I N D I A N A S O U T HI N D I A N A S O U T H

WESLEYANDECEMBER 2008

Faced with a Dilemma

Matthew’s Gospel records this part of the Christmas story: “This is how the birthof Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph;but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the HolySpirit. Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to publicdisgrace, he had in mind to divorce Mary quietly” (Matthew 1:18-19).

Before they are married and before Joseph and Mary come together, Joseph dis-covers, by whatever means, that the woman he loves, the one with whom he expectsto spend the rest of his life, the one he has chosen as his wife, the one who will be themother of his children, the one he trusts is pregnant. Imagine how he must have feltand what he must have been thinking.

No doubt Joseph was attracted to Mary because of her character and her faith andher understanding of the Holy Scriptures. No doubt Joseph had a lot of confidence inMary and that her private life was equal to her public reputation. And now this!

Let us not be naïve, Joseph had to have been disappointed, and even devastated.Surely he felt betrayed. Perhaps he questioned his own judgment and experiencewith Mary.

By Older Testament Law, Joseph had the option to have Mary publicly punished.To be expecting a child out of wedlock when a woman was engaged and had pledgedherself to one man was considered adultery. Joseph could have had Mary stoned andher name and family disgraced by Law. Some would have argued that Joseph evenhad the obligation to do so.

But, even before Joseph knew the real story – the Good News – he had decided notto disgrace or publicly humiliate Mary. Before the angel had revealed to Joseph thatthe Child Mary was expecting was indeed the Messiah, he had decided to put heraway quietly and spare her any public embarrassment.

A Righteous Man of Character

For all he knew, Joseph had been terribly wronged and deceived. But Joseph didnot seek revenge or retribution or even the punishment the Law allowed. He chose ahigher spiritual level.

Matthew’s Gospel is clear as to why Joseph chose to treat Mary in the kind, gentle,and loving manner in which he did: “Because Joseph her husband was a righteousman…” (Matthew 1:19).

“Because Joseph was a righteous man.” That statement is a tremendous revelationof Joseph’s character and allows us to peer deep within his soul. Joseph’s reaction notonly demonstrated his character and was evidence of his relationship to God,Joseph’s response to Mary proved his love for her.

Joseph – Chosen By God

A Man of CharacterBy Rev. Daniel Eckart

Warren Park Wesleyan - Indianapolis

Merry

Christmas

&

Happy

New Year

Dr. & Mrs. Mark Eckart

and Family

Rev. & Mrs. Bob England

j

j

Page 2/ December 2008 INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN(USPS 334-970)

December 2008Vol. 35 No. 12

Executive Editor Dr. Mark Eckart

Office Editor Cindy Caniff

Periodical postage paid at Orleans, IN 47452and additional mailing offices.

Publication Office: P.O. Box 174,Orleans, IN 47452

Published monthly by the Indiana SouthDistrict of The Wesleyan Church.

Postmaster send address changes to:INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

PO BOX 174ORLEANS, IN 47452

District Lock-In

(6th grade – 12th grade)

Friday, February 27th - 11:00 p.m.

thru

Saturday, February 28th - 7:00 a.m.

Walnut Street Baptist Church

Activity Center

Louisville, KY

$20 – per child

$5 – youth sponsors

Youth Pastors - Free

Lessons from Joseph

First, how Joseph decided to treat Mary, before he knew the Truth about herpregnancy, demonstrates his love for her. Joseph was more interested in caring forMary and protecting her than he was in punishing her. What a wonderful husband!

How a husband treats his wife in private and his attitude toward her is real evi-dence of his character and also of the husband’s relationship to God. Men, God’sHoly Word tells us that we are to love our wives as Christ loves His Church. Andthen that same Scripture says that He gave Himself up for (died for) His Church(Ephesians 5:25). That is our first and primary obligation as husbands in the home –above all else – to love our wives as Christ loves His Church.

Second, Joseph did not seek to have Mary publicly disgraced. No doubt Joseph’sfamily and friends would have understood, perhaps even encouraged, if he wouldhave sought some sort of retribution as his first response. A lesser man would havefirst thought of how to get even with Mary or to make her suffer. Remember, Mat-thew 1:18-19 records Joseph’s reaction before he is told the real story by the angel.Yet, even then Joseph does not seek revenge.

Joseph’s reaction is a demonstration and testimony of his relationship to Godand his willingness to forgive. The Bible reminds us that if we are to enjoy the for-giveness of our own sins, we must be willing to forgive others. And that if we are notwilling to forgive others for their trespasses against us, then we will not be forgiven(Matthew 6:14-15).

A Living Legend

Joseph is not just an insignificant figure in the Christmas story. He is the manGod chose to be Mary’s husband and the earthly father of His Son Jesus Christ.

Let us strive to live up to Joseph’s example.

Upcoming Ministerial

Class Schedule

Doctrine of Holiness

Dr. Mark Eckart

February 7th & 21st, 2009

Paoli Wesleyan Church

Superintendent’s ScheduleDecember 2008 & January 2009

December

1 IWU Meeting

5 Pastor’s ChristmasDinner/Orleans

7 A.M. Martinsville

P.M. Bedford

8 DBA Christmas Dinner

14 A.M. Wesley Chapel

P.M. Hope First

25 Christmas Day

28 A.M. Loogootee

P.M. Church Visit

January

4 A.M. Church Visit

P.M. Princeton

11-13 DS Institute / FL

18 A.M. Spearsville

P.M. Shelbyville Westside

25 A.M. Fort Branch

P.M. Wheatland

Pictured is Pastor Sue Lochmueller andsome of the members of the Forest HillsWesleyan Church at a recent Fall FestivalParade where they won the President’s

Trophy. Their theme was Jesus the Rock,Building and Growing His Church.

District MinisterialConvention

March 2 & 3, 2009

Bloomington, IN 47404

Guest Speaker: Dr. Steve DeNeff

Special Music: Tony & Abby

McCrary

CONGRATULATIONS!Congratulations to Pastor Kelli &

Wayne Ward on the birth of their

son, Josiah James. He weighed 6 lbs.

4 oz. and was 20 inches long.

Volunteer Jobs that need

done on the Camp Grounds

There have been some churches/indi-viduals interested in doing some jobs

here on the camp grounds. Pleasevisit the website at

www.indianasouth.org for a list ofjobs or call the camp caretaker,David Hoss, at 812-865-3390

or 812-865-6392 if you are interestedin helping out.

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN December 2008 / Page 3

SUPER SATURDAY – A Great Day!November 8, 2008

By: Rev. Gary Larimer, District Sunday School Director

First of all I’d like to thank Pastor BobEngland and his staff for providing theirchurch for us to meet in; what a beautifulfacility. Dr. Mark works very hard in get-ting us the best and most qualified peopleto help us, and we should support ourdistrict when these events take place. Iknow those who attended certainly wereblessed with great insights and teachingsfrom Dr. Jim Dunn’s group at headquar-ters from our Spiritual Formation De-partment. Our instructors were Rev.Jeremy Summers, Rev. ScottSimmons, Rev. Colleen Derr andDr. Jim Dunn.

They had us split up in differ-ent groups for two sessions, chil-dren’s ministr ies , youthministries and adult ministries.Dr. Jim Dunn took all the pastorsaside during the second sessionafter lunch for an open forumdiscussion. I have a better under-standing of Spiritual Formationand the work behind the scenesfrom headquarters to help ourchurches.

In the past, we have seen a de-cline in our Sunday School atten-dance across the denominationincluding our district. Dr. Dunn’sgroup has given us some wonderful ideasthat might help us turn this trend around.What is spiritual formation? Dr. Dunnput it this way – Consider what is beingtaught (the head). Offer the hope of salva-tion and living a transformed life (theheart). Challenge a response of actionproving that loving works indeed followgenuine faith (the hands). And help asmany as possible to take their personal re-lationship with Christ seriously in orderto develop daily spiritual disciples thatwill foster spiritual growth (the habits).All of these elements, working togetherthroughout each individual, will truly re-sult in every believer of Jesus Christ at ev-ery age, to think and behave more likeJesus every day.

If you missed this seminar you cancontact the Spiritual Formation Depart-

ment anytime for help in your church.They exist to help adults, youth, andchildren become more like Jesus, one lifeat a time. They try to provide churcheswith the right tools for Sunday School,Discipleship classes, small groups, VBS,etc…

One of the first things I did after theseminar was to make up a list of ques-tions for each Sunday School Teacher toask their class. After we get the resultsfrom each teacher we will sit down with

them and discuss how we can improveour methods. Our intent is to grow spiri-tually first and let God help us with thephysical growth later. Here is a list of thequestions I asked. Maybe this question-naire can help your church…

� Why does our Sunday School exist?

� What do you enjoy about your SundaySchool class?

� What are you doing to help yourSunday School class grow?

� Has anyone been saved in this class?

� What have you learned?

� Do you memorize scripture in thisclass?

� Does your class have a mission? Pur-pose? Vision? Goals?

� What is your strength as a class? Whatis your weakness? How can you im-prove?

� What would you like to see this classaccomplish in the next year?

� How can the church better assist you?Three of my church board members

from the Sullivan Wesleyan Church at-tended this seminar and this is what twoof them had to say…

Russ Robertson - Vice Chairman andSunday School Superintendent: “We as achurch body no matter what age are called to bedisciples of Christ. We need to show love andconcern for the church and those around us. Be

positive in our goals to reach the lostand follow up with new converts andthose we have made contacts with.”

Todd Wolfe – Adult SundaySchool Teacher and Board Mem-ber: “I appreciated the opportunity toattend Super Saturday this year. To behonest I really wasn’t looking forwardto spending the whole day. But, in thediscussions concerning Sunday Schoolwe heard concerns from other churchesthat were very similar in ours. It didhelp to hear some of the things thatother churches have tried, someworked, and some didn’t. Anythingwe do for God will be worth the effort!”

Then Jesus came to themand said, “All authority inheaven and on earth has been

given to me. Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father andof the Son and of the Holy Spirit, andteaching them to obey everything Ihave commanded you. And surely Iam with you always, to the very endof the age” Matthew 28:18-20.

A special thanks to the Spiritual Formation Team: Rev. JerrySummers, Rev. Colleen Derr, Rev. Scott Simmons,

and Dr. Jim Dunn

Super Saturday 2009

Special Speaker:

Rev. Mark Wilson

May 16, 2009

At Orleans Wesleyan

Family Life Center

Austin T.B.S. 17 16 1 21 18 3 18 15 0

Bedford T.B.S. 26 25 1 38 45 7 21 13 0

Bicknell First M. Reed NR

Birdseye D. Murphy NR

Bloomfield Mt. Calvary F. Collings 17 18 1 17 18 1 14 0 0

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 54 30 24 54 30 24 17 13 0

Bloomfield Southside C. Thomas 21 16 5 16 14 2 18 0 0

Bloomington Central M. Linville 35 31 4 38 40 2 21 23 0

Bloomington Shepherd F. Shannon 17 21 4 18 24 6 16 11 0

Blue River A. Marshall 25 24 1 40 33 7 0 0 0

Boonville E. Ames 22 26 4 41 47 6 23 52 0

Brazil Jackson E. Hayes 22 27 5 31 36 5 18 11 2

Carthage C. Stroud 40 38 2 51 38 13 40 30 0

Clear Fork C. Uebel 8 8 0 14 14 0 10 7 0

Columbus Bethel B. Carpenter 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 0 0

Columbus Central B. Miller 14 16 2 14 16 2 12 0 0

Columbus Flintwood W. Jones 65 53 12 100 74 26 44 90 0

Columbus Ohio Street C. Bullock 32 37 5 58 53 5 27 14 0

Concord J. Vandervort 20 30 10 23 36 13 18 8 0

Corydon New Hope C. Morgan 0 6 6 22 34 13 0 0 0

E. Enterprise F. Wingham 8 9 1 9 11 2 8 4 0

Edinburg L. Biddle 29 37 8 29 37 8 15 14 0

English D. Lochbihler 37 53 16 61 62 1 33 32 0

Evansville Forest Hills M. Stoelting 113 131 18 236 247 11 97 155 0

Evansville North Park S. Boardman 64 69 5 83 83 0 35 27 0

Evansville Trinity D. Allison 29 32 3 60 56 4 0 0 0

Faith Pointe J. Wriston 14 8 6 16 8 8 0 0 0

Fort Branch M. Hughes 51 47 4 59 52 7 32 64 0

Franklin D. Neal 36 37 1 44 46 2 30 17 0

French Lick Spr. Valley J. Moffatt 54 51 3 154 145 9 49 48 0

Gnaw Bone G. Armstrong 26 20 6 29 26 3 21 10 0

Grace Pointe R. Freeland 0 0 0 26 0 0 10 0 0

Greenfield R. Albring 25 27 2 29 38 9 17 15 0

Greensburg D. Preston 49 37 12 86 57 29 26 63 0

Greenwood J. Hughes 40 40 0 63 63 0 0 10 0

Holton W. Vandervort 22 18 4 22 21 1 11 5 0

Hope First E. Boston 7 19 12 22 32 10 8 53 0

Lawrenceburg M. Kessen NR

Lewis Creek D. Gates 10 10 0 19 19 0 0 10 0

Loogootee Mt. Zion J. Simmons 29 16 13 46 50 4 12 10 0

Madison Calvary M. Mahoney 32 34 2 53 50 3 34 35 0

Marengo S. Lock 54 58 4 121 102 19 61 57 0

Martinsville K. Kearby 30 30 0 35 34 1 15 0 0

Martinsville Bethel J. Irvin 8 11 3 14 16 2 0 6 0

Mecca New Life D. Hardesty 18 25 7 32 45 13 0 35 0

Medora C. Breeden 19 28 9 21 32 11 18 13 0

Milan L. Brown 20 19 1 22 26 4 14 5 0

Mitchell T.B.S. 63 78 15 119 172 53 59 101 0

Mooresville New Life M. Linville 20 25 5 29 29 0 21 20 0

Morgantown J. Irvin 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 0 0

New Albany Spring Ave. N. Watters 0 0 0 22 25 3 0 0 0

North Vernon J. Terry 54 57 3 72 81 9 42 38 0

Orleans H. Carr 49 59 10 53 66 13 31 14 0

Otwell R. Stilwell 34 34 0 36 36 0 15 0 0

Paoli B. England 69 46 23 122 128 6 51 45 0

Petersburg L. Lamar 0 11 0 6 11 5 0 0 0

Poplar Grove J. Downs 12 19 7 32 30 2 16 10 0

Potter's Shop Y. Reyes 26 0 0 0 0 0 26 0 0

Prairie Creek T. Fennell 11 15 4 13 20 7 7 0 0

Princeton T.B.S. NR

Rising Sun J. Kelley 8 9 1 9 12 3 0 7 0

Rodney M. Miller 10 9 1 15 13 2 16 14 0

Rushville H. Baker 2 8 6 2 8 6 5 4 0

Salem S. Caniff 7 6 1 31 19 12 22 23 0

Sandford C. Hedden 14 21 7 11 13 2 10 6 0

Scottsburg P. Mills 9 8 1 10 10 0 7 7 0

Seelyville F. Burk 15 12 3 8 6 2 0 0 0

Seymour I. Holt 30 24 6 43 31 12 32 30 0

Shelburn B. Noel 9 8 1 9 8 1 0 0 0

Shelbyville Grace J. Allen 56 49 7 66 55 11 43 25 0

Shelbyville Westside D. Bowden 21 41 20 31 25 6 13 3 0

Simpson Chapel R. Brown 10 10 0 10 10 0 0 0 0

Somerville D. Brandon 30 31 1 30 44 14 20 20 0

Southwind Washington P. Kessen 0 0 0 59 71 12 23 18 0

Spearsville T. Phillips 18 17 1 18 17 1 0 0 0

Spencer J. Knight 9 12 3 10 12 2 0 0 0

Sullivan G. Larimer 50 46 4 55 54 1 60 47 2

Sylvania D. Taylor 30 43 13 68 70 2 37 40 0

Terre Haute Faith D. Gormong 134 134 0 246 234 12 133 200 0

Terre Haute Hulman D. Willis 63 57 6 90 87 3 32 45 0

Terre Haute North S. Landon 25 21 4 41 20 21 25 20 0

Trafalgar C. Hilton 4 5 1 4 5 1 5 3 0

Valeene D. Manship 15 13 2 98 77 21 56 61 0

Versailles J. Hundley 31 27 4 31 28 3 19 11 1

Walker Chapel R. Hendershot 17 15 2 35 44 9 0 17 0

Wash. Vincennes J. Gilley 26 29 3 31 36 5 34 13 0

Wesley Chapel T.B.S. NR

Westport C. Bell 77 72 5 87 85 2 51 43 0

West Terre Haute 6th R. Weeks 24 23 1 28 25 3 0 0 0

West Terre Haute 8th P. Shelton 67 71 4 75 76 1 55 41 0

Wheatland K. Mitchell 10 12 2 24 18 6 25 0 0

Whitehall D. Campbell 15 14 1 14 15 1 11 11 0

Wilmington Hills D. Gary 19 24 5 29 31 2 28 19 1

TOTALS 2452 2503 51 3819 3795 24 1915 1931 6

CHURCH GROWTH REPORT OCTOBER 2008

Top 5 For Numeric Gain In Sun-SchoolChurch Pastor Gain

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 24

Paoli B. England 23

Loogootee Mt. Zion J. Simmons 13

Columbus Flintwood W. Jones 12

Greensburg D. Preston 12

Top 5 For Numeric Gain in AM WorshipChurch Pastor Gain

Greensburg D. Preston 29

Columbus Flintwood W. Jones 26

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 24

Terre Haute North S. Landon 21

Valeene D. Manship 21

Top 5 For Percentage Gain in AM WorshipChurch Pastor Gain

Terre Haute North S. Landon 105%

Faith Pointe J. Wriston 100%

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 80%

Salem S. Caniff 63%

Greensburg D. Preston 51%

Top 5 For Percentage Gain in Sun-SchoolChurch Pastor Gain

Loogootee Mt. Zion J. Simmons 81%

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 80%

Faith Pointe J. Wriston 75%

Paoli B. England 50%

Greensburg D. Preston 32%

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And she brought forthher firstborn son, and

wrapped him in swad-dling clothes, and laid

him in a manger;because there was no

room for them in the inn.