Financial Peace University Coming to Union Chapel this Spring!

Union Chapel United Methodist Church, located at 1012 old Joppa Rd Joppa Md 21085 will be hosting a spring session of the Financial Peace University!

For more information contact Union Chapel at 410-877-3246, sign up online at www.daveramsey.com or message me here!

The Previews are free, the course material is $100.00.

What is Financial Peace University?

FPU is the most important step to changing your financial future. It is your Total Money Makeover Program. It takes the knowledge from God and turns it into real action in our lives through a step-by-step process taught by best-selling author and financial counselor Dave Ramsey.

FPU is a 13-week life-changing program that empowers and teaches you how to make the right money decisions to achieve your financial goals and God's plan for your life. The course includes practical lessons on eliminating debt building wealth giving like never before and much much more!

Who is Financial Peace University for?

It's for EVERYONE!...from the financially secure to the financially distressed. Over 650000 families and individuals have attended Financial Peace University.

Applying God's Word radically changes your life. On averageFPU graduates have paid off over $5300 in debt and saved $2700 during the 91-day program!


Previews

1. FPU Lesson Preview 1 : 7:00 PM 03/02/2010

2. FPU Lesson Preview 2 : 1:00 PM 03/07/2010



Lessons
1. Super Saving : 6:00 PM 03/14/2010

2. Relating With Money : 6:00 PM 03/21/2010

3. Cash Flow Planning : 6:00 PM 03/28/2010

4. Dumping Debt : 6:00 PM 04/04/2010

5. Credit Sharks In Suits 6:00 PM 04/11/2010

6. Buyer Beware : 6:00 PM 04/18/2010

7. Clause and Effect : 6:00 PM 04/025/2010

8. That's Not Good Enough! : 6:00 PM 05/02/2010

9. Of Mice and Mutual Funds : 6:00 PM 05/9/2010

10. From Fruition To Tuition : 6:00 PM 05/16/2010

11. Working In Your Strengths : 6:00 PM 05/23/2010

12. Real Estate and Mortgages : 6:00 PM 05/30/2010

13. The Great Misunderstanding 6:00 PM 06/06/2010

Called To a Revolution!

Opening night began with almost an hour of music from an combined choir of local churches. The music and voices excited all who were gathered to move from quiet contemplation of such Gospel Hymns as Order My Steps In Your Word, to a stirring rendition of Ava Maria with a Southern twist.

By the end of the music the attendees were more than ready for the speaker of the Pastor Rudy Rasmus is pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. Pastor Rudy used the story of the Good Samaritan to challenge us to go beyond the normal everyday experience of church. He called us to be like the Samaritan, willing to reach out to the "other", no matter who that "other" might be.

He suggests that the Church is in need of a revolution, a revolution of Love. He reminded us that there is no one among us who is where they are except for the gift of Grace from a God who freely gives. If thats the case,then how can anyone pass by one of Gods children in need?

So, are you ready for a Revolution? One that reminds that all we have is a Gift from God, a gift we are called to freely share!

Opening Tonight.

The Congress will be in full swing tonight at 6:30 p.m. There will be a Welcome from Dr. David Kerr,the President of the COE, followed by Opening Worship with Pastor Rudy Rasmus.

I have seen a number of Pastors a leaders form the Baltimore Conference here today. Hopefully all of us will find something helpful and exciting to bring back home.

There are some interesting displays from various groups that work in the area of evangelism, as well as some very creative banner and worship materials. I hope to by a pattern or two to bring back for all my crafter to take a look at and see what they can do.

I spent some time walking along the Riverwalk. Sky was very blue, but it is the coldest its been in a long time according to the locals. It figures, I go south for warmth and I get weather in the 20's and 30's.

Take Care, more tomorrow.

Made it to the Big Easy!

Well, I made it. Slight hiccup at the airport, we were 20 minutes late leaving, but other than that it was a good flight.

Got to the Roosevelt hotel OK. Boy, it sure is nice. Now I feel like I am part of the "other half".

Looking forward to the workshops and speakers. I hope to have a little time to look around- at least at what I can walk too. One small disappointment. Its COLD! I knew I should have brought my scarf and long heavy coat.

Off now to find dinner.

Where is Pastor Vic????

The Congress on Evangelism is sponsored by the Council on Evangelism and the General Board of Discipleship with the support of The Foundation for Evangelism. The congress meets every January at different locations presenting motivational speakers and workshops based on evangelism. This year the Congress will meet in New Orleans, Louisiana. Primary Lodging will be provided by The Roosevelt Hotel. Please pry that God will use this time as a time of blessing and leaning. I will be posting updates on my Pastor Blog as I am able to this week. See you next Sunday!

Blessings,

Pastor Vic

Speakers

Bishop Minerva Carcaño

In 2004, Bishop Minerva Carcaño became the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy of The United Methodist Church. Not forgetting her roots and early hopes, her ministry has always involved work with the poor, with farm workers, immigrants, and refugees, even as she encourages congregations to work ecumenically and to be active in community organizing.

Desert Southwest Conference website – desertsouthwestconference.org

Rudy Rasmus

Rudy Rasmus is pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. In his 17 years at St. John’s the congregation has grown from 9 to over 9,000, one-third of which are or were formerly homeless. It is considered to be one fo the most culturally diverse congregations in the country and is the base for numerous ministries serving the poor and homeless.

Visit St. Johns Downtown website - www.stjohnsdowntown.org

Bishop Will Willimon

Bishop Will Willimon is the Episcopal leader for the North Alabama Conference. Prior to his appointment, he was the Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School. He is an editor for the Wesley Study Bible and author of 60 books.

Visit North Alabama Conference website – www.northalabamaumc.org Visit Bishop Willimon’s Blog – willimon.blogspot.com

William P. Young

William “Paul” Young is the author of the book The Shack. Born in Alberta, Canada to missionary parents, he holds an undergraduate degree in Religion from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon.

Young had written primarily as a way to create unique gifts for friends, until his wife repeatedly urged him to write something for their 6 children in order to put down in one place his perspectives on God and on the inner healing Young had experienced as an adult. The resulting manuscript (which later became The Shack), was intended only for his 6 kids and for a handful of close friends. Young initially printed just fifteen copies of his book. Two of his close friend encouraged him to have it published and assisted with some editing and rewriting in order to prepare the manuscript for publication. Rejected by 26 publishers, Young and his friends published the book under the name of their newly created publishing company, Windblown Media in 2007. The company spent only $300 in advertising; word-of-mouth referrals eventually drove the book to number one on the New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list in June 2008. The Shack was the top-selling fiction and audio book of 2008 in America through November 30.

Visit The Shack website – theshackbook.com

Visit William Young’s Website – www.windrumors.com

Jim Walker

Jim Walker is co-pastor of Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburg, PA, a faith community that reaches young people through drama and alternative worship forms as well as traditional practices. Jim is a Full Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church.

Visit Hot Metal Bridge website – www.hotmetalbridge.com

Kenda Creasy Dean

Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, and Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry. Her most recent books include Oblivious: What the Faith of American Teenagers Is Telling the American Church (Oxford, forthcoming) and Generation OMG: A Youth Ministry Handbook, ed. (Abingdon, forthcoming). s.

Bishop William Hutchinson

Bishop William Hutchinson is the Episcopal leader for the Louisiana Conference and was the acting bishop following Hurricane Katrina’s destruction on New Orleans. Hutchinson led the effort of rebuilding the city following the aftermath of the destructive storm.

Visit the Louisiana Conference website – www.la-umc.org

Jonathan Dow – Worship

Jonathan serves as the Executive Director of Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He is a worship leader and teaches and preaches on Biblical worship at retreats and conferences. He comes with a passion to see people deepen their intimacy with God through worship.

Workshops ( I'm Taking)

Workshop 1 Wednesday, January 06, 2010 - 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM (Eastern Time)

Selection: 4 Welcome ... Beyond Walls - Kwasi Kena..

Workshop 2 Wednesday, January 06, 2010 - 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Selection: 2 Building Bridges to the Kingdom of God - Jim Walker

Workshop 3 Thursday, January 07, 2010 - 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM (Eastern Time)

Selection: 3 Evangelism as Initial Spiritual Direction - Tom Albin

Workshop 4 Thursday, January 07, 2010 - 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Selection: 9 Small Groups for Small Churches - Joe Peabody Jr.

Each morning and evening is filled with times of worship, study and fellowship. for those in attendance.

Sometime you just need a good laugh.

Life is so busy right now. Its the season that truly tests your stamina and even your faith. Yes, that's right Christmas is here once again. So I thought maybe this would be a good time to just stop and have a goo luagh.

Here ie a delight "Laugh List" that I came across. Have good laugh and take a moment to relax. After all there are at least 10 days yet before Christmas.

Morning Belly Laugh List

Posted by Brandon on Monday, March 9th, 2009 under Living

http://www.brandonacox.com/

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don’t Disguise Your Voice.
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It “In-Box.”
5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write “For Smuggling Diamonds.”
7. Finish All Your sentences with “In Accordance With The Prophecy.”
8. Dont use any punctuation
9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is “To Go.”
12. Sing Along At The Opera.
13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don’t Rhyme.
14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.
15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can’t Attend Their Party Because You’re Not In The Mood.
16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.
17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream “I Won!, I Won!”
18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot,Yelling “Run For Your Lives, They’re Loose!!”
19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. “Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.”
20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity…

Summary of A UMC Survey on Clergy Health

I participated in the following survey this past year. I offer the summary here for your reading. I encourage you to keep me and all pastors in your prayers.

Richard Day Research (RDR) conducted an online quantitative survey of 1,006 clergy of the United Methodist Church to learn about church systems factors that may adversely affect clergy health. The objective was to identify the strongest predictors of health from among a wide range of potential variables.

Survey respondents answered approximately 150 questions about their health, personal background, spiritual practices, appointment history, career trajectory, congregational context and fit, work stresses, outlook on life, living and working conditions, and personal finances.

The survey data identified thirteen key factors that are highly correlated with health and that differentiate those who are healthy from those who are unhealthy. The absence of risk factors has a positive association with health.

- Personal centeredness: Risk factors include feeling a lack of control over one’s life; ruminating about the past; difficulty experiencing the presence of God.

- Eating habits with work that often involves food: Risk factors include struggling to maintain a healthy diet with food available at church meetings, social gatherings and house calls.

- Work-life balance: Risk factors include having difficulty balancing multiple roles;
feeling guilty taking time to exercise; avoiding health care because of time demands; struggling to achieve overall work-life balance.

- Job satisfaction: Risk factors include feeling dissatisfied with one’s appointments; feeling isolated at work; feeling disappointed with ministry; wishing for a way to exit the system.

- Personal finances: Risk factors include high debt; low income; few assets; little to no personal savings.

- Outside interests, social life and friends: Risk factors include a lack of hobbies, outside interests and/or participation in group activities for personal renewal; having few friends or people with whom one can share personal issues; feeling detached from one’s community.

- Relationship with congregation: Risk factors include feeling judged rather than supported; feeling the congregation’s expectations are too high or do not match one’s own beliefs about the appropriate pastoral role; feeling the congregation desires a pastor with a different leadership style; avoiding relationships with congregation members so as to avoid improprieties; avoiding health care for fear that parishioners might find out.

- Stressors of the appointment process: Risk factors include feeling stressed by the appointment process; feeling reluctant to talk to one’s DS because of the power he or she holds over appointments; feeling resentful about being paid less than non-clergy in similar professions.

- Marital and family satisfaction: Among clergy with families, risk factors include low marital satisfaction; low appointment satisfaction among spouses and/or children.

- Existential burdens of ministry: Risk factors include feeling obligated to carry the weight of others’ emotional and spiritual burdens; being overwhelmed by the needs of others and the sheer importance of the issues to be addressed in ministry; feeling expected to solve unsolvable mysteries.

- Living authentically: Risk factors include feeling unable to be one’s “authentic self”; failing to live according to deeply-held personal values and beliefs.

- Education and preparation for ministry: Risk factors include feeling unprepared by seminary for the everyday responsibilities of ministry; feeling one lacks the skills and training necessary to excel at pastoral duties.

- Appointment changes and relocation: Risk factors include more frequent appointment changes; more frequent long-distance moves.