Baptist

Vol. 57 No.7

www.baptistdigest.com

Changing of the Guard in Campus Ministry

igest

Newsjournal Of Kansas and Nebraska Southern Baptists

July 2013

Rick and Gay Clock Brett and Mary Yohn Bob and Sandie Anderson The changing of the guard will take place this year in the Southern Baptist campus ministries at the three largest universities in Nebraska and Kansas. Rick Clock will be retiring after 32 years at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Brett Yohn and Bob Anderson will be retiring after 40 years of service. Yohn leads the ministry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln while Anderson serves at Kansas State University, Manhattan. The KNCSB Mission Board on Friday, March 8, affirmed the three men and their wives who will be assuming the new leadership roles after Clock, Anderson and Yohn retire. Robbie Nutter will take over the leadership role at K-State Christian Challenge, where he now serves. Jeremy Pape will assume leadership of Christian Challenge at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he has served since 2005. Ryan Stelk will take over the leadership role at the University of Kansas. He has served for 10 years with K-State Christian Challenge. (see pages 5-8 for more detail)
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Viola Webb State & Associational Missions Offering

And then I heard the voice of the Master: Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? I spoke up. Isaiah 6:8

WWW.KNCSB.ORG The Thought Occurred to Me

By Bob Mills
KNCSB Executive Director E-mail: bmills@kncsb.org

Not long ago, I received the results of the 2012 Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources. The statistics from this profile include metrics related to membership, average attendance, baptisms and total giving. To say I was shocked would be an understatement and yet on the other hand not so shocked. Shocked because, I was dismayed at the rate of our decline as a denomination while on the other hand not so shocked because we are not being obedient to the Great Commission as a people. Marty King of Baptist Press points out: n The number of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention grew by 270 to 46,034, a 0.6 percent increase over the previous year. SBC churches also reported 4,992 church-type missions last year, 40 more than in 2011 n Although the number of SBC-related congregations grew, reported membership of those church declined more than 100,000, down 0.7 percent to

15.9 million members. Primary worship attendance declined 3.1 percent to 5.97 million Sunday worshippers. n Although baptisms were a bright spot in last years report, increasing 0.7 percent, this years report shows a decline of 5.5 percent to 314,956 people. Reported baptisms have declined six of the last eight years, with 2012 being the lowest since 1948. The ratio of baptisms to total members increased to one baptism for every 50 members. (Thirty years ago the ratio was 1:8). (BTW, KNCSB baptisms were up.) While I celebrate every person who has come into a new relationship with Christ, my heart breaks over the overall decline in baptisms and membership. Before God we must ask for forgiveness and repent and return to a posture of calling people to follow Christ. I am willing to admit that there are other contributing factors related to these abysmal statistics, issues related to national current trends, political, social, economic etc. One thing I do know is that the lack of intentional Biblical discipleship is a major contributing factor.

Just a thoughtwhat if we focused our attention on learning and becoming followers of Christ and each of us commit to making disciples who make disciples. For too long our focus has been bringing people to Christ and stopping there. Perhaps the above statistics reflect our lack of follow-through in helping those new converts discover the joy of being a Christ follower. It is almost like givBob Mills ing a thirsty man a drink of cold water and then telling them to go a figure out how to find more water. The ACP metrics illustrate outcomes or results of the effectiveness of discipling activities. Perhaps we need to rethink how our systems/programs/ministries/structure/values within the church are intentionally making disciples. What must we be and do differently to focus on discipleship? I do not want this article to be viewed as a downer but rather a challenge to rethink how we must approach discipleship in the future.

Walking With the Master

By Georges Boujakly

Jesus Grew Spiritually The questions Ive been dealing with lately have touched on learning Jesus, an idea that captured my heart when I read Ephesians 4:20 (See previous articles in the Baptist Digest). Today I want to deepen even more our learning Jesus by looking at his pattern of growing in faith. May his pattern teach us to be like our Master in informing our own faith development! Faith grows as the disciples realized at one point when they asked: Lord, increase our faith. Our destination in this life and the next is greater intimacy with God and loving others as ourselves. But a parked faith, like a parked car, does not get us anywhere on the road to Christlikeness. In the days of his flesh Jesus grew spiritually. These words create a tension. How can it be that Jesus, who is God in the flesh, grew spiritually? Does God the Son grow spiritually? Doesnt spiritual growth imply learning to overcome sin? Does not growing in faith imply a pattern of living obediently? Dont we already know know that the Author of Life never sinned (Hebrews 4:15) and that he always abides in his Fathers love (John 15:10). We do. But perfect obedience is not devoid of growth. Was Jesus sinless because he was God or because he learned to negotiate his relationship with God as a man in obedience and determination to grow in faith? Bruce Ware points out (in the The Man Christ Jesus, Crossway, 2013), that it was necessary for Jesus to grow spiritually. He says, precisely because he obeyed the Father perfectly, including in times of opposition, agony, affliction, and suffering, this perfect obedience actually resulted in the most profound and radical growth in his spiritual lifea growth of faith greater than anyone has ever experienced. The author of Hebrews put it this way: In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9). What then do we make of: 1. his learning to obey by means of what he suffered? 2. his being made perfect? The clues are in the text. While Jesus lived as a man on earth he prayed as any other faithful person would pray.

KNCSB State Director of Missions E-mail: gboujakly@kncsb.org

He prayed the prayers of his people and experienced the same or greater depth of intimacy with God. The divine Jesus knows what God the Father knows. But the human Jesus needed to pray. The eternal Jesus acted in obedience to his Father when he accepted the humbling position of serving humanity. Bruce Ware says that Jesus obedience in the flesh was not new but rather the kind of obedience was indeed new. Jesus prayed and he obeyed and he learned and he suffered and he grew. He prayed with cries and tears implying struggle and pain. Not of the cross alone but also of the pain that comes from being misunderstood, persecuted, belittled, rejected by friends and foes alike, questioned as to every motive, burdened for broken and suffering men and women and children, and dying in Georges Boujakly agony. No surprise here: Jesus is the suffering servant of Isaiah 42, 52-53! The role of suffering of Jesus was to mature his faith (As it did all the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11). His spiritual growth came at the expense of his constant obedience to the will of his Father. The maturity of faith that was at work in Jesus life worked to give his character the strength needed for greater obedience. At 12 he obeyed his Father. But did Jesus have the maturity of obedience that the cross demanded at 12? The obediences of the rest of his life prepared him for the final obedience demanded by the cross. One act of obedience at a time, in the midst of suffering, grew his faith to the point of death
(USPS 018-942) Vol. 57 No. 7 Leadership Newsjournal for KansasNebraska Southern Baptists is published monthly 12 times a year. 5410 SW 7th Street Topeka, KS 66606-2398 Phone: (785) 228-6800 Toll Free: 800-984-9092 Fax: (785) 273-4992 E-mail: tboyd@kncsb.org Web site: baptistdigest.com
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on a cross. Our obediences will not accomplish the salvation of the world nor ours. But we are to learn to live up to the level of maturity of Christ as Paul exhorts us in Ephesians 4:13-15. Bruce Ware mentions 3 implications that I have adapted. Learning Jesus implies that there are no little obediences. Every hill of obedience grows us spiritually in order to face the next mountain of obedience. How I obey Jesus today, this hour, make a difference in how I will obey him tomorrow and when the bigger tests of life come. Obedience works cumulatively. It strengthens our character to face the increasing costs of discipleship: self-denial and mounting the cross daily in His steps. The yes to God I say today assumes the bigger yes I have to say tomorrow. Learning Jesus also informs my suffering as a grace or gift. By the sweat of my present pain I will eat the bread of spiritual growth tomorrow. By pain today I build equity for future obedience. This God-ordained gift of suffering is the way to know more of God, experience his presence, understand life more deeply, peer into the life of Christ more fully, and derive joy in God (for the joy set before him he endured the cross). To avoid suffering is human. To embrace it and grow by it is divine. Learning Jesus, lastly, implies that faith grows by struggle. Lord, increase my faith. Christians do not sit atop mountains to contemplate the mysteries and miseries of life. Rather, they engage life as it is. Often reality is gut wrenching and doubles us over in pain. The role of faith is to help us navigate the rough waters of lifes pains in order to arrive safely in the harbor of peace with God.
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The Baptist Digest

POSTMASTER:

GUIDING PRINCIPLES: INFORM -- Regularly share information about ongoing training, curriculum, events, support and personnel. RESOURCE -- Serve as a resource pool for practical ideas about what is working in KS-NE congregations and how it relates to all sizes of churches. GENERATIONAL -- Cast . the widest net, providing stories and information that will appeal to all generations of Southern Baptists in NE-KS. FAMILY-FRIENDLY -- Be family-friendly with stories, regular columns and helps for families and leaders who work with families. AGE DIVERSE -- Publish s . tories that address the diversity of age, ethnicity, and geographical regions of KS-NE. MISSION-ORIENTED -- Publish stories about people and congregations involved in missions and regularly publicize ministry opportunities. PART OF WIDER MISSION - Help congregations discover that they are part of the larger work of the Kingdom of God through their ministries.

To give local news:

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JULY 2013

Editor: Tim Boyd, PhD. Associate Editor: Eva Wilson Printing Coordinator: Derek Taylor KNCSB Executive Director
AFFILIATIONS Association of State Baptist Papers Baptist Communicators Association

STAFF

Robert T. Mills, D. Min.

Gods Plan for Sharing

By Jon Sapp
KNCSB State Director of Evangelism E-mail: jsapp@kncsb.org

Sharing & Strengthening

teams of volunteers could effectively serve and help meet some of those needs. Teams were formed to prayer walk and conduct evangelism projects. Lists were compiled of those in the community who would need food, yards mowed and homes repaired. Plans were made for childrens activities using Bible Clubs and Block Party Teams. In weeks prior to June 15, yard needs and home repair sites were Jon Sapp evaluated. Supply lists were made and purchased so that everything would be ready for volunteers on that Saturday. On Saturday, June 15, the volunteers came. More than 100 came from Flint Hills churches ready to serve! Duwayne Bearden said that seeing all of the people gathered on the front lawn of the church for the opening prayer and worship was the moment he realized that God had actually done it. He said, I remember when we only had 20 something registered. But when I saw trucks pulled up with mowers, it was the moment God said I have shown up. It was all God! It was at that moment when Acts 1:8 actually happened. I saw people put feet to you shall be my witnesses. As Prayer Walkers and Prayer Drivers prayed for every home in La Harpe, teams mowed and trimmed yards. Others worked on homes in need of repairs and paint while some delivered food. Bible Clubs, Block Party Trailers and Center Shot archery camp ministered to children. Others prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. At every opportunity, volunteers shared the gospel, prayed with individuals and served in the name of Christ. On that Saturday, during the week before Saturday and on Sunday there were 11 professions of faith. There are many stories and memories from that day: a young boy praying to receive Christ with a volunteer on the front porch of the church, volunteers praying continually in the church and in the community. Children helping their parents trim and clean yards. Tears on an elderly womans face because a team made much needed repairs on her home. Repairs she could not afford to make on her own. Debbie Bearden shared about a young lady she had never met who came to the church the day the Ridgwood team first arrived. Pam, one of the Ridgewood team members, sat under a tree and used picture cards to share the gospel with her. The young lady came back each day that week and on Saturday and Sunday. And when her Grandmother came to get her after church on Sunday, she didnt want to leave. Debbie said as she reflects on that young lady she is reminded that every person is one and thats how we reach them, one by one. Saturday was cut short by a storm that moved through La Harpe that afternoon. Work teams repairing homes indoors continued to work while some headed home and others gathered inside the church. But the blessings from that day continue to pour in! Churches working together, a partnership between Ridgewood Baptist Church in Arkansas, La Harpe Baptist Mission and the churches of Flint Hills Association -- putting feet to Acts 1:8.

I-29/49 Corridor Task Force Holds First Meeting

Omaha, Neb. Representatives from five conventions that comprise the I-29/49 Corridor Task Force gathered at the Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association (ENBA) building for its historic inaugural meeting on May 17 to strategize over how they can best work together to help churches in the respective conventions reach rural areas in Americas heartland with the gospel. The five conventions represented in the task force are the Baptist Convention of Iowa, the Dakota Baptist Convention, the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention and the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC). Each Convention had its opportunity to share what chairman and director of missions for the ENBA Mark Elliott called its current reality meaning the current condition of the local church in each respective area and its surrounding culture. Patterson spoke positively about the MBCs experience with a regional church planting strategy as they worked with Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas leaders to see five Hispanic churches started along with an ongoing training center in Joplin. Kurt Simon expressed the MBCs desire to partner with churches in the region to see indigenous contextual churches planted. He went on to speak about five areas in which the conventions could work together: prayer, including the possibility of combining vision tours with prayer walking; developing a marketing campaign with theme, dreams, and compelling stories; partnership development that would link churches and associations; raising up leaders from the harvest for the harvest; and developing a learning cohort mindset to identify best practices across the region. From the Baptist Convention of Iowas perspective, there must be a strategy that is focused on small-town, rural areas if western Iowa is going to be evangelized. The Dakota Baptist Convention has a strong emphasis on churches planting churches rather than the convention planting churches. They are looking for partners to work with them. And they want to see churches strengthened in key cities along I-29, including Sioux Falls, Grand Forks and Fargo/Moorhead. Jon Sapp from the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists shared data about four predominantly rural counties in northeast Kansas that are part of the Flint Hills Baptist Association: Atchison, Doniphan, Brown, and Douglas. Omaha will be both a sending area and a church planting area due to its large population and growing ethnic population. An effective rural strategy would need to be developed to reach the small towns in Nebraska. David Sundeen from the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention said that particular Convention has a 30-year strategy and is working closely with the Dakota Convention along the western Minnesota border. The task force discussed including the I-35 corridor from Kansas City to Duluth, but the consensus was that it would be too much to handle at this time. With all of that in mind, the task force spent the better part of the afternoon identifying hub cities along the corridor where healthy, reproducing churches are needed that would in turn have an impact in those regions. The following cities were identified and prioritized as hub cities: Sioux Falls, SD; Grand Forks, ND; Fargo, ND-Moorhead, Minn.; Winnipeg, MT (if the Canadian Convention is interested in partnering); Sioux City, IA; Council Bluffs, IA and Omaha/Lincoln, NE; and St. Joseph, MO.

Recently I have participated in two volunteer opportunities. Love Houston was the opportunity for outreach before the Southern Baptist Convention held in Houston in early June. Again this year as in earlier years, I found the opportunity of sharing the good news of knowing the Lord a highlight of being at that meeting. Secondly, the Flint Hills Association held an Acts 1:8 Missions Day. That too was a very positive experience of working with volunteers from the churches of the Flint Hills and Ridgewood Baptist Church in Arkansas. Debbie Carter captured the excitement and benefit of working together in making Christ known. Acts 1:8 in La Harpe = 11 Professions of Faith More than 100 Flint Hills volunteers and 11 from Forrest City, Arkansas converged on La Harpe, Kansas June 15 for Acts 1:8 Missions Day. Planning began months ago when Carl Weatherford, Pastor at Ridgewood Baptist Church in Forrest City, Arkansas contacted Duwayne and Debbie Bearden, Church Planters in La Harpe and Richard Taylor, Flint Hills Director of Missions about the possibility of an Acts 1:8 Missions Day in La Harpe. The Ridgewood Baptist Church Mission team had strong ties with the Beardens and their ministry, so there was an existing partnership with La Harpe and Ridgewood Baptist Church. That partnership soon grew to include other Flint Hills Churches. The planning began months ago with prayer. Praying for the community, for Duwayne and Debbie, and for volunteers to serve in La Harpe on June 15. Praying about the needs in the community and how

Why is Sioux Falls at the top of the list? Sioux Falls has 240,000 people and four Southern Baptist churches, Simon said. Theres a huge need there compared to other places. These hubs cities are just the starting point of the vision. The plan is to concentrate on them initially, and then to branch out into the more rural communities that surround them. Its kind of like Omaha Beach in World War II, according to Elliott, Unless you get a toehold on the beach, you are not going to move inland. So its establishing that toehold, taking the beach and then taking the land. Thats the end game. In light of the challenges of the each region, Elliott suggested that the task force use the imagery of transitioning from a Matt. 9:38 era to a Luke 10:2 time frame. In both passages Jesus said the same thing: Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. In the Matthew passage, Jesus was sending out the 12. In the Luke passage, his disciple base had expanded and he sent out the 72. The emphasis in both passages is for the disciples to be intentional about raising up leaders from the harvest, for the harvest. But as the church grew, more believers took the gospel to more regions. Were taking it to another level to a broader base in which we are more intentional, Elliott said during the meeting. The task force identified three specific next steps: to schedule vision and prayer tours; having each convention develop a specific needs list to include city profiles, ways churches can partner, planting and strengthening opportunities; and identifying stories that accentuate the culture of each area that can be used to motivate interest in partnership opportunities.

JULY 2013

Bowies Retire from IMB after 34 Years of Service

(Editors note: Southern Baptist missionaries Ken and Linda Bowie retired on April 1, 2013, after 34 years of service in Peru and Chile with the International Mission Board. They are both Kansas natives. They bought a house in Crowley, Texas, on the south edge of Fort Worth and are living near their three daughters and six grandchildren.) The Limar River flows from the Andes Mountains in northern Chile down to the small fishing village La Caleta, Limar, on the Pacific Ocean. Ovalle is the capital of the Limar province and is a commercial center where people from more than 250 small towns in the valley come to buy or sell produce, bank and do other business. There are only four small, struggling Baptist churches in Ovalle, one in Alcones and none in the other towns. Most of these towns have no evangelical church, although a few have small Pentecostal churches. There are many barriers that have caused church planting here to be discouraging and difficult. Chileans here dont easily open their homes to others. This means that those teaching the Bible have to repeat the same Bible study in several different homes in the same town. Also, the Catholic church leaders sometimes put pressure on these people of peace to not participate with evangelicals. Spiritual warfare is evident and many believe that homes and belongings are haunted or that evil spirits come out on certain nights. Ken and Linda Bowie, International Mission Board missionaries, served as church planters in the Limar valley from 2003 to December 2012. They came back to the United States for their final stateside assignment and retired on April 1, 2013. In Chile, they tried to cast a vision among the Baptists for the need for every member to be involved in missions. They brought volunteer teams in from the United States to have evangelistic impacts in new communities, planned church-planting conferences, preached and taught biblical principles on missions. Now as they have retired from the IMB, they pray as Paul did in 2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Some of these reliable men and women who are responthat is needed. n Ibar Pareira, pastor of the Upper Room Baptist Church that meets in his garage, felt God calling his tiny congregation to start a mission in Parral de Quiles, which now has a nice church building. It is not easy to stay faithful in preparing the soil, planting the seeds and waiting for God to bring the spiritual harvest in this semi-arid desert area of the world. May Baptists in the United States stay attuned to the needs of their brothers in the Limar valley and partner to pray, encourage and help them when needed. Your prayers and gifts to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supported the Bowies during their 34 years as IMB missionaries. Now as the Bowies have retired from the International Mission Board, their mission work is not ending, just changing, they wrote in a recent e-mail newsletter. They are now working with Tom Cox World Ministries, our long-time partners, in planning strategic needs for volunteer teams going to the Americas. Tom Cox World Ministries cooperates with the International Mission Board. The Bowies do not receive a salary from Tom Cox World Ministries. They are raising their own support which should be given directly to TCWM. The link to donate on line is http:// www.tcwm.org/give/donate/ The Bowies are available to speak in Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches or at other events such as camps. We still consider ourselves as Southern Baptist missionaries (retired) who will work with Tom Cox World Ministries as ambassadors to South America, Ken said. We will purposefully try to schedule more than one event when we come into KNCSB because of our limited finances and because we know the churches and associations have limited finances. Contact Ken at kbowie@ tcwm.org

KNCSB on mission

The Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supported Ken and Linda Bowie as they served 34 years in Peru and Chile.
sible for reaching the lost of the Limar valley are: n Juan Ramirez, who is in his 70s, the only team member left. He travels two hours on a rough road every other Sunday to La Caleta, Limar. n Sunilda is a believer in La Caleta, Limar, who has promised to help a teen teach the children Bible stories on the weeks Juan doesnt come. In this poor village, people either fish or gather seaweed to earn a living. n Adriana Cerda, who relates extremely well to the rural people, because she comes from a rural family. She has family responsibilities but went to night school to finish high school. She then went to beauty school to use those skills as she goes as often as she can to the mountain towns of Tulahun and Carn, where most people work in vineyards or raise goats. n Hortencia Rojas, the lay leader of the Alcones Baptist Church, who knows there are many people, mostly seniors, living in isolated homes. She organizes her church members to make home visits to pray, teach, sing hymns and provide any food or clothing

Kansas missionaries Ken and Linda Bowie retired on April 1, 2013, after 34 years of service with the International Mission Board in Peru and Chile. They are living in Crowley, Texas, (on the south edge of Fort Worth) near their three daughters and six grandchildren. (Submitted photos)

Southern Baptist missionaries Ken and Linda Bowie, who are Kansas natives, served in northern Chile from 2003 to December 2012. They retired on April 1, 2013, after 34 years of service in Chile and Peru. The Bowies lived in Ovalle, Chile, which is the capital of the Limar province. It is a commercial center, where people from more than 250 small towns in the valley come to buy or sell produce, bank, and do other business. (Below) Men gather seaweed in La Caleta, Limar. There are only a few, struggling Baptist churches in the province.

JULY 2013

Thank you for supporting the Cooperative Program

kncsb CAMPUS MINISTRY

Southern Baptist campus ministry in Kansas and Nebraska has its roots at Pittsburg State University in southeast Kansas. Keith Hamm and Charles Coleman came home from World War II and decided to attend college with their GI benefits. They chose Pittsburg State Teachers College in southeast Kansas, which was a thriving institution, according to Making a Difference: A 50-Year History of Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists. Hamm had served as a summer missionary with the Home Mission Board and wanted to stay in Kansas. To make ends meet, the two friends bought a house full of old furniture at the edge of campus at 1111 E. Cleveland St. The house was authorized by the Kansas Convention in 1947 as the Pittsburg Student House. Southern Baptist ministries soon spread to other campuses. The groups gathered for annual conventions and sent out small numbers of summer missionaries, both in the United States and abroad.

Student ministry in the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists shortly began shortly after the convention was founded in the mid-1940s. Making a Difference: A 50-Year History of Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists describes the early years of campus ministry: Campus ministry in Kansas-Nebraska began with two young men who had been involved in Baptist Student Union in Oklahoma. Keith Hamm and Charles Coleman came home from World War II and decided to attend college with their GI benefits. They chose Pittsburg State Teachers College in southeast Kansas, which was a thriving institution. Hamm had served as a summer missionary with the Home Mission Board and wanted to stay in Kansas. To make ends meet, the two friends bought a house full of old furniture at the edge of campus at 1111 E. Cleveland St. The house was authorized by the Kansas Convention in 1947 as the Pittsburg Student House. It could house 16 students upstairs and had meeting

KS-NE Campus Ministry: Rooted in the Past, Focused on the Future

space for 30-40 students downstairs. During the next 20 years, campus groups gathered for annual student conventions and sent small numbers of summer missionaries both in the United States and abroad, including Switzerland and Peru. The Baptist Digest (October 1955) describes one of the annual conventions: The third annual Baptist Student Union Convention will be held Oct. 28-29, 1955, in the Student Union Building at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. Among the speakers will be Earl Fine, furloughing missionary to Nigeria who is working on an advanced degree at Emporia State Teachers College. In 1959, four campus ministries raised $507 to send Dorothy Dehn, a KU student, as a summer missionary to Hawaii. Those campus ministries were KU, K-State, Wichita State and Pittsburg. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kansas-Nebraska campus ministry began maturing. In 1969 Yvonne Keefer was called as campus minister at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. She had served as campus minister at Washburn Univer-

sity in Topeka in 1967-68. Keefer served at KU until 1982. After leaving KU, she served as executive director of Kansas-Nebraska Womans Missionary Union from 1982 to late May 2003 when she retired. Rick Clock joined the staff at the University of Kansas in 1980. He assumed the leadership after Keefer went to KNCSB. In August 1972 Bob and Sandie Anderson arrived in Manhattan, Kan., to begin serving at Kansas State University. They shared a rental truck with Brett and Mary Yohn who moved to Lincoln, Neb., to serve at the University of Nebraska. The summer of 2013 finds Rick Clock retiring after 33 years of service at the University of Kansas. Bob and Sandie Anderson along with Brett and Mary Yohn are retiring after 40-year careers. From humble roots in Pittsburg, Kan., KNCSB campus ministries are flourishing. Both students and alumni of KNCSB campus ministries are helping to fulfill the Great Commission in the United States and around the world.

JULY 2013

Bob Anderson Retires After 40 Years at K-State

As a high-school senior, Brad Waggoner was saved but not growing in the Lord. He grew up on a ranch north of the little town of Henry, Neb., west of Scottsbluff on the Nebraska-Wyoming state line. He went to high school in Morrill, Neb. During his senior year he prayed, Take me to college where I can grow. At this time the small group that made up the Kansas State University Baptist Student Union (now called Christian Challenge) was praying for the freshmen who would be coming to campus the following fall. The fall 1975 semester found Bob and Sandie Anderson beginning their third year of ministry at K-State. And Waggoner arrived on campus to begin his freshman year. Upon arriving in Manhattan, Brad and a friend drove around town looking for a Bible. They ended up at an office-supply store where Dave Edwards, one of the BSU-ers, was running the cash register. They started a conversation and Dave helped
Brad and his friend get involved in BSU, where they were discipled. Waggoner began to see God answer his prayer about growing spiritually. He described his

KNCSB campus ministry

The life that Bob taught about from his pulpit was the life I observed him living.

Bob Kolb

experiences at K-State during the 2012 Kansas-Nebraska Pastors Conference. The event preceded the mid-October KNCSB annual meeting at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. During the next nine months Waggoner experienced no less than a transformation of the mind and heart. At first, reading the Bible was difficult. But in the spring of his freshman year, the Word of God became alive. said. Waggoner also started memorizing Scripture. For me, it was a whole new experi-

ence when I got to K-State and started memorizing Scripture. Brad is a 1979 graduate of KState. He and his wife, Patti, met during their freshman year and were married in 1980. Waggoners testimony is just one of the stories that can be told by the thousands of people who have been touched by the ministry of Bob and Sandie Anderson. They retired in May after 40 years of service at K-State and are now exploring new ministry opportunities. Bob Kolb was part of the Andersons ministry in the mid1980s. He lived in their home for a short time after graduating. Sandie taught me several of my most memorable life lessons, one while helping her fold the laundry. In her gentle but firm way, she taught me to be attentive and respectful of what is important to others around me. I also watched how she and Bob interacted with their kids. Read more at https:// www.dropbox.com/ s/8mk8yq45q91mgnf/Bob_and_ Sandie_Anderson.docx

The end of the school year in May found Bob and Sandie Anderson stepping down from 40 years of ministry at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan. They are exploring how God wants to continue using them and hope to spend more time with their family. Sandie Anderson is now in her second term as the Kansas-Nebraska representative on the board of trustees of the International Mission Board. She also serves on the Strategic Planning Team for Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. (Photo by Derek Taylor)

JULY 2013

Bob Anderson (left) and Brett Yohn attended the 1984 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo. (KNCSB file photo)

Bob Anderson (center) has had an international impact in a quiet way, said Brad Waggoner, a former student who is now a vice president at LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, Tenn. Anderson and his wife, Sandie, stepped down from their 40-year ministry at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., in May. Here, Anderson is pictured at a K-State Christian Challenge meeting in 2005. (Midwestern Seminary photo)

Rick Clock Retires after 33 Years of Service at KU

As the fall 2012 semester was winding down, many Kansas-Nebraska college students were taking their final exams and looking forward to spending the holidays with their families. But a team of KNCSB students started their Christmas holidays by serving in Hurricane Sandy relief in New York City. The team leader was Rick Clock, Southern Baptist campus minister at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. I had an excellent team of students. The students were hard working and good-spirited servants, Clock said. They were a blessing to many of the victims of Hurricane Sandy. For Clock, leading student mission teams was one of his passions during his 33 years with University Christian Fellowship, the Southern Baptist ministry at KU. He retired in May. But Clock did not use his final semester in full-time ministry as an opportunity to slow down he led a student mission team to Chicago during spring break. The University of Kansas is world-renown for its academics, research and of course, basketball. However, it is a hard environment for being a Christian. Jill Pittman Adams, a 2002 KU graduate, described KU as a liberal campus where anything goes. As a KU student, Adams received spiritual encouragement from University Christian Fellowship. She called UCF my family at KU. Bob Anderson praised Clock for his faithful ministry at KU. Anderson retired in May after serving 40 years as the Southern Baptist campus minister at Kansas State University, Manhattan. Rick has very loyally and consistently reached out to a tough campus, Anderson said. He has hung in there in a tough ministry situation. Anyone would agree that KU is a tough ministry field. Clocks career in campus ministry had its roots in his days as a student at Emporia State University in the 1970s. Floyd and Mildred Smith led

KNCSB CAMPUS MINISTRY

the Baptist Student Union there. They ended their full-time ministry career at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. The Smiths are now semi-retired and live in Rose Hill, Kan., near Wichita. We had a guy come in one night. I dont know what his purpose was, Floyd Smith recalled. He started challenging what I was saying. Rick pulled up a chair and started asking him challenging questions. Floyd and Rick met regularly at a restaurant in Emporia. Smith recalled how Clock kept asking him, How do I know if God is calling me? Smiths reply was, God doesnt pitch fastballs to try to strike you out. Keep doing what youre doing and He will show you. Clock found his calling in student ministry. He served quietly, but very effectively, in his 33 years at KU. Mildred Smith said of Clock and his wife, Gay Lynn, I guess the most important thing you can say about them is they have always had a heart for the Lord and a heart for people.

Missions has always been a passion for Rick Clock throughout his entire ministry career. Clock retired at the end of the school year after 33 years of leading University Christian Fellowship, the Southern Baptist ministry at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He led a spring-break mission team to Chicago. The group is pictured in the photo below left. Clock is on the back row in the hooded green jacket. Just before Christmas 2012 Clock led a student team to New York City to serve in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The team served on Staten Island with a student effort sponsored by the North American Mission Board. (Submitted photos)

JULY 2013

Rick Clock (right) and members of Starlight kept worship lively during the 1987 KNCSB fall student retreat at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. Starlight was the worship team from University Christian Fellowship at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Clock retired in May after leading UCF for 33 years. (KNCSB file photo)

Brett Yohn Retires after 40 Years at UNL

Nothing has changed, but everything has changed. That is what Brett Yohn wrote in a blog in mid-August 2012 as he prepared for his final year of leading Christian Challenge, the Southern Baptist ministry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. For 40 years I have watched students wade into the Big Red river called the University of Nebraska, Yohn wrote. God has enabled and empowered Mary and me along with over 50 staff members through the years to live the Gospel upward, inward, and outward. We have seen students lives transformed. We have seen students waste their time here. Some have moved toward God; others have moved away from God. Choices are made that will forever change their lives and their eternities. It is a sobering privilege to stand on the banks of the Big Red river and contemplate what this year will bring, Yohn said of the 2012-2013 school year. Nothing has changed in 40 years here although everything has changed. Through the highs and lows of student ministry, the Yohns have been a team in reaching students. Many of the relationships that began on the UNL campus or other places have turned into life-long friendships. Monte Johnson and his wife,

KNCSB CAMPUS MINISTRY

asked me to meet him for coffee, I just knew that I was supposed to go! Seven and one-half years later we stopped meeting for coffee. During that time, Brett poured his life into mine and as a result, I will forever be grateful to God for Brett! From my perspective Brett never wanted anything from me he just wanted to give of himself, just like Paul did with Timothy, Johnson said. In 1982, the Johnson and Yohn families went on vacation together to western Nebraska and South Dakota. The couples each had two daughters. Monte Johnson recalled, Mary was the stable rudder who kept the ship from sinking when Brett and I wanted to leave our girls and continue on without them (just kidding)! It was not a real big van! Jim Catsinas and his wife, the former Ramona Godkin, also were part of the Yohns ministry in the 1970s. The Catsinas family farms near Waverly, Neb., east of Lincoln. Ramona serves her family and is a yeararound volunteer for Operation Christmas Child. As I think back to my college days at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I believe Brett and BSU, as it was called then, had a much greater impact on my life than anything else I learned or did in college, Jim Catsinas said. Brett and Mary and the BSU became family to me. We were part of a team. We were in Brett and Marys home so often, always with something to eat or drink. There were Bible studies, weekly meetings, guest speakers, retreats, summer training and trips to Oklahoma, Colorado and Florida. The purpose of all of these activities was to draw us closer to God and help us to learn that Jesus has plans for us and how He wants us to love and how He speaks to us through His Word. We had so much fun and made so many memories. We made lifelong friendships. Today I can still call Brett and ask a question and know he will give me an honest answer, Catsinas said.

[Brett] just wanted to give of himself, just like Paul did with Timothy.

Monte C. Johnson

Phyllis, were part of the Yohns ministry in the 1970s. He will be the keynote speaker for the banquet Saturday, Aug. 3, during the KNCSB campus ministry reunion at the Sheraton Hotel at the Convention Center, Overland Park, Kan. Shortly after my Damascus Road event with God, our paths crossed when God sent Brett as my Ananias! I had learned to be skeptical/protective of what others wanted from me, Johnson recalled. However, when Brett

The end of the school year in May found Brett and Mary Yohn stepping down after 40 years of ministry at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. They have served as a team throughout their entire ministry. The Yohns are now exploring what God has planned for their future. (Photo by Derek Taylor) Brett helped connect us with Jesus Christ which then has impacted everything in my life. The influence of Brett and Mary Yohn has extended far beyond the UNL campus. Richard Casebolt met Brett through the collegiate ministry study program at Midwestern Seminary, Kansas City, Mo. He and his family now serve in the inner city of Kansas City. I was greatly impressed with Bretts practical insights into the life of a college minister, and I have been encouraged by his lifestyle of discipleship, Casebolt said. I was privileged to enjoy Brett and Marys hospitality when I visited the campus ministry at UNL back in 2001 and stayed overnight in their home. Although that was over 10 years ago, I remember the warmth of hospitality shown to me. As a newly engaged seminary student I was encouraged by their marriage story and closeness. I vividly remember going on a prayer walk with Brett where we knelt in the center of the UNL football field and prayed for God to receive the glory normally devoted to the game played on that field, Casebolt said. Bretts devotion to the Lord, commitment to the Great Commission and relational style made an impression that continues to encourage me today. Although Brett and Mary Yohn are stepping down from full-time student ministry, they will continue to serve as God opens doors. Read more at https:// www.dropbox.com/ s/9r8rvxmphhf1jou/brett_and_ mary_yohn.docx

Bob Anderson (left), Yvonne Keefer and Brett Yohn played major roles in the growth and maturity of campus ministry in Nebraska and Kansas. This photo was taken on Feb. 6, 1998, when the three were honored for 25 years of service with KNCSB. Keefer served as campus minister at the University of Kansas in Lawrence from 1969-1982. Before that, she served for two years at Washburn University, Topeka. Keefer served as executive director of Kansas-Nebraska Womans Missionary Union from 1982 to late May 2003. Anderson and Yohn stepped down in May 2013 after 40 years of campus ministry. Anderson served at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., and Yohn led the Southern Baptist campus ministry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

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KNCSB on mission

KNCSB Responds to Tornados, Colorado Fires

Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists have been the heart and hands of Jesus in areas hit by recent natural disasters. A devastating tornado hit Moore, Okla., on Monday, May 20. The EF5 tornado measuring 2 miles wide tore through the Moore community for approximately 14 miles. It was on the ground for nearly 45 minutes. KNCSB sent heavy-equipment debris removal teams to Moore. Teams were sent by: Central Baptist Association; South Central Baptist Association; NewSpring Church, Wichita; and Lenexa Baptist Church, Lenexa, Kan. Southern Baptists are committed to a long-term ministry in Oklahoma. When everyone else gets tired, we reload, Sam Porter told Baptist Press. Porter is disaster relief director for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Well be here until we are not needed anymore. Another round of tornados came through the Oklahoma City area Friday night, May 31. The same weather system that hit Oklahoma City during rush hour Friday night, May 31, went on to hit neighborhoods in St. Louis later that night, said Larry Thomas, KNCSB director of disaster relief. Lora Robinson and Sean Schraeder accompanied me to stand up an Incident Manage-

ment operation in support of Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief efforts, Thomas said. The incident command center in St. Louis shut down on Thursday, June 13. But Southern Baptists will continue to serve people in the St. Louis area who were affected by the May 31 tornados. After the KNCSB incidentcommand team left St. Louis, KNCSBs attention turned to Colorado where wildfires have been raging. As The Digest was going to press, the disaster-relief laundry and shower units from Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association were stationed in Black Forest, Colo., in the Colorado Springs area. Local volunteers were operating the two units. Details had not been finalized for KNCSBs possible additional response to the Colorado wildfires. Go to Facebook and like Kansas-Nebraska Disaster Relief for current information. Your contributions to KNCSB Disaster Relief will help KNCSB teams serve in areas hit by natural disasters. Please make donations out to KNCSB and put Disaster Relief in the memo line. Send contributions to KNCSB, Attn: Disaster Relief, 5410 SW 7th St, Topeka, KS 66606.

KNCSB Disaster Relief volunteer Jeff Thomson helps clear property of damaged trees at a home in Moore, Okla., after the May 20 tornado. Thomson is a member of CrossPoint Baptist Church, Hutchinson, Kan. He is disaster-relief coordinator for Central Baptist Association in Kansas and served with the associations team in Moore. (NAMB photos by John Swain)

Central Asia Vision Trip Set for Nov. 11-20

The Central Asia team needs partners to help us share the Gospel in the most un-evangelized area in the world. We need people and churches that will fall in love with the Central Asian people and will pray for them and seek to engage them with the Gospel. We have discovered that the best way for U.S. churches to catch a vision for mission work among our peoples is to have representatives from the churches to come over and work alongside us for a few days. They can meet the people, meet our team leadership, taste the food, enjoy the warm hospitality and then to carry back to U.S. churches a report what they saw the Lord do while they were here. We would like to invite you to participate with us in a short-term vision trip to Central Asia where you will have the opportunity to meet the key personnel working in our country, to see a few sites from biblical history and experience what Gospel sharing looks like in the Muslim context. Please come over and see the work, then carry the message back to the U.S. churches. The date of the vision tour is Nov. 11-20. This includes a Seven Churches tour as well as meeting with leaders throughout the area to discuss potential partnerships with stateside groups. The cost of the trip is approximately $1,200 plus airfare. This includes all lodging, meals and in-country transportation. For more information, contact Ron Pracht at ron@olivetwichita.com

JULY 2013

Chaplain Brian Rothrock of Lenexa, Kan., signs a Bible he presented to Moore, Okla., homeowners Lindsay (left) and Lannette Phillips (center) who survived the EF5 tornado that struck the city on Monday, May 20. Rothrock is facilities manager at Lenexa Baptist Church. He served with the churchs disaster-relief team in Moore. Go to Facebook and like Kansas-Nebraska Disaster Relief for current information about KNCSB disaster relief.

Two Kansas ministers died recently after long, courageous battles with cancer. John Spradlin, 64, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Arkansas City, Kan., died Thursday night, May 23, at his home. He also had served at First Southern Baptist Church, Cherryvale, Kan., for many years. Kerry Baker, 57, music minister at Cedar Pointe Baptist Church in Wichita, passed away on Monday, June 17, after a valiant battle with cancer. John Spradlins funeral was held on Tuesday, May 28, at First Southern Baptist Church, Arkansas City. Burial was in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. John was born at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 20, 1948, to James J. and Margaret (Brennan) Spradlin. John was raised on many Air Force Bases up and down the Eastern Seaboard. After his fathers retirement, he graduated from Wheaton High School, Wheaton, Md. He attended college at Tennessee Temple of Chattanooga, Tenn., and graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary of Ankeny, Iowa. He later received teaching credentials from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kan. He married Kathy Carter on Nov. 20, 1969, in Winterset, Iowa. Among the survivors are his wife of the home and two sons

Remembering Faithful Servants

KNCSB on mission

John Jr. of Ladera Ranch, Calif., and Aaron Spradlin of Arkansas City. A memorial has been established with First Southern Baptist Church, 138 E. Kansas Ave., Arkansas City, KS 67005. Online condolences may be made at http://www.rindt-erdman.com/ The funeral for Kerry Baker was held Saturday, June 22, at Cedar Pointe Baptist Church. Kerry graduated from Sedgwick High School in 1973 and Friends University with a bachelors degree in fine arts in 1991. Along with his church ministry, Baker was a long-time member of the Kansas-Nebraska Singing Men. He was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Baker, mother, Joyce Baker, and infant son, Kerry Baker. Among the survivors are his wife of 37 years, Michelle Baker, and his daughters, Jacelyn Baker, Rachel Hutson, Elizabeth Baker and Jessica Baker, his granddaughters, Madelyn Baker and Kylee Hutson, all of Wichita. Memorials may be sent to Cedar Pointe Baptist Church, 9221 E 31st St S., Wichita, KS 67210-5101. Watson Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be sent to the family at http://watsonfuneral. com/fh/home/home.cfm?fh_ id=10235

Webster Conference Center was quiet on a recent morning. But the scene is much different as campers gather for large-group recreation. Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists are asked to pray for unsaved campers at Super Summer, which ends on Friday, Aug. 2. In other activity at WCC, contributions are coming in for the $50,000 matching challenge grant. It will be used for constructing a new addition to the Dining Hall. Make contributions out to Webster Conference Center, designate them for Matching Grant and send them to KNCSB, 5410 SW 7th St., Topeka, KS 66606-2398.

WCC Update
n Join us in prayer each MondayThe WCC Board of Directors has agreed to pray each Monday for the camps being conducted at WCC this summer. All of our Associations have completed their summer camps at WCC and Hispanic Super Summer was completed on June 21. Please pray for the students as they return to their homes and churches to begin living out the truths they learned at camp. Likewise, please continue to pray for Summer Summer 13 that runs from June 24-August 2. n User Days continue to be strong: Year-to-date User Days are 13,351 while revenues are $236,323.60. Attendance is slightly down from last years record high, but the revenues to date are a new record. n The 2013 $50,000 Matching Challenge Grant to fund the Dining Hall expansion project reached $21,561.94 as of June 17, 2013. To participate in this project, send tax deductible gifts to: 2013 Matching Challenge Grant; 5410 SW 7th Street; Topeka, KS 66606-2398. Make checks payable to WCC. n The flood plain and sprinkler questions have been resolved with the State of Kansas which will now enable WCC to move forward with developing working drawings for the Dining Hall expansion project. n Thank you for your prayers, financial support and usage of WCC. Thank you for your continued support of this mission facility as we continue to reach people for Christ and train believers for the work of the ministry! The WCC Staff

JULY 2013

Cooperative Program: KNCSBs Lifeblood for Carrying out the Great Commission 10

www.thearkontablerocklake.wordpress.com James & Marilyn Easley (417-271-4530 or jeasleyark@yahoo.com

Retreats - Camps

The Ark

www.knwomen.com
Keeping Intimacy Alive in Marriage
Debra Bonds
WWW Life Session Leader

Wonderful Weekend for Women

Cherie Tapahonso
KNCSB Women 4 Him Team

If the saying everyone is chasing after something is true, what are you chasing? That is the question women attending this years Wonderful Weekend for Women (WWW) conference will be asking themselves. This years conference will be held on September 13th & 14th, at Webster Conference Center in Salina, Kansas. Chasing after the heart of God, is the theme with scripture emphasis from Jeremiah 29:13, And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. Guests include Jennie Allen, author of her most recent bible study entitled, Chase. Joining her this year is Rachael Lampa, Christian singer and songwriter, known for such hits as Live for you, Blessed, and You Lift Me Up. So prepare yourself to be challenged, as we discover the heart of God through the life of David. See you this fall!

Theology for Dress Code A Personal Interupption

The whole dress code thing on campus can bring quite a stir. On one hand we can become too light-hearted and act as if there should be no dress code, and on the other we become legalistic and attack. As the Dean of Women, I have struggled much on this issue because it is my heart to train up leaders. My first and foremost concern is about the student becoming the leader that will best equip them in the area of ministry they seek to serve. Focusing on the outward condition seems superficial, but the reality is that researchers say that impressions are made in the first 3 to 5 seconds. I know of a womens leader who struggled getting accepted in the mid-western culture because of her attire. Coming from the southern culture it was nothing to wear a bikini or tank tops and short shorts. But, upon arrival in a new culture the women did not accept her as their leader because her attire did not conform to their standards. No, her clothes did not define the condition of her heart, but it did prevent her from reaching the very hearts of the ones she sought to serve. She had to learn to conform to the culture she served in. She had to discover what Paul said, When in Rome, I become like the Romans. Dress code is so much more than an issue of dressing right. It is more about learning how to live and respect the culture with which you serve. While talking with God on this topic, several thoughts came to mind. If I enforce certain aspects of the dress code then I will have students complain. How should I handle this? God pricked my heart with this question, Did the Israelites complain? Suddenly, complaints by students about the dress code didnt seem so daunting. Questions for reflection: 1. How does what I am wearing cause another to honor Philippians 4:8? Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8 2. How does what I wear honor Jesus command to deny myself and follow Him? 3. How can I honor the culture in which I live and serve by what I wear? By Patti Boswell
KNCSB Ministry Wives Consultant

Dont let the enemy win. We must make intimate time for each other. It doesnt start and stop in the bedroom. Start the romance early in the morning. Here are a few suggestions: As you wake up, acknowledge each other with a kind word, a back rub, holding a hand, or cuddling. Be intentional before you leave to start the day. Sometime during the day, call to say, I love you; make it nice and sweet and short. Or, stick a nice note in their lunch, pocket or briefcase put it wherever he or she will see it. Step out of your box and be creativethe prayer line to Christ is always open! Just rememberif you dont make it intentional, intimacy can go stale. So come on lets take back this part of Gods creation, and use it to please our spouse. Have FUN!

By now, I hope that you have come to the realization that God created sex. Genesis 4:1 says, And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bare You can read the rest, but you get the idea. Just so theres no doubt, the Word is very clear about what knew means - it goes on to say she conceived. Theres only one immaculate conception that I know about, so anything else takes action of the part of you and your spouse. All through the Word of God we can find references to sex and its enjoyment in marriage. The enemy is out to kill and destroy, in every area of a Christians life, and guess what? Intimacy in a marriage is not off limits. As a matter of fact, he has a bulls-eye target aimed right at Christian marriages. Husbands and wives must take back what God gave us for our pleasure.

(Feel free to contact me at tararye@tararye.com.)

Simply, Tara

The morning worship service had just begun with a choral reading. I zipped into my regular spot in the choir loft, front row, center. The spotlight seemed especially bright today as if it actually was that penetrating light of the Holy Spirit, peering into my heart as no other can. We continued the reading, as I squinted out the words from the monitor: I will love you with Ok, Id been a little rushed from my morning responsibilities and duties, so my heart wasnt quite with my head as yet, but I joined in with the choir. I participated in the reading at the appropriate times, but suddenly as we continued the reading, and I internalized the words on the screen: I will love you with my whole heartMy WHOLE heart. Whoa! Suddenly I was awake and everything was crystal clear. That spotlight was amazingly hot and I felt like I was in a room all by myself with God. The director

was moving us on to the first song, but inside my heart was screaming, Wait! I need to stop here a minute. I needed to hang onto this line a minute and do a little self-check. I think my voice went on to sing whatever song was next, but inside Im going through a mental checklist! I will love you with my whole heart. Do my actions show this? Lord, help me to truly put self aside, the cares of the world aside, personal preferences aside, my own fears and inhibitions, and anything else that would stand in the way of my loving you with all my heart. Lord, thanks for this personal interruption in the Order of Service today! Help us to all be aware of your presence, and never go through the motions of worship. You know, Hes waiting to speak to each one of us, Sunday morning, and every other morning of the week! Listen for Him. Restore us, O Lord God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. Psalm 80:19 Blessings, Patti 11

July 2013

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