July Clarion 2012

The Clarion

Clarion

Associate Director of Missions Claudio Medina

Director of Missions Deryl Lackey

Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist

As we enter in July I am amazed how quickly this year has flown by. We are a blessed nation and we should not take for granted the freedom we have to share the Gospel. Let us continue to pray for our na-tion's leaders and their families.

1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and

reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all men to be

saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We continue seeing the Hand of the Lord move in the lives of our people:

Over 25 pastors praising the Lord and praying for each other at our breakfast meeting, assisting several churches with their outreach programs and seeing so many people responding to the Gospel message, giving away Bibles and hundreds of Bible tracks, new church start in Riverside, Ordination services, Praying and caring for our pastors and their families, Start up of our Spanish Seminary's summer program, Conference on "The Defense of the Gospel."

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!

Essentials of Spiritual Leadership - Holiness

Spiritual leadership should involve the understanding of the impact of social sin and the importance of developing a habit of holiness. Developing behavior patterns that are consistent with the teaching of God’s Word are the basis of Spiritual growth and maturity. The decision to “Love not the world, neither the things of the world” (1 John 2:15 KJV) or “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of you mind” (Romans 12:2 KJV) must start with church leadership.

Holiness is the essence of God’s nature. God’s holiness cannot be separated from WHO HE IS. Holiness is a synonym for God’s deity. God’s holiness permeates all of His attributes and defines them. Holiness is EVERYTHING that God is.

HOLINESS AND ACCEPTANCE: Unconditional love and unconditional acceptance are not the same thing. We are com-manded to love everyone but not to condone their sin. 2 Corinthians 6:17, Therefore, "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."

HOLINESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY: We are accountable to God for all we say and do. Hebrews 4:13, “Nothing in all crea-tion is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.”

HOLINESS AND AWE (REVERENCE): There is an undeniable relationship between holiness and the fear or reverence of or for God in the Bible. Exodus 18:21, “But select capable men from all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain.” NIV

HOLINESS AND ASSURANCE: GOD’S HOLINESS SECURES OUR SALVATION. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. “

HOLINESS IS NOT A WORK THAT WE CAN DO IT IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH A HOLY GOD!

Eccl. 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly

broken.” This verse came to mind as I watched our Southern Baptist Convention via the internet! With as many

churches, missions, and ministries that we have, there is always going to be something we have to discuss and work

through. HOWEVER, in spite of some differences it is amazing how much kingdom work Great Commission Baptists

(SBC) engage in. It is also remarkable how much unity we truly possess in spite of those differences and barriers we

must always strive to work through and overcome. While it is easy to see what we could do better, I still find it

encouraging how much we accomplish as over 45,000 churches prove that which Solomon penned for us in

Ecclesiastes. Even on a local level this is true, our association has over 200 churches who are similar is many ways,

and different in many other ways. However, as we agree upon the priorities of Scripture we accomplish so much more together than any

one church could do on its own. I would also like to extend my appreciation and prayerful support to our new president Fred Luter. I am

pleased to share with you that Liberty Baptist in Moreno Valley has him scheduled to come and speak for them on Nov. 25 th and 26th in

the evenings. On the 26th he will be speaking at California Baptist University and we are trying to set up a lunch after that which will allow

our pastors and others to meet and hear from our new convention president. We praise God for this historic election and ask you to join

with us in praying for him daily.

Clarion

Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant

Last month I mentioned in my article that I would give you an overview of the new LifeWay curriculum line coming out this fall. It’s called The Gospel Project. I have spent a lot of time studying it and here is what I have found. First, I can’t possibly cover the subject here so you need to visit LifeWay’s website (www.lifeway.com) and search: The Gospel Project, then watch the web-casts. Both age group and general web-casts are provided. There is a complete discussion of what the new literature will look like, as well as the rationale behind it. Basically, it is a three-year systematic look at how the gospel is expressed in every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It shows us the grand narrative of scripture and how the gos-pel transforms lives. It goes deeper than morals and behavior and goes to the heart of who God is, how He

is revealed in every book and story in the Bible and how that can change us. The new curriculum is the same for preschool and children, but it is not necessarily coordinated with students and adults. However, the student and adult lessons cover the same material each week. You can print the first month’s lessons for free from the website. You can also get an application and view the material on your smart phone. More content is provided than you can use each week. That is by design so you can pick the portions you wish to use. There are many new features in the literature that you will like. This looks to me like a great option for churches to consider. Let me encourage you to take a look at it, I think you will be pleased. This material is going to change how we study the Bible.

PASTORS AND SUNDAY SCHOOL DIRECTORS PLANNING WORKSHOP Jamie Killion will lead the session this year. It will be on Saturday, July 14 at the associational office. We will have a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and begin at 9:00 a.m. We will conclude at 12:00 noon. Jamie believes that God would have him speak about: loving people, building an evangelistic spirit in the Sunday School, developing leaders and utilizing care groups. You will really enjoy Jamie. This would also be great material for small groups of any kind.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

If you purchased V.B.S. material from the LifeWay store, August 31 is the last day to return unused literature for a credit.

On Saturday, September 8 & 15 we will have the annual Sunday School Preparation and Training Conferences.

Saturday, October 6 – Adiestrados para la Excelencia Hispanic training conference. Victor Pulido will be the keynote speaker.

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Nita Morris, Director of Community Outreach, led a recent mission team to

Skid Row, deep in the heart of Los Angeles. Eighteen people from The

Crossings Church/Eastvale ministered to 100's of homeless. The team

passed out Bible tracts, created an assembly line stuffing groceries in

sacks, prepared the lunch for the day and presented a chapel service for

about 70 men and women, some in wheelchairs. The church also donated

about $400 to the mission from a recent fundraiser held at Red Brick Pizza/

Eastvale.

"The streets were rougher than I imagined" said Nita Morris. You can drive

through skid row, but you don't really "feel" skid row until you walk the streets and allies. A caravan of 4 vehicles, from subur-

bia, parked in front of the mission alongside open air housing, (tents, sleeping bags, and hand make living quarters). Our first

experience was the very strong smell of urine and feces. The mission (inside) was clean and organized and could house

mission teams for the weekend, which we are now considering.

There are many mission efforts on skid row that give out free food, however, the Fred Jordan Mission shares the Word of Life

prior to food distribution. Lead Pastor Rob Norris' gave a message of hope in the chapel. Attenders included several that

were visibly on something, mentally ill, (one guy said he was just release from a mental institute and wasn't on his MEDS :)…

This team ministered to a man recently released from prison and free Bibles were distributed. They reported, "There were

people that looked just like us trying to get by". They don't all live on the streets, some live in the surrounding motels and

came for worship and a meal.

At the end of the trip the team was taken 7 stories up to the roof. With the LA sky line in the back ground they reflected on

the day and prayed the helping hands offered were received as a gift from God.

On Saturday, June 9, 2012 the Inland Empire Association’s Annual Kid’s Day Camp

was held at Washington Park in Riverside. Children from several churches experi-

enced a day filled with fun as they toured London.

They started the day out with puppets and the Escar-

zaga Family from Palm Baptist Church of Riverside

who shared lots of facts about the Jacksons, a mission-

ary family in London, and prepared the children for

their journey. They visited Westminster Abby, which

was under water as they found themselves down in the belly of a whale, the same whale that swallowed up

Jonah. The children walked away recognizing how important it is to obey God. Their next stop was Big

Ben where they worked on some neat craft projects and learned some facts about the Big Clock there in

London called Big Ben. Their next stop was the London Tower where they met the Greenwalts, Pastor

Galen and Sister Sondra shared their experiences and taught the children about the people of London

and their need to know Christ and how important it is for us to pray for and support Missionaries working

to share Jesus with others. The children’s next stop was the Bus and Taxi Station where they enjoyed a

great lunch of pizza, which totally reminded them of home. After Lunch the children made their way to

the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in London where they played fun games, including an exciting

balloon toss. As the day ended the children were quizzed about the things they learned throughout

the day by the puppets and many won some great gifts. Everyone was rewarded with a bag of good-

ies as they boarded the taxis and buses and were on their way home. Thanks Inland Empire Asso-

ciation for another Great Fun in the SON Day!!!

Humbly Submitted by: Sonja V. Dawkins, WMU/Women’s Ministry Director

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR NEXT KID’S DAY CAMP, SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

New Church Plant / The Crossing

KID’S DAY CAMP-KIDS VISITED LONDON ENGLAND

Eastvale, CA

Minister of Children (Part-time, 29 hours)

This position will provide the leadership to staff and volunteers with the Children’s Ministry by developing

and promoting programs which will lead children, within our sphere of influence, to become authentic

followers of Jesus Christ.

Directly supervises the leaders and workers with the Children’s Ministry programs and has

responsibilities for interviewing, training workers, planning, assigning and directing work; appraising

performance; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

Salary: $30,000 a year

Contact: Pastor Ron Harvey, Minister of Education, 951-689-5700, go to www.magonline.com for

application. Send application and resume to 8351 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA 92504

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The Association office has the following

items available to any church who would

like them:

13 Baptist Hymnals

2 offering plates

29 seat cushions

2 signs (pictured to the right)

The Inland Empire Baptist Association wishes everyone a happy

4th of July! We want to express our gratitude to everyone who

is serving, and has served in the armed forces!

Clarion

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-

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6857 Indiana Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506

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Periodicals Postage

Paid

July 14 Pastors and S.S. Directors Planning Workshop

Sept. 7-8 WMU Ladies Retreat

Sept. 8 S.S. Prep & Training Conference

Sept. 15 S.S. Prep & Training Conference

Sept.15 Health Clinic

October 6 APE

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Inland Empire Association Staff

Deryl Lackey Director of Missions

[email protected]

Claudio Medina Associate Director of Missions

[email protected]

Bruce Hitchcock Church Growth Strategist

[email protected]

Martin Leach Church Growth Consultant

[email protected]

Bobbie Brooks Ministry Assistant

[email protected]

Brenda Lackey Office Manager

[email protected]

Angela Mantzey Graphics Specialist

[email protected]

(951) 784-2655 • Fax (951) 784-2656

July Clarion 2012

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Transcript of July Clarion 2012