Sidewalk Prophets, a contemporary Christian band that has played for the youth at the North American Convention of the Church of God (Camp Meeting), had a concert today during Anderson University's chapel. The two founders of the group are graduates of AU. They have recently won a Dove Award and have had two major recent hits on the radio, "The Words I Would Say" and "You Can Have Me." I took my lunch break to go hear them in Reardon Auditorium, since it is just across the parking lot from Church of God Ministries. It was an excellent, worship-filled concert!

The Dormers, new Church of God missionaries to Kenya, have now reached 100 percent of their Living Link budget and 100 percent of their start-up costs. They are now free to leave for Kenya and will begin their work in November. Congratulations to them, and may God bless their work for the Kingdom!

Each morning at Church of God Ministries begins with a short devotion, sharing of praises and prayer concerns, and prayer. It's a beautiful thing, and it sets the tone for the rest of the work day. We want God to bless the work that we do, and we ask Him to do that during what we call Prayer Circle. Yesterday, we did something the assigned devotional leader may choose to lead us to do--we sang! "For the Beauty of the Earth," the classic and beloved hymn. Church of God Ministries staff surely can sing, and in parts!

Today, during the prayer circle, we learned that Sam Dunbar, beloved leader in the Church of God, passed away last night. I met him once at a meeting of Church of God pastors in Michigan. I also recall seeing him speak a few words, likely for an offering, at NAC (Camp Meeting) one year. He was the pastor of the Saint Louis, Michigan Church of God and prior to that, served as an Area Administrator in Oregon. Thank God for the hope of heaven!

The photo shows Pastor Sam Dunbar (pictured right) at a fun community event held at the Saint Louis Church of God in Michigan (best photo I could locate).

Anderson, Indiana got some much-needed rain today. Yes, it's true that Indiana gets much more rain than Arizona and other desert locales, but the grass had turned brown here, and that's not what we're used to seeing!

Anybody like to crochet? I remember when I was younger that my grandmother showed me how to crochet and I even took part in doing some of it. The things that you can create can be pretty incredible. I enjoyed seeing how crochet could be used to make real, cool art.

Bishop Milton Grannum, who spoke at NAC (Camp Meeting) two years ago, also pastors the New Covenant Church of God in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His church has a group of ladies who get together to crochet. They're called the Crocheting Angels and they love to use their talents for the glory of the Lord. Last year they decided to support orphans who lost family members due to AIDS.

The Crocheting Angels made 400 hats "with love" to be sent to orphans in Swaziland, which regularly faces bitterly cold winters. Thank you Mattie Jones, Kim Stanley, Sharm Anderson, Gwen Beard, Emely LaBelle, May Tailafourro, Carol Sampson, and Carole Rowe for showing the love of Christ to children who so desperately need it!

I'm learning more and more about standard operating procedures and protocols at Church of God Ministries. There are ways to go about getting things done--for example, getting graphics created for text, submitting proposals for upcoming events, and including all the right personnel in decision-making. I'm happy to learn and apply it so that Church of God Ministries can be efficient in ministry work. Sometimes it may feel like work, but the ministry that is produced is worth the effort!

The Ministries Council is meeting with Dr. Duncan on the West Coast (Portland) and they also had a leadership rally. I'm excited to hear how the event went and what good things God has in mind for the Church of God reformation movement now and into the future!

Speaking of the West Coast, Mt. Scott Church of God in Portland, Oregon, is one church (I'm sure only one of several churches) who will be starting rehearsals for a musical called "Life School Musical"--no doubt a spin-off of the ever-popular "High School Musical." What a great idea, to incorporate something familiar to the culture into something that communicates the message of Jesus Christ! And, even better, as the church web page states, "This is not just a Mt. Scott Church kids musical--we are inviting VBS families, and encourage you to invite your neighbors and friends who don't attend another church." So they're involving the community, too!

On Friday, I was out of the office, ill with a cold. I've not had a cold so bad in a few years. But God healed me quickly, and just in time to be able to lead singing at Main Street Church of God in Anderson on Sunday. In fact, my voice was stronger than usual during the service! I'm happy to be back at Church of God Ministries today.

Last Thursday, I spent much of my day on the phone conducting interviews with people across the country who have good information to provide for several of the articles that I'm currently writing or have just submitted today. I really enjoyed talking with Pastor Mark Krenz, from the ONE Community Church (emphasis on "one") in Arizona. His start-up church has been incredibly successful and I wanted to know why--not just to publish for the world to see, but for my personal minstry. He emphasized community invovlement and making church comfortable for those who are not used to it. He intentionally advertises ONE as "a church for people who don't like church." The amazing thing is that this kind of marketing your church can be done without compromising the message of the Gospel. The illustration that has stuck in my mind is how a Christian might feel walking into a Islamic mosque for the first time. Wow! I think I would try to avoid it at all costs! That's how unchurched people probably feel.

What strategies can we adopt to reach the unchurched where they are, without compromising message? That's the question, and I think it's one that the church can answer in a variety of healthy ways!

Stay tuned, this article about Krenz and ONE Community Church will be published at http://www.chog.org/ in the next few weeks!

The above pictures shows Pastor Mark Krenz and the church--when they were meeting at a sports bar!

I've been working on an article about a mission trip that Spread the Word is planning for mid-October. Several members of the Youth Ministry Team and the Youth Network for the Church of God will be traveling to Paraguay. Paraguay has been a recipient of some of the funds generated by Spread the Word, an world-evangelism tool which started in 2002 at the Denver IYC. Spread the Word was begun to make IYC more than an event--something that would be a lifestyle, or in the words of Pastor Mark Shaner (of East Side Church of God in Anderson, Indiana), "a part of our DNA" of ministry. While youth ministry in the Church of God may have been focussed around the event that is IYC, youth leadership in the Church of God seeks to make national youth ministry lasting and continuous.

So, I got to thinking. If IYC can become more than an event, can NAC? If IYC is the epitomy of youth ministry in the Church of God (and it clearly is), then couldn't we assume that NAC is the epitomy of adult ministry in the Church of God? After all, NAC (Camp Meeting) seems to be the one, annual uniting symbol of the Church of God in North America. IYC wants to be more than just "event-oriented" and instead a lifestyle or part of our DNA. Couldn't NAC do the same thing? Couldn't the unity and the spiritual rejuvenation and the challenge to go and make disciples that we experience each year at NAC last throughout the year? Can we take it back to our local churches? Can we bring it into our communities and take it around the world?

While Church of God Ministries serves as the primary "ministry arm" for the General Assembly, could NAC--the people of the Church of God who attend this annual event--make a lasting impact on from the local level on up? Could NAC be a "brand," not in the negative sense, but as a symbol of unity within the Church of God and an organization that could keep encouraging the saints year-round?

Kid's Place is making an attempt at just this. Kid's Place director, Michelle Parker, and other Kid's Place national assistants, are attempting to bring Kid's Place programming to the local church. Why keep such a great thing at NAC? That's their big question, and it has already driven them to implement Kid's Place programming methods at one Vacation Bible School at the First Church of God in Meridian, Mississippi. Not only is Kid's Place of NAC goint out to where the people are, but also these ministers are touching the lives of at-risk youth.

So, why keep NAC at the event that is NAC in Anderson? Let's bring it back home with us each year. It may not be the complete answer to a declining NAC, but perhaps it would be a start in the positive direction!

The picture above shows Kid's Place away from Anderson--in Mississippi.

"Trolling." It's how David Farlow, Chief of Strategic Communications at Church of God Ministries, refers to scouring the world for fascinating, compelling, or spiritually-important news relating to the Church of God. Of course, this is accomplished primarily by searching the Internet (visiting web sites of churches and state or district sites, etc.). Then, when something is found, we either find a way to publish it as-is or package it so that it's print-ready.

Like I've stated before, it's important that the broader church hear about what God is doing in local churches around the world. This is one way to get the message out.

I've found or have been assigned about seven article topics to pursue. One has been written this week (other time has been devoted to Ministries Council meeting preparation). For each of the remaining articles, I have conducted the preliminary work: sending out interview questions to the appropriate persons, filing responses accordingly, researching the topic, editing existing matierial--I love it! I love writing, especially when the story will bless the reader. And these stories surely will!

Yesterday, I met with Dr. Duncan and Doris Dale to continue to plan the World Conference of June 2013--now called THE GLOBAL GATHERING! Friends, this is going to be very exciting. I recommend marking the entire month free of June 2013 so that you can be sure to get to Anderson for this event. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced! God is gonna move in a mighty way!

There has not been much rain here in central Indiana lately. When Bethany and I arrived from Arizona, everything was very green and we had heavy rain every few days. Now the much of the grass has turned brown and I hear that August was one of the driest on record. I think Phoenix had more rain than Anderson in August!

Speaking of rain and Arizona. The playground West Side Church of God apparently had some storm debris and/or damage from a recent Monsoon thunderstorm. Mike Hodges, the pastor, said on his Facebook status that he thanks Dan Eastman and Bill Brock for cleaning up and repairing the mess. Hooray for good men of God. Folks, I will always have a connection to the Arizona churches, just face it. So I will report their good news when I hear it, even it if it may seem trivial. God is good!

The past few days, I've been busy working with the Executive Assistant to prepare a central document which the Ministries Council can refer to for reviews of the "Policy Governance" system which basically manages the operations at Church of God Ministries. Church of God Ministries is the "ministry arm" of the Church of God, the way that the General Assembly of the Church of God (represenatives from the individual churches gathered together) accomplishes day-to-day ministry tasks. It's a lot of work, but it's necessary to keep things flowing. Most people do not see behind the scenes as to all the work that must be done, but if they did, they would see why ministry dollars are directed toward administrative tasks.

Yesterday, CBH (Christians Broadcasting Hope) unveiled a new television monitor which will not only allow the public to more easily be able to see what kind of work is produced there, but also to expand CBH capabilities with ministry. CBH is exploring more and more the possibilities that video can have in ministry. What was once primarily about radio may have video on the horizon, who knows?!

The picture shows Jim Lyon, host of CBH Viewpoint (the Church of God broadcast in English).