Iowa Baptist Conference
eNewsletter |
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Dear Friends,
This eNewsletter comes to you from the
district office of the Iowa Baptist
Conference... keeping pastors and
leaders informed of activities across
the state... and opportunities and
resources available through the IBC &
the BGC.
If you are NOT viewing this in HTML
format... you are missing a LOT!
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WE'VE BEEN GONE... BUT... WE'RE BACK! |
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 Following
the IBC annual meeting, Skip Hansen was in
Arlington Heights three days for a District
Minister's meeting... after which, he met
his son-in-law, Chris Pappas, (from the
Washington, DC area), and they headed up to
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for opening
weekend of Minnesota's walleye season! Even
cold, rain and the possibility that ice
would not be off the lakes... did not
disturb their solace and solitude! It WAS
really cold AND wet... but they had a great
time! :) The fish, however, were NOT biting!
:(
 I
(Sue Shaw) was also out of the office for a
couple days following rotator cuff surgery
on May 8. The surgery went very well... and
hasn't slowed me down much... but several
months of therapy lie ahead.
With Brad gone... I've also been a bit
inundated with Memorial Day Family Retreat
registrations (179) and Summer Camp
registrations (351)!
Your patience as we've doubled up on
responsibilities has been greatly
appreciated.
BUT... now that I'm back... AND
caught up... here's Skip's overview (written
TWO weeks ago!) of a most
remarkable IBC Annual Meeting!!! --My
apologies for the tardiness!
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WHAT A SPIRIT !!!
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There's a group of you out there reading this
today. You know who you are. You were the prayer
warriors covering the 125th IBC Annual Meeting! No
one saw you. No one knew you were pleading our case
before the Throne of Grace. No one knew you were
doing battle with spiritual forces in high places.
No one knew the shed blood of Jesus was being called
out against the darkness. But you knew.
When the field was cleared... you knew why the
Spirit of God had reigned over all! You knew why
the Spirit of God had freedom to speak. You knew
why the Spirit of God had been able to transform
hearts and minds. You knew. And I knew. And now
everyone knows.
In the great and powerful name of Jesus, I humbly
say, "Thank you." |
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IBC ANNUAL MEETING ROCKS !!!
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 It
was Edgewood's worship team that got the ball
rolling! They launched an evening of
spiritually exciting and powerful congregational
worship and singing.
The Redemption Missionary Baptist Church choir
picked up the pace... and rocked the house for
Jesus Christ! I was tired out! I had to sit
down!
I thought... "This is the way church ought
to be ALL the time!" I felt like I was at
camp! Then I remembered years ago when
young Brenda (Howard) Massung (Olivet) said
something to the effect, "If we want to
reach young people in Iowa... church should
be like camp!"
I'd say... if any kids were at Edgewood Family
Fellowship on Friday night... they'd want to
come back on Sunday! Everybody... maybe we need
to take it up a notch! Or maybe not. The
Spirit leads.
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BGC Sr. VICE PRESIDENT
JOHNSON SPEAKS !!! |
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Dr. Paul Johnson, Senior Vice President of
the Baptist General Conference, quietly set
the house on fire... by the power of God's Holy
Spirit!
On both Friday evening and Saturday morning, Dr.
Johnson deftly challenged the delegates with both
the truth and righteousness found in Isaiah
43:18-19... and Acts 2.
Personally, I was particularly impacted as he
pointed out how God called his own people to "forget
the past," (even all those things God had already
done for them,) in anticipation of the new things
that God was going to do for them.
Dr. Johnson reminded us that God does not wish to be
wearied with our sins... but rather wearied with our
prayers. Ouch!
He reminded us that God usually gets our best
attention when he has raised the temperature-in the
desert times-of our lives. I couldn't help but
think that God is using these days of financial
"temperature raising" to turn our attention to
God... to see what new thing He wants to create
among us! |
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STATE-WIDE
LEAD TEAM IDENTIFIES IBC VALUES !!! |
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 Scripture
informs us that there is "wisdom in many
counselors." We experienced that during our
state-wide LEAD team gathering! Over a period of
two days 29 pastors and 5 pastor's wives not only
created the long-awaited SHORT LIST... but also
identified several of IBC's most important values.
The following values were identified at a level of
"givens"--values that must accompany us on
whatever pathway we may choose to proceed.
- Commitment to the Word of God in
defining our doctrines, traditions and practices
- Commitment to Magnifying God as the
ultimate purpose and outcome of any action--our
clear and compelling vision
- Commitment to Kingdom mentality-the
Great Commission-Matthew 28:18-20
- Commitment to Mobilizing existing
congregations toward beneficial and
effective ministries for reaching our world for
Christ
- Commitment to Multiplying new
congregations of such churches across the
state of Iowa
- Commitment to Leadership's spiritual
maturity:
- Modeling victorious positive faith...
trusting God's provision... without fear of
"change"
- Demonstrating more prayer... and making
decisions... bathed in prayer
- Counseling one another... without
self-righteousness, pride, favoritism, "turf
wars," or "sacred cows," etc
- Commitment to strengthened pastoral
relationships and intimacy through LEAD
Teams
- And... if any "alliance is considered:
- A mutually strong commitment to the Word
of God
- A clear understanding of the "why" and
"how" of any alliance
- A sense that Iowans are equal partners
and participants
This entire adventure offers an appropriate
opportunity for us to clarify the role of the
district as touching upon the life of a local
congregation. Specifically, as some have asked...
is the future role of a district (in Iowa) to be
that of a "resourcing" servant or that of a
"directive" servant?
This is a pivotal question... worthy of our best
evaluation and determination. I look forward to
discovering the answer together!
Click here for a complete summary of the process... |
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IBC DELEGATES AFFIRM "aNEWthing!" |
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 By
a vote of 122-5, the delegates & pastors
representing 34 (out of 40) IBC churches at
the annual meeting voted in favor of the
Board of Overseer's recommendation that IBC
spend next year pursuing a proposed
exploratory course of action entitled "aNEWthing!"
Prior to the annual meeting, 34 appointed
spiritual leaders in the IBC, both pastors
and wives, spent two days processing,
prioritizing and pounding out this SHORT
LIST of anticipated pathways for
exploration.
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"Restart" ourselves as an
autonomous district
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"Attach" ourselves as a
sub-district to another BGC district
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"Merge" ourselves into
another BGC district
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"Divide" ourselves among
neighboring BGC districts
The short list also included some
initiatives related to other
closely-associated evangelical groups.
It also left room for any un-anticipated
work... or leading from the Lord... if He
should decide to open any doors not
anticipated by us at this time.
Each of these pathways will be explored over
the coming months... and...
Keep checking our website over the next
couple months to see how the process will be
designed... how it is progressing... and
where we are being led.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
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 Looking
Ahead...
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May 30 - Summer Staff Training Starts
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June 6-7 - IBC Board of Overseers' Retreat
w/Lou Petrie (BGC) at Eldora
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June 24-27 - BGC Annual Meeting - Bethel
University, St Paul
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July 8 - IBC Board of Overseers Phone
Conference
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August 12 - IBC Board of Overseers Phone
Conference
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September 19-21 IBC Men's Retreat at PLCC
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September 20 - IBC Board of Overseers
Meeting at Eldora
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Septermber 26-28 - IBC Women's Retreat at
PLCC
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October 21 - IBC Board of Overseers Phone
Conference
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October 31-November 2 - Breakaway in Des
Moines
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November 15 - IBC Board of Overseers Meeting
at Eldora
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MINISTRY
RESOURCES |
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Following are brief summaries of
some GREAT ministry tools.
You can check out additional
resources at the IBC website in
regard to:
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RETOOL KIT
is a BGC resource
designed to help churches become
all that God wants for them. It
is not a program... it is a
pathway... guided by a trained
Mobilization Coach who helps the
church discover and develop
healthy leaders, a biblical
community, and a clear vision
for the future.
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 One
of the the end results is a
clearer vision for ministry,
along with a three year future
plan. Additional outcomes are
the changing of the church's
DNA, spiritual growth, (both
personally and corporately),
stronger community, and more
effective Kingdom impact.
For more information, contact
Pastor Jeff Scherer,
IBC Director of Mobilization at:
563.332.5233 or
jeffscherer6@msn.com
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SHALOM HOUSE is
a pastoral retreat center in New
London, WI
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facilitated by Pinnacle
Ministries and providing a
comfortable, safe place for rest,
refreshment and renewal for those in
ministry - based on the philosophy
that the health of our
churches, and ultimately our
communities, rests in the strength
and refreshment of our pastors.
Pinnacle Ministries
offers three levels of services...
from just "hanging out" to
professional counseling services.
Shalom House can
also be utilized for church
board and leadership retreats,
church staff training, missionaries
and their families, and pastoral
sabbaticals.
If your pastor doesn't know about
Shalom, please tell him or her about
it - better yet, send them
for a refreshing, relaxing break to
recharge their batteries for future
ministry!
For more information, go to:
www.theshalomhouse.org
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QUIET WATERS MINISTRIES -
offers a FREE,
24 hour a day, 7 days a week,
confidential phone consulting
resource for BGC pastors and home
assignment missionaries called
CARELINE -
funded jointly by IBC & BGC
 Call
866.526.2222 to be
put in touch with a licensed doctor
or master's level counselor from
Quiet Waters Ministries
to talk about EITHER
personal OR congregational
matters.
Services are available for up to 3 hrs
of assessment and consultation via
telephone per isolated incident per
year.
All communication with the
denomination, regarding these
services is consistent with
confidentiality laws and
requirements, and with BGC's
policies and guidelines.
For more information about
Quiet Waters, go to:
www.qwaters.org
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BGC CORNERSTONE FUND
is a ministry
of the Baptist General Conference
with a mission
 to
extend BGC ministries - by providing
loans for building/remodeling
projects within our conference
churches and ministry centers.
Our ministry is possible because of
the support of our investors, who
receive competitive rates compared
to like term investments and have
the satisfaction of knowing that
their investment is being used to
help expand ministries of the BGC.
For more information, go to:
www.bgccornerstonefund.org
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CHRISTIAN LIBRARY
INTERNATIONAL
is a Raleigh, NC, based ministry
that distributes
 used
Christian books (fiction and
non-fiction), Christian music tapes,
Sermon tapes, CDs, DVDs, video
tapes, bible study materials, and
tracts to prisons, shelters and
international missions free of
charge.
What a
great way to "recycle" those dust
collecting books! For more
information, to to:
www.cli-nc.org
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CHERISH CENTER
is a ministry of Shepherd's
Fold - providing housing,
counseling, nurturing, training, and
spiritual guidance to young ladies
experiencing the crisis of an
unplanned pregnancy. They have the
capacity to care for six girls at a
time for a period of 3-6 months.
And because they are supported by
individuals and churches, they have
the freedom to make Christ central
in the home and in the training.
The Executive Director, Jan
Turner, is a member of the
Milford Baptist Church
and is also their worship
director. She has seen this project
through the from the very beginnings
- property purchase, building
construction and equipping, and
staffing. In their first year of
operation they served eight girls.
Shepherd's Fold
Ministries, Inc., is a
local, interdenominational,
non-profit corporation working
to provide a home and a
hope for young mothers in
need, located in northwest
Iowa.
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 IOWA
BAPTIST CONFERENCE
Magnifying God by Mobilizing &
Multiplying a Growing Family of Healthy Churches! |
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