Youth Future

Our Youth Are the Future of the Church

The 38th annual Southeastern District Conference, cleverly scheduled on July 28-30, was led by moderator Jim Hoffman on the theme, "Mostly Together in God's Presence." Emphasising that the youth are the future of the church, but not the present, a total of 94 delegates represented 27 congregations, and a total of 167 adults were in attendance while youth and leaders who were returning home from National Youth Conference in Colorado.

A time was held during the business to have small group discussions as part of the denominational study process Mostly Together: Conversations on Being the Church. Discussion focused on the question, "What does it mean to be the church today?" This was a very productive time of conversation, co-executive minister Martha Roudebush reported. Saturday night's insight session provided leadership training for individuals to lead their congregations in this conversation.

Roudebush said that the district faced a "productive" situation this year. "The parliamentarian was at National Youth Conference," she said, "and the moderator-elect was also at NYC."

ILWI Query

District to Close More Congregations

The Illinois/Wisconsin district, which has seen several congregations close over the past several years, is continuing to do its best at continuing this trend.

After several congregations were unable to pass a query to their district conference, a new query has been proposed.

Proposed Query: The Church of the Brethren Position on Sin Whereas, our Lord Jesus Christ warned us that we should "not think that" He "came to abolish the Law or the Prophets...but to fulfill" the Word of God since "not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law...." (Matt. 5:17-18); Whereas, there is continued confusion about the issue of sin in the Church of the Brethren; Whereas, there is more confusion about sin and much promotion of sinners in our culture; Whereas, there are leaders in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ inside and outside of our denomination who are refusing to call sin "sinful," who are allowing sinners to become official Church members and leaders in good standing, and who are uniting sinners in ceremonies; Whereas, the Scriptures plainly teach that those who do not repent of sin cannot become nor be members or leaders in good standing in the Church (Matt. 18:15-20, 1 Cor. 5:13); Whereas, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ compels our Churches to minister to sinners by calling them to repent so that they can become transformed as God intended and become new creatures in Christ (Luke 13:5, Acts 17:30, 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 2 Cor. 5:17, Rev. 3:19); Therefore, we, the undersigned Churches, meeting in our Church Councils do hereby bring the following query: Will the Church of the Brethren explicitly and plainly state that sin is sin, and will the Church of the Brethren forbid those persons who engage in or promote sinful behavior from becoming or continuing as members in the Church? Action: Proposing unanimous approval by the Astoria Church of the Brethren Church Council in Astoria, IL; by the Allison Prairie Church of the Brethren Church Council in Lawrenceville, IL; the Cherry Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Lanark, IL; the Walnut Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Noble, IL; the LaMotte Prairie Church of the Brethren Church Council in Palestine, IL; the Martin Creek Church of the Brethren Church Council in Fairfield, IL; the Oak Grove Church of the Brethren Church Council in Washburn, IL; the Romine Church of the Brethren Church Council in Salem, IL; the Oakley Brick Church of the Brethren Church Council in Cerro Gordo, IL; and the Virden Church of the Brethren Church Council in Virden, IL.

The Power of the Purse

NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF THE MICHIGAN COB CONGREGATIONS HAVE CHOSEN TO WITHHOLD CONTRIBUTIONS to the District. Michigan District, already in difficult circumstances, has 22 congregations. The "power of the purse" often has a sobering effect on those who would take the Church of the Brethren in unbiblical directions.

It's also been said that a delegate to another District Conference spoke of how much money a specific congregation has given to the District. Is this what it has come down to ... money?

"A friend of mine calls this 'lawlessness.' Why should any congregation heed the larger denomination?"

[Ah... the irony - The Editors]

Smoke 'em If You Got 'em

Once again the Southeastern District Board is calling on their district youth to boycott a Brethren event. This time around, they've asked the district's youth to boycott District Conference at "inclusive" Mars Hill College because Conference planners moved the location away from the conservative Johnson Bible College.

Manifest Destiny?

Jim Yaussy Albright, District Executive of the Illinois/Wisconsin District announced today that congregations that forfeit leadership within the district of South/Central Indiana District would be invited to join the Illinois/Wisconsin District. "Due to the closing of several congregations over the past few years we could use some additional leadership here." When concerns were raised about the ability of these new leaders to attend meetings, Jim pointed out that most people don't go to most of the meetings anyway.

Those who think that the Illinois/Wisconsin District should stay within it's geographical boundaries are reminded that the district is following the lead of the Atlantic Northeast District which includes a congregation in Maine, and the Pennsylvania Southern District which includes a congregation in Vermont.

The Illinois/Wisconsin District is also claiming Kentucky, which will be an issue at the Ohio Southern District Conference, October 11 and 12th.