson were baptized Feb. 25
Olathe, Kan. (Community Biblel-Glenn and Sheri Wellborn were received as members Feb. 25.
Garden City, Kan. (Garden Valleyl-Amber McCormick and Kaitlyn Stephen were baptized Feb. 18.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Laurelglenl-Daisy Taylor, Josh Smith and Tom Pinault were baptized the weekend of Feb. 17-18.
Hesston, Kan.-Dennis and Susan Nichols and Thad Nichols were received as members Feb. 18
CELEBRATIONS
Ulysses, Kan. -The church's Celebrate Recovery program celebrated its second anniversary March 3. The event featured a BBO meal, testimonies and guest speaker Jeff Newberry, state director of Celebrate Recovery.
FELLOWSHIP
Ferndale, Wash. (Good Newsl-Women were invited to a one-day retreat called "Chocolate Boutique : Where women taste and see that the Lord is good:' The March 24 event included worship, devotions and refreshments.
Hillsboro, Kan.-A group of career women meets monthly for an early morning breakfast, fellowship and prayer.
Sioux Falls, SD (Christ Communityl-Participants, who were encouraged to wear something green, brought table games and snacks for a post-St. Patrick's Day party March 18.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Laurelglen, The Bridgel-Men competed for a "March Madness" title March 16 during a night of three-on-three basketball. The evening also included a basketball skills contest, prizes, food and a devotional by The Bridge pastor Jeff Gowling
Buhler, Kan.- Ken Canfield, founder of the National Center for Fathering, was the guest speaker at the "Guys Only" meal March 4.
Reedley, Calif.-Deacons hosted a "Senior Appreciation " meal and brief inspirational program March 4 for seniors age 75 and older as well as widows, widowers and singles.
Olathe, Kan. (Community Blblel- Tony Duplessis, pastor of a church in Louisiana, was the guest speaker and entertainer for a Valentine 's banquet Feb 16.
Wichita, Kan. (Firstl-Single women were invited to a come-and-go Valentine's Day party Feb. 14. The event was held in a home and featured refreshments, fellowship and a door prize.
Hays, Kan. (North Oakl-Feb. 11 was "carnation day:' Members ordered carnations and candygrams for others in the congregation, and youth delivered them during the morning as a fund raiser.
MINISTRY
Bakersfield, Calif. (The Bridgel-Women prepared food packs for homeless people March 16 that contained items to supplement an individual"s diet for one week and were distributed at a local ministry event.
Hesston, Kan.-A team of 15 adults and youth served at Children Haven International in Reynosa, Mexico, for a short-term missions trip March 10-17. The team did maintenance and construction work and other acts of service.
San Jose, Calif. (Lincoln Glenl-A men's group is meeting monthly for breakfast and service. The first project adopted by the group is sweeping, painting and doing larger projects in a city park. Between monthly meetings the men will match specific needs and requests with skills within the group They also hope this will be a way to disciple younger men and provide positive role models.
Shafter, Calif.-The deacons recently started a fund to help church families involved with adoptions Funds may qualify for matching grants from Mennonite Mutual Aid.
WORSHIP
Littleton, Colo. (Belleviewl-Families were invited to participate in a Passover celebration April 1, including a short sampling of a traditional Passover ceremony and an explanation of the symbolism that points to Christ.
Reedley, Calif.- The church hosted a marriage conference March 23-24 presented by Eric and Julie Simpson, co-founders of Romance Conferences, and musicians Jon and Deanna Ramsay.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Laurelglenl-Greg Sanford, missionary to a primitive tribe in the Amazon jungle of South America, was the guest speaker March 3-4 for Missions Outlook 2007.
Clovis, Calif. (College Communityl-Victor Wall, executive director of the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren, and the Fresno Pacific University concert choir were guests for an evening service Feb 11
Ulysses, Kan.-Endashaw Kelkele, pastor of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Denver, Colo , was the guest speaker Feb. 18-19 for a midwinter Bible conference
Fairview, Okla.- Garry Schmidt, professor of spiritual formation at Salt Lake City Theological Seminary, was the guest speaker for a spring Bible conference Feb. 4-6.
TEACHING/NURTURE
Fresno, Calif. (North Fresnol- The church observed Lent in various ways: An Ash Wednesday service was held Feb. 21. Pastor James Bergen preached a Lenten sermon series Feb. 25-April 1. A Sunday school class focused on prayerful reflection on various Scriptures. Members were encouraged to abstain from something for the 40 days of Lent.
Weatherford, Okla. (Pine Acresl-Pastor Brian Harris is leading The Theology Program, a series of five, 10-week courses that lead participants through an introductory systematic theology. The spring quarter's topic was trinitarianism.
Blaine, Wash. (Birch Bayl-In connection with a series of Easter sermons by Pastor Rick Eshbaugh, the church also offered five-week Bible studies, a personal devotion guide and weekly Lenten suppers. Manhattan, Kan.-The church hosted a Peace Vigil for Iraq March 16, timed to coincide with a prayer vigil and march in Washington, D.C. to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Bakersfield, Calif. (Heritage Biblel-The church's mission commission studied "A Biblical Postmortem of the Muslim Faith" in February.
WORKERS
Reedley, Calif.-Jason Hofer will begin as pastor of student ministries June 1 He is currently the youth pastor at Shafter ICalif.) MB Church.
Fairview, Okla -Senior pastor Gary Janzen has resigned his position; he has not announced future plans.
YOUTH
Capitola, Calif. (Shorelifel- The church gym is now 'open as an after-school drop- in for junior high youth Wednesday afternoons.
Bakersfield, Calif. (The Bridgel-Children packed nearly 200 snack bags for a local homeless center Feb. 25 The decorated brown bags included a snack, juice bag, bookmark and a personal note. Fresno, Calif. (Bethanyl-Youth have a worship space called 'The Source" that includes intentional elements such as foot washing as a reminder to serve, prayer stations, low lighting to add a sense of reverence and a cross. The Source also makes use of online communication at www myspace com/thesourcegathering
Enid; Okla.-Feb. 11 was a youth emphasis Sunday, with youth involved with various aspects of the serv-
CHURCH news
ice, a sermon by youth pastor Travis Schmidt and a fund-raiser lunch
Reedley, CaUf.- The church reports that a total of 18 children, including 15 from the Kingdom Kids after-school program, prayed to receive Christ during the week of Feb 11
Hillsboro, Kan.-Youth assist with a breakfast for the homeless at a church in Wichita, Kan ., one Sunday morning each month
Weatherford, Okla. (Pine Acres)This spring the youth studied drugs and alcohol, examining the effects of these substances on the body, reasons teens use drugs and alcohol. peer pressure, consequences and principles for the Christian body The study ended with an opportunity for youth. with their parents, to commit to a clean body
DEATHS
BARKMAN, ANNA HIEBERT, Reedley, Calif , a member of Reedley MB Church, was born in Hillsboro, Kan., March 17, 1915, and died Jan 24, 2007, at the age of 91. In 1935, she married David Barkman , who predeceased her in 1982 She is survived by three daughters, Lola and husband Marvin Penner of Visalia, Calif., Glenna and husband John Lundberg of Visalia, and Margorie Sellers of Portland, Ore., eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren
HIEBERT, PAUL, Highland Park, Ill , was born to John and Anna Jungas Hiebert in Shamshabad , India and died March 11, 2007 at the age of 74 On Dec 29, 1954 he married Frances Flaming, who predeceased him in 1999. He is survived by three children, Eloise and husband Michael Meneses, Barbara and husband Bryand Rowe , and John and Jane Hiebert-White ; six sisters, Phyllis Martens, Elizabeth Dahl, Gwendolyn Schroth, JoAnne Sorensen, Margaret Hiebert and Loey Knapp , and five grandchildren
KARBER, BERTHA, Fairview, Okla., a member of Fairview MB Church, was born Oct. 18, 1912, to John D and Justena Cornelson Karber near Hooker, Okla., and died Feb 23, 2007 , at the age of 94. She is survived by one brother, Edwin and wife Edna of Fairview, eight nieces and three nephews
KROEKER, LILLIAN MARTHA, Buhler, Kan , of Buhler MB Church, was born June 6, 1915, and died Feb 3, 2007, at the age of 91 In 1940, she married
Herbert R Kroeker. She is survived by two sons, Ronald and Warren, and one daughter, Sharon
LAUTT, CURTIS WAYNE, Harvey, ND, a member of Harvey MB Church, was born Nov 1, 1979, to Bryan and Marilyn Lautt in Harvey, ND, and died Sept. 21, 2006, at the age of 26 He is survived by his parents; one sister, Amy and husband Sam Ongstad; two brothers, Casey and Corey; and paternal grandparents, Lawrence and Delores Lautt, all of Harvey.
MARTENS, MARY ESTHER , Fairview, Okla , a member of Fairview MB Church , was born Jan 10, 1921, to Peter and Maria Karber Martens nea r Fairview and died Feb 6, 2007, at the age of 86. She served as a missionary teacher in south Texas, Mexico and Paraguay, and was recognized for 23 years of service by MBMS International. She is survived by one brother, Henry and wife Elda; one sister, Eva and husband Ike Neufeld, all of Fairview ; two sisters-in-law, Rosey Martens of Hesston, Kan , and Ella Martens of British Columbia, and many nieces and nephews
SC HROEDER, ARTHUR M. , Buhler , Kan , a member of Buhler MB Church, was born Oct. 23 , 1910, to Henry H. and Margaret Neufeldt Schroeder near Buhler and died Feb. 27, 2007, at the age of 96. On May 5, 1935, he married Pearl Koop , who predeceased him in 1987 He is survived by three sons, Arthur and wife Elva of Buhler, Arlyss and wife Letha of Inman, Kan , and Richard and wife LuWanda of Moundridge, Kan ; three daughters, Gloria and husband Elden Friesen of Dinuba, Calif , Eldene Schroeder of Buhler and Sylvia and husband Kenneth Walters of Greenville, Texas; one son-in-law, Clyde Rice of Inman, two brothers, Alvin and Irvin of Buhler, 23 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
WIENS, ESTHER , Reedley, Calif , of Reedley MB Church , was born Nov. 12, 1919, to David and Pauline Wittenberg in Shafter, Calif., and died Jan 4, 2007, at the age of 87 On Feb. 9, 1941, she married Irvi n Wiens, who survives She is also survived by three sons , Richard and wife Diana, Timothy and wife Maribeth , and Steven and wife Karleen, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild
Senior Pastor: Koerner Heights MB Church of Newton, Kan, is seeking applicants for a full-time Senior Pastor KHC has a regular attendance exceeding 200 people meeting in simultaneous multivenue services. The senior pastor will provide vision to lead staff and a missionoriented congregation Resumes may be sent to Search Comm ittee, c/o Koerner Heights Church, 320 N Meridian , Newton, KS 67114 or via e-mail to rdbraun!acox.net. [2/21
Senior Pastor: Faith Bible Church [Mennonite Brethrenl in Omaha, Neb., is looking for a Senior Pastor The church is a small, urban congregation [100 +1 in an English - Latino ne ighborhood with an established AWANA program and a great outreach to the community. We are seeking a pastor with a servant/leader's heart and a strong preaching/teaching ministry Applicants must have strong organization and positive relational skills. Seminary graduate preferred Please send resume to: Pulpit Search Committee, Faith Bible Church, 1555 So. 27th Street, Omaha, NE 68105 or e-mails to davidlesliebrown!amsn com [1/21
Bi-Vocational Urban Pastor: Lighthouse Community Church is looking for a pastor. LCC is located in a low-income area in Wichita, Kan The church, planted by World Impact, is a part of the Mennonite Brethren denomination and is four years old Weekly attendance is 40-50. We are looking for a pastor who is a man of the Word Qualifications : a shepherd's heart , commitment to training and equipping the church in ministry, a heart for crosscultural urban ministry and outreach, an ability to be bi-vocational, willing to raise support or entering early retirement. If interested in applying or discussing this opening please contact either Matt Penner at 316-651-0858 or Sonja at lccpastorsearch!ahotmail.com [1/31
Youth Pastor: Shafter MB Church, a multigenerational congregation in California's southern San Joaquin Valley, is accepting resumes for the position of Youth Pastor For more information please contact the church at smbc!ashaftermb.org or call 661-7464969. Resumes can be sent to Shafter MB, PO Box 1538, Shafter, CA 93263, attn Youth Pastor Search Committee.
Youth Pastor: Vinewood Community Church in Lodi, Calif , is seeking a Youth Pastor to disciple high school and junior high school students and to direct a strong, committed youth worker team As the lead person on the student min-
istries team, the Youth Pastor is responsible to provide leadership in guiding, training and assisting students from 7th grade through college to a life devoted to Christ and participation in his church This person should have a passion for discipling and shepherding students, a solid biblical background and strong leadership skills Additionally, this person should have the ability to organize and work in teams, plan and organize events and connect with students College degree and youth ministry experience is preferred For more information please e-mail vinewood!avinewoodchurch com Resumes can be sent to Search Committee at vinewood!avinewoodchurch.com or faxed to [2091 369-1900 or mailed to 1900 W Vine Street, Lodi, CA 95242
Gather
'Round: Hearing and Sharing God's Good News is the Bible-based curriculum that connects church and home Gather ' Round emphasizes service and peacemaking, and nurtures children, youth, and adults in becoming followers of Jesus Find sample sessions, Bible outlines and more at www gatherround org [1/31
Paul and Politics
2008 Janzen Lectureship &Symposium celebrating the work of John E. Toews
March 28-29, 2008
Fresno Pacific University and MB Biblical Seminary campuses, Fresno, CaUf, The Janzen lectureship in Biblical Studies was created in 2003 to promote careful scholarship in biblical interpretation, as well as the witness of the Christian church As the 2008 Janzen lecturer, John E Toews, PhD, will present on his most recent scholarship on Paul and politics These presentations [Thursday evening and Friday morningl will be followed by a symposium Friday afternoon and evening celebrating Toews' 40 year contribution to the Mennonite church , Mennonite higher education and scholarship Papers may crit ically engage Toews' scholarship [issues, themes, approaches. etc.! or may reflect on his contribution to the church or to higher education as teacher or administrator: Send proposals of no more than 200 words and a one -page CV with full contact information and institutional affiliation to Dr Laura Schmidt Roberts, lroberts!afresno edu by Sept 15, 2007
The day following the symposium, March 30, is open for excursions to Yosemite, San Francisco or the Central Coast.
Facing the unintended consequences
Living with the ups and downs of technological advances
Inoticed an interesting news item that described some trouble encountered by several Internet blog writers. The bloggers were women who posted updates about the faults of particular guys they had dated. Since trashing things via the Web is popular these days, the critiques got some attention Especially from the guys
edged sword On one side, I probably could not live without many of today's technological advances. On the other side, I probably could live without many of today's technological advances. In the office where I work, for example, we put out several large monthly and yearly publications. Due to the being slammed. They considered the posts slanderous and decided to sue.
tooL
Whoops. I'm sure the women hadn't expected that. They were just doing \Vhen the \Veb b
ega n as inter-university and tea c hin g
no one could predict e d it would b eco me the world's mo s t popular me dium for ( on ani"ts. porn pushers and pop-up adverti s in g.
the same as plenty of other blog writers: spilling out unfiltered opinions about whatever might be annoying them at the time.
I don't know anything about the parties involved in this dating dispute. The gals mayor may not have been accurate in their negative assessments of the guys. Still, if they'd thought about it for a moment, the women might have realized that disparaging others in a public forum would cause some irritation. Getting sued surely wasn't in the plan. But such is life in the real world, where unintended consequences happen all the time.
This gets me thinking about other ways unintended consequences play out in life. On the subject of the Internet, just this morning I heard something on a news repon that had quite an effect on me. It seems there is a new trend involving the granting of online loans by private parties The repon profiled a Web site described as kind of an "e-Bay for money" that matches people seeking loans with anonymous persons willing to lend. It might be the wave of the future. The idea actually sounds promising, but the point of my story is this: to wrap up the piece the reponer actually said, "Need a loan? Try it online. Everything else seems to be working there!"
That's when I almost spewed out my coffee. Everything works on the Internet! You can earn $10,000 a day working just 15 minutes! Dozens of rich, beautiful singles want to meet you! Just open this attachment and it will crash your compu .. .1 mean it will bring you love and prosperity! Okay, 111 calm down. I realize the Internet has wonderful qualities, many of which I use every day. But obviously not everything is working there. When the Web began as an inter-university research and teaching tool, no one could have predicted it would become the world's most popular medium for con artists, porn pushers and pop-up advertising. Talk about your unintended consequences.
One could say that technological progress in general has been the proverbial double-
wonders of computerization we accomplish this with our mighty staff of three. It's great we can do all that work with so few employees. Except when it's not so great. That would be during those busy times of year when three of us are doing the job of five or six.
That's a common theme these days. One of the ongoing promises of technological progress is, "Get more done in less time!" For many workers that ends up meaning, "Get more done with less staff!" More unintended consequences for you. Projects take even longer to finish for the one employee left doing the work of two.
Some of the unintended consequences I've mentioned can be avoided or minimized. Personally, I try not to slander people in a way that would cause them to sue. Wait, that didn't sound right. I mean I try not to slander anyone at all. Also, I apply discernment in my use of technology and media to stay away from the corrupt influences and wasting of time these things can generate.
It occurs to me that followers of Jesus may run into unintended consequences that can't be avoided or minimized. We want to be strong and passionate in our faith, but often this can put us at odds with the surrounding culture. Not that we're looking to irritate people with our actions and words (usually just the opposite), but sometimes it ha ppens. Just like it happened to Jesus. He showed and taught about what it meant to have the right priorities, which were wrapped up in lovi ng God and serving others. Rather than thanking Jesus for showing them the way to an abundant life, however, a lot of people just got mad They didn't want to face the error of their ways.
The same can be true today. Believers who truly live for the Lord can be irritating and offensive to those who only want to live for themselves. Those are unintended consequences we really don't like. But it shouldn't stop us from following Jesus with all the love and devotion we can give
Blinded devotion
What our prayers reveal about our loyalties
The weekly prayer time in the 5th and 6th grade class I co-teach Wednesday nights is important to the kids. It's the very first thing we do and the students complain if for some reason we alter the schedule or omit the prayer time due to time constraints. We have developed some"rules" about prayer time: You can only have one request, and you can't whisper your second request to someone who doesn't have one! Prayer requests for pets are less important than those for people. When it comes time to pray, you can't pray for your own request.
We don't pray that our
favorite sports team will winnot only because the kids don't always agree on which teams should come out on top but because my personal opinion is
I close with a story that illustrates what happens when national loyalty blinds us to kingdom loyalty. This incident is recorded in Service for Peace, a book published in 1949 by Mennonite Central Committee detailing the "experiment" in which the U.S. government offered and the Mennonite churches accepted a program of completely nonmilitary civilian service for conscientious objectors
, when it come"i to \\ar we "ihould pray as c itizens of Cod\ kingdom.
that God doesn't care who wins, even if I do. Instead we pray that everyone will play their best and be safe, and I think God is honored by that request. I admit I had a little trouble with this "rule" last month when my daughter's high school basketball team was playing in the state basketball tournament. But the 5th and 6th graders kept me honest.
Prayers about the outcome of sporting events aren't the only time when we should think twice about what our prayers say about our loyalties. When it comes to praying for the current war in Iraq, our prayers should be indicative of a worldview in which allegiance to God's kingdom takes precedence over national loyalty.
Four years ago, with the war in Iraq was just days old, 1,420 Mennonite Brethren from around the country clustered in quartets, praying audibly for the condition of the world, specifically the developing war in Iraq. The guided prayer time was part of the closing worship service at the 2003 national MB youth convention held March 22-25 at YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park, Colo.
Guided by planning team member Wendell Loewen, groups prayed that President Bush and other world leaders would act with wisdom; for the Iraqi people, including the I.4 million Christians who lived in the country, for the children and for Iraqi unbelievers; for the soldiers and their families, especially those who had already lost loved ones; and for Mennonite Central Committee workers serving in the country. "Pray that peace will come quickly," said Loewen that morning . Four years later, we are still praying and I hope we have continued to pray the prayer Loewen outlined that morning
Wars, like the current one in Iraq, and appropriate ways for Christians to express support of their country are topics that U.S. Mennonite Brethren have debated for years . I doubt that our differences will be resolved anytime soon. In spite of our political and theological differences on the subject of war and peace, when it comes to war and peace we should pray as citizens of God's kingdom. To pray any other way is to put national loyalty above kingdom loyalty.
Civilian Public Service Camp No 31, often known as Camp Snowline, was a forest service camp near Placerville in California's Sierra Nevada Range. In its four-year history the camp housed as many as 180 men who worked at a variety of tasks, including fighting at least one forest fire.
In December 1942, a group at the camp began making toys with the intention of giving them as gifts to needy families in the community. When no such families were found, the men decided to send the Christmas toys to children living in the Japanese Relocation Center at Poston, Ariz. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were relocared to such internment camps.
When the package from Camp Snowline arrived at the local express office for shipment, authorities asked the camp director to come to the office and to give his on-site permission to open and inspect th e package. Word was circulating around town that the package contained dynamite
So the CPS Camp director, in the presence of several men from the camp, the sheriff and the district attorney, opened the package which did in fact contain toys . Local residents , including the district attorney and sheriff, were very unhappy that the gifts were being sent to Japanese-American children. The local doctor, in a letter published in the Placerville Times newspaper, wrote , "This interest shown in our enemies indicates sympathy for them which is decidedly un-American. "
God challenges us to see those our nation calls its enemies with 201z0 kingdom vision - CF
