There have been those who have not yet completed boundaries training as required by the committee on ministry. This will be a bit shorter version that you might want to take advantage of. We have also scheduled Diana to do another boundaries/ethics event Feb 23, 2013.

Finally if you look at the 2012 Brochure the polity workshop being led by Diana Barber will help answer some of your questions about the “new Form of Government.”

If you have any questions about the event and would like to attend a portion if not all of the event, please contact the Presbytey office.

2012 APA Rocky Mountain Regional Conference Brochure

Bob Houser
General Presbyter

June 12, 2012 Social Media- APA One-Day Seminar

In January 2009, John and Gwenda Fletcher were appointed to serve with the Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC) in the Kasai region of Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is by no means their first acquaintance with the Congo. The Fletchers were first appointed mission personnel by the PC(USA) in 1989, and they served in the Congo until January 2001. Both John and Gwenda grew up as children of Presbyterian mission workers in India.

John works with the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai (IMCK), helping the staff build and maintain a unified network of all the CPC’s mission hospitals. Although John’s primary surgical responsibilities are at the Good Shepherd Hospital, his broader charge is to work with the CPC medical director in support of the CPC medical program. He teaches medical residents, medical students and nursing students at the IMCK and other mission hospitals.

Gwenda holds a B.S. in education from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and an M.S. in special education from Portland State University. John holds a B.S. in cell and molecular biology and an M.D. from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Both John and Gwenda are ordained to the office of elder and are active members of the First Presbyterian Church, Yuma, Arizona. Until leaving for mission service in 2009, Gwenda served as clerk of session.

The Fletchers are the parents of two adult children, John and Rachel, and the grandparents of six, John, Emily, Robbie, Savannah, Summer and Samuel.

If you would like to read more you can subscribe to John and Gwenda Fletcher’s letters.

June 12, 2012 Social Media- APA One-Day Seminar Registration Form

MAY 6 FROM 3:00 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.
St. Paul Presbyterian Church

MAY 20 FROM 3:00 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.
Kearney Presbyterian Church

ABC churches get their name from the fact that they focus their attention on three things which many feel are not central to God’s call for the church.

First they spend much of the effort, time and resources on seeking to attract new people to the church. This becomes a problem when the reason for attracting people is so that the bills get paid (I don’t have to pay them), there is no concern on developing the gifts of the attracted people or there is no concern about their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Second, they are overly focused on their budget, especially the expenditures. These churches are often trapped by scarcity thinking, always believing there isn’t enough to do what needs to be done. Too many times these churches also get overly focused on the building because scarcity thinking has led them to delay maintenance to the point now that they have to do that work at the cost of doing mission.

Third is that they are a caring church. Probably every one of us is a member of the church we presently belong to because it is the most caring church we experienced in this community. Unfortunately this caring is directed exclusively toward those who are already members of the church. When the caring gets so restricted the church discovers that it now has a difficult time attracting new members. It becomes a vicious circle.

Those who see the negative in ABC churches suggest that the focus of the church needs to be upon making disciples of Jesus Christ, reaching people for the sake of the Kingdom of God and doing the mission that God has given the church. The sad thing is that churches can be doing these things and discover they will attract people; that caring is required in order to accomplish the mission of God; and that seeking first to accomplish the mission God has given the church often leads to overcoming and budget crisis we might envision.

Three key New Testament passages sum up God’s mandate to the Church and God’s intent for it.
The first is the passage commonly referred to as the Great Commission of the Church (Matthew 28:18-20). OUR CHURCHES ARE FIXED ON THE IDEA OF RECRUITING CHURCH MEMBERS, THIS PASSAGE TALKS ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLES WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY SYNONYMOUS. MANY OF US DON’T EVEN KNOW THE DISTINCTION LET ALONE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY WE GO ABOUT THAT MINISTRY. WE NEED TO HELP NEW MEMBERS – AND EXISTING MEMBERS- RECOGNIZE THAT THEY DIDN’T ARRIVE AT THE TIME OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP BUT THEIR JOURNEY OF FAITH AND MINISTRY BEGAN AT THAT POINT.
The second passage notes the task of working with unbelievers, leading them to conversion to a new way of living and a new status (Acts 26:18). FAR TOO MANY OF OUR CHURCH MEMBERS TRY TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AS IF THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN THEY WAY THEY LIVE THAN BEFORE THEY BECAME CHURCH MEMBERS. WE IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROBLEM BY NOT LIFTING UP EXPECTATIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP OR TEACHING THERE ARE PRACTICES FOR GROWING IN DISCIPLESHIP.
The third passage says “to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). THE CHURCH HAS HISTORICALLY RELIED ON TEACHING PEOPLE THE BIBLE AND ABOUT Jesus Christ as the means to prepare people for the work of Christian service. We now need to be helping people discern their spiritual gifting, develop their spiritual gifts and use their spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ.

2012-2013 CALENDAR ORDER FORM

Two things have become quite clear. On the one hand, the churches of North America have been dislocated from their prior social role of chaplain to the culture and society and have lost their once privileged positions of influence. At the same time, the churches have become so accommodated to the American way of life that they are now domesticated, and it is no longer obvious what justifies their existence as particular communities.
Discipleship has been absorbed into citizenship. Darrel Gruder

How many times have you been part of a conversation that talks about how much competition there is for the time or church members and especially youth? That betrays the fact that we are grieving the church’s once privileged position in our communities and culture. It reflects that we are at a much different time that we remember from 30 to 50 years ago. It also indicates that we are denying our need to change and adjust to the changes that have taken place in our culture. We still wish the culture would adapt to us.

A question that I have often asked churches to consider is “Would the community notice if you were no longer there?” This question is meant to encourage us to consider how domesticated we have become. Are we making a difference in our communities? It was most heartening in a recent mission study at one of our churches to hear the concern raised about how the church might influence the lack of civility in the community, especially politically. Do we see the church having a role in influencing this kind of change in community behavior? What does justify the existence of your church in the community? Why has God put your church in your community?

2012 Pastor Prayer Retreat Registration Form