E-Link Online -- News of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan

Voices

This magical story [of Christmas] is a cornerstone of the Christian faith and I am sorry if it's a big hurdle for the skeptical young. It is to the Church what his Kryptonian heritage was to Clark Kent -- it enables us to stop speeding locomotives and leap tall buildings at a single bound, and also to love our neighbors as ourselves. Without the Nativity, we become a sort of lecture series and coffee club, with not very good coffee and sort of aimless lectures.

On Christmas Eve, the snow on the ground, the stars in the sky, the spruce tree glittering with beloved ornaments, we stand in the dimness and sing about the silent holy night and tears come to our eyes and the vast invisible forces of Christmas stir in the world. Skeptics, stand back. Hush. Hark. There is much in this world that doubt cannot explain. -- Garrison Keillor, Salon, 12/5/07 (h/t, KNM)

Arrivals, Departures, Celebrations, Concerns

§ The Rev. Kent Jennings, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church, Ypsilanti, was recently honored by the congregation for his 25 years of service. Carol Grimmette, writing for the church, said, "The Lord has been good to us over the years. We had a good time planning this event to show our appreciation to our Pastor. He is always there for his congregation." Jennings is shown receiving a plaque from Dr. Michael A. Williams, executive minister, ABC-MI. Click on the image to view a brief slideshow of the occasion.

§ Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church of Flint recently concluded a year long celebration of 100 years of ministry. Founded in 1907, the church is the first and oldest African American congregation in the city of Flint. On December 2 Ron Cary presented a plaque to the pastor honoring the church anniversary and thanking them for their support of American Baptist ministries over many years. The church celebration concluded with a banquet on December 9. Dr. Roy I. Greer has been pastor of the Mt. Olive church for 35 years.

Last Issue for 2007

Since the normal publication day for the next edition of E-Link falls on New Year's Eve, it will be published on Wednesday, January 2, 2008. Please send articles, notices, and news to the Editor (editor@abc-mi.org) by December 29.

§ The Rev. James Bowden, former pastor of Valley Farms Baptist Church, Lansing, is reported in very poor condition in intensive care in Mercy Hospital, Muskegon (Room #216, 1500 East Sherman Boulevard, Muskegon, Michigan 49444. Says Pastor Dave Leisman, present pastor at Valley Farms, "I know the prayers of all will be appreciated."

§ Ivan Rodgriguez, two-year-old grandson of former Region staff members Vern and Corrine Mattson, is recovering after surgery for excision of a large brain tumor. The mass was benign; doctors are calling his recovery remarkable, Many who have this surgery end up with impaired vision, speech, and coordination. Ivan is not 100% yet, but close and they expect a complete recovery. However, his parents' financial prospects are not so rosy, due to the expenses of Ivan's illness and surgery, much not covered by insurance. Judson Memoral Baptist Church in Lansing (where the Mattsons were members) recently took up a collection to purchase gift cards at Target or Wal-Mart to send to Ivan's mother Shannon for Christmas presents and food. If you wish to send a card to Ivan or a note of encouragement to his parents, here are the names and address: Ivan Rodriguez-child; Shannon Higgins-mom; Alexis Rodriguez-dad; Address: 2608 Westway Court, McAllen, TX 78501

Dr. Williams Begins Sabbatical

Dr. Michael A. Williams, ABC-MI Executive Minister, began a three-month sabbatical leave this week. His hiatus from the daily pressures of Region leadership will involve rest, study, travel, and reflection. The Region Executive Committee, on recommendation of the Administrative Ministries Team, approved the sabbatical which begins December 17 and extends to March 17, 2008.

"This is a new experience for me," reports Dr. Williams. "Throughout my years of ministry since graduating from seminary I have not had opportunity to experience a sabbatical. With encouragement from my ABC-MI colleagues, I have come to believe this can and will be an important time of renewal and refreshment."

To prepare for his three-month leave Dr. Williams consulted Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning by Richard Bullock and Richard Bruesehoff, who characterize the sabbatical as energizing renewal involving a rhythm of rest, study, travel and reflection. Williams has planned his sabbatical to pay attention to this rhythm. To that end, he will spend the remaining days of December enjoying time with family, particularly his son, J. Michael, who will be home following his first semester of college. He and his wife Tammie will travel to Florida December 31 where they have rented a house for January and February. During this time Dr. Williams will be reading and do research on congregational revitalization. Having consulted with several church futurists, he has identified several middle judicatories that are assisting their congregations in revitalization. Interviews with middle judicatory staff members will form part of his research.

Dr. Williams also looks forward to joining Baptists across North America at the New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta. Dr. Charles Gilcrest Adams, senior minister of Hartford Memorial, Detroit, will be one of the plenary speakers at this special gathering of Baptists.

Dr. and Mrs. Williams conclude the sabbatical experience with a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary celebration trip to Maui, Hawaii, for two weeks in March.

"I pray I will experience an appropriate rhythm of rest, study, travel and reflection that renews me for more effective service to the ABC-MI in the years ahead."

In response to the Executive Committee's granting of the sabbatical, Williams said, "I am profoundly grateful for the encouragement I have received from our ABC-MI leadership to avail myself of this experience. While my contract allows me to take a three-month sabbatical every six years and I have been on staff now for eight full years, I have been somewhat reluctant to do so due to the added responsibilities it places on my Region staff colleagues. They have been most supportive and encouraging of my taking this time -- I deeply appreciate their support. In stepping back from the day-to-day work of ABC-MI life, I pray I will increase knowledge, experience needed margin, and avoid falling into the trap of making this sabbatical into just another Type-A work frenzy. I recognize I run the temptation, caused by fear of a negative reaction to my sabbatical by some ABC-MI constituents (whether in fact this is real or not I cannot say), to somehow prove I am not taking a twelve-week vacation. I pray I will experience an appropriate rhythm of rest, study, travel and reflection that renews me for more effective service to the ABC-MI in the years ahead."

Dr. Williams and members of the ABC-MI Executive Committee also hope this time alerts our congregational leaders to the importance of providing sabbatical experiences to their professional church leaders. While a number of ABC-MI clergy have taken sabbaticals, many have not. It is hoped many congregations will seriously consider providing an opportunity for personal and professional renewal.

Baptist Bonds: FBC Battle Creek Welcomes Burmese Refugees

by Pat Hernandez

The First Baptist Church of Battle Creek has been resettling refugees from Burma since it sponsored its first refugee families nearly 30 years ago. Those two families have since moved out of Michigan but still keeps in touch with members of the congregation. The third family to be sponsored -- Edward Thawnghmung, his wife Anne and their seven children -- not only has stayed in the Battle Creek area but also is actively involved with the church's ongoing mission of refugee resettlement.

Edward 's story is not unlike that of the thousands who have fled Burma in fear of persecution by the military junta which has ruled Burma since the violent overthrow of the democratic government in 1962 and has a long list of human rights violations. Edward gained national fame as Burma's Discus Champion in 1968. Less well known was his membership at the Baptist Church in his village. That membership invited persecution by the military regime and insured that his children would have no future. Rather than succumb to military pressure to abandon his faith, Edward made the difficult decision to leave his homeland.

Edward Thawnghmung

One snowy day in December 1980, Edward and his family of seven children ranging in age from nine to fifteen arrived in Battle Creek. The First Baptist Church of Battle Creek opened its doors and its heart to this family, furnishing a home and providing the support necessary to start a new life. That new life has resulted in Edward himself now leading the mission effort to settle new refugees. Together they have resettled hundreds of refugees, many from the village that Edward and his family were forced to flee. Having struggled to find work when he first arrived, Edward, who now works for Lutheran Social Services, helps others find work. And it is his daughter Marta who teaches English. On a snowy day in December 2007, nearly thirty years from his own arrival, the newest refugee family arrived. In perfect English with only a hint of the harrowing past, Edward, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, warmly welcomed this new family to his Baptist home, expanding in ever new ways the circle of love started not just by First Baptist thirty years ago but by the sending out of Adoniram and Ann Judson 200 hundred years ago.

Says Pastor David Laisum, standing in front of 40 new mattresses (picture at right) that were recently donated to the newest refugees, "What is unique about our congregation is the coming together of the Burmese and American people. Although we come from different cultures, we share a common bond as Baptists. We don't just have a new home when we become part of FBC Battle Creek. It would be more accurate to say that we are returning home. We see this as our parent church. We are Baptists because 200 years ago you sent missionaries to us. Now we are coming home."

David came first to the U.S. in 1988 on a student visa, returning to teach at the Myanmar Institute of Theology after he had received degrees from McCormick Theological Seminary (M.A.), Lutheran School of Theology (Th.M.) and University of Chicago Divinity School (M.Div.). Finding it increasingly difficult to live out his faith, given the hostility of the military regime towards Christians, David returned to the U.S. in 1998 with his wife and son to complete a Ph.D. in theology and is currently applying for a Religious Worker visa with the help and support of his congregation. When asked whether he might return to Burma one day, Pastor David replied, "Why go someplace else? We should be here, be together, and build the Kingdom. Here we are a congregation of Burmese and Americans. But we are Baptists first." Click on image of Pastor Laisum to view brief slideshow.

This Baptist bond, imbued with love and respect, is modeled by Pastor David and Senior Pastor Allen Rogers. Together they serve the First Baptist Church of Battle Creek, bringing together Burmese and American, English speaking and Chin speaking, into one community, loving our one Lord.

Due to rising violence in Burma and the increasingly harsh conditions in refugee camps, the U.S. department of State has increased the number of Burmese refugees it will accept in 2008. The number coming to Battle Creek is expected to exceed 200, more than double what it was this past year. If you would like to help our American Baptist congregations in Battle Creek respond to the needs of refugees, you may make a contribution to One Great Hour of Sharing and specify "Battle Creek Refugee Resettlement." One Great Hour of Sharing is the American Baptist offering which responds to worldwide disaster relief, refugee work and community development. If you have any questions, please call Debbie Hart at the region office (800 632-2953).

Friendship House Puts Out Call for Turkeys

Friendship House Executive Director Linnea Berg says, "We gave out 315 turkeys and all the side dishes for Thanksgiving. It cost Friendship House $3,100 to do so. We would like to give out another 300+ turkeys for Christmas. At this writing, we have $1,145 of the $3,100 needed, $1,955 short. We are doing fine on the side dishes, thanks to the generosity of several churches that conducted food drives.

"If you work for an employer that distributes turkey gift cards to employees, or whose charitable contributions department might be willing to send money to Friendship House, I hope you will ask for donations on our behalf. Do you belong to a circle, club or fraternity that could help out? If you can spare a little extra, we would greatly appreciate it. Call me at 313-871-7443 or 248-990-4685 (cell) if you need more information. Thanks for considering this request. Have a blessed Christmas and New Year."

ABC-MI Executive Committee OK's "Future Search" Process

The ABC-MI Executive Committee met on December 13. Among other actions it approved a "Future Search" process to identify next steps for furthering the ABC-MI "Growing Healthy Churches" initiative. "Future Search" will involve as many diverse ABC-MI stakeholders as possible in a two and half day event in May 2008. Up to $20,000 from the Future Initiative Funds was approved to fund the endeavor.

In other business of the day the Executive Committee:

‡  Set ABC-MI meeting dates for 2008
‡  Approved date, place, and focus of the 2008 Annual Meeting/Equipping Event: October 18, First Baptist Church, South Haven; focus on social justice.
‡  Received report from Region Offering Task Force, which is producing a brief DVD, bulletin inserts, and offering envelopes for churches' use to promote the Region Offering in May 2008
‡  Heard news from Dr. Williams about ABCUSA proposals for structure and representative process
‡  Received a report from Dr. Williams regarding his sabbatical plans (see article in this issue of E-Link Online)
‡  Was advised of Dr. Robert Lacker's resignation as chair of the ABC-MI Historial Committee and directed the nominating committee to recommend a replacement and two addditional committee members ‡  Approved appointment of the Rev. Dr. Ronald Cary to the Friendship House Board of Directors
‡  Affirmed Dr. Williams' responsibility to deploy Region staff in the most effective ways to advance the Growing Healthy Churches initiative
‡  Received the ten-month financial report from Mr. Edwin Ritzler, ABC-MI treasurer
‡  Approved Metro Detroit Association's recommendation to receive St. Luke Tabernacle Community Church of Detroit into the ABC-MI
‡  Learned of Administrative Ministry Team chair Michael Kingsbury's efforts to improve communication with both Boards of Directors of both camps and AMT's request to camps to provide plans for financial stabiity in the years ahead
‡  Invited Area Chairpersons to attend Executive Committee meetings to strengthen lines of communication between Region and Area
‡  Recognized the Rev. Jim Bender and First Baptist Church of Sturgis as top-giving church to the Region Offering -- nearly $11,000 in 2007) thus far
‡  Set its next meeting for May 15, 2008, at the Region office.

Can Your Church Host a Political Candidate?

Although there is a tradition of churches and church leaders being involved in political campaigns, in fact, the Internal Revenue Service bans church involvement in activities such as inviting a candidate to speak during a worship service, enlisting volunteers for a particular candidate's campaign, collecting contributions for a candidate, etc.

The September/October 2007 issue of Church Law & Tax Report features an article titled, "IRS Clarifies Ban on Political Intervention," which we highly recommend each church leader read and make sure they are in compliance with. We have received permission from the publisher to reprint copies of the article for distribution to our churches via email or regular mail. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the important article, please contact Trina Knox at tknox@abc-mi.org or 800.632.2953, ext. 222.

Article summary:

"In order to maintain their exemption from federal income taxes, churches and other religious organizations must comply with several requirements specified in section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. One of these requirements is that the organization not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office. Despite the importance and potential impact of this limitation on religious organizations, it has not been defined with sufficient clarity. The IRS has attempted to provide more clarification in recent years. Most recently it published a ruling that addresses 21 questions. These questions, and the IRS responses, are summarized in this feature article."

Special Notice to Metro Detroit Association

Logan Beatty, administrative assistant in the MDA office, has issued the following notice.

As we all know (and regret!), Hazel Boltwood retired at the end of November. (Hazel will, however, continue to work on her ministry of archiving the historical documents of the Association.) The immediate plans for running the day-to-day business of the MDA offices are to continue our five-day a week operation under the direct leadership of Reverend Ron Burks. He will personally be in the office twice a week to retrieve messages and sign checks.

I will be in the office every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday updating the website, responding to email, and performing the clerical functions for the office. Until the transition is complete I ask that when you send information to the MDA office to be forwarded amongst our leaders and membership that you include specifically to whom you wish it be forwarded (i.e. Pastors and Churches, or Pastors only, MDA Board, etc.).

If there are any problems or concerns with the website or if you would like something added, please let me know. Also, if you request information from the MDA office, please let me know EXACTLY what you want (i.e. instead of Board Minutes, it would be helpful to request "Dec. 10, 2007 MDA Board Minutes") and also tell me where and how to send it to you (e.g. "Mail to..." "scan & email to..."; "fax to..."). With the provision of specifics you can be assured that I will respond to you as soon as possible, otherwise your receipt of the requested information may be delayed while I contact you to discover the missing details.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.

IN CHRIST'S LOVE
Sincerely, Logan Beatty
AdministrAdministrative Assistant/ Website Editor

Short Notices

Congratulations to Bill Rowland, who has completed his book entitled Financial Spirituality (BookSurge Pub., Oct. 2007). In it he presents the idea that our financial lives are not only about the spiritual practice of stewardship, but are intimately connected with knowing God and relating to the world. Bill suggests some new ways of looking at personal money management and gives some practical, Biblical helps for optimal financial health. If you know someone who might benefit from this valuable resource, you may purchase a book directly from Bill. He can be contacted at 517-787-6460 or by email at browland@tds.net. Or you may go online to www.amazon.com/Financial-Spirituality-Bill-Rowland/dp/1419677659/ref=. Bill holds an MDiv from the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MBA from Syracuse University. He currently serves as Church Administrator and Treasurer of First United Methodist Church in Jackson, MI. His wife, Rev. Gretchen Sanewsky, is Pastor of First Baptist in Jackson. Bill is available to consult with churches in many areas of stewardship and church finance.

ABCUSA National Ministries publication Mission in America has an article by Dr. Aidsan Wright-Riggins III, "For the Faithful, Joy Comes in the Morning." It's Wright-Riggins' reflections on hearing Dr. Charles Adams preach. Read it online: http://abc-mi.org/elink/mia1107.pdf.

Free -- The Region office has a large multi-panel fabric display board that could be used in your church as a permanent display to highlight the missions of your church body. We have used this in the past for annual gathering displays but it is larger than we now require. It is designed to be portable but is rather bulky. It is available for pickup at the Region office at any time. For further information contact Trina Knox at 800.632.2953, ext 222 or tknox@abc-mi.org.

Editor's Request: Anyone from the ABC-MI family planning to attend the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, beginning January 30, in Atlanta, GA is asked to contact the E-Lini Online Editor at editor@abc-mi.org.

Palmer Theological Seminary (formerly Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary) will hold its annual "Exploring Christian Ministries" conference March 7-9, 2008. There will be seminars exploring the variety of ministries such as pastor, chaplain, church administrator, missionary, educator and journalist. Palmer wants to work with individuals struggling to determine God's Will for their life and ministry. In their promotional materials, they state, "We want to work with you as you seek God's Will...we want you to be able to make a decisive difference for Christ as you translate God's Will into concrete action; therefore we are sponsoring this three day event." Registration fee for the event is $40 per individual or $65 per married couple. Registration deadline is Wednesday, February 27. For more information or to register, contact the Admissions Office at 1.800.220.3287 or e-mail: semadmis@eastern.edu.

Read the latest issue of International Ministries Prayer Call: http://abc-mi.org/elink/prayer-call.pdf.

The Friendship House Newsletter is now provided in both PDF and DOC formats. The DOC format is a much smaller file and will take much less time to acquire on slow dialup connections. Read it in PDF at http://abc-mi.org/elink/fh.pdf or in DOC format at http:abc-mi.org/fh.doc.

The latest Friendship House Virtual Family Shop newsletter is here: http://abc-mi.org/elink/vfs.pdf.

The next issue of E-Link Online will be published on January 2, 2008 . Please send news items and notices to the Editor (editor@abc-mi.org) by December 29.

Editor's Trips

Disclaimer: listing of these references does not imply endorsement of positions or policies advocated in them by either the American Baptist Churches of Michigan or the editor of E-Link Online. They are provided here for further thought, discussion, and inquiry. Caveat lector.

The Editor

Your faithful editor, feeling especially generous at this season of sharing, has a basket of goodies to offer. A blessed Christmas to all.

»»  What Would Jesus Drink? -- http://tinyurl.com/yvte7r
»»  What Would Jesus Watch? -- http://tinyurl.com/29zv6b
»»  The Irrelevance of a Candidate's Faith -- http://tinyurl.com/2zfuyb
»»  Leave Christmas to the Pagans -- http://tinyurl.com/ytg3df
»»  The (un)Truth About Candy Canes -- http://tinyurl.com/6jqbx (Sorry if I ruined your children's story)
»»  Why It's So Hard to Say "No" -- http://tinyurl.com/2yobgn
»»  Romney and the Non-Believers -- http://tinyurl.com/yq3se5
»»  Who Do People Say We Are? -- http://tinyurl.com/2ykn4r
»»  Garrison Keillor Teaches Sunday School -- http://tinyurl.com/26293n

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