LEADERSHIP UPDATE of the Southeast Region
Volume 5, Issue 5
June 2010
Pastors: Please distribute this to your delegates,
leaders & congregation
THE
STORY OF LOST: more than an island
For 6 seasons, ABC fans watched the
highs and lows of passengers of Oceanic flight 815 struggle to survive and make
sense of their experiences on a mysterious island. This past week it all came
to a conclusion as 7.5 hours of programming - spread out over 3 nights of
viewing - unfolded the writers best efforts to depict humanity caught in the
battle of good versus evil, offering a creative depiction of lifes meaning,
death and the afterlife.
I had watched some of year 1 out of
curiosity, caught a few episodes years 2 5, then tuned in fairly regularly
this final year. For me, this show depicted well lifes human fears and hopes.
I watched the survivors struggle to communicate and trust one another although
strangers of different nationalities and backgrounds. Through countless
flashbacks the story of each passenger was eventually told, revealing why he
or she acted the way they did. Each was brought time and again to crisis points
where they had to choose whether to let go of their pasts or remain captive
to them. And throughout the storyline, there was confusion and mystery, as a
spiritual battle was going on all around them, and they had to decide whom they
were going to trust. Were they on the island due to a freak accident and lifes
meaning was to find a way of escape, or had they been brought to the island on
purpose to do something selfless to tip the scales of good verses evil.
Although LOST was not a Biblically
based, Christian narrative, it certainly was a window revealing the hopes,
fears and questions of the post-modern society in which we live today. Many
people in fact up to 23 million viewers per episode tuned in to
witness the LOST characters struggle
for a better life. Undoubtedly people all around you are concerned about the
same issues that consumed the characters on LOST:
Whom
can I trust?
If
I let someone get to know the real me, will they still want to be my friend?
Is
it possible to break free from the regrets and hurts of my past, or should I
just lower my expectations in life?
Does
life really have a purpose, or is it just random?
Is
there such a thing as an absolute truth, or should I just go with my gut and
do what makes sense to me in the moment?
Is
there such a thing as God or Satan? heaven or hell? an afterlife?
This summer I hope that you will
individually and as congregations look for ways to befriend fellow survivors.
You dont have to go to a deserted island to find them they are all around
you. Just look deeply into the eyes of your co-worker, your neighbor, or a
relative. Many of them would be willing to have a deeper friendship with you, a
relationship that could provide the opportunity to share YOUR STORY of faith
and to discuss GODS STORY in relation to their questions and concerns. I
challenge you to embark on a CREATING JOURNEY this summer and see how God will
use you to touch others.
Supt. Darrel Riley
The
Overflow Conference ended in April
but the
SPLASH is just beginning:
GO TO
www.livethestorytellthestory.com
From
April 2010 July 2011, Bishop Roller is calling every FM church to two emphases:
LIVE THE STORY: focus on growing
& becoming more like Jesus, so others will see Him living through your
attitudes, words and actions.
TELL THE STORY: become comfortable and
creative in sharing YOUR STORY of why God is real to you, and sharing GODS
STORY so others can also come to faith in Christ.
WONDERING
HOW TO GET STARTED?
Here
are just a few ideas of ways your congregation might start living and telling the
Story. Make sure that WEEKLY there is some form of report, testimonial or
example from a member of your congregation of what they are doing and how it is
going:
LIVE THE STORY IDEA STARTERS:
40 Day Prayer Experiment: Congregational challenge for children, teens &
adults to commit to 15 minutes of prayer daily for 40 days. What has God been saying to you?
Summer Bible Blitz: Unified congregational reading of a book or section
of the Bible over the summer, with the pulpit message and small groups reinforcing
the daily personal Bible readings. How did God speak to you through His Word
this past week?
Build a Bridge: Each
individual or family commits to intentionally look for ways to build a
relationship with a specific pre-believing individual or family over an 8 week
period How is it going? What are you
discovering? How can others pray for you?
Go First Challenge: For a month children, teens & adults take the
challenge to look for opportunities to go first throughout the day to be
willing to be the first to offer help, or to ask forgiveness, or to go the
extra mile. How did you go first this
week? What happened?
TELL THE STORY IDEA STARTERS:
Tell Your Story Workshop: Use a Sunday School Hour or a worship service to learn
how to tell your story creatively in 3 minutes or less, then practice it with
a partner.
This
was demonstrated & practiced at the Regional Training Events in the South
Atlantic Conf in May.
SAC
Pastors: when are you going to lead this workshop with your congregation?
4 x 4 Get Acquainted Meals: A believing individual/couple invites 3 other
individuals/couples to meet 4 times this summer (over a 4 to 6 week time frame)
for a shared meal. Each individual or couple hosts 1 week meaning a pot
luck at their home, or they pick the restaurant, or they choose another
location a picnic at the park, etc. The group meets for fellowship &
food, then the believing individual includes one simple but deeper question
that everyone responds to What stresses you most? What accomplishment are you proud of? What is
one of your hopes for the future? etc. At the end of the 4 weeks, the
individuals / couples are invited to join you in a short term gathering where
the questions that they discussed in their dinner club can be explored from the
Bibles perspective.
Start lay-led small groups that include
non-believers. In the coming 15 months, there will be a monthly SMALL GROUP
TIP provided in the LEADERSHIP UPDATE.
RESOURCES &
TRAINING:
OVERFLOW DVD &
BOOKLET: Those
who PRE-ORDERED the DVD of the 5 main sessions should receive it in the mail
this week. Copies of the DVD can still be ordered, by sending a check for
$22.50 to Nikki Roller at
FREE DOWNLOADS:
Get
a free audio book monthly. Go to www.Christianaudio.com.
Create a free account and be sent The Hole in the Gospel, by Richard
Sterns, who will be a speaker at General Conference 2011.
Over
50 hours of audio is available featuring main sessions and break out
speakers from EXPONENTIAL, the
worlds largest church planting & revitalization conference. Speakers such
as Rick Warren, Reggie McNeal & Francis Chan are included. Go to www.exponentialconference.org.
Click on first entry and Exponential 2010 will come up. Click on left column
Exponential Podcast and sign up for free downloads.
ORDER VBS KITS NOW: Ministry to children
is important.
CMCs & MENTORS: Conference
Ministerial Candidates should begin meeting immediately with their mentor if
they have not done so yet. Contact Supt. Riley to report your mentor, and
materials will be mailed to him / her. A listing of CMC courses being taught in
FL will be sent out to CMCs very soon.
2010: EVERY
PERSON A PASSIONATE
PRAY-ER
Pray daily for the
following churches. Send greetings to one another.
|
JUNE 2010 |
|
AL-GA or GCC CONFERENCE |
|
May
30 June 5 |
Pastor
John Hendricks (Bobbie) revjohnE@juno.com |
Pleasant Grove AL:
Faith FMC Pastor
Joe Shuffett (Wendy) joeshuffett@bellsouth.net |
|
June
6 - 12 |
Pastor
Richard Harris (Tricia) DocHarris@earthlink.net |
Pastor
Monty Bower (Jo) mlbower@suddenlink.net |
|
June
13 - 19 |
Pastor
Leonel Georges (Marie) leonelgeorges@bellsouth.net |
Pastor
Fred Summers (Faye) frednfaye@suddenlink.net |
|
June
20 - 26 |
Pastor
Lucien Civil (Nedege) luciencivil@hotmail.com |
Pastors
Wade & Cindy Robinson chapel37chick@yahoo.com |
|
June
27 July 3 |
Pastor
Javier Mendoza (Martha) hosannainternacional@hotmail.com |
Olla, LA: Under
the supt., delegate E W Nugent 485 Hwy 770
Olla LA 71465 |
SOUTH
ATLANTIC CONFERENCE NEWS:
Conference News:
Congratulations
to CMCs William & Marianne Pena
and grandparents Belarminio & Dorcas Martinez (
Prayers
for Pastor David Dor (FL City: South
Dade Haitian) who recently suffered a stroke, and for Elder Alfredo Alberty (
SAC YOUTH
HERITAGE BUILDERS: St. Pete:
Cornerstone has begun a second half / 55+ ministry. They are sponsoring a
conference-wide SCRIPTURES AT SEA
western
Upcoming Dates:
Sat, June 5:
Join
the Orlando Fellowship in helping Rhonda Stapleton renovate the storefront
space recently given to her to set up a thrift store to help finance Samaritan
Village and provide job skill training for resident women (remember Rhondas
story at Overflow?). Clearing out debris, pulling up carpet, and general
cleaning is the goal Saturday, beginning at 9am. The address is
Mon Fri, July 5 9 2010
SAC YOUTH CAMP: ONE!
ACA
Camp Geneva in
Deadline
for registration is June 7; after that, an additional fee of $50 is added.
Contact
SEPTEMBER REGIONAL TRAINING EVENT LOCATIONS:
Bring a copy of your Summer Trimester On Purpose Report for your District Leader:
(Summary of May -
August 2010)
Sat, 11
Regional Event:
Sat, 18
Regional Event: West Coast (9:30am lunch) St
Pete: Cornerstone
Mon, 20 Regional Event: Central FL (6:30 supper
9pm)
Fri
Sat, Sept 24 25 SAC LADIES RETREAT at Christian Retreat
Center in Bradenton
Fri
Sat, Oct 22 & 23 RIP FEST II with Bishop Roller @ St
Pete: Cornerstone Comm Ch
PARTNER
with our SOUTHEAST REGION MISSIONARIES:
Recent
newsletters, blogs and support information on each family are available on-line
at www.fmwm.org
(then click on Missionaries tab). You can also email them:
Josh & Susy
Fajardo (
Mike & Maria
Long (
Jack Munos (
Rick & Cookie
AL-GA
CONFERENCE NEWS:
Updates Around the Conference:
Upon
the stateside return of Linda Adams, Director of International Childcare
Ministries, the date for Elizabeth &
Jeanne Nitchmans tour of
Fayetteville GA:
Fayette Community Church spent May renovating the new site where their
congregation will meet beginning in June. They are relocating across the
parking lot to
Upcoming Dates:
Thurs, June 17 is the date of the
next AL District Pastors Meeting
Sunday, July 11 the annual District
Pastors & Families Picnic will take place
Saturday, Oct 2:
AL-GA ALL CONFERENCE RALLY DAY with Bishop Roller for all pastors,
delegates and church leaders, to be held at
Upcoming Dates:
Mon Fri, June 7
11: FAMILY CAMP
at
For information or to register,
contact Katy Price (318-466-5770)
Sun Wed, July 18
21:
Edgewood FMC in Pineville will hold an evening VBS from 5:30 8:00pm,
utilizing Deep Sea Adventures to explore the depths of Jesus love. A
wrap up will be held Sunday, July 25. For more information, contact Tonya
Backe, 318-466-5500.
Sat Wed, July 24
28:
Marthas Chapel in Deville will offer VBS the following week at these times:
Saturday - 10am; Sunday - 4pm; Mon Wed 6pm. For more information, contact Jo
Bower at 318-466-5308
Fri Sun, Aug 20
22:
Supt Darrel will meet with GCC Pastors this weekend.