Dennis Camplin
Monday, February 24, 2003
Ten days later...
It has been ten days since I have blogged and lots has happened since that time.Most of that time was spent in Moose Jaw at First Church and House of ROC as I have begun my Intentional Interim Ministry there. Though it was the coldest week of the year, things are off to a good start. I was able to connect with a number of people and begin the listening process. Except that I picked up the worse headcold that I have suffered for a long time.
Transitions are a time of real challenge for me. It is a period of time that I feel disconnected from what I have been doing and not yet connected to the new situation. I do not yet have an address in Moose Jaw and that proved to be an interesting problem when I tried to get a library card at the local library. They were not willing to take any identification that I had on me since none of them showed a Moose Jaw address. I should have kept an old bill or something from 35 years ago when we lived in Moose Jaw as I'm sure they would have accepted that as meeting the "policies" of the library.
¶ 8:04 PM 0 comments
It has been ten days since I have blogged and lots has happened since that time.Most of that time was spent in Moose Jaw at First Church and House of ROC as I have begun my Intentional Interim Ministry there. Though it was the coldest week of the year, things are off to a good start. I was able to connect with a number of people and begin the listening process. Except that I picked up the worse headcold that I have suffered for a long time.
Transitions are a time of real challenge for me. It is a period of time that I feel disconnected from what I have been doing and not yet connected to the new situation. I do not yet have an address in Moose Jaw and that proved to be an interesting problem when I tried to get a library card at the local library. They were not willing to take any identification that I had on me since none of them showed a Moose Jaw address. I should have kept an old bill or something from 35 years ago when we lived in Moose Jaw as I'm sure they would have accepted that as meeting the "policies" of the library.
¶ 8:04 PM 0 comments
Friday, February 14, 2003
Lakeview restructuring
I have been reading blogs from several people who are reacting to decisions re: staff at Lakeview Church. A couple that I have read mentioned that over the last two years 6 or 7 staff have been "let go" and have not been replaced.
Since I assume that I am included in that number, I need to set the record straight. I was not "let go." I did resign in January of 2002 so that I would be free to move into Intentional Interim work which I have been doing since that time.
¶ 1:56 PM 0 comments
I have been reading blogs from several people who are reacting to decisions re: staff at Lakeview Church. A couple that I have read mentioned that over the last two years 6 or 7 staff have been "let go" and have not been replaced.
Since I assume that I am included in that number, I need to set the record straight. I was not "let go." I did resign in January of 2002 so that I would be free to move into Intentional Interim work which I have been doing since that time.
¶ 1:56 PM 0 comments
Arrived in Moose Jaw
We arrived in Moose Jaw last evening to begin the Interim journey here. When I got to the office this morning I realized that I did not bring the power supply for my laptop and I have not been able to find one in town.
One bonus here is that the church is hooked to high-speed internet and I will pick up my e-mail through webmail.
¶ 1:28 PM 0 comments
We arrived in Moose Jaw last evening to begin the Interim journey here. When I got to the office this morning I realized that I did not bring the power supply for my laptop and I have not been able to find one in town.
One bonus here is that the church is hooked to high-speed internet and I will pick up my e-mail through webmail.
¶ 1:28 PM 0 comments
Sunday, February 09, 2003
Surprisingly Few Adults Outside of Christianity Have Positive Views of Christians --- Especially evangelical Christians!
This research from Barna as been around for a while but it is worth our reflection.
Barna writes: One reason why evangelical churches across the nation are not growing is due to the image that non-Christian adults have of evangelical individuals. In a nationwide survey released by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California among a representative sample of people who do not consider themselves to be Christian, the image of "evangelicals" rated tenth out of eleven groups evaluated, beating out only prostitutes. The non-Christian population was not as dismissive of all Christians or religious people, however, as ministers and "born again Christians" were among the three highest-rated segments evaluated.
Jordon Cooper has posted a reference to this research in one of his blogs in which he references Michael Spencer Spencer gives some reasons why people see us as they do. He also outlines some of our normal responses to startling information like this.
I guess each of us have to evaluate the information of this survey and ask the questions that we need to ask. Obviously Christ-like behaviour and attitudes are not being judged here.
¶ 3:45 PM 0 comments
This research from Barna as been around for a while but it is worth our reflection.
Barna writes: One reason why evangelical churches across the nation are not growing is due to the image that non-Christian adults have of evangelical individuals. In a nationwide survey released by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California among a representative sample of people who do not consider themselves to be Christian, the image of "evangelicals" rated tenth out of eleven groups evaluated, beating out only prostitutes. The non-Christian population was not as dismissive of all Christians or religious people, however, as ministers and "born again Christians" were among the three highest-rated segments evaluated.
Jordon Cooper has posted a reference to this research in one of his blogs in which he references Michael Spencer Spencer gives some reasons why people see us as they do. He also outlines some of our normal responses to startling information like this.
I guess each of us have to evaluate the information of this survey and ask the questions that we need to ask. Obviously Christ-like behaviour and attitudes are not being judged here.
¶ 3:45 PM 0 comments
Monday, February 03, 2003
Ancient-Future Service
Yesterday I had the chance to attend the worship service that was part of the Break Forth event.
He is the description on the brochure we received when we arrived in the auditorium:
"This worship service is based on the historical and Biblical four-fold pattern that was practiced primarily in the first six centuries of the church. It consists of the Gathering, the Word, the Thanksgiving and the dismissal The service is a blend of ancient Christian traditions and new contemporary expressions…"
Overall the service was a great experience and Robert Webber, author of Ancient-Future Faith, the Younger Evangelicals, among other books was the speaker. He took less than 20 minutes to retell the biblical story of meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It was great!
Here are my observations, disappointments and rant!
Since I have read some of Webber’s material – it was great to experience what he has been writing.
In the Gathering section there was a wide variety of music – some of it engaged me in worship and some grated my theological bias.
The service used a high level of performance – in relation to sound, light and image.
I was disappointed that we came up to the part where the service would by design move into Communion at the Table -–and we simply skipped that with this explanation – “…we wish to be sensitive to time and to diversity in practices.” It amazed me that 7000 evangelicals could gather for a lot of stuff but not to meet at the table.
Here’s my rant – They messed with the words of the Creed! Why is it that evangelicals cannot understand the Holy Catholic Church? Or, why can't we say...He descended into hell?
¶ 1:41 PM 0 comments
Yesterday I had the chance to attend the worship service that was part of the Break Forth event.
He is the description on the brochure we received when we arrived in the auditorium:
"This worship service is based on the historical and Biblical four-fold pattern that was practiced primarily in the first six centuries of the church. It consists of the Gathering, the Word, the Thanksgiving and the dismissal The service is a blend of ancient Christian traditions and new contemporary expressions…"
Overall the service was a great experience and Robert Webber, author of Ancient-Future Faith, the Younger Evangelicals, among other books was the speaker. He took less than 20 minutes to retell the biblical story of meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus. It was great!
Here are my observations, disappointments and rant!
Since I have read some of Webber’s material – it was great to experience what he has been writing.
In the Gathering section there was a wide variety of music – some of it engaged me in worship and some grated my theological bias.
The service used a high level of performance – in relation to sound, light and image.
I was disappointed that we came up to the part where the service would by design move into Communion at the Table -–and we simply skipped that with this explanation – “…we wish to be sensitive to time and to diversity in practices.” It amazed me that 7000 evangelicals could gather for a lot of stuff but not to meet at the table.
Here’s my rant – They messed with the words of the Creed! Why is it that evangelicals cannot understand the Holy Catholic Church? Or, why can't we say...He descended into hell?
¶ 1:41 PM 0 comments
Sunday, February 02, 2003
Responsibility for the Preparation of Sermons...
Some time ago I was talking with a pastor and he said, "Give me five minutes notice and I can preach."
I have not heard this particular person preach, but let me tell you, his statement makes me nervous.
I have been spending some time in Thom Rainer's Surprising Insights From the Unchurched.
The premise of Ranier's book is that the people who can best tell us what the unchurched are looking for in a church are those people who have recently come into the church. For me, the encouraging word from this book is that people are looking for indepth preaching that does not skirt biblical theology.That statement in itself suggests that study and careful attention to preparation is more than a five minute or two hour responsibility.
In fact Ranier takes a look at the churches that are effective in reaching the unchurched and particularly at the amount of time that pastors spend in sermon preparation. This is what he found: Pastors of effective churches spend an average of 22 hours pers week in sermon preparation and comparason church pastors spend 4.
Of course there is more to sermon parparation than time and time alone may not in itself improve quality, but the point is obvious. People are looking for something that demands our best effort, our quality time, and our focused attention in the parparation stagve. ¶ 11:44 PM 0 comments
Some time ago I was talking with a pastor and he said, "Give me five minutes notice and I can preach."
I have not heard this particular person preach, but let me tell you, his statement makes me nervous.
I have been spending some time in Thom Rainer's Surprising Insights From the Unchurched.
The premise of Ranier's book is that the people who can best tell us what the unchurched are looking for in a church are those people who have recently come into the church. For me, the encouraging word from this book is that people are looking for indepth preaching that does not skirt biblical theology.That statement in itself suggests that study and careful attention to preparation is more than a five minute or two hour responsibility.
In fact Ranier takes a look at the churches that are effective in reaching the unchurched and particularly at the amount of time that pastors spend in sermon preparation. This is what he found: Pastors of effective churches spend an average of 22 hours pers week in sermon preparation and comparason church pastors spend 4.
Of course there is more to sermon parparation than time and time alone may not in itself improve quality, but the point is obvious. People are looking for something that demands our best effort, our quality time, and our focused attention in the parparation stagve. ¶ 11:44 PM 0 comments
Saturday, February 01, 2003
Reflections from Edmonton
I am blogging from the Public Library in Edmonton which is across the street from the Westin Hotel. We are here to babysit some of our grandkids while their parents are taking in a church conference. This conference has gathered evangelicals and others from all across western Canada. We happened to run into Jerry and Gloria and hope to connect with them again.Gloria said that there wer not many from Lakeview who came this year. Ramsey Unruh also recognized me and we had a little chat.
I am hoping to hear Robert Webber when he speaks tomorrow morning.
Of course, the big news of the day with the destruction of the space shuttle and its grew is very sad for all of us. How quickly events happen -- events that turn the eyes of the world on one focal point. My first thoughts and prayers go to those families who will feel the loss most severely. Of course, it is a national and international tragedy. I will be watching closely as the aftermath unfolds. ¶ 11:58 AM 0 comments
I am blogging from the Public Library in Edmonton which is across the street from the Westin Hotel. We are here to babysit some of our grandkids while their parents are taking in a church conference. This conference has gathered evangelicals and others from all across western Canada. We happened to run into Jerry and Gloria and hope to connect with them again.Gloria said that there wer not many from Lakeview who came this year. Ramsey Unruh also recognized me and we had a little chat.
I am hoping to hear Robert Webber when he speaks tomorrow morning.
Of course, the big news of the day with the destruction of the space shuttle and its grew is very sad for all of us. How quickly events happen -- events that turn the eyes of the world on one focal point. My first thoughts and prayers go to those families who will feel the loss most severely. Of course, it is a national and international tragedy. I will be watching closely as the aftermath unfolds. ¶ 11:58 AM 0 comments
Friday, January 31, 2003
Jordon Cooper to the rescue...
There is always help on Jordon's blogpage. The bottom of this blog shows what I found this morning.
Yes, there is a story behind each of these lines... and who knows when they might show up?
#4 had to do with an ugly porch that was attached to the back of a little church where I was a pastor in the early days of my ministry. When the trustees were a little slow on action, I took the matter into my own hands and hitched a cable to my car and pulled the thing over. It turned out to be more complicated that I first thought, but we got it cleaned up and I survived! Actually more than that, we went on to relocate and build a beautiful new building and see the church come into a good period of growth and ministry.
For some of Jordon's suggestions -- like #8 and #10 and unfortunately #3-- the list is too long to insert here.
Thanks, Jordon. You definitely fit into #6 though I would state it this way -- " GREAT bloggers I have worked with."
Ideas to Blog to...
I was talking to Dennis Camplin today and as he was talking to me about what to blog about, I had to run. I decided to post a list of topics Dennis can write about on his blog.
1) How Jordon's preaching changed my life (or that have had to been rebuked)
2) Funeral wreaths I have tied to Gloria Reimer's car.
3) Inappropriate comments that made Gloria angry.
4) Church porches I have tied to my car to and then torn down.
5) Several ways to avoid making food for myself when my wife is away.
6) Bloggers I have worked with.
7) Ways Johnny Maxwell has changed my life.
8) Coffee Shops I have loved
9) V.E.T. meetings I have enjoyed
10) Cars I have bought and sold before Wilda even knew I had them.
¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
There is always help on Jordon's blogpage. The bottom of this blog shows what I found this morning.
Yes, there is a story behind each of these lines... and who knows when they might show up?
#4 had to do with an ugly porch that was attached to the back of a little church where I was a pastor in the early days of my ministry. When the trustees were a little slow on action, I took the matter into my own hands and hitched a cable to my car and pulled the thing over. It turned out to be more complicated that I first thought, but we got it cleaned up and I survived! Actually more than that, we went on to relocate and build a beautiful new building and see the church come into a good period of growth and ministry.
For some of Jordon's suggestions -- like #8 and #10 and unfortunately #3-- the list is too long to insert here.
Thanks, Jordon. You definitely fit into #6 though I would state it this way -- " GREAT bloggers I have worked with."
Ideas to Blog to...
I was talking to Dennis Camplin today and as he was talking to me about what to blog about, I had to run. I decided to post a list of topics Dennis can write about on his blog.
1) How Jordon's preaching changed my life (or that have had to been rebuked)
2) Funeral wreaths I have tied to Gloria Reimer's car.
3) Inappropriate comments that made Gloria angry.
4) Church porches I have tied to my car to and then torn down.
5) Several ways to avoid making food for myself when my wife is away.
6) Bloggers I have worked with.
7) Ways Johnny Maxwell has changed my life.
8) Coffee Shops I have loved
9) V.E.T. meetings I have enjoyed
10) Cars I have bought and sold before Wilda even knew I had them.
¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Excuses, excuses…
The big gap that you notice on my blog page is mainly because I have been on the road a fair bit since my last entries.
Wilda and I were in Regina and Moose Jaw a week ago. I am going to start a part-time Interim Pastoral journey with First Free Methodist Church and House of ROC by the middle of February. This will be a big challenge as I will continue here at Calgary Free Methodist part-time as well (until the end of April.)
On the weekend we were guests of the Claresholm Church of the Nazarene. They put on a great meal in an all-church banquet on Saturday evening.
Yesterday Pastor Rob and I met with our Parent Church Network in Banff. It was great to meet with Ron Bonar and the other pastors in that Network.
¶ 7:55 PM 0 comments
The big gap that you notice on my blog page is mainly because I have been on the road a fair bit since my last entries.
Wilda and I were in Regina and Moose Jaw a week ago. I am going to start a part-time Interim Pastoral journey with First Free Methodist Church and House of ROC by the middle of February. This will be a big challenge as I will continue here at Calgary Free Methodist part-time as well (until the end of April.)
On the weekend we were guests of the Claresholm Church of the Nazarene. They put on a great meal in an all-church banquet on Saturday evening.
Yesterday Pastor Rob and I met with our Parent Church Network in Banff. It was great to meet with Ron Bonar and the other pastors in that Network.
¶ 7:55 PM 0 comments
Bush's God vs. the media's god
It has been pointed out to Weblog that while the official White House transcript of last night's State of the Union address capitalizes "God," several versions elsewhere online, such as at The Washington Post and CNN, have it lowercased. But don't get too upset: they probably got it from somewhere else. Just like Bush got his line "there's power, wonder-working power" from somewhere else.
¶ 7:30 PM 0 comments
It has been pointed out to Weblog that while the official White House transcript of last night's State of the Union address capitalizes "God," several versions elsewhere online, such as at The Washington Post and CNN, have it lowercased. But don't get too upset: they probably got it from somewhere else. Just like Bush got his line "there's power, wonder-working power" from somewhere else.
¶ 7:30 PM 0 comments
