SDB Exec

SDB photo to appear on PBS Special!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Kersten) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:52:00 +0000

Several months ago, the Historical Society was contacted by Sarah Colt Productions, looking for a photograph credited to our collection. They were in the process of preparing a documentary to be shown on PBS, and wanted to include the photograph in their program. After searching for the initial photograph, which was apparently misattributed to our collection, we were able to find a photograph (at left) that they were interested in including in the documentary of the Little Prairie (Nady), Arkansas SDB church, from the early 20th century. We were happy to send them the photograph and release it for use in the documentary.

That documentary, God in America, will air over the next three nights, October 11, 12 and 13th, on your local PBS station. Check your local listings for the times closest to you, and keep your eyes our for a picture of SDB's!

The trailer for the series:

CLT to meet at Center

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:34:00 +0000

The Coordinating Leadership Team—comprised of executives from the various SDB agencies and the president of the SDB Women’s Society—will gather October 8-10 at the Seventh Day Baptist Center in Janesville, Wis.

Ron Ochs, a member of both of the recent Conference ad hoc committees, will spend much of Friday with the CLT to discuss leadership training and implementing performance evaluation procedures. The Team will also discuss denominational activities, new contacts, communication issues and future plans.

We would appreciate your prayers for safe travel and good meetings.

"Fear Not," but some still do

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:58:00 +0000

A challenging piece by Robert Dilday, managing editor of the Virginia Baptist Religious Herald.

"Perfect love," wrote the Apostle John, "casts out fear."

For Christians, that simple maxim would seem to be an easy formula for stress-free living. But 2,000 years after those words were written, many disciples of Christ still find their lives dominated by fear -- and worse, many Christian leaders believe, their response to it often is indistinguishable from that of the society in which they live.

“What shocks me... is that many Christians have bought into fear as a thoughtful reaction to terrorism, to immigration, to health care and to many other important issues,” Drew Smith, an ordained Baptist minister who is director of international programs at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., recently blogged.

Bill Shiell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., observed many Christians “are informed primarily by forwarded e-mails and relentlessly repetitive information, rather than the good news of Christ.”

“The phrase ‘do not be afraid’ is used 365 times in the Bible for a reason,” said Shiell. “The faithful are often the most susceptible to fear.”

For the rest of the article, click here.

October SR available on-line

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:46:00 +0000

The October 2010 Sabbath Recorder shares a Conference delegate's report to her local church, an update on post-forest fire Camp Paul Hummel (that you regular blog readers already know about), and praying for a heart for missions reopens some old spiritual wounds. It's on-line here.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month

noreply@blogger.com (Gordon P. Lawton) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:38:00 +0000

There was a little note in the September Sabbath Recorder, at the bottom of the Pastor Profile page, that reminded us about October being Pastor Appreciation Month. This is not required but is a nice thing to do.

It is easy to forget to say "thank you" and "you are appreciated." The designation of October for this is only one of the reminders we have. Anniversaries of your Pastor's service to the congregation, ordination, accreditation, marriage or other significant event give an excuse to say "we appreciate you."

Ideas can be found on line by searching "pastor appreciation ideas" or other similar searches.

As you consider how to show your appreciation you may want to know how long your pastor has served as a pastor, your pastor's ordination date or year of accreditation. Contact the Center on Ministry (com@sdbministry.org) for these dates and other ideas about showing your appreciation for your pastor.

Of Ice Cream and Hospitality

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:38:00 +0000

David Wilkerson, Executive Director of the Associated Baptist Press, offers this nostalgic and practical look at his homemade ice cream.

At our house, hospitality is dished out by the spoonful.

Homemade ice cream has been a staple in the ministry of hospitality my wife, Melanie, has practiced since we were married nearly 33 years ago. An ice-cream freezer was one of our first purchases as newlyweds. We’re now on our third freezer, having replaced the electric motor once or twice as well.

Although summer officially ends in September, our aging freezer doesn’t know the difference. For us, the offseason for homemade ice cream runs from about Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day -- with room for exceptions. We’ve been known to serve homemade ice cream with a fire burning in the fireplace.

UPDATE: The ABP website has been hacked and malware warnings are in place. I'll keep this post up for now, and try to provide you with the correct link once their site is free of problems. Our (and their) apologies!
DON'T Click here for the rest of the story.

Prayers or Pancakes? IHOP sues IHOP

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:04:00 +0000

As heard on NPR yesterday:

In a lawsuit of biblical proportions, it's "Praise the Lord" versus "pass the pancakes."

IHOP, the International House of Pancakes, is suing IHOP, the International House of Prayer, for using its signature acronym, which confuses the public. Not only that, some church IHOPs serve food, and the church plans a $150 million headquarters in Grand View, Missouri, right across the road from an IHOP of the pancake persuasion.

Update from our Boulder Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:57:00 +0000

This special and personal update on Camp Paul Hummel, outside of Boulder, Colo., came last week from Ana Petersen. Her father is the camp's caretaker. We rejoice in the great news!

Dad and I made it up to Camp today. As you enter the camp and drive to the lodge, there is no evidence that a fire was even near the area. However, if you walk straight up from the upper cabin toward the towers, the fire came to within about 100 feet of the building.

The firefighters fought an incredible battle and won, which included orange slurry sprayed from above, large trees cut down in strategic spots, and a long and winding fire line that they dug by hand. The fire raged through a large part of the property through the undergrowth, leaving the tops of the tree untouched. The firefighters followed many of our trails and roads which created breaks for them to enhance.

We did a little hiking around the property, and saw the burn areas are very sporadic. Starting from the South Meadow to the road near the towers is scorched with many burned trees. However to the east and north all the way to the building area there are no burned trees. From the towers south and west–all the way to the archery range–is extensively burned. The practice range and picnic tables did not burn. The firemen said there were a few of the large animal targets left, but not very many unfortunately.

There are still spot fires smoldering all over the burn area. A crew of about a dozen firefighters from Poudre Canyon is still roaming the property putting those spots out. We heard that there is still a great danger from some of those fires that follow the root system of a tree and come out somewhere else where the wind whips it up and starts to burn again. Although the fire raged all around and right up to the tower building, we couldn't see any burn evidence on the buildings or the towers. The cables in the air burned, but not all the way through. All the power and telephone poles to the lodge are still up.

We still have an amazing piece of property with most of our trees still vibrantly growing. Thank you all for being prayer warriors this week! It is truly a miracle that stopped it from coming any closer, or from a different direction.

Keep up the prayers until all the little spots are out and all the emergency responders are called home. All across Sunshine Valley up towards Gold Hill, there were spots flaring up from the wind as we watched. The crews started fighting them almost immediately because they are all over the place, but we should not forget that the little battles continue.

Church blesses gadgets

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:36:00 +0000

From the Winnipeg (Canada) Free Press

Blessed are the BlackBerrys.

The glow of gizmos cut through the darkness of a modest Halifax-area church Sunday as parishioners raised their cellphones, laptops and GPS units toward the heavens for a special prayer.

"Lord God, we thank you for the many gifts and tools you give us, all those electronic gadgets that make our lives easier in so many ways," Rev. Lisa Vaughn said before a small crowd at St. Timothy's Anglican Church in Hatchet Lake on the eve of Labour Day.

Vaughn said the idea to hold a blessing of electronics came after hearing about an old English tradition called Plough Monday in which farmers would drag their tools to the church's door to receive a blessing for a good harvest.

"Most of our people are commuters to the city and work in offices and labs and hospitals and that kind of thing," Vaughn, a former journalist with short, blond spiky hair, said in an interview.

"I thought, 'Wow, wouldn't it be nice for us to connect with modern-day tools; things that people use so often (that) we often take for granted?"

Parishioner Dawn Purcell said she sifts through 100 emails a day on her "crackberry" in her job as a manager at a health centre.

Purcell, 51, got her trusty device blessed twice Sunday — once in the morning and again during the nighttime service.

"I use it a lot and it needs to be blessed," she said. "I think it's a great idea."

Click here for more.

SDB Camp in Boulder spared

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:20:00 +0000

I called Pastor Steve Osborn this morning (Wednesday) and he is praising the Lord.

A massive wildfire outside of Boulder, Colo., has consumed thousands of acres and scores of buildings, but most of the flames have apparently gone around the Boulder Heights area, home of Camp Paul Hummel.

Charring of trees occurred on the west side of the property where the archery range is. One of the radio towers (a source of income for the camp) was destroyed, but according to a local firefighter whose home is near the camp it looks like all of the camp structures were spared.

Pastor Steve noted that in recent years a fire prevention expert has helped to clear the property of hazardous brush. In addition “God’s mercy sure didn’t hurt” the current situation.

Please keep that area in your prayers. Many have lost their homes or cabins, and harmful smoke and ash is blanketing the city.

Pastors Conference Dates Changed

noreply@blogger.com (Gordon P. Lawton) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:35:00 +0000

Dates for the 2011 Pastors Conference were announced at Conference in July for May 2011. Scheduling for our guest speaker was a good reason to change the dates which are now April 26-30.

Dr. Howard Bixby (click on the name and scroll down for a short bio) will be our guest speaker and presenter on Wed and Thurs the 27th and 28th of April. Except for meals and a devotional time in the morning he will have both days to teach and lead us . The theme is Leading Through Outreach Change. We will still be hosted by the Milton SDB Church and have use of the Camp Wakonda facilities. If the prospect of being in a dorm will keep you and your spouse away, other arrangements will be made.

Reserve the dates. More info to follow.

Darkness post-Katrina

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:38:00 +0000

Five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Lacy Thompson, former associate editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message, shares an opinion.

Darkness. Of all the Hurricane Katrina memories and images, the one that endures in me is darkness.

For weeks after the storm, I had to travel through New Orleans’ devastated Lower 9th Ward. Each night, as I crossed the Industrial Canal, I entered into a world that defined “surreal.”

There were no streetlights, traffic signals, porch lights or neon advertising signs, and rarely another vehicle on the road. To call it a darkness as deep as the soul is barely a clever turn of phrase. It was the type of darkness you feel when returning to a blackened house after a loved one’s funeral, knowing no matter how many lights you turn on, something and someone will be missing.

It was easy to feel isolated, forgotten, lost. Something was missing -- and maybe Someone as well.

“Do not hide your face from me,” the Psalmist cries to God. Entering the Lower 9th Ward each night it was easy to think God not only had hidden his face, but turned away completely.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Shoes for Souls breaks record

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:23:00 +0000

From Bob Allen of the Associated Baptist Press

A Baptist church in Texas braved near-100 degree heat Aug. 21 to set the new Guinness world record for the longest chain of shoes.

South Main Baptist Church in Houston lined up 20,110 shoes side-by-side in a pattern on the church parking lot to draw attention to Buckner International's Shoes for Orphan Souls shoe drive that provides footwear to orphans around the world. The previous record of 19,856 was set in 2008.

To mark the 10th year of its participation in the drive, the congregation set a goal of collecting 10,000 pairs of shoes. After a "drive-through drop off" Thursday, Aug. 19, church members showed up for a final celebration called "Sole Chain."

Jennifer Gribble, the church's marketing coordinator, said 150 volunteers worked four hours and 15 minutes to build the chain. Participants then spent the next hour and 15 minutes packing and loading the shoes onto an 18-wheeler truck to be shipped to Dallas where they will be distributed to orphans worldwide.

To certify the chain as a Guinness record, Gribble said the congregation submitted a packet with photos, videos, news articles and reports from official unbiased witnesses on site to verify the shoe count.

Buckner International, a global Baptist organization dedicated to caring for children, families and senior adults, assumed responsibility for Shoes for Orphan Souls in 1999. The program, which began in 1995 by a Dallas radio station, has distributed more than 2 million pairs of shoes and socks to children in 68 countries.

2010 Christian Education Sabbath

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Camenga) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:33:00 +0000

Promote the Christian Education opportunities in your local church with Christian Education Sabbath, the Sabbath after Labor Day (U.S)—September 11, 2010. If that Sabbath doesn't work for you, please choose another Sabbath.

Packets of material to help your church plan a Christian Education Sabbath have been mailed. You can also download the package from the BCE Website.

This material is coming to you much later than we had planned. We understand that it is arriving too close to the suggested date of use and that it would have been more helpful a month or more ago. We'd planned to send Christian Education Sabbath materials to you in June this year. However, our production schedule was disrupted by a minor flood in the office in late May. Then, other scheduled events pre-empted the timely production of this material. For 2011, it is our intent to mail Christian Education Sabbath material in June (the theme for 2011 will be Evangelism).

Biggest Losers revealed!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:07:00 +0000

I guess you didn't have to wait THAT long to see that the group in Boulder, Colorado won the "Biggest SDB Loser" competition.

Oh yeah, and the rest of the September Sabbath Recorder is on-line here.

Hope you enjoy the photos and wrap-up from General Conference 2010, held at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. Also included is the obituary for long-time pastor and SDB Missionary Society Executive Leon Lawton. We also welcome new Conference President Stephen Rogers (Salem, WV) as he kicks off his theme, "Living in the Fruit of the Spirit." Conference next year will be at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, July 31-August 6.

Biggest Loser preview

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:07:00 +0000

Just okayed the final proof of the September Sabbath Recorder. As promised at Conference, the front cover displays the happy faces of the winning team among the 10 churches that participated in this year’s “Biggest SDB Loser” friendly competition.

Now, you’ll need to wait a little while longer to see that front cover (we’ll post here when the issue is on-line). In the meantime, I’m happy to announce the individual “Biggest Loser” who lost the highest percentage of body weight.

Tiffany Crowder from Boulder, Colo., trimmed 18.4% of her weight during the timeframe of October through June. Congrats, Tiffany!! You’re a winner!!

Truth for Youth for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:23:00 +0000

The next issue of Truth For Youth (Sept. - Nov. 2010) is available as a free download on the Board of Christian Education website (www.educatingchristians.org). Click on "Truth For Youth."

Truth For Youth is Sabbath School material for youth and young adults. It is written by Seventh Day Baptists for Seventh Day Baptists and follows the International Bible Lesson series (the outline of Scripture passages also used by The Helping Hand.

Please send any comments, concerns and/or questions for the writers to Pastor David Taylor at sdbtaylor@verizon.net.

Conference votes to restructure

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0000

While preparing the September issue of the Sabbath Recorder, it dawned on me that we had not written here about the biggest issue facing Conference delegates this year. What happened with the Ad Hoc Committee proposal to restructure? Here's what will appear in the September SR, thanks to Nick Kersten:

Conference Votes for
Denominational Restructuring

This year’s delegates to General Conference were asked to take action on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Denominational Restructuring. The report was circulated prior to Conference in the Sabbath Recorder (July/August issue, pages 9-11), the SDB Exec Blog through the General Conference website, as well as by the SDB E-mail Network.

After their presentation on Monday of Conference, the Committee’s report and its recommendations were referred to the Reference and Counsel Interest Committee. The five members of the Ad Hoc Committee then spent much of the week answering questions from Reference and Counsel and other interested Seventh Day Baptists.

In committee, concerns were raised and discussed, including the relatively short amount of time some had to consider the proposal. The report was sent to the Conference floor with a recommendation that it be adopted with its recommendations. Reference and Counsel also suggested that if any of the recommendations from the report passed, that the Ad Hoc Committee be requested to draft any necessary bylaw changes.

Both the report and the subsequent recommendation to refer the writing of bylaws back to the Ad Hoc Committee were adopted without discussion. We now await the proposed bylaws, which will be presented as a first reading at the 2011 General Conference session.

Scripture Memory Program 2010-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Camenga) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:55:00 +0000

The Scripture Memorization Program for 2010-2011 Conference Year will focus on Conference President Steven Rogers’ theme: “Living in the Fruit of the Spirit” For those who prefer to memorize contiguous sections of Scripture, this year's long text is 1 Corinthians 13.

The brochures were mailed today, August 19. So, your church should see them in the next week. If you don't want to wait, want the alternative September - May format, or would like a text file with the verses, they are available on the Board of Christian Education site.

Women’s Board unveils new logo

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:01:00 +0000

During the Women’s Banquet at this year’s General Conference (held at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri), SDB Women’s Board President Althea Rood unveiled a new logo.

Centered on the purposes of the Women’s Society—study, sharing, service—the new logo depicts many hands responding to needs around the world.

Althea and daughter Kristin Camenga presented a series of creative vignettes during the Women’s Banquet. The skit followed the history and activities of the Society through the years. An overview of their presentation will appear in the September Sabbath Recorder. For more information about the Women's Society, go to sdbwomen.org.

The new logo was designed by Patricia Cruzan.

Wednesdays to be special

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:50:00 +0000

From Katie Brown and Ginny Burdick:

Jesus said, “Go into all nations and make disciples.” Are we reaching even our own nation?

This year, delegates to General Conference passed an important recommendation. In response to the continuing interest and passion in church planting throughout the denomination, each Wednesday of the coming Conference year should be a day of fasting and prayer to seek God's guidance in this matter.

This day will focus on:

• Prayer that the Holy Spirit would reveal to individuals His calling to plant churches in the United States and Canada, and for a willingness to respond to the call.

• Prayer that a training program for church planting and missions reveal itself, and for the funds and manpower to be raised to establish the program.

• Prayer for the Holy Spirit to reveal locations where church plants and missions are needed.

Let’s unify in prayer. Contact Katie Brown at cb159520@reddies.hsu.edu to commit 15 minutes of your day to prayer. Let’s pray from 6:00 am Eastern time to 6:00 pm Pacific time for a renewed vision for our denomination in national missions!

Houston Spanish Church video

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Appel) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:12:00 +0000

At Conference this year there was a video shown just before the Executive Director's speech. This video was put together by Adrianna Leiva of the Iglesia Bautista del Septimo Dia church in Houston, Texas. This church has grown from 4 people in 2008 to attendance of 70 this year. They have had to change their location for their service four times in the past two years to keep up with their growth.

On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, they will begin another chapter in their outreach into the greater Houston area...they will begin a 3o minute TV show! With the help from the SDB Memorial Fund they will be able to produce a show each week for the next 26 weeks to get things started.

Look for more churches and bigger things to come from Pastor Miguel Leiva and his partner in ministry, his wife Adrianna.

John Upton is new BWA President

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Appel) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Honolulu (BWA) -- John Upton, executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) and of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board (VBMB) in the United States, has been elected president of the Baptist World Alliance during the 20th Baptist World Congress held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from July 28 to August 1.

Upton succeeds David Coffey of the United Kingdom and will serve as BWA president for the period 2010-2015.

The new president of the global Baptist organization has had a long association with the BWA. He is a member of the BWA General Council and the Executive Committee, the two governing bodies of the BWA. He has also served on the Baptist World Aid Committee, the Commission on Christian Ethics, and the Executive Committee of the North American Baptist Fellowship, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA. For the past five years, he was chair of the Congress Program Committee, which played a significant role in planning the Baptist World Congress in Honolulu.

BWA General Secretary Neville Callam gave his full endorsement of Upton's election. "God has prepared John for this role, having led Virginia Baptists since 2001, a period during which Virginia Baptists have been on the cutting edge of Christian witness and mission," Callam said. "Without a doubt, he is eminently suited to fill the position as BWA president."

Prior to being elected as executive director of the BGAV and the VBMB in 2001, Upton served as group leader of the Mission Mobilization Group of the BGAV, beginning in 1995. Earlier, he was pastor of Urbanna Baptist Church in Urbanna, Virginia, from 1984-1986 and 1991-1995. Between 1986 and 1991 he and his wife, Deborah, served as missionaries in Taiwan through the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Check out Conference photos

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:45:00 +0000

Thanks to the good work of our Tract Council photographers and our webmaster, Linda Lawton, we're able to share many pictures of General Conference 2010 being held at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri.

On the front page of our website, you can't miss the link for the photos. Or click here for a direct link. The Lord is blessing us mightily at Conference-- wish you were all able to be here!

We are in Springfield

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Butler) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:08:00 +0000

All of the SDB executives (and our webmaster) are already in Springfield, Missouri, in anticipation of next week's General Conference session at Evangel University.

We've actually been here since Monday, attending CLT (Coordinating Leadership Team) and General Council meetings. At General Council, we just heard from two members of the "Ad Hoc 2" committee, learning more of what they will be presenting next week concerning the Conference restructuring proposals.

As Conference begins on Sunday, you will be hearing very little from us (on the blog) until August. We do hope to post pictures each day as the Conference week progresses so check the front page of our website.

Please keep us in your prayers. Everyone made it here safely, SCSC evaluations went well, registration activity is brisk, and the Youth and Young Adult Pre-Cons are underway. Bring on the Conference!!