Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries Act To Reorganize & Revitalize
Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries Act To Reorganize & Revitalize
At the urging of new Pastor Carl Sterling, who also brought a devotional message on leadership today, the Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries acted to reorganize and revitalize the group that had once been a spark plug of rural ministry in the quintessential country church during the era (2002-2004) when Tinney Chapel won two Conference-wide Marvin T. Judy Awards for excellence in rural ministry. During that time, among other activities, the group staged and facilitated numerous public events for food, fellowship and top-notch entertainment to bring in love offerings for specific ministries, mostly of a local community nature.
Today's action came after a light breakfast of coffee, doughnuts and coffeecake in the Family Life Center, when new President of Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries, Gerald Privette, called on the group to start thinking about its mission statement and vision for a new era under the pastoral leadership of Brother Carl Sterling.
After considerable discussion, the group voted to begin meeting regularly on the second Monday of each month, beginning August 13 at 6:30 pm in the Family Life Center. President Privette expressed his personal hope that the group's mission statement and vision can be formalized at that first meeting. It was the Pastor's suggestion that the group schedule its monthly meetings in the evenings to facilitate attendance by younger men in the workforce and to separate these meetings from the church workdays, one of which was also held on this day, Thursday, July 19, at which both men and women were visibly active in improving the church by mowing the grass, trimming trees, clearing brush and the like. Among those seen actually working: Mickey Tinney, Elaine Banks, Sherri Brewer, Brandi Putman, Blaine Moore, Rylie Newsome, Mike Banks, David Stanton, and quite possibly others who were not actually observed while working. Apologies to any who might not have been mentioned in this account. (Also see a separate illustrated post about today's work day.)
"From now on, until the end of the growing season, we will have a church-wide workday every Thursday of each week, beginning at 8:30 am," announced Mike Banks, who was elected Chair of the Tinney Chapel Work Day ministry.
"That means our next church-wide (for men and women alike) work day will occur on Thursday, July 26, so come dressed for work with hat, long sleeve shirt, work shoes and work gloves," added Mike. "My estimate is that these weekly work days will save our church about $500 a month in cash expenses. At the end of the growing season, we may consider reducing the work schedule dramatically."
Roger Schneider, immediate past President of the Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries expressed his hope that all members and friends of the church allow free reign to the Holy Spirit in guiding our decisions to show up each Thursday and actually to perform our share of the grunt work. Added David Stanton: "And it's all grunt work: We don't have any administrative chores or desk jobs available." Later, David was seen using his own mower to cut the grass on the east side of the Family Life Center. Others, including Mike Banks, brought equipment for specific chores, including trailers and tractors. The Tinney Chapel campus was alive with the sounds and the spirit of work on this day. Praise the Lord!
After asking if the Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries has a treasury, and getting an affirmative response, Brother Carl threw down a challenge and a $20 bill to kick off today's offering, which eventually totaled $121 before the end of today's meeting. Roger Schneider said this entire amount will be deposited into the group's treasury account, which now totals about $1,400.
During Brother Carl's devotional message, he said that leadership is a many-faceted concept, involving spirituality, group dynamics, occasional chaos and humor, evangelism, matters of the heart, decisions on when to move forward and when to pull back, not to mention teams of fellowship and the willingness to do what needs to be done as well as the patience to watch and wait on occasion.
"There is a difference in leadership and authority," reminded Brother Carl. "What gets done when I'm around may be a result of my authority, but what gets done when I'm not present may be a result of my leadership. But, make no mistake: Without a compelling vision, nothing much ever gets done, but all of us have talents and skills that are useful for ministry. Always remember that leadership has a spiritual element, involving work, play or just sitting around, all times and events which can be major contributors to leadership."
In his concluding prayer, Brother Carl called on the Lord to help us, Tinney Chapel Men's Ministries, in our effort to reach out to others in our church and in our community.
Amen.
Labels: George Jordan, Gerald Privette., Men's Ministries, Rev. Carl Sterling, Tinney Chapel UMC
