cb webpage

June 2011

Newsletter

group picture
Changing Signs
Well, after all the driving I do, it was bound to happen. I got a ticket. It wasn't for some of the morecop lights common traffic violations like speeding, not signaling, not wearing a seat belt, talking on the phone or texting, or parking. I wasn't in a crash, but I was within one mile of my home. I got a ticket for turning right on a red. Bad things happen close to home. 52% of reported crashes occur within five miles of home and only 1% of reported crashes take place 50 miles from home. Why is that? Perhaps we relax and get too comfortable. The officer told me they just put up the sign a week ago. I couldn't believe it was there. I even rode my bicycle back up to the exit ramp off the freeway to check. There it was. After 5 years of living in this neighborhood, things have changed. I wasn't paying attention to the changing signs around me, literally and figuratively. Lesson learned...keep looking at the changes and signs around you and make the necessary adjustments, otherwise it may cost you. Be like the men from the tribe of Issachar, "all these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take." 1 Chronicles 12:32

jimJim Smith
Executive Director
CB Southern California

larryOn the News 
Larry Maib, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Canoga Park, was one of the Pastors invited to lead the community Easter Sunrise Service at Forest Lawn near Burbank. While there, a KTLA news reporter asked if they could interview him for the evening news. They asked him three questions: What church are you from? What does Easter mean to you? Do you enjoy participating in this event. On the evening news, they showed Larry answering each question except the second, which Larry had answered, "Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which provides eternal life to every man, woman and child who believes in Jesus." Great answer, and at least the reporter and camera person heard the gospel. Too bad they didn't show it on camera.
 
chuckOpen Heart Surgery Prayer Request 
Pastor Chuck McCament from San Antonio Heights Community Church in Upland, CA will be having open heart surgery on June 2. During his middle school years, doctors noticed a "heart murmur," yet he was accepted into the Air Force, and now the operation will be done at the VA Medical Center in West LA. Please be in prayer for the success of this operation. Chuck will be out recovering for about two months. Jim Smith will be speaking five weeks on Sunday mornings and other guest speakers will be covering the rest of the Sundays. San Antonio Heights Community Church hosts the CB Southern California regional office.
  
philOceanside Interim Named
Phil Waters has been asked to step in to be the interim Pastor of First Baptist Church in Oceanside. On May 1, Pastor Hal Schulz retired after leading FBC for 18 years. Since 2006, Phil and Sharyn Waters have been leading a Japanese congregation that meets at FBC in Oceanside. In 1980, they were appointed by WorldVenture as church planters to Japan. They returned to the United States in 1989, and since health problems prevented them from returning, the Waters were appointed by Missions Door to pioneer a ministry to Japanese in Southern California. FBC also hosts a Filpino, Korean, Chinese and Spanish congregations. 
 
foodBellflower Feeding the Hungry
Every Saturday, from 10:00am to 12:30pm about 150 homeless, elderly, single moms and kids show up at Journey of Faith in Bellflower for a full meal (they average around 110 meals each week). Every week they go through 30-40 lbs of meat, 15 lbs of dry beans, 25-30 lbs of vegatables, 18 heads of lettuce and 55 lbs of watermelon! They also have a Bible study, a short sermon before the meal, a clothing closet, and a children's program. Winston and Merna Marshall started and oversee this ministry which started in July '09 with just a few coming. Now they have a host of volunteers, from professional cooks in the kitchen, to those who set-up, teach, clean-up and share Christ. Recently the ministry has been blessed every week with music from Christian musicians. In fact, all of the work is done by volunteers from the professional chefs in the kitchen to the people who witness and clean up. Campus Pastor Don Willett and his wfie, Barbara, are very excited about this outreach into their community.
  
matt and lew
Matt Hsieh and Lew Dawson.
Rancho Baptist Expanding

Discipleship Pastor Lew Dawson says that Rancho Baptist in Temecula is planing to double their sanctuary seating capacity by adding on 30 feet to their existing building. Years ago, they built an office building, leaving empty offices behind their platform and allowing them now to increase the sanctuary size. Plan approval is with the city, and they hope to build in the near future. Rancho also honored their Senior Pastor, Matt Hsieh, for his 10 years of ministry with a 6-week paid sabbatical/vacation. Congratulations to Matt and the staff at Rancho Baptist.

 

leithLeith Anderson on the Church

"Right now is the best time that has ever occurred in history with respect to the church at large."

 

That's how Leith Anderson recently launched a talk on church leadership and ministry ethics at the annual meetings of CB North Central at Lake Geneva, WI, where the 8 regional executive directors had their spring meetings. Leith Anderson has been the Pastor of Woodale Church in Eden Prarie, MN since 1977 as well as the President of the National Association of Evangelicals since 2006.

Leith
 went on: "there are over 2 billion professing Christians in the world today.  Every day there are 30,000 new believers in China. Africa, south of the Sahara, has a Christian majority . . . every day there sees 20,000 people added to the family of God. In South America there are 10,000 new believers every day . . . 1,000 new churches are launched each week.  At Pentecost Peter preached and 3,000 responded. We now have a Pentecost every hour in the world."

 

Bert Down, SW CB executive director writes,  "Okay, okay. Now my question is how do we get in on this action? Anderson basically chided us to stop acting like the suffering few and realize we're winning. Then act accordingly. From the Gospel's standpoint, we're not living in a world of scarce opportunity and little power, but in an environment of vast opportunity and the ultimate power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."  

 

moodySunrise Church Partners with Moody 

Sunrise Church of Rialto, CA is working in partnership with the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. They will be offering a Distance Learning Program which includes Certificates, Associate Degrees and even Bachelor of Science Degrees in Biblical Studies! Moody will provide all of the academic instruction and Sunrise Church will provide internships to offer students an opportunity to apply what they have learned. This approach combines Moody Bible Institute's Global-Contextual Learning (GCL) program with the best of online and face-to-face education. Through the development of community-based learning groups, which will meet at Sunrise Church in Rialto, the GCL creates an educational experience that is academically rigorous, globally accessible, and contextually focused. Classes start this fall. The link to their school is here. For more information contact Pastor Art Lucero 909-875-5566 ext 420, or email him at alucero@sunrisechurch.org.

 

Oikos AugustOutreach Focus

CB Southern California is encouraging pastors and church leaders to attend this one-day workshop at High Desert Church, in Victorville, on Friday, August 19. It was to be in May, but was rescheduled due to a medical emergency, and although the summer heat will be intense, the buildings are air conditioned and the topic is well worth the trip.

SCHEDULE

8:30 am Registration (Donuts, coffee/Chapel) 

tom
Tom Mercer 
Lead Pastor
High Desert Church

9:00 am Oikos General Session 1 (Chapel)

The Oikocentric Life - Tom Mercer

10:30 am Break (Snacks/Chapel)

10:45 am Oikos General Session 2 (Chapel)

The Oikocentric Church - Tom Mercer

12:00 pm Lunch (Chapel)

1:00 pm SLT (Chapel) Developing an Oikocentric

Leadership Team - Jack Hamilton

2:00 pm SLT (Chapel) Developing Oikocentric

Environments - George Beardsley

3:00 pm SLT (Chapel) Developing Oikocentric

Children's and Student Ministries - Todd Arnett

4:00 pm SLT (Chapel) The Sharp Focus of the

Oikocentric Church - Kurt Thielen

5:00 Dinner (Chapel) 

All of this is available for one flat fee of $79 per person.  

What previous attendees have said: 

 "Thank you for taking such good care of us! For the price, the content, the food, the materials were outstanding. I want to encourage other pastors to participate."

    "The materials were clear and helpful. It was very helpful to see how the idea of oikos evangelism and discipleship is incorporated throughout all church ministries."

    "The materials were amazing-a lot more detail than I expected."

   

To Register and for more information, please contact:

 Executive Pastor Jack Hamilton / 760-245-2415

info@oikoschurches.com

 

 More Effective, Healthy and Balanced Pastors

pastors

In September, we are resuming Pastor Mentoring Groups throughout the Southern California area. Call our office for locations. According to a major national survey, Pastors who regularly go to a monthly pastors peer group help the church itself. The findings are amazing, drawn from a nationally-representative sample in 2008 that studied several thousand pastors. It asked if pastoral leaders participated regularly in a small group of peers for continuing education and support during the last 5 years, and then compared those who said "yes" with those who said "no." In academic language: pastoral leaders in peer groups reflect and shape congregations that are participatory, missional, and support their continuing education. Such leaders are also active in their self-development and self-care and are self-differentiated. Translated:  Congregations with pastoral leaders who participated in peer groups....continued  

 

noel robbinsWomen's Event in Upland

Noel Robbins, an energetic pastor's wife from Salem, Oregon, will be speaking at San Antonio Heights Community Church's Women's Ministries event called, "Ladies in Waiting." It all starts at 6pm on Friday night, July 8 and concludes 10am - 2pm on July 9th. Tickets are $30, which include 3 sessions with Noel, an elegant dinner on Friday night and luncheon on Saturday. Childcare will be provided. This event is open to all interested women. Call Nita at 909.982.5907 or email them at sahccoffice@yahoo.com.
  
rob and edward
Rob Acker / Edward Fudge

CBC's Seminar on Hell

On Sunday night, May 15 and for a lunch on Monday, May 16, Pastor Rob Acker of the Community Baptist Church in Rancho Cucamonga invited theologian Edward Fudge to speak to their leadership team and other church leaders on the subject of hell. It was an interesting lecture on the Biblical understanding of the punishment and then destruction of those in hell.  His view calls into serious question the tradition of unending conscious torment as he examines every biblical text on the subject and finds the everlasting, total destruction of both body and soul. He traces the origin of eternal torment to pagan Greek philosophy about immortal souls. Dr. Fudge was also featured in a debate on the same subject at Biola University May 16. 

 

healthy childrenAffordable Health Program

We are always looking for ways to help the small church Pastor, and Tom Cutler notified us of a very affordable health program for children and pregnant women. How much? Medi-Cal is free. Healthy Families is $4 - $24 per child, per month! Call the Cutler Insurance Agency to find out more. The signing up for the program can be daunting, but they are certified to assist in the enrollment and are happy to do so. Call Eileen Flores (bilingual) at 800.843.6054 ext. 110 or you can reach her by email at Eileen@cutlerinsurance.com. She is helpful in assisting anyone. There is no charge for this.

 


money
Important New Tax Credit for Churches!

Health Care Reform Credit for Employee Health Insurance

CBAmerica reports that a payroll tax credit enacted as part of health care reform is now available to assist small nonprofit and for-profit employers (those with less than 25 employees and average wages below $50,000) in providing health insurance for their employees.The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has issued a report that highlights the impact of the newly enacted health law on small employers, including the benefits of the small employer tax credit.

 

Please click on the following links to:

housingHousing Allowance Safe For Now

The Freedom from Religion Foundation ("FFRF") and several other plaintiffs are challenging the constitutionality of the clergy housing allowance exclusion-a significant tax benefit used by tens of thousands of ministers nationwide-in a federal district court in California. But FFRF's challenge may have been dealt a lethal blow through a decision made earlier this spring by the United States Supreme Court in a separate case involving tax credits in Arizona.

 

Click here to continue reading. 

 

divorce

When Divorce Affects Your Staff

Nothing pains like divorce . . . especially when children are involved. While divorce is a family matter, it can spill into the workplace through child custody disputes. This can be quite challenging for leaders who must deal with the fallout. One church, NorthShore Christian Church in Washington has developed a policy for their staff members regarding divorce proceedings. You might find it helpful. In recent years, they have dealt with several difficult custody disputes. read the rest 

 

freeFree Stuff
CB Southern California still has a desk, an executive whiteboard and chairs for a needy office. We also have some phone equipment. Just call our office at 909.944.5900.  

Naeem FazalMark the Date

Monday, November 28, 2011

We have again planned to have a CBSC Christmas Banquet. We hope you will join us for an inspiring evening, filled with good fellowship and good food. This is open to all CB Pastors, leaders, members, friends and even non-CB people. 

We have something really special
planned for you this year.

 

Naeem Fazal, Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church in North Carolina, will be with us to share his incredible testimony. Naeem Fazal was born and raised in Kuwait. He grew up in a Muslim household, was a teenager in the midst of the Gulf War, and came to the United States in 1992. He had a supernatural experience with Christ that changed the course of his life. You don't want to miss this.
  
In This Issue
On the News - Larry Maib
Open Heart Surgery - Prayer Request
Oceanside Interim Named
Bellflower Feeding the Hungry
Rancho Baptist Expanding
Leith Anderson - on the Church
Sunrise Partners with Moody
More Effective, Healthy Pastors
Women's Event in Upland
Seminar on Hell
Affordable Health Program
New Tax Credit for Churches
Housing Allowance Safe for Now
When Divorce Affects your Staff
Free Stuff
Mark the Date - Christmas Banquet
Memorial Day
Men's Retreat
Women's Retreat
Spanish Leadership Luncheon
Transforming Churches Conference
Ministry Couple Escape
Good Book
Mission Focus
Japan Update
Support
Memorial Day
mem day

Memorial Day

 was first observed on May 30 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May. Since the Revolutionary War, 1,343,812 have died for our country's freedom.
CB 
has many chaplains working directly with our military around the world.
Director of Chaplaincy
Al Russell: email 
 Men's Retreat
mens retreat
Robert Bishop, Senior Pastor of  Whittier Hills Baptist Church, will be speaking at our Retreat this fall at Pine Summit.
Our Spanish Retreat will be the same weekend at Pine Summmit.
Click here
 to register or get more information.

 

 

Women's Retreat
  womens
Once again, CB will be hosting 3 fall retreats at Pine Summit
2 English and 1 in Spanish.
Vicki Smith will be the guest speaker at the English Retreats.
Hurry and book, spaces are almost gone for both English Retreats.
  
Spanish Leadership Luncheon
spanish luncheon

23 Julio

  Montebello Christian Fellowship

 

Para todos los lideres hispano-parlantes que deseen más información sobre el retiro femenil y el varonil en Pine Summit este otoño.

 

GRATIS

 

Comida, Informacion, Música y Tiempo Devocional

  

Para inscribirse, llame a la oficina de la CBA 909-944-5900 o mande correo electronico a laura.harder@cbasc.com.  

 

 

July 23 

Montebello Christian Fellowship
For all Spanish-speaking 
leaders wanting more information on our Spanish Women's and Men's Retreats at Pine Summit this fall. Food, information, music and devotional. 

FREE

 To register, call the CB office at 909-944-5900 or email laura.harder@cbasc.com

  

Transforming Churches Conference
conference

 

This year, CB Southern California is working with Transformation Ministries (TM) to promote their fall conference which features:
Pastor Ray Johnston
 of Bayside Church in Sacramento. 

First Baptist Pomona

Thursday and Friday
October 20-21
 Ministry Couple Escape
house
Geessee Home

A wonderful escape for $495 per couple for one week.


Located in Genesee Valley in the northern Sierra Nevada of California, the Genesee Home is committed to building up church ministry by enriching the lives of Pastors, Missionaries, and their spouses. Genesee Home is a safe haven where Pastors and Missionaries can reflect upon their calling and rekindle their relationships with both God and their spouses.
  more information 

 Good Book
andy stanley book
Communicating for a Change
by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones,
is a very practical book on how to improve your speaking. If you haven't read this book that was published in 2006, we highly recommend it to all preachers and teachers. The first half is a fictional story that leads to the more helpful second half of the book by Andy Stanley. His main points are:
 
Determine Your Goal
(which he says is to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles and truths of the Bible)
  
Pick One Point

Create a Map
(outline your sermon with a personal story, how it relates to all listening, what God says about it, how to apply it, and what could happen if everyone did it)
He calls it his me-we-God-you approach.
  
Internalize the Message

Engage the Audience
(he says presentation trumps information when it comes to engaging the audience)

Find Your Voice
(be yourself)

If your want to improve your speaking, this is a very helpful book. 
Mission Focus
Gospel for Asia
india
Unwilling to Bow Down
Read about this Christian mother who took an unbelieveable stand for the Lord. Beat by her husband and in-laws for refusing to bow down to idols, this young mother, along with her children, were thrown out of their home with only faith to guide them.
 Japan Upddate

japan
Relief Continues
CB Southern California has sent over $30,000 to CB Japan in relief money. More has been sent directly to CB Japan from some of our churches. Continue to pray for our CB churches over in Japan to be a strong witness to their community as they continue to recover.

Donate to Japan Relief


We have no CB churches affected by the terrible tornados that have plaqued the US recently. We do pray for the recovery of these families.  
 Support

logo

Support 

Thanks again for reading our newsletter. We continue to work hard to Encourage Pastors, Equip Churches for Health and Establish New Churches.  We ask our churches to consider supporting us with 1% of their annual budgets to help us help other churches. If you would like to donate to CB Southern California online,

 click here.

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