"Sight For Sore Eyes!"

My attendance at the conference of the International Council of Community Churches was not only a good one, it was in some aspects a life changing event. It reconfirmed my stance on being ecumenical and my desire to have others understand the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

I am excited about being on the committee to plan the annual conference in 2010 in Indianapolis, IN. I hope that several of the members of Speed Memorial Church will be able to attend that conference. It should be a very interesting conference since we are celebrating the 60th year of the ICCC and we will be celebrating our collective heritages.

Thursday morning I woke up at 5 am (6 pm Sellersburg time) and decided instead of just laying there I would start back. The drive was very easy...no traffic that early in the morning and to be honest very restful. For me driving is a "God time" for me and I am able to feel His presence when I drive and also a time of discovery with God.

I can tell you the thing that made me become overwhelmed with joy was seeing Speed Memorial Church (my view of the church when I drove up is pictured with this blog). It gave me such a sense of joy and wanting to praise God for calling me to be senior pastor. It also reminded me of how much my family fits in this community and how much of a blessing it has been for Kari, Mitchell, and Tyler.

It was great to go to the conference, but it was definitely a "sight for sore eyes" to see my home...
Speed Memorial Church.

"Bear of a Day...But A Good One!"

Today was the last day of the conference ending with the banquet which is a highlight of the day. The photo you see with this blog I took of the bear in the exhibit in the Arch Museum. The day started out with the youth (56 in all) in charge of the morning worship service. They did a fantastic job and it is the council's goal to double that number at next year's conference.

The "bear" of the day was the workshop I attended following the the worship service. The workshop was entitled, "To the Tune of a Welcoming God: Homosexuality and the Bible." Conducted by Father River Sims. Father Sims is a very unique Catholic priest who is independent of the Roman Catholic Church and is a celibate homosexual man. He lives in San Fransisco and has a homeless, drug addict and "sex worker" ministry on the streets of San Fransisco. Father Sims has been a member of the ICCC for three years now and has been conducting this workshop for all three years.

He explained how we have misinterpreted scriptures concerning homosexuality...from Sodom and Gomorrah to the writings of the Apostle Paul. He has a very calming voice and was open to those who ridiculed him openly during our discussion time. I was amazed at some pastors and lay people who spoke of homosexuality in very hateful terms and voice. I was also sadden to learn from Father Sims that he had a death threat note left under his door the night before for doing this workshop. I was amazed at the depth of his faith when he said, "if I must die to serve a loving and caring God in the name of Jesus Christ...so be it!" Now that my friends is the definition of true faith.

The evening ended with the annual banquet a highlight of the conference. New officers were installed and the annual awards were given out. During the banquet the planning committee members for the 2010 annual conference were announced. I am very honored to serve the council in this capacity since this will be the celebration of our 60th year in existence. The 2010 conference is slated to take place as the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites with the theme being "Embracing Our Heritage: Freedom, Community, Love."

I am looking forward to the drive back home and the old saying is true..."there is no place like home."

"Flowing Like Water!"

Today has been a very long, but very rewarding day of the conference. It began with one of the best worship services I have attended at any conference. The music was unbelievable and the sermon was not only moving it had a lot of humor in it. Also the sermon went over 35 minutes it was so good that the time just flew by.

Today I had the opportunity to set down with Michael Livingston, the executive director of the I.C.C.C., concerning my role for the conference to be held in Indianapolis, IN in 2010. I am serving on the planning committee for the conference and it is going to be a special conference since it will celebrating the Council's 60th year in existence. We are already planning to go to Indy in September to do a walk through of the hotel we may use next year.

The ministerium meeting was very fruitful. We learned there is money available for ministers to use for continuing education and the ministerium voted to approve an expenditure of $3,000 for ministers who apply for continuing education from now until next year's conference.

My Zone meeting was also very productive. We are part of the Central Region, Zone A. The exciting part is the Zone A spring conference is to be held on May 15, 2010 and they would like for Speed Memorial Church to consider hosting the event. It would be only on that Saturday from 8 am...lunch served and then adjourn around 2 pm. Speed Memorial Church Council this is something we need to talk about when I get back.

One of the highlights (yes there were many) was the evening worship service with Saundra Nelson preached. I have known Saundra for 15 years and she is one of the most active persons in the Council. Saundra is from California and will be installed as the Council's president at Wednesday's closing banquet. She has asked me to head up the rebirth of the AGAPE TEAM, which I was a part of when it was started 15 years ago.

The words that came to me tonight thinking about the day is the the conference was "flowing like water" today. Wednesday is the closing day of the conference ending with the big banquet. I have enjoyed my time at conference and have a lot to share when I get back....but I can not wait to be home!

"Meetings, Meetings and More Meetings!"

Today was a day filled with meetings. Starting the day out with a very energetic worship service, then a worship, business meeting and then ending with a ministerium meeting. I am always amazed at the worship services at the conference. You have people who are charismatic and then people who won't move even if a tornado came through.

The business meeting was very interesting and I am glad the council is starting to move forward and looking to increase its membership. One of the good moves (something I have been advocating for years) is that the days of the conference are changing from Sunday to Wednesday to Monday through Friday in 2010. It is the hope that this will allow for more activities to take place and more things for pastors.

In the ministerium meeting we talked about how there really are no workshops for pastors. We hope that next year there will be several for pastors to help increase their knowledge and leadership in a church. I also found out there has been $17,000.00 set aside just for that and it has never been used.

Tomorrow will also be a very long and meeting intensive day. My regional meeting is not being held until 9 pm and my body is telling me that is actually 10 pm (I am on central time here). I am getting a lot of good information to bring back that I feel will enhance our ministry at Speed Memorial.

"I Made It!'

It was a short but long four hours to the big city of St. Louis, MO. The last hour was the longest I think I have every driven and for a moment I thought I got lost and was in Nebraska. With that being said, it was a stress free drive and I had a great "God" time.

It is amazing to come over the bridge into St. Louis and see the skyline and see that one of a kind St. Louis Arch! Driving downtown St. Louis is very different from driving in Chicago. The streets of Chicago are always full and downtown St. Louis (I arrived at 6:30 pm Sellersburg time) was like driving in a ghost town.

I am getting my exercise walking 5 blocks from my hotel to the hotel the conference is being held. The hotel I am staying is the Omni Majestic and is a very cool hotel. When I got to the conference hotel I got to listen to a fantastic gospel group and reconnected with several people I have not seen in years.

Monday I plan to attend a workshop on "Barrier Free Churches" and then talk to some people I was able connect with to talk to them about their churches and what they are doing.

It should be a very interesting day and I invite you to return to my blog and read all about it.

"We Are Very Proud Parents!"

Forgive me, because I am going to express in this edition of my blog how proud Kari and I, my wife, are of our children. We as parents know that our prayer is that our children will grow up and become wonderful adults...Kari and I are blessed that our children are demonstrating that prayers are answered. We have four children and I will tell you about each one of them starting from the oldest to the youngest.

Our oldest daughter Andrea lives in a suburb of Chicago, IL. She is married to Cliff...one of the nicest young men and the greatest son-in-law a parent can ask for. In fact, Kari and I feel like Cliff is our son...not a son-in-law. Andrea has always been blessed with the ability of teaching young children and she is presently a kindergarten teacher in a private corporate day care center. Cliff is trying to become a law enforcement officer. He has passed his merit exam and almost set a new time record for the agility and obstacle course. He just has the interview left. I am so proud of both of them and in November they will make us grandparents for the first time with the birth of Kaydence Marie...yes it is a girl!

Kassandra (Kassi) lives in northern Indiana. She works for a well know store, but what we are the most proud of her is that she has gone to school to become a vet tech. Although Kassi struggled in high school she has been on the dean's list ever semester which is quite an accomplishment! Her dream is to someday work in a large zoo and we pray that she will be able to see that dream come to pass.

Tyler is a red-shirt junior (senior academically) at Bowling Green State University at Bowling Green, OH. Tyler is living out his dream, from high school, to play for a Division 1 college football program. Tyler is 6'7" 305 lbs and will start as right offensive tackle. Including this season he has two years left to prepare himself for his next dream...playing in the NFL. We are very excited about the upcoming season and can not wait to be in Doyt Stadium again. He is also talented when it comes to photograph and graphic arts. He is majoring in visual communications and (unlike some college football players) will leave his BGSU football experience with a degree in hand.

Our youngest of the four children is Mitchell who will be a senior at Silver Creek High School this fall. Yes we are under a year from officially becoming empty nesters! Mitch is a very unique young man who has never met someone who he could not call a friend. From a very young age Mitch has demonstrated a talent as an artist. His ability to draw or sculpture is amazing. His other talent is in the field of music...which we believe is really his love. He has an amazing voice and can play a variety of instruments. He recently joined a rock band as their lead singer and we enjoy listening to them play at their gigs. Mitchell's dream is to become a high school band instructor or drama instructor. We are very proud of his drive and to be open what the future may bring him.

We can say God has blessed us with four wonderful children. As King Solomon wrote in Proverbs "Good children are a crown to their mother and a joy to their father." We pray that whatever the future holds for them it is one filled with possibilities and joy. We can say to Andrea, Kassi, Tyler and Mitch...we are so proud of you both and love you so much!

With Love,
Mom and Dad

"When All Else Fails!"

There are things in our lives that hit us like a ton of bricks and makes us take stock of what we are doing in our lives. Recently I have come to realize that, just when you think you have everything figured out...life takes a hard turn. It is something that usually is not the most pleasant thing to have happen, but in time it turns out to be the best thing that can happen.

As a pastor, I struggle with the feeling that I have to "save" everyone I come in contact with. I, by nature, am a fixer and I think that since I have been called by God to be in the ministry I should be able to help people. Things that have occurred recently made me realize something that I had lost perspective of...something that I learned a long time ago in ministry. My role is to demonstrate the life that Christ intends us to live, but I am just the messenger and no matter how I try not everyone is going to get it. That, my friends, is a hard lesson to learn at times.

What does this have to do with you? Well we all have people in our lives who seemed to not get it when it comes to accepting Jesus Christ in their lives. You talk to them...explain to them how their life will change and they still seem to go down a very destructive path. We all need to remember that we can only deliver and demonstrate what Christ is all about. And there will be some people who will never get it.

That means when we think we have failed with someone we need to remember to turn it over to the Lord. We also need to remember to keep those folks in our prayers and to continue to talk with them in a caring manner. So the next time you become frustrated with a person...just remember "when all else fails" just turn it over to the Lord!