David B. Linn

District Superintendent

N O R T H E A S T E R N D I S T R I C T C & M A U P S T A T E N E W Y O R K

The NED Connection

THE LOGIC OF PERSONAL MISSIONALITY

Make Growth Happen by Engaging Everyone as a Full Ministry Partner

I may not be the best Christian at missional living, but I can say without fear of contradiction that the mission of Jesus has been in my soul since the beginning of my walk with him. There has been a log-ic about it which has been inescapable for me because, once faced, it is inescapable for everyone. The day I became a settled believer in Jesus at the age of seventeen I was overcome—along with a bunch of other powerful thoughts—with this idea: IF GOD IS GOD AND MADE THE WORLD, NO ONE IS OK WITHOUT BEING ALIGNED WITH HIM. Today I know Scriptures such as written by Isaiah: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; /Besides Me there is no God. …/The One forming light and creating darkness, /Causing well-being and creating calamity; /I am the LORD who does all these” (Isaiah 45:5, 7 NASB). And because I had been to Episcopal Sunday school as a child, I knew that Christ was my sole hope of getting realigned with God through the forgiveness of my sins. This thought has been a foundation stone upon which the whole edifice of my faith has been built: God really is God, this is his universe, and I am in deep trouble unless I straighten myself out with him. So I did. The second bit of missional logic just rolled down on me automatically after the first: IF NONE OF US ARE ALIGNED WITH GOD, I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. I did not at that time know some-thing else Isaiah wrote: “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; /For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). In other words, everyone starts life out of alignment with the God who made the world, and if this is the case, they all need help—no exceptions. So I began sharing my faith immediately, starting with my family. You can imagine just how totally clumsy and inelegant were the attempts of a generally foul-mouthed seventeen-year-old, but I was convinced that I had no choice. How could I ever defend a failure to share the only hope of the world with people in need? And then the third bit of missional logic landed on me, partly as a result of how badly I had man-gled my first attempts: IF EVERYONE IS IN AS MUCH TROUBLE AS THE BIBLE SAYS, I HAVE TO GET BETTER AT HELPING THEM. If, as the Apostle Peter wrote, I needed to be able to do this for everyone, I had a lot to learn. He wrote: “…Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…” (1 Peter 3:15). I began learning how to share my faith through a vari-ety of means, learning the Bible since I knew next to nothing, and connecting with Christians who were inclined to share their faith. This pursuit continued into seminary where I signed up for a missions major, and I managed to become part of a church planting attempt in the suburbs of southern California. I have discovered, to my chagrin, that I do not have the gift of evangelism. I work at talking to people and “not chickening out,” as Bonnie Koonsman said recently in her accreditation interview. But I have been privileged to be part of many people’s journey to Christ over the years through many means. And if you are a leader of Christ’s church, you have a sworn responsibility to lead your spiritual family members into missional living. Find ways to help them face the reality of these three bits of inescapable logic. Structure opportunities for all kinds of witnessing. Identify those with the gift of evangelism and enlist them not only in the work but especially in training others. And show them how by living mission-ally yourself. Because God is God, and there is no other.

October

2019

In this issue >>>

NED Notices p. 2 Jon Schuerholz p. 3

Training Ground p. 4 Missions p. 5

Hospitality p. 6 Evangelism p. 7

Alliance Women p. 8 Men’s Ministry p. 9

Resources p. 10

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 2

OPEN CHURCHES SENIOR /LEAD PASTORS: Ithaca, NY, Jamestown, NY, Ohio, NY, Oswego, NY Tracy Creek/Vestal, NY, Valleyview/Vestal, NY STAFF POSITIONS: Albany, NY (Youth Pastor), Corning, NY (Dir. of Worship Arts)

CHURCH UPDATES Cheektowaga, NY —Church Plant Closed Great Bend, NY—Final Service, Sept. 29, 2019 NEW Affiliated Church—Amanuel Ethiopian Church 765 Niagara Falls Blvd, Buffalo, NY 14226 Greece, NY—New Campus of CrossTown Alliance [Formerly The Savior’s Chapel—Launch April 2020]

ORDINATION The public is cordially invited to attend a Service of Ordination for Stuart J. Burton Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 6:00 pm. CrossTown Alliance Church—Arcade Campus 7833 Liberty St., Arcade, NY 14009 Congratulations Stu & Amy!

ALLIANCE PEACEMAKING Saturday, October 19, 2019, 8:30am—4:00pm Faith Alliance Church, 3305 Oak Orchard Rd, Albion, NY 14411. REGISTRATION is $10 and includes lunch.

CHRISTIAN COUNSELING Mr. James F. Lewis, LMHC l 315-425-1943 2700 Bellevue Ave., Syracuse, NY 13219 Christian counseling for Individual (Adult & Adolescent), Marriage & Family, Mental Health & Addictions. Jim is a recognized Christian worker with the C&MA.

DISTRICT-WIDE WEBINAR Wednesday, October 23, 2019 Leading Your Team, Part 1: The Power of Clear Communication”https://zoom.us/j/2909797605

WELCOME! Rev. David A. and Brenda M. Havener Pastor at Lakeview Chapel, Owego, NY davehave@charter.net 307-254-4750 Mr. Jonathan D. and Laurie B. Greeson Youth and Children’s Ministry Director CrossTown Alliance—Wellsville Campus jgreeson@crosstownalliance.com 513-317-2934 Mr. Samuel L. and Sara H. Sanders Pastor of Youth Ministries at North Country Alliance Church, Plattsburgh, NY sam@northcountryalliance.com 518-578-7354

IN TRANSITION Rev. H. Wayne Eppehimer — Retired Mr. Ronald E. German — Unassigned Rev. Aaron D. Koonsman — Assist Pastor at Community Alliance Ch., Ballston Spa, NY Rev. Sydney F. McCrorey—Retired Rev. Mouhannad Moses—Unassigned Rev. Jude E. Park — Retired Rev. Steven K. VanDixhorn —Special Assignment

IN-SERVICE TRAINING Ordination/Consecration Tuesday, October 15, 2019 At District Office; 9:30 AM—3:00 PM Register HERE This training is for all provisionally licensed official workers AND any other workers that are interested. Although it is free, you must register so that we know you are coming.

CHURCH TREASURER Pastor/Ministry Leader, please make sure your church treasurer or bookkeeper is aware of our new online giving option https://www.nedcma.org/give. This may be used in place of mailing in the yellow Remittance slips for monthly District Oper-ating Budget (DOB) contributions. Thank You!

NED Notices

Empower Livestream at the District Office Sat., Sept. 21, 2019 empowerww.org

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 3

A critical baseball game is in the bottom of the 9th in-ning. The home team is clinging to a one run lead. The starting pitcher did great, but he is spent. The manag-er walks out to the mound slowly and calls for the tall lanky relief pitcher whose job is to throw hard for 1 to 2 innings. The manager hands him the game ball and says, “Bring the heat!”

What makes a great sermon? My four criteria spell HEAT! So I tell us all when we preach, bring the HEAT!

H—Helpful A good sermon is helpful. It helps me live my life better. Something in the Sermon sticks and if applied will improve my life and the lives around me. Questions that do more than just expose a problem but provide action steps. I am ungrateful; great how do I change? I am a sinner; great what do I do to stop sinning? Dropping truth without next steps is not helpful. An instruction manual with a list of parts and a picture of the finished product may be ac-curate, but it is not helpful. I need step by step in-structions on how to put this thing together. To be bet-ter to live better, what can I do? What do I need to re-member about GOD that can help? Is it helpful to hu-mankind or just to a subgroup? Five steps to be a great husband, is only helpful to husbands.

E—Engaging Does the message hold my attention? Does my mind frequently wander during the message or am I interested in the main thought? Suspense and mystery are great tools for holding people’s attention. “What is next? How is this going to end?” Knowing the end of a movie is called a “spoiler” for a good rea-son. Are our messages so predictable they are spoiled? Predictable messages same old truths over and over kill your audience’s ability to stay focused. New in-sights help the long-time church attender stay engaged in the message. Making ancient truths fresh is hard work but critical in engaging your audience. Old, often-told stories, jargons and slogans repeated are great tools for combating insomnia. The real challenge here is telling stories church folks have heard in a way or from a perspective that keeps them engaged while giv-ing your unchurched audience essential biblical con-text.

Answering an important question keeps us engaged. “Why are you alive? What happens when you die? How can I become the best version of the person GOD

created me to be?” Illustrations connected to the big idea of the message are excellent tools to keep peo-ple’s attention. A good model to follow is truth and then a story. Here is my illustration to keep your atten-tion: Guess how many illustrations James uses in chapters 2 and 3? Now go there and count. I will wait. See what I mean. Crazy, huh?

A—Accessible When crafting a sermon think of store shelves. If store shelves are too high, short people cannot reach it. If too low, tall people will not bend down to get the items. The accessible middle of the shelf is the best place. Audiences for sermons are of-ten vastly diverse in education, age, gender, stage of life, marital status and background. This makes bring-ing a message that does not exclude people very diffi-cult.

My opening works best with people who connect with baseball, this would make no sense for people with no understanding of baseball. How does a thirteen-year-old boy connect with a sermon on Mother’s Day from Proverbs 31? Not every illustration or sermon will hit everyone but attempting to make most of our sermons accessible to the broadest number is critical. If you are into sports, use sports illustrations but not exclu-sively. Make sure you explain things so as more peo-ple can connect to it. I used one sentence to explain what a relief pitcher does. Anyone with exposure to baseball did not need that explanation but it was help-ful to non-baseball folks.

T—Truth Opinions carry no weight. “I think… Well according to me… I was always told…” Your big idea and your points must be directly tied to a clear biblical truth. GOD’s word, not your words. Who are you? No offense, our opinions are worth little compared to GOD’s truth. We can have great talks that are engag-ing, helpful and are accessible to a wide range of lis-teners; but they are not a sermon if they are not based in GOD’s truth. I have preached and heard too many messages with verses in them that were not as intend-ed by the Spirit or the context. Much of our bad preaching can be overlooked if we make sure our main point and sub-points are biblically accurate.

Every time we step up to speak to GOD’s people, an audience of eternal souls in need of GOD’s truth, is more critical than any baseball game ever played. Please, bring the HEAT!

Jon Schuerholz Strategic Growth Specialist

HEAT—What Makes A Good Sermon

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 4

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 5

MISSIONS CONNECTION

A Sweet Smelling Fragrance—From A District IW

It was in September of 2008. We were moving from one West African country to another; a full two days drive if you are in your personal vehicle. We had a truck all lined up to get our belongings, but unfortunately, the truck could not come as scheduled and we had to fly out before they arrived. So, our good international worker friend agreed to take care of it for us. Which he did, and he did a great job. Now, I don’t care which continent you live on, or in which country; money is a driving force. So, even though our good friend told the truck driver that he was NOT to pick up anything else along the way, the temptation to get extra money was too strong especially if the truck is not completely full, and also since a normal two day drive in a personal vehicle would be a two WEEK trip in his truck. The diffi-culties of getting across the border would be more worthwhile if he could earn some extra cash. He would probably need it for his trip! So . . . he picked up a load of something that is quite common for transporters coming from the portside capital—dried fish. It is basically what it sounds like—dead fish. Ok, so the truck took at least two weeks to arrive in the city we were moving to. Of course, we were excited. It was to be unloaded in the compound of another IW. The truck driver unlocked the door, opened it, and out came this horrible smell. We knew exactly what it was—dried fish. It smelled terrible! What made the smell worse was the fact that there was water in the truck. You see, it had rained along the way and the truck, that was supposed to be a closed truck, had a leak in the front where they had taken out the refrigeration unit and welded a piece of metal to cover the hole. When they unloaded one of our mattresses, the water just poured out of it. EVERYTHING smelled like dead fish. We spent months trying to get the smell out of our living room furniture, our other non-wet mattresses, and everything else that had absorbed the smell. We put everything out in the sun and or-dered a container load of Febreze from the US. (OK, so it wasn’t a container load!) I don’t remember how many bottles of the stuff we used. But I do know that, in contrast to the horrible dried fish smell, the Febreze smell was very FRAGRANT! What does FRAGRANCE mean? The dictionary says, “a pleas-ant, sweet odor.” Now why did I use a bad, smelly, fish story??!! Because I thought that a contrast would work better than a simile—I am an English teacher! Paul mentions this very same word in his second letter to the Corinthians 2:14-15, “But thanks be to God who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” Wherever Paul went, God was using him to get the good news of Jesus out. It was spreading like a sweet fragrance. Where does that fragrance come from? From those who follow Christ with all their hearts. Anyone who is following Jesus should be a sweet smelling person—and I’m not talking about perfume or after shave, although I highly recommend both. No, we are talking about how the sweet fragrance of Jesus should be wafting out of every Christ-follower. In the same way the bad smell came out of the truck when we opened the door, the opposite smell—sweet—fragrance should come out of us as followers of Christ. If we are going to reach lost people for Jesus, every part of our life should be showing the world around us, who we live for, who is most important to us, where we get our standards, why we love the way we do, how we can be so joyful and forgiving. What are those opportunities in your sphere of in-fluence?

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 6

Barb Linn manages the district Hospitality House and invites all district workers to con-sider using this resource for a personal time of retreat or a family vacation.

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 7

EVANGELISM CONNECTION

Another practical suggestion that could move us toward greater success in evangelism is having [and using] an Evangelism Prayer List! Why? Quoting from Growing Strong in God’s Family (NavPress, p. 47):

“One of the most exciting events that can happen to you as a Christian is to see someone you know come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The situa-tion that would make a person’s conversion even more thrilling would be if you had been praying for that person.

In his book Winning Ways, LeRoy Eims makes the following statement, ‘If you want to see particular persons won to Christ, I suggest you put their names on a prayer list. Then pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them, ask God to prepare their hearts and pray until God gives the promised answer.’ The Apostle Paul expressed his concern for his fellow Israelites in his letter to the Romans; ‘Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.’

A key to seeing people come to Christ is to be specifically praying for them and ‘having them on your heart.’ An Evangelism Prayer List helps you do this.”

And, quoting Ron Hutchcraft on the importance of praying for the salvation of the lost:

“Your time praying for those outside the lifeboat and for you as you reach out to them is the deciding factor in the outcome. ‘The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective’ (James 5:16). Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China, stressed, ‘How important to learn to move man, through God, by prayer alone.’ And D.L. Moody, who was instrumental in more people coming to Christ than any other man in the nineteenth century, said, ‘Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.’” (A Life That Matters, p. 80)

We also know that “Prayer is the primary work of God’s people.” Therefore, evangelism needs to be bathed and covered in prayer. So, a practical tool that can help us to plan for successful evangelism this fall, would be to use (and encourage others to use) an Evan-gelism Prayer List! This is what Bonnie Koonsman calls “Your Top 5 List.” Who are the top 5 people you feel God is leading you to witness to and invest in? This list is a tool we can ALL use to increase our planning for success this fall—and into the coming year!

Let’s plan to succeed by planning, listing, and praying! What do you think? LET’S DO IT!!!

https://nedcma.org/ministries/evangelism

Rev. David M. Prahst Senior Pastor Nelliston, NY

vac1@frontiernet.net

The Importance of Prayer

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 8

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too,

that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery

of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”

Colossians 4:2-4 (NIV)

When my children were little, they loved it when I would tell them a story. Sometimes it

would be a Dr. Seuss book, other times it would be a story about animals, and still

other times, a fairy tale. One of the things they loved is that I would play the part of

each character, changing my voice to match. I would get giggles and rapt attention.

They would beg for me to read it to them again and again. I would finally have to

just close the book and say, “No more tonight!”

It was a sad day for me as my children grew and no longer wanted me to read to

them. I missed telling them stories. But then one day, I realized that I did have another

story to tell. It was a story of my life and how God did His amazing work through me.

It was a story that I could share with others.

My story is one of a changed life. It is a story of how God took a lonely and sad girl

with a rough upbringing, and how He changed her. It was a story of how He called me

into full-time ministry and placed me with my prince. It is a story of challenges,

hardships, joys and sadness. And it’s a story of how God trained me for battle and

taught me to fight with the armor He gave me. It’s a story of peril, redemption and

victory. It’s an exciting story that others could relate to and want to hear over and

over.

I am not the only one with a story. You have one too. Each of us has a story that God

has given us and can be used to show others who He is. You see, your story is not to

be used to bring glory to yourself. It is meant to glorify the One that saved you. It has

been given you so that through it you can point others to Him.

We need to handle our story with care. We should present it in a way that brings

honor to Christ. It should show others how God is working through you. People also

need to be able to read this story on their own. Everything in you should reflect the

love of Christ. Others should be able to see Christ in you without you even having to

open your mouth to tell them about Him.

Your story is a beautiful thing. God has given us each a different chapter in His book.

Some of you have dealt with loss and heartache, others have experienced abuse and

rejection, and others deal with physical disabilities and hardship. Whatever story God

has given you, make sure you are glorifying Him in it.

Then go out and tell the world your story.

Terri Groh

Alliance Women Director

Tell Your Story

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 9

NED MEN’S MINISTRY

Andy Bashwinger

Rev. Andrew M. Bashwinger Pastor, Waverly C&MA

NED Men’s Ministry pastorandy03@aol.com

Andy

“As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came

down from Judea.” Three conversations had to take place for me to share this. First is a conversation with one of my sons. He shared with me that he was reading a mathematics epistle. I remarked that the “epistle” wording caught my atten-tion and he said that it is an epistle is not just a religious or moral work, but, also a letter to an audience rather than an individu-al. In mathematics, it is often a teaching on how we came to the information that we now accept as axioms (accepted standards or answers). Second, I’ve been drawn for some years now to Paul’s Prison Epistles (Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians and Phi-lippians). They are – to me, his finest letters written in what was possibly his darkest time. Typically, I’ll read one or two of them a year, usually over a couple days. This year, I’ve included Acts 21-28 in that reading so that I include a bit more of Paul’s journey from missionary to future-martyr. There are so many little clues that Luke (intentionally?) embedded within the text that you can see lead to Paul’s temper-ament and theology in the Prison Epistles. Third, I was messaging with a good friend recently and they expressed to me that they had just been effectively laid off from their position. My heart was crushed for them. They had been working so hard like so many recent college grads to get a good position within their field. Then, God brought Acts 22:10 back to my mind: “…a prophet named Agabus came…” Paul was in the process of wrapping up his third missionary journey and bringing a long-awaited offering to Jerusalem. And, while it had been difficult, it was rewarding and he could possibly see the tremendous growth in the Gentile church that was figura-tively just around the corner.

We know that he had plans for fur-ther journeys, possibly even to Spain. Both his life and mission field lay wide open be-fore him. Then, in a non-descript moment, a man walks up and changes everything. “And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, ‘This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:11) His friends, like me for my friend, were crushed for him. They even did what they could to try to persuade him from even going – “Hide on the mission-field, lay low.” (super-paraphrasing here!) In unforeseen and fragile moments, everything can change. As stated, Paul in one verse transitions from celebrated mis-sionary to future martyr. While it would be easy to hide in the past, lay low and hope that this too shall pass, Paul moved forward with full confidence in Christ. For me, though I would never send someone to be a martyr, that change pro-duced such a “next-step” maturing in Paul’s theology that his letters truly become epis-tles to believers across the ages. Maybe for you and I, though we would never first run toward the death of anything we had worked so hard on, can learn through the Spirit to embrace God’s sovereignty as He simply states, “It’s time for this now.” Everyday has new challenges and new crosses to bear; but it also offers some of the finest and most impactful moments of our entire lives. Be attentive and present. And, when we see him coming, let’s say cheerfully, “Hello, Agabus. What brings you here?”

THE NED CONNECTION, Page 10

THE NORTHEASTERN DISTRICT

OF THE C&MA

6275 Pillmore Drive

Rome, NY 13440

Phone: 315-336-4720

Fax: 315-336-0347

Contact via E-mail

office@nedcma.org

District Superintendent

David B. Linn

dlinn@nedcma.org

Barbara S. Linn

barb.linn@twc.com

Assist. to DS/Missions Mobilizer

David M. Murphy

dmurphy@nedcma.org

Ministry Specialist

Sally V. Fry

sfry@nedcma.org

Executive Assistant

Tracy M. Murphy

tmurphy@nedcma.org

Strategic Growth Specialist

Jonathan L. Schuerholz

jschuerholz@nedcma.org

Disciplemaking Specialist

Lisa L. Vogan

lvogan@nedcma.org

District Bookkeeper

Edward W. Lyau

elyau@nedcma.org

Alliance Women Director

Terri A. Groh

terrigroh@yahoo.com

The NED Web nedcma.org

October

9 Disciplemaking Team Meeting District Office, 9:30 AM

10 Evangelism Committee Teleconference, 3:00 PM

15 Ord/Con In-Service Training District Office, 9:00 AM—3:00 PM

17 Missions Committee Meeting District Office, 10:00 AM

22 LO&CC Meeting District Office, 9:30 AM

28 NED Connection Items due at District Office

November

12 CMTeam Meeting District Office, 10:00 AM

14 Evangelism Committee Teleconference, 3:00 PM

25 NED Connection Items due at District Office

28-29 HAPPY THANKSGIVING District Office Closed

NED Office Hours

Monday-Thursday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM

Friday 8:00 AM –2:00 PM

NED RESOURCES BULLETIN BOARD

Calendar

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the

things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set

their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind

on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Romans 8:5-6

District Prayer Chain Lorraine Regnier

District Prayer Coordinator Prayer requests will be distributed

throughout the Northeastern District family by contacting Lorraine directly

at lorregnier@aol.com or 518-356-1098.

NED Connection Articles for the November edition are due by October 28, 2019.

office@nedcma.org

Membership Certificates Please contact the

District Office at 315-336-4720 Ext. 201 or office@nedcma.org

to request church membership certificates.

District Bible Quizzing Claudine Campbell

District Quiz Coordinator 607-529-8879 cell

claudine@northeasternquizzing.org