God Honoring Excellence

The Hillsboro Christian Volume 61 - August 2021 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not men. . . . You are serving the Lord Christ.

(Colossians 3:23-24b—ESV)

God Honoring Excellence

In This Issue of The Christian

by Jim Bush

Sometime ago, while in the midst of a home project, I enlisted the help of a good friend for some work that was beyond my meager abilities. More than once during the project he would pause, examine his work and would quip, “Well, it’s good enough for who it’s for.”

That is what this issue of The Christian is all about—our excellence for His glory. Everything we do is to be done excellently and for the glory of God, remembering always the words of the apostle Paul, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. . . . You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24b -ESV).

When it comes to our service to the Lord, and to others that we serve as ambassadors of Christ, we should always consider (examine) our labor and ask ourselves the question, Is it good enough for Who it’s for? Knowing that everything we do is for the Lord.

Our lead article is from Gus Denzik, who for years has served on staff at Butler Springs Christian Camp and has also built with excellence numerous “high ropes courses” across the nation and around the world. These structures must be built with precision and great care as lives literally “hang” in the balance.

This issue also features our upcoming Summer in the Son camp and worship event, to be held August 6-8 at Restoration Acres, with detailed information about schedule and activities. The weekend will conclude with meal packing for the impoverished, gathered worship and lunch. We hope you are planning to be a part of it.

Be strong. Be faithful. Be obedient.

Your Brother and Friend,

Jim

Announcement

The Butler Springs Christian Camp Women’s Retreat Committee’s scholarship application is currently available to qualified females for the 2021-2022 college year. Applicants must be an active member of a BSCC supporting church. The scholarship amount is $500.00.

Applications are posted and available for download at ww.butlersprings.com under the Retreats and Events tab. Only completed applications are reviewed and considered by the Committee. The application must be postmarked or have an email send date of August 25th to qualify for consideration. Recipients will be notified by September 15th.

Completed applications and attachments may be mailed to the address below, faxed to 937.393.8429 or emailed to smaltzdee@yahoo.com.

Questions may be directed to Deanna Smaltz, 937.725.8491 (TEXT ONLY) or by email smalztdee@yahoo.com

GOD HONORING EXCELLENCE

By Gus Denzik

It is a joy to be able to take a minute and share some thoughts with you on the topic of excellence. Serving with Butler Springs Christian Camp for the last 21 years, I have seen so much in ministry, and the concept and definition of excellence comes up often.

Keith Warner, Chris Osborne and I (Gus) have actually had deep discussions about it. You see, when we build a new building or repair one or even just need/desire to paint a wall, we go into a debate over the level of excellence that we want or can give to the project.

Colossians 3:17 teaches, ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ Then later in verse 23 and 24, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’

The debate always comes to a tipping point when the question is thrown out, “Is this excellence or is

this extravagance?” Case in point: we needed new toilets a few years back and the cost ranged from $90 for a cheap one to almost $400 for the best that money could buy. So which one do you get for a church camp? We had always bought the cheap ones here. However, in keeping track of how often they needed to be plunged, needed new flappers, new fill valves and just general maintenance, the cheaper ones did not really save us any money. We found that the middle range toilets were a good mix of function and form. It met our needs and they seemed to be far less needy over the next few years. We could have gone with the high cost ones, insisting that we did that to serve God’s people here at camp, but it has turned out to have been much wiser to have gone the way we did. Not to mention, if we had gone for the most expensive we could not have afforded to have replaced and upgraded very many!

As I have gone from ministry to ministry around the world, I’ve seen such a wide range of attacks at excellence.

I once went on a mission trip to Africa

where we had Sunday worship in a remote village in the ’bush’. The church was making a big deal about their new pews. They were made by members of the church from reclaimed pallet lumber and had been sanded down by hand. There was no church in America that would have called that excellence, but they were absolutely overjoyed. They were then fund raising for the next project of being able to put concrete in the area so the kids didn’t have to sit in the dirt!

Their idea of excellence was a long way from what we would think about, even at camp! They, on the other hand, were as excited as they could be.

God honoring excellence is doing the best you can with what you are blessed to be able to work with. A church in the bush was doing their best with what they had for their poor community and it was excellence.

I am reminded of the widow’s mite, a story in Mark 12:41-44.

If you remember, the people were dropping money in the offering and the rich were giving large sums out of their wealth. A widow came and placed in two copper coins, which amounted to just a few cents. Jesus told the watching disciples that she had put in more than everyone else. He said that while the rich gave from their

wealth she had given from her poverty and had given everything.

Excellence is the attitude of doing the best you can with what you have.

Some camps and churches and ministries can only afford the cheapest toilets. If that is what we have, then we plan on being ready to maintain them at a level of excellence based on our time and talents!

We don’t always have money, but we have time to clean and work to make things as nice as we can.

It is funny doing staff training each summer and teaching the 16-24 year old staff that we hire how to clean and maintain the property to the level of excellence that we hope to attain each summer. It is a running joke among Keith, Chris and me to wait to hear one of the new younger staff respond to the perpetual need to keep things clean with the statement, “This place would be great if it wasn’t for all these campers!” We give excellence in our time, our talents and our money to see the kingdom grow and lives changed. We do it to Love God and Love People. I pray blessings to you all from Butler Springs Christian Camp.

About the author:

Gus Denzik

Gus Denzik has been full time at Butler Springs Christian Camp since 2000. He was the 2016 CCL Mathews Wade Award recipient which recognizes outstanding service in Christian Camping. Gus and his wife, Valerie, have reared three sons at camp. While his claim to fame is that he has been and still is a Challenge Course Professional, his deep desire is to glorify God and grow the kingdom.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

God continues to bless, as we have had the privilege of baptizing and welcoming three more souls into the Kingdom and Family of God in the month of July.

Robert Robinson came up to Cliff Kothera at the Farmers’ Market on the courthouse square, the Saturday HCC was present with a worship team and activity booths. Robert came broken and desperate with his life and future in a shambles. He had no idea where to turn, but knew something had to change or he would not survive.

Recently released from prison, homeless and struggling with deep addictions, he reached out in desperation.

On Saturday, July 17, after hours of conversation, counsel and prayer Robert was immersed into Christ. Through HCC’s relationship and connection with the Ohio Bible Training Mission at Rocky Fork Lake, we were able to secure a place for Robert in an intense Bible training and discipleship program with the Bible Training Mission in Gaastra, Michigan. Robert was taken to his new home where he will live for a minimum of 10 months, studying the Bible, establishing new patterns of life and experiencing the love of Christ. This will enable him to build a solid foundation for the future and grow rapidly in His new found faith in Christ. But none of this would have happened if Micah had not signed HCC up to be present at the Farmers’ Market or if Cliff had not met Robert’s desperation with a smile and a kind word.

Little things matter.

Robert is excited about this new journey and is infused with a joy and hope he has never known. While being transported to his new home in Michigan he bubbled over continuously with gratitude to HCC for the love you showed him and the hope he has found. Keep him in your prayers. We will be checking in from time to time to see how he is progressing.

On July 18, Cynthia Rhoads made a public confession of her faith and was baptized into Christ in our early service.

Cynthia had been under the conviction of the Holy Spirit for several months to take this step of faith and obedience to the Lordship of Christ. To see her beaming and radiating the joy of Christ following her baptism was a delight and joy.

Cynthia came to HCC through the influence of Patty Workman, who is now at home with her Lord in heaven. She is also an active part of the PELIAH hope group. Though Patty was not privileged to see the fruit of her labor here on earth, she is rejoicing in heaven at the baptism of her dear friend. Never underestimate the power of a loving and caring friendship!

That same day (July 18) Brynne Holsted was baptized into Christ by her dad (Homer) and big sister (Claire) while at Butler Springs Christian Camp. Being a part of a loving Christian family, it is no surprise that Brynne has made this decision. There is no greater joy than to baptize one of you own children or family members into Jesus!

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9 – NIV).

Robert, Cynthia and Brynne made the decision to follow Jesus. They have renounced the sin in their lives that separated them from Christ; they have confessed their need of a Savior; they have proclaimed the Lordship of Christ over their lives; they have laid their lives down in baptism and have arisen rejoicing.

We are rejoicing with them.

If baptism is a step of surrender and obedience you need to take, we would love to have the opportunity to share with you further about this important matter. We hope you are planning to join us for worship at Restoration Acres on Sunday, August 8.

We are praying that there are others who will be obedient in this matter of baptism there. Will you be one of them? There will be a baptistry there ready and waiting. Give us a call or reach out through the “Next Steps” on our website: www.hillsborochurch.net/nextsteps

Meal Packing at Summer in the Son with

Our time together at Summer in the Son is far more than just having fun. Summer in the Son is about life and brotherly love and fellowship and worship and mission. We will be partnering with Lifeline Christian Mission on Sunday morning at 9:00, just before our time of gathered worship, to pack 16,000 meals for needy families and children in Haiti or Honduras.

We know that we have been called to make a difference in the lives of people, to have compassion for the downtrodden and needy, to share a cup of cold water with “the least of these.” But finding an effective way to do that as a congregation in a way that engages everyone regardless of age, strength, or experience is no small challenge. Lifeline provides just such an opportunity. Everyone in the family can participate in this highly meaningful and impactful service.

A Special Offering will be taken on Sunday, August 8 to help cover the cost of meals and shipping All ages and abilities will work together . . . from grandmas to grandkids 5 minutes of training will equip you for an hour of ministry, service and fun Meals will be packed and loaded onto the truck on sight at Restoration Acres Introduce a friend to the heart and mission of Jesus Love will be shown. Hope will be given. Lives will be changed.

By Adam Steele My children share a bedroom at our home, and this is most of the time a great experience for all involved, but occasionally it can cause issues.

There are times when my kids would rather stay up talking than go to sleep, so I must intervene. When I go upstairs to ask them to stop talking, I have a choice to make about how I go about entering the room. Sometimes when I enter the room, I give the door a kick with my foot as I enter, and BANG!!! I am in the room. This will set the mood immediately. You have never seen two kids dive for the covers as fast as my kids do when I enter their room like this.

instead of fear? 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

There are a lot of ways to motivate our kids to behave and not all of them are good. One of the easiest ways to motivate your kids is through fear. A loud BANG!!! is an easy way to instill some fear in my kids but is that really the reason that I want them to obey me? Wouldn’t it be better if they obeyed me out of love

had given each of them. Paul understood how easy it is for people to make their gifts and talents about them instead of God. The key to properly using our gifts is the same as what John mentioned in his letter. 1 Corinthians 12:31 says, “I will show you a still more excellent way.” Then Paul goes into chapter 13, which has been

I can understand how it is better to obey out of love than fear in my relationship with my children as well as my relationship with God. The problem is, fear is easy. It’s easier to scare a child than to motivate them through love. The right choice always seems to be the more difficult one.

When the Apostle Paul was writing to the church in Corinth, he instructed them in how to use the gifts that God

called “The love chapter.” Chapter 13 begins with, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The key is not just what we do but the way in which we do it, as well as our motivations. That is the “more excellent way”. The more excellent way is not the easiest way, but it is the best way. It is not the way that will get you the most attention, but it is the way that gives God the most glory. God is calling us as a church and as individuals to do everything in love even when that means things will be more difficult. That is why as a church we value God Honoring Excellence because we believe that God is honored most when we give him our best.

So, the next time your kids need some correction consider “the more excellent way”. Don’t jump to the easy answer of fear but motivate your kids in love. If we would all do more of this, all the relationships in our lives would be better. The next

time you feel God calling you to obedience think about your motivation for obeying, is it coming from a place of love for God or fear of punishment. Choose the more excellent way.

Grace and Peace, Adam

About the author:

Adam Steele has served with Hillsboro Church of Christ since 2016 as our Associate Minster— Discipleship & Youth and Family Minister.

August 6-7-8, 2021 COME JOIN US! @ Restoration Acres, 5845 SR 124, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133 Open to the community!

REMINDER: NO SERVICES HERE

If you were not able to pick up a t-shirt for Summer in the Son, we will have a table with them available (by donation) at our Summer in the Son event.

Evangelism Training S.I.T.S 2021 As part of our three year strategy we as a church have devoted ourselves to REACH Wider and spread the good news of Jesus to our surrounding community. A huge part of making that happen is for each and every believer at HCC to know how to effectively communicate what we believe.

If you know the truth of Jesus and follow him and have even a casual relationship with someone who is not a believer, you are already halfway down the path of sharing the Good News! Next you need to be able to effectively put that truth into words and have the courage to share. Courage like that comes from the Holy Spirit. What we can do to prepare for those moments where the courage is needed is to find a way to communicate clearly.

On Saturday August 7th, at the Summer in the Son event from 2-4pm, Dr. Tim Wallingford of the Christian Church Leadership Network (CCLN) will be returning to teach our evangelism training. Dr. Wallingford has taken a critical walk through the book of Acts and found key truths that connect to the realities that we face when sharing the Gospel each and every day.

We will discuss and get deeper into what we can do to effectively share Jesus in our surrounding community. God has a strategy for us to reach our community, a rescue plan to set our community free from brokenness, and specific people that need to hear the Gospel in targeted ways. Join us as we dive deep into sharing the Good news of Jesus with as many as we possibly can!

Tim Wallingford, D. Min., is the Executive Director at the Christian Church Leadership Network.

Their MISSION is to provide personalized support that empowers churches & leaders to thrive in ministry.

Their VISION is to be a national network of churches and leaders experiencing healthy, effective, and relevant ministry.

Dark Deceptions Workshop

We recently completed a sermon series from the 2nd Letter of Peter.

In that letter Peter clearly warned us that there will be false teachers and false doctrines taught (heresies) in the last days. He also said that many will be deceived, seduced and led astray. This has been the case ever since the birth of the Church, but it seems that the lies, or the gullibility of people, are rapidly on the increase in our day.

Because of this, a special workshop will be held on Saturday morning at 9:00 during Summer in the Son Authors Lynn Pratt and Lena Wood will be leading this workshop with unique insights an experience to help you discern truth from lie. Lynn and Lena have both spent significant time in Asia-the source of much of the mysticism and New Age thought creeping into the Church. This is exactly what Peter said would happen: “There will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:1-2)

Lynn Pratt After graduating from Cincinnati Christian University, she and her husband (the late Mark Pratt) spent 10 years in campus ministry in Japan and started the Machida (Tokyo) Church of Christ.

Lynn continues to advocate for Japan missions through Say Yes To Japan from her home in Cincinnati, where she has a tendency to sing alto and kill houseplants.

She’s crazy about her three kids, daughter-in-law, and three grandkids-who naturally provide her with some great material.

Lena Wood Lena is an author, speaker, adventurer, Momma to two uber-creative girls, and Grammy to seven boys.

She’s been to Asia, South Africa, Egypt, and Ireland, climbed Mt. Fuji, slept at Mt. Everest base camp, and recently took a 5,600 mile drive across the U.S. Her Elijah Creek series sprang from an urgent desire to protect kids—and adults—from the dark stuff. Her mission journals are designed for short term missionaries.

On July 27-29 I took a group of leaders in our worship ministry to a worship conference. I’ve been to this conference a few times in the last years and each time it has been an impactful moment for me. Big name worship leaders from all over the country are asked to lead the various sessions.

Preachers who have authored books and studies are gathered to speak on topics that are poignant to worship leaders. Sessions are taught by leading thinkers and practitioners within the worship community. Each and every session has incredible musicians playing on the best gear with carefully crafted staging and lighting run by whole teams of professionals both on and off the stage. The planning alone for each year starts before the previous year’s conference has ended. If anything would appear to be pursuing God-honoring excellence, at least on its very surface, it is what happens at this conference!

But is an excellent worship service defined by professional musicians,

brilliant thinkers, and high end equipment? Or is there something more to it?

In John chapter four, Jesus is being questioned about which venue is the most proper for the worship of God. There was an argument amongst the people over which mountain was the most proper on which the people of God ought to worship. Jesus’ response is an incredible one. He does not designate either venue or method as the more proper worship.

Instead he says “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23 ESV). The apostle Paul in his later letter to the church in Rome expounds on the concept this way, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1

NIV1984).

What Jesus and his messenger Paul are trying to get the church to understand is that your method and environment are not that critical when it comes to lifting up a fragrant offering of worship to our God. Neither your traditional or contemporary styles are more pleasing to God in their design.

You could have the most incredible musicians masterfully performing on their instruments and they might potentially be described by scripture as a noise that God refuses to listen to (Amos 5:23). This is because our God does not look on the world as man sees, rather he looks at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). We can have the most intentional and professional set up possible, lighting that sets a mood of connection and reverence, speakers that passionately speak moving words—and all of that is meaningless if the worshipers do not worship in spirit and truth.

So what is your motivation when we gather together? Our modern word ‘worship’ comes from worth-ship in the old English. It means to ascribe value and worth to something. We do not gather for our entertainment.

We do not gather so that we can learn and grow (even though that should be a positive by-product of our gatherings). We gather because

God is worthy and his people desire His glory and glorification.

Before the next time you gather with the people of the Lord in worship, I want to encourage you strongly to examine your heart. Are you prepared to worship in spirit and truth? Is your heart ready to empty yourself for His glory’s sake? Are you gathering to serve or to be served? We do all things as work for the Lord (Colossians 3:23) with the highest level of excellence that we know how to pour in.

But remember that the highest level of excellence does not start externally, it starts in your heart long before you ever do a single thing!

About the author:

Micah Herrick, along with leading our worship service, teaches a worship theology class each week down at Ohio Mission Bible Training Center

This is a gathering place for every mom, from every background, with any story and this offers moms a much-needed break to catch her breath. We provide encouragement, community and support specifically for new moms. MOPS allows moms to become the best version of themselves, for their families and the people in their communities.

We have a meeting Thursday evening, August 26th, @ 5:30 pm in the Connection Café. This meeting is open to any mothers of children age pre-K and under. Child care will be provided.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD - SHOEBOXES Sunday, August 15th, we will have a special offering for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Our goal this year is to send over 300 shoeboxes. That means it will cost between $3,000.00 to $3,600.00 to send these boxes. Your donations will help cover the cost.

In past years, our shoeboxes have been delivered to South Africa, Tanzania, Columbia, The Pacific Islands, Ecuador, Ukraine, Uruguay, Georgia, Rwanda, Belize and several hard to reach areas.

The following is a little history on how the Operation Christmas Child shoebox project began:

In the summer of 1993, Samaritan’s Purse President, Franklin Graham, received a call from a man in England asking if he’d be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. Franklin agreed, but figured Christmas was months away. He forgot about the promise until he received a call back around Thanksgiving asking about the gifts.

Franklin asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte to see if he could help with the need. A Sunday shortly afterward, Pastor Rhoads demonstrated for his congregation how to fill a shoebox with simple gifts and encouraged them to include a letter to the child as well. Within weeks, the church had 11,000 shoeboxes lining their hallways.

Due to their generosity and additional gifts from Canada,

Samaritan’s Purse sent 28,000 shoebox gifts to children in the Balkans that Christmas. Through these gifts, we communicated to children and their families what the angel said to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10 ESV).

Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 199 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.

Every box is an opportunity to reach a child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Submitted by Marsha Williams

Intercessory

08-01-2021

Prayer

requests

Health and Other: Sue Bryan Denver Conley Jim Cook Ohio Mission Bible Training Center Janet Pence Wayne Wiedenbein

Shut Ins: Barbara Boris Jewel Calmes Marvin Gotherman John Porter Angela Ruble Carol Setty Ruby Wallingford

Cancer: Jeffery Aurigema Luke Bihl Kari Crafton Bob Fisher Diann Hensley Judy Roush Mark Sears

Family Loss:

Missions: The Brittons, The Millers, The Newmans,

HCC Leadership: Steve Allen Jim Bush Roger Epley Dan Fauber Mike Labig Richard VanZant

Military: Tyler & Cindy Amos Chad Blankenship Justin Brandt Ryan Burns Mark Conover Thadeus Conover Corey Hughes Kyle Kessinger Taylor Sweeney

Average attendance for the month of July was: 334 Average weekly giving for the month of July was: $11,912.70 Weekly need: $11,229.13

ANNOUNCEMENTS •

Life Line Screening will be at Hillsboro Church of Christ on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. You can register through our website at hillsborochurch.net/ events and scroll down to Life Line screening.

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Start sorting and saving your favorite recipes! The Faith in Action Ministry will be creating a new recipe book and will be looking for recipes. We will keep you updated on when and how you can submit your favorite recipes!

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There will be a planning meeting for Backpack Club on Sunday, August 15th, right after 2nd worship service. Lunch will be provided. This meeting we will be discussing the new schedule rotation. If you plan to attend (and so they can plan enough food for everyone), please RSVP to Megan Apgar or Adam Steele at: megan@hillsborochurch.net adam@hillsborochurch.net

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For the month of August, Area 937 will be collecting cereal/oats; for September they will be collecting vegetables. October will be soup and November will be tissues. You can put your donations in the Area 937 barrel at the south entrance.

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Hilltop Kids will take a trip to the Creation Museum, Sunday, September 12th.

If you would like to go the cost is as follows: Free $24.95 $39.95

kids 10 and under age 11-17 adults

Check out our website for more information: hillsborochurch.net/events

No services at building

155 W. Walnut St. Hillsboro, Ohio 45133 937-393-1752 hillsborochurch.net

COME JOIN US SUNDAY MORNING!