Hello Folks,
This past Sunday was a time of God's presence in our worship. In both of our worship services, a.m. and p.m., it seemed to me that our congregation was very open to God speaking to them. I must admit that the preaching seemed to be very easy and that the attentiveness was extremely high. It was as if all of us were waiting on God to speak to us and He did exactly that. I pray that all who were there felt that same sense of His presence.
Tonight is the annual business meeting of our congregation. It is a time when the overall budget is presented and names will be presented for ratification for our Board of Stewards. The current board has been very insistent that we make sure that we have the right people in place and while there are 4 positions open we will only be presenting 3 names until we come up with the right person to fill the fourth position. We all believe that we are far better off waiting on God to give us the right person than just presenting a name so we can fill a position. I believe God will honor that!
This coming Sunday we will have our Faith Promise Campaign. We will see what our congregation will believe God to do among us. This group of people have invested themselves into missions over the years and the impact of their commitment will only be known in eternity. I look forward to what He will do here.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Hello Folks,
I got back Monday night from Pennsylvania where I spent last week preaching a United Methodist Camp Meeting outside of a town called Rhimersberg. The name of the place was called Cherry Run. While I was there I shared the responsibilities of preaching and teaching with a retired Wesleyan Pastor by the name of Jim Hosey. Let me simply say that I was blessed by his ministry and the people that were part of that camp meeting. Brother Hosey preached holiness sermons and had one of the sweetest and most gentle spirit that I have ever been in contact with in my life. The people were attentive and responsive to the sermons and I found myself blessed by being there.
Our VBS took place a couple of weeks ago and I must say that it was a time of real excitement among the children and the workers. Not only was it a time of excitement but there appeared to be some wonderful spiritual movement for God. Erin Shores, who led the worship, told us at least two chidlren came to Christ during that time. On Sunday, July 29, there were a number of parents and grandparents here to see what their children had learned and it was a real plesure seeing them worship with us. I want to thank all those who made it possible for VBS to take place. Paul Collins, the childrens steward, and his workers; Sharon Collins, Kim Trantham, Chad Inscore, and all the others worked hard to make it all come together. They did great work and I am thankful for them.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
I got back Monday night from Pennsylvania where I spent last week preaching a United Methodist Camp Meeting outside of a town called Rhimersberg. The name of the place was called Cherry Run. While I was there I shared the responsibilities of preaching and teaching with a retired Wesleyan Pastor by the name of Jim Hosey. Let me simply say that I was blessed by his ministry and the people that were part of that camp meeting. Brother Hosey preached holiness sermons and had one of the sweetest and most gentle spirit that I have ever been in contact with in my life. The people were attentive and responsive to the sermons and I found myself blessed by being there.
Our VBS took place a couple of weeks ago and I must say that it was a time of real excitement among the children and the workers. Not only was it a time of excitement but there appeared to be some wonderful spiritual movement for God. Erin Shores, who led the worship, told us at least two chidlren came to Christ during that time. On Sunday, July 29, there were a number of parents and grandparents here to see what their children had learned and it was a real plesure seeing them worship with us. I want to thank all those who made it possible for VBS to take place. Paul Collins, the childrens steward, and his workers; Sharon Collins, Kim Trantham, Chad Inscore, and all the others worked hard to make it all come together. They did great work and I am thankful for them.
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Hello Folks,
I was sitting in my office cleaing out my e-mails when our DayCare Director Barbara Zilox stopped by and told me that the State of Tennessee has given Noah's Ark a 3-Star rating. This is the first time in the history of Noah's Ark that this has taken place. It is the highest rating that a DayCare can receive. I want to thank Barbara and all those teachers and helpers who have made this possible. They have worked extremely hard to bring this about and I for one am very thankful that they are part of the ministry of this congregation and poured themselves into the lives of these young people.
This week our congregation is providing a Vacation Bible School for our community and the local congregation. Last night I stopped in to see how they were doing and it appeared to be going very well. If you have not seen what it takes to be able to do this ministry you would be suprised at the amount of adults and youth that are giving of their time and efforts to make it work. Of course, there are those who have worked for months before it even began and I give thanks to God for their willingess to serve Him this way. You should have seen the children as they were eating in the Family Life Center. They were gathered around tables with their counselors and it was a pure delight just to watch and listen to them all. Sometimes it appears to me that the adults have as much fun as the children do.
This coming Sunday p.m. East Tennessee Camp Meeting will start and continue through the next Sunday p.m. Gilbert Davila will be our speaker and Cindy Magsig will lead worship. While I will be in Pennsylvania preaching a camp meeting myself I do believe that God will speak through them to accomplish His will here. Pastor Davila will also preach here on Aug. 5 in the a.m. and Cindy Magsig will minister in song. I pray that you will plan on being at these worship services.
Have a great one,
HGRudd
I was sitting in my office cleaing out my e-mails when our DayCare Director Barbara Zilox stopped by and told me that the State of Tennessee has given Noah's Ark a 3-Star rating. This is the first time in the history of Noah's Ark that this has taken place. It is the highest rating that a DayCare can receive. I want to thank Barbara and all those teachers and helpers who have made this possible. They have worked extremely hard to bring this about and I for one am very thankful that they are part of the ministry of this congregation and poured themselves into the lives of these young people.
This week our congregation is providing a Vacation Bible School for our community and the local congregation. Last night I stopped in to see how they were doing and it appeared to be going very well. If you have not seen what it takes to be able to do this ministry you would be suprised at the amount of adults and youth that are giving of their time and efforts to make it work. Of course, there are those who have worked for months before it even began and I give thanks to God for their willingess to serve Him this way. You should have seen the children as they were eating in the Family Life Center. They were gathered around tables with their counselors and it was a pure delight just to watch and listen to them all. Sometimes it appears to me that the adults have as much fun as the children do.
This coming Sunday p.m. East Tennessee Camp Meeting will start and continue through the next Sunday p.m. Gilbert Davila will be our speaker and Cindy Magsig will lead worship. While I will be in Pennsylvania preaching a camp meeting myself I do believe that God will speak through them to accomplish His will here. Pastor Davila will also preach here on Aug. 5 in the a.m. and Cindy Magsig will minister in song. I pray that you will plan on being at these worship services.
Have a great one,
HGRudd
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Hello Folks,
At Anderson Camp Meeting during the General Assembly a resolution came to the floor that calls upon congregations to conditional deed their physical properties to the State Ministries of their respective states. It also called upon each congregation to agree to fulfill the requirements of a "healthy" congregation that are listed in the new Credentials Manual. I found myself in oppostion to that resolution for a number of reasons but most of those who were there, about 406 voting members, decided that it was acceptable.
Here are the reasons for my opposition. First, while I trust those who are in leadership today I wonder what might happen in the generations to come. Could it be that a congregation would conditionally deed their property to state ministries, or national, and have them depart from the biblical truth that is so important to us? I am sure the Episcoal Church never thought they would be in the situation they are now where local congregations are having to give up their properties due to their desire to disassociate themselves from their national stance on homosexuality. Just suppose your congregation decides to conditionally deed their property and they find themselve in complete oppostion and refuse to give financially to state ministries. Since that is one of the 15 expectations of a healthy congregation, and since our General Assembly has place a stamp of approval on it could they walk in and take your property? It would seem that is exactly the case--again I do not think this generation has to worry but what about 2 or 3 generations in the future? Will those who follow us rise up and call us traitors?
Second, this seems to be a step toward denominationalism to me. While this may be a small step at this time there could be great and dire unintended conseqences. We are hearing a number of people telling us that automony is bad but they are not telling us what they think it should be replaced with. The biblical picture seems to me to be mutual accountability but the problem we all have is that we want others to be accountable to us but we do not want to be accountable to them. Is the call to rename our State Ministers Association as Overseers a symptom of this issue? Is that another incremental step that is being taken? Now, again I do not think there are devious intentions in any of these issues but the law of unintended consequences could be the result.
Third, while I know some are saying that conditional deeding is needed, and I struggle with that question myself, to keep other groups from acts of piracy where local congregational properties are concerned, I would remind state and national ministries that the properties do not belong to them either! If a local congregation does not deal with those issues in a manner that rejects allowing people to sit in leadership that are not convinced of the message of the Church of God Reformation Movement then that is their decision, however wrong that might be. Our state ministries ought not to appear to want to take ownership for the purpose of funding for their own budgets. Again, this may not be what is desired but this might be the unintended consequences that some are confronted with in years to come.
This is something for all of us to ponder as we all are responsible for the those who follow us.
Have a great one,
HGRudd
At Anderson Camp Meeting during the General Assembly a resolution came to the floor that calls upon congregations to conditional deed their physical properties to the State Ministries of their respective states. It also called upon each congregation to agree to fulfill the requirements of a "healthy" congregation that are listed in the new Credentials Manual. I found myself in oppostion to that resolution for a number of reasons but most of those who were there, about 406 voting members, decided that it was acceptable.
Here are the reasons for my opposition. First, while I trust those who are in leadership today I wonder what might happen in the generations to come. Could it be that a congregation would conditionally deed their property to state ministries, or national, and have them depart from the biblical truth that is so important to us? I am sure the Episcoal Church never thought they would be in the situation they are now where local congregations are having to give up their properties due to their desire to disassociate themselves from their national stance on homosexuality. Just suppose your congregation decides to conditionally deed their property and they find themselve in complete oppostion and refuse to give financially to state ministries. Since that is one of the 15 expectations of a healthy congregation, and since our General Assembly has place a stamp of approval on it could they walk in and take your property? It would seem that is exactly the case--again I do not think this generation has to worry but what about 2 or 3 generations in the future? Will those who follow us rise up and call us traitors?
Second, this seems to be a step toward denominationalism to me. While this may be a small step at this time there could be great and dire unintended conseqences. We are hearing a number of people telling us that automony is bad but they are not telling us what they think it should be replaced with. The biblical picture seems to me to be mutual accountability but the problem we all have is that we want others to be accountable to us but we do not want to be accountable to them. Is the call to rename our State Ministers Association as Overseers a symptom of this issue? Is that another incremental step that is being taken? Now, again I do not think there are devious intentions in any of these issues but the law of unintended consequences could be the result.
Third, while I know some are saying that conditional deeding is needed, and I struggle with that question myself, to keep other groups from acts of piracy where local congregational properties are concerned, I would remind state and national ministries that the properties do not belong to them either! If a local congregation does not deal with those issues in a manner that rejects allowing people to sit in leadership that are not convinced of the message of the Church of God Reformation Movement then that is their decision, however wrong that might be. Our state ministries ought not to appear to want to take ownership for the purpose of funding for their own budgets. Again, this may not be what is desired but this might be the unintended consequences that some are confronted with in years to come.
This is something for all of us to ponder as we all are responsible for the those who follow us.
Have a great one,
HGRudd
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Hello Folks,
It is good to be back in the office and hopefully starting to get back to normal after being at Anderson Camp Meeting and then taking a week of vacation. Anderson Camp Meeting and General Assembly meeting was filled with business worship services and a couple of meetings. It was so good to see people that I have not seen in a while and while I sat through a few hours of General Assembly it was something that needed to be done. Every year business is presented and decisions are made where a handful of people, about 400 on Tuesday, make decisions that have impact upon the greater Church of God Reformation Movement. I pray that we see more people show concern and participate in this process and that the Movement would really be able to reach our world with this great message of Christ, unity and holiness.
When we left Anderson Ruth and I went to see our children. While at James' in Indianapolis we watched our grand daughters play softball. It was a real thrill to watch Jordyn hit a home run and to watch Alexis pitch. It is hard to believe that they are growing up. Then we went to Pekin, Il and stayed with Debby and her family. Bob, our oldest son, and I played golf one day and I was thankful to have that time with him. As I look at my children it causes me to realize how much I love them and give thanks to God for them.
We got back into town on July 5 bringing 3 of our grandchildren with us. Landon is 5 years old and it is his first time with us. Camryn is 12 and Breanne is 13 and they have been with us a number of times. We have tried to make the best of it, yesterday we took them to Locust Springs and let them spend some time on the water slide then later on in the day we drove through Cherokee National Forest and went to Hot Springs, N.C. and then drove home stopping to get ice cream.
I want to thank you for giving me that opportunity to enjoy my physical family. Yet I am thankful to be back here because of each one of you. God has given me a wonderful congregation to pastor and I praise him for you all.
HGRudd
It is good to be back in the office and hopefully starting to get back to normal after being at Anderson Camp Meeting and then taking a week of vacation. Anderson Camp Meeting and General Assembly meeting was filled with business worship services and a couple of meetings. It was so good to see people that I have not seen in a while and while I sat through a few hours of General Assembly it was something that needed to be done. Every year business is presented and decisions are made where a handful of people, about 400 on Tuesday, make decisions that have impact upon the greater Church of God Reformation Movement. I pray that we see more people show concern and participate in this process and that the Movement would really be able to reach our world with this great message of Christ, unity and holiness.
When we left Anderson Ruth and I went to see our children. While at James' in Indianapolis we watched our grand daughters play softball. It was a real thrill to watch Jordyn hit a home run and to watch Alexis pitch. It is hard to believe that they are growing up. Then we went to Pekin, Il and stayed with Debby and her family. Bob, our oldest son, and I played golf one day and I was thankful to have that time with him. As I look at my children it causes me to realize how much I love them and give thanks to God for them.
We got back into town on July 5 bringing 3 of our grandchildren with us. Landon is 5 years old and it is his first time with us. Camryn is 12 and Breanne is 13 and they have been with us a number of times. We have tried to make the best of it, yesterday we took them to Locust Springs and let them spend some time on the water slide then later on in the day we drove through Cherokee National Forest and went to Hot Springs, N.C. and then drove home stopping to get ice cream.
I want to thank you for giving me that opportunity to enjoy my physical family. Yet I am thankful to be back here because of each one of you. God has given me a wonderful congregation to pastor and I praise him for you all.
HGRudd
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Hello Folks,
The summer activities are fast approaching for me and probably for all of you. Next week I will be in Anderson, In at the annual camp meeting and General Assembly meeting. While I look forward to seeing folks that I have not seen in a while I really dread the trip. If it were not for the fact that I feel the great need to participate in our national ministry efforts I would stay home. Of course, it also helps that Ruth and I will take a week vacation and visit with our children while we are close to them. When we come back we will bring 3 or 4 of grandchildren back with us for a couple of weeks. We really look forward to having them here with us.
When I read the news I often wonder what our nation and our world will look like in 20 years. The state of Virginia appointed a judge, against the state legislatures desires, that is extremely pro-homosexual. General Mills, JC Penny's, Home Depot and others are showing that they are also pro-homosexual. The President of the U.S. has come out in favor of homosexual "marriages' and has directed the Justice Department to no longer enforce the laws of our land including the Defense of Marriage Act. What will we look like in 20 years?
The answer to all this is that the church of God still has Jesus as its head and that will never change. I wonder if much of what we see is nothing more than indications that we are moving toward the time when His church will be encircled by the paganistic forces of our world and He will have to intervene? Of course this could just be nothing more than the surmising of an older man but it makes you wonder.
May He Bless You All,
HGRudd
The summer activities are fast approaching for me and probably for all of you. Next week I will be in Anderson, In at the annual camp meeting and General Assembly meeting. While I look forward to seeing folks that I have not seen in a while I really dread the trip. If it were not for the fact that I feel the great need to participate in our national ministry efforts I would stay home. Of course, it also helps that Ruth and I will take a week vacation and visit with our children while we are close to them. When we come back we will bring 3 or 4 of grandchildren back with us for a couple of weeks. We really look forward to having them here with us.
When I read the news I often wonder what our nation and our world will look like in 20 years. The state of Virginia appointed a judge, against the state legislatures desires, that is extremely pro-homosexual. General Mills, JC Penny's, Home Depot and others are showing that they are also pro-homosexual. The President of the U.S. has come out in favor of homosexual "marriages' and has directed the Justice Department to no longer enforce the laws of our land including the Defense of Marriage Act. What will we look like in 20 years?
The answer to all this is that the church of God still has Jesus as its head and that will never change. I wonder if much of what we see is nothing more than indications that we are moving toward the time when His church will be encircled by the paganistic forces of our world and He will have to intervene? Of course this could just be nothing more than the surmising of an older man but it makes you wonder.
May He Bless You All,
HGRudd
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Hello Folks,
Here we are in the month of June and it summer is just a matter of days away from us. One of the facts of getting older is that time seems to run past us as a furious rate. I can remember my parents talking about how fast time goes by and I find myself echoing their words now that I have had the privilege of living over 60 years.
This past week a very good friend went on to be with the Lord. Her name was Willie Heberer. Willie was 75 years of age and had been beseiged with cancer. When Ruth and I pastored in Pekin, Il she and her husband, Earl, came to the Lord on Oct. 26, 1980. What friends they were to us. When Ruth and I went to Pastor's Fellowship in Kentucky she would watch our kids. My children have wonderful memories of her and Earl. We spent time with them, laughed and mourned with them. Now, she has gone on to be with the Lord and her time on this earth is over. But praise be to God anyone who will serve Jesus can have the privilege of seeing her and Earl again. Friends, cannot be overestimated! She was a true gift from God for me and Ruth.
I wonder if you have friends like that? I pray that you do and if you do not then you should call on God to enable that to take place. What a joy it is to have people you can celebrate life with and hold close in your heart.
Another one of my friends from Pekin is Jess Glidewell. He is now about 72 years of age and is battling cancer. I have known him since about March of 1980. My family has eaten at his house so many times that I think he could have used us as a tax deduction. His family is dear to me as well and I am praying that God continue to give healing to his body. It is my understanding that he has recently come to the Lord for salvation so I have assurance that I will be able to see him in glory when that time comes.
Is it not strange but the older we grow it is not uncommon to see our friends and loved ones leave this world. Since that is true we should be prepared to live in eternity with Christ and with them. I wonder if you are ready?
Have a great day,
HGRudd
Here we are in the month of June and it summer is just a matter of days away from us. One of the facts of getting older is that time seems to run past us as a furious rate. I can remember my parents talking about how fast time goes by and I find myself echoing their words now that I have had the privilege of living over 60 years.
This past week a very good friend went on to be with the Lord. Her name was Willie Heberer. Willie was 75 years of age and had been beseiged with cancer. When Ruth and I pastored in Pekin, Il she and her husband, Earl, came to the Lord on Oct. 26, 1980. What friends they were to us. When Ruth and I went to Pastor's Fellowship in Kentucky she would watch our kids. My children have wonderful memories of her and Earl. We spent time with them, laughed and mourned with them. Now, she has gone on to be with the Lord and her time on this earth is over. But praise be to God anyone who will serve Jesus can have the privilege of seeing her and Earl again. Friends, cannot be overestimated! She was a true gift from God for me and Ruth.
I wonder if you have friends like that? I pray that you do and if you do not then you should call on God to enable that to take place. What a joy it is to have people you can celebrate life with and hold close in your heart.
Another one of my friends from Pekin is Jess Glidewell. He is now about 72 years of age and is battling cancer. I have known him since about March of 1980. My family has eaten at his house so many times that I think he could have used us as a tax deduction. His family is dear to me as well and I am praying that God continue to give healing to his body. It is my understanding that he has recently come to the Lord for salvation so I have assurance that I will be able to see him in glory when that time comes.
Is it not strange but the older we grow it is not uncommon to see our friends and loved ones leave this world. Since that is true we should be prepared to live in eternity with Christ and with them. I wonder if you are ready?
Have a great day,
HGRudd
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