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Voices

The bedrock of my faith -- mind you, I didn't get to it easily -- is that we are loved by God. He loves us as we are, but too much to leave us that way. We are loved by God, and that's what gives us value. We don't achieve value. It's not because we have value that we're loved by God, but because we're loved by God that we have value. Our value as human beings is not an achievement, it's a gift. We don't have to prove ourselves. All that is taken care of. What we have to do is express ourselves, return God's love with our own. What a world of difference there is between proving yourself and expressing yourself. -- William Sloane Coffin, A Life of Meaning, pp 415-17, quoted in Context, March 2008, part B

Winter at Camp Lael

Tom Woodward of Olivet Baptist, Lansing, has posted pictures of the recent 4th-6th Grade Winter Retreat at Camp Lael. To view the pictures go to http://tinyurl.com/2v9cy4.

Judson Press Offers Free Emergency Kit for College Students

With the publication of his 2007 book What to Expect When You're Accepted: An African American Christian's Guide to College, author, pastor, and doctoral student Christopher Michael Jones developed a free resource to aid students in preparing for a crisis on campus.

As Judson Press joins with the nation in mourning the tragedy at Northern Illinois University, we want to make the public aware of the availability of the Emergency Kit for College Students: How to Prepare for the Unexpected. In this seven-page guide, Jones covers practical preparation steps as well as essential physical supplies. He also offers a comprehensive list of information resources including organizations and valuable websites. Finally, Jones provides students with key Scripture passages which offer comfort in times of crisis.

The Emergency Kit for College Students is available free of charge on the Judson Press website.

America for Christ Offering

For more than 180 years The American Baptist Home Mission Societies, now doing ministry as Bational Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA, have shown a compassionate concern in this nation full of ongoing needs and evolving challenges. Even in our affluence and influence, the United States remains the 3rd largest mission field in the world Ð truly a field ripe unto harvest.

Understanding our nation's spiritual and physical needs means identifying and addressing the impediments to wholeness that millions of our women, men and children face every day. To that end, National Ministries continues its widespread outreach across the United States and in Puerto Rico. The America for Christ Offering is a significant source of funding for this work. Only with the continuing generosity of mission-focused American Baptists can National Ministries provide the resources that have changed countless lives through Christ-centered caring.

We have sent hundreds of volunteers to the Gulf Coast to help rebuild homes and lives following Hurricane Katrina. We have helped to resettle more than 96,000 refugees since World War II. American Baptist chaplains, endorsed through National Ministries, serve on the battlefield in Iraq as well as in hospitals and prisons. The American Baptist Children in Poverty initiative, developed and implemented by National Ministries, is working to transform the lives of children with limited resources. And National Ministries' evangelism training is making a difference in sharing God's Good News by transforming regional and church leaders' understanding of evangelism - which in turn is transforming the leadership of those American Baptists they train.

All of these endeavors-and many more-are made possible by generous support of the America for Christ Offering. Support the 2008 offering with a joyful heart-and help to meet the needs of mission on our doorstep with the love of Christ that urges all of us on.

Men's Dinner a "Great Success"

On February 9 over 100 American Baptist men from 12 Metropolitan Detroit Association churches gathered at the Calvary Baptist Church in Detroit for the 9th annual Men's Prayer Breakfast. It was a great turnout of men, young and old, and a great time of fellowship, inspiration, and new learning.

Mr. Keith Bradford inspired the group with special music. Mr. Malik Bellefant shared important information and an inspirational challenge about "Wings of Faith," a prisoner reentry program sponsored by the Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church. Then Rev. Dan Buttry, our American Baptist missionary for peace and justice, made a stirring presentation to the group.

Thanks to the effective planning of Dennis Trezona and his team, and the efforts of the host church, the morning was a great success.

MLG for Clergy Spouses

In a continuing effort to address issues of clergy health, the Leadership Team of the Region is forming a Ministry Leadership Group especially for clergy spouses.

Ministry Leadership Groups are committed communities of learning with the purpose of

Stimulating minds
Enhancing health
Nurturing relationships
Deepening spirituality

Currently, the Region has ten Ministry Leadership Groups, comprised of a Peer Leader and 6 8 pastors, active in ministry. This MLG will be especially for clergy spouses. If you are interested in becoming part of this MLG or would like more information, please e-mail Pat Hernandez (phernandez@abc-mi.org). Also e-mail if you are a pastor who is not yet part of an MLG and would like to join one.

Request Mission Speakers Now

The Region office has received a list of missionaries on Home Assignment who will be available to make mission presentations during 2008-2009. Please get your requests in for the year as early as possible. It is never too soon to contact us. We attempt to grant your requests to give our ABC missionaries as much exposure in Michigan as possible and to encourage you to build lasting relationships with them to support their work in the mission field. If you are interested, please contact Debbie Hart, Mission Assistant at the Region Office by calling 800.632.2953 ext. 221 or dhart@abc-mi.org.

BIM Has New Website

Greetings to all our missionaries, friends and supporters in the U.S. and abroad!

We bring you good news! After months of planning, building and testing ... the NEW American Baptist International Ministries website is here! We invite you to be among the first to check it out.

Our address is the same: www.internationalministries.org. But our content has been enhanced, re-designed and re-organized to provide more information and be more user-friendly than ever before.

Another Report from the New Baptist Covenant

by Dr. James Robinson, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Lansing

I almost didn' t go. I first heard about the New Baptist Covenant at the ABC-USA Biennial last summer. The idea of rallying Baptists of all stripes and colors around the ministry focus of Jesus' inaugural sermon in Luke 4 seemed a rather ethereal idea. I really did not give much thought to attending, but something about the goal of this New Baptist Covenant stuck in my mind and as the date for the meeting approached I thought, if this is to be the historic event the organizers claim, maybe I should be there.

The idea for the New Baptist Covenant, I would discover, was first former President Jimmy Carter' s. His travels since being President have taken Rosalynn and him to more than 120 countries. What he has discovered in his travels is that Christians, and Baptists in particular, are known universally, not for reflecting the love of Jesus, but for being argumentative and divisive. As I listened to President Carter give the opening address, being myself a follower of the One who said his truth would be made known by the love we have for one another, I was given reason to pause.

Coming from our racially and ethnically diverse American Baptist background, sitting together as black and white Christians was not that unusual, but I could sense from those sitting around me, mostly black Baptists from the four historic black denominations and white Baptists from Southern and formerly Southern Baptist churches, that this was an historic, moving event. Former President Carter, who committed his life to Christ at age eleven, began teaching Bible studies as a midshipman at the US Naval Academy, served as our 39th President, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his worldwide humanitarian efforts and still teaches Sunday school at his home church, said with an emotion choked voice that this was the most momentous event in his religious life. We may not have heard much about the New Baptist Covenant in the North, but it was front-page news in many of the leading papers in the South. It was a big deal, an historic event.

I almost didn' t go. I am glad I did. I too was blessed.

Former President Carter said he wanted the meeting to be characterized by a spirit of unity, not criticism, and it was. I have attended most of the ABC Biennial meetings in the last two decades, and sadly I have become used to hearing the critique and criticism of every keynote speaker, criticism for what he or she said or didn' t say, critique of whether what was said was coded language for support or opposition of this or that hot-button controversy. Wow, Jimmy Carter got his wish -- a meeting not characterized by criticism. Such a meeting is possible, and what a refreshing experience it was. I did not even hear any criticism on the last evening after former President Clinton spoke. I read later in the Nashville, TN, paper that some had planned to be critical. Rusty Mullins, a Southern Baptist pastor, had planned to walk out. But he did not and what he heard was a sensitive interpretation of I Corinthians 13. Clinton asked why would the Apostle Paul write that between faith and love, love was the more important, when Paul knows that it is by grace through faith that we are saved? Could it be that Paul put love above faith because in this life we know in part, and see in a mirror dimly? When it comes to the issues that divide us, we might be wrong, so love and humility are the stance we should have toward one another. Pastor Mullins did not walk out; he stayed. And he said, I'm glad; I was blessed.

I almost didn' t go. I am glad I did. I too was blessed.

Intentional Interims Needed

The Region's further development of strategies for ministering to churches in transition requires a steady supply of Intentional Interim Ministers. "Intentional" means that each interim pastor will work with church leaders and the Consultant for Transitional Ministries to help the congregation explore who they are and how they can become healthier and better equipped to reach their full kingdom potential. We are seeking people who feel called to ministering to congregations in transition and are trained to do so in line with our vision in Michigan of "Growing Healthy Churches".

In transitional ministry we are constantly learning and growing as we explore better ways to serve our churches. Therefore we are looking for interims to join our team who desire to learn and grow. We are also seeking interims who can be trusted with a high level of responsibility and authority, while being held accountable to our vision and the Consultant for Transitional Ministries.

As an Intentional Interim, you must be able to travel and at times be away from your home for 3-4 days per week. This is one of the challenges of being an interim, as the opportunities for interim ministry are rarely in your "back yard." We prefer Interim candidates who have a proven track record in some form of ministerial leadership; but will be open to those new to ministry upon a recommendation from an ABC pastor or Region staff. In addition, anyone who desires to serve as an interim must go through our training, and/or be approved by the Consultant for Transitional Ministries. Our next "Introduction to Interim Ministry" training event will take place on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at the Region office from 9am-3pm. If you would like more information or wish to register for this training, please contact Rev. Tucker J. Gunneman at tgunneman@abc-mi.org, cell phone 586.219.3392; or Debbie Hart at the Region office at 800.632.2953 ext.221, or dhart@abc-mi.org.

While each congregation is different and has different health issues, we are developing ways in which the interim can "seize the day" to help our churches:

Discover how to move maintenance focused ministry to missional focused ministry

Discover for themselves health issues to be addressed in preparation for calling new pastoral leadership

Empower the leadership to address those health issues

Prepare the congregation for new pastoral leadership

Provide a caring ministry of healing for congregations who have said goodbye to their pastor

If these concepts excite you and you would be interested in joining our team or learning more, please contact the Consultant for Transitional Ministries, Rev. Tucker J. Gunneman at tgunneman@abc-mi.org, cell phone 586.219.3392.

"New Birth, Living Hope"

by Tucker Gunneman

First Baptist Church of Sault Ste. Marie is like many of the American Baptist Churches churches in Michigan, and in fact, like many churches in the U.S. It has been blessed by good pastoral leadership, but has also had some not so good pastoral leadership. It has experienced the ups and downs that many churches experience. There have been times when they were growing, things were exciting, new people were joining, and kids and youth abounded. It has also experienced times when people were leaving either through death, moving to another church, or moving out of town. Through all of these ups and downs, the members continued to trust that God was with them and that things would change for the better.

The congregation has also been frustrated in recent years by not being able to reach new people and not knowing how or what they needed to change. These last few years have been particularly challenging. Despite efforts by the former pastor and current members, new people did not join, and the outlook was bleak. After their pastor resigned to move to another ministry setting, they invited the Consultant for Transitioning Ministries to meet with them to explore ways to turn things around. After a few meetings where they engaged an assessment process to discern their options, they realized that if things did not change soon, they would only have about five years before they would have to close their doors.

Convinced that God was not done with them yet, and that He had more ministry for them in their community, they voted to explore a plan to change their future. This plan, developed by the Consultant for Transitioning Ministries, calls for a complete rebirth of who they are, how they do ministry, and their priorities. It begins with a 6-9 month period where they prepare themselves to be a different church, and then a vote to begin a five year turn around plan. This plan is called the New Birth, Living Hope Initiative. It is an exciting journey of seeing God work in new and marvelous ways in the ministries of their church. It calls for:

A deeper spiritual journey for your members and leaders
A dependence and trust in God that will be stretching and exciting
A new way of leading that is bold, strategic, and intentional
Learning what God wants your church to be and do, and following it confidently
New priorities that align with God's priorities for the church
Creating new ministries for your church based on God's priorities
Changing how you carry out these ministries of your church
Discerning a new mission focus and setting a vision and goals to see it fulfilled

The plan requires that the leaders and members of the church be retrained in how they view the role of the church in their community, refocusing on God's priorities, and exercising a deep faith that God will lead them and give them success. Currently First Baptist Church is in the preparation stages of the Initiative, learning new things, and having their faith and assumptions about how to "do church" challenged. There is a growing excitement, and they are already seeing God work in small ways that confirm their conviction that He is still at work.

Because they are taking on a big challenge, they are requesting other ABC/MI churches to "adopt" them in prayer. If your church or a group in your church would like to adopt First Baptist Church of Sault Ste. Marie in prayer, please contact Rev. Tucker J. Gunneman, Consultant for Transitioning Ministries. As a prayer partner, you will receive a short newsletter with prayer requests and reports on how God is answering. You will not be asked to financially support this church, they are only asking that you pray for them.

Leading a church to effectively reach its community for Christ is a challenging adventure in these times. It calls for bold leadership, strategic planning, and a strong dependence and trust in God.

If their adventure sounds exciting to you and you would like to know more about it, or to discover how your church can explore the New Birth, Living Hope Initiative, please contact Rev. Gunneman. He can be reached at: 586.219.3392, or by email at tgunneman@abc-mi.org.

Future Search Conferences Planned in Michigan

A group of seven persons from the Metropolitan Detroit Association has been hard at work planning to address the issue of children in poverty through a Future Search Conference to be held this fall in Detroit. At the present time the team is expanding to form an event steering committee that will be led by a diverse group of community leaders from the planned conference venue. For more information, contact the team chairperson, Rev. Bill Walker at 248-569-2972.

The executive committee of the Region board approved the development of a Future Search Conference to address the issue of maturing the Growing Healthy Churches initiative. A steering committee has met and established a conference theme and date: "Nurturing Healthy Churches that Impact our World" June 2-4 at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. 64 of our Region leaders (lay and clergy) will be invited to this unique planning conference. For more information, contact Ron Cary at 1-800-636-2671.

FANNING THE FLAME

(A national Pastors' Renewal Conference)
APRIL 22-25, 2008
GREEN LAKE CONFERENCE CENTER
GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN

Free luxury bus transportation will be provided to and from the conference on a first come first served basis until the bus is full. Call the Region office (1-800-632-2953) to reserve a seat.

Apply for a New Life Grant of $300.00 from National Ministries and the conference will cost you nothing! Contact Sheila Kaminski (skaminski@abc-mi.org) to receive an application. You must be listed in the Region Professional Registry to receive a New Life Grant.

Short Notices

As of this date, 25 Michigan pastors have registered for the Fanning the Flame, the national pastor's conference. If you have not registered, please go online to the Region website (www.abc-mi.org) and register today. Questions? Call or email Sheila Kaminski in the Region office (skaminski@abc-mi.org/1-800-632-2953x231). A charter bus will provide free transportation to the conference. But you must call or email the Region office to reserve a place on the bus. Once the bus is full, you will have to provide your own transportation. Registration deadline is April 1.

A New Life grant of $300.00 is available from ABC National Ministries to those pastors who attend the Fanning the Flame Conference and who are listed in the Region professional registry. Call or email Sheila Kaminski in the Region office to receive a grant application.

The 2008 Registry of professional leaders in Michigan has been published online. To view the registry go to the Region website, www.abc-mi.org, in the left hand menu click on Document Library, then click on 2008 Professional Registry. If you believe your listing is incorrect, or if you have questions, contact Ron Cary at rcary@abc-mi.org.

The Association of American Baptist Homes and Caring Ministries announces their 2008 gathering of caregivers entitled "Communities of Healing and Hope," March 27-30 in St. Louis, MO. The conference affords an opportunity to meet and network with others serving in faith based social service agencies across the country. For more information go online to www.abhcm.org and click on "news and events."

On-line Registration For Lake Louise Baptist Camp is now available. Visit the camp website at www.camplakelouise.com to see the camp sessions available for this coming summer.

American Baptist Women have a Road Trip planned for next fall. See http://tinyurl.com/yombxh.

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 March 10, 2008. Please send news items and notices to the Editor (editor@abc-mi.org) by March 6.

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

»»  Is the Pastorate Pagan? -- http://tinyurl.com/yu88h7
»»  Franchised Churches - Wave of the Future? -- http://tinyurl.com/32wyne
»»  Youth Pastor-Murderer - a Role Model? -- http://tinyurl.com/yozdwf
»»  Health Insurance Costs and the Church -- http://tinyurl.com/23cmgg
»»  What Would Jesus Drink? -- http://tinyurl.com/ypsaah

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