GC - Ron Hockley

I am still personally mulling/ processing the teaching that we heard at Conference. I have notes from a couple more sessions that, as promised, I will be posting. What follows are the notes from the morning devotional given by Ron Hockley. Ron pastors the Trinity Project (a Missionary church in Portland).

Matthew 14:13
- Jesus retreated when he heard the bad news about John the Baptist (his cousin)
- the people followed him
* the danger of giving all of ourselves to the "needy" around us
* example of a giant Slurpee and everyone gets a sip until it's gone
- Jesus had compassion and ministered even during his personal time of sorrow
- you cannot do ministry without encountering need -- there are broken people everywhere
John 6:5
- "where will we get food for all of these?"
- there is never enough to meet all of the needs around us
The Disciples' Solutions
1. Its not my problem
- send them away to buy their own food
2. We can't afford it
- "it would take 8 months wages..."
3. What I have Isn't enough
- we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish to go around
Jesus' Solution -- You feed them
- Jesus calls us to accomplish things beyond our own capabilities
- giving what we have to Jesus = multiplied blessings
- do we measure our resources by what we have or in terms of what God can give?
- what is the provision that you need?
*** the key lies in giving what you have to Jesus and having Him multiply it

GC - "How to build a team" by Tom Mullins

• we spend far too little time working in our strengths. they are strengths for a reason.
• Jesus was the greatest coach of all time! we need to follow his examples
• the church is not about OUR comfort.
• the message of Christ and the Word are sacred; not the methods we use to present them
• good fishermen know all about the fish that they're after
• creating a Coach/ Team environment gives a common goal and people will follow

--- The Power of Celebration ---

Celebration ACKNOWLEDGES accomplished goals

Celebration VALIDATES the effort needed to achieve victory

Celebration MOTIVATES the team

Celebration BUILDS & SUSTAINS team attitudes

Celebration ATTRACTS potential new team members

** we need to find things to celebrate; even if they seem small. we should never create an environment where the only times we meet are about negative things.

GC -- Changes for the future

One of the changes that the denomination is seeing as necessary is to take our missions organization and create a separate entity for it. WP (abbreviated on purpose) needs to be unconnected from the denomination so that work may continue. In many places of the world it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain visas and work permits that allow people into the country. This will only increase over time and this "firewall" will help WP continue their work. When more of this is made known do not be dismayed or think that they are turning away from their mission.
Along this line all churches and individuals that have websites, blogs, personal pages, etc. on the web are being asked to show discernment in what they might write or post anywhere on the Internet. A church who might list that they are actively supporting "so and so" in "such and such" country may in fact place that missionary in danger. Please check any pages you are responsible for. If you desire to have something on your page a suggestion is to simply state that you or your organization support ministry in "fill in the blank" country without including names or personal info.
If you would go to the WP page at this time you would find that there is nothing there. In the future there will likely only be a bulletin board type page with contact information for the organization.
All of this has been a powerful reminder to me that we need to be in constant prayer fro those who are ministry around the globe. Most of us have no idea the level of potential persecution and personal danger that many of these folks would be subject to if discovered.

GC Takeaway -- Denominational Reorganization

One of the things that was discussed at GC was how the denomination should be organized. Are we 12 districts with a leadership hub or are we one denomination with the President at the head? The following is an excerpt of what the General Board has assigned this cpmmission to work on:

At least three “competing” or “conflicting” models are currently a working paradigm for various parts of the Missionary Church. Some see the Missionary Church as a gathering of a cooperative group of semi-independent churches working together for global impact and church planting. A second group functionally sees the Missionary Church working historically as an affiliation of semi-autonomous Districts. Those Districts, in that paradigm, have a broad measure of independence (credentialing, doctrinal issues, etc.) A third group views the denomination as an historical central authority body where the decision-making rests at the top levels (i.e. Nazarene model).
The commission is to "help the Missionary Church identify who we are, how we can most effectively operate, and how we can best position ourselves for effective ministry through healthy synergy and corporate alignment.”

While no decisions were made at this conference there was a forum on these issues as well as opportunities for those in attendance to give their thoughts, feelings, input on the issues at hand.
The commission involved desires to hear from as many in the denomination as will give their input. With that in mind they have set up The Commission Blog as a means of education and a place to give input on the issues regarding the structure of our denomination. Stop by, check it out, and give your input.

GC -- "Marked for Life" by Gary Aupperle

As promised I will be sharing notes from the Conference sessions. I needed a few days to recover mentally and skim these with that perspective. What follows are my notes from the final devotional session where Pastor Aupperle challenged us prior to corporate communion.

• Galatians 6:11-18


• we will all be marked by something in life; what will it be in mine?

- Deut.21:23

• - I Cor. 1:18
• we should be tattooed by the cross
• Barna's 12 most significant religious findings of 2006 included:

*15% of evangelicals see God as the top priority in life

* 35% say God expects us to be holy

#1: I will EMBRACE the cross

• the cross + nothing = salvation. nothing else is needed !
• Judaizers: cross + the law needed
• Gal. 1:6,7; 3:3; 6:11-15
• this view helps avoid any persecution because of the cross
• picking up your cross and carrying it is a one way journey - you don't get to come back

#2 I will ENDURE the cross

• Gal. 6:16,17
• 2 Cor 11:23-28
• no distraction from the goal
• Luke 9:51; 14:27
• I cannot say YES to the cross and continue to hang on to the things of this life

#3 I will EXALT only in the cross

• Gal. 6:14-15
• it's not about the externals
• Phil. 2:14-16
• nothing in this world holds attraction for me
• Acts 20:22-24

WHAT WILL YOU BE MARKED BY?????

GC - We're Home

I apologize for the lack of posts for the last 48 hours. We got in late Thursday evening and Friday was a whirlwind into into the early AM Saturday. There will be a series of posts to follow on varying topics but this is the summary.
Thursday was our "mostly free" day and we took advantage to take in some sights in the region after the morning sessions. We saw Haystack Rock and Multnomah Falls as the highlights (photos to follow). In between we saw incredible views of mountains, volcanoes, immense evergreen forests, the Pacific Ocean, and the Columbia River Gorge to name a few.
Friday morning included a final devotional challenge and corporate communion led by Pastor Gary Aupperle from our Bluffton church -- we look at tattoos a new way after this session. Don;t worry, Pastor Matt didn't get one :) We also had our final business meeting of the conference (look for a coming post on the business that transpired at this conference.
After the meetings we checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport. Upon arrival a logistical error caused Pastor Bud to spend about 20 minutes in a service line because it appeared that the flight we needed to San Francisco did not exist! Fortunately we did and we were on our way. The bad part was that the airline change the original flight time to 25 minutes later than originally scheduled so it made our layover/ change terminals and pass security again to change airlines time about 20 minutes. Somehow we made it (God is good!). In fact that flight was about a half hour late taking off after we boarded due to an issue with the water line. We landed in Chicago at about midnight to find that the short switchover had cause our bags to be left behind -- they have been delivered as of this writing. A special thanks to Dave and Wendy Ellis who drove up with Cris to pick us up and drive us HOME!

A little math revealed that we traveled 5250 miles and saw some incredible sights in person and from the planes.
Most of all we were honored to represent the body of California Road at this year's General Conference. We take very seriously the need to represent the body in matters pertaining to our denomination.
General Conference will be held at Bethel College in 2009 (July 14-17). The worship, devotional, and business sessions are open and I would encourage our people to attend as they can to take part. We are blessed to be a part of a denomination that is seeking after the heart of God. See you all at church tomorrow.

GC Photos #3

Today's agenda only includes one business meeting; but it is an important one. The elections went smoothly. There is good but tough theological debate occurring. Continue to pray for unity of the denomination. I will post more on these issues when I have better time. I will also be adding notes from a great morning devotional by Ron Hockley and a seminar on building a team by Tom Mullins. For now, here are a few photos. They include Pastor Matt relaxing by the pool and in a "Moses" moment by the river as well as the incredible rose bushes that are here.

The slower schedule today is allowing us some time for sight seeing. I hope to have some great pictures later tonight or tomorrow AM. Have a blessed day everyone!!

GC -- Photos #1

It appears I have overcome the issue keeping me from uploading photos. Here are a few, more to come for sure. The top and bottom ones were taken form the walkway outside the hotel at approx. 5 AM Pacific this morning; it was incredible! The others are from the plane. One of Mt. Hood as we approached that the other two looking down on Yosemite National Park.

It has heated up today, but still is great.

As I write 1 business session is in the books and another in about a half hour. We are feeling our way through issues that may seem on the surface to be no brainer type things but will carry implications for the future of the denomination as it seeks to find the Lord's direction for the future. Please keep praying.

I hope to post notes from the awesome morning devotions lead by Tom Mullins today as well.

General Conference (GC) -- The trip In

Pastor Bud, Matt and I took off yesterday morning from OHare on our excellent journey. We saw Chicago and San Diego on our way to Portland. It was an excellent day for flying and we were treated to views of mountains, mesas, deserts, Los Angeles, and at least 2 National Parks. God's creation is truly amazing!!
We arrived in Portland over the Columbia River with Mount Hood in the background. Our hotel room has a great view of the river just yards away and we can see the mountains and into Washington state as well. Unfortunately we arrived about 8 hours ahead of our luggage. For clean shirts and socks we are truly greatful.
Last night we enjoyed a local BBQ joint named Boomers (great stuff) and we enjoyed a walk this morning before breakfast. The first sessions start in about 40 minutes. Keep checking back in on the blog as we will be posting more info and some photos as well.
Please be praying for the business of the Missionary Church.