The 3rd annual CES  Leadership Conference saw 107 people gathered over the weekend of September 15-17 at the Adam’s Mark in Indianapolis to review the entire scope of the ministry. Interim committees were established to look at particular areas of concern over the next year and make recommendations to the CES  Board of Directors (which is presently John, Mark and John, but that itself is under consideration).

Friday night Mark opened with a teaching on the theme verse of the conference, Titus 1:9. He introduced the use of Microsoft PowerPoint at a CES  conference (complete with remote control and a laser pointer!). This verse in Titus is a clearly stated mandate for Christian leadership:

He pointed out that the key words in the verse were the verbs "encourage" and "refute." We are not being exhorted to simply know and assert "right" doctrine, but we are to encourage  others with "healthy" [sound] teaching. Such teaching is conducive to spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health.

He also pointed out that the Greek prefix "ortho," meaning "right," is never used to modify the words for "doctrine," or "teaching." Rather the favorite scriptural modifier is "sound," or "healthy." Clearly, our Heavenly Father does not want us to become preoccupied with questions of the pure "rightness" of teaching, divorced from the effect of the teaching on the hearers and the fruit that is produced in their lives.

The necessity of "refuting" was also examined in light of the postmodern tendency of our culture to want to avoid questions of truth and error, "healthy" and unhealthy." Our motivation in refuting false teaching is not to be right but because such teaching leads to bondage and physical, mental and spiritual illness.

A memorable one-liner from this sharing was "I am tired of winning arguments. I want to win people!"

Saturday morning Mark presented (also on PowerPoint) a detailed study of the leadership principles exemplified in Acts 6:1-8 regarding the first internal problem faced by the Early Christian Church. He pointed out that the apostles solved the problem by empowering others. First, they empowered the disciples who found the seven men, who were then empowered to do the job that was required. The apostles, meanwhile, maintained a clear vision of their own calling and commitment, which was to "prayer and the ministry of the word."

Mark then gave a "State of the Onion" address (because we were peeling it a layer at a time and might weep), acquainting the participants with a scope of the history of CES , comprising our history and identity, our infrastructure, and our outreach and goals. Conclusions were drawn about the state of our ministry, which were:

· Over the past ten years we have had gradually growing support from a strong donor base--more commitment and participation from our supporters.

· Little or no growth in numbers of people enrolled in our vision.

· We need help in rethinking our infrastructure and outreach to position ourselves for the next level of growth.

In light of the above, we broke into a "brainstorming" session that divided the participants into groups of 6 and sent them to 16 "stations" around the room. These stations included:

• CES corporate structure
• Network of affiliated fellowships
• Finance committee
• Events
• Research and production
• Technology
• New video class
• Arts and music
• Marketing and advertising
• Counseling
• Women in ministry
• Leadership development
• Children’s ministry
• Youth outreach
• Minority outreach
• International outreach and translations
 

Some found it hard to keep their judgments out of the brainstorming process, which at the beginning stages is designed to generate ideas, not critique them. Each small group was given 5 minutes at each station to offer suggestions and creative ideas that might help us move ahead as a ministry. The teenagers were divided up into three groups and given their own brainstorming assignments (e.g., you have been given 30 million dollars to make a film that will appeal to 13-16 year olds but would have a Christian theme. What movie would you make?).

After lunch we conducted another exercise that allowed the participants to express their feelings about the same things they had earlier been brainstorming about. Each was given visual symbols to express their feelings about that particular area of service and ministry. The symbols were:

¤     (this really speaks to my heart)

      (a good idea, but not for me)

 #1    (this is the top priority)

 0      (I have no interest in this)

         (I am opposed to it)

 $      (this is something to invest my money in)

¹  (this is something I am willing to invest my time in)

They showed the appropriate symbol and moved to the next station and on around the room. The next morning the results were announced, and though we need to analyze it further, it seemed that just about every station had those who thought that it was the #1 priority, some who were against it, and some who wanted to put their heart into it. The diversity in the room was a reminder that "God has placed each member in the Body as it has pleased him."

Then we broke up into focus groups according to our first choice of the area we wanted to participate in. We then met in these groups and went through the ideas generated in the brainstorming session. The next morning we met in these groups again, and then had an opportunity to participate in the group that was our second choice. At the end of this process, each participant was asked to commit to serve on one interim committee for the coming year. Each committe will have a chairperson  (aren’t we being politically correct?), and will work during the year to make specific recommendations about their area of concern.

We will be sending out quarterly reports of the activities of each committee to all committee members so all can see the progress being made.

Saturday night John Schoenheit taught on "Ordination," and requested feedback from the participants about their feeling about the idea of CES  ordaining leaders in the future. Nancy Mormann closed the weekend with a wonderful exhortation to dispense grace to those whom we are trying to win to Christ and reconcile to God. She recommended a book by Phillip Yancey titled "What’s So Amazing About Grace," that has changed many lives of people that we know.

All in all, the conference accomplished what we had hoped it would. The participants reported that they felt much more included in our ministry, and could see that we were willing to shift and change as necessary in order to grow. We thank God for his grace, mercy and help during this time of transition for our ministry. We will have more to share in the next issue of The Sower  about how others can participate in the interim committees that were formed.

Recently my daughter Anita and I went to visit Earlham College down the road from us in Richmond, Indiana. It was established in 1847, rooted in Quaker beliefs and practices. One of the more interesting of these is that everyone on the campus is known by his first name, including the president of the college (he’s "Doug"). Years ago Quakers had noticed that everyone in the Bible was known by their first name, including Jesus, so they rejected all titles and last names. They also noticed that a person’s last name often related to a person’s social status or "doing" more than his real being (Carpenter, Miller, Cook, etc.).

This struck me on two counts. First, we have been operating this way since we started CES in 1988, rejecting the titles of "Reverend," "Grand Poobah," or "Imperial Goofball." I would hope that even if John Schoenheit or I get a PhD some day, we will still be "Mark" and "John" (or, as we say, "Schoenheit," to distinguish him from the 57 other Johns that populate our lives) and not insist on being called "Dr." I have recently assumed the title of "president" of CES, but I am very clear that I am just "Mark" being asked to serve in a particular way for a while.

When we travel to other countries to teach and minister, we usually address this issue with the assembled ministers and leaders, most of whom have been taught to use titles. They introduce themselves as "Pastor So and So." We gently point out to them at some point in our visit that the Bible refrains from attaching titles to people, so unless their parents gave them "Pastor" as their actual first name, they should follow suit and be known by what their mother called them. We explain that if people are going to have respect for them, it should be on the basis of their example, knowledge, faith, etc. more than their title and position.

From what we could see, Earlham students, faculty and staff do not mind being on a first name basis with the President of the college or their physics professor. Though strange at first, they find it uplifting and encouraging to their own dignity and humanity. They more easily relate to each other as fellow sailors on the ship of life and have respect for people’s function and personal authority rather than their position and title. As Christians, we are on a first name basis with our God and our Lord, so we ought to be the same with those who lead us in the faith.

The second thing that struck me was that there is very little new under the sun, as Ecclesiastes so eloquently reminds us. Whatever we may think is our unique observation or idea has probably already been introduced by others years before, and we can learn a lot from their experience. This is particularly true of the Quakers, whose moral courage and biblical faith factored powerfully into the formation of this country’s religious toleration and diversity (which we are seeing gradually eroding).

Some day, God willing, CES  will have its own college where we can educate students in the ways of the Word of God, as we have come to understand them by the grace of God. Meanwhile, we will seek to learn from colleges we admire, like Earlham, and realize that we are probably only reviving teachings, beliefs and practices that others have already breathed life into before we.

One hundred fourteen campers and staff shared five days of wonderful fellowship, practical teachings related to family life and a variety of fun activities at the FFA Camp in Trafalgar, IN from July 25-30.

The daily schedule involved a flag raising followed by breakfast, where we sang and made announcements about the day’s activities. At 9 am we all met together for praise and worship and manifestations. The kids were then dismissed to Children’s and Pre-teen’s fellowship. Teens were usually a part of the morning adult fellowship, which featured teachings on various subjects related to family life. The morning session ended at 11 am when we broke into smaller groups. The first two days we broke into adult and teen men and women’s groups, which were intimate and helpful times of mutual sharing and encouragement.

After lunch we encouraged each family to take a "horizontal hour" or quiet time. Then at 2 pm we had Expressive Arts and/or recreation time. At Expressive Arts, each family worked on making posters or decorating white t-shirts with some visual representation of their family. The many creative ways that families found to give visual symbolism to their feelings about their families was truly amazing. When it rained on the last day of the camp, most campers took the time to complete their projects, some working all afternoon locked in a creative "zone."

Recreation times involved a variety of family relay races, water balloon toss, etc. Mark Graeser was the only casualty, injuring his calf in the running backwards relay. He had to hobble around the rest of the week, a victim of his competitive zeal

At 4 pm a variety of workshops were made available throughout the week on marriage, parenting, interpretation of tongues and teen abstinence.

After dinner each night we had an hour of teaching for adults while the young folks played games, etc. Following that was a campfire every night but the last night of the camp. The campfires were sweet times of fellowship, singing, sharing, story-telling and marshmallow roasting.

The theme of the camp was "The Christian Family; The Laboratory of Love," the title of the very first CES  bi-monthly tape. Since the time John Lynn did that teaching, we have come to realize that we needed to bend the pole back on what we taught about the husband as "the head" of his family. We had taught that when the husband and wife cannot agree, they should make no decision, and that the husband has no more responsibility for his family than his wife has. We were in error on this point, and will be remaking the teaching in the near future. The biblical evidence shows that God holds the husband ultimately responsible for the wellbeing of his wife and family.

Nancy Mormann taught on manifesting unconditional love the same way God loves us, sharing her experience in San Jose, California working with at-risk teens. She shared how she worked with and loved one young man for nine years without much result until he finally accepted Christ and his love.

The rest of the teaching was done by Mark and Karen Anne on such topics as:

• The family metaphor in Scripture
• The process of forgiveness
• The power of words to frame reality
• Family systems theory
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• Temperament, character and personality development

On Thursday morning, we were treated to the debut performance of a teen praise and worship band from Michigan who performed their original compositions. It featured Jordan Lunardini on lead guitar, Christopher Theisen on bass and Dan Doan on drums. They were given a standing ovation at the end of their performance, as well as a congregational prayer, prophecy and blessing spoken over them. We look forward to hearing much more from this talented group of young men in the future. They plan to come to the CES  Weekend in Charlotte, NC in late October.

On the last night of the Camp, after an awesome time when whole families exuberantly worshiped and praised the Lord, we opened the floor for sharing. One by one each family came forward to share something about their families and what the Camp meant to them. Even small children shared their feelings in front of a roomful of adults, expressing how much fun they had. The consensus of opinion among the campers of all ages was that the camp was a wonderful way to have fun, make like-minded friends and grow closer to God. Rob Richardson of Palmyra, NY made a particularly poignant comment. Referring to his previous experience in The Way Ministry, he told the group that what we thought we had before in The Way, we really have now.

As our ministry grows the need for effective planning and organization also increases. Good organization sustains that which the holy spirit begins. Too often "God-inspired" momentum is lost through poor planning and ineffective organization.

It is the goal of the Grace Assembly to change the way the world sees God. We know that can never happen through one individual or one church. It will only happen as those who believe the truth combine our efforts to accomplish that which none could ever do alone.

The Bible presents the concept of synergy in the human body as our model for how we should work together. It shows us our need to organize in such a way that each part can do what it does best. By the combined functions of each of these parts, the human body has life and health. In the same way the church can have life and health.

In order to rise to the needs of a world that is crying out for us to bring this message to them. I have a strong desire to raise strong leaders who work in integrity avoiding manipulation and control. I want to develop leaders who will point people to Jesus and not themselves. Our main thrust at the Grace Assembly Fellowship is evangelism, church planting, discipleship, and equipping leaders. One of the greatest needs in Third world countries is leadership development. If we will pool our resources to create training leaders, prepare qualified teachers, underwrite training materials and books and establish effective local ministries, we can see the gospel of the Kingdom reach the heart of indigenous men and women who can in turn influence their own country.

Among the many needs of the Grace Assembly Fellowship, our greatest is to secure reliable transportation. As 90% of our churches are located in the mountain areas, but they are constantly overloaded and there are regular accidents with many fatalities, because of the severe & rough terrain, especially when the rains come. Please pray for us to have a vehicle to transport the leaders of our Fellowship and Christian vital supplies to our brothers & sisters in those remote areas. Our ministry needs a 4/4 Diesel Toyota type Pick-up truck to best meet our purpose in the training and upraising of our future leadership in those churches.

Thank you for remembering the poor and needy in our struggling nation. Your partnership has helped to make many things possible. Thank you for the way you have chosen to help make a difference in Haiti.

Lesly Bertrand, Grace Assembly President

If you have been on our mailing list for a while, you are aware of the great door or utterance that the Lord opened for us in the Philippines in 1991, when John Lynn first went there for six days in two locations. From 1992 through 1997, John, John Schoenheit or Mark Graeser went every year, accompanied by various other saints. Our last visit there was in 1999.

In the eight visits we have made there, we have taught seminars on "Truth or Tradition?" to more than 1000 Christian leaders, and the results have been thrilling. We estimate that at least several hundred men and women have become completely convinced of the truth we have taught them, and are diligently teaching it to others. The leadership nucleus is made up of eight elders and their wives, and they are absolutely dynamic believers with great love, great faith and great faithfulness. We have the utmost confidence in them and trust them completely.

As we assess both our own responsibilities here and abroad, and the situation in the Philippines at present, we believe that the best use of our resources is to empower and support the leaders there to travel and teach the seminars that we have taught them. We have observed each of them (and a number of other people) teaching the Word, and they are fabulous communicators, both in terms of accurate teaching and the ability to get it across to their fellow countrymen.

Instead of us raising money to go there this year, we would like to ask you to consider contributing to a "Foreign Mission Fund" so that we can give them the financial resources to conduct smaller seminars in more local areas. For $750-1000, they can do a three-day seminar for perhaps 30-40 people, and they know PLENTY of Christian leaders eager to attend. We have already helped them do at least a dozen of these smaller seminars in recent years, so we know that they are effective. This will also give more people there the opportunity to develop their teaching ministries.

The elders in the Philippines are ready to go whenever they receive the finances they need. If the Lord touches your heart to help with this need, please mark your gift to CES as "Foreign Mission Fund." Also, as we have often said, there are many Filipinos standing for the truth who need and want a pen pal or sponsor, and most of the elders themselves have specific need for a computer or some other tool to help them spread the Word. THANK YOU for opening your heart to consider this matter.

John A. Lynn

As a result of a recent meeting with the CES  attorney, we can no longer accept checks designated for specific individuals. You may designate your gift to a broad category such as "Foreign Missions Fund," "Building Fund" or "General Fund." If you would like to make a suggestion that CES support a specific missionary, please put that request in a letter and we will consider it. This change protects both our 501C-3 tax exempt status and the tax deductibility of your donations.