The Missionary Church East Central Region Newsletter Volume 476 March 2015 Retreating in Amish Country This year s Pastors & Wives Retreat was held at The Inn at Amish Door in Wilmot, Ohio, February 5-7, 2015. Rev. Jonathan Schaeffer, senior pastor at Grace Church in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, was our speaker for the weekend. Jonathan spoke on the theme Raising our Relational IQ, which included sessions on God is... Large and In Charge, How to Get Along With (Almost) Anyone, and Seven Lessons I Learned From Mistakes I Made In Ministry. Ministry couples had several opportunities to pray for one another as well as observe communion together. They also had many chances to interact with one another, whether it was by sitting down to an Amish cooked familystyle banquet, lounging around the pool, or chatting around tables at the evening pizza party. During free time, couples had the opportunity to enjoy Amish country, sampling cheese at a local cheese factory, windowshopping at one of the many antique shops or by stopping (Continued on page 5.) East Central Regional Conference Friday, April 24, 2015 Newson Missionary Church [9310 Cowpath Road, St Paris 43072] 8:45 am Registration Begins 9:30 am First Meeting Conference Theme: Ephesians 5:15-16 Inside this issue: From Our Regional Director 2 Kid s Alive! 3 Kid s Kamp 3 Oasis: Ladies Day Away 3 From Our Regional Ministries Coordinator 4 Coming Events 5 Camp Sharing Banquet 6 Your Regional Team: Dr. Jeff Kephart, Regional Director Email: jeffk@woh.rr.com Rev. Jeff Gerig, Regional Ministries Coordinator Email: jeffg@woh.rr.com Mrs. Jean Gerig, Secretary Email: jeang@woh.rr.com Mrs. Wendy Dyke, Financial Secretary Email: wendyd@woh.rr.com Regional Office Information: Phone: (937) 339-0015 Fax: (937) 339-1924 Website: http://www.ecregion.org
Page 2 From Our Regional Director The Main Thing I am writing this as the Valentine s candy markdowns begin, following the holiday that highlights love. Ah, love that wonderful, celebrated, sometimes frustrating pursuit so many in our culture obsess about but what is it? Is it a feeling, a warm fuzzy something to be found, and lost, and perhaps found again? We hear that people love hamburgers, love local high school sports teams, and love their children but certainly, love can t mean the same thing in all those cases. We Christians should be experts on the subject of love. After all, it is the centerpiece of our Faith. As oft-quoted John 3.16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. At the close of the famous love chapter, Paul states, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13.13) In Colossians 3, after a grocery list of Christian characteristics, we are told, And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3.14) Jesus even suggests that love is the defining element of our identity as disciples: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13.34-35) But what is love? As presented in Scripture, it has little to do with feelings; Jesus didn t feel like dying on the cross, but he did so anyway out of love: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is also important to note that love supersedes performance, especially in a culture that highly values obvious flashy evidences of visible impact: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13.1-3) Loveless performance, however impressive, is spiritually bankrupt. Love is a non-negotiable essential in Christian living and in the ministry of any church. Christian love is evidenced by self-surrendering action on the behalf of others. It goes beyond caring, thinking of you, feeling your pain, and hoping for the best ; it takes action intentionally for the good of others, even at the cost of personal resources, convenience, and comfort. For the Christian, it is not optional love is to be our default setting: Follow God s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5.1-2) This love is inherently risky and costly; however, it is often noticed by a world that so rarely sees evidence of it at work. The priority of love is the reason why, when we rewrote the regional monthly church report form (reducing the number of items from 18 to 8, by the way), we added the following item: List ways you engaged your circles of influence with the love of Jesus personally and/or corporately. If a church cannot report incidences of loving engagement self-sacrificing actions of support for others without expectation of return over the course of a month, something is not as it should be. Christians who are not expressing love to others are Biblical contradictions : (Continued on page 3.)
Page 3 The Main Thing Continued from page 2 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4.8) We are not called to be love cisterns, storing up the love God has lavished upon us. We re to be love pipelines, experiencing God s love for us and passing it along to others, knowing the Source will never be depleted: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (I John 4.10-11) Churches and Christians seeking God s heart must demonstrate evidence of love in action extended to those around us it s a necessary outflow of His mission for His church. A Ladies Day Away A day of fun, relaxation and spiritual renewal for ladies of all ages Pleasant View Missionary Church (5231 Gettysburg-Pitsburg Rd, Greenville, Ohio) 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Cost: $10* per person [*Includes entrance fee, lunch and speaker, workshop] Several vendors will be available for you to order and purchase items, along with the photo booth and workshop. Guest Speaker: Tracy Artz Sign up through your local church. Reservation Deadline: Sunday, March 29, 2015 Sponsored by ECR Women s Ministries Committee
Page 4 From Our Regional Ministries Coordinator Mountain Top Experiences Growing up in the Gerig household, family vacation often meant a trip down I-75 to Holiday, Florida to visit the grandparents who lived just two miles from the gulf coast. On the way, we d see barns painted with the words See Rock City. Rock City is a tourist trap located in Georgia on Lookout Mountain. The claim is made that on a clear day you can see 7 states! [Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia]. There s quite a bit of debate over whether or not this claim is true. Each time we would drive by one of those barns, I d wonder if Rock City was as cool as the signs made them seem. While I never did make it to Rock City, I ve been to the top of many mountains. Jean and I have climbed Diamond Head in Hawaii a few times, always an amazing view. Twice, we ve taken the cog railway up to the summit of Pikes Peak, the place where Katherine Lee Bates was inspired to write the poem America the Beautiful. We ve also driven to the highest point of the Great Smokey Mountains, hiking the last 1/2 mile up to Clingman s Dome. Unfortunately, the Smokey Mountains lived up to it s name and we weren t able to see much of anything due to the dense fog. Which leads me to wonder why people climb mountains in the first place. What s the point of it all? Well, some mountains are worth climbing like Mt. Everest or Annapurna in the Himalayas or Machu Picchu in Peru s Andes Mountains. People climb them because they rise to the challenge of doing something that few people ever attempt, earning them a sense of triumph and satisfaction; man against mountain. The journey to the top is part of the experience. For me, like most normal people, it s all about the spectacular view, standing on top of the world taking it all in. One feels as though they can see forever. Somehow the cares of the world seem to fade away, when one focuses their attention on the grandeur of God s creation. Martin Luther King s last speech given April 3, 1968 was entitled, I ve Been to the Mountaintop. He made this speech the day before he was assassinated by James Earl Ray outside the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. In it, he speaks of a better day for all people, a Promised Land that he has visualized in his mind, comparing himself to Moses who saw the Promise Land from Mt. Nebo before his death. He didn t get to realize his promised land but he was able to see it. As Christians, we speak of mountain top experiences to describe those times when we feel closest in our walk with the Lord. Often these experiences are tied to some life changing event in our lives such as salvation, rededication, baptism, an altar call, times of fasting and prayer, or through the reading of God s Word for an extended period of time. Sometimes we get the mountain top sensation after attending a Christian concert, retreat or even Meeting. Unfortunately, these mountain top experiences seem to be few and far between. Many Christians seem to wallow more in the valleys of life, focusing on their circumstances rather than trusting God to take care of them. To make it out of the valley is their hope; climbing (Continued on page 5.)
Page 5 Mountain Top Experiences Continued from page 4 to a spiritual peak in their walk with Christ an insurmountable feat, on par with scaling the world s tallest mountains. Instead, they settle for a Christian life filled with mediocrity, while longing for the mountain top life. Some try to manufacture the mountain top experience without putting forth any effort. Through emotions, they attempt to trick their minds into thinking that their relationship with Jesus is intimate, when they ve done nothing to build that relationship. They ve learned to ignore the sin in their lives and have become comfortable with the hope that God will forgive them anyway. It s like standing at the foot of the mountain and pretending that you are at the top. It s just not the same. Life is filled with spiritual peaks and valleys beyond our control, but for the Christian, those low times can quickly turn into peaks if life s struggles pushes them closer to God not away from Him. David wrote in Psalm 61:1-2, Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer lead me to the rock that is higher than I. God will lift us up above life s circumstances, if we allow Him the opportunity. He walks with us through the valleys, those times of spiritual dryness, and leads us up to high places, where we truly feel his hand of presence in our lives. All we need to do is be faithful. So where are you on your faith journey? Have you been to the mountain top lately? Have you felt the presence of God s Spirit alive and at work in your life? Or are you in the valley as a result of straying in your Christian walk or by distancing yourself from the One who loves you most. Remember, when you re in the valley you will have a hard time seeing things as they really are. You re unable to see the big picture, only what is immediately before you and what is immediately behind. The only way out of the valley is to trust the One who can not only lead you out of the valley but can also lead you up to the rock that is higher than I. March 14, 2015 Kids Quizzing Finals True Life Community Church, Troy March 20-22, 2015 Keeping the Faith Embassy Suites in Blue Ash April 18, 2015 Oasis: A Ladies Day Away Pleasant View Missionary Church April 24, 2015 Regional Conference Newson Missionary Church April 25, 2015 Camp Sharing Banquet - Dining Hall June 21-22, 2015 Kid s Alive! June 22-27, 2015 Kid s Kamp July 18-26, 2015 Camp Meeting July 19-25, 2015 Journey July 30-August 2, 2015 RENEW Retreating in Amish Country Continued from page 1 by the famous Lehman s Hardware Store. Next year s retreat is again scheduled at The Inn at Amish Door, for February 4-6, 2016, with a new option for ministry couples to come in a day early.
Page 6 *Reservations are required to attend. Deadline: Monday, April 13, 2015 Sign up through your local church, call the regional office (937.339.0015), or email us at jeang@woh.rr.com. The Missionary Church East Central Region 1509 West Main Street Troy, Ohio 45373-2511 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED