Update from the President

We returned from Southern California yesterday where we completed the final regional meeting of our six-conference tour for the ministry and church leaders in the United States. This was a wonderful time of learning, sharing and bonding with fellow workers and elders. We very much appreciated getting better acquainted with the pillars of our congregations.

The ministerial conference was preceded by a Sunday leadership workshop that was open to everyone to hear home office presenters speak about the dynamics of Christianity. Lectures here covered the first expansion of Christianity from Jerusalem to Antioch, making disciples by first becoming disciples and then reaching out and lighting the way for others to become Christians. We invited all members to this workshop: serious-minded older teens, young adults, adults and seniors of either gender who were interested in greater service to the Church. Over the last six conferences the ages of participants ranged from 16 to 99.

There were130 attendees who came to the Leadership Workshop from California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

While 48% of members in the United Church of God are under age 50, 84% of our ministry is over age 54. We need to encourage and train more Timothies, Aquilas, Priscillas and Lydias for the Church's future. In these meetings we met such people.

Near the end of the day, I asked for topic suggestions for future seminars and workshops. I thought that this would be a quick item of discussion. It was not. Seventeen ideas were spontaneously brought forward that members wanted to hear more about. I thought I'd share this potpourri with you:

1. Teach our youth about the future of OUR church so they won't be drawn away by others.
2. How to provide a place for our people aged 18-25. Be engaged and future-looking!
3. Giving more attention to our youth. In sermons speak to the youth who live with so much peer pressure and challenges. Hold informative and well-prepared Bible studies for them.
4. Regular teaching of our Fundamental Beliefs throughout the year.
5. We live in perilous times under the influence of a sick world and dysfunctional families. It's harder to resolve things today. How can we better cope with this?
6. Discuss sensitive/controversial subjects such as LGBT and a godly response to them.
7. A session about contemporary church history that would include events such as the change in the way we counted Pentecost going back to 1974, the 1995 departure from the Worldwide Church of God, and the issues surrounding the divisive controversy of 2010. Very little is said about these events and our young people would like to know more about what actually happened.
8. Importance of volunteerism and being reliable. Encourage young people to do good works.
9. Conduct marriage seminar weekends.
10. Conduct a personal inventory assessment.
11. How to recapture a lost "first love" as advised to the church of Ephesus.
12. Mentoring. Put young people under someone's instruction. The older teaching the younger. How can we do that in our congregations?
13. Our children are under attack and our schools are a mess. Teach our children how to respect God in this environment. Young people may leave due to a lack of training from the church.
14. We need an idea exchange facility that would provide relevant information about subjects such as managing finances, dating, life goals and health.
15. How to be more open to new people? Are we stifling God working in us? Are we stifling each other?
16. Don't leave people behind such as the home-bound people who sit for weeks with little communication from fellow church members. Update our prayer lists and put in bulletins or announcements.
17. More workshops on reasoned explanations of scriptures.

You may relate to these points and would like to suggest some yourself. Feel free to do so by writing directly to me at victor_kubik@ucg.org.

On Sunday evening our ministry started arriving at the same venue for the ministerial conference. Sixty-five men and women attended the conference. That evening we socialized and introduced everyone. It is so inspiring to see new faces. Conference material was geared to both men and women because we greatly appreciate the vital contribution of our wives to our ministry.

On Monday morning I spoke about the recent developments in the work of the Church at the home office, our congregations and the international work.

Tim Pebworth presented "Pastoring Young Adults and Building Relationships" addressing the needs of a significant demographic in the church. He explained how this sizable and energetic group tends to think, how we can better communicate with them, and how they can become more engaged in the work of the church.

"The Hassle with Tassels" by Steve Myers is one of the best short presentations on the subject of the covenants and what Old Testament laws we keep or don't keep and why.

We also had a few first-time presentations. In their unique and engaging style, Randy and Kay Schreiber spoke together about "Principles of Effective Counseling." Regional pastor Jim Tuck held an interactive session about how elders can effectively help their pastor. Operation Manager Mark Welch spoke about integrity, humility and unity in the ministry. Mario Seiglie brought some lessons from sheep and goats. Darris McNeely concluded with the topic of being an "elder at the gate." It was about upholding the office and dignity of our role as elders and being there for people to come to.

These are just the highlights. All of us were glad to be with one another these several days. We engaged with nearly 200 people in addition to the brethren we met on the weekly Sabbath.

Now, on to our next round of conferences that will begin in the Atlanta area on Jan. 20-22. We are in the process of preparing a new program for our leaders and ministry.

Following the conference, Darris and Debbie McNeely left on an ambitious journey that starts in the United Kingdom where they will meet with elders and leaders for seminars and discussions. They will travel on to Zambia where they will hold leadership training meetings and stay with Derrick and Cherry Pringle. Then to Lilongwe, Malawi, to do the same. There they will stay with Brennan and Michala Hilgen who have been serving in that area for two years. Finally, they will travel to South Africa to be with Roy Demont and discuss how we will care for our congregations and do the Work of God there. I will be most anxious to hear their report about this journey!

In my concluding comments at the conference, I reminded our ministry to remember to be mindful of our brethren and always be "helpers of their joy." We also remembered those in our Southwest ministry by name who were not able to be there for health and other reasons.

I concluded with Paul's words to the Corinthians which encapsulated some of the thoughts of this conference: "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).