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Register Now – Holston Evangelism Conference – April 1st and 2nd

Go here to register for the event. holston-evangelism-conference

The Rev. Charles Kyker will be the speaker for the 2011 Holston Evangelism Conference. Kyker, who also appeared at the 2010 Holston Annual Conference, is lead pastor for the four campuses of Christ United Methodist Church in Hickory, N.C.

The Rev. Ken Sloane is the Director of Communications Ministry at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN. An ordained elder in the Greater New Jersey Conference, he was a local church pastor for 20 years, a successful new church planter, and Director of Connectional Ministries for that conference before being appointed to the denominations’s communications agency in 2006. He leads the team that has developed “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” and the new “RETHINK CHURCH” campaigns. He has a passion for telling the stories of how United Methodists are making a difference, here and around the world!

An admitted Facebook “junkie,” Ken recently had the opportunity to update his relationship status to “Engaged” when he proposed to Holston Conference native and fellow UMCom employee Bridget McKamey Worden. They are planning a wedding in June after Ken comes home from extensive travel to Annual Conference sessions across the country.

The conference will again be held at Cokesbury Center in Knoxville, Tenn.

Friday, April 1

4:00            Workshops (optional, no extra cost, please preregister)
How to Tell Your Story (Charles Maynard)
Evangelism with Facebook and Twitter (Ronnie Collins)
Rethink Church (United Methodist Communications)
5:00 – 7:00  Registration (dinner on your own)
7:00            Session I – Charles Kyker

Saturday, April 2

8:30    Registration
9:00    Session II with Charles Kyker
10:15  Break
10:30  Session III “Rethink Church”
12:00  Lunch (on-site for all who preregistered)
12:45  Round Table discussions
1:30    Closing worship with Bishop James Swanson
3:00    End

Hotel Information

Jameson Inn, 209 Market Place Lane 865-531-7444
(group rate at Jameson Inn – $59.99)

Best Western Inn Cedar Bluff, 420 N. Peters Rd. 865-539-0058

Hampton Inn West, 9128 Executive Park Dr. 865-693-1101

Holiday Inn Cedar Bluff, 304 N. Cedar Bluff Rd. 865-693-1011

March 19, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

101 Things You Didn’t Know About Irish History – Book Review

I picked this book up for free on amazon.com just before March 17th. I do believe that my family on the Collins side has some Irish roots and I was intrigued to read it. It is really a great and fast read. I will not review it as such but give you some interesting things I did not know before reading this book. These comments are from my twitter feed. ie, 101 things you didn’t know.

Ronnie

The Irish were obsessed with war. They would strip naked wearing nothing but sandals & necklaces n2 battle. Strange but the strategy worked.

St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland

St Patrick was one of the FIrst Christian missionaries in history. I didn’t know that.

St Patrick used the “Shamrock” a three-leafed clover to teach people about the Trinity. Wow, you don’t learn this stuff in seminary.

Medieval Ireland became known as the island of saints and scholars.

I didn’t know the Vikings founded Dublin Ireland.

enjoying learning more about Ireland’s history. I am n the religion portion now & I am learning where some of our own traditions originate.

The Irish give more money to charity per capita thank any other European nation.

In Ireland for many years the use of birth control was Considered a criminal act.

The Irish game of “Hurling” may need to be brought to America as therapy. Lol

“Hurling” called ” Shinty” by the Scottish is thought to have inspired the game we call “Golf”

Thousands of Irish men and women still emigrate each year. We don’t seem to hear about it much do we.

23 more things to discover about the Irish and Ireland. This book has been a fun read and very informative. 101 things You didn’t know

Ireland became the Republic of Ireland in 1948 & in 1949 officially broke away from the British Parliament.

Abortion is illegal n Ireland & always has been – except n the event the mother’s life is at risk. “Much like the UMC Stance on abortion.

Irish Proverb “If you lie down with dog’s you’ll rise with fleas.”

Here is one last thing to leave you with. An Irish Blessing.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

March 19, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Love Wins-Book Review

I have a few initial comments and you of course will choose if you want to read further.

#1. You cannot nail Jello to a wall!

#2. I believe this book is all about stirring controversy in order to sell books! (It worked with me, lol)

#3. Save your money and don’t buy this book!

In the book that has caused such a fire storm, Rob Bell alludes strongly to the assumption that everyone goes to heaven or universalism. However, he is wise enough to never make this statement and he is a master communicator who has done damage to those who will read this book, hear what they want to hear, take it as affirmation, and walk away from the clear teaching of scripture.

Here are several quotes from the book. I will make some bolded remarks in groups of quotes.

“First, I believe that Jesus’s story is first and foremost about the love of God for every single one of us. It is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love, and it is for everybody, everywhere. ”

“There are a growing number of us who have become acutely aware that Jesus’s story has been hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do. The plot has been lost, and it’s time to reclaim it.”

“I’ve written this book for all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, “I would never be a part of that.” You are not alone. There are millions of us.”

“This love compels us to question some of the dominant stories that are being told as the Jesus story. A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’s message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear.”

I agree that God’s Word is a story of love, I have often referred to the Bible as God’s love story for us, His creation. However, there is no way to read the Bible and describe God as being without justice.

“Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select number “make it to a better place” and every single other person suffer in torment and punishment forever? Is this acceptable to God? Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish? Can God do this, or even allow this, and still claim to be a loving God? Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life? This doesn’t just raise disturbing questions about God; it raises questions about the beliefs themselves. Why them? Why you? Why me? Why not him or her or them.

If there are only a select few who go to heaven, which is more terrifying to fathom: the billions who burn forever or the few who escape this fate? How does a person end up being one of the few? Chance? Luck? Random selection? Being born in the right place, family, or country? Having a youth pastor who “relates better to the kids”? God choosing you instead of others? What kind of faith is that? Or, more important: What kind of God is that?

The sad fact is that Rob Bell asks a multitude of leading questions and he never answers for himself. He has done a lot to cast doubt and I think it is sad for those who will be mis-led by his questions.

“This belief raises a number of issues, one of them being the risk each new life faces. If every new baby being born could grow up to not believe the right things and go to hell forever, then prematurely terminating a child’s life anytime from conception to twelve years of age would actually be the loving thing to do, guaranteeing that the child ends up in heaven, and not hell, forever. Why run the risk?”

I find this comment to be offensive to God.

“Often the people most concerned about others going to hell when they die seem less concerned with the hells on earth right now, while the people most concerned with the hells on earth right now seem the least concerned about hell after death.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

This is from an actual church website: “The unsaved will be separated forever from God in hell.”

This is from another: “Those who don’t believe in Jesus will be sent to eternal punishment in hell.”

And this is from another: “The unsaved dead will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment.”

I would never use these statements on a church sign but that does not invalidate them, according to Scripture.

Will all people be saved, or will God not get what God wants? Does this magnificent, mighty, marvelous God fail in the end?

I don’t know about you but it appears that Bell believes if everyone is not saved, God is a failure. Yet, he says that he is not a universalist.

This insistence that God will be united and reconciled with all people is a theme the writers and prophets return to again and again. They are very specific in their beliefs about who God is and what God is doing in the world, constantly affirming the simple fact that God does not fail.

Yet again, Bell says he is not a universalist.

Is God our friend, our provider, our protector, our father—or is God the kind of judge who may in the end declare that we deserve to spend forever separated from our Father? Is God like the characters in a story Jesus would tell, old ladies who keep searching for the lost coin until they find it, shepherds who don’t rest until that one sheep is back in the fold, fathers who rush out to greet and embrace their returning son, or, in the end, will God give up? Will “all the ends of the earth” come, as God has decided, or only some? Will all feast as it’s promised in Psalm 22, or only a few? Will everybody be given a new heart, or only a limited number of people? Will God, in the end, settle, saying: “Well, I tried, I gave it my best shot, and sometimes you just have to be okay with failure”?

Again, the theme of God being a failure.

A discussion about how to “just get into heaven” has no place in the life of a disciple of Jesus, because it’s missing the point of it all.

I do not totally disagree with this statement.

Many have heard the gospel framed in terms of rescue. God has to punish sinners, because God is holy, but Jesus has paid the price for our sin, and so we can have eternal life. However true or untrue that is technically or theologically, what it can do is subtly teach people that Jesus rescues us from God.

Wow is all I can say about that!

Ronnie


March 19, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

What do United Methodists believe?

Faith FAQ

What do United Methodists believe?

For a complete overview of United Methodist beliefs, check out Who are United Methodists?

What is the difference between The United Methodist Church and a non-denominational church?

United Methodists are strengthened by a worldwide connection – 11.5 million members – that allows us to take action locally, regionally, and globally.  For instance, when the devastating earthquake struck Haiti in Jan. 2010, the church’s relief arm kicked into action.  It mobilized thousands of churches to create health kits, rapidly raised more than $1 million in direct relief aid, and sent teams of front-line responders to Haiti.  This network of people and churches allows us to advocate with a stronger voice on important policy matters, hold our pastors and leaders accountable, support major colleges and universities, and more.  We believe that we’re stronger together than we are alone.

What is the difference between United Methodists and groups like Baptists and Catholics?

Each of these groups is Christian and believes in the Bible.  Historically, both United Methodists and Baptists trace their roots to the Protestant Reformation, a 16th century doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church.  United Methodists do not have a Pope figure; instead, a body of elected leaders – similar to the U.S. congress – convenes every four years to set the church’s priorities.  This organizational system differs from Baptists, whose congregations are more independent.  United Methodists have been known as a denomination strongly involved with people’s lives and related struggles. This involvement is an expression of the personal change we experience when we become Christians.

How do United Methodists view non-Christian faiths?

United Methodists recognize that we’re not alone in this world and that it’s vital to strengthen inter-faith relationships through dialogue and action.  For example, United Methodists have adopted a resolution to work with Muslims “to address common problems and concerns.”  One result has been a partnership with British Muslim charities to provide aid to countries affected by disaster, poverty and conflict, such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Is there diversity in The United Methodist Church?

Local churches mirror the communities in which we live.  Within our walls you’ll find United Methodists of every nationality, race, age, and background.  Our doors are open to everyone, and many churches have ministries which reach out specifically to groups that they believe have been shunned and overlooked by mainstream society.  The Get Involved section can help you find a local church based on needs that are important to you.

Does The United Methodist Church support political parties or candidates?

Look no further than two recent United Methodist First Ladies – Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush – to see that United Methodists are both Democrats and Republicans.  The United Methodist Church supports no single political party, but advocates on legislative issues that are core to our beliefs, such as women’s rights and addressing HIV/AIDS.  United Methodists from both sides of the aisle come together every four years to examine the beliefs and statements on which the church’s advocacy is based.  Every United Methodist has a voice in this process through his or her elected delegate.

What happens at a United Methodist church service?

Our services are as diverse as our membership.  Typically an hour in length, United Methodist services include a sermon or message that expands upon a text within the Bible, as well as music.  Depending upon the church, the music can take many forms: from an organ, to a rock band, to a gospel choir – even among different services at the same church.  People dress in a variety of styles, and services might be offered in multiple languages.  Visit Get Involved to find a nearby service that might be right for you.

Am I expected to give money to the church, and is this part of its focus?

There is no requirement that a visitor contribute to the church.  However, members’ gifts enable the church to carry out its local mission – from providing meals to the homeless, to sponsoring literacy programs, to paying utility bills.  Additionally, United Methodist churches annually pool a small portion of the gifts that they receive so that the church can carry out work collectively, such as funding Africa University, Zimbabwe’s first private, international university.

How do I get answers to other questions?

For an expanded United Methodist FAQ, visit InfoServ.  You may also contact us directly or pose a question by starting a conversation below.  We are glad to help.

 

March 19, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

   

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