November 11, 2008
Iowa Conference News
Does Your Church Need a Loan?
The Iowa United Methodist Church Building Fund Trust makes loans to local churches for the purposes of building new buildings, renovating existing facilities, repairs, purchasing land or parsonage. The Trust will also refinance high-interest loans. The loan usually carries a better loan rate than commercial institutions offer.
To apply for a loan contact Dave Harner – 515-974-8928 or david.harner@iaumc.org.
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Iowa United Methodist School for Ministry - The Emerging Church
Just the other day I needed to find a house in an unfamiliar neighborhood. “Do you need any directions?” my host inquired. “Not necessary. I have GPS.” I punched in the address and headed out following the driving instructions of that nice woman living inside the little GPS box. Only problem was, as I set the contraption up on my dashboard I must have inadvertently entered a “way point.” You know, a stop along the way.
Trusting completely in my friendly guide I turned left or right, or continued straight ahead as instructed, only to find myself somewhere deep in a plush neighborhood of winding, confusing roads. I eventually figured out the problem, reinstructed the little machine and got to my intended destination. It was after I arrived that I realized I had no idea where I had just been. My whole trip had been completely in the hands of that GPS. It was not my journey. Without GPS I would have figured out a way to get there, maybe even accepting the directions offered by my friend. And, the path would have been a part of me from then on. As it is, I have no clue how to get there again.
Too often in my ministry I have been just as dependent on the latest fad, the hottest fashion, or the slickest new trend for direction. I think you know what I mean:
- “Escalator to a Growing Church”
- “Cowboy Leadership in the New Century”
- “The Lego Church: Build It Simply”
- …or some such thing!
What I hunger for is authenticity. I want to be faithful to the Gospel and to the people I have been called to serve. So often those “cookie cutter” approaches to congregational development have no genuine applications back home.
The Emerging Church movement may offer just that—an opportunity for genuine, grass-roots spiritual formation at the local level.
Over the years the commission members of the Iowa United Methodist School for Ministry have striven to provide relevant, informative instruction for professionals in ministry. We know that marquee names will increase attendance, but sometimes an issue trumps star power. You may not be familiar with the concept of the Emerging Church. We’re not sure how to define it ourselves. We can’t even find a consensus on that.
All we can say for sure is, there’s a lot of conversation out there about The Emerging Church and we thought perhaps you would like to be a part of that, or at least have the opportunity to listen in. So we have invited people who are immersed in the process to come to the 2009 School for Ministry in order to share with you what they are experiencing and learning. We encourage you to explore the topic. Below are some links to interesting articles on the internet. We have more links on at www.schoolforministry.org, our web site, along with information about our faculty. Or, you might must Google “the emerging church” to see what’s out there. You will find that it’s a fluid, broad and even controversial topic—maybe something you will want to talk more about, say at the next School for Ministry, April 14, 15 & 16, 2009, at the Des Moines Marriot Downtown.
Keep checking back at our web site, www.schoolforministry.org , for we will soon be posting registration information. In the meantime, we encourage you to take a free-flowing journey through the Emerging Church.
Here are some interesting links:
http://www.crossroad.to/News/Church/emergent.html
http://www.opensourcetheology.net/node/229
http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=385
For additional information contact DeLane Wright
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New Interest Rates - Fixed Interest Rate Investments
The Iowa United Methodist Foundation is offering great rates for fixed-rate investments. The Foundation offers the following rates (churches and agencies only):
3 months 2.00%
6 months 2.25%
1 year 3.00%
2 years 3.30%
3 years 4.00%
The Iowa United Methodist Building Fund Trust will pay 3.25% for a one-year investment. This investment is open to individuals as well as churches.
Interest rates may change without notice so you may want to call to confirm rates.
For more information contact Dave Harner – 515-974-8928 or e-mail: david.harner@iaumc.org.
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Bishop Robert Schnase to Celebrate the “Practices” in Iowa
Iowa United Methodist will have the opportunity to celebrate “the practices” with Bishop Robert Schnase, author of the widely read book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations when they come together January 10, 2009, at Oakwood UMC in Pleasant Hill.
What are the “practices”? There are certain ways of living out our faith in Jesus Christ that every church needs to actively express in its life and ministry in order for it to be a vital, healthy and in turn growing congregation. This is nothing new (see Acts 2:42-47). But during this year there has been a renewed expression of this in churches throughout the Iowa Conference as they’ve engaged in the “practices” as lifted up by Bishop Robert Schnase (resident bishop of the Missouri Annual Conference) in the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations..
Since April nearly two hundred Iowa United Methodist Churches and over 500 members of these churches have participated in “Five Practices” workshops, hosted at nine different churches across our Conference. Each of the workshops focused on a “pair” of the practices: Radical Hospitality & Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development & Life-Long Evangelism, Risk-taking Mission and Service & Extravagant Generosity. At each workshop they learned more about the “practices” and then began to develop their own “Ministry Action Plan” (MAP) to take home with them to further engage in the “practices” within their own local church and community.
At the same time other Iowa United Methodist churches have begun to work on the “practices’ on their own, often using the recent “Leadership Manual & Media” materials now available through Cokesbuy. Some of these churches have offered a fall focus on the “practices”, while many more will be doing this after the first of the year or during Lent. However it’s being expressed, churches and people all across Iowa are working on their “practices”, which makes it fitting that we to celebrate it, together.
That’s why Bishop Schnase will be with us January 10th, and we invite all Iowa United Methodist churches and members and friends to join to in this “Celebration”. Again, we will gather at Oakwood UMC, in Pleasant Hill (400 N.E. 56th Street). The day begins at 10:00 a.m. with a gathering time and the opportunity to meet Bishop Schnase, as well as our own new bishop, Bishop Julius Trimble. The rest of the morning will include an opening welcome and devotional time, with Bishop Trimble; then Bishop Schnase will lead us in a teaching session on “Excellence and Fruitfulness” (the final chapter of his book). A box lunch will be served at noon (reservations needed, see below), then that afternoon we will join in a service of “Ministry Celebration and Worship”.
Bishop Schnase will be bringing the message within the service, and we will also offer a hands-on way of expressing the “practices” in the opportunity for all churches to participate in “2008 Storm/Floods Response Covenant”. Becky Wood, Iowa Conference Director of Disaster Recovery will be bringing us up to date regarding our disaster response within Iowa, and several churches will be sharing some their own “Five Practices” stories.
The whole day promises to be an exciting springboard into 2009 for the “Five Practices” within our churches and our Conference, and we urge you to be part of it.
You don’t have to be a “Five Practice” church to participate. Come as you are. No registrations are needed, but if you do want to reserve a box lunch for yourself/others, please contact Dee Dee Sobotka (deedee.sobotka@iaumc.org) by December 15th. (Cost of the meal is $7.00.) To get a copy of the “Flood/Storms Response Covenant” ahead of time, you can contact Scott Hibben (scott.hibben@iaumc.org), one of your other Leadership Development Ministers or your Field Outreach Minister.
Come, celebrate the “practices”, with us!
mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
