Dear Colleagues,
The committee for Professional Effectiveness wants to touch base with you after our time together at the Ministers Council Senate in Green Lake, Wisconsin. We know that for some, the Minister’s Council has been nebulous. Some have struggled to figure out if there was any benefit or support that was available from the Council for their own context. Sometimes, pastors have no idea where to go with problems or who to contact when needing support. We guess they are not alone.
The Professional Effectiveness committee laments over our lack of attention to you and your ministry. We mourn the fact that we have been out of contact with you and have not fully vested ourselves in your ministry. The deepest desire of the Minister’s Council is to change our culture and our conversation. We are a group of ministers who are bound together by a sacred calling and by shared experiences. Although it might sound simple, we have come to understand that God calls us to be in ministry together. Isolation has never been a part of the vision God has for His Church. God’s plan involves not just you, but you in community with others. We want to be a community of called ministerial leaders who seek to deepen our spiritual journey with Jesus Christ and to empower each other for a lifetime of service and learning. God’s plan is for us to embrace our ministry, together.
Much of our time at the Ministers Council Senate in August was focused around Communities of Practice. Perhaps some of you have heard the term before. In all sincerity, some of the Senators were skeptical about the roll out of another program. So often we have been given material and told, “Hey, this will really help your ministry”, and “We are here for you.” These responses have become cliché, and most of us feel we don’t have time for “another program.” Fortunately, the Minister’s Council has developed some resources to familiarize you with what a Community of Practice might look like. Even so, void of relationships, it is just another piece of paper.
With this in mind, we are asking that each Minister’s Council executive committee plan a retreat that Joe Kutter, our Acting Executive Director, can attend, in an effort to give you an experience of a Community of Practice. We believe it is best when the idea is “caught,” rather than just “taught.”
It is our hope that this will be the beginning of an ever-increasing awareness of what we bring to one another, and that every ministerial leader in American Baptist churches will drink deeply at this well and see your own ministry thrive. Pastor, whether or not you are currently active in the Ministers Council, we need you to partner with us for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please prayerfully consider our request and we will follow up in the next month.
In His Service,
The Professional Effectiveness Committee
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Executive Directors Letter to Council's
1
ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT TO THE SENATE
AUGUST 2009
DR. JOE KUTTER
First, I want to thank you for the honor of serving Christ and his Church in this way. You have unfailingly
been gracious and hospitable to me as I have attempted to fulfill the assignment that has been given to
me as the Acting Executive Director of the American Baptist Ministers Council.
Let me say that the American Baptist Ministers Council is alive and well. There are clouds on the horizon
for which we must prepare but we have the capacity to make that preparation.
The biggest cloud is that Lilly funding will come to an end in three years and we do not now have a
replacement for that money. We have, however started a process to address the issue.
First, given the transition within the Ministers Council from Kate Harvey to me, it seems necessary to
engage in the process of building relationships. That necessity has been exacerbated by the fall-out from
the controversies that have so strongly affected our life together. So I have invested significant time in
calling and visiting with our constituent councils. I have been to annual meetings, retreats, executive
committee meetings and special meetings called just for the purpose of spending time together. And I
must say, with gratitude, that even among regions disaffected by our disagreements, I have been warmly
received.
Second, we need to put in place a strategic planning process that includes a strong fund-raising
component. Key leaders in our denomination have agreed to serve in this capacity if this body agrees to
move forward in this way.
Third, the vitality of the Ministers Council, both the constituent councils and the national body depends on
the quality of our leadership. Here we are doing two things.
1. I am asking you, the Senators to come to a new understanding of your role here. You are the
Board of Directors. You are the primary stewards of The American Baptist Ministers Council.
More than anybody else, the Ministers Council belongs to you. To honor your responsibilities, I
have possibly told you more about my activities each month, in a monthly report, than you really
wanted to know. The reason – I am accountable to you through the Executive Committee. You
have a right and a responsibility to know.
2. To enhance the capacity of leadership within our constituent councils, we are now offering
workshops designed to strengthen our constituent councils using insights of “Community of
Practice” literature and leaders. I’ll not rehearse the Community of Practice material here, but I
will say that I want to be invited to conduct a workshop with your leaders and members in the
next two years. And I will be aggressive in asking to be invited.
All of this fits my vision for the Ministers Council. As I see it, the effectiveness of the American Baptist
Ministers Council is in large part measured by the effectiveness of our constituent councils.
Let me make the case: The heart of our mission statement says something like this: We covenant
together first to deepen our spiritual journeys and second, to increase our effectiveness as leaders in
Christ’s church. Three observations: the word covenant implies community. Our vision is to become
a community of ministerial leaders. Community has its best chance of being realized at the
constituent level. Second, the purposes of our community are to deepen our spiritual journeys and to
increase our effectiveness as leaders. All of that happens best locally. Most of our colleagues will
experience Ministers Council only through their experiences at home.
As great as our experience with Leonard Sweet was in Pasadena, most of our colleagues were not
able to see him there. As wonderful as the “Together in the Lord” conference will be in Orlando, even
2
with a really good attendance, most of our colleagues will not be there. For most of our colleagues, if
it doesn’t happen locally, it doesn’t happen.
Does that exclude our national witness, our national advocacy for ministerial leaders? Of course not!
And every chance we have, we make our case. But as rarefied as the air of the national environment
can sometimes be, and sometimes that air is a little polluted, we must never be distracted from
attending to the local council. It is there that most of our colleagues will experience an effective
community of ministerial leaders who, together, are deepening their spiritual journeys and increasing
their ministerial effectiveness.
About the constituent councils: I have been shocked at the vitality of some. Some have exceeded my
most optimistic expectations. And others? Let’s say that they have not exceeded my expectations.
They have not even threatened to brush up against those expectations. Some are remarkably strong.
Some have nearly died. And most of our councils are rolling along pretty well.
Among our constituents, our primary challenge is to build a sense of identity. One lady, whom I have
known for a dozen years, introduced me to a friend. “This is Joe Kutter. He was a pastor but now he
is doing something with” then she looked at me, “is it the Ministers Council?” As I was nodding, she
said, “Whatever that is. What is it Joe? What are you doing? What is the Ministers Council?”
Identity is an issue that we must forever address. With our publications and visits and workshops, we
are working at it but we need your help. You need to have a response to the questions of identity and
purpose. We are ministerial leaders who covenant together to deepen our spiritual journeys and to
increase our effectiveness as leaders in Christ’s church. It all starts there.
Let me conclude with a word or two about the distinctive nature of this community of ministerial
leaders into which we have been called.
We are a community of priests. That is the way we live and that is the way we are experienced by
those whom we serve. The priest is the one who stands in the gap between God and humanity. The
word, etymologically, has to do with bridges and bridge building. The priest is the bridge that connects
God and God’s people.
I know, our high priest is Jesus Christ and none other is needed and I believe that with all of my heart.
But that is not the way we live. And I know and celebrate the Priesthood of Believers but I also know
that our way of being, ministerial leaders, being priests is a little different from most of the laity. While
we are in no way spiritually superior, we are functionally distinctive.
As a worship leader, look at the way that you function. At one point in the service, you will likely lead
a thing called “The Pastoral Prayer” or “The Morning Prayer.” In one tradition, it was called “The
Protracted Prayer” because it was long. And what are you doing in this prayer? You are gathering the
concerns and celebrations of the people in your care together and offering them to God. You are the
people’s spokesperson to God and that is a very priestly thing to do and a priestly thing to be.
Now move to another part of the service. You take your Bible and you say to the people, “Thus says
the Lord.” Now you are God’s spokesperson to God’s people. Speaking for God, how audacious is
that? But that is what you do and it is a very priestly thing to do and to be.
In one moment, you are the voice of the people to God and in another moment, you are the voice of
God to the people. You are the bridge. You are the priest.
Has something like this happened to you? It’s three in the morning and you get a call. Somebody has
died and they want you to come to the home – now. Your relationship may be very casual but it’s you
they called. Why? They want a priest. You are the one to speak their heartbreak to God in prayer and
you are the one to remind them of God’s grace in the midst of this tragedy.
3
The baby was born in the morning and in the afternoon you visit, just like a member of the family. You
are not a member of the family and your relationship may indeed be casual but you go. And the
parents invite you to hold their baby. Why? You are their priest. You represent God’s grace for that
child and you voice their hopes and prayers to God. You are the bridge. You are the priest.
Why are you invited to the hospital rooms and weddings and the nursing homes and anniversary
celebrations, and the hospice centers and even, once in a while, to the morgue? You are the priest.
And that changes the way that people look at you. It changes the way that people relate to you,
doesn’t it? You know that, don’t you? Oh, they know that you are a mere mortal. But when you have
buried their parents and baptized their children and preached from Holy Scripture, and stood by them
in the hospital or morgue, they see you differently. And the way that they see you frequently gets in
the way of their ability to be a priest to you. It’s not that they don’t love you. They do. They just don’t
know what to do with you! And they really don’t know what to do with you when you need your own
bridge to span the gap between God and you.
Now the question is, who “priests” the priest? Who stands in the gap for you? I know it’s Jesus but
Jesus has called his disciples to stand in for him in a physical and personal way.
So this is my prayer for us. My prayer is that we can become a community of priests and within this
community; we can be priests to one another. As Christians, as little Christs, as Jesus’ reps, we can
bridge the gaps for one another and with one another. This is precisely what happens when we
covenant together to deepen our spiritual journeys and to increase our effectiveness as ministerial
leaders.
Do we have a problem? Yes and it’s a big one. Most of us were not taught to do ministry in this way.
We were taught to learn by isolating ourselves with books and papers and writing instruments and
then to emerge from that isolation to perform on a test in a class. Learning was largely a solitary and
individual matter.
To preach, we first disappeared into the study. To teach, we first prepared in the study. To counsel,
we went created a private and safe place. Only later did we put windows in the doors. To pray, we
went to our closet. We were the designated church visitors to hospitals and homes and we usually go
alone. The ministry was ours and ours alone even though we paid lip service to the notion of the
priesthood of believers.
We have this congregational polity, which I strongly believe. So we became absorbed with our own
congregation, perhaps thinking of the other congregations and pastors as competitors. Truth is that
our biggest Sunday morning competitors are IHOP and Perkins Pancakes. But we learned to think of
ourselves as living and working in splendid isolation in isolated autonomous congregations.
We became competitive. Have you ever counted “evangelistically”? I know that we were invited to
become fishers of men and women but I’ve heard some Sunday morning counts that would make a
fisherman blush. And it’s isolating.
And then we entered our season of conflict. Who wants to be a part of a community whose second
name is “Fight Club”. On the one hand, some of us just don’t like fighting and others among us can
not believe that somebody who disagrees with us just may be another of God’s priests. And, some of
us feat that if we listen to the mistaken or the heretics, then the purity of our own faith may be
threatened and we surely don’t want that. So we isolate ourselves and the community of Priests
doesn’t happen.
Dear hearts and gentle friends, it’s time to get over it. The one person who is most likely to be your
priest is the one who understands the life you live, the priestly life that you live even if he or she is
wrong about some important theological matters. It is time to get serious again about our place in the
community of ministerial leaders.
4
The last I heard, instead of giving individual tutorials to the disciples, Jesus called them into a
community of learners and that community of twelve became the forbearer of both the church and the
community of ministerial leaders to which we belong.
What a magnificent call we have!
We are called to speak to God in behalf of those entrusted into our care.
We are called to speak the word of God to God’s people.
We are called to proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord
To proclaim that sin is forgiven and brokenness is healed
We are called to announce the good news to every one of God’s children, “You are my beloved child.”
Called to declare that Evil will be overcome and the goodness of God will prevail.
We are called to stand with God’s people in moments of ecstatic joy and in seasons of heartwrenching
despair.
To this ministry, we are called.
We are called to declare that in Christ, crucifixion has been defeated by resurrection and death will
never again have the last word.
We are called to the Body of Christ, to be leaders in the body of Christ,
We are called to a holy priesthood
Thanks be to God, we have been called to this magnificent life.
Amen.
ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT TO THE SENATE
AUGUST 2009
DR. JOE KUTTER
First, I want to thank you for the honor of serving Christ and his Church in this way. You have unfailingly
been gracious and hospitable to me as I have attempted to fulfill the assignment that has been given to
me as the Acting Executive Director of the American Baptist Ministers Council.
Let me say that the American Baptist Ministers Council is alive and well. There are clouds on the horizon
for which we must prepare but we have the capacity to make that preparation.
The biggest cloud is that Lilly funding will come to an end in three years and we do not now have a
replacement for that money. We have, however started a process to address the issue.
First, given the transition within the Ministers Council from Kate Harvey to me, it seems necessary to
engage in the process of building relationships. That necessity has been exacerbated by the fall-out from
the controversies that have so strongly affected our life together. So I have invested significant time in
calling and visiting with our constituent councils. I have been to annual meetings, retreats, executive
committee meetings and special meetings called just for the purpose of spending time together. And I
must say, with gratitude, that even among regions disaffected by our disagreements, I have been warmly
received.
Second, we need to put in place a strategic planning process that includes a strong fund-raising
component. Key leaders in our denomination have agreed to serve in this capacity if this body agrees to
move forward in this way.
Third, the vitality of the Ministers Council, both the constituent councils and the national body depends on
the quality of our leadership. Here we are doing two things.
1. I am asking you, the Senators to come to a new understanding of your role here. You are the
Board of Directors. You are the primary stewards of The American Baptist Ministers Council.
More than anybody else, the Ministers Council belongs to you. To honor your responsibilities, I
have possibly told you more about my activities each month, in a monthly report, than you really
wanted to know. The reason – I am accountable to you through the Executive Committee. You
have a right and a responsibility to know.
2. To enhance the capacity of leadership within our constituent councils, we are now offering
workshops designed to strengthen our constituent councils using insights of “Community of
Practice” literature and leaders. I’ll not rehearse the Community of Practice material here, but I
will say that I want to be invited to conduct a workshop with your leaders and members in the
next two years. And I will be aggressive in asking to be invited.
All of this fits my vision for the Ministers Council. As I see it, the effectiveness of the American Baptist
Ministers Council is in large part measured by the effectiveness of our constituent councils.
Let me make the case: The heart of our mission statement says something like this: We covenant
together first to deepen our spiritual journeys and second, to increase our effectiveness as leaders in
Christ’s church. Three observations: the word covenant implies community. Our vision is to become
a community of ministerial leaders. Community has its best chance of being realized at the
constituent level. Second, the purposes of our community are to deepen our spiritual journeys and to
increase our effectiveness as leaders. All of that happens best locally. Most of our colleagues will
experience Ministers Council only through their experiences at home.
As great as our experience with Leonard Sweet was in Pasadena, most of our colleagues were not
able to see him there. As wonderful as the “Together in the Lord” conference will be in Orlando, even
2
with a really good attendance, most of our colleagues will not be there. For most of our colleagues, if
it doesn’t happen locally, it doesn’t happen.
Does that exclude our national witness, our national advocacy for ministerial leaders? Of course not!
And every chance we have, we make our case. But as rarefied as the air of the national environment
can sometimes be, and sometimes that air is a little polluted, we must never be distracted from
attending to the local council. It is there that most of our colleagues will experience an effective
community of ministerial leaders who, together, are deepening their spiritual journeys and increasing
their ministerial effectiveness.
About the constituent councils: I have been shocked at the vitality of some. Some have exceeded my
most optimistic expectations. And others? Let’s say that they have not exceeded my expectations.
They have not even threatened to brush up against those expectations. Some are remarkably strong.
Some have nearly died. And most of our councils are rolling along pretty well.
Among our constituents, our primary challenge is to build a sense of identity. One lady, whom I have
known for a dozen years, introduced me to a friend. “This is Joe Kutter. He was a pastor but now he
is doing something with” then she looked at me, “is it the Ministers Council?” As I was nodding, she
said, “Whatever that is. What is it Joe? What are you doing? What is the Ministers Council?”
Identity is an issue that we must forever address. With our publications and visits and workshops, we
are working at it but we need your help. You need to have a response to the questions of identity and
purpose. We are ministerial leaders who covenant together to deepen our spiritual journeys and to
increase our effectiveness as leaders in Christ’s church. It all starts there.
Let me conclude with a word or two about the distinctive nature of this community of ministerial
leaders into which we have been called.
We are a community of priests. That is the way we live and that is the way we are experienced by
those whom we serve. The priest is the one who stands in the gap between God and humanity. The
word, etymologically, has to do with bridges and bridge building. The priest is the bridge that connects
God and God’s people.
I know, our high priest is Jesus Christ and none other is needed and I believe that with all of my heart.
But that is not the way we live. And I know and celebrate the Priesthood of Believers but I also know
that our way of being, ministerial leaders, being priests is a little different from most of the laity. While
we are in no way spiritually superior, we are functionally distinctive.
As a worship leader, look at the way that you function. At one point in the service, you will likely lead
a thing called “The Pastoral Prayer” or “The Morning Prayer.” In one tradition, it was called “The
Protracted Prayer” because it was long. And what are you doing in this prayer? You are gathering the
concerns and celebrations of the people in your care together and offering them to God. You are the
people’s spokesperson to God and that is a very priestly thing to do and a priestly thing to be.
Now move to another part of the service. You take your Bible and you say to the people, “Thus says
the Lord.” Now you are God’s spokesperson to God’s people. Speaking for God, how audacious is
that? But that is what you do and it is a very priestly thing to do and to be.
In one moment, you are the voice of the people to God and in another moment, you are the voice of
God to the people. You are the bridge. You are the priest.
Has something like this happened to you? It’s three in the morning and you get a call. Somebody has
died and they want you to come to the home – now. Your relationship may be very casual but it’s you
they called. Why? They want a priest. You are the one to speak their heartbreak to God in prayer and
you are the one to remind them of God’s grace in the midst of this tragedy.
3
The baby was born in the morning and in the afternoon you visit, just like a member of the family. You
are not a member of the family and your relationship may indeed be casual but you go. And the
parents invite you to hold their baby. Why? You are their priest. You represent God’s grace for that
child and you voice their hopes and prayers to God. You are the bridge. You are the priest.
Why are you invited to the hospital rooms and weddings and the nursing homes and anniversary
celebrations, and the hospice centers and even, once in a while, to the morgue? You are the priest.
And that changes the way that people look at you. It changes the way that people relate to you,
doesn’t it? You know that, don’t you? Oh, they know that you are a mere mortal. But when you have
buried their parents and baptized their children and preached from Holy Scripture, and stood by them
in the hospital or morgue, they see you differently. And the way that they see you frequently gets in
the way of their ability to be a priest to you. It’s not that they don’t love you. They do. They just don’t
know what to do with you! And they really don’t know what to do with you when you need your own
bridge to span the gap between God and you.
Now the question is, who “priests” the priest? Who stands in the gap for you? I know it’s Jesus but
Jesus has called his disciples to stand in for him in a physical and personal way.
So this is my prayer for us. My prayer is that we can become a community of priests and within this
community; we can be priests to one another. As Christians, as little Christs, as Jesus’ reps, we can
bridge the gaps for one another and with one another. This is precisely what happens when we
covenant together to deepen our spiritual journeys and to increase our effectiveness as ministerial
leaders.
Do we have a problem? Yes and it’s a big one. Most of us were not taught to do ministry in this way.
We were taught to learn by isolating ourselves with books and papers and writing instruments and
then to emerge from that isolation to perform on a test in a class. Learning was largely a solitary and
individual matter.
To preach, we first disappeared into the study. To teach, we first prepared in the study. To counsel,
we went created a private and safe place. Only later did we put windows in the doors. To pray, we
went to our closet. We were the designated church visitors to hospitals and homes and we usually go
alone. The ministry was ours and ours alone even though we paid lip service to the notion of the
priesthood of believers.
We have this congregational polity, which I strongly believe. So we became absorbed with our own
congregation, perhaps thinking of the other congregations and pastors as competitors. Truth is that
our biggest Sunday morning competitors are IHOP and Perkins Pancakes. But we learned to think of
ourselves as living and working in splendid isolation in isolated autonomous congregations.
We became competitive. Have you ever counted “evangelistically”? I know that we were invited to
become fishers of men and women but I’ve heard some Sunday morning counts that would make a
fisherman blush. And it’s isolating.
And then we entered our season of conflict. Who wants to be a part of a community whose second
name is “Fight Club”. On the one hand, some of us just don’t like fighting and others among us can
not believe that somebody who disagrees with us just may be another of God’s priests. And, some of
us feat that if we listen to the mistaken or the heretics, then the purity of our own faith may be
threatened and we surely don’t want that. So we isolate ourselves and the community of Priests
doesn’t happen.
Dear hearts and gentle friends, it’s time to get over it. The one person who is most likely to be your
priest is the one who understands the life you live, the priestly life that you live even if he or she is
wrong about some important theological matters. It is time to get serious again about our place in the
community of ministerial leaders.
4
The last I heard, instead of giving individual tutorials to the disciples, Jesus called them into a
community of learners and that community of twelve became the forbearer of both the church and the
community of ministerial leaders to which we belong.
What a magnificent call we have!
We are called to speak to God in behalf of those entrusted into our care.
We are called to speak the word of God to God’s people.
We are called to proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord
To proclaim that sin is forgiven and brokenness is healed
We are called to announce the good news to every one of God’s children, “You are my beloved child.”
Called to declare that Evil will be overcome and the goodness of God will prevail.
We are called to stand with God’s people in moments of ecstatic joy and in seasons of heartwrenching
despair.
To this ministry, we are called.
We are called to declare that in Christ, crucifixion has been defeated by resurrection and death will
never again have the last word.
We are called to the Body of Christ, to be leaders in the body of Christ,
We are called to a holy priesthood
Thanks be to God, we have been called to this magnificent life.
Amen.
Monday, August 17, 2009
More Live stuff
NO CHICKEN FOR DINNER. We had the other white meat. Wow what a change, except it tasted like CHICKEN.
All joking aside, senate is going well. We are having rich prayer times, wonderful community times and doing some much need work. I anticipate the the Ministers Council will be a real asset to all of us in our region. I will have more updates soon.
Chuck
All joking aside, senate is going well. We are having rich prayer times, wonderful community times and doing some much need work. I anticipate the the Ministers Council will be a real asset to all of us in our region. I will have more updates soon.
Chuck
Sunday, August 16, 2009
More Senate News
We started prayer groups last night. The discussion was around Dietrich Bonhoeffer prayer, "Who Am I?"
Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cells' confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country-house
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which others tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
tossing in expectation of great events,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trebling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!
March 1946
Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cells' confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country-house
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really all that which others tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
tossing in expectation of great events,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trebling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!
March 1946
Real Time Updates from Senate
Well first full day at Greenlake for Senate. Here are some highlights.
What will you have for dinner, chicken or chicken.
oh and we have prepared a special of rubber chicken with is available by request.
Great meeting everyone. I say Hello I am from Vermont/ New Hampshire. They respond, "Oh Joe has told us about you"
Meals -Free
Room - Free
Coffee- Free
Worship - Priceless
Well getting ready for lunch, Man I hope it is chicken. :)
What will you have for dinner, chicken or chicken.
oh and we have prepared a special of rubber chicken with is available by request.
Great meeting everyone. I say Hello I am from Vermont/ New Hampshire. They respond, "Oh Joe has told us about you"
Meals -Free
Room - Free
Coffee- Free
Worship - Priceless
Well getting ready for lunch, Man I hope it is chicken. :)
Friday, August 7, 2009
Great Opportunity
Equipping and assisting Christians and their churches to respond to conflict biblically
Peacemaking for Church Leaders
One day of training in biblical peacemaking
to help pastors, ministers, and church leaders to live out Matthew 5:9
In five different regions throughout New England
Featuring Ken Sande, President of Peacemaker Ministries and author of "The Peacemaker"
Locations:
Essex Alliance Church, Essex, VT - Monday, Oct. 12
First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, Hopkinton, MA - Tuesday, Oct. 13
Wellspring Church, Kensington, CT - Wednesday, Oct. 14
Community Chapel, Nashua, NH - Thursday, Oct. 15
Faith Evangelical Free Church, Waterville, ME - Friday, Oct. 16
Leaders play a key role in guiding their churches toward a culture of peace. God's shepherds not only need to lead in a way that doesn't creat conflict, they also must be intentional and active in their leadership in order to prepare a church to respond to conflict biblically. Yet many church leaders feel ill-equipped and unprepared in these areas. Pastors and lay leaders alike will appreciate this day of training
Sign Up Today for
Peacemaking for Church Leaders
Each day begins at 9:00am with registration and concludes at 3:00pm
Registration Pricing Options
Single registration fee - $25.00 (includes lunch, snacks & teaching materials)
OR
If you register one person full price the second through fifth persons can register for $10.00 (all will include lunch, snacks & teaching materials)
OR
If you register four people at full price you will recieve a Peacemaking Church Resource Set (retails for $199.00)
"Peacemaker Ministries' vision of "Building a Culture of Peace in Your Church" with its insights, encouragement, and biblically based principles and practices can turn conflict into constructive relationship building in your church. This in turn will enable you and your people to demonstrate the power of the redeeming love of Christ to one another and the world around you."
Richard A. Germaine
Barnabas Ministries, Inc.
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Peacemaking for Church Leaders
One day of training in biblical peacemaking
to help pastors, ministers, and church leaders to live out Matthew 5:9
In five different regions throughout New England
Featuring Ken Sande, President of Peacemaker Ministries and author of "The Peacemaker"
Locations:
Essex Alliance Church, Essex, VT - Monday, Oct. 12
First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, Hopkinton, MA - Tuesday, Oct. 13
Wellspring Church, Kensington, CT - Wednesday, Oct. 14
Community Chapel, Nashua, NH - Thursday, Oct. 15
Faith Evangelical Free Church, Waterville, ME - Friday, Oct. 16
Leaders play a key role in guiding their churches toward a culture of peace. God's shepherds not only need to lead in a way that doesn't creat conflict, they also must be intentional and active in their leadership in order to prepare a church to respond to conflict biblically. Yet many church leaders feel ill-equipped and unprepared in these areas. Pastors and lay leaders alike will appreciate this day of training
Sign Up Today for
Peacemaking for Church Leaders
Each day begins at 9:00am with registration and concludes at 3:00pm
Registration Pricing Options
Single registration fee - $25.00 (includes lunch, snacks & teaching materials)
OR
If you register one person full price the second through fifth persons can register for $10.00 (all will include lunch, snacks & teaching materials)
OR
If you register four people at full price you will recieve a Peacemaking Church Resource Set (retails for $199.00)
"Peacemaker Ministries' vision of "Building a Culture of Peace in Your Church" with its insights, encouragement, and biblically based principles and practices can turn conflict into constructive relationship building in your church. This in turn will enable you and your people to demonstrate the power of the redeeming love of Christ to one another and the world around you."
Richard A. Germaine
Barnabas Ministries, Inc.
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
New News
Minister’s Council ABC/VNH
Dear Members of the Ministers Council,
I am sure that it comes as no surprise that this letter is much later than normal. I want to apologize for the delinquency. Many things have taken place over the last year and the minister’s council of the ABC/VNH have been remiss in being in contact with each of you. To say that we are in a period of restructuring would be delicate. So much goes on in the lives of each of your churches and you are forced to weather many ups and downs with little or no support from the council that you have faithfully joined. I sincerely apologize for this. I am sure that I could give a multitude of excuses, but none would do justice to our lack of attention given to each of you and your ministries. This is no one particular persons fault, be we, as an oncoming executive committee must assume responsibility. We as an executive committee have committed to prayerfully seek to find a remedy.
God has called each of us as ministers to a high calling that is filled with plenty of difficulty and tremendous blessing. One of the deepest struggles that seem to be prevalent for those I talked to in ministry is loneliness. With such a gifted region, filled with pastors who seek to follow Jesus it seems strange that we don’t find support with one another. The minister’s council is called to help. Whether it is providing a place or a forum to share our battle stories and celebrate God’s successes, or that we fill the roll of advocate we have yet to discover.
In the midst of all of this transition we have still pledged to carry through with our previous financial commitments. We will continue our support of the widows and orphans fund, the center for ministry, our support of the region, along with various other vital parts of the minister’s council. In order to do this we are asking that each or you partner with us by paying both the national and regional dues. We have no control over the national dues, but we have wrestled with prorating the regional dues or removing them all together for the calendar year of 2009. Yet, we as an executive committee have decided that we would ask each of you to pay the dues in order for us to fulfill our financial commitments, have legitimate representation at Senate, and commit ourselves to the future of the minister’s council. We fully understand if there is apprehension in paying regional dues and if you don’t feel you can at this time we understand and respect your decision. Also, please be aware that these dues cover the year of 2009. In February another letter will go out asking for dues for 2010. The executive committee is excited about where God is taking us and we look forward to partnering with each of you in the work of the Kingdom. Thank you for your time and understanding.
In His Service,
Rev. Charles Kuthe Rev. Vivan Martindale
Rev. Bruce Bishop Rev. Craig Thompson
Rev. Jaime Moyinhan Rev. Dale Nicholas
Dear Members of the Ministers Council,
I am sure that it comes as no surprise that this letter is much later than normal. I want to apologize for the delinquency. Many things have taken place over the last year and the minister’s council of the ABC/VNH have been remiss in being in contact with each of you. To say that we are in a period of restructuring would be delicate. So much goes on in the lives of each of your churches and you are forced to weather many ups and downs with little or no support from the council that you have faithfully joined. I sincerely apologize for this. I am sure that I could give a multitude of excuses, but none would do justice to our lack of attention given to each of you and your ministries. This is no one particular persons fault, be we, as an oncoming executive committee must assume responsibility. We as an executive committee have committed to prayerfully seek to find a remedy.
God has called each of us as ministers to a high calling that is filled with plenty of difficulty and tremendous blessing. One of the deepest struggles that seem to be prevalent for those I talked to in ministry is loneliness. With such a gifted region, filled with pastors who seek to follow Jesus it seems strange that we don’t find support with one another. The minister’s council is called to help. Whether it is providing a place or a forum to share our battle stories and celebrate God’s successes, or that we fill the roll of advocate we have yet to discover.
In the midst of all of this transition we have still pledged to carry through with our previous financial commitments. We will continue our support of the widows and orphans fund, the center for ministry, our support of the region, along with various other vital parts of the minister’s council. In order to do this we are asking that each or you partner with us by paying both the national and regional dues. We have no control over the national dues, but we have wrestled with prorating the regional dues or removing them all together for the calendar year of 2009. Yet, we as an executive committee have decided that we would ask each of you to pay the dues in order for us to fulfill our financial commitments, have legitimate representation at Senate, and commit ourselves to the future of the minister’s council. We fully understand if there is apprehension in paying regional dues and if you don’t feel you can at this time we understand and respect your decision. Also, please be aware that these dues cover the year of 2009. In February another letter will go out asking for dues for 2010. The executive committee is excited about where God is taking us and we look forward to partnering with each of you in the work of the Kingdom. Thank you for your time and understanding.
In His Service,
Rev. Charles Kuthe Rev. Vivan Martindale
Rev. Bruce Bishop Rev. Craig Thompson
Rev. Jaime Moyinhan Rev. Dale Nicholas
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