BMH Editor's Blog

Gary Austin Reflects on His Neighborhood

Posted by Terry White on August 13, 2008  |  1 Comment

Pastor Gary Austin of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Grace Brethren Church, is featured in his local newspaper this week in a series in which people reflect on the good qualities of their neighborhoods. Here is a short excerpt. To read the entire article, click here.

Gary Austin and his wife Jean have lived on Parkwood drive for four years. They moved to the area from Indiana because Gary got a job as a Pastor at the Grace Brethren Church in Cedar Rapids.

About a year and a half ago, Gary was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He is now clear, but said there were some rough times, and his neighbors were there to help.

“The guys were just incredibly helpful in taking care of stuff,” Gary said.

He spent two months in the hospital and said his neighbors helped plow the driveway and mow the lawn. Gary is back to mowing the lawn again.

“Mowing the grass is a sign that I can manage,” he said.

Seal Beach Church Member Participates in Olympics

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 13, 2008  |  No Comments

Water polo aficionados will know that the U.S. Olympic team for men’s water polo held off Italy 12-11 in the second game of Group B play at Ying Tung Natatorium in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics earlier this week. What readers of this blog may not know is that Tim Hutton, a team member who scored at the end of the first period to put Team USA in the lead of that game, is a member of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Seal Beach, Calif. (He is pictured at right.)

Tim, a first-time Olympian, recently wrapped up a four-year water polo career at the University of California, Irvine, where he graduated with a degree in political science. He was a two-time All American and recently received the Peter J. Cutino award as the best collegiate water polo player in the country.

Next up for Tim and the rest of Team USA will be a match-up with Serbia on Thursday at 10:50 a.m. local time at the Ying Tung Natatorium. The match is scheduled to be broadcast early Thursday morning in the U.S on NBC. Check your local listings for times.

Church Planter Workshop Announced

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 13, 2008  |  No Comments

Go2 Church Planting Ministries is hosting a Church Planter Interact / Workshop on September 22-24, 2008. The workshop will provide participants a time to rethink, reflect, and refresh an individual’s passion for God, others, and the ministry. Sessions will address the practicalities of life as a church planter and networking among church planters and church planting supporters. Training tracks will be relevant with a focus on the practical issues every church planter will encounter.

Presenters include Kent Semple, on church planter financial management; Kevin Marsico, on outreach, and Tim Boal, Go2 Church Planting Ministries executive director, on continuing education.

The workshop will be held at Skycroft Conference Center, 9621 Frostown Road, Middletown, Md. 21769. Cost is $29 per couple (inclusive of workshop activities, two nights lodging, and meals). Sessions begin with a 5:30 p.m. dinner on Monday, September 22 and conclude following lunch on Wednesday, September 24.

Register before September 3, 2008 online at www.go2churchplanting.org.

Go2 Church Planting Ministries recently received provisional approval to be a national ministry of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Meeting With French Believers is Monday Highlight

Posted by Terry White on August 12, 2008  |  No Comments

An informational and inspirational meeting with a number of Grace Brethren believers from French churches as well as with missionaries was the highlight of Monday evening for the Brethren Heritage Tour group, meeting at the Chateau St. Albain in France. Here GBIM missionary Dave Hobert gives background and answers questions on the development of the Grace Brethren work in France, largely developed and enlarged under the direction of missionaries Tom and Doris Julien.

The Heritage Tour Group leaves the chateau Tuesday afternoon for Paris, where GBIM’s Rob and Nichole Plaster will take the group on a walking tour Wednesday after a late-night Tuesday boat ride to see the lights of Paris.

Posted by Terry White on August 12, 2008  |  No Comments

Guests to the Chateau St. Albain eat well, as meals are prepared and served by the staff of the retreat center. Fellowship is good as Brethren Heritage Tour members mixed with missionaries and believers from other parts of the world, as well.

Posted by Terry White on August 12, 2008  |  No Comments

Hobie’s T-Shirt Shop opened for business during the group’s last break of the day Tuesday. Many Brethren Heritage Tour members will now be wearing “Chateau St. Albain” souvenir T-shirts as a reminder of their visit to the historic Grace Brethren retreat center in France.

Heritage Tour Learns History of Brethren Missions

Posted by Terry White on August 11, 2008  |  No Comments

Grace Brethren International Mission executive director Dave Guiles presented two seminars to the Brethren Heritage Tour participants Monday morning in the Chateau St. Albain, France.

The first was on Jacob Cassell and the founding of the Brethren missionary movement in 1900 and following, and the second was the story of Africa missionary James Gribble and his wife, Florence, and the pioneering work they did.

Guiles will continue the series on Tuesday morning before the group departs for sightseeing in Paris.

Posted by Terry White on August 11, 2008  |  No Comments

Maribeth Taylor (left), from the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church, is the newest intern/assistant to arrive at the Chateau St. Albain in France. This photo was taken at lunch Monday, and Maribeth had arrived only about 30 minutes earlier. She will assist at the chateau for about the next six months. At right is Pam Crane, from Owego, New York, who is with the chateau for two years.

The Brethren Heritage Tour group will be joined Monday evening by a number of French nationals who are members of the six Grace Brethren churches in Europe, along with a number of U.S. missionary personnel who are in the area. GBIM missionary Dave Hobert will lead a session on the history of the chateau, the history and development of the Grace Brethren movement in Europe, and the French and US groups will exchange questions and answers.

Russ Ogden Granted Ph.D. Degree

Posted by Terry White on August 11, 2008  |  No Comments

Retired Grace Brethren pastor Russ Ogden, now living near Indianapolis, IN, recently received his Ph.D. degree. Here is a message he recently sent to friends and prayer supporters (photo by Joan Snively)

Betty and I express our deepest gratitude to our family and friends who have encouraged us throughout the arduous years I have labored to earn a Ph.D. in Religious Studies. The degree was granted in March, 2008, upon the successful defense of my dissertation: Michael Behe’s Concept of Irreducible Complexity: the Microbiological Challenge to Darwinian Evolution.

The title looks complicated, but the argument is simple. Charles Darwin’s theory of the evolution of life by random chance and natural adaptation will not stand up to recent discoveries of the complexity of living cells. They are not blobs of jelly, but complex microscopic motors. Don’t allow any scientist, science teacher, liberal thinker or television program to tell you or your children that the universe evolved without God.

The first verse of the Bible stands intact: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). Because of its importance to your view of ultimate reality and your relationship with God, I will expound this subject further in future Perspectives.

Graduation ceremonies for Trinity Theological Seminary were held in Evansville, Indiana, on August 1 and 2. Graduation speaker was leading Christian apologist Norman Geisler who exhorted the graduates on the importance of apologetics: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason (Greek, apologia, defense) for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). This is more important than ever in our present pluralistic society.

This graduation photo was taken by our daughter Joan who, with her husband, Dan Snively, drove us there and back and shared the celebration. They have been our Number One support team.

They also planned and will direct a family reunion on a Tennessee hilltop near Gatlinburg August 15-17 to celebrate the graduation and our Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary.

Brethren Heritage Tour Arrives in France, Chateau

Posted by Terry White on August 10, 2008  |  No Comments

YIB (Your Intrepid Blogger) has concluded the CHARIS experience in Frankfurt, Germany, and is now in France. Dave and Sue Guiles and I took a patchwork of trains, Paris subways, and other means to cross over into France and re-join the Brethren Heritage Tour Saturday night in Lyon, France.

Sunday morning we attended the Lyon Grace Brethren Church, which is the largest and best-developed of the six functioning Grace Brethren churches in France. Pastor Florent Varak (left) interpreted as Dave Guiles (right) of Grace Brethren International Missions, gave a brief report on the CHARIS experience. Varak also translated as Pastor David Plaster of the Worthington, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church brought the morning message, based on the passage in Luke 14 which Alexander Mack and his seven believer friends read before they “counted the cost” and baptized each other in the Eder River at Schwarzenau, Germany, that early August Sunday morning in 1708.

The remainder of the day was spent touring Lyon, which has historic Roman ruins and quite an interesting history relating to the birth and growth of Christianity. Late in the day the group bussed to St. Albain, to the Chateau there.

Posted by Terry White on August 10, 2008  |  No Comments

Debbie Hocking (second from left, in white blouse) welcomed the Brethren Heritage Tour to the Chateau St. Albain this afternoon in France. She and her husband, Jay (who is currently in the U.S. for his brother’s wedding) are hosts at the Chateau, along with a group of young staff people.

After a delicious dinner, the tour group explored the historic chateau grounds until dark and will have some seminar sessions tomorrow conducted by GBIM’s Dave Guiles. The tour concludes with a tour of Paris on Wednesday. At left is Ted Rondeau, the organizer and leader of the Brethren Heritage Tour.

CHARIS Closes with Threefold Communion

Posted by Terry White on August 9, 2008  |  No Comments

CHARIS 2008, the worldwide gathering of Grace Brethren leadership from about 17 countries, closed Friday night with a threefold communion service led by Edouardo Coria (pictured) of Argentina, who has been a pastor for 45 years.

In an emotional ending, the group sang together, worshiped together, and then walked up to the nearby marketplace to enjoy ice cream cones together. By early Saturday, delegates had scattered by train, car, bus, and plane from Frankfurt to many parts of the world.

In each country, CHARIS participants will now be discussing with local leadership the impact and implications of decisions and directions discussed at the worldwide gathering. Your prayers will be appreciated as delegates travel home, and resume ministry in the places were God has planted them.

Friday at CHARIS Culminates in Adoption of Declaration

Posted by Terry White on August 8, 2008  |  No Comments

A barbecue with grilled steaks and bratwursts on the patio provided good food and fellowship Thursday evening at the CHARIS gathering in Bad Homburg, Germany. The youth hostel there has provided an excellent venue for the meetings of the assembled worldwide leadership of Grace Brethren churches, numbering about 55 delegates and support people in total.

The group has been sobered this week to pray for the health needs of Gami from Portugal, a delegate who was not able to attend, because of a serious infection. One of the translators, Jennifer McCaman, was also hospitalized in Frankfurt Friday with infected tonsils, and prayer is requested for her recovery and wisdom about surgery, as well.

Posted by Terry White on August 8, 2008  |  No Comments

A table tennis interlude provides a nice break from the intensity of the sessions of CHARIS, the worldwide gathering of Grace Brethren church leaders, meeting at a youth hostel in Bad Homburg, a suburb of Frankfurt, Germany, this week. CHARIS officially ends with a Friday evening session.

Playing table tennis here are, from left, Steve Bailey of Argentina, Nathan Bryant of Canada, Jordan Varak of France, and Mike Yoder of Germany.

Posted by Terry White on August 8, 2008  |  No Comments

Following the regional presentation from Africa on Thursday evening, the African pastors present sang a special song for the CHARIS delegates, led by Samuel Dadje of Chad (left) and Francois Ngoumape (right) of the Central African Republic. Although four pastors and leaders were able to come from Chad, the visas of other delegates from the Central African Republic and Cameroon were denied, so they were unable to attend. A message of greeting from M’Boum Antoine of the 46 Cameroonian churches was read in the Thursday evening session.

Posted by Terry White on August 8, 2008  |  No Comments

Nathan Bryant, of GB Canada, led off the Friday morning regional reports with a description of what God has been doing through Grace Brethren churches in Canada. He explained that the first church-planting efforts entered the Toronto area about a decade ago, and now there is a strong mothering church there, a second church-plant in Milton, and just recently a third church was planted in Vancouver, BC, on the west coast of Canada.

Posted by Terry White on August 8, 2008  |  No Comments

The United States delegation was the last country to present an overview of its work. Robert Wagner (left) from Calvert County, Maryland, reported on churches and work in the eastern U.S. Steve Kern (center) of the Wooster, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church, reported on church-planting and other ministries in the central U.S., and Bob Combs (right), of Norton, Ohio, presented the work of the Grace Brethren in the western United States.

Perhaps the high point of the conference occurred in the late morning Friday when the assembled delegates, in a meeting coordinated and led by Florent Varak of France, voted unanimously to adopt a document which is a declaration of action for Grace Brethren worldwide over the next several decades.

After much discussion and adjustment of wording, in three languages, the final documents presents biblical positions and aspirations for Grace Brethren work worldwide in three areas: church planting, leadership training, and integrated mission. As delegates leave Bad Homburg, part of their responsibility will be to explain this document and its intent, and to help churches in their part of the world implement the larger vision of impacting the world for Christ in these three areas.

Delegates will have some free time Friday afternoon for sightseeing in Frankfurt, and official activities will conclude with a threefold communion Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.

Young Translators at CHARIS are ‘Magic Crew’

Posted by Terry White on August 7, 2008  |  No Comments

The young translators working the CHARIS meetings in Germany are being referred to as the “Magic Crew” because they enable conversation in general sessions, in coffee breaks, at meals, and anytime they see individuals standing together who are hampered by language capabilities to converse.

Making the magic happen are (from left) Phillip Klawitter, Jon Guiles, Jordan Varak, Jennifer McCaman, Ana Nunez, and Clemence Molliard.

———————–
Les jeunes traducteurs qui travaillent à la conference de Charis sont appelés “l’équipe magique” parce qu’ils rendent possibles les discussions lors des sessions, des pauses cafés, pendants les repas et à n’importe quel moment lorsqu’ils voient que les conversations ne sont pas possibles à cause de la barriere de la langue.

Pour que cette magie opère (de gauche à droite) Phillip Klawitter, Jon Guiles, Jordan Varak, Jennifer McCaman, Ana Nunez et Clémence Molliard travaillent.

————————-

Los jóvenes traductores de CHARIS son “el equipo mágico”

A los jóvenes traductores trabajando en las reuniones de CHARIS en Alemania se les dice “el equipo mágico” porque facilitan la comunicación en las sesiones plenarias, pausas, comidas y en cualquier momento en que ven personas sentadas juntas cuyas barreras linguísiticas les impiden una conversación fluída.

Los responsables de esta magia son (desde la izquierda) Phillip Klawitter, Jon Guiles, Jordan Varak, Jennifer McCaman, Ana Nuñez y Clemence Molliard.

Posted by Terry White on August 7, 2008  |  No Comments

At a break in the action of the CHARIS Grace Brethren worldwide leadership meeting now underway in a suburb of Frankfurt, Germany, several of the Latin America leaders posed for a photo. From left are GBIM’s Latin America director Steve Bailey, church planter from Chile Juan Saez, and missionary to Argentina Nate Dunlevy.

————————

Pendant une pause dans l’action de la rencontre international des responsables de Charis dans la banlieue de Francfort en Allemagne, plusieurs responsables d’Amérique du Sud pausent pour une photo. De Gauche à droite, Steve Bailey, directeur régional pour l’Amérique Latine, Juan Saez implanteur d’Eglise au Chili et Nate Dunlevy missionnaire en Argentine.

————————-

En una pausa del encuentro mundial CHARIS de la IH que se reúne en un suburbio de Frankfurt, Alemania, varios de los líderes de Latinoamérica posan para una foto. Desde la izquierda, está el director de las Misiones Internacionales de Latinoamérica de la IH Steve Bailey, el fundador de iglesias de Chile Juan Sáez y el misionero en Argentina Nate Dunlevy.

Posted by Terry White on August 7, 2008  |  No Comments

The Holism Task Force, led by Jorge Nunez of Argentina, is working to craft a declaration for the future on ministries such as Business as Mission, Micro-Enterprise, and more. The background for the task force was a worldwide study of about 22 holism ministries which was compiled and written by Mike McCaman.

——————–

L’atelier des ministers holistiques mené par Jorge Nunez d’Argentine, travail au projet de déclaration pour le future des ministères tels que AM (les affaires comme mission), les micro enterprises etc…Précedant cet atelier, une etude d’environs 22 minitères holistiques à été récolté et écrit par Mike McCaman.

———————

El grupo de trabajo de Ministerios Holísticos, liderado por Jorge Nuñez de Argentina, está trabajando para lograr una declaración para el futuro en ministerios como Negocios como Misión, Micro-empresas y más. El material utilizado se basó en un estudios de alrededor de 22 ministerios holísticos que fue compilado y escrito por Mike McCaman.