BMH Editor's Blog

Doug Lee (seated, at piano), pastor of the Fountain Community Church in Fontana, CA, is worship leader for the Southwest Focus Retreat which began this afternoon at 4 p.m. The theme of the retreat is "the leader's heart." The retreat is being held at Rancho Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano at the southern tip of the Los Angeles area. Organizer and administrator for the Focus Retreat series is Tom Avey, FGBC Conference Coordinator.

Mitch Cariaga (left) of Grace Community Church in Rialto, CA, shares fellowship with Pastor Dan Allan (right) of the Ashland, OH Grace Brethren Church at the Southwest Focus Retreat. Allan is attending and help lead all four of the Focus Retreats this year as part of his duties as moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. 

Good coffee...warm fellowship...and a gentle warm breeze in the courtyard by the fountain...you won't do THIS in Indiana in January! Today I visited Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach (Lou Huesmann, pastor) and had a wonderful time of fellowship with the congregation there. Tomorrow begins the Southwest Focus Retreat at San Juan Capistrano, followed by a meeting of the FGBC Fellowship Council in Sacramento later in the week. If technology cooperates, you'll see photos of it all!

The welcome tent in the courtyard of Long Beach Grace Brethren Church is well-stocked with literature and friendly folk to tell you about the ministry of the church. And a free mug or water bottle is offered to visitors, along with a free cup of flavored coffee--Starbucks could do no better! 

Grace Brethren Church of Long Beach, now at 36th and Linden, is the successor to L. S. Bauman's "Fifth and Cherry" mother-church which burned down in the 1960s. 

Today's Herald-Mail newspaper from Hagerstown, MD, carries a story by Wanda T. Williams entitled "Called to Dance" featuring a young dancer from the Valley Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown (Dan Pritchett, pastor). The lead paragraphs are reproduced here--to read the entire article, click here. (Herald-Mail photo by Joe Crocetta)

Like a minister who teaches from a pulpit, Joelle Shenk uses the stage to spread God's teachings. But it's no act for this 17-year-old who said she's answering a "special calling from above."

"I like to call it ministry through the arts. I love performing. I do it for the glory of God," she said.

Shenk, an interpretive praise and worship dancer, has been acting, singing and dancing her way into the hearts of local Christian audiences since she was 4 years old.

In June, she'll join New Life Drama Company's Christian-based outreach performance ministry. Shenk, who recently got the news that she had been accepted by the Cleveland, Tenn., drama company, said she was on pins and needles waiting for the phone call.

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI - William Tyndale College of Farmington Hills, Michigan, founded in 1945, ceased operations effective December 31, 2004. The closing is due to a significant funding shortfall that will not support continued operations beyond the end of the Fall term. The magnitude of the funding shortfall was beyond the ability of Tyndale to resolve.

Tyndale recently confronted similar financial problems and a potential closure in the Spring of 2003. At that time, Regent University, located in Virginia Beach, VA, committed funding of one million dollars to enable the school to continue its operations and Tyndale and Regent entered into an affiliation agreement. Since that time, Regent University has more than doubled its original commitment contributing more than two million dollars to Tyndale in order to continue operations.

Tyndale had anticipated a substantial increase in enrollment for fall, 2004, but that did not materialize in spite of additional advertising support underwritten by Regent University. Enrollment for the fall 2004 was about the same as the fall 2003 level and that level was insufficient to support continued operations.

In addition, Tyndale entered into discussions with Detroit World Outreach (DWO) in late September with the expectation that would lead to an added affiliation and funding support by DWO to Tyndale. DWO advised Tyndale in November that it had concluded it was not in a position to provide needed funding or enrollment support to Tyndale.

Trustees of Ashland University, a private Ohio college, have reversed their decision to hire only Christians and Jews as teachers and administrators.

Ashland University trustees agreed Monday to drop the hiring policy that they put in place last October. Instead, faculty members and administrators will be required only to express support for the school’s commitment to Judeo-Christian values.

The Brethren Church founded the college, located halfway between Cleveland and Columbus, in 1878. It’s not unusual for private schools to have hiring restrictions based upon religious faith.

Board chairman Emanuel Sandberg says trustees adopted the new hiring policy in October to clarify the school’s values But some faculty members became concerned that the new policy could exclude teachers who embody the school’s values but aren’t expressly Christian or Jewish.

Grace College and Seminary founders Alva J. McClain and Herman Hoyt were both Ashland faculty members who left the Ohio school over theological differences in the late 1930s.

As insurgents in Iraq pledged to greet the nation’s historic democratic election with violence and bombings, Christians in the U.S. vowed to pray for God’s peace and protection for the Iraqi people.

In a statement released Thursday, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition said several top evangelical bodies are planning to partake in a prayer vigil in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Washington D.C., January 28.

"We urge all Christians and people of good will to unite for a time of prayer and fasting concerning God's protection and blessing over the Iraqi elections,” said Rev. Mahoney. “The Christian Defense Coalition, National Association of Evangelicals and the National Clergy Council to ask churches and Christians across America to pray for the protection and safety of the Iraqi people during their national elections this Sunday,” the statement read.

According to recent reports from the Associated Press, insurgents stepped up the violence this week with bombings and gunfire in several cities. Several militants also “promised” to disrupt this weekend’s historic voting with car bombings and other attacks.

And while some 300,000 Iraqi, U.S. and other multinational troops and police will provide security for the voting, the fear of a massive attack still lingers in the region. In light of such circumstances, invitations for the prayer vigil, scheduled for 11:15 a.m., has been extended to all peoples.

“Regardless of one's past views of the war, it is essential that differences be put aside as Americans pray for freedom and democracy to take hold in Iraq and for the violence to end,” said Mahoney. In addition to the vigil, a clergy delegation will be meeting with Iraqi officials just prior to Sunday’s vote.

Jerry White, chairman of the board of directors of the Christian Management Association, announced this month that John Pearson, CMA’s president/CEO since 1994, is resigning his position, effective Dec. 31, 2005. Pearson is launching a new consulting firm in 2006 to serve ministries, churches and associations. He has served as CEO of three associations for the last 25 years and told the CMA board that he will remain one of CMA’s greatest cheerleaders in the years ahead. White has appointed a search committee to look for the next president/CEO of the association. Christian Management Association, founded in 1976, serves more than 3,500 leaders and managers from more than 1,500 Christian organizations and growing churches in the U.S. and Canada. CMA’s annual conference will be held in Long Beach, CA, April 25-28, 2005. Mark Holbrook of the Grace Brethren church in Orange, CA (featured in the May/June 2004 issue of FGBC World), is chairing the search committee to replace Pearson.

"Driven," the new national conference for young adults to be held June 15-18, has debuted a new website containing program, schedule, and registration information. To be held near Columbus, OH, the conference is designed to call and equip those in the years 19-29, which have often been branded as the "Lost Decade." DRIVEN was set in motion by the partnering of seven Grace Brethren pastors. To see complete information, click here.

Grace Brethren Chaplain James Schaefer, serving with his troops in Afghanistan, sent this message from one of his troops, Edward Leyshon, explaining the naming of the PFC Jerrod Dennis Combat Hospital, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Here is a slightly-edited version of soldier Leyshon’s explanation. (photo courtesy James Schaefer)

On April 25, 2003 there was a major firefight in Shkin, Afghanistan. A soldier by the name of PFC Jerrod Dennis was killed there in this firefight. I arrived there in his last moments of his life, talking to him asking him if he had a firm belief in God. His answer was yes he did.

I prayed for him that day and within minutes his precious life was taken from this earth. I never had too much belief in Christ but I have a strong belief that Jerrod is now in heaven with him. I found relief from daily stress and things going on around me by talking to my fellow soldiers and talking with the Chaplain [James Schaefer]. He has convinced me that God will turn my life around and will make the pain go away.

I guess we all have events in life that affect us and change us in some ways. This is my story. Thank you for your time.

--Edward Leyshon, Former 82nd Paratrooper (2003), Tropic Lightning Soldier (2004)

Grace Brethren International Mission's Ted Rondeau (right) surveys flood damage and the search for additional missing people during a recent tour of the tsunami-damaged area of southeast Thailand. GBIM's Wayne Hannah will leave next week for a "setup trip" to scout and coordinate ways in which Grace Brethren personnel and relief funds may best be used to minister to those affected by the tragedy. (photo courtesy GBIM)

Marysville, OH, Grace Brethren Church, which meets at Navin Elementary, 16265 County Home Rd., Marysville, Ohio, will be hosting an evening of worship with Jeremiah & Marcie Olson and ‘40 miles north,’ a grassroots soulful acoustic rock duo.

The Olsons are worship leaders at Grace Community Church in Goshen, Indiana, (Jim Brown, pastor) and have been performing together since 1997.

For a musical blessing you don’t want to miss, please plan to spend an evening of worship with the Olsons on Friday, February 18, 7 p.m. at Navin. Check out their web site at www.40milesnorth.com.

'Blue Monday' most depressing of 2005

A psychologist has predicted that today is the most depressing day of 2005.

Cardiff University's Cliff Arnalls used a complicated mathematical formula to calculate that January 24 is truly a "Blue Monday".

He said fading memories of Christmas, mounting debts, poor weather, failed New Year resolutions and the long, dark nights create the perfect mix for gloom.

Dr Arnall's formula of woe reads [W+(D-d)]xTQ MxNA, which translates as weather (W), debt (D) (minus the amount of money to be paid on your next pay day) and the time (T) since Christmas.

Then there is the period since the failure to quit (Q) a bad habit along with general motivational (M) levels and the need to take action (NA) to plan something to look forward to.

Dr Arnalls explains that the energy we get from a relaxing Christmas break wears off by the third week of January, making it the darkest week of the year.

In addition, most of us will have made and failed to keep New Year's resolutions made when faced with the exciting prospect of a new start on January 1.

He says that within an average of six or seven days the majority of people will return to their bad habits, which results in a sense of failure and knocks their confidence.

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship recently announced it would no longer host the Urbana conference at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Though the Urban-Champaign facilities had served the Intervarsity Fellowship well for 50 years, the growing number of participants each year has strained available resources and space needed to conduct the conference successfully.

St. Louis, the new location, was selected for its central location near the Great Lakes. Intervarsity has promised that attendance price will decline due to better price options in St. Louis. Intervarsity plans to reserve over 10,000 rooms to house the number of students planning to attend the conference.

The 2006 Urbana conference will be held December 27-31.

According to Intervarsity, the Urbana conference will maintain its central focus, which is to “declare the biblical basis of missions, to call students to God's mission (missio dei), to inform students on the current state of global missions, and to motivate students to participate in global and cross-cultural missions.”

The Urbana conference is held every three years, and attracts thousands of students from all over the world. Many mission organizations consider it a prime recruiting opportunity for young people interested in intercultural missions.

Ron Boehm, Midwest Regional Career Missionary with Grace Brethren North American Missions, sends the following report (at our request) of the Church Planter’s Assessment just completed today in Chambersburg, PA. Ron reports:

We had eight that were assessed. We started the process Thursday afternoon and planned to finish by 1 p.m. Saturday, but when we saw the weather moving in, we worked late on Friday night so that some could head west before the storm moved in.

We reviewed data for each candidate (Spiritual Gifts, DISC Profile and Ministry Match results). Each man gave a 15-minute evangelistic message geared to a postmodern audience and discussed his call to church planting with his assessment team. The eight couples were divided into two teams that worked on a proposed church-planting strategy.

Four hours of interview was done with each candidate evaluating their compliance with the thirteen essential characteristics of a church planter developed by Dr. Charles Riddley.

Each Assessment Team (two men) gave each candidate an exit interview to let them know generally how well they assessed as potential church planters. Written results will be sent to them and their sponsoring church/district within the next two weeks.

The candidates, their wives, and the assessors, enjoyed rich fellowship. We shared a lot of smiles, laughs and an occasional tear. The Chambersburg church and the Solid Rock Community church provided meals, snacks and refreshment for which we are all very thankful.

Pray for these emerging, church-planting leaders. They all love the Lord and are looking at the possibility of investing their lives to reach lost people and disciple believers through church planting.

The individuals and family units who were candidates came from Indiana, Alaska, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Assessors who participated included: Jim Snavely (Bloomsburg, PA); Chris Skowronek (Wethersfield, CT); Steve Howell (Owings, MD); George Traub (Dillsburg, PA); Dr. Rick Clark (Johnstown, PA); Dr. Mark Norris (Winona Lake, IN); Keith Bowers (Chambersburg, PA); Ron Boehm (Macedonia, OH); and Larry Orme (Telford, PA).

Prayer is requested for these nine potential church-planter family units who just today concluded a Church Planter's Assessment process in Chambersburg, PA. (photos courtesy Ron Boehm) 

The following article, written and distributed by Baptist Press of the Southern Baptist Convention, accurately and succinctly portrays what many Grace Brethren leaders believe to be a proper and biblical perspective on the southeast Asia tsunami disasters. Along with the succeeding article on Grace Brethren tsunami response, you are encouraged to thoughtfully and prayerfully read this piece to understand better how God is shaping a response on the part of Relief Agency Brethren, Grace Brethren International Missions, and the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches leadership.

By Erich Bridges

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--The mammoth earthquake that shook Asia Dec. 26 opened huge fissures on the Indian Ocean floor, scientists say, and changed underwater terrain far from the epicenter.

Along the region's coastlines, the destruction and death caused by the quake and the tsunami waves it spawned are all too visible. The cataclysm also opened unseen cracks. Where? In a part of the "10/40 Window," the wide geographical band from North Africa to Southeast Asia containing most of the people who have yet to hear the Gospel. Whether those cracks open further or close quickly will be determined by prayer -- and the way Christians serve the survivors.

"There are few events that change the world in just a few minutes," observes Asia-based mission researcher Justin Long.

"On Dec. 26th, a 9.0 earthquake changed the 10/40 Window in a matter of minutes. Islands shifted, whole towns were washed away, military bases were destroyed and major cities were heavily damaged."

Christians are sending millions of dollars and many trained volunteers to save lives and ease suffering in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and other affected countries. They'll do much more in the days to come.

Christian response should be threefold after such an event, Long says:

1) In the first weeks, pray -- and send relief funds with first responders.

2) In the first months, respond through organizations with the training and "staying power" to overcome enormous logistical challenges. "Roads, phone networks, computers, power, water, medicines -- everything has been destroyed," Long says. "All of that needs to be brought in and provided not just for local people who are hurt but also the workers who are coming in to help them."

3) In the first years, help survivors rebuild their homes, schools, cities and infrastructure. "It's during this period that most everyone can have an impact of some kind," Long notes. "Short-term teams can come to help rebuild. Doctors can come to help treat those with long-term disabilities. Even counselors and psychologists specializing in trauma disorders could have a role to play.... Begin praying now about what kind of role you and your church can have [for the long term]. That is when you will be needed most."

Critics often accuse evangelicals of seizing on tragedies, wars and natural or man-made disasters to rush into places once off-limits to Christians. They don't care about the victims' physical needs or long-term welfare, the critics say; they just want to save souls and make converts.

That charge may stick to some tunnel-vision believers. Christians walking in the love of God, however, care about bodies and souls. They weep with those who weep, heal the sick, feed the hungry -- and yes, look for opportunities to share the Good News of Christ wherever it hasn't been heard.

Several of the world's least-reached megapeoples -- groups with more than 1 million people -- live in areas devastated by the tsunamis. Hardest hit were Sumatra's 3.5 million Aceh people -- proud, independent, strongly Muslim, suspicious even of other Indonesians.

"They have a very strong ethnic identity," says a Christian who used to work among them. "They're very proud of their heritage."

They have never willingly submitted to any outsider. They resisted Dutch colonial power during the 18th and 19th centuries longer than any other group in the region. For years a separatist movement in Aceh province has battled the Indonesian government while seeking an independent state under strict Islamic law.

More than 100,000 Aceh died in the earthquake and tsunami disaster. Many more are struggling to survive the grim aftermath.

"This is such a huge event that it will shape their collective cultural memory," says the Christian. "They could become even more insular after this. Or, this may open them to other possibilities."

Local Muslim imams and mosques have helped spearhead initial relief efforts in Aceh towns and villages. But some Muslim leaders in Aceh also have been telling their followers that the disaster is God's judgment upon the unfaithful.

"God is angry with the Aceh people, because most of them do not do what is written in the Koran," one imam told a Washington Post reporter covering the tsunami aftermath. "I hope this will lead all Muslims in Aceh to do what is in the Koran and its teachings. If we do so, God will be merciful and compassionate."

Many people in the regions devastated by the tsunamis are asking questions about God's judgment and mercy. One day after the earthquake struck, a Buddhist monk in India was talking to a Christian worker.

"Do you believe it was because of God's judgment on the people that this great wave killed so many?" the monk asked. The Christian worker opened his Bible to the Gospel of John and told the monk about the time Jesus encountered a man who was blind from birth. Jesus' disciples asked him, "Was it for his sins or the sins of his parents that this man was born blind?" Jesus refused to assign blame. Instead, he said, "This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Then he healed the man.

Jesus, the worker told the monk, taught that "the most important response to a tragedy is not assigning blame, but offering help and healing."

If that message is offered through loving service to the tsunami survivors in the weeks, months and years to come, this part of the 10/40 Window just might open wider.

Erich Bridges is a senior writer with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

Upon hearing of the post-Christmas tsunami disaster in southeast Asia, Grace Brethren churches and people everywhere felt an immediate impulse to respond with God’s love.

“Can we go over there and help?”

“Where can I send donations?”

“What is really needed?”

“Do our Grace Brethren churches have any coordinated response effort to help?”

These were the questions immediately circulating through the Fellowship as news reports transmitted horrifying photos and stories of ever-increasing death tolls in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and other affected areas.

The leadership of Grace Brethren International Missions responded to the crisis by seeking to identify trusted contacts in the region who were involved in relief efforts. Churches in the USA were encouraged to channel their giving through Relief Agency Brethren (RAB). RAB was formed at the request of the National Conference some years ago to respond to international crises that affect Grace Brethren churches worldwide.

Twenty thousand dollars was forwarded to two groups involved in providing immediate relief efforts to those suffering in India and Thailand. To date about $70,000 has been received. GBIM is carefully evaluating additional requests for aid to determine the wisest way to utilize these funds.

When the tsunami hit, some 70 Grace Brethren International Missions personnel from throughout Asia were meeting in eastern Thailand for a conference. Several families—by God’s grace and provision—had changed plans for pre-conference vacationing to the exact location where tsunami damage was greatest. Several GBIM leaders—Wayne Hannah and Ted Rondeau—made a post-conference assessment trip to southwestern Thailand to assess how best to help.

Within days of the disaster, seasoned first-response relief agencies were warning against well-intentioned but unwise efforts to rush personnel, food and clothing to the affected areas. It was far better to work through experience crisis responders on the scene, they warned, and indicated there would be plenty of time later to send ministry teams to help with long-term effects, reconstruction, and rebuilding.

Should the FGBC have responded more quickly to this crisis? GBIM executive director David Guiles points out that RAB and GBIM have not traditionally been structured to be first-responders to a natural disaster. “Our primary ministry has always been long-range with a focus on church-planting,” says Guiles. “Our best way of helping is to be a second- or third-responder,” he says, “providing what the on-ground people say they need as the recovery begins.”

Partnering With Local and Nationals

Two organizations and individuals quickly emerged as obvious good, trusted partners with whom to work on response.

The first was Dr. Bobby Gupta, president of Hindustan Bible Institute, whose organization focused on some 5,000 homeless victims in five specific towns along the Indian coast. More information is available at www.hbiglobalpartners.org.

The second was Campus Crusade for Christ, which has strong local staffing in Thailand, including Mike and Judy Christian, who have been working in Thailand with Campus Crusade for many years and are from the Grace Brethren Church of Waterloo, Iowa. Both Gupta and the Christians have been consulted heavily on the best use of Grace Brethren relief funds, and deployment of teams of those who wish to help.

A strategic plan is now emerging.

Responding to Gupta’s indication that qualified medical help was needed, GBIM’s Mike Taylor, himself a trained healthcare professional, has assembled a team which includes a number of doctors and nurses who will be working in the five Indian villages from February 4-14 to assist with immediate medical needs and to help quell the growing threat of a spreading tuberculosis epidemic.

Meanwhile, Wayne Hannah and others from the GBIM management are working with the Christians and Campus Crusade on the possibility of larger teams going to Thailand later in the spring or summer to help with reconstruction, grief counseling, and other strategic needs.

In both areas, GBIM will be assessing the potential for longer-term relief and development efforts. The possibility of evangelism and church planting opportunities will also be explored. GBIM anticipates releasing a strategic plan for medium and long term GBC response to the crisis by mid-February.

What the Grace Brethren Can Do

All involved are requesting fervent prayer for the relief and reconstruction efforts.

The immediate needs are for clean consumable water, shelter, and medical intervention against the spread of disease.

The longer-term needs will be for emotional healing, for home reconstruction, and for rebuilding all the infrastructure wiped out by the tsunami.

Christian are responding out of Christ’s love and in His name, but caution is being advised against too-aggressive evangelism efforts, considering the existing religious climate in most of the affected areas.

In terms of giving, GBIM and RAB pledge that any gifts given to tsunami relief will be carefully and effectively deployed in both the short-term and long-term needs of those affected. Grace Brethren churches and people may continue to funnel giving through GBIM, confident that the gifts will be used in the most effective way to bring immediate relief, to share the gospel, and to assess long-term church-planting possibilities.

And finally, GBIM seeks to compile a pool of qualified and available people with a variety of skills from which to comprise future ministry teams. Carpentry, construction supervision, health/sanitation, counseling, and professional healthcare are among the areas where individuals will have future opportunity to use their training and skills in long-term relief efforts. Contact Kip Cone in the GBIM office at kcone@gbim.org or by calling (574) 268-1888 to have names added to the lists of potential short-term helpers.

Dave Guiles, Tom Avey and others in FGBC leadership positions have expressed gratitude at how quickly and generously Grace Brethren people have responded. To learn of new opportunities, and to be kept up-to-date on developments, log onto http://www.fgbc.org/, http://www.gbim.org/, or http://www.fgbcworld.com/. Frequent updates will be available through the GBIM website, the Fellowship Coordinator’s weekly e-mail and through FGBC World’s daily blog.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Billy Graham and Rick Warren, both Southern Baptists, hold the top two spots on a list of leaders who pastors say have the greatest influence on churches, according to a survey by The Barna Group.

Barna asked the pastors to name three individuals whom they believe have the greatest influence on churches and church leaders in America. While the pastors listed more than 300 different names, just 10 of those leaders were chosen by 4 percent or more of the ministers, Barna said in a Jan. 14 news release.

Graham was chosen by 34 percent of respondents, Warren by 26 percent. President Bush was named by 14 percent of pastors, and James Dobson was selected by 11 percent. Others on the list, in order, were Bill Hybels (9 percent), T.D. Jakes (7 percent), John Maxwell (6 percent), George Barna (5 percent), Pope John Paul II (5 percent) and Max Lucado (4 percent).

Graham led among mainline, Baptist and Pentecostal pastors. The December survey was based on telephone interviews with 614 senior pastors from various Protestant denominations.

Pastors were also asked to rank individuals they believed would be the most trusted spokesperson for Christianity, and again, Graham topped the list with 58 percent of pastors naming him. Dobson was second with 20 percent, followed by Warren with 14 percent. Others were Jakes (7 percent), Charles Swindoll (6 percent), Jerry Falwell (6 percent), Hybels (5 percent), Charles Colson (5 percent), D. James Kennedy (4 percent), Bush (4 percent), Pat Robertson (4 percent) and Lucado (4 percent), Barna found.

Again, Graham topped the list among mainline, Baptist and Pentecostal pastors. "Billy Graham has been a consistent presence in the minds and hearts of church leaders and the public at large for many years," researcher George Barna said in a statement. "However, many of the other leading influencers in the Christian church are relative newcomers to such widespread impact. Names like Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Franklin Graham, John Maxwell, Joyce Meyer and Will Willimon would not have appeared on the list a decade ago.

"It is also interesting, though, how relatively few names -- less than two dozen -- show up on the two lists, across multiple segments of the pastoral community. That suggests that the influence of these leaders is both broad and deep," he said.

Barna observed that longevity played a role in whether certain people were ranked highly as trusted spokesmen for Christianity. Most people on that list are 60 or older, while the most influential list is comprised of mostly younger leaders.

Denominational background was another factor when pastors selected the top leaders. Baptist pastors added Falwell, Adrian Rogers and John MacArthur to their list of the most influential people, while Pentecostal pastors chose fellow Pentecostals Joyce Meyer, G.E. Patterson, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson and Paul Crouch, Barna found.

Among Baptists, the top 10 list for the most trusted spokesperson for Christianity began with Graham, followed by Dobson, Warren, Falwell, Swindoll, MacArthur, Bush, Jakes, Lucado and Colson.

The Greatness of the Kingdom, Dr. Alva J. McClain's penetrating analysis of the Kingdom of God as taught in both the Old and New Testaments, has just been republished in a handsome hardback, dust jacket edition by BMH Books of Winona Lake, IN. The 556-page masterwork, which retails for $24.99, is available online through www.bmhbooks.com or by calling 1-800-348-2756. Dr. McClain, who was the founding president of Grace Theological Seminary, was a member of the Scofield Reference Bible Revision Committee and a charter member of the Evangelical Theological Society. The newly-republished McClain book is the first in a series of new books and updated reprints that will be forthcoming from the revitalized BMH Books, a division of the Brethren Missionary Herald Co. Inquiries may be e-mailed to BMH Books division manager John Leonard at mailorderjohn@earthlink.net.

Leslie L. Chamberlain, Jr., 77, father of Grace Brethren Investment Foundation Executive Director Larry Chamberlain, died last evening, January 17, in Grace Village Retirement Center, Winona Lake, IN, where he resided.

A native of Johnstown, PA, Chamberlain moved to Indiana in 1997. He was a U.S. Army veteran, and had retired from Bethlehem Steel Company in Pennsylvania. He attended Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church in recent years.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley, two sons, Larry Chamberlain of Winona Lake, IN, and Terry Chamberlain, Dayton, OH, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Thursday at Titus Funeral Home in Warsaw, IN, with pastors Ralph Burns and Glen Byers officiating. Calling is from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be sent to Grace Village Retirement Community, 337 Grace Village Drive, Winona Lake, IN 46590 or to Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice, Inc., P.O. Box 1196, Warsaw, IN 46580.

Lisa Gill (left) and Jill Dimatteo (right) were two of the several dozen young people who distributed small bags of sidewalk salt door-to-door in the Warsaw/Winona Lake, Indiana, neighborhoods this evening as part of "Dinner and a Ministry" at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church. Each bag of sidewalk salt included a note which had church contact information on one side and on the reverse said, "A gift for you. Showing God's love in a practical way!"

"Dinner and a Ministry" is a once-a-month Sunday evening event at the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church. Modeled after Steve Sjogren's concept of "servant evangelism," the program is organized and directed by WLGBC associate pastor Bruce Barlow. Service teams do community outreach, work on the church building, write notes of encouragement, call shut-ins and many other forms of ministry, all grouped around a tasty meal and some fellowship. 

Today is the final day for the women’s GO team which has been ministering in Argentina. Excerpted here are some final comments by Miriam Pacheco (standing, at right), of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, who is one of the team’s leaders. Additional information and photos may be found at www.womenofcharis.net. (photo from womenofcharis.net)

Today we finally did some work--physical labor, that is. Several of us went to clean the apartment for Nate and Deb Dunlevy who arrive on Monday. The missionary team here is looking forward to their return. [Editors Note: The Dunlevys have been in Winona Lake, IN, this past semester, serving as Missionaries-in-Residence at Grace College and Seminary.]

After a little difficulty getting into the apartment, the crew found that cleaning was difficult with no water. A generous neighbor supplied a couple of buckets full and things went much better. The plumber is supposed to show up before the Dunlevys arrive, so hopefully they won't need the neighbor's buckets.

The rest of us went to the Berazategui church to paint. We swept down the walls, moved the furniture, climbed ladders, washed windows, brushed and rolled and made the place sparkle. It was a joy to see the finished product and know that the folks who worship there will be blessed.

Ana and her helpers made us a wonderful lunch of milanesa (beef thinly sliced, lightly breaded and fried), mashed potatoes, salad and ice cream. And we were ready to eat!

Then we traveled to another part of the city to help with an Hora Feliz (Happy Hour) that they have for children. It was out under the trees in a poorer neighborhood near where the Jose Marmol church meets. One of our gals was the clown and she went through the neighborhood and rounded up all the kids—50+--and we had a good time of singing, playing games and telling the children about how much Jesus loves them.

Then we walked about 15 blocks back to the church building to meet with the young people (here that means 18 or so to around 35, married & single) for some singing and pizza. The music was enjoyable as we sang familiar songs in both Spanish and English at the same time. It was a little taste of Heaven as our hearts joined in worship to the Lord.

And that takes us to the last day! Wow! Tomorrow we'll have our final team meeting first and then head to the capital to sightsee, eat lunch and do some final shopping. Then to the airport to freshen up before we check in, then fly away home.

This team has been super and the energy has been really good. Just today several have said how they are beginning to feel tired, but it's our last day! Praise the Lord for His sustaining power and for answers to the prayers of many people for our health and strength

Wayne Hannah, the GBIM director responsible for southeast Asia, is currently concluding a visit with Ted Rondeau to the area of Thailand most affected by the tsunami. He gives this gripping and optimistic report:

As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room of a half-demolished resort a few yards from the beach area in Kao Lak, Thailand. This is where the worst of the Thailand Tsunami hit causing unbelievable damage.

For the last two days, Ted Rondeau and I have been touring the devastated areas accompanying the national director of Campus Crusade for Christ. The whole story is a very long one...one that describes a number of amazing events that caused our path to lead us here.

Briefly...the Team Asia Family Conference ended on the 3rd of January. It was a tremendous success. Everyone praised and thanked the Lord for this first-ever and extremely profitable event. But that is another story.

After Gina and Alex returned home, I proceeded to Battambang, Cambodia. There were some wonderful things we experienced there...a team of six young adults checking out future ministry in Cambodia and a celebration among a new minority people group among whom we are working.

I had intended to go to the northeast where Ted Rondeau has formed a number of contacts over the years, but I kept feeling a compelling "nagging" in my heart to go south to the Phuket tsunami area to see if we could help. Ted was having the same impulse. We agreed the Lord was speaking to our hearts and re-directing our path.

We called a Campus Crusade worker who is from our Waterloo, Iowa, Grace Brethren Church, Mike Christian, who "happened" to be in Bangkok, to where we had just returned.

Mike had been at the disaster sites in the south and was full of information. He immediately invited us to join a small group of Thai Campus Crusade workers, including the national director, to go back to Kao Lak. We had prayed so much for guidance and we knew that we needed to go.

The story has many details, but here is the bottom line. The national director and several of the Campus Crusade team have invited us to connect with them in sending teams here to Thailand over the next year. Some may be very soon. Others will be spread out to provide later relief...which is even more important.

Along with the invitation to bring teams, there are other long-range discussions involving church planter training and planting churches in the areas where the tsunami hit. Brokenness, hurt and questions are already opening the hearts of these Buddhist people. Decisions for Christ are already being made.

Could it be that the Lord is guiding us this week to be the first seeds of another possible ministry area in Thailand? We just do not know. Will you please pray for us? That's all we are asking of you for now.

We do not know what the Lord is leading us to do. We DO know that we have an open door here to provide both immediate relief to these suffering people and the potential for more future possibilities. I need God's wisdom as I take steps toward understanding and developing these possibilities.

Thanks for your prayers as we end our ministry survey here tomorrow!

Nine new term missionary candidates are involved in a week-long core training on GBIM's vision and values at the Grace Brethren International Missions headquarters in Winona Lake, IN, this week. All have been approved for service and will now be raising support for their ministries in France, Argentina, Cambodia, Chad, and southeast Asia. Candidates include Betsy Becker from the Ashland, OH, GBC; Melody Brickel from Basore Road GBC in Dayton, OH; John and Charlene Heydorn from Christ's Church of the Valley in San Dimas, CA; Kevin and Holly High from Manheim, PA, GBC; Kevin and Jill Kane from the Wooster, OH, GBC; and Bob Steiger from the Centerville, OH, GBC. An additional nine new candidates will go through the training this coming June.

Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church member Miriam Pacheco, who is currently in Argentina with a women’s GO Team on a short-term missions trip, sends this on-the-spot report which has been slightly edited. For a fuller report, lists of participants, and many photos, go to www.womenofcharis.net.

MONDAY: God blessed us yesterday with some lovely, cooler weather and we thoroughly enjoyed that. It was our day for an asado ~ an Argentine cookout.

We were in the home of Miguel & Anabela in Banfield, and the Lord has done some amazing things in their lives. The way He brought them to Himself, restored their marriage and is using them in reaching out to plant a church in their neighborhood is such a testimony to God's grace. She is a very talented artist and their home is filled with her pictures. It was a wonderful afternoon of hearing their testimonies and enjoying their hospitality.

We did a prayer walk around their neighborhood asking God to lead them to the people whose hearts are ready to hear about God's love, and also that they would be able to start a Good News club at the children's center just down the street. They have two other couples who are also working to plant the church there.

TUESDAY: We started our day on a cultural scavenger hunt divided into four groups, each group having a Spanish speaker who was to be used just for reference. We had to go to a feria (street market) and buy something, get on the train and ride it into the center of Quilmes (suburb of Buenos Aires), find the office of a gal in one of the churches, visit certain stores, buy some garrapinadas (sugared almonds) and gomitas (gumdrops), and then get to the restaurant for lunch by a certain time. We didn't lose anyone, although one group was late getting there for lunch.

We went to the Jose Marmol church to meet with the ladies there and hear about their sewing ministry. They get remnants of fabric and take donated adult clothes and make children's clothes out of them to give to the children in their congregation who have a need. They also give them to other children in the area. These women are such dear ladies. They were very happy to see Viki Rife, because they remembered her from when she lived here with her folks. [Editor’s note: Viki’s parents, Mrs. & Mrs. Robert Cover, were GBIM missionaries to Argentina.]

It was a huge blessing to all of us to see how faithful these ladies have been down through the years and how they are using the talents the Lord has given them to honor Him and reach out to others.

It was fun to share with a couple of the ladies about the times I've been in Africa with the Pygmies. One of the ladies got so excited and said, "I love the Pygmies! I've been praying for them years." We had a delightful visit. It is so neat to see how the people here are interested in what God is doing in other places.

[GBIM missionary] Gary McCaman spent about an hour leading us on a study of Spiritual Warfare that got a lot of good discussion going and it was very helpful. Thanks so much for your prayers and interest in this team's ministry. It is a good team and a satisfying ministry.

These are the songs most used by churches reporting to Christian Copyright Licensing Inc., for its most recent six-month reporting period:

1. Here I Am to Worship
2. Open the Eyes of My Heart
3. Lord, I Lift Your Name on High
4. Shout to the Lord
5. Come, Now is the Time to Worship
6. You Are My King
7. God of Wonders
8. Breathe
9. The Heart of Worship
10. Forever
11. Above All
12. You Are My All in All
13. Trading My Sorrows
14. We Fall Down
15. I Could Sing of Your Love Forever
16. You're Worthy of My Praise
17. Draw Me Close
18. Give Thanks
19. Lord, Reign in Me
20. Better Is One Day
21. Shine, Jesus, Shine
22. As the Deer
23. I Give You My Heart
24. Change My Heart, O God
25. Awesome God

The Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, OH, is this noon hosting a funeral for officer Bryan Hurst, 33, who was killed Thursday during a bank robbery attempt. Thousands are attending the funeral of Hurst, who had been a police officer for eight years in Columbus. Dan Hammers, pastoral care pastor at the Columbus church, explained that although the officer and his family are not part of the Columbus church, "We are hosting the funeral because our auditorium is one of the few here in the north end of Columbus that can handle the crowd that will come for the funeral of a police officer killed in the line of duty." The church is also providing a family meal on site after the funeral, according to Hammers, who says, "We have done this before as a service to the community and a ministry to the family." Detective Kenneth Lawson, who is also a leader in the Columbus church, said, "I wanted to let the Fellowship know how GBC of Columbus cared for the law enforcement community today. They hosted the funeral, dismissed pre-schoolers and went to great lengths to minister to officers today. Their efforts were very much appreciated on a solemn occasion for us. I was proud to be a member of both CPD and GBC today." (photo from NBC4News)

The following item appears on today's blog of World Magazine. This legislation, which was signed by the president Friday, (check with your tax preparer), gives all the more motivation to give a gift in the next 21 days through Relief Agency Brethren. See more details at www.gbim.org or www.fgbc.org.


Tsunami donations deductible for 2004 tax year

In case you haven't heard, Congress on January 6 passed a law that allows Americans to write off on their 2004 tax returns any tsunami-relief donations made by January 31.

Under normal circumstances, taxpayers must wait to deduct charitable contributions made in January until they file returns for the current tax year. The new law, sponsored by Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), makes an exception that's meant to spur Americans to continue aiding the victims of the Southeast Asia tsunami.

"The American people are some of the most generous in the world, and this proposal will give them an extra incentive to support this great cause," Sen. Baucus said.

A new ministry for 20-somethings headed by BMH Operations Manager Ann Myers and her husband, Kent, is featured on the front page of today's Warsaw (IN) Times-Union newspaper. The article, written by staffer David Slone, credits the Myers with providing an alternative to young adults who want to choose wholesome entertainment and fellowship over the bar scene. Kent and Ann's home church is Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church (John Teevan, pastor). Several paragraphs of the article are excerpted here--to read the entire article click here.

After college, young adults often complain there’s nothing to do and no opportunities to meet new people.

The bar scene becomes old and jobs can limit one’s free time.

But “20somethings” is offering those young adults in their 20s a chance to gather for music, games and conversation. They meet on the first and third Fridays of every month beginning at 8 p.m. at the Summit Building, corner of Market and Buffalo streets downtown Warsaw.

Ann and Kent Myers sponsor the group. Ann said her daughter, Mindy Schwartz, and her daughter’s friend, Amy Hunter, moved to the Warsaw area after college. They talked about the need for a non-bar place to meet people and just hang out.

“I said, ‘OK, let’s start something,’” said Ann.

She started first by calling the churches in the community and asking them if they had anything for people in their 20s. Myers said they didn’t really have what they were looking for in a group. She also asked around for a person who may be interested in being a part of a core leadership group to get a group for 20-somethings started. That’s when she found Lee Compson, an intern at Pleasant View Bible Church.

Myers, Schwartz, Hunter and Compson got together and started planning and praying about what Warsaw needed, Ann said. And the group 20somethings was formed in May.

Larry and Vicki DeArmey, recently returned GBIM missionaries to Madrid, Spain, are serving this spring semester as Missionaries in Residence at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana. Larry is a 1964 graduate of the college and 1992 graduate of the seminary, and Vicki is a 1968 graduate of the college. The DeArmeys served in Dijon and Lyon, France, since 1971 and two years ago moved to Madrid to begin a new ministry there. On the Grace campus they will be speaking in classes, speaking in chapel, meeting with students individually and in Growth Groups to raise consciousness of missionary presence and strategy. They are members of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church.

The Larry DeArmey family were able to all be together in Winona Lake, IN, for Christmas this year, the first time in many years for an all-family gathering. Pictured are (from left) Mathieu, Ginette, David, Marc, Vicki, Larry, and Luc. (photos courtesy Larry DeArmey) 

Pastor Dan White of the York, PA, Grace Brethren church has written the following short evaluation of this week's ACTS training at the request of Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey. White was one of about 50 who participated in the training at MetroGrace in Philadelphia, conducted by GBIM's Dave Guiles and Paul Klawitter. Information on the May seminar may be obtained from www.gbim.org.

IT'S NOT JUST FOR MISSIONARIES

Though developed in the crucible of the foreign mission field, the ACTS strategy of reaching our world for Christ is not just for those who go overseas. It is good for all believers--at home and abroad.

In a short week of interaction with the Scriptures and the dynamic of other students, I found myself having a series of "aha" moments that will affect my own local ministry. These moments have caused me to re-evaluate "church" and "outreach" in new ways that will make ministry in the 21st century more relevant to the culture where I live and serve.

I believe it can do the same for you. For me, it was:

1. An opportunity to learn what our church's cross-cultural church planters are implementing where they serve overseas. I believe local and extension ministries ought to work in concert, yet with the obvious considerations that differing cultures will have.

2 . An acknowledgement that I also need to address my own culture with a better understanding of how to impact my harvest field.

3. A consideration of ways that I can then use to influence our church's people toward the goal of ALL being mobilized and ALL being equipped to reach their own world. In so doing it will help us to continue to plant churches in our Jerusalem environs (and, Lord willing, beyond).

Some wonderful side benefits?

1. To spend a week of stimulating one-on-one, plus small and large group times with others also interested in these issues.

2 . Plus, a time to make new friends, and renew and strengthen relationships with others.

It IS for all who are "on mission". So, how can you go wrong? The next training session is scheduled for this spring in Winona Lake, Indiana. You may contact GBIM for further details.

The current issue of Christian History and Biography features an article by Frank Ramirez, a Church of the Brethren pastor from Everett, PA, in which he give some historical background and details step-by-step the procedure and meaning of the threefold communion service, which is also observed by Grace Brethren churches. Several paragraphs are excerpted here...to read the entire article click here.

But after nearly 300 years, the love feast, based on John 13, remains an essential Brethren practice. Though it is a movable feast, it is also Holy Ground—a place where all people can come together, remove their shoes, and meet Jesus.

The love feast was quite different from other religious practices of the day. It stemmed from the peculiar theological synthesis of the Brethren—part Anabaptist, part Pietist, and fully determined to implement those ordinances that they found in Scripture as the result of joint Bible study.

Their reading of John's version of the Last Supper mandated both a full meal and a feetwashing service. John 13:14-15 indicated to the Brethren that Jesus had commanded they wash each other's feet. Moreover, the meal, therefore, did not precede or follow worship. It was worship, and was as essential to Communion as breaking the bread and drinking the cup. . . .

. . . If you arrive at the love feast (usually held twice a year, often on Maundy Thursday and the first Sunday of October, to many known as World Communion Sunday), you will be welcomed at most congregations as a full participant. The evening will begin with a short service of examination, prayer, and meditation. Generally the congregation then moves to the room or rooms where the feetwashing takes place, men with men, women with women, and children with whomever they choose to sit. . .

. . . The service engages all five senses—the sights of the tables, the smell of the meat, the taste of the meal, the sound of singing and praying aloud, the touch of water and feet as well as the feel of venerable old eating utensils still in use after decades or even a century of service.

Jesus turned the world upside down when he took on the role of a slave and washed the disciples' feet. The common meal of the early Christian church was just as revolutionary. The Roman Empire was every bit as our age: rich and poor, slave and free, male and female, Jew and Gentile, Roman and Celt. Yet the meal named Love crossed cultural, economic, ethnic, and gender lines. So it is today.

About 50 current and potential church planters are participating in ACTS training this week in Philadelphia, PA. Cosponsored by Grace Brethren International Missions and Grace Brethren North American Missions, the course is being taught by GBIM Executive Director Dave Guiles and by GBIM's Regional Director for Europe Paul Klawitter. The course looks at the concepts and convictions that guided daily ministry decisions of the first church planters, and analyzes patterns the apostles left that can equip church planters. The module will again be offered May 16-20 at the GBIM training center in Winona Lake, IN. Registration information is available by clicking "Sign up for the ACTS class" at www.gbim.org. (photo courtesy Dave Guiles and Tom Avey)

A pastor with Grace Brethren roots was featured in columnist Steve Pollick's article in today's Toledo (OH) Blade newspaper. A portion of the article is reproduced here--to read the entire piece click here.

John Fahrbach shot this 8-pointer on opening day of black powder season. He’s back afield after doctors replaced his leg.

Hunters who use muzzleloading rifles bagged a record of at least 27,749 deer during the recent “black powder” season, and among them are a buck and doe to which special memories are attached.

John Fahrbach of Northwood took a fine eight-pointer on opening day of the four-day season, hunting alone from a ground blind on private land between Genoa and Woodville.

“I got a dandy,” he said of the hefty buck, which weighed an estimated 200 pounds on the hoof. “It’s not a Boone and Crockett, but it’s a very respectable deer.”

But the real story is the rest of his story.

Fahrbach, former pastor of Trinity Grace Brethren Church in Northwood and now pastor at Grace Brethren Chapel in Fremont, also worked as an estimator for a roofing company.

In September, 2003, he fell off a ladder and shattered his left ankle and lower leg. Two months in the hospital, four steel plates, and 40 screws later he was hobbling on crutches with a bleak outlook for mobility.

Then a severe infection set in last May and after consultations with four doctors and a lot of soul-searching, the parson agreed to an amputation.

“It really was a blessing in disguise,” said Fahrbach. “I would have had to endure a poor quality of life the rest of my days. It sounds awful, but it really is better. The infection really helped me think it through. I really had some good doctors.”

Fahrbach said that on a missionary trip to Africa three years ago he was struck by the medical misery he witnessed. His treatment here, he asserted, is a stark reminder of how good Americans have it. “We live in the greatest country in the world."

“If it’s possible would you mention my appreciation to the team that made my recovery possible? Dr. Gregory Georgiadias at MCO; Red Walendzak, Tamara White, and Joan Berlincourt of East Point Physical Therapy, and Tom Sandy of Hanger Prosthetics.

“Without a solid team of professionals such as these dedicated men and women, the joy of returning to the field would just be a field of dreams.”

Yesterday’s Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram newspaper carried a story by staff writer Joe Segura on some Southern California teens, at least one from a Grace Brethren church, who have turned a T-shirt business into witnessing opportunities. A few paragraphs are excerpted here—to read the full story click here.

Four Millikan High students — Buzzy Jenkins, Mike Miley, Jeremy Wright and Kevin Jenkins —are spreading the word of their Lord.

Oh, they're not evangelists. They're T-shirt makers. More precisely, they design and sell T-shirts.

Buzzy Jenkins is the design artist, and his cousin Kevin does the silk-screening process. Wright is the marketing manager, and Miley heads up the sales.

Their shirt-design business is Embrace Christ — it's quietly tucked away on the underside of the name tags. But the shirts also feature snippets of the Bible. . .

. . . Off campus, the shirts are sold at Longboards in Seal Beach and on the Internet at www.embraceapparel.com. The business has survived for one and a half years. . .

. . . "Music kind of inspires me," said Buzzy Jenkins, explaining his designs.
But the Bible is the key source of inspiration — for both the T-shirts and their personal lives.

"We're kind of going against the grain," said Kevin Jenkins. . .. .

. . .Their beliefs are strong, they said, explaining that they deeply appreciate God's gifts — a trait that's with them even while they sit on their surfboards, waiting for a wave.

"It's God creation," explained Miley. . .

. . . The three seniors have high grade-point averages, and they plan on continuing their studies in college — and keeping in touch with the Lord. They attend Calvary Chapel services in Costa Mesa and Grace Brethren in Long Beach.

A praise band and Christmas carols in the desert--Chaplain James Schaefer sends these photos noting that he had an "awesome time" with all 11 of his infantry units, which he gets to see about bi-weekly. (photos courtesy James Schaefer)

Grace Brethren Chaplain James Schaefer, who serves in Afghanistan, celebrated this Christmas with a camel-ride in the desert. He asks prayers, reporting that "We just lost two more soliders--pray for the impact for Christ." 

Columbus, OH East Side Grace Brethren Church (Chip Heim, pastor) has announced its Winter Bible Conference for Saturday, February 5 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the church's facilities at 7510 East Broad Street in Blacklick, OH. Keynote speaker is GBIM missionary Barb Wooler, who has pioneered work with the Pygmies in the forests of the Central African Republic. Other speakers scheduled include Dr. Paul Tripp on parenting, Dr. Carl Strauss on Genesis and creation, Dr. Bob Chisholm on proverbs, Ed DeZago on prophecy, and Dr. Daryl Charles on contemporary culture. Registration is $30 and includes lunch--registrations should be in by January 30. For more information or to register, click here.

Grace College men's basketball coach Jim Kessler picked up his 500th career win Tuesday night as the Lancers defeated Spring Arbor 70-67. Dave Richmond's three-pointer with 47 seconds left broke a tie score as Grace improved to 12-4 on the season. Kessler has coached 28 years at Grace and holds a 500-407 career record. He has been named NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading the team to the 1991-92 NAIA National Championship and has twice been named NCCAA National Coach of the Year. The program has 11 seasons with at least 19 wins and three 30 win seasons.

SPRING ARBOR, MI - Junior David Richmond hit a three-pointer with less than a minute to play as Grace College, Winona Lake, IN, pulled off a 70-67 men's basketball victory over Spring Arbor College Tuesday. With the win, head coach Jim Kessler picked up the 500th of his career, all at Grace in 28 years.

"When I got started, I thought that I'd give it five years and then try something else like selling cars," Kessler said. "My goal every game is to be 1-0 and I guess we've done that 500 times. I've been very fortunate."

Kessler was named NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading the program to its only NAIA National Championship during the 1991-92 season and has twice been named NCCAA National Coach of the Year. As well, his teams have won the Mid-Central Conference Championship eight times. Despite all the accolades and accomplishments, Kessler learned that it isn't during those times that you become a great coach.

"I learned long ago that you have to weather the difficult years to have longevity," Kessler said. "The administration at Grace has always been very supportive."

In getting win number 500, it was Richmond, who started his collegiate career for Kessler six years ago, who broke a 67-67 tie on a three-pointer with 47 seconds to play as the Lancers escaped a tough Mid-Central Conference road game to even their conference record at 2-2.

"The shot clock was running down," Kessler said about the game winner. "And he hit a huge shot. We hit some big shots tonight as a team."

Looking back at 500 wins, Kessler had one important group to mention.

"I want to thank my wife and family," Kessler said. "This job can be brutal and demanding, and it takes a special woman to be a coach's wife. My daughters have been involved as well and they have always been supportive."

Grace improves to 12-4 on the season, a strong improvement over a 10-20 season a year ago. The Lancers will host No. 15 Taylor Saturday at 3 p.m. in a key conference game for both teams. Each is 2-2 in the MCC and will be looking to move into the upper half of the conference standings.

Representatives of the Grace Brethren national organizations met in the CENational facilities this noon to strategize on their involvement in Brethren National Youth Conference (BNYC) this year. Dave Rank (standing, striped sweater), who is BNYC coordinator, chaired the meeting. BNYC annually attracts more than 2,000 Grace Brethren teens and will be held on the campus of Cedarville University in Ohio this year the week of July 23-29, 2005. The roster of speakers includes Josh McDowell, Francis Chan, Ryan Dobson, Toby Travis, Shawn McBride, Jeff Bogue, and more. For information, and to register, log onto www.cenational.org.

Bellflower, CA, Brethren Church pastor Tom Hocking, who is currently moderator of the Southern California-Arizona District, recently got district pastors and their wives together for a post-Christmas couples dinner party at a bowling alley. Grace Brethren national organizations (including Brethren Missionary Herald Co.) contributed books, CDs, videos, candy, nuts, mugs, shirts, combs and more which Tom and his wife assembled into 20 gift bags. Tom says "It was a pretty impressive display of our Fellowship's commitment to encouraging pastoral couples." He reported that, despite a storm the night of the party, there were 32 people present, and he says they had a "wonderful time of great food, lots of fun, good fellowship and a sweet time of sharing and praying in small groups." Third prize for best score was won by Steve Munday (Simi Valley), and Roy Halberg got the one-day registration to Equip 05 (2nd Place). The grand prize was won by the district's newest pastor, Wayne Ayer (Norwalk Grace Brethren Church), a fully-paid Hume Lake Pastoral Couples Conference with premium lodging next September. (photo courtesy Tom Hocking)

Relief Agency Brethren is the suggested channel for Grace Brethren churches and people who want to funnel assistance to Tsunami victims in southeast Asia. More information is available at www.fgbc.org and www.gbim.org. Through Relief Agency Brethren (RAB), GBIM is pleased to serve as a clearinghouse for churches and individuals who desire to help meet the urgent needs arising from this crisis. Time is of the essence. Please consider how your church might assist. Checks should be made out to GBIM and sent immediately to:
RAB: Tsunami Relief Grace Brethren Int’l Missions, P.O. Box 1209 Brea, CA 92822-1209

Top 10 myths of disaster relief

As they fight to save lives in the wake of the Asia disaster, aid workers also must address myths about disaster relief among the American public. Rich Moseanko, a relief director for World Vision, the Christian relief and development organization, explains the truth behind the top 10 myths of disaster relief.

1. Americans can help by collecting blankets, shoes and clothing

The cost of shipping these items – let alone the time it takes to sort, pack and ship them – is prohibitive. Often, those items are manufactured for export to the U.S. from these same countries. It is far more efficient to purchase them locally. Cash is the better solution.

2. Helping the living always has priority over burying the dead

In refugee camps and epidemic situations where people die of diseases, it is essential to dispose of the bodies within a short period of time. If they died of other causes such as drowning, they are less of a health risk but pose an impediment to relief efforts and delay the mourning process.

3. The United States must airlift food and medicines to the disaster site

Food is virtually always available within a day's drive of the disaster site. Purchasing the food locally is more cost-efficient, and it ensures that the food is appropriate to local residents' tastes and religious requirements. Medicines are often available within the country, too. India, for example, has a large pharmaceutical industry. Because medicines are high-value, low-weight commodities, in some cases they can and must be airlifted in to save lives.

4. If I send cash, my help won't get there

Reputable agencies send 80 percent or more of cash donations to the disaster site; the rest goes for administration, operating expenses and monitoring the efficiency of their own operations. Donors have a right and a responsibility to ask aid groups how they will be using those donations, and what will be done with donations raised in excess of the need.

5. Once someone survives the immediate disaster, he or she is safe

The immediate catastrophe kills quickly; survivors can face a slower death from hunger, disease and even criminal predators. While emergency medical teams certainly are needed for people injured in a disaster, the best way to keep survivors healthy is to provide clean water and adequate sanitation. Cholera and dysentery can result from drinking contaminated water; malaria-spreading mosquitoes breed in standing water.

6. Developing countries depend on foreign expertise

While specialized assistance is always welcome, most relief and recovery efforts are accomplished by local aid groups, police, firefighters and neighbors before international teams arrive. Also, in recent years most governments have established disaster preparedness plans.

7. Relief needs are so intense that almost anyone can fly to the scene to offer help

Professionals with specialized skills and overseas disaster experience are often deployed to disaster sites. Volunteers without those skills can do more harm than good, and siphon off critical logistics and translations services. Hiring qualified disaster survivors is much more cost efficient and provides much needed employment.

8. Survivors feel lucky to be alive

Shock, trauma and the mourning for loved ones who died are common among disaster survivors. Often, they wish it was they who died instead of their loved ones. Treating these emotional needs is an essential component of relief efforts.

9. Insurance and governments can cover losses

The vast majority of the world's population has never heard of an insurance policy, let alone are able to purchase one. Further, governments of poor countries can barely meet ongoing social service needs, let alone provide a safety net like FEMA. Disaster survivors must bear these costs alone.

10. People are helpless in the face of natural disasters

The United States is proof that tougher building codes, early warning and disaster preparedness can save lives. Even in poor countries, communities are taking steps to mitigate the loss of life in future emergencies.

The Superbowl is Sunday, February 6 this year, and many churches have found ways to build outreach programs around the football game. Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Sports Spectrum magazine are making available a "Power to Win" halftime outreach kit which includes a video featuring Kurt Warner of the New York Giants and Christian musicians Third Day, available in either VHS or DVD format. The kit also includes 25 special edition Sports Spectrum magazines, promotional posters, witnessing booklets, a sports New Testament, free access to Golden FX Online Golf game and more. According to FCA, since the introduction of the "Power to Win" program, more than two million people have attended more than 40,000 outreach parties, resulting in over 50,000 first-time decisions for Christ. Cost of the kit is $75 plus shipping--to order call 1-866-821-2971 or e-mail powertowin@sportsspectrum.com.

Grace College and Seminary will offer an enrichment course entitled "Understanding Islam" on Tuesday evenings (6-8:50 p.m.) from January 11 to April 26 on its Winona Lake, Indiana, campus.

The course is open to all and will be taught by Grace alumnus Fred Plastow. Plastow studied Islamics at the L'universite Libre de Bruxelles and served abroad for 30 years in a ministry among Muslims under Avant ministeries (formerly Gospel Missionary Union).

The course will include an overview of Islamic history, culture and worldview, and will focus on the origins of Islam, its founder and successors, and the concept of the Muslim community.

Cost to community participants is a $50 registration fee, payable on the first night of classes. For more information contact Dr. Tom Stallter at (574) 372-5100, ext. 6321.