Posted June 1st, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Listed below is a brief recap of our ministry during the month of May.
- Preached a revival at the Wallsboro United Methodist Church
- Preached at Capitol Heights United Methodist Church
- Preached at Baggetts Chapel United Methodist Church in Evergreen, AL
- Preached at Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church
- Preached at Church of the Living Waters at Stillwaters on Lake Martin
- Conducted two weddings
- Officiated at two funerals
- Spoke at the River Region Hospitality Association
- Spoke at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce
- Recorded daily radio programs
- Conducted missionary television interview
- Held several counseling situations
- Participated in conference calls as I serve as Chairman of the Investments Committee for the United Methodist Publishing House and as Finance Chairman for the Confessing Movement
- Conducted leadership planning as I serve as Chairman of the Committee on Episcopacy for the Southeastern Jurisdiction
- Spent several days engaged in writing projects
I was in town more this past month than in previous months and it was a great opportunity to attend baseball games and soccer games as I have several grandchildren competing. I also was able to attend several honors day programs in which my grandchildren were involved.
While I had a lot of opportunities for preaching and teaching, this past month afforded several opportunities for pastoral ministry functions. Some of these were very challenging, but I feel it helped me stay grounded in the real world of ministry.
Thank you for your prayers and your financial support.
For the Cause of causes,
John Ed Mathison
Posted May 27th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Going to different churches has given me the opportunity to meet many, many interesting people. I am so impressed with how God has strategically placed people in specific churches that have such an impact.
I recently was in Danville, Virginia. Let me share about two people that I met there.
The reason I was invited to Danville was because of the persistent influence of Richard Jones. He had watched our worship service on television for several years. I think the preacher, Charles Wickham, decided that the best way to get Richard off his back was just to invite me.
Richard is 61-years-old. He recently had his second hip replacement on the same hip. He has been on disability for quite some time. He came with Dr. Albert Payne to meet me at the airport. He was the first person present at every event in which I participated at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Danville. He even came to the preachers meetings!
Richard knows more about sports than most anybody I have ever met. We really had a good time talking about great people in sports and great sporting events. He is a walking encyclopedia on sports facts.
His passion for sports began early in life even though he was not able to actively participate. He was “manager” of all the sports teams during his time at George Washington High School. Today Richard coaches a couple of the softball teams there at the church. I understand that he really can get on some of those church players if they are not hustling.
Another person in Danville that I met is Hunter Dunn. He sat in the back of the church in his special chair. His head was turned to the side, but he had a big smile on his face.
Hunter is 22-years-old and has a severe case of cerebral palsy. But that doesn’t stop him.
He is unable to speak and has no use of his hands and arms. He communicates by using his eyes to pick out letters of the alphabet in the air. The alphabet begins with “A” at about five feet high. Then the “Z” is down around three feet. You have to guess the letters until he nods so that you have the correct letter.
The amazing thing about Hunter is that he has written a couple of books. He gave me one of his books entitled “The Claus Chronicles.” It is an amazing story about Christmas and is illustrated by a friend of his.
It takes a lot of effort for Hunter to get to church. He doesn’t see it that way, but he would not miss being there. He inspired me. I treasure the copy of his book. Remember now, every word in the book was spelled out as Hunter would look at a certain level and his parents would guess the letter of the alphabet and write it down. It was amazing to me how his parents could usually determine the correct letter of the alphabet as soon as Hunter focused his eyes.
His parents, Scooter and Linda are special. They have been with Hunter through thick and thin, and never have been heard to complain.
My life is richer because of Richard and Hunter. They both are people whom God is using in a great way.
It makes me ask the question about my life – how well am I using the abilities God has given me? I have some gifts – but am I using them to the max? Writing these thoughts that you are now reading was a lot easier for me to write than the way Hunter has to write. Being able to move around “relatively quickly” ought to be a bigger advantage for me than for Richard. I also lack his persistence.
I thank God for the wonderful people he puts in my path!
Posted May 20th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Part of the Men’s Ministry at Frazer is to gather once a month on Thursday night for a time of food and fellowship. I had the opportunity to speak at the gathering in April for the low country boil.
This is not just a group who eats and enjoys each other. They reach out in special ways. Let me share one example.
In February the men had a speaker, Dewayne Rembert, who has a passion to share Bibles with high school students who do not have a Bible. He has had a great influence at Lanier High School.
The Men’s Ministry bought 350 Bibles for Dewayne’s ministry. He gives them to young Christians upon their conversion.
In April the men asked Dewayne to bring some of the young students who have made professions of faith in Christ to the men’s event. Dewayne accepted the invitation, and you should have seen the look on the men’s faces as an entire busload of Lanier football and basketball players who had made a profession of faith and received a Bible came driving up to the Men’s fellowship. Also two vice principals came, Mr. Rodney Bright and Mr. William Tolbert. The men were expecting a few results of their investment in that ministry, and a whole busload showed up!
The men from Frazer showed acceptance, joy, encouragement, and love to all these young men. They made them feel a part of the group. They talked with them and listened to their stories.
This was also a surprise to those young men. Several of them had cell phones and started forwarding pictures and streaming video of the event to Dewayne Rembert. One of the vice principals, Rodney Bright had the Lanier communications team produce a video that was shown to the entire school during morning announcements on their close circuit television of the event at Frazer. At the end of the video classes throughout Lanier erupted in spontaneous applause.
The Men’s Ministry is about helping men grow in their faith and enjoying fellowship – but it is also about sharing the good news of the gospel. If a ministry does nothing except feed people, then fail to challenge them to use their nourishment to expend energy to share the good news, obese Christians are developed. Obesity is a problem in our society – it is also a huge problem in the church.
I had an opportunity to witness a ministry that is reaching out and touching the lives of young men in our city. What was so exciting was to see the surprise of the Methodist men who thought a few boys might show up, but there was a whole busload. Equally as exciting was to see the faces of those boys who experienced genuine love and fellowship.
Richard Peake who heads up this part of the Men’s Ministry, wrote, “So many times in our lives we never get to see the result of our work. Last night was one of those rare exceptions. So many times things don’t go as we planned. But when we humble ourselves, as we did last night and let the Glory of God work through us, it is almost indescribable!”
Many men might have come for the seafood dinner – they went home remembering the looks on the faces of a lot of young men whose lives are being dramatically influenced.
That is a ministry for Real Men!!
Posted May 17th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
I have always enjoyed eating breakfast downtown at the Farmers’ Market. Phil Norton, the owner, and I lived in the same neighborhood for several years and our kids grew up together. People from every level in the political, social, economic and religious world eat there. Senators and sanitation workers might sit next to each other.
There is a large round table in the back corner where I like to sit. Some important and some not so important people eat at that table. If you listen you can learn a lot. It has even been said that so much knowledge is expounded there that you might even learn the name and serial number of the Unknown Soldier!
One interesting person with whom I ate many times was Pat Dozier. He died a couple of weeks ago. There are a lot of stories about Captain Pat. When Mayor Todd Strange heard that I would participate in the funeral, he called me and shared a very interesting story. It fits right into my ministry.
The Committee of 100 in Montgomery was a part of the economic development arm of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce. I think it might have been out of this committee that Leadership Montgomery was born.
Twenty-five years ago the Committee of 100 was meeting. The Mayor said that Pat Dozier and Margaret Carpenter offered a skit to the committee. In this skit they began to vision what the downtown area along the river could be. In the skit they talked about different possibilities such as a riverboat, marinas, sporting events, water sports, entertainment, family activities, businesses, etc.
Of course people laughed at them. Twenty-five years ago that was not even on the radar of most people in Montgomery. Pat Dozier had the vision for that.
If you go downtown today, you will see much of that vision that has become reality. Montgomery has one of the finest baseball stadiums anywhere. The amphitheater is a great venue for entertainment and community activities. The riverboat is very popular. The train shed hosts many activities. More family venues and businesses are coming to reality. There are still plans being developed for the river walk from downtown to Maxwell Field.
Twenty-five years ago Pat Dozier had a vision. Today those of us here in Montgomery are enjoying the fruits of that vision.
I have heard a lot of stories about Captain Pat – but that is my favorite. It illustrates that nothing new happens in life until someone has a vision for it. Leaders are people who are visionary and know how to cast a vision for other people and work with them to bring it to reality.
Remember “without a vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) Captain Pat – thanks for the fun times around the big round table at the Farmers’ Market and for daring to dream and think outside the box for the riverfront development!
Posted May 6th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
We learn a lot from our mothers. Some of it is good – some of it is bad – some of it is neutral. Mikey’s Funnies has collected some of the following cute things about things mothers teach.
My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: “Just wait until your father gets home.”
My Mother taught me LOGIC: “Because I said so, that’s why.”
My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”
My Mother taught me HUMOR: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
My Mother taught me GENETICS: You’re just like your father.”
My Mother taught me ROOTS: “Do you think you were born in a barn?”
My Mother taught me WISDOM OF AGE: “When you get to be my age, you will understand.”
My Mother taught me JUSTICE: “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s like.”
My Mother taught me RELIGION: “You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
My Mother taught me TIME TRAVEL: “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week.”
My Mother taught me FORESIGHT: “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
My Mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: “Shut your mouth and eat your supper!”
My Mother taught me about WEATHER: “It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.”
My Mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: “I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”
My Mother taught me about ENVY: “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!”
The most important things I learned about values, life, treating people, purpose for my life, and devotion to study God’s Word – all of these were taught by my mother. My brother, George, and I and my Dad were clearly her priorities. Life never centered around her – it was always the three men in her life. I regret that I did not appreciate it more when I was younger. I really see how blessed I am today.
I feel a lot like Timothy when Paul wrote to him, “I am reminded of the sincerity within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and I am sure that it is in you as well. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.” (II Timothy 1:5, 6 NAS)
Mothers’ Day is a good time for us to “kindle afresh” the things we learned from our mothers, and a good time for all mothers to “kindle afresh” the tremendous teaching opportunities God affords.
Posted May 4th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
Two experiences during the month of April renewed two relationships and gave confirmation to the ministry in which I am now engaged.
I was with two pastors who introduced me by saying that their training at Frazer changed and shaped their ministry. They referred complimentarily of my mentoring them.
Jim Blue is Lead Pastor at SunRise United Methodist Church in St. Louis, Missouri. It is growing rapidly and is one of the leading churches of that Annual Conference. He and his wife came and spent a week at Frazer in the early 1990’s. He showed me pictures of that visit and notes that he took. I spent 4 days in his church and I could see the things I believe in stamped all over that ministry.
Stuart Greene is the Lead Pastor at Sugarloaf United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Stuart worked for a year at Frazer when he was a student at Huntingdon. He married a Frazer girl – Becky Tucker. His church is rapidly becoming one of the leading churches in North Georgia. He also talked of my mentoring him and the impact the ministry at Frazer has had on his ministry.
Both of these were rich experiences for me. It made me more excited about the ministry in which I am now engaged as I am having the opportunity to teach/train young pastors.
Here is a recap of the last month.
- April 1 – Had Holy Week worship service for the lower school (grades – kindergarten-5th grade) at Trinity Presbyterian School. That age group is a tough challenge to speak to. I do have 5 grandchildren who attend there.
- April 1 – Preached at the Lenten Luncheon worship at First United Methodist Church Prattville.
- April 1 – Led the Bible Study for the Alabama State University football team and helped Coach Reggie Barlow during their scrimmage. I think I offered him more suggestions than he was looking for!
- April 4 – Preached at the Easter Service at Children’s Harbor. It was an interesting experience as they had the worship in their new Conference Center and had about twice as many people show up as they expected. I was invited back next year. It probably will be at the Church in the Pines.
- April 5 & 6 – Left early to go to Universal City, Los Angeles to speak at an event honoring Derric Johnson. It was my kind of group – musicians and entertainers. Derric has had a great career as a writer, composer, arranger and speaker at Disney World, Miami Dolphins, ReGeneration, and many churches. He also started the Singles’ Ministry at Frazer.
- April 6 – Got back to Montgomery in time to participate in a charity event to raise money for Family Promise. I served as a waiter and the tips went to Family Promise. I have decided to keep my day job.
- April 7 – Spoke at the men’s breakfast at Frazer at 6:30 am. The Men’s Ministry is really growing.
- April 7 & 8 – Went to Augusta, Georgia with my son Si. I had been at Trinity on the Hill UMC twice in the last two years. They provided us tickets for the opening round of the Masters. What an experience!
- April 9 – Attended reunion of basketball players from Huntingdon College.
- April 10- 13 – Went to St. Louis for a preaching/teaching event at SunRise. It began with Saturday night worship, 3 Sunday morning worship services, Sunday evening and Monday and Tuesday evenings.
- April 12 – Led a seminar for the pastors of that District in St. Louis.
- April 14 – Led the Wednesday night Bible Study at Frazer. Rick Holston is an excellent teacher who shared this teaching opportunity with me.
- April 15 – Seminar for pastors at the Legends Conference Center in Prattville. I wrote about this in one of the blogs. About 60 pastors from North Alabama and Alabama-West Florida Annual Conferences were invited to participate in this initial session of training that will last throughout the next year. I am partnering with Stewardship Resources from North Alabama. I am very excited about the possibilities of this initiative. It is designed for pastors who want to move to the next level for ministry.
- April 15 – Spoke at the special program of the Frazer men. It was low-country boil cookout. That event had about 160 men present. Methodist men always come when there is good food!
- April 17-21 – Went to Danville, Virginia, to the Trinity United Methodist Church. That church had made more preparations than any place that I have been. They had signs all over town. Their District Superintendent commented on Monday night that, “It is great to be in a Methodist Church that needs an overflow room on Monday night.” The pastor Charles Wickham is extremely energetic and effective. The two lay people Dr. Albert Payne and Richard Jones gave super leadership. We had worship services Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night.
- April 19 – Had a seminar for pastors of the Danville District on Monday morning. Met with the District Superintendent and a smaller group of pastors on Monday afternoon.
- April 25 – Preached at Sugarloaf United Methodist Church. Stuart Greene is the pastor. His church is involved in studying the book I wrote, Treasures of the Transformed Life. I had one unique experience as they gave me a hotel room at the Holiday Inn in the Gwinnett Center. Another Alabama boy – Hank Williams, Jr. – was there in concert at the Gwinnett Center. I was the only person staying in the hotel who was not going to the concert and the only person over 30. Hank, Jr. sings about his rowdy friends – I met them! I didn’t realize that young people in Georgia didn’t travel with suitcases. I guess they put their clothes in all of the coolers they brought in.
So many of you give financial support to this ministry, I genuinely thank you for that. It enables us to offer more seminars and teaching opportunities for young pastors.
Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue.
For the Cause of causes,
John Ed Mathison
Posted April 29th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
The blog last week was entitled “Knowing Where You Are Going.” It stressed the importance of being sure about knowing where our directions are carrying us. We don’t need to wind up in a place or situation that could be avoided.
I received a lot of comments about the blog and some interesting stories. One of them really drives home the point. Let me share it with you.
When I lived in Montgomery, I often rode the commuter flights from Atlanta with John Ed. I am now in Andalusia and typically fly out of Ft. Walton.
Anyway, I was on a flight one night late into Montgomery. When we landed the flight attendant said, “Welcome to Montgomery, ladies and gentlemen…”
I had noticed the lady sitting beside me had slept the whole trip. She looked at me and said, “what did she say?” So, I repeated, “Welcome to Montgomery…” The lady looked at me and said, “Montgomery!! I am supposed to be in San Antonio!!
I told her that she had taken the wrong turn in the little plastic “cow chutes” that they now use to separate flyers on the tarmac for the commuter flights. She said, “Well I’ve got to get a flight out of here to San Antonio. I have to be there in the morning.”
I told her that wouldn’t be possible since this was the last flight into Montgomery “International” tonight. I said your options are to get a room and fly out early tomorrow morning or rent a car and drive back to Atlanta to see if you can get there tonight. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy!
Be sure you know the destination of the flight you are taking. Your desire doesn’t determine your destination. There are a lot of “cow chutes” that will try to channel you in the wrong direction. If in doubt ask the “Pilot” to be sure you are on the right flight. This is true for this life and for eternity.
Posted April 22nd, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
I had just boarded the airplane in Montgomery traveling to Atlanta. I was seated in First Class (this was commuter jet and all seats are First Class).
There was a mother traveling with two little girls ages 3 and 5, who were seated just ahead of me. The flight attendant spoke to the mother and then asked the little girls if they knew where they were going. To her amazement the little girls replied that they were going to Germany. They informed the flight attendant that they had to change planes in Atlanta. They expected to arrive in Germany about 9:00 the next day.
The flight attendant was really impressed that these little girls knew so much. She said, “I am amazed that you girls are so young and you know where you are going. I have a lot of adults who get on the plane and when there is a question about where they are going, they don’t know.”
It made me think – how many of us know where we are going. Even a 3 and 5 year old can be thoroughly versed in their itinerary and know where they are going and when they will get there.
It is reported that one day Dr. Albert Einstein was on a train leaving Princeton. In those days a conductor came along and checked your ticket and punched it. When the conductor arrived in front of him, Dr. Einstein started checking his vest pocket, his coat pocket, and his pants pockets and could not find his ticket.
The conductor quickly said, “Dr. Einstein you don’t need a ticket. I know who you are. I know you are an honest man and that you have a ticket. Don’t worry about it. I know who you are.” Dr. Einstein thanked him.
As the conductor started to leave that train car and go to the next one he turned around and saw Dr. Einstein on his knees on the floor looking for his ticket under the seat. He came back again and said, “You don’t need to find your ticket. I know who you are. There is no problem.” Einstein got up from the floor and looked at the conductor and said, “Thank you. I also know who I am but I need to find the ticket so I will know where I am going!”
It is good every now and then just to stop and ask ourselves the question “where am I going?” I am actually spending more time in my life now analyzing where I am going as a child of God and as a minister.
How would you answer the question – where are you going? Do you know where you are going today? Do you know where you are going this week? Do you know where you expect to be a year from now? – five years from now? – twenty years from now?
The Bible is very clear that God has a flight plan for each of us by which we can live our lives. If we know who we are, and whose we are, we also know the plan where He is leading us and where we are going.
It is important to know where we are going in this life, but it is even more important to know where we are going when we die. A lot of people are unsure of where they will spend eternity. The Bible is also very clear that God’s plans for our final destination that His children are to spend eternity with Him. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who lives and believes in me shall never die but shall have eternal life.” (John 11:25)
The plane has made an on time push back and is taxiing for the take off. Do you know where you are going?
Posted April 12th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
We have been in Afghanistan for eight years and spent billions of dollars trying to stabilize that country. Today coalition officials are concluding that a lack of qualified leaders is the biggest obstacle to creating a force there capable of standing on its own.
Mark Moyer, a Harvard-educated professor, said it takes about 10 years to develop effective leaders for the military. He said, “We still have a long way to go because we didn’t focus on leadership development in years past. Had we focused earlier, we’d now be plucking more fruit from the trees.”
Leadership development is essential for any organization to move forward. Many people suggest that in any organization leadership is the most important thing.
General Stanley McChrystal, the top allied commander in Afghanistan said, “Leadership is more important than equipment. It’s more important than doctrine. It’s more important even than ideology.” This is one reason I am excited about devoting the rest of my ministry to learning more about leadership and striving to teach leadership to pastors and lay persons. I believe that the future of the United Methodist Church (or any denomination) rest on the shoulders of the kind of leaders that are being trained and produced.
Several years ago I met a wonderful Methodist leader in North Carolina named Royce Reynolds. About two years ago I was with him at Lake Junaluska and he said to me, “The biggest problem I see in the United Methodist Church is a lack of emphasis on leadership. We must be training and producing more leaders.” He also gave a huge amount of money to the Western North Carolina Conference to establish a vehicle to train and equip leaders.
Leaders are people who have to be “in the trenches.” One of the problems listed by U. S. Major General David Hogg was the fact that some leaders in Afghanistan were selected because of money rather than merit. The influence of friends and family would sometimes pull strings to get them comfortable jobs away from fighting. Marine Colonel Gregory Breazile says, “We want them to go into the field.”
Leaders don’t lead from behind desks in safe plush offices. Leaders don’t lead by simply issuing edits. Leaders lead by going into the arena, moving to the front of the issue, and inviting people to follow the leader. And people do follow!
The John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries is partnering with Stewardship Resources from North Alabama to provide such a venue. The request came from the United Methodist Bishop in North Alabama to select about some pastors to be in a process of training to serve churches at the next level. I requested that pastors from our Annual Conference also participate. On April 15, we have about 50 pastors who will be meeting for the initial session. The plan is to meet periodically over the next year and bring in excellent teachers who are proven leaders. The pastors will meet pastors from another Annual Conference and share best practices.
Please pray for this endeavor. I think it has great possibilities. I can even see adding other Annual Conferences to participate in the process in the future.
Whether it is Afghanistan or Alabama – military or ministry – training leaders is essential!!
Posted April 6th, 2010 by John Ed Mathison
I apologize for the formating on this March Recap. The bullet points want to move beside the photos and I can’t seem to make them stay in the appropriate place. John Ed said if he were here he could fix it. If you have trouble reading this and are not on our e-mail list, please e-mail me and I will send this Recap to you via e-mail. Linda (johned@johnedmathison.org)
The month of March offered a variety of different opportunities for ministry. It included a nine hour training with leaders from a local church, preaching at Dexter King Memorial Baptist Church, at Christchurch, at the Holy Spirit Conference, teaching and preaching in Buenos Aires and Cordoba, Argentina, and doing District Pastors’ Conferences in three different Districts.
The one thing about ministry I did not anticipate was the amount of travel that would be required. Most everything I do is out of town. I decided to figure up the number of hours in March that I spent either in my car, or airport, or airplanes. It came to just over 83 hours. That is almost two full work weeks in just travel.
The following is a brief recap with some pictures.
- March 1 & 2 – Preached a revival at First Baptist Church in Eufaula. It was my third time for this event. Dr. Ken Bush has been the Senior Minister there for 30 years. I always wondered how Baptists have so many men participate. Below is a picture of a steak dinner that they had on Monday night. The fellowship hall was packed with men, I think they require you to attend worship if you eat the steak dinner. One of the differences in Methodists and Baptists is that they had steaks left over at the Baptist men’s meeting – that would never happen at a Methodist church. The other picture is one of the worship services. They had a sanctuary full even for the noon day services.
- March 3 – I went to Ozark for a noon day Lenten worship service. I actually have kin folks who live in that area as most of the Mathisons came from Skipperville. As you know Ozark is a suburb of Skipperville!
- March 5, 6 & 7 – I went to Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The District Superintendent there is Carl Frazier. We had a Pastors Conference with one section of the District on Saturday morning and another Pastors Conference near the Atlantic coast on Saturday afternoon. One of the pictures below shows some of the pastors and a shot of one of the groups of pastors in the workshop. Sunday afternoon was a rally of all of the churches in that District. They really have a lot of Duke fans up there. They gave me a Duke cap and I have worn it a couple of times during March Madness.
- March 9 & 10 – Pictured below are some of the people from radio stations here in Montgomery. Dr. Sam and Andi Scott are with WLWI. I have a 2-minute devotional on WLWI every morning. A very popular duo is Leanne and J. T. on Mix 103. They invited me to participate on air in one of their special programs. The third picture is John Longshore. He and Barry McKnight have one of the most popular sports talk radio programs in this area. I enjoy being on with them live. I actually should have had Barry’s picture on here because he is much better looking than John, but he normally is in the studio at Auburn.
- March 12 & 13 – Spoke at the Holy Spirit Conference at Blue Lake. They had over 200 people participating. Pictured below is a shot of one of the worship experiences. The other speaker was Dr. Steve Seamands who is a professor at Asbury. Below is the Praise Team from the Sardis United Methodist Church. As you can see they had about 20 people in the Praise Team and they are all in same Sunday School class in one United Methodist Church that we would consider to be small. It reminded me that the size of the church never limits the numbers of people that can be reached and participate.
- March 14 – Preached at Christchurch. This is a congregation that is building a large church building out on Vaughn Road. They presently meet at the Dexter United Methodist Church at 9:00 on Sunday mornings. They are related to the Anglican heritage.
- March 15, 16, & 17 – I went to Argentina to teach pastors there as a part of the Billion Soul Initiative. I was in Buenos Aires one day and in Cordoba the next day. Pictured below is the pastor of the church that sponsored the event in Cordoba. He is retired military and started this church 20 years ago and today they have over 20,000 people every weekend. They also have planted churches in seven other countries. Below is a picture of me doing part of that teaching through an interpreter. Also there is a picture of a group of the leaders there who all of their congregations average more than a thousand in worship each weekend. They are forming a core group to host a major summit there in 2012. They have invited me to come and participate. I didn’t stay long in Argentina. I spent one night in the hotel and two nights on the airplane.
- March 19 & 20 – I went to Dalton, Georgia to work with about 50 leaders from this great church in North Georgia. They had used my book Tried & True, about visioning for the future and this was an opportunity to look at how the work of that Joel Committee would be implemented in that church and that community. I was so impressed with Rev. Robert Lindsey and his staff and the tremendous leaders. You would know Dalton as being the carpet capitol of the world. Today they have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country—yet they have an optimistic energetic spirit. Pictured below is part of the group that spent nine hours together on Friday night and Saturday.
- March 21 – Preached at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. I wrote a blog about it last week. It was an awesome experience.
- March, 27, 28, & 29 – I went to Stone Mountain, Georgia to be a part of the Mountain Park United Methodist Church witness. It was an extremely busy weekend as we began on Saturday morning with about 50 of their church leaders for a 3-hour session together. I preached Sunday morning at the 8:30 and 11:00 worship services and then taught Sunday School as all of the adult classes met together. At noon I met with some of their church leaders. I taught a workshop on evangelism at 3:00. It was open to the churches of that area. I preached the evening worship service. Monday morning we had a session for all of the ministers of that District. The District Superintendent James Cantrell did not require the pastors to come, but most every pastor in the District attended the 3-hour seminar.
Please pray for me and for the leaders of your local church as we all strive to make the Easter message the dominant message of our day!