• Do You Remember Me?
I attended the Student Missionary Conference a week ago at the Biola University campus in La Mirada, CA. At the Missionary/Exhibitor orientation meeting a young lady approached me and said, ” I am Jennifer Johnson, I remember that you were the camp speaker at a summer camp at Quaker Meadows when I was a child. Do you remember me? It caught me off guard, for a minute. Then, I noticed her mother standing next to her. Of course, I remembered her.
Just a few weeks earlier…
• Pineapple Pine Tree?
What is this Pine Tree called? I do not really know, but I think it should be called the Pineapple Pine Tree. This really neat pine tree is located on the grounds of our church, Whittier Area Community Church. These brown seed cones look like miniature pineapples sitting upright on the limbs, and that green topnot is “way too kool.” We have several of these trees on the grounds, they are fascinating. I have observed many people stop and comment on this unusual specimen of evergreen. I did a search to find out what these trees are called, but finally, after not finding it, I concluded that it was…
• Playground for India Kids
Build A Playground for Mission School, Kidana, Gugurat, India
The India Web is coordinating the building of a playground with Kids Around the World and Sathyam Ministries of India.
In 2002 there was a devastating earthquake in the Indian State of Gugurat. When our missionary Chako Vadavana (C.V.) arrived on the scene to provide humanitarian relief, he discovered that all the schools in the region were destroyed. Burdened about what he experienced there, he purchased some land and started building a school for the Hindu children.
Since then, Sathyam Ministries has continued to build. So today…
• Biola’s Last President Passed
It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of our beloved friend and leader, President Emeritus Clyde Cook.
After returning from speaking in Houston, Dr. Cook was at home on Friday evening, April 11, with his wife Anna Belle when he passed away and entered the presence of the Lord.
This news has stunned us all. We grieve deeply with Anna Belle, Laura, Craig and their family. I promised Anna Belle that night that their Biola University family would prayerfully stand with them through these days of extraordinary loss.
Dr. Cook was long loved by this community and has truly impacted the world for the Lord Jesus Christ through an influence on countless lives. We will miss him dearly.
Barry H. Corey
President
• U.S. Church Demographics
I ran across this interesting demographic research of the distribution of denominations. This research was produced by the Glenmary Research Center (a Catholic group). The fine print indicates that the County designations are based on the total number of adherents reported by each church body divided by the county population in 2000. Majority counties are areas in which the leading church body claims 50 percent or more of the population. I thought this was very interesting. (if you double click a couple times on the map, it will enlarge)
What would be some of the implications of this research in your opinion?
• A Fragile Jury System?
On the occasion of my recent Jury Duty experience this week, I observed once again just how fragile our justice system can be. I have been called upon over the years to perform my just and right obligation to serve my community. In the early years with four children and being the only provider of my family, it was a considerable hardship to serve. As the sole provider, I had many reasons for not serving. However, in more recent years, with grown children, these reasons no longer exist.
So now, annually, it seems, or at least the last five or six years, being “summoned” has become a regular thing. In all these years, I have been seated two times, and in both cases, after being seated in the courtroom, they immediately took a recess and the attorney’s conferred in chambers and settled out of court. So I have never served on a Jury to adjudicate either the misdomeaner or a criminal case.
• News: India-Web Chartered
Just want to catch up with you on some India-Web News. I have become the volunteer leader of a monthly support group for our church’s missionary interests in India. This is a direct result of my going on a vision trip to India last summer. Since I have returned I have been sharing about what I experienced there. It was recommended that we apply for endorsement from our church leadership, which would give us more freedom to promote our vision for the children of India.
So the news is…we have now been officially Chartered by the Whittier Area Community Church leadership! It is now confirmed that our India-Web Charter has been approved. Yahoo! This is decidedly the biggest “single step” for our new mission work for India’s children.
What does Chartering mean?
• Confessions of a Stuck Leader
After forty, plus, years in the ministry experience, I must confess I have been “stuck” many times. “Stuck” is a kind of quagmire experience that I can “wallow in” that basically renders me immobile to forward progress. It comes when I am over committed to big events and I try to recover by being too busy with missed maintenance of my routines. It is kind of like treading water, going through all the motions, but not making any real forward motion. I think “quicksand” is a good image, because it is easy to neglect moving, appropriately for a while, and then discover the danger and the guilt when I neglect my support systems, like my wife, children, staff, or supporters.
For years, I have unsuccessfully fought…
• A Church with Closed Doors?
That’s Right! Whittier Area Community Church closed it’s doors this weekend. The doors are closed because it is Serve Weekend. This is now the third annual Serve Weekend where the whole congregation is encouraged to show love and compassion to others by practical service projects in our communities.
The mission of Serve Weekend is to reach out in the name of Jesus to encourage and uplift the community in which we live. On March 29 and 30, 2008, we closed the doors of Whittier Area Community Church and worshipped God by serving others. WACC attempted to meet the tangible needs in our community by serving in over 100 different projects of need.
So over 100 projects were organized…
• Moving Forward, & Backing Up
Would you believe it? I am making progress one step at a time? This reminds me of the dance lessons my wife and I had to take so we could dance at the weddings of our children. Progressing around the room with deliberate steps forward and back. In early February, I went to the Apple Store and purchased my first back-up hard drive to finally back up my data. I was able to solve this problem with a reasonable cost (much cheaper than I anticipated). So recently, I happily backed up all my 12 GB of data, photos and writing projects. I used Time Machine for the first time and learned more about how it worked. This opened another door to discover just what else my My MacBook Pro could do.
I have more than one friend who have been prevailing upon me to “back up.”
