The Alliance eCommunity most recent topics from the eCommunity http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/index.php Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:13:46 +0000 15 Pastor Needed for South Carolina Semi Rural Church http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4685-pastor-needed-for-south-carolina-semi-rural-church/
My name is Fritz Smith and I am chairman of the board at Memorial Chapel CMA in Bishopville, SC.

We have an average attendance of around 95 and the chuch has strong(but welcoming) family roots.
Our congregation is made up of a mixture of ages ranging from semi strong youth group(average attendance of around 10), young adults, middle age and older crowd. Our current worship style is a mixture of traditional and contemporary. Normally 1-2 hymns and 2-3 choruses. Powerpoint is used for words and message points along with CMA video segments 2-3 times a month.

While the church is set in a very rural setting with the parsonage next door, it is within 15 minutes of Sumter, 20 minutes from Camden, 35 minutes from Florence and 45 minutes from Columbia. All that is said that while we enjoy the advantages of "country life", there is plenty of "city" nearby.

We are open to any age but would prefer a pastor in the 35-55 year old range. Our church believes in a strong

Our current pastor, Jim Peterson(you probably know him as previous Alliance Mens President) stayed for 4 years and is well loved but is moving on to a district position at the end of this year. Jim notified the church about 4 months ago he may leave at end of year and just announced a few weeks ago it was now a certainty. In Jim's words, we have a "unique" church with strong families but without any divisions.

If you know of anyone interested, please contact myself, Fritz Smith at fritz@airbedz.com , 803-229-2287 or South Atlantic District Superintendant, Ferrell Townes.

Thank you,
Fritz Smith]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:46:12 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4685-pastor-needed-for-south-carolina-semi-rural-church/ Hi, all! http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4684-hi-all/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:15:51 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4684-hi-all/ My Introduction to the e-community http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4681-my-introduction-to-the-e-community/ This is my introdution to the e-community....
My name is Bill Pike, I live in Vermillion, South Dakota.We are in the southeastern corner of South Dakota.I attend a Christian & Missionary Allience Church.We also call our Church,"Hillside Community Church".Our Pastor is an awsome man,well call him Brother Jim.I also am in charge of,an atticts group called,"Jesus For Atticts".We help people with all types of additions,for example:Alcohalics,Drug Attics,Sexual Addition,Overeaters,Religous Abuse,Physical Abuse,Ect...Anyone is welcome in the community of Vermillion,South Dakota.
My call is also to reach out to a lost and dying world, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ of Nazereth.Stop by my profile and leave a note.God Bless you always. In Jesus, Bill Pike]]> Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:36:17 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4681-my-introduction-to-the-e-community/ <![CDATA[My first "Hi!"]]> http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4679-my-first-hi/
this is my first "Hi!" introducing myself to the eCommunity. My name is Maria Evangelista, I am a Christian call to minister the love of God to souls seeking His peace telling the good news of Jesus Salvation.

I moved back to Lockport, NY recently and I am attending Lockport Alliance again and will like to also attend bible groups meetings. I would like to meet anyone from the eCommunity that also is a member of Lockport Alliance.

I am very active with Christian witness in the internet since 2000 through websites and at communities such as Facebook, mySpace, Multiply, Ning, YouTube and at Christian networks. You are welcome to look me up in them by my name: Maria Evangelista or by my ID: ministergospel2.

I pray to be a blessing and receive a blessing in this eCommunity.

God's blessings,
maria evangelista
.
.
- - ]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:11:35 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4679-my-first-hi/ Tsunami and Typhoon relief effort http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4677-tsunami-and-typhoon-relief-effort/
We will be posting this information today. It will link to CAMA giving opportunites (which can be found here ).

If you have any relief or support stories/efforts, PLEASE send them to me today and we will see what we can do to add them to this IMMEDIATE information effort on the website.

Also, if any of you have a twitter account, please begin posting messages about this effort with the hashtag #cmalliance and pointing to http://www.camaservices.org/urgent

I will update you once the page on cmalliance.org is completed so you can post that page URL there as well.

Thank you so much for your consideration!]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:48:41 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4677-tsunami-and-typhoon-relief-effort/ MY YOUTH GROUP COULD USE A GRANT http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4675-my-youth-group-could-use-a-grant/
I'm the worship leader at my youth group. We belong to a branch of the Cambodian Evangelical Church, which was originally founded by Paul Elison, and affiliated with C&MA. My youth group consists of around 40-50 teenagers. The leadership is very dedicated, but it's very hard to build and grow without money.

In these times, it seems as if the youth group gets left out of the offering and tithes. I asked my church leaders if the main C&MA helps out local churches, but they don't seem to know. I was wondering if my youth group would be eligible for any type of grant.

We could really use some new sound equipment, instruments, outreach brochures, and extra money to pay for educational books. A lot of the older kids would like to take T.E.E (Theology Extended Education), but their parents can't afford $40 a book. T.E.E are 6 books that go over the life of Christ, which was written by the C&MA for the Cambodian community.

Can anybody offer us some help? Maybe even names of companies I can write grant letters to?]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:48:34 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4675-my-youth-group-could-use-a-grant/ HOW TO FUNDRAISE FOR THE YOUTH GROUP http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4674-how-to-fundraise-for-the-youth-group/
Fundraising seems to be a really big challenge these days, especially for the church youth group. When special offering requests aren't enough, we look toward fundraising ideas. Car washes work really well. But it's seasonal, something that can only be done in the summer. I'm the worship leader in my youth group, and we could really use some fundraising ideas that work all year round. We held an open mic night once, but it didn't go so well.

Does anybody have any ideas to help us out? Throw any idea you got that worked for you, or think might work.

Thank you!]]> Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:18:52 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4674-how-to-fundraise-for-the-youth-group/ International Worker or Missionary part deux http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4673-international-worker-or-missionary-part-deux/ Bob Fetherlin, V.P. of International Ministries requested that this be posted within the eCommunity. This serves as a bit of explanation for the migration of the term missionary to international worker.

PLEASE NOTE: DUE TO SPECIFIC TOPICS/LOCATIONS APPEARING IN THIS ARTICLE THIS SHALL NOT BE COPIED OR DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE OF THE ALLIANCE eCommunity.


A driving passion of The Christian and Missionary Alliance is to take the good news of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet had opportunity to hear about Him. In looking at the remaining peoples and populations who are yet unreached with this news, the vast majority of those waiting to hear are in creative access countries. These are places which have established barriers to keep this news from their people, or have within their borders a majority religion bent on keeping this news away from its followers. That is why creative access strategies are required to complete Christ's commission.

Many others the C&MA is trying to reach are in resistant settings. Examples include the post-modern, post-Christian people of America and Europe, the predominantly Muslim people of West Africa, and Buddhist-dominated populations in Asia. While these are not creative access contexts in the purest sense, they require special care, heightened sensitivity, and extra creativity for effective, Great Commission work.
Our personnel serving in resistant settings face difficult, ministry-compromising, visa-threatening situations when they are identified or known as "missionary." Here are some of the ideas some peoples of our world have when they think about this loaded term:

  • One who proselytizes, which is associated with the idea of winning people over to Western ways, of attracting people to a sect, of focusing good works on children and vulnerable adults in a manipulative effort to turn them from the ways of their own people and culture.
  • One associated with the imperialistic agenda of the colonizing nations of the 1800s and 1900s when, unfortunately, some who were known as missionaries were also involved in promoting and supporting the colonizing work of their home countries.
  • One who is an agent of Western cultural dominance.
  • One who zealously sees his way as the only right way, a member of the "religious right" who uses whatever means to convince others, even force others, to align with his exclusive perspective.

In some European nations, the idea of a missionary living and working in their country is repugnant and repulsive to local people. The government of China wants nothing to do with missionaries, which has forced us to think creatively about avoiding that identity there. Even in our own culture, identifying ourselves openly as a "missionary" is more likely today to build barriers with unbelieving people than it ever has been before. These realities call for discretion and care on our part.

For these reasons, I am encouraging us to use increasingly the term "international worker." This has less negative baggage associated with it. It is less loaded with meaning that hurts us. I am using this terminology more and more, as will be our Communications team. While I will not be offended or get upset if I hear someone use the term "missionary" and feel no shame about this term personally, I am planning on using it less and less due to the rationale explain3d above. Rather than using a term that hinders us in many contexts, I invite you to use "international worker" increasingly for the sake of helping Alliance personnel serving cross-culturally, and our overall Great Commission work.]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:32:34 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4673-international-worker-or-missionary-part-deux/ alliance twitter feed http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4672-alliance-twitter-feed/ http://twitter.com/cmalliance

join the conversation on twitter by using the hashtag #cmalliance in your tweets. [ learn more about hashtags at http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags ]]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:34:40 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4672-alliance-twitter-feed/ <![CDATA[If You've Been Blessed by the Ministry of Ray Boltz]]> http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4671-if-youve-been-blessed-by-the-ministry-of-ray-boltz/ If you've been blessed by the ministry of Ray Boltz, the way Dave Love was, I thought you might like to know about his upcoming concert in Portland, Indiana toward the end of October.

Quote

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Arts Place
Street: 131 E Walnut Street
City/Town: Portland, IN

Peterson Toscano and singer/song writer Ray Boltz will come together for an evening of entertainment and insight.
Spend a wild & wonderful evening with Peterson Toscano and his zany, heartwarming characters. A gay, comic actor, playwright and theatrical performance activist, Peterson has presented one-person shows through out North America and Europe.
Renowned for his seamless transformations from character to character, audiences consistently find his work hilarious and deeply insightful.
Boltz has dedicated over fifteen years to music and ministry. Through these years he has captured the attention of the CCM industry by garnering three Dove Awards, two gold albums, a gold video, and twelve number one singles. He has also sold more than four million units of product.
Ray also has publicly come out as a gay man and is now writing and performing music about that part of his journey too.

Through all this time and these accomplishments Ray's vision for his ministry still remains the same…to produce and perform music that allows listeners and audiences to see Jesus.

Tickets: Adults $15 and Students $10
Reserved seating only.
To purchase your ticket call 260.726.4809
Event sponsored by
PRISM/GSA Gay-Straight Alliance
Portland, Indiana

Please pray for God's anointing on Ray as he ministers to a difficult-to-reach audience.

Denes House, on 13 September 2008 - 05:27 AM, said:

This seemed like the most appropriate thread for this bit of news:

Christian musician Ray Boltz has come out of the closet.

The writer/singer ("Thank you for giving to the Lord," "Watch the Lamb") has left his wife and children, and is now living what he calls a normal gay lifestyle.

David Love, on 30 September 2008 - 04:33 AM, said:

I apologize that I am an infrequent visitor here, but this thread is one that I am interested to see is still being discussed. As I read yesterday of Ray Boltz coming out of the closet, I thought about how much his songs touched me in the time shortly after my conversion to Christ. I can't help but think that internal strife is the cause of much of the greatest prose, poetry, and music.

Is Ray Boltz not saved because he is a homosexual - I wouldn't have a clue. Now that I think of it, I don't have a clue if Billy Graham, or Max Lucado, or Rick Warren, or anyone else is saved. I can't see anyone's heart, but the God I serve can see their heart. I don't know about any of you, but I know how my mind sometimes works, and the sinful thoughts that cross my mind, and I wouldn't want to be judged on what goes on in my mind. Still, I do remember when the words of scripture were first opened to me, and how I grasped at Christ's offer like someone grasping a liferope in a stormy sea. My life's never been the same.

That all said, the Word of God does go out if its way to give strong warnings about sexual sin and homosexuality. I don't think God does that because sexual sin is more offensive to God than other sins - each and every sin is offensive to Him. I think its because God knows us, and He knows that sexual sin has the power to do bad things to us. Maybe its just the physical damage it does to our body, but I think its more than that - I believe that sexual sin might harden our hearts against God, and keep us from reaching the point of saving faith.

I had trouble sleeping last night, and I know I spent time praying about Ray Boltz, that God is helping him, and even using what is going on in Ray's life to reach homosexuals for Christ.

Thanks for this conversation - there are people in my family in close relationships with homosexuals, and this discussion has helped me understand this issue more deeply, and be better prepared to discuss with them.

In Christ's Love,

Dave
]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:55:30 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4671-if-youve-been-blessed-by-the-ministry-of-ray-boltz/ looking for hymn http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4670-looking-for-hymn/
"We are the laborers of the Lord, The Lord joyfully works at our side,
Helping souls who are hungry, Go and help save the deceived ones
To the last one precious soul
Bring them to the glorious one, the Father who gave them to us.
Chorus,
Go now to the wide world because the Lord called us to serve
Everyone must go today if the time is gone
Days and nights do not wait, months and years have past already
Go quickly, go quickly search out the souls."

Anyone have an answer?]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:58:13 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4670-looking-for-hymn/ The New Covenant : Announced and Repudiated http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4668-the-new-covenant-announced-and-repudiated/ Jeremiah said:

"The time is coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them, "
declares the LORD.

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)


(To be continued...)]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:19:56 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4668-the-new-covenant-announced-and-repudiated/ The Real Motivation for Ministry? http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4667-the-real-motivation-for-ministry/ supposed to be.

But it is so easy to settle for trite answers. And it is also easy to ignore what is really going on inside us, what is really motivating us. What does the Bible say?

"And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor." King Solomon

How much of our labor and achievement, how much of my personal labor and achievement, springs from envy of our fellow Christians, our fellow pastors, our fellow missionaries, our fellow denominational leaders?

Let me begin by testing this Bible verse against my own life. As a Christian, I believe that is always the place to begin.

There are a few moments when my negative motivations for ministry seem fairly clear to me. There are positive ones as well, but I think exploring the less-than-admirable ones will be more helpful.

Temple Baptist Church -- San Francisco

When I was first married I attended Temple Baptist Church in San Francisco, an American Baptist church. I was interested in their pastor, Dick Jefferson, who came to my attention in college because he had transitioned the congregation to a charismatic church without causing a split, and I was interested in any man who could do that!

One Sunday Pastor Jefferson spoke about the church at Corinth, and I was blown away. He did a superb job, he'd made it so vivid and relevant, I was stunned. And I envied him. I consciously knew that I wanted to be able to do what he had done, that he had fulfilled the task of preaching. I was so impressed.

But on second glance, was it envy? Envy is usually wanting what someone else has, to the point of taking it from them. So I'm not sure that this . . . admiration was the same as envy.

High Street Presbyterian Church -- Oakland

I was much younger when I went to High Street Presbyterian in Oakland. I couldn't read yet. But I remember borrowing a Bible from the church library and squirreling it away in my bottom drawer. I remember those intimidating rows of solid type--impenetrable. (That was in the days before reader-friendly texts became necessary for successful marketing.) I remember when my mother got a call asking me to return the Bible to the library.

I have other memories. I remember the candles, in threes, that lined the sanctuary, depositing their soot trailing up the walls. But the minister in his pulpit, front and center, in his black robes, that was an impressive memory for a little boy. Such majesty, such dignity and respect in those black robes. One thing that little boy knew--ministers were really important!

Again, I'm not sure if envy is the right word, but for a little boy it was an impressive sight. Later on I was surprised to see a Baptist minister in a regular suit. Didn't seem right.

Aurora Drive Baptist Church -- San Leandro

My senior year of high school I attended Aurora Drive Baptist Church in San Leandro, that defacto segregated city that borders Oakland, CA, where I grew up. Pastor Jimmy was the angriest, most rigid dispensationalist with whom I would ever come into contact. (He wanted me to attend Hyles Anderson College in Hammond, Indiana, but that's another story!) Every week it was a soul-winning sermon. Every week. Because "You never know when a person is going to walk across the street, get hit by a car, and go straight to hell."

Even at 17 I knew that a strict diet of unrelenting, straight-up salvation messages was not going to lead to a healthy spiritual life. I knew that feeding and nurturing were necessary. "Where's the teaching?" I knew that there was not a single iota of love in any of his preaching, except the hell-fire love that says "What more unloving thing could you do than let them go to a Christ-less eternity?" I think the Bible study I attended at Ascension Lutheran in Concord taught me about Bible study, fellowship, and the nurturing function of small groups.

Did I envy Pastor Jimmy? I don't know. I certainly didn't want to take his pulpit from him, not at 17! Did I know that he was missing the point? Yeah, I knew that. Did I know that "church" didn't have to be so dowdy and old-fashioned (that's a teenager talking, mind you)? Yeah, I knew that. So, did that teenager "know" that he could do a better job? that he knew where their mistakes were? that he knew better than Pastor Jimmy? Yeah.

Is envy mixed up in there? Maybe. I do know that the first few times I preached while attending Simpson College that my preaching was more like Pastor Jimmy's than, say, Robert Schuller's.

Pacific Beach Bible Church -- San Diego

The only time I remember actually coveting a pulpit was in my father-in-law's church. I was there for about ten years, and--yes--I wanted to replace him. I wanted his pulpit. I "knew" I could do a better job than he did, that he was missing the point on so many things.

I acted very badly in his church. I was mean to him personally and I carnally undermined his ministry on a couple of occasions. I became a major thorn in his flesh as I indulged the flesh. And when my wife and I finally left P.B. Bible Church for good, I promised myself that I would never do that to another pastor again. And I haven't. Never even been tempted to. God taught me a lesson, and it seems to be holding.

And so?

Well, I wanted to bring up Solomon's conviction that all human motivation toward accomplishment springs from envy -- because I believe he is right. But as part of that I knew that I needed to be as frank as possible about how envy has figured into my motivations for ministry in the past.

This negative story leaves off fifteen years ago or so. A lot has happened in that time, including my past six years at First United Methodist Church of El Cajon, where I'm doing okay. The pastor knows what I believe about his denomination and his building and his involvement in the system. So do people in the church. But that hasn't interfered with my ability to minister constructively and to be my pastor's friend. He says he considers me "a member of the loyal opposition."

I believe it's important to be as personal and frank as possible about topics like this. And I know that if you live and minister in a denomination, it's foolhardy to bare your soul the way I have, the way I am in the habit of doing, in a public forum like this.

And what accounts for the timing of this "confessional writing"? "Why give us the ammunition we need to discredit you by telling us all about your envy of ministers and the desire to replace your father-in-law and your mean-spirited meddling?"

Well, that's complicated, for sure. But I spent the better part of twenty years in the C&MA. Simpson College, P.B. Bible Church, Chula Vista Alliance Church--I spent a lot of time in the Alliance. And I've added hundreds of hours more this last year on these here forums.

I'd be lying if I said it was all out of the goodness of my heart. But a lot of it is.

When I share with her some responses I get, my wife says yet again, "Why do you bother? They're not going to listen to you. It's a waste of time."

And every time I tell her, "Someone will read it and get it."

You know the old story about how pearls are made, right? A grain of sand gets into an oyster and in its effort to get rid of the irritant, the oyster produces a beautiful pearl. My hope is that some pearls will come out of this.

My participation in these forums really is offering to God the first fruits of my labor. You really are getting the best I have to offer. Blemishes and all.

"And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor." King Solomon]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:23:10 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4667-the-real-motivation-for-ministry/ Kings http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4666-kings/ http://www.hulu.com/kings (in case you didn't know, the tv show is loosely based on the story of david & king saul)

at the same time i have been reading (and most of the time listening) to samuel 1 & 2. while they never claimed to follow the story in the bible, it was facinating to see how many similarities there were.

  • Saul's name is Silas Benjamin. (saul was from the tribe of benjamin. i'm pretty sure the name silas is significant too)
  • David's character is named David Shepherd. (there were many similar comparisons for the names of other characters)
  • The Goliath he faced was the name of a tank for the army of Gath


a couple differences in the tv show's story line (at least so far)

  • i don't recall johnathan ever attempting to de-throne his father, but on the tv show he does (almost). in the bible, i recall david's son absalom actually doing this.
  • in the bible, it states that saul's daughter michael doesn't ever have a child (following a rebuke from david). they run the story that way for quite a while but throw a twist on the season finallie. hopefully the show will continue at some point to see how it plays out.
  • i felt like they built up the hatred of jack (johnathan) towards david more than scripture reflected. at some point he had to express all these feelings of jealousy i guess... i just recall seeing only love towards david which really doesn't happen more until later in the season.


i guess the best part about the show for me is when david is given opportunities to kill silas. they followed true to the story in the bible which made me happy as it is a critical plot point. you see, one of the most amazing things i have ever heard about david was how respectful he was of God's anointed (king saul at the time) even though the man wanted to kill him. he knew that he [himself] was anointed to be king someday, but he didn't push to make that happen before God's timing. in fact, he was afraid to. he was not willing to take king saul's life, even though he had many opportunities, because God had anointed saul for that point in time. we could all learn a lesson from that.]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:12:58 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4666-kings/ alliance facebook page http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4665-alliance-facebook-page/
http://www.facebook.com/greatcommission

there are lots of alliance related facebook pages and content. here are a couple... feel free to reply to this post and add your own.

]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:39:41 +0000 http://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/4665-alliance-facebook-page/