Youth Conference

Saturday our church hosted a one day youth conference for the youth groups from nearby cities. The theme of the day was "Wake up!" and 40 people came from about 5 different cities. There were three bible studies, group discussion times, two meals, times of worship and hanging out. Liese and I played with the worship band, and I got to play bass. I was greatly encouraged to watch the youth ministry team plan and execute the whole event by themselves. It seemed everyone had a great time and were encouraged to wake up and follow Christ.

pictured: above - Micah Claycamp teaching in the afternoon, below - Jon Pirini teaching in the morning.

Flu Outbreak in Ukraine

For the last few weeks all of Ukraine has been under a quarantine because of the flu season and the outbreak of several strains of flu virus, including the swine flu (which is called in Ukraine the "California Flu" prompting people to ask me why I brought it to Ukraine - apparently those jokes never get old.)

At first it seemed like a bunch of hype and panic over something not that big of a deal. There is a flu season every year, and schools close for a week or two every year because of the flu. But this year is different as all schools and universities are closed for three weeks, all rallies and large public gatherings are banned, and interstate travel is limited. Nobody has any real idea of what is going on because nobody is sure if what the doctors say is true, what the politicians say is true, and what the statistics mean.

The statistics so far are that about 1.1 million (Ukraine's total population is around 46 million) have the flu, around 50,000 people are in the hospital with flu-like symptoms, over 160 people have died, and there have been over 60 cases of the swine flu out of which less than 20 people have died.

Aside from the swine flu there appears to be an outbreak of a flu that leads to internal hemorrhage and edema in the lungs. A lot of people are really worried about this because it acts quickly and can be fatal. However I can't find any real numbers on it and nobody is really sure what it is. The World Health Organization is here in Ukraine trying to figure out what is going on. The WHO is predicting there will be a second wave of flu infections soon and this appears to be happening as the flu is finally hitting Kiev and now Kaharlyk.

It is difficult for the average person to find helpful information as the doctors are not generally trusted (last night at bible study I heard someone say that the doctor said her grandkid can't have a fever from teething because babies don't get fevers when they teethe). People also don't trust the government because there is an election coming up in January and the quarantine effectively has blocked candidates with with less access to media from campaigning, making this all seem like a political ploy.

Here in Kagy people are wearing masks at the stores and banks and post offices. Kids are staying home, and parents are worried (and a bit overwhelmed at having the kids home for 3 weeks with wet cold weather and the risk of getting sick from going over to friends' houses).

Ed Stetzer on the lack of global missions in the missional church

I thought this post by Ed Stetzer was a good look at the current "missional" trend and how to not loose the meaning of global missions. Read it, it's good.

When is it okay to leave a church body?

I recently read a blog post on TheResurgence by a guy named Jamie Munson that reminded me of something that I've been mulling over lately. A few months ago I started to think about how easy it is to justify leaving a church body and joining another church that we like better. The style of worship isn't right, the teaching isn't up to par, the people are mean...so many reasons to leave and yet we rarely think about the fact that the church is a living body of people who are knit together and when one member leaves that body it rarely happens without forming a gaping wound. My thinking led me to wonder when is it okay to leave a gaping wound, because it seems clear that there are times when we must leave a local body.

Munson was writing about some lectures that Dr. Gregg Allison gave and from those lectures Munson gave a list of good questions to ask before you leave your local church that seemed to be along the lines of the conclusions I came to:

1. Have I expended all of my opportunities to effect change in this church?
2. Will continued participation in this church exert a negative impact on my relationship with and worship of God, my ministry for Jesus Christ, the use of my spiritual gifts, etc.?
3. Do I have to compromise too much—essential doctrines and practices, a lifestyle in accordance with biblical values and principles—in order to remain in this church?
4. Do I have a legitimate reason for leaving? In a culture where church-hopping and shopping is the norm, I felt these were timely words for Christians to ask themselves before leaving their church so that we don’t flippantly move on from a place God may want us to persevere in.

Number two is fairly subjective to how the person feels but I think it is still valid, and I also think that negative impact on family could be added to it.

The beauty of the church is the unity in Christ of various people from various backgrounds. Without diversity the church would not be a body, it would be a club of people who like the sames things, have the same heritage, etc. Thus, my personal taste in musical styles, preaching styles, the type of people who attend a church are really not the reason not to attend a church nor the basis for finding a church. Being different from the other people in the body is often what God has in mind when He puts us in a church. Churches need older people who have lived longer, young people with zeal, a guy who is really excited about End Times, families with young kids, people who like hymns, the list goes on because we need the strength of those around us to help us in our weaknesses. If we leave because we feel that the church doesn't meet our needs, we are forgetting that maybe we are what that church needs (not to make more of ourselves than we should, but just that each member is needed in the body) and God put us there to help others not just so that we might receive.

These are somethings that I've been thinking over. What do you think?