E-Link Online -- News of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan

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Comings, Goings, Celebrations, Concerns

§ We offer our condolences and our prayers to the Rev. Ray Gimmi and his family upon the death of his wife Ollie. A memorial service was held on March 14 at 11:00am at the Covenant Baptist Church, West Bloomfield. Notes of care and encouragement may be sent to Rev. Gimmi in care of the Covenant Baptist Church.

§ Thelma Van Brenk, wife of Rev. Arie Van Brenk, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln, has come through recent surgery for which there was some fear of cancer. No cancer was found and she is soon to return home for recuperation.

Metro Association Youth Rally is March 28

Metropolitan Detroit Association of American Baptist Churches' (MDAABC) Annual Youth Rally will be Saturday, March 28, 12-3 pm at the Joe Dumars Field House (the one near 21 Mile).

This Youth Rally invites American Baptist Youth Ministries from the entire Detroit Metropolitan Area to come together for Food, Fun, and Fellowship. For more information and to indicate your desire to attend and/or volunteer to help coordinate this event, please contact Rev. Nikita McCalister at nikitagiselle@yahoo.com or call the MDAABC office at (248) 443-6888.

Give to the America for Christ Offering

We are called by God to a life of holistic stewardship—to fully serve, sacrifice, and surrender to the One who has given our lives new and eternal meaning. And yet that relationship becomes profoundly multifaceted in its real-world application as we live for Christ in order to make a difference in our communities and respond to many needs “with willing hands.”

You can help make a difference! Service in Christ’s name is both an opportunity and a challenge. For 176 years National Ministries, ABCUSA has assisted American Baptist congregations as they have confronted and responded to the spiritual and physical needs resident in many communities like ours.

The church’s contribution to the America for Christ Offering goes to support Christ-centered ministries that are transforming lives across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Our giving directly impacts local activities, projects and ministries such as:

• Evangelism and Church Planting
• Camps and Leadership Development Conferences
• Community Development and Refugee Resettlement
• Scholarships for education and Volunteers In Mission

I believe God is calling us to support local missions in America and Puerto Rico and to join with our sisters and brothers as together we serve, sacrifice, and surrender.

Together we can reach our goal: $2,010,000 to continue providing vital local ministries.

For the love of Christ urges us on…..

Please contact Debbie Hart at the Region Office with your questions at 800.632.2953 ext. 221 or dhart@abc-mi.org. Thank you!

First Baptist, Ann Arbor, Hosts Volf Lectures

Noted theologian Miroslav Volf will present two lectures on "The God of Jesus and the God of Muhammed" at First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 25, at 10 am and 3 pm. (See announcement at right.)

American Baptist pastors are offered an exclusive invitation to attend a luncheon with Miroslav. There is no registration needed for the lectures themselves, but be sure to RSVP to Mary Davis (madrad@umich.edu, 734.747.8131) to reserve your place at the lunch table.

This event is sponsored by American Baptist Churches of Michigan, ABC-MI Ministers Council, and First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor.

Christian Community Credit Union Offers Scholarships

Christian Community Credit Union's Focused on the Future Scholarship Program is giving $40,000 in scholarships in 2009. The scholarship program is open to members of Christian Community Credit Union. To apply, students must be enrolled at an accredited college, university, or seminary. Also, students must be taking 12 units or more and 8 units or more for graduate and post-graduate students. For membership eligibility requirements, please contact the Credit Union. The scholarship application deadline is April 30, 2009, and scholarships will be awarded by May.

To download a scholarship application, go to http://www.mycccu.com/images/pdf, Scholarship.pdf.

To download an informational flyer, go to http://www.mycccu.com/images/pdf/scholarship09.pdf.

Tecumseh Church Hosts "Operation Serve Tecumseh"

First Baptist Church of Tecumseh, MI, is hosting "Operation Serve Tecumseh" on Saturday, April 4. A health fair with 18 medical vendors will start at 9 a.m. and last until 2 p.m. Vendors include American Cancer Society, Council on Aging, Schmidt and Sons Pharmacy, Cambrian Assisted Living, By Nature, Onsted Family Chiropractic, Mission Nutrition, and many others. Door prizes will be given away. A "Run 4 the Homeless 5K and Walk-A-Thon" will take place at 11 a.m. with T-shirts for the first 100 runners and medals for all age groups. Free hot dogs, pop, popcorn and chips will be provided throughout the day, as well as face painting and a kids' outdoor inflatable game. First Baptist Church is located out Burt Street across from the Tecumseh Country Club. -- submitted by Pastor Alan Maki

Youth Workers Connect at Flint

by Sue Ellen Glover

On March 14, sixty people who work with and care about youth participated in a daylong event at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Flint. Plenary Speaker Danette Matty, an enthusiastic, veteran volunteer with youth, is a contributing editor for Youth Worker Journal and Simply Youth Ministry. She also serves as a leader at Group’s National Youth Conventions. Danette inspired and equipped us through a message and through workshop training in communicating with youth. Participants also had choices of other excellent workshops from Dr. James Kent, Jim Davis, Arleen Lloyd, and the Rev. Alex Pickens.

To view slideshow at right click on small arrowhead at lower left of image.

Lunch consisted of a Coney Bar, a “taste of Flint” specifically requested by Jim Kent, as well as lots of time for sharing, fellowship and connecting. There were tables full of free resources generously provided by Simply Youth Ministry, Youth Worker Journal, the Center for Parent and Youth Understanding, Youth Specialties and several Youth Ministry bloggers and websites. Much appreciation to the Rev. Moses Bingham of Mt. Olive and all of his members who helped him provide a gracious, warm welcome, comfortable meeting rooms and delicious lunch!

This event was organized and supported by the Family Ministries Team of the Region, under the leadership of past chair, the Rev. Dr. Jim Kent, and current chair, the Rev. Cheryl Swaker-Coneal. The FMT will continue to focus on ways to facilitate the Youth Ministry program of the Region under the direction of Jim Davis. We are hopeful that this event will become a yearly gathering, similar to the Summit in past years. We are also hopeful that the enthusiasm of this day will carry over to new and innovative caring for our ABC Youth. Other members of this year’s planning team included Jim Davis, Moses Bingham, June Youatt, Amy Davis, and Sue Ellen Glover.

In the next couple of weeks, materials will be mailed out for the 2009 Sowing Seeds of Ministry Region Offering. This offering is encouraged to be received during the month of May and it promotes our life together as American Baptists as we are sowing seeds of ministry throughout our ABC-MI Region. Together with all of our God-given gifts we are growing healthy churches, cultivating health in our pastors and sowing seeds of the Gospel all over Michigan. Your support will assist us as we work together building the Kingdom and blooming where we are planted.

Ministry Leadership Certification

Are you sensing a call to ministry?
Would you like to increase your leadership capacity?
Are you seeking spiritual enrichment or a deepening understanding of the Bible?
Then perhaps the Ministry Leadership Certification program is for you.

Dr. Scott Arnold

The next class is Theology and will be held March 27 and 28 at FBC Charlotte. This class will be taught by the Rev. Dr. Scott Arnold, Senior Pastor of Union Church in Quincy, Michigan. Scott also teaches Theology, Biblical Studies, and Ministry classes at the Flint School of Urban Ministry in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Arnold is a graduate of Michigan State University in Urban Planning. He has a Masters of Divinity from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, is a graduate of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education in Chicago, and has a Doctor of Ministry in Discipleship from Luther Rice University in Lithonia, Georgia.

Scott loves to create art, poetry, and write songs for praise and worship. Currently he is writing a book on the "Kingdom of God". He has authored curriculum on discipleship for small groups and churches.

Dr. Arnold has been an ordained American Baptist Minister for over 25 years. He has served in pastoral ministry during these years in Chicago, Boston, Providence, R.I., Battle Creek, Michigan, Grand Blanc, Michigan, and now in Quincy, Michigan. He also serves on the leadership team of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan.

“Faith seeking Understanding” is the focus of this class and will be a historical pursuit of Theology. Some of the questions that will be engaged are: In the light of the Bible as God’s inspiration and word of authority, how will we understand and apply our faith in today’s world? How can we speak of our relationship with Jesus Christ, the Word of God, such that our message is faithful, articulate, and real to the life God gives? How can we begin to understand and express the key understandings of the Biblical promise of God’s Kingdom?

Is it possible to be ignited in vision and purpose when pursuing theological understanding and expression? YES! Come and discover a deeper ground and vast vision for your Christian faith. There is still time to register for this class or future classes at the ABC-Mi website, www.abc-mi.org.

Short Notices

If your church has sound equipment no longer being used, consider donating it to the Battle Creek Chin Baptist Church. Contact the pastor, the Rev. Van Lian, at vtliank@yahoo.com.

Registration for the 2009 Green Lake Holy Spirit Conference is available in the brochure: http://abc-mi.org/elink/09hsconf.pdf. The theme for the June 27-July 3 gathering is "Truth and Power: When the Kingdom Encounters Culture."

A letter regarding the status of Camp Lael and Camp Lake Louise was recently issued by Region President, the Reverend Heidi DeMott Shanes and Mr. Michael Kingsbury, Chair of the Region's Administrative Ministry Team. You may read it here.

Save the date of September 26, 2009, for the Annual Golf Outing for Friendship House at Fox Creek Golf Club in Livonia.

The Friendship House Newsletter is now provided in both PDF and DOC formats. The DOC format is a much smaller file and will take much less time to acquire on slow dialup connections. Read it in PDF at http://abc-mi.org/elink/fh.pdf or in DOC format at http:abc-mi.org/fh.doc.

The next issue of E-Link Online will be published on April 6, 2009. Please send news items and notices to the Editor (editor@abc-mi.org) by April 2.

Scholarships Available from Central Area

The Central Area Leadership Team has sent scholarship applications for our Michigan camps and for Green Lake to all CA churches. These applications are due May 1. Two Green Lake scholarships ($300 each) will be granted and $1500 will be awarded for children, youth, adults and families to attend Lake Louise or Lael. First time campers will be given priority, but all applications will be considered. Contact Sue Ellen Glover at gloverse@hotmail.com for more information or for an application.

Editor's Trips

Disclaimer: listing of these references does not imply endorsement of positions or policies advocated in them by either the American Baptist Churches of Michigan or the editor of E-Link Online. They are provided here for further thought, discussion, inquiry, and an occasional laugh. Caveat lector. Suggestions for "Trips" and readers' comments are welcome. Send to editor@abc-mi.org.

The Editor

»»  Empathy Reflected in the Language We Use -- http://www.wiredtocare.com/?p=1290 (Full disclosure: author is Editor's son)
»»  Why Baptists Should Celebrate James Madison's Birthday -- http://tinyurl.com/dadvpe
»»  It Was Just An Ordinary Sunday Until.. -- http://tinyurl.com/cwozws (h/t to Chuck Johnson)
»»  Churches Need Security Plans -- http://tinyurl.com/d528r3
»»  Down Economy Doesn't Fill Pews -- http://tinyurl.com/cqahyo
»»  A Wake-up Call for Organized Religion -- http://tinyurl.com/c9uqmn
»»  Can We Keep the Faith if We Ignore History? -- http://tinyurl.com/ckk7fg
»»  Well-Known Theologians Discuss Church's Future -- http://tinyurl.com/ch4atz