April 21, 2016

April 18, 2016

April 11, 2016

March 24, 2016

  • Just Chilling With Adam On His Spring Break

    I picked up Adam in Illinois and have been just chilling with him on his spring break. I have had to work, but we have managed to have some great times together already. I sure enjoy it when my son is around, or any of my kids or grandkids. Amen.

     

     

March 6, 2016

  • A New Way Of Living, Abiding In The Father's Love.

    A New Way Of Living

     

    Joshua 5:9-12 ( A New Way, A Renewal Of Covenant Of Love )

    9 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is called Gilgal a to this day. b

    10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the *Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. cd11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. e12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. f Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

     

    2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ( A New Way, New Covenant Revealed In Us )

    16 From now on, then, we do not know f anyone in a purely human way. gEven if we have known h Christ in a purely human way, i yet now we no longer know j Him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; kold things have passed away, and look, l new things m have come. n18 Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: o19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world pto Himself, q not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors r for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, s“Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the One who did not know sin t to be sin u for us, v so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

     

    Luke 15:17-21 ( A New Way, Grace Personified )

    17 When he came to his senses,ahe said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger!b18 I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned c against heaven d and in your sight. 19 I’m no longer worthy e to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. f He ran, threw his arms around his neck,gand kissed h him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, Ihave sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’

    v.22-23

    22 “But the father told his * slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe i and put it on him; put a ring j on his fingerkand sandals l on his feet. 23 Then bring the

    fattened calf m and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; n he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

    The Lost Son

    Feasting On the Word: Preaching The Revised Common Lectionary Year C

    The very familiar parable of the Prodigal Son is the last in a series of three parables that portray God as seeking out that which is lost. The two others are the parables of the Lost Sheep (15:4–7) and the Lost Coin (15:8–10). The beginning of chapter 15 states that Jesus told these three stories in response to a complaint raised by the Pharisees and scribes concerning Jesus’ penchant of associating with people known to be sinners. The parables attempt to show that Jesus had no other choice than to seek the lost.

    Personal Story: " Adam And A Trip To Walmart "

    Our Battle With Conscience.

    R.C. Sproul, " How I Should Live In This World "

    The function of the conscience in ethical decision making tends to complicate matters for us. The commandments of God are eternal, but in order to obey them we must first appropriate them internally. The “organ” of such internalization has been classically called the conscience. Some describe this nebulous inner voice as the voice of God within. The conscience is a mysterious part of man’s inner being. Within the conscience, in a secret hidden recess, lies the personality, so hidden that at times it functions without our being immediately aware of it. When Sigmund Freud brought hypnosis into the place of respectable scientific inquiry, men began to explore the subconscious and examine those intimate caverns of the personality. Encountering the conscience can be an awesome experience. The uncovering of the inner voice can be, as one psychiatrist notes, like “looking into hell itself.”

    Yet we tend to think of the conscience as a heavenly thing, a point of contact with God, rather than a hellish organ. We think of the cartoon character faced with an ethical decision while an angel is perched on one shoulder and a devil on the other, playing tug-of-war with the poor man’s head. The conscience can be a voice from heaven or hell; it can lie as well as press us to truth. It can speak out of both sides of its mouth, having the capacity either to accuse or to excuse.

    New Day

    This new day you give to me

    From your great eternity

    This new day now enfold

    Me in your loving hold

    You are the star of the morn

    You are the day newly born

    You are the light of our night

    You are the Saviour by your might

    God be in me this day

    God ever with me stay

    God be in the night

    Keep us by thy light

    God be in my heart

    God abide, never depart.

March 3, 2016

  • Fresh News On CGMF Group Changes Forthcoming.

    There will be some news on various Shepherd Groups forthcoming that will become its own entity or church in the months ahead. It has been determined after much prayer that God wants to allow a separating of the branches in order for growth and revival. With certain ministers and their groups needing to stay together and flourish.

    We usually limit our Shepherd Groups to no more than 30 people. At which time we look within time to start and train others for leadership and discern in prayer a new group to be initiated. That part of our usual pattern has been broken from time to time, and that time is now for some. Amen. Sometimes you have to let go in order to see things grow and blossom, or see God's new direction. That is what the Shepherd Leaders have determined after much prayer, and our founding pastor ( Bishop Vossen ) has been more than supportive of this.

    It is truly harvestime and we love seeing God do extraordinary things with extraordinary people.

    I know it seems in the past year as Bishop Vossen has let go of the reigns of the fellowship and let us all stretch our leadership skills, that his apparent invisibility has been awkward. Yet, he has been there in an advisory role, but has never told or directed us in the past year on what to do. His trust and confidence in this Shepherd Leadership team he has trained for over 8 years is more than appreciated. Thank God for the enabling power of the Lord.

    In His Grace,
    Skip, Mary, David, Laurie and all the SL Team

February 25, 2016

  • Digressing To Politics For Just A Moment.

    This past year has been disturbing to me in politics, as anger and manipulation of the public through absurd ads and comments fill the air. I know its been around in some way for years, and knows no one Party as its possessor. Nevertheless, this year the vile and ambitious statements of so many politicians are held to no accountability, or have no repercussions. It is a sad day that we allow our frustrations as a nation to forget civility of any kind. Anger left rung amuck can or will become uncontrollable somewhere down the line. Who is going to be responsible for that down the road?

    I hope we can turn a corner or somehow put a wet blanket on some this. However, I am not sure we will, and I don't like the direction this takes us as a nation socially or culturally.

    Jimmy Carter was the first President I ever voted for. He might not have been extremely successful. However, his character and how he carried himself now and then. Well, it is a far cry from what we see today sadly. A great man and wife. Those kind of people I love seeing becoming our leaders or such. Even when I don't even believe in much of their politics. I can handle it, because I can see a true concern for people and a sense of honor in them.

    Oh well that is it. I got nothing more on this. LOL.

February 11, 2016

  • Reflections In Ministry Part 2

    Students, Faculty and Friends of FBC.

    Here is a follow up, or continuation of our subject on reflection we began about a week prior.

    The Nash’s book on “ Tools For Reflective Ministry “ truly does help you to evaluate in a practical way so many things we take for granted. Or, are too busy to take time for consideration, and go on our merry way. Give me your feedback on some of those things mentioned here in this section. Also I am curious how you might answer the questions they pose.

    Purpose of reflection

    Reflection has many purposes in ministry; it may:

    • develop self-awareness;
    • help us understand how we learn;
    • enable us to see how we are integrating values into practice;
    • help us explain what we do to our stakeholders;
    • empower us as practitioners as we grow in confidence and have a better understanding of what we do;
    • liberate us from some of our preconceptions or assumptions about ourselves, others or our ministry;
    · help us solve problems in a creative rather than formulaic way;
    • encourage us to work with metaphors and images that bring fresh insights;
    • lead to action or decision;
    • develop our capacity to deal with new situations as they arise.

    It has helped us with things like accepting both our gifts and limitations, recognizing more of the unique contribution that we make in our contexts, developing appropriate ways of working, leading, studying, finding a rhythm of life and work that sustains us in ministry and making our relationships work! Our aim through our work is to develop reflective practitioners and it is always encouraging to get an email or have a conversation where people talk about often drawing on what they learnt at college in their new context.

    For further reflection use the following questions or statements to trigger your own reflection:

    • What causes you the greatest fear and how constructively do you deal with it?
    • Just because you can, should you?
    • Why are you doing this?
    • For whose benefit are you doing this?
    • If it is all there is, thirsty people will drink dirty water and very thirsty people will drink very dirty water.

February 4, 2016

  • Reflection In Ministry And Personal Renewal.

    Reflection In Ministry And Personal Renewal.

    posted 6 minutes ago by RevPat
    I wanted to share with our faculty, students and friends of FBC about the importance of a personal place or setting of reflection and renewal. For as the years progress, I am realizing the importance of pausing from the busyness of our daily lives and just listening to God. Or, taking time to stop what we are doing, reflecting upon the effectiveness of our endeavors, and looking at our life, or ministry in an open and honest fashion. Sometimes without such a place of renewal or repose we can find ourselves just wasting our spiritual energy on busy work, and be less productive than we choose to admit. Ephesians 5:15-17 ( HCSB ) admonishes us to, " Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

    With this passage in mind and with the understanding of how we as human beings need that time of rest and repose. It seems imperative that we take time strategically in our lives to " smell the roses ", in order to receive fresh illumination from the Holy Spirit. Whereby we are better equipped to carry on the Lord's business with our body, soul and spirit in harmony. Allowing God to minister to us and through us effectively.

    The following is a portion from a particular book on reflection, which I have been studying. That has helped me in this past month of reflection and renewal. I pray it will give you some much needed " food for thought ". Please let me know your thoughts and ideas on this subject matter, or ways God has ministered to you in your times set aside for renewal. God bless you all in your life and service in Christ.

    Dr. Patrick Vossen

    Notes From The Book Entitled, " Tools For Reflective Ministry " By Sally Nash and Paul Nash ( 2009 )

    Ministry

    Ministry is about service; it is the responsibility of the whole body of Christ. Paul’s personal philosophy of ministry is based upon knowing and loving himself, God and others and seeing that as an ongoing journey of service in and towards community. It involves the whole of our lives. Personal and spiritual growth are often a significant part of the early years of ministry, whether full time or as a volunteer, as we grapple with what, who and where God has called us to. Nelson suggests that in our first decade of ministerial development we need to engage with five areas:

    • recognition of our own uniqueness
    • identification of our limitations
    • development of our leadership skills
    • integration of our identity as minister
    • acceleration of our spiritual formation (1988, pp. 15–23).

    For our ongoing ministerial journey we would add:

    • working out how to sustain ourselves for the long haul
    • identifying and processing the baggage we bring
    • liberating ourselves from false expectations
    • developing a rule and rhythm of life that nourishes
    • understanding what it means for us to keep becoming more like Christ
    • working towards greater coherence between theology we profess and theology we live.

    Implicit in such lists is an invitation to work out these issues for yourself, thus:
    What areas of ministerial development do you need to work on?
    Nouwen identifies the five essential tasks of ministry as:

    • teaching
    • preaching
    • individual pastoral care
    • organizing
    • celebrating (1971, p. 114).

    What are your essential tasks of ministry?

    While this may work well for a church-based setting we don’t frame our particular callings in these terms. Our list is:

    • facilitating learning
    • encouraging
    • equipping
    • liberating
    • healing
    • empowering
    • leading
    • being prophetic.

    What are the difficult questions and issues you need to reflect on currently?

    Paul has asked himself why it is important to write and share some of his insights even though, as someone with dyslexia, he finds writing hard. He concluded that one of the factors was that of legacy—being childless and wanting to leave something of himself. We have learnt to ask ourselves the difficult questions, to explore what we are fearful of, what the questions and doubts are that subtly influence our ministry. Knowing and understanding ourselves, God and others is often a multilayered process, and reflection helps us go deeper and become more self-, other-and God-aware. In ministry, who we are is more important than what we do, and developing a Christ-like character should be given at least equal weight to developing ministry skills.

    Discernment and decision-making

    Testing the outcomes which emerge from reflection is good practice, helps us live within our values and beliefs, and may assist in avoiding making mistakes (Judges 21:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). These are our guidelines for testing the outcome of our reflection:

    • Is it in harmony with our understanding of the Bible?
    • Is it coherent with our values?
    • Does it build the kingdom of God?
    • Do I have an inner peace beyond ‘if it feels good do it!’?
    • Do I sense the witness of the Holy Spirit?
    • Will it bring life?
    • Can I do this with integrity?
    • Is it in line with my personal and/or professional ethics?
    • Am I willing to be accountable over this?
    • Have I discussed this with others or brought it to my community? Why? Why not?

    It can be helpful to write your own list, or at least have a mental checklist, to assess the outcomes of your reflections. In a question-and-answer panel with students we were once asked how we hear God. This book encourages us to listen to and encounter God in a myriad of ways but we need to discern what it is we have heard and found.

January 27, 2016

  • The Cruise Was Grand.

     

    Mark 6:30–32 (NRSV)

    30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

    Well, we went away on a boat. Not really a deserted place, but a place of rest and God blest and gave us strength, love and joy. It was a wonderful time on the water at each island retreat. The memories and the great time I shared interjecting with those around me I won't soon forget. Debbie thanks for making it all possible. Without her it never would have materialized. She is an amazing lady.

    Here are some of the memories.

    IMG_20160122_1422234_rewindIMG_20160123_0950473_rewindIMG_20160122_1407513_rewindIMG_20160120_1434266_rewindIMG_20160120_1343380_rewindIMG_20160119_1328501_rewind