13,000 young people gather to worship in the Smoky Mountains

By Annette Spence in the Call

 The Casey Darnell band appears at Divine Rhythm for the first time.

Imagine 770 young adults gathering to praise God in Pigeon Forge.

Then imagine 12,236 youth and youth workers gathering to do the same in Gatlinburg.

Are the Smoky Mountains still standing?

Holston Conference added another year of dynamic young people’s ministry to history with the Resurrection and Divine Rhythm retreats held over two weekends in January.

Resurrection, a youth event in its 24th year, was held Jan. 16-18 and Jan. 23-25 in Gatlinburg Convention Center. Divine Rhythm, a young adult event in its ninth year, was held Jan. 23-25 at Country Tonite Theater in Pigeon Forge.

Check out these photo galleries for Resurrection and Divine Rhythm.

Attendance at both events dropped since 2008, but only slightly. Resurrection had exactly 100 fewer participants, while Divine Rhythm dipped by 20.

Both events featured speakers whose methods and messages connected well with the intended age groups, according to participants. Both events also updated their formats with on-the-spot videos featuring interviews with the band or Bishop Swanson (Resurrection) or comical announcements about the peanut butter drive or blood drive (Divine Rhythm).

Resurrection

Six-foot-seven Justin Lookadoo brought his stand-up-comedian-style gospel to the Resurrection stage with funny stories about skydiving and ADD and straight talk about scripture.

Citing Romans 6:23, he said he didn’t understand why people would rather work to go to hell than to accept the free gift of heaven. Citing Revelations 3:15, he said it’s better to be a non-believer, than to say you are a believer and live immorally.

“God says, ‘If you’re going to play the middle, then pick a side,’” Lookadoo said. “‘Either follow me with your actions or shut up.’”

Youth seemed to delight in the third-year appearance of the Starfield band, dancing and bouncing while singing rock praise music. Additional musical and drama presentations were offered by 12 winners of district- wide youth talent contests.

Youth groups from nine other United Methodist conferences attended the winter weekend event, including Kentucky, Mississippi, North Georgia, South Carolina, South Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Ohio, and West Virginia.

An emotional Saturday night altar call inspired numerous youth to indicate on cards:

• 812 - I came here as a Christian and renewed my commitment to Christ.
• 321 – I believe God may be calling me to full-time ministry.
• 60 – I am a new Christian. I gave my life to Christ for the first time this weekend.
• 33 - I have not been baptized and want to talk with someone about it.
• 24 - I need to speak with someone about something troubling me.

Sales were brisk at the Resurrection T-shirt stand, where charcoal-colored hoodies with the “Overflowing” theme were bestsellers. The shirts — eight designs in all, each ranging from $12 to $20 — were created and sold by Powell UMC youth of Knoxville District, winners of a design contest. Powell youth will tithe 10 percent of profits to Youth Service Fund, using the balance for a mission trip to Phoenix, according to leader Doug Roberts.

A Youth Service Fund offering of $23,041 was collected over both weekends. Resurrection-related Facebook and MySpace pages, created by the youth ministry staff, logged in 1,430 friends and 693 views, respectively.

Divine Rhythm

The Rev. Joseph Daniels spoke of the bleeding woman whose faith inspired her to touch Jesus’ garment for healing (Matthew 9, Luke 5, Mark 8). Tucking a cloth into his own back pocket, Daniels recalled the scripture by working his way up the aisle, saying “touch Jesus” and offering the cloth to worshippers.

“Touch Jesus,” he said, “and stop the bleeding.” Touch Jesus and stop the bleeding of debt, fractured relationships, school stress, substance abuse, and other hurts.

After an emotional concluding service and Holy Communion, Daniels referred to Luke 8:39: Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.

“Oh, we wish we could stay on this mountaintop a little longer,” he said, “but we’ve got to go back home … we’ve got work to do.”

Appearing at Divine Rhythm for the first time, Casey Darnell and his band provided not only praise music, but also testimony. Darnell talked about his adoration for his infant daughter, relating it to God’s love for his children.

“It’s a crazy mad love for us,” he said. “I don’t understand it, but there is no greater love than that.”

Contemporary worship was blended with “emerging worship” elements such as candles, altar calls, and prayer stations. Saturday afternoon workshops were lightly attended but provided a service to young adults seeking information on the call to ministry, mission trips, and the missional church.

Young adults collected 337 jars of peanut butter to benefit First Gatlinburg UMC’s food ministry. They donated 44 units of blood and 729 bandanas. The bandanas will be used by a young adult mission team — commissioned during the Saturday evening service — who will offer Vacation Bible School activities to children in Yei, Sudan.

Young adults also gave an offering of $1,690 to provide scholarships for Divine Rhythm 2010.

The Language of a Christian

I just sat in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville Florida and listened to a breakout session group at a Christian Conference use a slew of four letter words that most of us would describe as vulgar or curse words.

Does it make a difference how we use words and what we say?

YES!

Ephesians 4: 29

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

I will expand on this later.

Ronnie

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Eph 4:29

I’m in Florida at the Quad Training for The United Methodist Church

I am here, sitting in the atrium of the hotel just after lunch and wishing that I could be out on the boardwalk by the river. The sun is shining and it is beautiful. I want to be out running and feeling the wind blow through my hair. However, I have another session to attend in just a few minutes.

What am I learning? A lot!

How much of it is new? Not so much but enough.

Does any of it bother me? yes!

What bothers me? My colleagues who seem to be trashing the Bible and going with their desires, their own feelings or the current culture which surrounds us.

Do we give up? No, this is God’s church and we will stand on His Word. We will not change His Word but we will work harder to follow His Word and live by example that His way is the best way.

Is it worth being here? Yes, all that has to happen for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing and besides it is the minority that wants to ignore scripture.

I desire your prayers.

Ronnie

“Out Of The Box” It’s Mission

This is just a start. I have thinking recently about what exactly the mission of “Out Of The Box” is. I know that it is a place for our youth to hang out and have a place of their own but it is more than that. It is a place where teens can belong and feel at ease to hook up with friends, hang out, learn about Jesus and find someone with an ear who really wants to hear what they have to say.

So what is “Out Of The Box”? This is a question that is still being answered. In the mean time ministry is happening there. many young people are coming and finding friends, many are coming and hearing about Jesus and these things alone are worth the work.

Just thinking.

Ronnie

Prayer Life

My day started at 3am when the alarm clock went off. I loaded up the car along with a mug of coffee and headed to the airport. My plane was set to leave at 7am and it was recommended that we arrive 2 hours before departure time. In the end I didn’t need to be there so early but the time went quick as I read and prayed. The first person I encountered was a christian lady who greeted me with a hand shake and a smile when I shared with her that early morning travel and flying were great for my prayer life.

As I was traveling down the road around 4am I was amazed at the conversation happening between me and God. I caught myself having a conversation in my imagination with a gentleman who has cancer and I remembered what Lookadoo said about using the imagination and Jesus was there.

I can’t wait to see what happens from these early morning prayers. When we pray for things to happen then things are going to happen. Just wait and see what God will do!

Anyway, I prayed a lot this morning, I prayed for every person who reads this post, that you will smell the Oil. The Oil of the Anointing of God.

Make the time and spend some quality time with the One who loves more that I can ever explain.

My plane from Greensboro to Charlotte: 20 Minute Flight – They had to de-ice the wings

My plane from Greensboro to Jacksonville Florida: Just over an hour flight

View from the Hotel

14th Floor View down

Facebook Challenge

In my reading today in Philippians 2:  

I see that we are to be a friend to others just as Jesus was and is a friend to us.

 

As a matter of fact we are to be deep, close, friends. A Friend that will hold each other up before God and accountable to each other. We are to put ourselves aside and place others first.

 

Because of Jesus OBEDIENCE, God honored Him and He will do the same for you and I!

 

Check it out: Philippians Chapter 2

 

     ^1–4     2 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

     ^5–8     Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

     ^9–11     Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

 

                 The Message 

 

 

Here is your challenge:

 

You know on your Myspace account where you have your Top Friends List. I challenge you to go and make the ones on the bottom of that list your Top Friends. That should make those people feel great. But not only that I challenge you to make your Top Ten list a list of Lost Youth, Commit to pray for that group until they are saved and if you like share those names and I will help you pray.

 

 

Be like Jesus, Be an Imagebearer

 

Ronnie

Souper Bowl Party is Sunday: Check out Kurt Warner

Four years ago Kurt Warner was having a hard time finding a job.  

Kurt Warner – First Things First Foundation

 Mission:

First things First is the family foundation of Kurt and Brenda Warner.  The Foundation is dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put first things first. All projects are centered on the Warners’ life theme of putting faith and family first.  Programs include homes for the Holidays, which provides downpayment and other assistance to low-come single-parent families looking to purchase their first home.  Other initiatives seek to provide tangible goods to disadvantaged children and other persons, and to provide encouragement, hope, and inspiration to families of children dealing with illness. The Foundation coordinates a variety of different programs based on creating synergies with other nonprofit community organizations to provide experiences and opportunities for the benefit of children and families; and administers an annual grants/scholarship program to assist youth groups participating in service-based mission trips with financial support.

Here is a story first shared on The Church Report  www.thechurchreport.com

 

No matter that he had been to two Super Bowls and won one of them, or that he’d been an NFL and Super Bowl MVP.

 

The perception was that he was washed up, finished, that his storybook career was approaching an ignominious end.

 

Then the 37-year-old quarterback wrote the most amazing chapter of all with a season that might cement him a spot on football’s Hall of Fame, especially if he can lead the Arizona Cardinals, of all teams, to a Super Bowl victory Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

“Hopefully, it would recognize him for exactly what he is – one of the best players to ever play his position,” his coach, Ken Whisenhunt, said.

 

Warner’s story is rooted in a deep faith and a persistent drive to be the very best he can be as a person and a football player.

 

“My approach is hoping that every player that I’ve played with, every place that I’ve been, that in some way, shape or form, I leave my stamp on those people and those places,” he said at the Super Bowl media day on Tuesday. “That’s what I want my legacy to be. The football stuff, that’s all gravy.”

 

The football stuff impresses his Pittsburgh counterpart, Ben Roethlisberger.

 

“He’s gone through so much and done so much,” Roethlisberger said. “To me, I love watching him play. He throws an unbelievable pass and – you know what? – I have a lot of respect for him and the way he plays the game.”

 

Warner’s return to the top is a dominant theme leading up to this Super Bowl, just as it was in his 1999 season.

 

“Most times when you do something great, it’s not overnight,” he said. “It’s not something that comes easy. It comes with a lot of hard work, a lot of time, a lot of commitment.”

 

The comment pretty much sums up his life.

 

Warner played for Northern Iowa, but didn’t start until he was a senior. Then he tried out for the Green Bay Packers, but was quickly released. So it was back to Cedar Rapids, where he got a job stocking shelves for a supermarket.

 

His route from there to the NFL included three seasons with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League and two years with the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe.

 

Before the 1999 season, Warner was a backup with the Rams when starter Trent Green was injured. Coach Dick Vermeil turned to Warner, and the result was one of the most prolific offenses in NFL history.

 

In the next three years, despite missing five games because of injury, Warner threw for 12,612 yards and 98 touchdowns. There was the Super Bowl championship season and the near-miss against New England in 2001.

 

But injuries to his finger and hand in 2002 signaled the beginning of the end of his days in St. Louis.

 

He lost the starting job to Marc Bulger and was released by the Rams after the 2003 season.

 

 

“I never felt like the physical part of my game ever disappeared,” Warner said. “I felt like that was always there. The one question I had when I left St. Louis was would I ever get the opportunity to display that again.”

 

He signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants, but was replaced by rookie Eli Manning 10 games into the season after an awful game against the Cardinals.

 

At 33, Warner found no serious offers, except from the lowly Cards, perennial doormats in the NFL.

 

Even in Arizona, success never came easily.

 

“I worked my butt off this year to try to prove they made the right decision, not only this year but when they signed me four years ago,” Warner said, “to try to pay back as much as I can for what they’ve given me.”

 

Warner was limited by injuries to 10 starts in 2005. In 2006, then-coach Dennis Green made Warner the starter after training camp, but again he was replaced by a rookie – when Matt Leinart took over five games into the season.

 

Whisenhunt replaced the fired Green in 2007, and Warner had to prove himself all over again.

 

“This league is so much built on what someone’s perception of you is,” Warner said. “I know that even when this coaching staff came here … that they really felt that this guy is on the tail end of his career, he’s just kind of hanging on.”

 

Whisenhunt kept Leinart as the starter, but sent Warner into three games to operate a productive, no-huddle offense. Then Leinart went down with a broken collarbone five games into the season, and Warner had the job full time.

 

He played despite a dislocated elbow in his left, non-throwing arm, earning even more respect from his teammates for his toughness.

 

Warner threw for 3,417 yards and 27 touchdowns, but at season’s end it was the same old story: Leinart was the starter.

 

Whisenhunt, though, assured Warner he’d have an opportunity to compete for the job in training camp, and after the final preseason game of 2008, Whisenhunt made Warner the starter.

 

“It was a week and a day before our first regular-season game,” Whisenhunt said, “and I stayed up all night making the decision. … As I’ve said before, it was a very close competition. It came down to what I felt was the player that gave us the chance to win early.”

 

Warner found an offensive rhythm with his powerhouse group of receivers and the Cardinals took flight. His statistics this season rival those of his St. Louis days, finishing second in the NFL in completions (401), second in completion percentage (67.1), second in yards passing (4,583) and third in passing touchdowns (30).

 

And the offense kicked into an even higher gear in the playoffs, with the Cardinals beating Atlanta 30-24, Carolina 33-13 and Philadelphia 32-25.

 

Steelers safety Ryan Clark calls Warner “one of the most accurate passers in the game right now.”

 

“A lot of times, Fitzgerald’s covered or Boldin’s covered or Breaston’s covered, he knows exactly the spot to put it where only his receivers could catch the ball,” Clark said.

 

Warner will make his 20th start of the season on Sunday, the most of his career. As far as his teammates are concerned, he’s already a Hall of Famer.

 

“I told him after the NFC championship that I just want a ticket to Canton, Ohio, when he gets in,” defensive end Bertrand Berry said. “When you think about what he’s done in his career and what he’s accomplished in his career, to think that there is even a question about whether he’ll be a Hall of Famer or not, to me, is ridiculous.”

 

Warner’s contract with Arizona ends after the Super Bowl. General manager Rod Graves says Warner wants to come back and the Cardinals want to re-sign him. It’s hard to imagine him not wanting to keep flinging the ball after a season like this.

 

But Warner also hints at retirement. His wife Brenda would like him at home with their seven children and he’d have more time to work with his First Things First foundation.

 

It’s a Christian organization to match his faith-based life.

 

“Everything I do, everywhere I go, I’m trying to live up to or represent Jesus,” Warner said. “Having the faith I have is first and foremost in my life.”

NFL: Churches Can Show Super Bowl on Big Screens

NEW YORK – Churches can show the Super Bowl on big screen TVs this coming Sunday without fear of violating copyright laws.

 

Many churches canceled Super Bowl parties after the National Football League warned an Indiana church in 2007 that it would be illegal to show the game on anything larger than a 55-inch screen — a restriction that critics complained did not apply to sports bars.

 

After members of Congress threatened to change copyright laws, the NFL dropped that restriction, starting with this year’s Super Bowl.

 

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says churches may now show the game on any size screen, as long as it’s in their normal meeting place and they don’t charge admission.

www.thechurchreport.com

Thought for this Day!

 Proverbs 4: 10-15 is all about following The Bible’s Teaching and having a good life!

There is no magic formula here, follow God’s teaching, stay away from the things that are only going to trip you up. When God says “I will lead you” he means through His words and through his people, the church! Some and maybe all of us will be tempted to go and do something today that we shouldn’t do, Don’t do it. Hold on to the truth and you are promised a long and good life!

Remember we need to be held accountable! If you are feeling overwhelmed call someone, either myself or one of the youth leaders and some of the older youth who are now mentors to the younger. But remember what Lookadoo said: “get your advise from those who have walked there before you”.

Stay strong and let’s turn the World upsode down!

Ronnie

My child, listen to me and do as I say,

and you will have a long, good life.

     I will teach you wisdom’s ways

and lead you in straight paths.

      When you walk, you won’t be held back;

when you run, you won’t stumble.

      Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.

Guard them, for they are the key to life.

      Don’t do as the wicked do,

and don’t follow the path of evildoers.

      Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.

Turn away and keep moving.

New Living Translation Pr 4:10-15

Dear friend, take my advice;

     it will add years to your life.

     I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,

     I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.

     I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys,

     or wasting time making wrong turns.

     Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip.

     Guard it well—your life is at stake!

     Don’t take Wicked Bypass;

     don’t so much as set foot on that road.

     Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth.

     Make a detour and be on your way.

The Message Paraphrase Pr 4:10-15

Quad Training in Jacksonville

Every Four Years the United Methodist Church has General Conference and the focus that is set in that meeting is what Quad Training will focus on. I leave Thursday morning very early.

January 29th – February 1st, 2009
Jacksonville, Florida

Developing Principled Christian Leaders for the Church and the World

New Places for New People and Renewing Existing Congregations

Engaging in Ministry with the Poor

Stamping Out Killer Diseases of Poverty by Improving Health Globally

To live The United Methodist Way means being prepared to unleash a movement of United Methodists on fire to transform the world.  It’s about calling on our faith in Jesus Christ to sharpen our mission and implement the four areas of focus given to us by the 2008 General Conference.

Here is where we are staying.

blog blog blog

I started blogging about 10 months ago and I have never regretted it. I am amazed at the number of people who come to read what I have on my mind and also to look at the pictures.

But I am no longer the only blogger in town. We now have several in the church who have taken blogging on as a ministry.

Donna Godwin now has a blog called Art n Stuff    http://godw1nz.wordpress.com/

Jacob Singleton has dirtyfeetand 1lostsheep          http://dirtyfeetand1lostsheep.wordpress.com/

Tyler Carpenter has a great blog @                             http://www.tylercarpenter.blogspot.com/

Jason Smith has a technology blog @                        http://jesmith127.wordpress.com/

God is at work in Hillsville and He is doing a New Thing!  Wow, come join the fun.

Ronnie

Guess who is blogging?????????

http://dirtyfeetand1lostsheep.wordpress.com/

He is one of our own, he is one of our youth, he is on fire for God, and he is Anointed to preach good news.

Check it out!

Ronnie

ELECTRIFYING EVENT IS COMING TO HILLSVILLE

   

Team Impact is coming to Hillsville First United Methodist Church September 16th – 20th 2009

Team Impact, some of the strongest men on the planet, will be making several public appearances in the (your city) area soon. With demonstrations of astounding feats of strength – such as shattering five feet of concrete with one blow from their massive arms and snapping baseball bats in half with their bare hands – Team Impact members are sure to capture the attention of both the young and old; all to share an inspiring message of hope. Team Impact is a group of world-class athletes, including champion power-lifters, previous WWE wrestlers, and former NFL football players. The men of Team Impact travel the globe motivating and inspiring people of all ages and have performed their amazing presentation in front of millions. With the problems young people face today, Team Impact has taken seriously the task of reaching America’s youth with a timely message through their highly acclaimed school assemblies. Visiting nearly 1,000 schools each year, this group has the unique opportunity to speak to hundreds of thousands of students about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and the importance of academic excellence. In addition, Team Impact appears regularly on television programs including their own weekly show where millions of people around the world are able to see their extraordinary demonstrations and hear their inspirational message. You may visit www.team-impact.com to learn more about the efforts of Team Impact

More Resurrection 2009 Memories

New Blog for thoughts on Resurrection 2009

http://www.resurrection09.blogspot.com/

Tyler Carpenter has created a blog where we can all post our thoughts and memories from Resurrection 2009. This should be a lot of fun, Tell your friends and start posting.

Ronnie

Resurrection Memories 2009

Souper Bowl Party is only 6 days away…….

Only 6 Days until Super Bowl Sunday!

Chris Luper (Youth Minister @  Galax FUMC) will be bringing the message!

It is only 9 days until the day that so many people anticipate every year. Super Bowl Sunday is not just about the game. For many it is a time to celebrate around the television with family and friends and have a party.

That is just what we are doing at “Out of the Box” FUMC Downtown @ 522 Main Street Hillsville.

The event will begin at 5pm on Sunday February 1st with the SouledOut Praise Band and Chris Luper as the speaker.

Praise, Worship and Message from 5 to 6pm.

Approximate Game Kick Off Time is 6:28pm

We will watch the game on the BIG SCREEN, with friends and family and a PARTY!

Everyone is invited!

We are asking each person to bring canned goods, non perishable items for the Community Food Pantry housed at First United Methodist Church Hillsville. We have seen a HUGE Increase in people in our local community who have lost jobs and cannot afford groceries.

Lets come together and have a PARTY, CELEBRATE with Freinds and Family and FEED THE HUNGRY!

Sunday February 1st 2009 @ FUMC Downtown “Out of the Box”

SouledOut and Bring The Rain

Baby Collins (Judah Wayne Collins) @ Week 23

Your pregnancy: 23 weeks

 

See the big picture

How your baby’s growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she’s more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby’s increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won’t faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

www.babycenter.com

Resurrection Photo Update

Emory UMC and Joe Daniels

 

I had the awesome opportunity to be in the company of the Rev. Dr. Joe Daniels on Friday morning for about two hours and what a blessing.

I serve on the AAMT, The African American Ministries Team for The Holston Conference of The United Methodist Church. We are a group that is working to help resource African American Congregations in the Holston Conference and beyond for revitalization and growth .

First of all, it is obvious that God has His Anointing upon Joe Daniels and the ministry he is accomplishing. We were only in the room a few moments when I could smell the Oil of God’s Presence and I knew that I was in the presence of a man in and through whom God is working. (I have found that the smell of anointing is rare)

Joe is pastor of Emory UMC near DC and has been there for 16 and a half years. When he arrived as their hired pastor there were 30 to 50 people in worship and today they have 3 services each Sunday, 8am, 10am and Noon with Communion every Sunday, with about 400 people in attendance each week. Joe is obviously a very busy pastor and he said something that connected strongly with my life. People ask him how he has so much energy to do all the things he does and his answer is that he is excited, God has given him a mission and a vision and when he is tired it is a good tired.

What a story he has to tell. A story of how God has used his ministry to turn a congregation around from death to life.

My Spirit bore witness with Joe’s Spirit and I look forward to getting to know him and his work better. Here is the link to his web site. Spend some time and get to know a man who is walking in the anointing of Almighty God.

http://www.emoryumc.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=46142

Ronnie

Joe Daniels is the teaching pastor at Emory United Methodist Church and has served in this capacity for the past 16 years.  During his leadership at Emory, the Emory congregation has grown from an average of 55 people in weekly worship attendance to over 400 every Sunday. The church has been awarded the “Kim Jefferson Northeast Jurisdictional Award” for effective urban ministry representing the United Methodist Church and has been selected as one of the 25 Congregational Resource Centers churches in the “Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century” effort of the United Methodist Church.  

Pastor Daniels holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (2000) in Washington, D.C.  He is also a 1991 graduate of Howard University School of Divinity, and has earned a Bachelor and Master degrees in the areas of Public Communication, Psychology, Journalism and Public Affairs from American University (1982, 1984) in Washington, D.C.  He is very active in community affairs, serving as a co-chair of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) as well as on the Board of Directors of the STEP Foundation and Ephesians Life Ministries.  He also teaches at Wesley Theological Seminary in both the Urban Ministry and Practice of Ministry and Mission programs.

For the past 11 years, Pastor Daniels has been called upon for mission service to churches in Zimbabwe and South Africa, providing training for pastors and laity in the area of community development.  Instructing groups on establishing neighborhood “Communities of Shalom,” Pastor Daniels’ commitment to a spirit of “peace on earth” is not confined to the Brightwood Community, the city of Washington D.C. or the United States of America.  He fully believes that there can be healthy, wholesome, economically stable families and communities all over the world.

Pastor Daniels has been happily married to his wife Madelyn for the past 23 years.  They are the proud parents of a daughter, Joia, 19, and a son, Joey, 17.

Resurrection: the Speaker

Justin Lookadoo loaded the bases last night with a message about Experience vs. Commitment.

Revelation 3: 14-22

The Message

 Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says:

      “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

      “Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.

      “The people I love, I call to account—prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!

      “Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!

     ²²     “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Re 3:14-22

Justin reminded us that when we say that we follow Jesus and then we do things that say something different, it makes God sick. It casues Him to want to vomit us out of His mouth.

Resurrection 2009

 

 

I was struck this morning that these people are praying, we are praying as individuals and as groups and the parents at home are praying. Good has to happen!

Ronnie

HUNGER TRIVIA

2009 30 Hour Famine

 

1. How many people in the world are chronically hungry?

            a. 798 million

            b. 862 million

            c. 854 million

            d. 902 million

 

(Answer is B, 862 million, up from 854 million in 2007)

 

2. Hunger manifests itself in many ways besides just starvation. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Which of the following conditions are not commonly associated with chronic hunger?

            a. Dementia

            b. Weakness

            c. Stunted growth

            d. Greater susceptibility to illness

 

(Answer is A, dementia. Although hunger can affect brain development in younger children, dementia is not a condition commonly associated with chronic hunger.)

 

3. Most poor countries have the following ‘safety net’ programs in place to help the poorest of the citizens:

            a. Soup kitchens

            b. Food stamps

            c. Job training programs

            d. None of the above

 

(Answer is D, none of the above. In most developing countries, the governments do not have the resources or infrastructure to assist their own citizens, meaning there is no one to turn to for help. Contrast that to the US, where all of these programs exist to help those who need assistance.)

 

4. In 2006, how many children died before their fifth birthday as a result of hunger and hunger-related causes?

            a. 7.8 million

            b. 8.4 million

            c. 9.7 million

            d. 10.1 million

 

(Answer is C, 9.7 million, compared to 10.1 million in 2005.  Almost all of these deaths occur in developing countries, with ¾ of them coming in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.)

5. True or false: the world’s food problems are solely caused by nature.

            a. True

            b. False

 

(Answer is false.  Nature is not to blame.  Human-made forces are making people increasingly vulnerable to forces of nature.  Food is available for those who can afford it-starvation during hard times hits only the poorest.  Natural events rarely explain deaths; they are simply the final push over the brink.)

 

6. True or false: there is enough food to feed everyone in the world.

            a. True

            b. False

 

(Answer is true.  Enough wheat, rice and other grains are produced to provide every human being with 3,500 calories a day.  That doesn’t count other foods including vegetables, beans, nuts, root crops, fruits, grass-fed meats, and fish.  Enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person a day worldwide.)

 

7. Under-nutrition in children under the age of 18 affects an estimated:

            a. 300-350 million children

            b. 350-400 million children

            c. 400-450 million children

            d. 450-500 million children

 

(Answer is B, 350-400 million children.)

 

8. True or false: One out of four children – roughly 146 million – in developing countries are underweight.

            a. True

            b. False

 

(The answer is true.)

 

9. More than 70% of the world’s 146 million underweight children under age 5 live in:

            a. 10 countries

            b. 20 countries

            c. 50 countries

            d. 100 countries

 

(Answer is A, 10 countries. 70% of the world’s 146 million underweight children under age 5 live in just 10 countries with more than 50% of them in South Asia.)

 

10. True or false: the number of chronically hungry people is growing at a rate of 4 million per year at current trends.

            a. True

            b. False

 

(The answer is true.)

 

Questions 1-4 came from Bread for the Hungry (www.bread.org).

Questions 5-6 came form Stop Hunger Now (www.stophungernow.org).

Questions 7-10 came from the World Food Programme (www.wfp.org).

 

All questions were researched on August 19, 2008 (in preparation for the 2009 30 Hour Famine, launching October 1, 2008), and the information pulled from the above web sites on that date.  Any changes made to the information available on those web sites after that date will not be reflected in the answers to these questions.

New team will lift up African-American ministry in Holston

By Kathy Barnes-Hemsworth

 

First meeting of the African American
Ministry Team (Team members are photographed as follows: (Front row) William Pace, Anne Travis, Harold Bryson; (back row) Ronnie Collins, Sharon Bowers, Deb Holly, Sandra Johnson, Leah Burns, Fred Evans, Anna Dirl, Steve Hodges)

A newly formed African American Ministry Team will promote racial inclusiveness in Holston Conference while addressing the needs of black churches.

The team was formed in November after Bishop James Swanson and the Discipleship Team recognized a need to develop African-American ministry in Holston, organizers said. Serving as team co-chairs are the Rev. Leah Burns of Haven’s Chapel UMC, Oak Ridge District, and the Rev. William Pace of Lincoln Park/Martin Chapel UMC, Knoxville District.

Burns said the team is needed “because as United Methodists, we are called to be faithful to the example of the ministry of Jesus Christ to all persons, to be inclusive and to be supportive of each other.”

Racial inclusiveness is a commitment of the United Methodist Church, consistent with the “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” campaign, Burns said.

A mission statement and goals have not yet been established. However, team members discussed the need to grow African-American congregations, involve and support youth, offer Christ to the community, engage laity, and foster hope, she said.

Of 906 total churches in Holston, 45 to 55 are African American, Pace said. Two of those congregations are in his own district, he said, along with 30 other Methodist churches of other denominations (African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal).

“The attitude that African Americans are experiencing ‘Methodism’ under other administrations is really unacceptable and not true to the allegiance and hope of all African American members and others in the Holston Conference,” Pace said.

The team hopes to make others aware of African American congregations and possible inequity, Burns said. They hope to foster connections between the black churches as well as between congregations of different races.

“Diversity and inclusiveness were important to the founder of American Methodism, John Wesley, and the [team] would like to give a voice to African Americans in this area — to identify needs, to identify resources, and to meet those needs,” she said.

As the African American Ministry Team prepares to form a mission statement and set goals, others are invited to contribute, Burns said. Her hope is the team can follow a process similar to one used to develop the conference vision statement in 2006.

“[We want] to involve and get input, and then to put in place some actions that will enable us to accomplish our mission,” she said.

“I just keep thinking about Nehemiah, who led a fractured and frustrated group of people to extraordinary effort to rebuild a wall — this despite distractions and detractors who relentlessly to stop the work,” Burns said. “I love his reply to those who would stop the rebuilding: ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.’ I would think the same applies to our efforts. We are doing such great work and we cannot get discouraged or stop the progress.”

The AAMT will meet again Jan. 23 at Kodak UMC. Holston members may offer ideas or volunteer their services by contacting Burns at (865) 387-1627 or lkburns@bellsouth.net, or Pace at (865) 525-2725 or pacejasper@aol.com.

Team members are photographed as follows: (Front row) William Pace, Anne Travis, Harold Bryson; (back row) Ronnie Collins, Sharon Bowers, Deb Holly, Sandra Johnson, Leah Burns, Fred Evans, Anna Dirl, Steve Hodges

Life at it’s best……

Michael, Christopher, and Samuel

This is life at it’s best. Take the time to be with your family!

I love my boys!

Ronnie

Domestic Hunger & Poverty

• 35.5 million people – including 12.6 million children – live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (10.9 percent).
• 4.0 percent of U.S. households experience hunger. Some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day.  11.1 million people, including 430 thousand children, live in these homes.
• 6.9 percent of U.S. households are at risk of hunger. Members of these households have lower quality diets or must resort to seeking emergency food because they cannot always afford the food they need. 24.4 million people – including 12.2 million children – live in these homes.
• Preschool and school-aged children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children with no hunger, according to a recent study.

 

(Sources: Bread for the World, Hunger Basics, 2008; World Bank World Development Report, 2008; UNICEF, 2008)

Resurrection is here! We leave tomorrow!

Souper Bowl Party @ Out Of The Box

Only 9 Days until Super Bowl Sunday!

Chris Luper (Youth Minister @  Galax FUMC) will be bringing the message!

It is only 9 days until the day that so many people anticipate every year. Super Bowl Sunday is not just about the game. For many it is a time to celebrate around the television with family and friends and have a party.

That is just what we are doing at “Out of the Box” FUMC Downtown @ 522 Main Street Hillsville.

The event will begin at 5pm on Sunday February 1st with the SouledOut Praise Band and Chris Luper as the speaker.

Praise, Worship and Message from 5 to 6pm.

Approximate Game Kick Off Time is 6:28pm

We will watch the game on the BIG SCREEN, with friends and family and a PARTY!

Everyone is invited!

We are asking each person to bring canned goods, non perishable items for the Community Food Pantry housed at First United Methodist Church Hillsville. We have seen a HUGE Increase in people in our local community who have lost jobs and cannot afford groceries.

Lets come together and have a PARTY, CELEBRATE with Freinds and Family and FEED THE HUNGRY!

Sunday February 1st 2009 @ FUMC Downtown “Out of the Box”

SouledOut and Bring The Rain

One more sign that we are in the technology age

Web Grief: Funeral Webcasts Gain in Popularity

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation Service has taken the business of grief high-tech: It’s one of a growing number of funeral service providers to embrace the Web.

Schoedinger in central Ohio is offering live Web streaming and archived online video for use by military personnel overseas and others who can’t be present for a loved one’s funeral.

 

It’s a way for mourners to take part in the experience without the time and expense of a long-distance trip, especially one arranged on short notice.

 

“This just allows people to share in the grief and share in the grief experience with everyone,” said company President Michael Schoedinger.

 

The family organizing the funeral controls who has access to the private Web site used for broadcasting. The company offers the service for free but eventually may charge a fee to cover its costs, Schoedinger said.

 

Funeral directors say better technology and cheaper equipment have prompted more funeral homes to offer webcasting and videotaping services nationwide.

 

It’s also been more appealing as the Internet has become part of everyday life for many Americans domestically and abroad, said Ellery Bowker, the president of North Carolina-based Director’s Advantage, which specializes in technological products for the funeral industry and debuted its webcasting service last year.

 

The service allowed one soldier in Iraq to watch his grandmother’s funeral in North Carolina, Bowker said. In another case, comrades of a soldier who died overseas were able to view his memorial in the U.S.

 

The use of funeral webcasting is an emerging trend but hasn’t been tracked statistically, though some companies have offered those services for years, said Jessica Koth, a spokeswoman for the National Funeral Director’s Association.

 

Webcasting companies are also jumping in, offering packages to funeral homes that include tripods, cameras with microphones, and cables and cords, either for lease or purchase outright. Some ceremonies can even be webcast to iPods.

 

The Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Chapels and Cremation Center in suburban Salt Lake City began offering funeral webcasts about a decade ago as a way to include overseas missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their relatives’ funerals, owner Kurt Soffe said.

 

The center’s funeral packages, which include webcasting, video and audio recording, typically cost about $300 more than other packages. About one in every 50 funerals at the center opts for the multimedia, he said.

 

“I think that it will become much more popular in the years ahead—much more popular in the sense that more funeral homes will offer it,” Soffe said. “Whether more families will select it and choose it, I don’t know, because there is really no substitute for coming together as a family.”

 

From the Church Report:

http://www.thecronline.com/news_article.php?nid=4876&ndate=21/01/2009

Rick Warren’s Inaugural Invocation

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.

History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”