A Day In The Life of Your Pastor: June 29, 2009
Read from the bottom up and remember there is a two hour time delay.
Ronnie
Pastor says church ‘ultimate social network’
Pastor says church ‘ultimate social network’
 Holly Wright texts during worship at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church as her husband, Rob, watches. UMNS photos by Reed Galin. |
By Reed Galin*
June 25, 2009 | FLOWER MOUND, Texas (UMNS)
Tiny digital screens blink in the muted light of Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church, randomly scattered like dozens of stars at dusk.
Texting is an unexpected sight at a Sunday service, but the Rev. John Allen thinks it is past time to change “the way we’ve always done business.”
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In jeans and a golf shirt, holding his cell phone overhead, Allen paces across the pulpit. He encourages congregants to text someone with whom they are out of touch, or just to let someone who isn’t there know what’s going on in church this morning.
Teens in back rows text en masse, fingers flying across tiny keyboards. Closer to the front, scattered adults of various ages hunt and peck in the dark.
“The first question was what does Twitter have to do with The Bible, and that came from young and old, “ says Allen as he delivers the last of a series of sermons designated “The Theology of Twitter.” “I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the church as the ultimate social network, in which we all can be more effectively connected through sites like Twitter and Facebook,” using home computers linked to instant, shared messaging, and cell phones- no matter where people are.
Creating community
Allen is troubled by the fragmentation of modern life and the challenges of creating a cohesive church community. He took action after an acquaintance went to the emergency room late at night and messaged his Facebook friends about the situation. The friends quickly responded with offers to stay with the man’s children and help in other ways.
The pastor wanted to spread that spirit and easy access to personal resources throughout his congregation, and began discussing it on Sundays.
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“The church is struggling to keep up. We don’t live in a world in which we get our news once a day through the newspaper, it’s a 24-7 real time world… yet the church operates like we can still send out a monthly newspaper and meet just once a week and keep up with people’s lives. We can’t. We don’t live in that world any more.”
From the pulpit, Allen says his ‘Theology of Twitter’ isn’t about technology but about the eternal, unchanging focus of the church. “You can be the voice of God,” he preaches, still holding up his phone. “Think of that person who needs encouragement. Maybe they’re out of work… or something’s going on with their kids… text them now and say, ‘I’m praying for you and I will never give up on you because God never gives up on us.’”
It shocked choir member Chris Smith the first time Allen called out the phones in church. Smith realized he hadn’t communicated with his sister for too long, and texted her from the pew. That led to a long phone conversation in the parking lot after the service. Now, with help from his teen daughter setting up a Facebook account on his computer, Smith is linked into a growing network of people acting on Allen’s message of a more connected church community.
Overcoming fear
Allen knows there are members who don’t crave more technology in their lives. He conducts different Sunday services for the Trietsch membership of 4,500 with varying degrees of conservative tradition and emphasis on the social networking phenomena.
Still, he says, it’s very apparent from the response from most members that there is much to be gained from getting people linked in on social networks. He’s sending out Facebook and Twitter messages every day, sometimes from his own new Web-enabled phone.
Sitting in his office checking recent Facebook conversation, Allen observes that these tools are integrated into every area of society now, including government and conservative businesses. He sees other churches standing still while attendance declines, too resistant to change because, Allen says, “We’re scared. We are scared that … the holy moments are more wrapped up in the rituals than they are with truly connecting with God and each other.”
As he finishes the thought, Allen’s Facebook picture glows on the computer over his shoulder.
Another message scrolls onto the screen.
*Galin is a freelance writer and producer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Ooltewah United Methodist Church
Many of my readers will know the Pastor of Ooltewah UMC. This is where Ramon Torres, our former Pastor here @ Hillsville First UMC is now appointed to serve. It is ironic that I now have two great friends who serve in that community church together. Ramon is the one who dared me to come here to Hillsville more than 8 years ago and I am forever grateful to him for that dare. God has done some amazing things in my life in the past several years in and through the Hillsville church. Check out the site and stay in touch with Ramon, he is also on facebook now and you can contact him that way.
The Associate Pastor is Amy Nutt. Amy and I were in Local Pastor’s School together 4 years ago and we became good friends through that time. I have a lot of confidence in her abilities and also in her desire to see people come to know and follow Jesus Christ. I am sure this church is going to grow, Spiritual and Numerically.
Ronnie
Ramon Torres
Amy Nutt
Sharing Our Faith: Help us if you would like!
This Wednesday at Out Of The Box @ 6:45pm we will be taking this Faith Sharing New Testament and talking about ways that we can talk to others about the Bible and about the God we serve, Jesus Christ.
There are so many misnomers about what the Bible does and does not teach. I have been guilty of telling others about Jesus in such a way as to make it seem like a person is following Christ to assure their place in heaven. My mistake has now been corrected, a person should follow Christ in order to have a personal relationship with the God of The Universe. There is so much more to the Bible than most people ever hear or understand, God is in love with us and wants to be in daily communion with us.
There is a heaven to be excited about but the most important thing in the Universe is our daily communion with the God who loves us enough that He died for us.
Each Youth and adult going to Atlanta will be given these Faith Sharing New Testaments and we will talk to people that we encounter about Jesus Christ. i think of the homeless person and the promise of God that we need not worry about what we will eat tomorrow or what we will wear. God is in control and if we are following Him we are in good hands.
We are purchasing these New Testaments for $3.75 each which is a great price. We have 80 and would like to purchase more. If you would like to help, please let me know ASAP.
Ronnie
Carroll County Youth: Time To Step Up!
OK, I know there are many teens here in Carroll County that believe in God and Know Him Personally. What are we going to do about the ones who are searching in all the wrong places? Will you be BOLD enough to speak up for what you believe?
Ronnie
Nearly two thirds of teenagers don’t believe in God, according to a study by Penguin books.
Published: 4:22PM BST 22 Jun 2009
Teenagers even say family, friends, money, music and even reality television are more important than religion.
It also emerged six out of ten 10 children (59 per cent) believe that religion “has a negative influence on the world”.
The survey also shows that half of teenagers have never prayed and 16 per cent have never been to church.
The study of 1,000 teenagers aged 13 to 18 was carried out by Penguin to mark this week’s publication of controversial novel ‘Killing God’ by Kevin Brooks.
The book is about a 15-year-old girl who questions the existence of God.
Kevin Brooks, the author, said: “I can’t say I am surprised by the teenagers’ responses.
“Part of the reason that I wrote Killing God was that I wanted to explore the personal attitudes of young people today, especially those with troubled lives, towards organised religion and the traditional concept of God.
“How can the moralities of an ancient religion relate to the tragedies and disorders of today’s broken world? And why do some people turn to God for help while others take comfort in drugs and alcohol?
“These are just some of the questions I wanted to consider… And I wasn’t looking for answers.”
The research also found 55 per cent of young people are not bothered about religion and 60 per cent only go to church for a wedding or christening.
Only three out of 10 teenagers believe in an afterlife and 41 per cent believe that nothing happens to your body when you die, but one in 10 reckon they come back as an animal or another human being.
A Church of England spokesman said: “Many teenagers aren’t sure what they believe at that stage of their lives, as is clear from the number who said they don’t know whether they believe in God.
“On the other hand many of these results point to the great spirituality of young people today that the Church is seeking to respond to through new forms of worship alongside tradition ones.”
Hanne Stinson, chief executive of The British Humanist Association, said: “It confirms that young people – like adults – do not need a religion to have positive values.
“The ‘golden rule’, which is often claimed by religions as a religious value, is in reality a shared human value – shared by all the major religions and the non-religious and almost every culture – that predates all the major world religions.”
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5603096/Two-thirds-of-teenagers-dont-believe-in-God.html
Out Of The Box
Here is the Out of the Box Story:
What follows is the story of the First United Methodist Hillsville Youth Group. Their mission trip to Macon Georgia. The vision of a storefront Youth Ministry Site in order to take the church to the people and the results.
Ronnie
We have been open for about 9 months now and hundreds of people have come through the doors at Out Of The Box. There have been events with 150 people in attendance and Safe Halloween brought several hundred through our doors in one afternoon. Youth are finding a place where they love coming and many adults are getting acquainted with the main church through OOTB.
Now adults are being reached as well. Join us at OOTB Tuesday Morning, every other week @ 6:30 Starting June 2nd, 2009.
twitterberry
Lots of people are asking about the best way to update facebook and twitter simaultaneously. Here is the best way that I know and it is easy. Go to
http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/
Download twitterberry, then set your twitter account to update facebook everytime you update twitter,in settings. It is much easier to update facebook through twitterberry on the blackberry.
Ronnie
TwitterBerry
TwitterBerry is mobile client for posting updates to Twitter. It works over the data network, so you don’t need to use SMS.
More Information
See what’s new in the Changelog
Questions? Check the FAQ
Minimum Requirements
- BlackBerry OS 4.1.0+ (BlackBerry OS 4.2+ for TwitPic support)
- BlackBerry Internet Browsing Service (BIS-B or BIBS) OR a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) OR a direct TCP data connection
Supported Devices
- BlackBerry Storm
- BlackBerry Bold
- BlackBerry Curve 8900
- BlackBerry Curve (8300, 8310, 8320, 8330, 8350i) Series
- BlackBerry 8800 Series
- BlackBerry Pearl (8100, 8110, 8120, 8130) Series
- BlackBerry Pearl Flip (8220)
- BlackBerry 8700 Series
- BlackBerry 7130 Series
- BlackBerry 7100 Series
- BlackBerry 7200 Series
- BlackBerry 7520
Device not supported? Let us know, we’ll try to get it working!
Download It Now
Download TwitterBerry from your BlackBerry. Visit http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/ on your BlackBerry.
Do you write more than one language? If you would like to help translate TwitterBerry into other languages, please visit TwitterBerry Translations on Google Code
Carroll County High School Football Update
From The Carroll News
http://www.thecarrollnews.com/
Ronnie
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Carroll County’s football team will have a new, yet familiar, opponent in 2009.
After opening the season with road trips to Piedmont District schools Bassett and Patrick County, the Cavaliers will open their home schedule Sept. 11 with the Christiansburg Blue Demons. Carroll County and Christiansburg used to go head-to-head on an annual basis as members of the old New River District, but the two have not played since 1995, Carroll’s last year in the New River before joining the Southwest District. Christiansburg is now a member of the River Ridge District.
Carroll County head coach Tom Hale said the Blue Demons will replace William Byrd on the schedule for a number of reasons.
“The series with William Byrd was a really good series for the two schools (the two teams split the series 2-2). We decided to put Christiansburg on there because they are much closer and to renew an old rivalry between two old New River District schools there,” Hale said. “We wanted to get that rivalry going and we think it is a close enough game where we can get fans from both sides to travel from each other’s school.”
And because of the power points required in the loaded Region IV, Division IV, keeping a Group AA school on the schedule to replace William Byrd was a must.
“That was the other thing, we didn’t want to lose a Double-AA school, so we were very fortunate in that regard in terms of finding a school in the same classification, and both being Division IV,” Hale said. “We both run basically the same type of offense and we are similar on defense. We have a lot in common really.”
Carroll will also get another quality opponent in the Blue Demons. Last year, the Cavs upset William Byrd, who went on to finish 7-4 en route to winning the Blue Ridge District. Christiansburg went 5-5 and 1-4 a year ago in the tough River Ridge, but has the bulk of that team returning.
“Coach (Tim) Cromer has done a heck of a job since he’s come there and their program is one of the top in this end of the state. They are going to be one of the top teams in that River Ridge,” Hale said. “Of course you always have Salem and Pulaski, but people are thinking they are going to be the sleeper. They have a lot of kids back. It will be our first home game of the season. We have to go to Bassett and Patrick and then come home and have Christiansburg, so those first three weeks will tell a lot about us.”
While Hale said the series with Christiansburg is originally set up for four games, he said Carroll hopes to keep the Blue Demons on the schedule as long as the two schools want to continue to play.
In a scheduling quirk, Carroll County will travel to Patrick County for the second year in a row in 2009. Hale said that was done because the two-year schedule cycle starts again this year, which would have put Carroll having six home games and four road games in one year, and vice versa the next.
“We had to do that in order for us to get five home games and five away. It came down to where we needed to make a choice of playing Tazewell again at Tazewell or Patrick again at Patrick,” Hale said. “After talking with (Carroll County Athletic Director) Darrin (Matthews), we felt it would be better to play Patrick County again at Patrick then another district game on the road. It also evened it out with three district games at home and three district games away. Since Patrick is a nondistrict game, we felt that would be better.”
Hale said Patrick will travel to Carroll in 2010 to finish the four-game series between the two teams. Like the new Christiansburg series, Hale said Carroll would like to keep Patrick on its schedule for the foreseeable future.
“It’s another team because of their proximity and the two schools have a lot in common, we would certainly like to keep them on our schedule for years to come,” Hale said.
One team that won’t be on Carroll’s schedule beginning in 2011 is Grundy. Hale said the Golden Wave would drop down to Group A in 2011, leaving the Southwest District. At that point, the Cavs will most likely be looking for a fourth nondistrict opponent.
“Unless something changes with the regional state format between now and 2011, it looks like we will be in six-team district trying to find an extra out-of-district game,” Hale said.
Carroll is scheduled to host Rural Retreat for a scrimmage on Aug. 15 before traveling to Galax on Aug. 21 for the annual benefit game between the two teams.
Carroll County 2009 varsity football schedule
Aug. 15 Rural Retreat (scrimmage)
Aug. 21 at Galax, 7 p.m. (Benefit Game)
Regular Season
Aug. 28 at Bassett, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Patrick County, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 Christiansburg, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 Tazewell, 7:30
Sept. 25 Grayson County, 7:30
Oct. 9 at Abingdon, 7:30
Oct. 16 at Marion, 7:30
Oct. 23 Grundy, 7:30
Oct. 30 Richlands, 7:30
Nov. 6 at Graham, 7:30
twitter grader
Here is a neat site: twittergrader.com
My score is 94 and my rank is 142,174 out of 2,468,341 not bad huh?
Here is some more information about twitter grader:
Ronnie
How Does Twitter Grader Calculate Twitter Rankings?
by dshah on May 20, 2009
The most common question I get at grader.com is about how the Twitter Grader algorithm (and associated rankings) works. Before we dig a bit into the details, it will help to understand the what before the how. What Twitter Grader is trying to measure is the power, reach and authority of a twitter account. In other words, when you tweet, what kind of an impact does it have?
Normally, we don’t like talking about the details of the Twitter Grader algorithm. This is for the same reason that Google doesn’t like to talk about its algorithm: revealing details increases the degree to which people try to game the system. So, lets approach the question from a different way. If one were to look at data for a given user available in twitter, what kinds of things would one look at to determine whether that user had power, reach and authority? Also, when looking at these various factors, it’s helpful to think about each of these in the “all other things being equal, what’s better” context. Otherwise, it’s easy to get caught up into non-productive arguments on why a certain factor is or isn’t important, because there are so many cases that “prove” that it doesn’t matter. Let me explain. One of the factors that goes into measuring your Twitter Grade is the number of followers you have. Many of you will argue that the number of followers is completely irrelevant because it’s so easy to game. There are automated tools to do nothing but acquire followers by following a bunch of people. That’s true. It is easy to spike up your follower count. However, I would counter with this: If we were looking at two different twitter users, all other things being equal (and I do mean all other things), the one with more followers is likely more powerful and deserves a higher twitter grade. Of course, all other things are usually not equal and that’s why the Twitter Grade is interesting.
So, let’s go into the factors. Note: These are NOT in order of priority or weight (and they’re not all weighted equally — not by a long shot).
Algorithm Factors
1. Number of Followers: More followers leads to a higher Twitter Grade (all other things being equal). Yes, I agree that it’s easy to game this number, but we are looking at measuring reach and I did say all other things being equal.
2. Power of Followers: If you have people with a high Twitter Grade following you, it counts more than those with a low Twitter Grade following you. It’s a bit recursive, and we don’t get carried away with it, but it helps.
2. Updates: More updates generally leads to a higher grade — within reason. This does not mean you should be tweeting like a manic squirrel cranked up on caffeine and sugar. It won’t help either your Twitter Grade or your overall happiness in life.
3. Update Recency: Users that are more current (i.e. time elapsed since last tweet is low) generally get higher grades.
4. Follower/Following Ratio: The higher the ratio, the better. However, the weight of this particular factor decreases as the user accrues points for other factors (so, once a user gets to a high level of followers or a high level of engagement, the Follower/Following ratio counts less).
5. Engagement: The more a given user’s tweets are being retweeted, the more times the user is being referenced or cited, the higher the twitter grade. Further, the value of the engagement is higher based on who is being engaged. If a user with a very high Twitter Grade retweets, it counts more than if a spammy account with a very low grade retweets.
The Grade Calculation: So, those are the factors that go into the calculation of a score. This score is then used to compare a user against all other users that also have a score. The grade is calculated as the approximate percentage of other users that have an equal or lower score. So, a Twitter Grade of 80 means that about 80% of the other users got a lower score. At the time this article is being written, over 2.1 million users have been graded.
The Ranking: The absolute ranking is exactly what it sounds like. Based on all other users scored, what’s your “position” in that list. A ranking of 5,000 means that only 4,999 other people had a higher score than you (at that point in time).
Elite List: The elite list is simply an ordered list of the top users (based on ranking) at a given point in time. This list is updated several times a day. We also maintain lists of the top ranking users based on a narrower set of users (like those in a specific geography, those that match a specific keyword, etc.).
That’s all I’ve got for now. Hopefully, this answers some of your questions. What are other factors you think we should be looking at to compute the Twitter Grade? Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Below is the true story that I shared in the Sunday Night Live Service last night. Several people have asked me to share it. It is an awesome illustration of God’s love for us.
Ronnie
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty. I want a drink.”
Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do.
She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of collapsed concrete and
steel. Beside them in the darkness lay the body of Susanna’s sister-in-law, Karine, one of the fifty-five thousand victims of the worst earthquake in the history of Soviet Armenia.
Susanna had gone to Karine’s house to try on a dress. It was December 7, 1988,at 11:30 a.m. The quake hit at 11:41. She had just removed the dress and was clad in stockings and a slip when the fifth-floor apartment began to shake. Susanna grabbed her daughter but had taken only a few steps before the floor opened up and they tumbled in.
Susanna, Gayaney, and Karine fell into the basement with the nine-story apartment house crumbling around them.
“Mommy, I need a drink. Please give me something.”
There was nothing for Susanna to give.
She was trapped flat on her back. A concrete panel eighteen inches above herhead and a crumpled water pipe above her shoulders kept her from standing.
Feeling around in the darkness, she found a twenty-four ounce jar of blackberry jam that had fallen into the basement. She gave the entire jar to her daughter to eat. It was gone by the second day.
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty.”
Susanna knew she would die, but she wanted her daughter to live. She found adress, perhaps the one she had come to try on, and made a bed for Gayaney. Though it was bitter cold, she took off her stockings and wrapped them around the child to keep her warm.
The two were trapped for eight days. Because of the darkness, Susanna lost track of time. Because of the cold, she lost
the feeling in her fingers and toes. Because of her inability to move, she lost hope. “Iwas just waiting for death.”
She began to hallucinate. Her thoughts wandered. A merciful sleep occasionally freed her from the horror of her entombment, but the sleep would be brief. Something always awakened her: the cold, the hunger, or most often, the voice of her daughter.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty.”
At some point in that eternal night, Susanna had an idea. She remembered atelevision program about an explorer in the Arctic who was dying of thirst. His comrade slashed open his hand and gave his friend his blood.
“I had no water, no fruit juice, no liquids. It was then I remembered I had myown blood.”
Her groping finger, numb from the cold, found a piece of shattered glass. Shesliced open her left index finger and give it to her daughter to suck. The drops of blood weren’t enough. “Please, Mommy, some more. Cut anotherfinger.” Susanna has no idea how many times she cut herself. She only knows that if she hadn’t, Gayaney would have died. Her blood was her daughter’s only hope.
Just like this story, it is Jesus blood that gives us life.
Beneath the rubble of a fallen world, he pierced his hands. In the wreckage of a collapsed humanity, he ripped open his side. His children were trapped, so he gave his blood.
“If anyone is thirsty,” Jesus once said, “Let him come to me and drink.”
So the thirsty come. A ragged lot we are, bound together by broken dreams and collapsed promises. Fortunes that were never made. Families that were never built. Promises that were never kept. Wide-eyed children trapped in the basement of our own failures.
And we are very thirsty.
Not thirsty for fame, possessions, passion, or romance. We’ve drunk from those pools. They are salt water in the desert. They don’t quench – they kill.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . .”
Matthew 5:6
Righteousness. That’s it. That’s what we are thirsty for. We’re thirsty for aclean conscience. We crave a clean slate. We yearn for a fresh start. We pray for a hand which will enter the dark cavern of our world and do for us the one thing we can’t do for ourselves – make us right again.
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty,” Gayaney begged.
“It was then I remembered I had my own blood,” Susanna explained.
And the hand was cut, and the blood was poured, and the child was saved.
“God, I’m so thirsty,” we pray.
“It is my blood, the blood of the new agreement,” Jesus stated, “shed to set many free from their sins.”
A Day In The Life of Your Pastor: June 29, 2009
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Well getting to bed earlier than any night recently. Loving it!about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Tking God 4 our son Michael. He is a lot like me, a people pleaser. That can be hard @ times but many times people pleasers R peace kepers.about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Getting ready to clean up the dishes and get to bed a bit early. Tomorrow is a big catch up day in the office.about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- It has been a great day! The band did a great job tonight, if you weren’t there, you missed the best praise band around.about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Having burgers at 9PM for dinner. Not a good habit! Did get in a 2 mile walk before church with the family.about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Barney Hall, Matt Hall’s great grandfatherabout 19 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Matt’s grandfather who has had a strokeabout 19 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Our 2 year old is having a conversation with an eagle statue in the restaurant, Fancy Gap Deliabout 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Getting ready for the 11am worship serviceabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- @ Out Of The Boxabout 24 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Ray & Laura are singing “Holy is the Lord”6:57 AM Jun 28th from TwitterBerry
- Getting ready 2 go to 1st Hillsville UM Church. A very exciting, active church. Join us, 8:30 & 11am the 6:30pm 4 SNL and Live Worship Band5:29 AM Jun 28th from web
- Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 10:65:26 AM Jun 28th from web
- Trip to Liberty coming up this week. Looking forward to seeing how the school has grown and getting a new hat, mine is worn out.5:13 AM Jun 28th from web
- As with every year, it is so hard to believe the week has come and gone. I have a busy week ahead and a busy July and desire your prayers.4:38 AM Jun 28th from web
twitter and the local News
This morning I was surprised but not really, when I watched on WXII News 12 as they were encouraging people to twitter. I thought as I was watching that the following. One of the big stories lately is that newspapers and even 24 hour news channels are becoming less and less used because of tools like twitter and facebook. Information is going out live from people at the moment things are happening. Here is the great thing. Rather than letting twitter and facebook pass them by the news broadcasters are getting on board and using the tool to their advantage.
I think it is relevant to the church also. I was sitting in the Pre Conference Briefing for our District (Wytheville) a few weeks ago and I was twittering the highlights of the meeting and the person sitting next to me was looking at me with a look that said, I can’t believe you have that phone out texting while we are in this meeting.
I think when we use this technology in the church it says to people out there searching for a better life that we are not living in 1965 any longer. The church is relevant, I didn’t say change the truth of anything, I said we are relevant to the changing times and the way people communicate.
I would encourage every person who has the technology to twitter your church services. I will do this is a much stronger way in a later blog.
Follow WXII 12 News here http://twitter.com/WXII
Ronnie
Vacation Day 7
We have had a great family vacation. We have worked hard and played hard together. The key is that we have done things together. We went swimming two different times during the week and spent the rest of the time working on a fire pit and a play set for the kids. We had hoped to finish the play set before the end of vacation but it has proven to be a very time consuming project. We have had several friend stop by and lend a helping hand through the project and we are grateful for all the help. We are all sad that the vacation is over but we are so blessed to have had the week off together.
Ronnie
Vacation Day 7 in the Life of Your Pastor
Read from the bottom up and there is a two hour delay.
Ronnie
- We had a fire in the pit tonight and made smores, they were great. Thanks to. Todd 4 the PB idea. I didn’t really like them until tonight.about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- There R 8 children N the family & #9 is on the way. This is why we are building the Sky Fort.about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- In 19 minutes vacation will officially be over and that makes me sad.about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- It has been 1 of the great vacations. We have worked a lot on things 4 the family 2 enjoy 4 years 2 come & we have worked & played together.about 7 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Trimming trees and collecting fire wood for the 1st firing of the fire pit for smores tonight.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- The kids are all napping and the adults are taking a break from building the Ark. This thing has a million pieces.about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Mike, his next interview (1 of so many) for Corrections Officer is Monday afternoon.about 22 hours ago from web
- Praying for mom, her follow up test is Tuesday to get more information on what they have found on her lungs.about 22 hours ago from web
- “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. Jn 6:35about 22 hours ago from web
- Getting ready to start on the Sky Fort Againabout 23 hours ago from web
Vacation Day 6 In The Life Of Your Pastor
- Praying for a cousin who will be baptized July 5th along with his son. An answer to lots of prayer.about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Mike & Susie R helpng, Caitlin has gone 4 food 4 the crew, Misty is @ VBS w/Kyle, mom has Samuel & Judah. Wait, what am I suposed 2 B doing?about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Kenneth came by & helped with the Sky Fort & loaned us tools. Tks Kenneth, I hope it is built well, I would hate to ever have to replace itabout 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Getting ready to start on the Sky Fort again. Miles to go before we can play on it!about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for my mom, tests show what the doctors are calling knots on her lungs. Further tests are being scheduled. We desire your prayers.about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Just got a huge blessing. Reading a bk I haven’t looked @ N years & a pic Dustin drew N 1990 fell out. Smile face, cross & Jesus. Mde my dayabout 17 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praising God, pastor Ty prayed with a lady who has chosen to follow Christ today.about 19 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Booked a Fall revival & praying that God will start breaking their hearts now for knowing Him better.about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying 4 my wife, that our marriage will always B honoring 2 God. That we will B a Godly example to our children.about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying 4 my children. There is Gods Will & our Will. In order to B in unity, God & I must communicate. I pray my kids always commune w/ Godabout 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for July Witness Team Meeting. Planning Evangelism Conference and Pentecost 2010 50 daysabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Mike, his final interview as Corrections Officer is @ 10am this morning.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- 2 mile prayer walk then swimming with the family in Dublin today.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Celebrating that Deb Holly, Chair of Holston Discipleship Team is now on Facebookabout 23 hours ago from web
- blogging @ www.imagebearer.wordpress.comabout 24 hours ago from web
Judah is 6 Weeks Old, Thursday June 25th, 2009
Judah is 6 weeks old now, hard to believe. As you can see, he is smiling a lot now. A very happy baby and thriving.
Ronnie
Your 6-week-old
How your baby’s growing:
Now that your baby’s awake for longer periods during the day, you can use these times to support his sensory development. Try singing your favorite lullabies or playing music.
You don’t have to limit yourself to children’s songs. Fill the house with the sounds of music — from the Black Eyed Peas to Mozart — and watch as your baby expresses his pleasure through coos, lip smacks, and jerking arm and leg movements.
www.babycenter.com
Vacation Project #1 Fire Pit
I love to go camping on occasion. I don’t love it enough to go real often. To be honest the part I love the most is sitting around the campfire and just talking with each other as well as enjoying God’s Creation. When Kevin and Dustin were growing up we went camping quite a bit. There was another family in the church with kids their age and we made a habit of getting the boys in the woods on a regular basis. Now we have a whole new group of children coming along and last year we camped on the New River Trail with Alex, Kyle, and Christopher. I said that time I wanted to go home and build a fire pit. That way we can sit around the fire and go to our own beds.
We have finally done it. I plan to add some things to it as time goes along, probably a fire ring with a grill and a lamp post for starters but for now we have a fire pit to enjoy.
Ronnie
fire
A Day In The Life Of Your Pastor
Read from the bottom up and there is a two hour time delay.
Ronnie
- Time to fall into bed. Just like vacation only we stayed home. It has been different but great.about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praising God for more answered prayer. Jake is doing great after extraction of wisdom teeth.about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Just put Samuel to bed, fell asleep in his highchair again. No nap today, too much excitement.about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Tomorrow we are swimming the day away and then back to assembly of the playset.about 10 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- I’m tired!about 10 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Ok we have 8 adults, 3 to put the playset together & 5 to watch the kidsabout 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Riding the boys around to get them to take a nap. Worked with christopher but not Samuel.about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Fire pit is finishedabout 18 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Rock hunting for the fire pitabout 19 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Go figure, I ate at Outback last night and topped it off with 3 Krispy Kreme donuts & this morning I am down 2 lbsabout 20 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying 4 those affected: Mack truck assembly will move from Volvo in Dublin to Pennsylvaniaabout 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- We still have 4 rescue puppies that need good homes.about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- When we returned home last night the puppies were out of the fence and 1 of the puppies had gotten N the road. We are going to bury him now.about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- blogging Bishop Swanson’s Reading Listabout 21 hours ago from web
- blogging Holston Conference Updates www.imagebearer.wordpress.comabout 21 hours ago from web
- Finished 5 miles run/walk/prayingabout 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Youth, need a place to hang out, hang with friends, learn more about life and why you R here? Join us @ Out of the Box, wed eve’s @ 630PMabout 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- If you don’t have a church home, come go with me on Sunday. 1st Hillsville UMC 830 & 11am then 630PM Praise Band. I hear the preaching …about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- I challenge all who R able to take a walk today, enjoy Gods Creation. The beauty. He still speaks in 2009 and he speaks through His Creationabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Sally who has lost a dear friend yesterday. Gods unexplained peace!about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for the Atlanta mission trip, praying God works out the detailsabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Dan & the Warehouse Ministry in Maconabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Thankful that God possess a quality we don’t have! The ability 2 forget our sin when we repent. We must 4give others but God goes further.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Claudia and her family in South Africa. God is in control.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Gladys who has lost a dear friend. That friend is now in heaven.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Crystal, that she will get the job of a lifetime today. God is so good.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Jake who is gaving his wisdom teeth extracted this morning. Perfect peace cause God is in control.about 24 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- going for a prayer walk, send your prayer requestabout 24 hours ago from web
Vacation Day 5
We are making progress. We finished up the fire pit yesterday and started the playset. The playset is hands down going to be the biggest task we have undertaken for this vacation. There are hundreds of pieces and a book if instructions.
Bishop Swanson’s Reading List
Bishop James Swanson presides over theHolston Annual Conference.
Ever wonder what’s lying on Bishop James Swanson’s nightstand? Well, now you know. And what’s more, Cokesbury of Johnson City and Knoxville are offering a 25 percent discount on each of these books, now through July 31.
The Poverty and Justice Bible (CEV), by American Bible Society
The Wesley Study Bible, by Joel B. Green and William H. Willimon
The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes
Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity, by Adam Hamilton
Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration, by Amber Van Schooneveld and Wess Stafford
Annual Conference wraps up with big decisions, big giving
By Annette Spence
Bishop James Swanson (far right) andMorristown Superintendent Mickey Rainwater
(far left) send blessings to Sudan with the
Revs. Phyllis and Boo Hankins.
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — The Holston Annual Conference made tough decisions by passing the long-debated “direct invoicing” action and considering three finance-related resolutions. They absorbed the teachings of the Rev. Adam Hamilton and raised $169,717* for mission work in south Sudan during their June 14-17 meeting.
Led by Bishop James E. Swanson Sr., leaders of 904 churches in east Tennessee, southwest Virginia, and north Georgia met for the second year under the “Offer Them Christ” theme. They also took an offering for Yei, Sudan, for the second year. This year’s offering brought Holston’s two-year total to about $350,000, exceeding a $250,000 goal to support a covenant partnership with the East Africa Conference.
Scroll to the end of this page for daily newspaper PDFs.
Members approved a $15.16 million budget for 2010 – five percent less than the 2009 adopted budget. After a lengthy discussion, they overwhelmingly approved a direct invoicing report that will remove pensions and health insurance from the apportionment formula, instead allowing local churches to pay directly for those costs beginning in 2011.
Three resolutions were addressed. A resolution to base conference finances on tithing was referred to the Council on Finance and Administration. A resolution to reduce the number of districts from 12 to six was referred to the appointment cabinet. A resolution to eliminate the pastor’s salary as an element in the conference apportionment formula was rejected.
The Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., led three teaching sessions entitled “Beyond the Walls.” The Rev. Tyrone Gordon, senior pastor at St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church in Dallas, preached at the opening worship service. Retired Bishop Marion Edwards, bishop in residence at LaGrange College, preached at both the ordination service and the retirement/commissioning service.
In other conference action:
• The Rev. Buford Hankins and the Rev. Phyllis Hankins were ceremoniously sent forth on a two-year assignment in Yei, Sudan, where they will oversee and implement Holston’s mission with the East Africa Conference.
• Churches joined in collecting 7,647 kits for United Methodist missions in Zimbabwe and Liberia, stuffing two ocean carriers with food, clothing, school, health, and vocational supplies.
• An offering of $56,328 was collected for “Change for Children,” more than $5,000 above the 2008 offering. The money will be divided to benefit children’s ministry in Holston and in Sudan. Thirteen Holston groups received grants from last year’s offering.
• The Congregational Development Team announced that 15 churches will be started in the next five years, with an immediate goal of one church in 2009 and three churches in 2010.
• Members learned that Holston’s four camps hosted 3,241 campers and recognized 1,304 faith decisions in the 2008 summer season.
• The Witness Ministry Team announced the goal of offering an evangelism conference in early 2010 and baptizing 3,000 on Pentecost Sunday.
• The Conference Council on Youth Ministries celebrated the second straight year as the top United Methodist conference in giving to Youth Service Fund.
• The conference celebrated nine Hispanic communities and the formation of a new African American Ministry Team and Poverty Action Team.
• Holston Home for Children will move into its second newly constructed House of Hope this month, providing a residence for 10 adolescents. A $4.5 million fundraising campaign is 92 percent complete and includes funding for the first House of Hope and campus renovations.
• In all but one of 32 ballots for constitutional amendments, about 75 to 95 percent of members voted the same way. Most voted against the 23 amendments changing the name “central conference” to “regional conference.” Most voted in favor of Amendments 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 19, and 22, and most voted against Amendment 2. Members were more divided on Amendment 1, with 63 percent voting against the “Inclusiveness of the Church” statement.
• Bishop Swanson recognized 22 newly certified local pastors, commissioned 11 provisional elders and two provisional deacons in addition to ordaining 16 elders in full connection and two deacons in full connection. The conference celebrated the retirement of 13 clergy and memorialized a record number of 32 deceased clergy.
Membership stands at 166,805, down 326 from the previous year. Average worship attendance stands at 71,677, down 265. Church school attendance stands at 38,034, down 732.
http://holston.org/about/communications/the-call/volE/num61/annual-conference-wraps-big-decisions/
Clergy Appointments for the Wytheville District
WYTHEVILLE DISTRICT
District Superintendent: Meg G. Taylor
Appointment Years
Charge Pastor Code Appointed
Aldersgate-Jordan’s Chapel (2) John Grimm FE 5
Atkins (1) Charles G. Smythers PL 4
Auburn (1) Katherine C. Hale FE 6
Bishop’s Chapel (1) Jim Harmon PL 5
Bridle Creek Circuit (3) Faith Ramer PL 1
Carter Street-Belspring (2) Tammy C. Wright FE 1
Cedar Springs Circuit (4) Ginny Tompkins FL 5
Cripple Creek Circuit (4) Timothy P. Worgan FL 5
Door of Heaven (1) Javier Hernandez FL 4
Draper Circuit (3) Bryan Wyke FE 5
Dublin (1) Bill Rowland FE 5
Elk Creek Circuit (6) William Shupe FL 2 *
Fairlawn-Bethel (2) H. Randolph Morris AM 6
Blue Ridge Circuit (3) Scott Robertson-Gouge FE 2
Floyd (1) Richard Gregory FE 11
Floyd Circuit (3) Joshua D. Kilbourne PE 4
Franklin Street (1) Elizabeth Allen-Villinger OE 1
Fries (1) D. Lee Thomas PL 4
Fries Circuit (6) Kenneth J. Blevins AM 6
Galax Circuit (3) Donald White FL 5
Galax, First (1) Walter C. Simmerman FE 4
Galax, First, Youth Minister P. Christopher Luper PD 1
Gladeville-Mt. Olivet (2) Kevin Fiorini FE 2
Grace Circuit (4) Wayne T. Monroe FL 2
Graham’s Forge (1) Ray Bolen PL 11
Grant-Flat Ridge Circuit (3) R. Glenn Burcham PL 4
29
Tazewell / Wytheville
Grove (1) Karen M. Lane FE 2
Grove, Director of Youth-VA Tech Ila W. Schepisi PD 2
Adult Day Services, Activities Director/Faculty Instructor
Hillsville, First (1) Timothy S. Harrison FE 6
Hillsville, First, Ministries Coordinator Ronnie Collins PE 4
Independence, First-Flat Rock (2)
Independence, First -1 Teresa J. Gregory AM 2 *
Flat Rock -1 Preaching Station
Lead Mines Circuit (4) Elizabeth King PL 2
Max Meadows Circuit (4) Gleasanna Johnson FL 2
Morgan’s-Rockford (2) Darlene J. Marshall FL 5
Mt. Olivet-Trinity (2) Judy Yonce PL 10
Mt. Pleasant (1) Joe Mack Taylor FE 6
Mt. Vale-Savannah (2) Richard G. Lindamood FE 6
Mt. Zion (1) Norman C. Wilhoit RE 2
New Mt. Olive-New Hope (2) Barbara Doyle PL 4
Newbern-Mountain View (2) Paul C. Goshorn FE 1
Oakland (1) John W. Ousley FE 6
Pulaski, First (1) Elihugh J. Kilgore, Jr. FE 5
Radford, Central (1) Richard D. Wright FE 4
Radford, Central,
Associate for Congregational Care Donald P. Shelor FL 1
Randolph Avenue-Slaughter’s Chapel (2) Leroy Henry FE 2 *
Riner Parish
Fairview-Sidney (2) Michael Waller PL 2
Mt. Airy-Parrott (2) Teresa Tolbert PL 2 *
Pilot (1) William B. Norris SY 1
Rural Retreat Circuit (4) RuthAnne G. Henley AM 4
Rural Retreat-Mount Olive (2)
Rural Retreat -1 Brian C. Burch FE 2
Mount Olive -1 Preaching Station
Spring Valley Circuit (5) Victoria Neese FL 2
St. Paul (1) Thomas T. Ballard FE 4
St. Paul, Associate, Discipleship & Youth Laura R. Blair FE 4
Thornsprings-Wesley Memorial (2) Stephen G. McMurray OF 3
West End (1) Janet S. Richardson FE 4
West Galax-Glenwood (2) Joe Carrico AM 5
Woodlawn-Shiloh (2) Gloria L. Rhudy FL 2
Wytheville Circuit (4) Timothy F. McCobin FE 2
(Charges – 53, Churches – 117)
APPOINTMENTS TO EXTENSION MINISTRIES
WITHIN THE CONNECTIONAL STRUCTURES OF UNITED METHODISM (¶344.1a)
District Superintendent Meg G. Taylor FE 1
LEAVE OF ABSENCE (¶354)
CC New Mount Olive Douglas Crockett FE 4
CC Aldersgate Maria Grimm FE 3
30
Wytheville
31
* Asterisk indicates appointment made between sessions of the Annual Conference.
Number listed under Years Appointed indicates number of times appointed.
Holston Conference: Ballot counts for 32 amendments
Holston members get to work on amendmentvoting on June 15 at Annual Conference.
Here are the totaled results of Holston Conference’s vote for 32 proposed amendments to the constitution of The United Methodist Church. The vote was held on Monday, June 15, at the Holston Annual Conference in Lake Junaluska, N.C. These results will be counted along with votes from 122 other United Methodist conferences.
The numbers below show the total of “yes” votes, total “no” votes, and percentage of “yes” votes.
Download text of Constitutional Amendments
Amendment 1: Yes-361 No-629 Percentage yes-36.5%
Amendment 2: Yes-63 No-930 Percentage yes-6%
Amendment 3: Yes-83 No-907 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 4: Yes-85 No-906 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 5: Yes-86 No-904 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 6: Yes-854 No-137 Percentage yes-86%
Amendment 7: Yes-90 No-890 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 8: Yes-895 No-97 Percentage yes-90%
Amendment 9: Yes-892 No-94 Percentage yes-91%
Amendment 10: Yes-96 No-894 Percentage yes-10%
Amendment 11: Yes-90 No-898 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 12: Yes-85 No-907 Percentage yes-9%
Amendement 13: Yes-85 No-907 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 14: Yes-81 No-909 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 15: Yes-861 No-127 Percentage yes-87%
Amendment 16: Yes-87 No-903 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 17: Yes-877 No-105 Percentage yes-89%
Amendment 18: Yes-98 No-894 Percentage yes-10%
Amendment 19: Yes-748 No-229 Percentage yes-77%
Amendment 20: Yes-93 No-889 Percentage yes-10%
Amendment 21: Yes-95 No-888 Percentage yes-10%
Amendment 22: Yes-896 No-88 Percentage yes-91%
Amendment 23: Yes-81 No-909 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 24: Yes-87 No-903 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 25: Yes-83 No-908 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 26: Yes-81 No-912 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 27: Yes-85 No-909 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 28: Yes-102 No-884 Percentage yes-10%
Amendment 29: Yes-88 No-905 Percentage yes-9%
Amendment 30: Yes-81 No-912 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 31: Yes-82 No-907 Percentage yes-8%
Amendment 32: Yes-81 No-912 Percentage yes-8%
http://holston.org/about/communications/the-call/volE/num61/ballot-count/
Vacation Day 4, 2009
I have discovered if I didn’t have to work I could get a lot accomplished at home. This week has been a blast. We are doing special projects around home and hanging out together. Yesterday we got the delivery of gravel for the fire pit and will hopefully complete that project today. We found the play set for the kids we have been planning for at Sams in Winston Salem. The kit says it will take approximately 16 hours for two people to put this thing together so I figure if we have 8 people it should take 4 hours. I will count on my family and friends and do the part I assigned because I really don’t like assembling things that have a million pieces.
Mike had his personal interview here at home with the folks from Dublin. Mike has applied for a position as a Corrections Officer. It is looking really good that he could get the job.
The Jeep: About 18 months ago we started having an issue with the Jeep and the anti theft system. It would sometimes crank but would not run. The folks that usually work on my vehicles worked with it and couldn’t fix it. The there was a fella who rents a garage by my home who said he could fix it. After months and months and still having the problem I took it to the Jeep Dealership. I picked it up yesterday and the cost of repair was $349.00. It ran like a new vehicle, we brought it home and carried off the garbage. loaded up the family and the trailer to head to Winston and find the playset and just 10 miles from home I noticed a problem. We stopped my Mt Airy Tire and discovered that one of the front brakes was locked up. After about 1.5 hours and $149.00 we were back on the road.
You know the greatesat thing through all this? I was with my family, we were close to home and knew the folks working on the vehicle, we hung out in the office of Mt Airy Tire and ate snacks and met some really great people as well as talking with some folks we hadn’t seen in years. The kids dis great.
I prayed yesterday for divine appointments and this could have been one of them.
We traveled on to Winston, found the playset, Misty and Caitlin did a little shopping at the mall and we ate at Outback Steak House. Oh yeah we topped it off by stopping at Krispy Kreme.
It was a perfect day! God is Good to us.
Ronnie
A Day In The Life Of Your Pastor: June 24, 2009
Read from the bottom up and there is a two hour time delay.
Ronnie
- Praying for Jake, having his wisdom teeth pulled in the amabout 8 hours ago from web
- blogging The Collins Family Play Place@ www.imagebearer.wordpress.comabout 8 hours ago from web
- blogging UMC Voting Results @ www.imagebearer.wordpress.comabout 8 hours ago from web
- blogging METHODISTS SAY “NO” TO THEIR LEADERS By Dr. Bill Bouknight www.imagebearer.wordpress.comabout 8 hours ago from web
- Wow it has been a full and blessed day. All day with all 4 of my boys, my wife, my grandchildren and The Lord has blessed every minute of itabout 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Eating sprinkle and jelly donuts with Christopher. It don’t get no better! Vacation!about 9 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Krispy Kerme runabout 10 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Headed home with 5 sleepy children and 4 laid back adults.about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Claudia and family.about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Please pray for Laura, she is not feeling well.about 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Were in the Outbackabout 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Waiting @ the mall!about 12 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Laura, doing finel just praying for strength and health.about 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Ok we have priced swing/playsets @ wal Mart, Sams, and Lowes and we have decided on the Sky Fort @ Samsabout 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- On the road again!about 15 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Front brake locked up on the Jeep, plans always changing. Another lesson that we don’t own things they own us.about 17 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Well we started to Winston & something new is happening with the Jeep. I pray its nothing bad, feels like a brake is stuck.about 17 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Picking Kyle up @ summer school and then on to Winston. Looking for a swing set for all the kids. Putting together party tomorrow afternoon.about 18 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Mike is having his personal interview as corrections officer, praying for Gods Will.about 19 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Picking up the jeep & paying big repair billabout 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Having breakfast with Samuel and considering the possibility of a sandbox for the kids.about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- 4 miles walked & prayed, start of a great day!about 21 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Looks like we R starting the adoption process w Kyle, we desire yr prayers. He is a great kid, still has lots of spec needs, bt God is good.about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Divine appointments with those ready to follow Christ.about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for families everywhere, that we are together more often and that we not let things, people, or being busy keep us apart.about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Sally and Donnaabout 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Paul and Oleta and the family.about 23 hours ago from web
- Going for a prayer walk, please share your prayer request.about 23 hours ago from web
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6about 23 hours ago from web
The Collins Family Play Place
Here is the Playset we picked up for all the kids in the Collins Family and anyone who comes to play with them of course. The instructions say it takes 2 people 16 hours to put it together. I have read 2 reviews that said 30 and 40 hours.
We will start tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon and hope to have it together before dark. I am grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for all who wish to come and help out.
Ronnie
UMC Voting Results
Almost all of the 62 U.S. Annual Conferences have now voted on the Proposed
Constitutional Amendments. 44 Annual Conferences have released complete
vote tallies while others have voted, but have yet to release any official tallies.
For the 44 Annual Conferences whose votes have been tallied, the aggregate
totals are as follows: Proposed Amendment 1 received 15,680 (47%) Yes votes
and 17,511 (53%) No votes. Proposed Amendment 19 received 24,700 (77%)
Yes votes and 7,314 (23%) No votes. None of the 23 Proposed Amendments
regarding the World-wide Nature of the Church have passed so far.
The five Proposed Amendments that would authorize the creation of Regional Conferences
have only received between 34% and 36% of the votes (not the required
two-thirds vote).
http://confessingumc.org/fileadmin/news_events/newsletters/15.3enewsletter.pdf
METHODISTS SAY “NO” TO THEIR LEADERS By Dr. Bill Bouknight
United Methodists in America are clearly rejecting some proposals of their leaders. Those leaders are the
Council of Bishops, the Connectional Table (47 clergy and laypersons), and many of the delegates to the 2008
General Conference. That group was responsible for the 32 constitutional amendments that were approved
by at least a 2/3rd vote of the 2008 General Conference. As of this date (June 24), the rank and file United
Methodists of America, expressing themselves through their Annual Conferences, have delivered a resounding
rejection to the six most dangerous amendments— Amendments I (1), IV (4), X (10), XIII (13), XXIII
(23), and XXVI (26). Currently most of the amendments are being rejected by at least a 2/3rd vote.
None of them has received even a simple majority (51%) approval. And we haven’t heard from most of the Central
Conferences yet. American Methodists are sending some clear messages to their leadership:
1. Many delegates to the 2008 General Conference
did not represent very well the beliefs and concerns
of United Methodists back home.
2. The leadership of our church should stop tinkering
with our organization because organization
is not our problem.
3. The main problem of the UMC is spiritual and
theological. We no longer have consensus
about our mission and message.
We’re not sure anymore that all persons in their natural condition are lost and need to be saved. We’re not
sure anymore about the purpose of the cross and whether it was necessary. We have a desperate need for our bishops to lead us in recovering our fundamental beliefs as stated in our Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith.
St. Paul taught us that “if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” (I Cor. 14:8).
Over the past forty years, Methodism’s gospel trumpet has often been muted and sometimes silent. We don’t
need to compromise Christ with culture. We must lift up Christ in order to transform culture.
http://confessingumc.org/fileadmin/news_events/newsletters/15.3enewsletter.pdf
Vacation Day 3, 2009
Tuesday was another great day. We decided as a family for the first time in 25 years no to go to the beach for family vacation. There are many reasons, number one being the finances. It cost a lot of money to travel to the beach, rent a place for a week and eat meals out all week. In many ways I am sad that we didn’t go but to be honest staying at home and doing special things each day is turning out to be a lot of fun. The family is together every day, we are eating meals together and we are getting things done that we have wanted to do for a long time.
We started a fire pit that we have wanted for a year now and that should be finished today. We spent the day swimming yesterday and we had to drag the kids out of the water in order to come home and we are going swimming at a different place on Friday.
Today we are going to Winston together and looking for a yard play set for the children, going to eat at OutBack and just having fun.
God is Good!
Ronnie
This Day In The Life of Your Pastor June 24, 2009
Read from the bottom up and there is a two hour delay.
Ronnie
- Kyle is @ vbs, misty & judah are @ wal mart, Samuel & I are hanging out @ home, riding the cycle.about 10 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Oletaabout 10 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Dinner with family & friendsabout 11 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- 5.2 miles and the clock time keeps improving. Did I tell you that I beat Kenneth in the Pilot Mountain Challenge on Saturday?about 13 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Going for a run with Kenneth.about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- I love this vacation stuff, I vote for a week each month. Maybe that would make a good resolution for annual conference 2010about 14 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Back from swimming, nap time.about 16 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Samuel peed in the potty this morning, 22 months not badabout 20 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Going swimming yay!about 22 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Were all going swimming in the big cement pond today! Everybody is still tired from all the activity yesterday.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
- Praying for Sally & Donna, help me pray that God will give them strength & healing.about 23 hours ago from TwitterBerry
About Ronnie G. Collins
I am one of the Pastor’s of First United Methodist Church in Hillsville Virginia and FUMC Downtown “Out of the Box”, Youth Ministry. We now have two campuses. The main church is at 225 Fulcher Street and our newest location is 522 North Main Street Hillsville, FUMC Downtown “Out of the Box”. I have a rich history of different church backgrounds to pull from and I believe that is why I am where I am in my Christian Life today. I have a Passion to see hurting, lost people come to know Jesus Christ. I believe that we as Christians have to demonstrate God’s Love to them, rather than just telling them they are loved. I am married and have 4 sons two very special nephews that are like sons, 2 grandchildren and 3 great nephews that are like grandchildren. I am a blessed man.
