Discount ends Midnight tonight

Your last chance to save some money on the SDB Conference Registration fee is tonight at midnight.

Click here to register (you don't have to pay now) and you can save enough to buy some meals during your travels to and from Springfield, Missouri!

The power of words

(Opinion piece by Jim Denison from the Associated Baptist Press.)

President Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” in his first meeting with military leaders after taking office, according to Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The general was even less impressed with Vice President Biden’s opposition to his Afghanistan strategy: “Are you asking about Vice President Biden? Who’s that?” he laughed.

By now you’re familiar with the Rolling Stone interview in which the general and several of his staff are quoted as criticizing the president and other civilian leaders of the war effort in Afghanistan. Response was swift.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the man who recommended the general for his command, was adamant that McChrystal “made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment” in his comments. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), three of the general’s biggest supporters, called his statements “inappropriate and inconsistent with the traditional relationship between commander-in-chief and the military.”

The day President Obama met with the general, The Wall Street Journal carried an editorial that called Gen. McChrystal “a hero--a selfless, fearless and inspiring soldier,” “something of a military genius,” and “one of the fathers of victory in Iraq.” But then it stated, “President Obama should, nonetheless, fire him,” calling his published remarks “an appalling violation of norms of civilian-military relations.” The general himself responded, “It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened.” After meeting with the president, he was replaced by Gen. David Petraeus.

I have no informed opinion regarding what the president should have done, nor do I think you should care what I think on the subject. My interest in the issue stems from an unnamed NATO spokesperson who called the now-infamous Rolling Stone piece “rather unfortunate, but it’s just an article.”

I beg to differ, for reasons that have nothing to do with the politics of this controversy. Words transform the world. They endure long after actions and events are forgotten.
History is not just written in words -- it is the story of words.

[Denison cites several powerful Biblical and historical examples, then concludes]:

We cannot unring a bell. The words you speak today will echo in eternity. Choose them wisely.

For the entire article, click here.
Jim Denison is president of the Center for Informed Faith and theologian-in-residence for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Registration Savings Deadline soon

Who wants to save money on their SDB Conference registration?

For the weekly registration, you can deduct $14 per adult and $7 per child-- but you must register soon! The early Registration Discount ENDS THIS WEDNESDAY, June 30, at MIDNIGHT!! The discount is for ON-LINE only. (Click here to register.)

Even if you plan to spend only a few days at Conference, you can still save on the daily rate by signing up early. AGAIN, you don't need to make your payments for Conference now-- you just need to send in your information. 350 people have already done so, and SAVED MONEY!

This year's General Conference will be held at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, July 25-31.

Writing tips from C.S. Lewis

An e-mail from St. Paul Press pointed to this article by Donald L. Hughes at ChristianWritingToday.com. This goes out to our big Lewis fans. (Hi Jim! Hi Nick!)

In 1959 an American schoolgirl wrote to C.S. Lewis asking him for advice on the craft of writing. He sent her a list of eight rules, and I add my own editorial comments to each of them.

1. Turn off the radio.
Today, writers also need to turn off the TV, the iPod or the music streaming over the Internet. I know that some writers claim that background sounds enhances their creativity, but I don’t believe it for a minute, and apparently Lewis didn’t either. Writing is a solitary activity, where words are formed in a special space of the brain, and anything that competes for that space will result in a decrease in writing quality. Good writers are able to be alone with their thoughts and don’t need filler or distractions.

[I’ll give you the other seven tips below without the commentary. To read Hughes’ insights, click here.)

2. Read good books and avoid most magazines.
3. Write with the ear, not the eye. Make every sentence sound good.
4. Write only about things that interest you. If you have no interests, you won’t ever be a writer.
5. Be clear. Remember that readers can’t know your mind. Don’t forget to tell them exactly what they need to know to understand you.
6. Save odds and ends of writing attempts, because you may be able to use them later.
7. You need a well-trained sense of word-rhythm, and the noise of a typewriter will interfere.
8. Know the meaning of every word you use.

And Hughes concludes:
Writing is a craft. You start as a novice before you become an apprentice and then develop into a master like C.S. Lewis. Since writing is a craft, not a gift, virtually anyone can acquire the skill and become a master over time. Remember, however, that the time must be invested in actually writing (not thinking about writing) and in reading the work of those who have mastered the craft.

Samuel Ward Booklet Available

As announced in the July/August 2010 Sabbath Recorder, the Historical Society is making available again for a limited time a booklet published by the Society based on a 1967 lecture about prominent colonial SDB Samuel Ward, by Rev. Ken Smith, entitled, "Sam: Ward, Founding Father."

As is the case for the supply of back issues of the SDB Yearbook (which are still available!), quantities of the booklet are limited and will available on a "first-come, first served" basis. If you would like copies of booklet (which originally sold for $.25/each), you will be required only to pay for the shipping of the items. Shipping costs for the items would depend on quantity desired, mailing destination and shipping preferences. For those who will be attending this year's General Conference meetings at Evangel College in Springfield, MO, the booklets will also be available there for you to collect and take back to your church or group.

If you have further questions about the booklet or wish to arrange for copies to be shipped to you, please contact the Historical Society: sdbhist@seventhdaybaptist.org or by phone (608) 752-5055.

Institute wraps up soon

This year’s Summer Institute (on SDB Polity) wraps up classes today, allowing students the option to travel home early tomorrow.

For the last two weeks, students have been at the Seventh Day Baptist Center in Janesville enjoying lively discussion and spirited learning. Housed in various church member homes, the men from California to New York have also added much good interaction with the Center staff. We have enjoyed their good attitudes—and good music—and wish them well as they head home.


Pictured (left to right): David Johnson, Helmer Umana, Josh Michaels, Brent Hannah, John Pethtel, Dave Stall, David Fox, Haywood Floyd and Kevin Palmiter.

SR-ious summer reading

For this year’s combined July-August issue, The Sabbath Recorder presents several heartfelt stories and personal observations. Then, in addition to the usual department pages covering the work of our various boards and agencies (history, Christian Education, missions, etc.) there is an important feature outlining the results of the ad hoc committee charged with formulating a new configuration for the Conference organizational structure.

The committee has laid out nine recommendations for restructuring, plus a summary of the proposed changes with expected benefits. If you don’t have time to read all three pages, at least go to page 11 for a quick glance of the changes.

The recommendations will be discussed and voted on at our General Conference sessions at Evangel University, Springfield, MO July 25-31. We hope that delegates will come prepared to vote on these important proposals.

A BIG Thank You

For those of you that have responded to the email about Conference Services...Thank You! If you want to still respond it would be appreciated.

Please send your gift to:

Conference Services

P.O. Box 1678

Janesville, WI 53547-1678

We are not out of the woods yet. Your prayers are appreciated.

Rob Appel

Executive Director

Discomfort at church: good or bad?

By Bill Wilson via the Associated Baptist Press

(ABP) -- Here at the Center for Congregational Health, we spend many hours each week helping clergy and congregations navigate the tricky waters of expectations and living together in positive and encouraging relationships rather than confrontational ones. I’ve recently had three insights that bear repeating.

First, my colleague, Nelson Granade, introduced me to a novel title for a minister: The Concierge Pastor. In a superb article that first appeared on Duke Divinity School’s Faith and Leadership website titled “Congregational Concierge”, Nelson decries the tendency of clergy and congregations alike to establish a pattern of relationship whereby the minister and staff members are primarily expected to meet the needs and expectations of members of the congregation. Like a fine hotel’s concierge, the ministers are there to make church members comfortable and happy. Nelson accurately notes that clergy are often complicit in this un-biblical model, and that everyone loses in the end. Extravagant expectations are never fully met, clergy grow discouraged, and the Kingdom agenda is relegated to an afterthought. I have to admit: that has described me on occasion!

[Wilson shares the other two incidents, then concludes]:

God’s people, the church, will only be able to flesh out our Kingdom agenda ("Thy Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven...") when we accept the fact that our task necessitates each of us agreeing that we are not all that God intends us to be. What if discomfort is a necessary prerequisite to finding genuine meaning and purpose? When we understand that truth, and join with other believers to discover the joy of costly discipleship and follow-ship, then clergy and laity alike will find the harmony we seek in the midst of meeting challenges, and the discomfort they bring.

To read the entire article, click here.
Bill Wilson is president of the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C.

2010 Institute underway

This year's Summer Institute on SDB Polity began on Monday. Nine students have gathered at the Seventh Day Baptist Center in Janesville, Wis., to learn the governmental structure of our churches and denomination. The Center on Ministry's Dean, Gordon Lawton, and Librarian-Historian Nick Kersten are the instructors.


Photos were taken after lunch today while the students were waiting for the next session to begin. A more formal (at least posed) pic should follow within these two weeks of classes. Marian Anderson of the Milton church has graciously agreed to help feed lunch to the students and staff, and we appreciate the good cooking! Please keep the students' families in your prayers while the classes are in session and their husbands/fathers are away from home.

Committee proposes restructuring

In what could prove to be a historic “summit meeting” of sorts for Seventh Day Baptists, the ad hoc Committee on Denominational Organization and Structure met this past weekend with the General Council at the SDB Center in Janesville, Wis.

The committee has been hard at work since last year’s Conference. Their task was “to formulate a new configuration for the General Conference organizational structure.”

Results of their deliberations were presented to the General Council on June 12-13. The Council was favorably impressed by the diligent and thorough work of the committee (Don Graffius, Ron Ochs, Susan Fox, Jim Skaggs and Neil Murphy), resulting in a good exchange of questions and discussion.

We present the findings and proposal from the committee here or click on the "Conference Restructuring Proposal" line on the front page of the SDB website. The recommendations would certainly reorganize and streamline the Conference’s structure.

Delegates to this year’s General Conference will be voting on these recommendations. Please review and prayerfully consider this report with your fellow church members and be prepared to discuss and vote as we gather at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, July 25-31.

North Loup flooded

The small Nebraska community of North Loup—home of one of our Seventh Day Baptist churches—was evacuated this past weekend due to heavy rains and the failure of a diversion dam. The North Loup SDB Church is in the foreground of the picture.

From Lincoln’s Journal-Star:
OMAHA - Heavy rain and storm runoff that have swelled creeks and rivers briefly threatened a small hospital and forced the evacuation of a small town in central Nebraska on Saturday, officials said.
North Loup, a town of about 340 in central Nebraska's Valley County, was evacuated because of street flooding that followed the failure of a small dam, state officials said.
A sheriff's dispatcher said no injuries had been reported. Radio station KNLV in Ord said a shelter for North Loup residents was being arranged in nearby Scotia. But Sheriff Casey Hurlburt said residents would be allowed to return to town Saturday night once electricity and gas lines were checked and repaired.
Hurlburt said the floodwater was deepest - up to 4 feet - on the north side of town. A few basements had fallen in, he said, and floodwaters caused sewer problems.
He said an earthen dam holding back a private pond gave way and sent water down Mira Creek, which flows along the north side of town.
____________________
North Loup’s Village Board Chairman Jim Goodrich (and member of the North Loup SDB Church) is featured in a video interview here

Update on Monday morning:
Nebraska's Emergency Operating Center was scheduled to open at 7 a.m. Monday because most of the state is in a disaster situation.
Over the weekend, floodwaters wiped out bridges and roads and closed highways in central and northeast Nebraska.
Gov. Dave Heineman said he is concerned about water moving toward the eastern part of the state. "The Platte River has a great level of water; more than we saw in the '93 floods," he said.
Heineman expects the Platte River to be at flood level for one to three weeks.
One town, North Loup, was evacuated Saturday after a dam on a lake gave way. Beland said from Friday evening to Saturday morning, 10 inches of rain fell in North Loup. She estimated 70 homes were damaged and had basement flooding. On Sunday, traffic was still being diverted around North Loup.

Worship spaces should be sanctuaries

Commentary from the Associated Baptist Press by David Stovall, facilities manager at Highland Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

What has happened to reverence for God and respect for the sanctuary of God?

Before we can answer, we need to understand the meaning of reverence, respect and sanctuary. To have reverence is to have a deep feeling of respect or even awe. Respect is to hold someone or something in high regard or honor.

The sanctuary is designated as the holiest of holies in a place of worship -- an especially holy place in the church building.

In this day of multitasking, multimedia and multipurpose buildings, a special place for worshiping God has been pushed out. Either due to budget concerns, practicality or efforts to get the most use out of one building, the sanctuary is being replaced by the multipurpose building. In doing this, we have lost sight of the main purpose of coming to church, which is to worship God.

Instead, we have become Christian social clubs. Church is where we get our coffee, do our social networking, sing a few songs that make us feel good, listen to the preacher, and then hurry to pick up the chairs so we can use the building to have lunch, play games or any number of other events, saying we are doing God’s work. I have no problem with having meals and playing games at church in the proper place and at the proper time, but rushing the service and having these activities in a place that should be the holy of holies is not honoring to God or his sanctuary. We are not giving God the proper reverence and respect he deserves. God wants us to have communion with him. He wants us to feel his presence. He wants us to spend time with him as a congregation in worship, praise, listening to the teaching of his word and waiting to hear him.

God is jealous. He wants our devotion to be focused on him, not on rushing to finish the service so we can use the building for something else. God is the Maker of the universe. We should stand in awe of him and give him the highest place of honor. This requires a special place of worship -- a sanctuary.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Baptists prepare for World Cup

From the Baptist World Alliance:

Baptists in South Africa have made preparations to use the FIFA World Cup as a mission opportunity. The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world and will be held between June 11 and July 11, 2010, in South Africa, the first African nation to host the prestigious tournament.

Activities planned by Baptists in South Africa include the screening of all matches in churches; witnessing at soccer stadiums; the arrangement of special soccer tournaments, especially for youth and children; the publication of a special World Cup Challenge newspaper; and the distribution of the South Africa flag with gospel messages.

One initiative is the Ignite Internship Program, a ministry of Eastside Community Church in Pretoria, which aims to create a team of interns in order to partner with other churches during the soccer tournament, establish a soccer academy, and develop and implement ministry opportunities to complement the soccer ministry.

The volunteers will run street soccer tournaments. Such events tend to draw crowds and thus create opportunities for the presentation of the Gospel.

"With the prospect of hundreds of thousands of international visitors arriving for the FIFA Soccer World Cup in June 2010, the South African church is uniquely placed to impact many for Christ," the Eastside Community Church states. "Not only can the lives of international visitors be touched, but also locals, particularly those who love 'the beautiful game.'"

Baptists from the state of Virginia in the United States took a group of volunteers to South Africa to share in the Ignite Internship Program. The volunteers will help to lead soccer clinics, pick-up games, and music and drama, and will provide children's ministry with a soccer theme.

New York City SDB Dedicates Renovated Building

The first weekend in June was a glorious time of celebra- tion at the New York City SDB Church (the oldest of 3 SDB Churches in NYC) in Brooklyn. Three of the four former Pastors were present on Sunday afternoon at the formal dedication ceremony. Socrates Thompson was not able to be there (served 1975-1986) but Richard Evans (1988-1991), Andrew Samuels (1996-1998) and Harold Smith (1999-2004) as well as the current pastor Ericessen Cooper (2005 to the present) all participated in the Sunday afternoon dedication service.

Pastor David Taylor, from the Central SDB Church in Maryland delivered the sermon titled " Dedication Costs" with text from 2 Chronicles 7:11-14.

Among the other people who came to celebrate with this congregation were Pastor Derek Thomas a member at Agape SDB in Queens, NY; Deaconess Dorothy Radcliffe, who had lived in NYC for 30 years and was part of the church as it grew, now from the Higgin Town SDB Church in Jamaica; Pastor Samuel West of the Faith SDB Church in the Bronx, NY; Pastor Herlitz Condison of the Toronto SDB Church; Pastor Kenroy Cruickshank from the Philadelphia SDB Church; Pastor Huethen Livingston, United SDB Church, Enfield, CT; Rev Kirk Looper, Executive Director of the SDB Missionary Society; and myself.

The renovated building allowed for an expanded worship center with baptistry, social hall, some classrooms, a pastor's office, updated restrooms, and a stair-chair lift to help those who cannot negotiate stairs to and from the basement.

On Sabbath day the Divine Worship Service was packed with video overflow in the social hall down- stairs. Pastor Andrew Samuels brought the message titled "New Wineskins Require New Wine" with a text from Luke 5:36-39. When you see him ask him about his animal illustrations.

There was great rejoicing, and there is much work to do in New York City and the surrounding areas. Many people need to hear of salvation by grace through faith alone and confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior.

Locations and Websites up-to-date??

We heard from a disgruntled (and rightly so) would-be worshiper who traveled two hours to attend one of our churches last Sabbath. Unfortunately, they did not call ahead to the church, and trusted what they thought was the correct address for the church since it was listed at our website.

Oops.

The Center did not have the most recent information for the church, and the frustrated traveler discovered that the congregation had not met at that old location for some time! They never did find the church.

Please take the time to check your church’s information listed at our site. (Just click on the “Churches” tab at the top of the homepage.)

And while you’re at it, if you know that your church posts audio or video files of your services or sermons, please let us know at media@seventhdaybaptist.org. Then we could add your resources to our list, and help Sabbathkeepers who live at a distance get involved with your church and feel like part of the family. Thanks!

Some recent e-mails

From Pastor Dave Taylor:

The Summer Quarter of the Youth/Young Adult Sabbath School quarterly, Truth For Youth, is now available as a free download from the Board of Christian Education web site (www.educatingchristians.org). Click on "Truth For Youth." Please send me any comments, questions and/or concerns. God bless.

Pastor David Taylor
Central S.D.B. Church
Mitchellville, MD 20721
(240) 205-3206 (Church)
(301) 262-3353 (Home)
www.centralsdbchurch.org
www.livestream.com/centralsdbchurch

______________________

From Patty Peterson of the Boulder Church:

The Rez Connection Project in Batesland , South Dakota, will begin June 13 for three weeks. Patty Peterson is the team leader. Bob Harris is returning for another Project and there also two youth from the Boulder, Colo., SDB Church.

Other team members include: a woman and a youth from Wabasha, Minn.; a man from Millersville, Md.; and four women from White Cloud, Mich.

Prayer requests for the Project: Please pray for us as we travel. Some are on the road now heading to Batesland. Please pray for our safety as we do farm and garden work. Please pray as we travel on the Pine Ridge Reservation doing community garden work, do witnessing "2 by 2" and pass out lunches to the alcoholics. Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit as hearts of LaKota and others are prepared to receive the Gospel Message.

When churches jump the shark

Derik Hamby is pastor of Randolph Memorial Baptist Church in Madison Heights, Va., and a trustee of the Religious Herald. This opinion piece appeared at the Associated Baptist Press.

When does a church “jump the shark?” That phrase refers to the time Fonzi, the star of the TV comedy “Happy Days,” jumped a shark (literally) and has served as an example of a TV show that tries something strange to boost sagging ratings.

I wonder if many churches are trying to “pack the house” by doing the same thing? I’m reminded of the story from the life of fundamentalist Baptist preacher J. Frank Norris about the time he baptized a rodeo cowboy and had the man’s horse stand in the back of the church to watch. Personally I believe he jumped the shark long before the cowboy baptism, but today it seems many churches -- in the desire to be innovative and creative -- are jumping their own sharks.

[Hamby goes on to relate a number of recent church 'stunts' that have drawn attention.] He concludes:

I do want to be relevant so folks can connect and so that real needs and real people are brought to a real God. This very article used many cultural references and I see no problem with that. There just comes a time when we cross a line that makes us look very fake and quite silly. This isn’t a call to any style of worship because this happens in all styles. As worship leaders and churches we are going to have to work hard to help our folks understand worship and strive to experience a holy God who can transform lives.

It’s only a matter of time before some preacher out there literally does try to water ski over a shark to boost attendance. I just wonder if he’ll look as cool as the Fonz when he does!

Bye-bye to Bev

Please excuse my recent absence from the blog. My loving stepmom, Beverly VanAlstine Gaffney Butler, died last week in Vernon, N.Y., at age 78. (Click here for the obituary.) We’re thankful that her years of suffering from diabetes and heart troubles are over as she passed peacefully on May 24. I conducted her funeral on Sabbath afternoon. The photo is of our daughter Jenny visiting Bev last summer.

We truly appreciated and felt your prayers for safe travel to New York and back. Janet and I drove straight through both ways with no hassles. (Well, there was that one warning from a trooper in Ohio at 2:00 a.m.…)

It was a bittersweet gathering in upstate NY. The three Butler siblings rarely get together, and it was good to catch up with a niece and nephew, and to meet more of Bev's extended family. We had to speed (I mean, drive) right home after the funeral luncheon, since our own kids had started a holiday reunion at our house without us. The family singing around the fire pit on Sunday night—and playing son-in-law Greg’s hand percussion instruments—made the long drive (and trooper’s warning) worth it. Oh yeah, and there's that adorable grandson...

Back in New York, Bev’s funeral was a joyous celebration of a positive and enthusiastic retired teacher, sprinkled with her trademark yell of affirmation, “Yahoo!” (That’s a lot more fun than “Amen!”) Sure hope the Lord gets used to it! :)

Bev’s passing will leave a huge void in Dad’s life. Prayers for peace and guidance are welcomed. They shared a positive and loving 17 years together. We were all blessed by having Bev in our lives. Yahoo!!

Could someone in your church use a larger print Helping Hand?

A Large Print edition of The Helping Hand in Bible Study is available to churches in the USA & Canada who subscribe to quarterly. If you would like to see what a lesson looks like in large print, download a copy of the lesson for this Sabbath, June 5, 2010 and print it. The edition is emailed to qualifying churches each quarter.

To request a copy for use in your church, please contact the Board of Christian Education and ask for a copy to be sent. If you cannot print a copy from the supplied PDF, let us know and a printed copy can be sent to you for a small fee to cover the cost of printing, packing, and mailing.

A new quarter for the Helping Hand in Bible Study began this week. The lessons explore Christian Commitment by studying passages from 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Philippians. The large print lesson linked above is the first lesson from this newly started quarter.

SDB Polity Summer Institute almost here

Above are some of the books to be read for this class.

At least seven students will be participating in this year's Summer Institute which will be held June 14-25, at the SDB Center in Janesville, WI. At least five are serving SDB Churches as Pastors and Assistant Pastors, and two are seminary students.
Polity is a word that denotes the way an organization operates. For Seventh Day Baptists it is a congregational form of church government. We will look at other ways that churches are organized and discuss the pro's and con's of each.
The Biblical basis for polity will be discussed as well as the organization of the General Conference and other Associations.
Please pray for the students who have been reading and preparing for this class in advance.