Update from the President

This past week we held three days of Leadership and Ministerial conferences in Portland, Oregon.

Regional pastor Steve Nutzman commented: "I heard a lot of very positive feedback from ministers and wives about how practical the presentations were at the conference. The material that was presented covered very specific and down-to-earth details about how to better serve God's elect as elders and wives. This conference was just what we needed. It was a home run in terms of the content and fellowship."

Elder Rob Slocum added: "First let us say we very much appreciated both the content and the way that it was presented. We are encouraged by the direction of the church, but even more by the spirit of those in positions to direct the church. We are all human and inherently flawed, and Tina and I understand the struggles we all experience in our journey to become like our Elder Brother—it is a tall task."

I could not agree more with these assessments and want to first thank our Ministerial Education Team that includes Chris Rowland, Darris McNeely and Steve Myers for making these conferences what they were.

We presented a mix of lectures, round table discussions, question and answer sessions along with lots of interactivity that kept the meetings vibrant. Some presentations were geared for helping us to do our jobs more competently while others were intended for an elder's personal improvement as an overseer.

What did we talk about?

Tim Pebworth, pastor of Oakland and Petaluma, California, as well as senior pastor of French-speaking areas of the world, spoke about pastoring young adults and building relationships. In each of our conferences we ask a member of the Young Adults Leadership Initiative task force to give this presentation.

Darris McNeely spoke about "A Church Led by the Holy Spirit" in which he focused on the work of the first century church as it spread out into the world from Jerusalem. He also gave a concluding lecture entitled "Be an Elder at the Gate."

We thanked all our elders for the work they do in their current roles. Some are active pastors of congregations, while other elders assist them. Some are pastors emeritus who, while retired from active employment, are fulfilling an important function in mentoring and volunteer service. We also recognized our three widow attendees: Sandy Cafourek, Betty Ashland and LeeAnn Luker. We gave special mention to our spouses for their support of our ministry and all its trials.

By video, Scott Hoefker gave a presentation "Resilience, Change and Focus in a Stressful World" which was followed by Steve Myers offering solutions to the daily challenges in a minister's life. Steve also gave an excellent exposition of the relationships of the various covenants and which commands are to be observed and which are not in "The Hassle with Tassels."

I moderated a presentation about the ministerial code of ethics and its development. We then had a round table discussion centering on three questions:

1. How do you define "divisive" behavior that undermines the United Church of God? Please give us examples or a list of such.
2. You come to a different understanding about a Fundamental Belief, teaching or practice of the United Church of God. What is your responsibility and what should you do?
3. I see a brother in the ministry speaking against his fellow ministers and his superiors. What should I do?

I was pleased to see a focused ministry who valued the importance of integrity, ethical conduct and doing no harm to our congregations. I wanted to emphasize this highly in this conference.

I also moderated a discussion about challenges and solutions in our ministry. When at the Latin American Conference in Santiago, Chile, last month this was a valuable session of the conference as elders brought up their challenges and fellow elders offered solutions based on their experiences. Topics raised by the participants in the Northwest region dealt with making disciples, modest dress, Feast of Tabernacles planning and training, and on several other topics that yielded healthy discussion.

Preceding the ministerial regional conference, we held a one-day regional leadership workshop. About 100 were in attendance for quite a lively day of meetings and discussion! It is encouraging to see so many members who have the interest and desire to do more in serving the Church.

These conferences help us get to know one another better and help to strengthen bonds—some new, and some renewals of friendship going back decades. We all felt greatly enriched and I, too, will testify that it was a great set of conferences. 

Ambassador Bible College and International Students

Michael and Karen Schuster, church members in Oregon, have been persistently working for several years on ABC's ability to admit students from overseas for a full-year's study. It has been a difficult road, especially in the current immigration climate.

Two of our students were able to obtain a six-month B-2 visa which allows for some avocational training while in the United States. This visa can be extended to a longer period of time and we are pursuing this.

Along with the Schusters, I went to visit the attorney who is helping us with this process. We spent some very informative time with him to understand what can be done. At one time, Karen Schuster was an intern with this firm that specializes in immigration law. We hope and pray to be able to obtain a full year's visa for ABC students coming from abroad.

Bev and I are staying in the Northwest through this coming weekend and will attend with the Tacoma, Washington, congregation this Sabbath.

A lot of good things are happening in the United Church of God! Thank you for your prayers for us. We will continue to pray for all of you!