AssociationForChurchRenewal.com

Answering the Call will be the kind of inspiring event you will want to be a part of. It will bring together leaders, both clergy and lay, from across the Mainline Protestant Churches. This gathering will also welcome newly-formed mainline-related church leaders. Keynote speakers and workshop opportunities will challenge you to new vision, creativity and strategic thinking—imperative components for growing, healthy churches.

You will appreciate the “Answering the Call” event, and the process for leadership training that will be introduced at and continued beyond this gathering of ECOT (evangelical, conservative, orthodox, traditional) leaders. In a recent mainline study, George Barna identified the quality of leadership provided as being “the most critical element in determining the future health and growth of mainline congregations.”

To facilitate leadership training across our denominations, in various settings, the Association for Church Renewal (ACR) is partnering with EQUIP, a biblically-based, servant leadership training program through which over three million Christian leaders are trained worldwide. EQUIP’s logo is “Equipping Leaders to Reach Our World.” The fulfilling of the Great Commission is the driving priority along with training leaders who will help find solutions for the critical issues plaguing societies around the world. We are excited about this partnership venture.

John Hull, President of EQUIP will be a keynote speaker at “Answering the Call.” Tom Atema, an EQUIP Vice President, will lead a workshop to introduce participants to the EQUIP model for leadership training and to discuss how ACR constituents can utilize and contextualize the training resources, adapting them for use in the various denominational settings. Be sure to sign up for this important workshop.

In a Winter 2010 article in Leadership magazine, Ed Stetzer, keynote speakes at “Answering the Call”, wrote, “While pastors believe that the church is a place where leaders need to be developed and they see themselves investing in this task, they generally recognize a real deficit in the church’s effectiveness in accomplishing it. Although efforts are being made, pastors are not confident that the church is nurturing and growing new leaders adequately”.

The ACR means to assist in the area of leadership training. Watch this site for more information on the process that will begin at and continue after this event.

L. Faye Short
ACR Coordinator for Leadership Training

Answer The Call To Renew The Mainline Church! Visit MainlineCall.org today and register for our Chicago Conference Aug 6-8,2010

What? Answering the Call: New Life in the Mainline Church

When? August 5-8, 2010

Where? Elmhurst College (Chicago, Illinois)

Why? to issue the call for a new generation of ECOT (evangelical, conservative, orthodox, traditional) pastors and leaders in the historic mainline churches

Who will speak? Jim Harrell, John Armstrong, Jim Tomberlin, Bob Thompson, and a growing list of Evangelical, Congregational, Orthodox, and Traditional (ECOT) scholars and pastors in mainline settings.

Who should attend? college and seminary students, pastors serving in or interested in mainline ministry, laity interested in mainline renewal

Who is sponsoring the event? The Association for Church Renewal

How do I register? A link for complete registration information will be available on this web site January 31, 2010.

How do I spread the word?

· E-mail starloftin@charter.net if you would like one or more “Save the Date” refrigerator magnets.
· E-mail bob@corinthtoday.org if you would like a speaker to address a student group, seminary setting, or local congregation about this event.

If you are serving Jesus Christ as the Executive or Representative of a North American mainline church renewal ministry you are cordially invited to join us for the Autumn meeting of the Association for Church renewal. We’ll have critical reports on what is happening in the ELCA, the merger of major mainline ministries in human sexuality, new Methodist ministry opportunities and much, much more!

Monday 9:00 A.M. - Tuesday Noon, October 26-27, 2009
Holiday Inn Rosslyn @ Key Bridge, Arlington Va.
(Washington D.C.)

Planning Meeting for the August 2009 Future Leadership Conference will follow and adjourn at 3:00 P.M.

For details, questions, or to confirm you are coming:
email: Renewall.acr@gmail.com

A Request for Your Attendance and Help at, and Support for:

A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!

July 18, 2009

Hope by the Sea, San Juan Capistrano, California

(pre- and post-Conference meetings, July 13-19, at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel)

Please Join Us and “Be a Part of Something Great—to the Glory of GOD!”

The News

My son Ken and I will be staying at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel in Newport Beach, California, and we will be available for personal meetings with Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena by appointment during the week of July 13-19, 2009. Please contact me in advance by email (DickB@DickB.com) or by telephone [(808) 874-4876] if you would like to make an appointment for a “working chat.”

Through the courtesy of Bobby Nicholl and Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea in San Juan Capistrano, California, we will be holding “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, July 18, 2009, in a 200-seat auditorium in the Medical Professional Building at Hope by the Sea, 27412 Calle Arroyo, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675. As was the case with “A Nationwide Recovery Conference with Dick B.” held at the Mariners Church in Irvine, California, in May, we will have food and beverages available for purchase on-site during the lunch break.

Within the next few days, we will be publishing the Conference agenda, along with further details of the pre- and post-Conference opportunities and meeting appointments, via Dick B.’s “FYI Messages” and on the new web site for the “International Christian Recovery Coalition” (www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com). Meanwhile, we can report that the Interim Chairperson, Interim Vice Co-Chairpersons, Executive Director, and the Advisory Council of the “International Christian Recovery Coalition” are in place. (We expect to have the details posted on the Coalition web site within the next day or two.) In addition, we have nearly completed a substantial Conference Program document, which also includes Plans and Proposals for the “International Christian Recovery Coalition.”

We are happy to report: (1) Charles P. Mau of Manhattan Beach has donated $600.00 to defray some of the Conference expenses. (2) Bob Noonan has made available a two-hour, in-studio, video taping session on Thursday, July 16, in which Dick B. will be presenting for production as DVD’s:

Specific details concerning the roles that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible played in the astonishing, documented, 75% and 93% early A.A. success rates (in Akron and Cleveland, respectively) among “seemingly-hopeless,” “medically-incurable,” “real” alcoholics who found or rediscovered God and thoroughly followed the original Akron A.A. program developed by Bill W. and Dr. Bob during the summer of 1935; and

An extended discussion of how the amazingly-successful program and techniques employed in early A.A.–especially in Akron and Cleveland during the mid-to-late 1930’s–may be utilized today to enhance substantially the effectiveness of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena–whether they be recovery pastors, pastoral counselors, alcohol and drug counselors, treatment center staff, and/or other kinds of Christian educators, trainers, leaders, and workers.

(3) On behalf of Celebrate a New Life at Hope by the Sea, Bobby Nicholl has arranged for one free night of our stay at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel; has arranged to have our Conference Program, Plans and Proposals document booklet printed free; and has made available the free use of the Hope by the Sea Medical-Professional Building auditorium for the Saturday, July 18, Conference. (4) Vivian Eisenecher of San Diego has again volunteered to arrange for food and beverages. (You potential volunteers please take note: she needs more help. If you would be blessed to help, please contact Dick B. by email or telephone for details.)

Our Needs Relating to the Conference and How You Can Help

“A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” Please join us at “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, July 18, 2009, at Hope by the Sea in San Juan Capistrano, California. There is no charge for registration at this Conference.

To register for this free Conference, please send to Dick B. by email, telephone or regular mail by July 2, 2009: your name, group or organization (if any), mailing address, telephone number, email address, and web site URL address (if any).

Pre- and post-Conference appointments with Dick B. Please contact me (Dick B.) by email (DickB@DickB.com) or by telephone [(808) 874-4876], or my son Ken on his cell phone [(808) 276-4945] if you cannot reach me, in order to arrange a pre- or post-Conference meeting with me at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel for yourself (and your small group of associates, if any).

“International Christian Recovery Coalition.” Please send me via email (DickB@DickB.com) your name and/or the name of your group or organization–along with your city, state or province, and country–if you would like to be considered for participation in the free-of-charge “International Christian Recovery Coalition.” (More details about the Coalition will be available shortly on the Coalition’s new web site: www.ChristianRecoveryCoalition.com.)

Please consider becoming a Major Sponsor of “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” If you or your group or organization would be blessed to support this Conference and its objectives by donating $500.00 or more to help defray our Conference-related, out-of-pocket, organizational, travel, food, lodging, and incidental expenses, we would be glad to:

Give you or your group or organization a featured listing in the Conference Program booklet (which will really be more like a book); and Post your banner and/or brief description of your godly efforts in the recovery arena on our web sites which will provide Conference details.

Please contact Dick B. by email (DickB@DickB.com) or telephone [(808) 874-4876], or my son Ken by telephone [(808) 276-4945], for details.

Please consider being a Conference Exhibitor at “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!” If you or your group or organization would be blessed to support this Conference and its objectives by donating $50.00 or more to help defray our Conference-related, out-of-pocket, organizational, travel, food, lodging, and incidental expenses, we would be glad to arrange for you a convenient way to exhibit at the Conference your godly materials focused on your Christian-oriented efforts in the recovery arena. Please contact Dick B. by email (DickB@DickB.com) or telephone [(808) 874-4876], or my son Ken by telephone [(808) 276-4945], for details.

If you cannot attend and/or would otherwise like to support this Conference. For a donation of $25.00 or more to help defray our Conference-related, out-of-pocket, organizational, travel, food, lodging, and incidental expenses, we would be glad to send you by email, in an attached file in Microsoft Word 2003 format, the 50-plus-page Conference booklet for the July 2009 Conference, and “A New Way Out Guidebook” by Dick B. and Ken B. from the May 2009 Conference (if you don’t already have it or need another copy). And we would be glad to list you and/or your organization in the Conference Program booklet as an “Endorser” of this Conference, if you would like.

Please send to us (by U.S. Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, etc.) your godly materials (brochures, DVD’s, etc.) reflecting your Christian-oriented efforts in the recovery arena so that we may discuss your materials at the pre- and post-Conference meetings, and at the Conference proper on July 18. Please make sure they arrive at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel by no later than Friday, July 10, and please address your envelope or package as follows:

Richard G. Burns, Guest–Hold for Arrival

Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel

4500 MacArthur Blvd.

Newport Beach, California 92660

Please volunteer to help Vivian Eisenecher and her team with the food and beverage dispensation on Saturday, July 18, at the Conference in San Juan Capistrano. Please contact Dick B. by email (DickB@DickB.com) or telephone [(808) 874-4876], or my son Ken by telephone [(808) 276-4945], for details.

Where and How to Donate and Help

To make donations relating to “A New Way Out Leadership Conference with Dick B.!”, please provide to me (Dick B.) by email (DickB@DickB.com), telephone [(808) 874-4876], or by regular mail, the details of your donation; and:

Use the “Donate” PayPal button on in the center column on the front page of my main website (www.DickB.com–a PayPal account is not required); Phone my son Ken at (808) 276-4945, give him the details of your donation, along with your credit card # and expiration date; or Send your check or money order, payable to “Dick B.” in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank, by U.S. Postal Service (or UPS or FedEx, etc.) to: Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837

God Bless, Dick B.

Email: DickB@DickB.com

Presbyterian Lay Committee hosts Prayer Blog for National Day of Prayer

In conjunction with the National Day of Prayer event on Thursday, May 7, the Presbyterian Lay Committee will host an interactive prayer blog.

Focusing on The Great Ends of the Church (from G-1.0200 of the Presbyterian Church USA’s Book of Order), The Lay Committee will offer up prayers throughout the day on The Layman Online blog.

The National Day of Prayer, an annual observance that invites all Americans to pray for the nation, is in its 58th year. Mobilizing people of faith across the country, the event’s mission is to intercede for America and its leadership in seven centers of power: government, military, media, business, education, church and family. This year’s theme is “Prayer … America’s Hope.”

Recognizing the need to pray for the witness of Christians in the midst of a time when Biblically-based theology is under attack, The Presbyterian Lay Committee is offering an online opportunity to join others in prayer as a complement to the National Day of Prayer activities.

“Prayer is a privilege and a responsibility for all Christians,” Lay Committee President Carmen Fowler said. “Prayer is made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ whose death on the cross literally opens the way to a relationship with the living God. Prayer is Christ’s directive to His people and we are privileged to share the experience of prayer in this way.”

Through its blog, Presbyterian Lay Committee staff will open an 8-hour session of online prayer at 9 a.m.  At the top of six consecutive hours, prayer subjects will focus on the PCUSA’s The Great Ends of the Church. The prayer blog schedule will be:

• 10 a.m. - The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind
• 11 a.m. - The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God
• 12 p.m. - The maintenance of divine worship
• 1 p.m. - The preservation of the truth
• 2 p.m. - The promotion of social righteousness
• 3 p.m. - The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world

At 4 p.m., a closing prayer will be offered with posting to end at 5 p.m. Blog visitors are asked to post their own prayer concerns and praises throughout the day. The blog will be updated throughout the day and requires no registration.
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The Presbyterian Lay Committee, which was founded in 1965, publishes The Layman newspaper and The Layman Online. It also provides renewal resources through Reformation Press and PLC Publications. For more information about the ministry, visit www.layman.org.
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To learn more about the National Day of Prayer visit www.nationaldayofprayer.org. A searchable database of community events and links to other Day of Prayer activities are available.

United Methodist Renewal Groups Host “Theology of the Body”

Monroe, Wisconsin – United Methodist renewal groups Lifewatch and Transforming Congregations will host an educational seminar on May 21 in New Bern, NC entitled “Theology of the Body: An Ecumenical Introduction to John Paul II’s Teaching.” Professor Paul J. Griffiths of Duke Divinity School will present the late Pope’s key concepts and address such questions as: What is the real dignity of the created human person? Why were we created male and female, and what does that teach us about God? What is the deepest meaning of human sexuality, and how does spousal love reflect divine love?

“United Methodists and other Mainline believers have been arguing over abortion and homosexuality for many decades,” said Rev. Karen Booth, Executive Director of Transforming Congregations, “but we haven’t done a very good job of explaining why the arguments even matter. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body gives us solid Biblical tools for understanding God’s created intent for men and women. And its counter-cultural worldview challenges us to reexamine our post-modern assumptions about human life and sex.”

The full day event will be held at the New Bern Riverfront Hilton (formerly Sheraton) Hotel and Marina, 100 Middle Street, New Bern. The $30 cost for the event includes lunch, and registration forms may be downloaded from the Lifewatch web site at www.lifewatch.org.

Or contact Rev. Paul Stallsworth at 252-726-2175. The New Bern District of the North Carolina Annual Conference is co-sponsoring the seminar and will award one Continuing Education Unit to participants.

Download the Theology Of The Body Brochure

More information is available at Transforming Congregations, “Theology of the Body”

If you are serving Jesus Christ as the Executive or Representative of a North American mainline church renewal ministry you are cordially invited to join us for the Autumn meeting of the Association for Church renewal

Monday 9:00 A.M. - Tuesday Noon, October 20 - 21, 2008 Holiday Inn Rosslyn @ Key Bridge, Arlington Va. (Washington D.C. area)

For details, questions, or to confirm you are coming:
email: Renewall.acr@gmail.com

In His Grace,
David Runnion-Bareford, President
Association for Church Renewal