Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
newsletter
Citation preview
January 2011
The Clarion The Clarion Volume 44 Issue 1
Inland Empire Baptist Association
Clarion Page 2
Associate Director of Missions Claudio Medina
Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist
Director of Missions Deryl Lackey
We thank you again for all your prayers and support throughout the year. Next year will be a great time to declare the saving grace of the Lord. Let’s take advantage of the opportu-nities and the challenges which come our way. May we always give the honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us focus our eyes on the Lord and be obedient to His calling. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,… Psalm 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. If we maintain our focus on the Lord then we will not be distracted by worthless things of the world; things
which rob us of useful energy and time. They might not even be evil things, but things of no value. Let us march forward in serving our King.
We want to remind you to reserve the Evangelism Trailer for 2011, as soon as possible. Twenty weekends have already been taken.
The breakfast for Hispanic Pastors will start up again on January 29, 2011. It will be held at our Riverside office and we will cover the topic of “Taxes.”
Sign up now for the “Equip Biblical Institute” (EBI) classes!
Leadership Traits – CHARACTER
Is there a difference between morals and ethics? Morals define personal character, while ethics describe the social system in which those morals are applied. Under this description of morals and ethics, morality would be the decrement between right and wrong. Ethics on the other hand would be the code the person operates within as a result of their level of morality.
People can and do establish their own definition of morality and then create an ethical code that best represents that defi-nition. Christians are more limited. For Christians, God defines morality in His Word, the Bible. A good example of this concept in the Word of God would be the interaction between Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech. Abraham, fearing Abimelech, asked Sarah to tell him that she was Abraham’s sister. When Abimelech took Sarah into his house, God told him the truth in a dream. The Bible teaches clearly that lying is wrong. This is a moral truth. So why would Abraham say that Sarah was his sister? Genesis 20:12 says, “But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter
of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.” Abraham understood the moral law of God but his ethical inter-pretation fell short of that law.
When questions of morality surface we ask, “What does the Bible say.” When we are faced with an ethical decision we ask, “What would Jesus do?” When mankind develops a set of moral principles and an ethical code that interprets it, those principles and the code produced from it are flawed. There is only one truth, God’s truth. Effective ministry leaders establish their moral standards from scripture. They then look for examples, teachings, or principles describing how Jesus interpreted moral law into ethical actions.
Happy New Year to all! I pray you had a blessed holiday season! This month’s article has
one purpose, to encourage you to join us for a time of prayer on Sunday, January 30, at
5:00 p.m. We will be gathering at Magnolia Avenue Baptist church in conjunction with
thousands of other Southern Baptist Convention churches and missionaries. One of my
personal goals this year is to encourage the churches I am privileged to speak at to make
a genuine commitment to pray for their pastors faithfully and Biblically. It is my firm
conviction that God is demanding that we recommitment ourselves as church families to earnest prayer.
As a result, I commend our national leaders for calling us to this time of solemn assembly and prayer! I
sincerely hope and encourage you and your church to come and join us. It will not be a time of
preaching, worship, or fellowship; it will be a time when we come together as the body of Christ seeking
God as He builds His kingdom here in the Inland Empire and throughout the world.
Clarion Page 3
Call the Association Office if you would like a copy of the Great Comission Resurgence Task Force --
report and recommendation to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida, June 2010.
EQUIP BIBLICAL INSTITUTE CLASSES START IN JANUARY AND WILL BE LOCATED IN RIVERSIDE,
GRAND TERRACE, AND NORCO
For more information contact Claudio at 951-784-2655
EBI CLASSES
Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant
EQUIPPED FOR EXCELLENCE
It’s not too early to start promoting EQUIPPED FOR EXCELLENCE. Plans are complete for the twenty-first annual event scheduled for Saturday, April 9, 2011. As you may know, our keynote speaker will be Pastor Brian Kennedy from Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ontario. You should have received your yellow publicity packet by now. As usual, we have some great conference leaders. One of our newer conferences is, Using Technology in Your Church. It will be led by Jeremy Zimmerman, who is the
Marketing Director for California Baptist University and Robert Shields, who is the Webmaster for CBU. Someone requested that we offer the conference, Understanding and Ministering to Muslims again. Joe Hall, who has served as an IMB missionary and works with Muslim refugees in Orange County, will be leading this conference. Joe has a love in his heart for Muslims. You can visit our web site at www.equippedforexcellence.org for a complete listing of all the conferences and details. You can also register online.
SUNDAY SCHOOL DIRECTOR’S MEETING
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. We will meet at the associational office from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Our topics this time will be, How to Evaluate Your Sunday School and Adult Class Organization. Refreshments will be
served. This is a great opportunity for all Sunday School directors to learn how to be more effective in their ministries.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL CLINIC
Our annual Vacation Bible School clinic will be on Saturday, May 14, 2011. We will meet at Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church in Riverside. It will begin with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 12:00 noon. Our V.B.S. director, Cindy Enlow, always does an outstanding job. Plan to come early so you won’t miss the worship rally and all of those prizes she passes out. Mark your calendar, enlist all of your workers and plan to attend the V.B.S. clinic this year.
U-Pick'M Gospel Music Festival
We currently have an IMB missionary available to speak at your church. There is no charge. Tim and
Iracema Kunkel are on furlough from Paraguay. They have a wonderful story to tell and are very inspirational. If you would be interested in having them in your church, you can contact them
at (909) 425-8441, or at johntkunkel.blogspot.com.
January 29, 2011 Eagle Ridge Church in Menifee, CA.
Eagle Ridge Church will be hosting a "U-PICK'M Gospel Music Festival" on January 29th from 10 am to 2 pm. The
event will feature the Southern Journeymen Gospel quartet,
congregational singing and special guest artists. Attendees can register online at u-pickm.eagleridgechurch.com
(seating is limited) and suggest a favorite Gospel hymn to be included in the
program. Attendees can bring a sack lunch or buy a box lunch.
They will be here until July 2011.
Clarion Page 4
Page 5 Clarion
Clarion Page 6
Christmas Dinner
Tuesday, November 30, the I n l a n d E m p i r e B a p t i s t Association held the annual Ministers and Staff Christmas Dinner at Immanuel Baptist
Church in Highland. The dinner took place in the sanctuary again this year with an attendance of 200 people. Music Group Band of Brothers did an
excellent job as they led the group in a time of music and fellowship. The association would like to thank everyone who attended and also those who helped make this year’s Christmas dinner possible.
Clarion Page 7
Page 8
Visit our website @ www.iesba.org
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
FOR THESE DATES!!
Clarion (UPS 044-370) Inland Empire Southern Baptist Association of
California
6857 Indiana Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
Telephone: (951) 784-2655
Periodicals Paid at Riverside, California
Published Monthly
POSTMASTER; Send address changes to:
Inland Empire Southern Baptist Association of Califor-
nia
6857 Indiana Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
RETURN SERVICE
REQUESTED
Periodicals Postage
Paid
Dec 23-Jan 3 Office Closed for Holidays
Jan 21 & 22 Pastor’s Wives Retreat
January 25 Sunday School Director’s Meeting
February 26 Church Music Workshop
Clarion
Inland Empire Association Staff
Deryl Lackey Director of Missions
Claudio Medina Associate Director of Missions
Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist
Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant
Bobbie Brooks Ministry Assistant
Brenda Lackey Office Manager
Angela Mantzey Graphics Specialist
(951) 784-2655 • Fax (951) 784-2656
