2008-09 Scripture Memorization Program

The Scripture Memorization for 2008-2009 Conference Year will focus on Conference President Ed Cruzan’s theme: “Pray.” The Scripture Memory brochures for Children, Youth, and Adults were mailed two weeks ago and should be at your church.

For those who prefer to memorize contiguous sections of Scripture, this year's chapter is 1 Thessalonians 1.

Because some churches prefer to run the program from September through May instead of October through June, an alternative set of brochures is available for download at the Board of Christian Education site.

2008 Christian Ed. Sabbath - Packets Mailed

Christians must grow! Promote the Christian Education opportunities in your local church with Christian Education Sabbath, the Sabbath after Labor Day (U.S)—September 6, 2008. If this date is already taken by other activities, consider using a date later in September or during October.

Packets of material to help your church plan a Christian Education Sabbath were mailed in early August. The information should have already arrived. If you haven't recieved your packet, either contact the Board of Christian Education or download it from the BCE Website.

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Kenosha

Once General Conference selects a site for future sessions, additional preparation for those sessions occurs almost immediately. As we get within twelve months of gathering at a site, the time spent in preparation increases. The Conference President schedules what should happen during the sessions. The Host Committee organizes where people stay, how much they'll pay, what they'll eat, and where they'll gather. Dozens to hundreds of people are involved preparing for and operating one General Conference session.

The Board of Christian Education prepares for the sessions, too. The Children Committee prepares classes and activities to teach, train, and entertain our children during the week. The Youth Committee does similar things for Junior High and Senior High youth and plans for evening activities. PreCon sites and directors are chosen. All of these things help provide the substance that makes our General Conference sessions good for families to attend. As the BCE Executive Director, I have the opportunity to participate in some of the planning and execution of BCE's portion of the Conference Program.

I never imagined not attending a session of General Conference while serving as the BCE Executive Director — unless something had gone terribly wrong. But, A funny thing happened in the midst of preparing for this year's Conference at Kenosha, WI. Kristin and I discovered that we were expecting a baby, our first, with a due date of August 10—the Sunday at the end of General Conference.

So, I missed the sessions of General Conference this year to be with my wife as we awaited the arrival of our first child. On Thursday (8/7/08) of General Conference week, Elisa Hope Camenga was born. Kristin and I have been delighting in learning how to help her grow and be comfortable.


Unlike my imagination, something had gone wonderfully right & I missed Conference. That fact shows me that my imagination doesn't grasp the fullness of this present reality and reminds me of God's awesome knowledge and power—Our God knows enough to always, without fail, direct our paths for good.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement, cards, and prayers.

CPR to kick off in Boulder

A new program geared to help churches discover their vision--then direct resources toward that vision--has been introduced and accepted at our church in Boulder, Colorado. The program is called "CPR."

CPR stands for Commitment, Purpose, and Revival. It is an extension of the MORE 2000 plan used by SDBs in the early 1990s. The previous "Mission of Revival and Evangelism" program saw success in a number of our groups, and we hope that CPR will help churches renew their commitment, find their purpose and vision, thus bringing about revival.

As part of the original MORE 2000 training team, I had the privilege of introducing the CPR program to the church in Boulder this past Sabbath. Pastor Steve Osborn and a leadership team that well reflects a cross-section of the church will begin their important education phase during the fall Sabbath School quarter. A number of excellent questions and positive feedback showed that the church is excited about the possibilities.

Please be in prayer for the Boulder church. They have much work ahead, but as we saw in MORE 2000, the Lord blessed the hard work and our churches (and their communities) reaped the benefits. Glory to God!

IRS Issues New Form 990 Instructions for 2008 Non-Profit Tax Filings

WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service released the revised instructions that tax-exempt organizations will need to fill out the redesigned Form 990, which must be filed starting with tax year 2008 (filed in 2009).
Most charities and other tax-exempt organizations must file an annual informational return with the IRS to maintain their tax-exempt status. Information reported on Form 990 is made available to the public.

“These instructions are the final step in a tremendous effort to bring the Form 990 up to date and to reflect the diversity and complexity of the tax-exempt community,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "The revised form will give the IRS and the public a much better view of how exempt organizations operate. The improved transparency provided by these changes will also benefit the tax-exempt community.”

Form 990 had previously not seen major revisions since 1979. The revised instructions and redesigned Form 990 can be found on this Web site.

The revised instructions feature several new tools that make it easier to answer questions line-by-line and that facilitate uniform reporting. Input from the tax-exempt community played a major role in how the new instructions were designed.

“We were gratified by the amount of help the IRS received from the tax-exempt community through public comments to redesign the Form 990 and revise its instructions,” said Steven T. Miller, Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. “This input helped us achieve our goal of improving compliance while minimizing burden. We will now begin working with the tax-exempt sector to help organizations complete the form and prepare for the 2009 filing season."

The IRS expects to release instructions to the 2008 Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, in the next few weeks.

As part of the phase in of the redesigned Form 990 over a three-year transition period, many organizations not eligible to file the Form 990-EZ for 2007 will be eligible to file Form 990-EZ or Form 990 for 2008. A summary of the transition period filing requirements for Form 990, 990-EZ, and 990-N is available.

Source: IRS Newswire: Issue Number: IR-2008-098

AUGUST E-GIFTING

The processing of August 2008 E-Gifting gifts was delayed until 22 August. I apologize for the delay.

Those that signed up for E-Gifting at Conference your first gift will be processed in September as originally scheduled.

Thanks again for your generous gifts!

Grandparents already?

A VERY important sidenote that happened during Conference: Janet and I became grandparents!

Adrik Jackson Butler was born on Tuesday night, August 5, in Colorado Springs. Matt and Danielle and Adrik are all doing well; Grandma Janet has already been out there and back to see the darling baby boy. She and the rest of the family head there tomorrow.

We are praising the Lord for our growing family!

Powerful and Diverse Conference is History

This year’s annual General Conference (August 3-9) proved to be a powerhouse of diversity and spiritual uplift. President Andrew Samuels’ theme, “A Limitless God for a Hungry People” challenged us to tap into God’s storehouse of power and love.

Many people commented about the beautiful campus of Carthage College, situated right on the shore of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The committee work and business of the Conference went smoothly, and the Bible Studies and worship services were inspiring. More coverage of the week will appear in the September Sabbath Recorder.

For now, I invite you to view some of the many photos (link on the front page of our website). You can also link to the three issues of the Conference Crier that were published. A big “Thank You” goes out to the local Host Committee and all of the busy workers who made this Conference a memorable one.

Baptist Scholars issue Statement

From the Baptist World Alliance--

Leading Baptist theologians and scholars from around the world issued a statement committing themselves to “enact convictions and practices evident in the historic walk of early Baptists.”

The declaration, which came at the end of the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE), held in Prague in the Czech Republic, calls on Baptists to read the Bible, live exemplary Christian lives, nurture the Christian community, and, in attending to justice issues, to engage and “redeem the powers.”

The “Report and Declaration,” as the document is called, stated that “participants were particularly challenged to consider how their institutions could address the contemporary ecological crisis, the exploitation of women and children,” and to be receptive to “a radical spirituality that is open to fresh winds of the Spirit.”

This openness includes welcoming “from our many cultures and contexts new insights in the form of diverse enactments of our common Baptist way of life.”

In addition, the 121 participants from 34 countries pledged to “uphold the sacredness of all life,” while “actively demonstrating our faith by respecting and caring for God's creation.” The group, comprising Baptist educators, pastors, practitioners, and theologians, repented “for our failure to advocate for those who are abused, impoverished, and marginalized.”

BICTE, an international conference planned by the Baptist World Alliance, and normally held every five years, took place at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague from July 26-29.