The Indiana e-Christian

The Congregational Resource Center, located at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, will host a Curriculum Fair at CTS on Saturday, March 21, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  The fair will be located in the east wing of the seminary, outside the entrance to the CTS library.

There is no charge for admission to the fair, and curriculum materials will be on display from Group Publishing, Judson Press and others.  The fair will also feature hands-on previews of material from other well-known publishers, including Cokesbury, Logos Ministry and Kerygma.

A workshop on curriculum selection, led by Nancy Dickinson, will also be available in two sections, one at 11:00 with the second at 1:00.  The workshops will be held in the media center classroom, located in the Congregational Resource Center on the lower level of the CTS library.

Dean Reynolds, Director of Information Technology Services for CTS, will be available in the CTS computer lab, room 126, for computer consultation on a drop-in basis throughout the fair hours.

A few recent comments have included an email address asking for more information.  While there’s nothing wrong with this, posters should be aware that these comments are publicly available.  Any personal information included in a post or a comment is readily available to be harvested and used to send spam or other unwanted email.

As an alternative, those desiring more information may choose to contact the church or the regional office directly.

Northwood Christian Church services are now broadcast each Friday at 12:30 pm on WHMB TV 40.  WHMB broadcasts can be received across Central Indiana on cable and non-cable systems.  Messages from Pastor Ted Nottingham can also be heard every Sunday at 11:30 am on WICR 88.7 FM. The programs regularly include general information on the history and basic beliefs of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Northwood received 27 new members last year and is already receiving people into membership this year, due in part to the synergy of media presence, active church growth efforts, presentations to the public, and a strong music program. A dynamic internet presence is also having a significant impact on drawing visitors to the church.

Visit Northwood on the web at www.northwoodchristian.com.

Central Christian Church in Seymour, Ind., will launch its Forty Days of Community campaign on February 22. Forty Days of Community is a follow-up to the popular Forty Days of Purpose campaign developed by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life.

Families at Central Christian will commit to participate in a small group during the Forty Days of Community, and each of the twenty-five small groups will work on local mission projects. The combined groups will also work together on a major community mission project. Forty Days of Community will continue through March 29, when a special Celebration Service will conclude the campaign.

According to Saddleback Church and its affiliate, Purpose Driven Ministries, churches that participated in 40 Days of Purpose experienced an average attendance increase of 22 percent, an increase in giving of 20 percent and participation in small groups increased 102 percent.

According to Warren, 40 Days of Community moves people from focusing on God’s purposes in their personal lives to focusing on God’s purposes in their church and community.

In addition to exploring 40 Days of Community, Central Christian has spent much of their outreach time serving in Haiti on medical, dental and construction missions. A group leaves for Haiti February 20 and will return March 1. Doctors, nurses, construction workers and a dentist will be going to help those with medical and dental needs.

The registration system for General Assembly, which had been down due to techincal difficulties, is now back online.  In addition, the deadline for early bird registration has been extended two months, from January 31 to March 31.

An additional discount is available to Indiana Disciples as representatives of the host region.  Hoosier Disciples can save $60 by registering before March 31.  The cost, including the early bird and host region discounts, is $100.

To receive the host region discount while registering online, select ‘host region’ from the list of registration options.  The discount is not applied automatically.

A $50 one-day registration is also available for those who would like to experience part of the Assembly but cannot commit either the money or the time for a full registration.  Evening worship services at the General Assembly are open to the public.

The General Assembly will meet at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, July 29 – August 2.

First Christian Church in Crawfordsville, Ind., just completed its ninth trip to the Gulf Coast to participate in the hurricane recovery efforts there. Teams have served in New Orleans, rebuilding in the lower Ninth Ward and working with Habitat for Humanity in Beaumont and Port Arthur.

Teams from the church have consisted of 10-12 people from middle school youth through retirement-age adults. In addition to hurricane recovery, teams from Crawfordsville have worked with Vision Builders in North Carolina and Louisville.  The church has also sent a team to work with tornado recovery in Greensburg, Kan.

Over 40 church members have served on the various teams. Funding for the trips comes through individual donations from church members and the church’s annual Luigi’s Mystery Dinner Theater each spring.

In addition to the church trips, First Christian has partnered with Wabash College for a College Spring Break Mission Trip to New Orleans. The college provides funding and students to work, and the church sends experienced men to work along side the young men.

Pastor Keith Strain wrote after the first day of the current trip:
“It is hard to find the words to let all of you who have both supported and encouraged these mission trips about the direct impact these trips are making in the lives of the people here. Not only are we having a direct impact on the Washingtons, but there is always a ripple effect as work on one house encourages others to work on theirs. Hope is a fragile thing. Pastor Washington holds tight to his faith in God as his hope, which makes us the hands of God in making that hope a reality.”

Rev. Stuart Mill presides as leaders and scouts from Troop 505 serve communion.

The scouts and leaders of Troop 505 participated in the morning worship service of Westview Christian Church, Indianapolis, in observance of Boy Scout Week. The scouts participated as color guard, worship leaders for scripture and prayer, and deacons. The leaders participated by serving at the communion table as Elders.

Troop 505 has been sponsored by Westview for the last 44 years. During that time, 432 young men have passed through the scout program at Westview. 77 of those have attained the rank of Eagle, the highest rank attainable in scouting. At present, 24 boys and 15 adult leaders participate in troop activities.

For more information on scouting and Troop 505, call the church at 291-7871.

The president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society will be the keynote speaker at Eureka College’s 154^th Founders’ Day convocation. The Rev. Glenn Thomas Carson will speak on "Finding the Founders" at 4:00 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Cerf Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Carson’s presentation will explore the connection between the founders of the Stone-Campbell religious movement and the founders of Eureka College, with an emphasis on the ideals and vision that still are held today

Carson directs the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, located in Nashville, Tenn. The Historical Society serves as the primary archive, library and museum for congregations of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement worldwide.

Carson formerly served as a pastor to churches in Missouri and South Carolina. He has also held higher education positions as a religion professor and campus minister at Charleston Southern University. He received a bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Valdosta State College. He earned the Master of Divinity degree and the Ph.D from Southwestern Seminary.

As part of the convocation, recipients of grants from the Eureka College Fund for the Advancement of Excellence in Learning, Service and Leadership will be announced. Faculty and staff were invited last fall to submit grant proposals for projects that improve programs and services for Eureka College students. The fund was established by Eureka College President J. David Arnold in 2007.

Eureka College first-year and upper-class scholars will also be recognized. The students in this group all have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.75 after completing at least 15 semester hours of coursework for first-year scholars and at least 30 semester hours of coursework for upper-class scholars.

Eureka College was founded by members of the Christian Church, and it is among 17 colleges and universities that are affiliated with the church. The college was incorporated on Feb. 6, 1855, by an act of the Illinois Legislature. The founding date coincides with the birth date of the college’s most famous alumnus, Ronald Reagan, who graduated in 1932. In recognition of both the founding date and Reagan’s birth date, the college traditionally serves birthday cake at the reception following the convocation.

Audrey Borschel, currently serving as the interim minister to Pittsboro Christian Church, is the author of a new book published by Chalice Press, Preaching Prophetically When the News Disturbs: Interpreting the Media.  The book will be available from Christian Board of Publication in March 2009.

Rev. Audrey Borschel, author of Preaching Prophetically When the News Disturbs

Preaching Prophetically When the News Disturbs: Interpreting the Media is the first resource to help preachers interpret the news stories of our day and to understand the media industry that produces them.

Dr. Borschel got the inspiration for Preaching Prophetically When the News Disturbs while working on her Doctor of Ministry degree.  An elective on liberation theology stirred her interest in the nexus between preaching and disturbing news. That class helped her understand the ways in which many of the news stories have roots in the centuries-old stories of struggles for freedom. 

Additional research on mass media and media literacy fostered her thinking about disturbing news and how media portray it.  What she learned seemed to have value for preaching. The results of her research took shape as a doctoral thesis, which forms the basis of the book.

According to Borschel, the book teaches readers how to read or view a news story in order to determine its perspective or bias. She states, “As consumers of news programming on television, in print, and on the Internet, we are bombarded by a great deal of opinion. Sometimes we confuse opinion and facts because we can’t discern the framing of the story.”

Although the book is branded as a tool for preachers, Dr. Borschel is available to do presentations on the topic of faith, news, and media for adult and student groups.

Dr. Borschel enjoys combining her life as an ordained minister with music and writing. As a professional singer, she has performed internationally with major orchestras, in opera and musicals, and with touring groups singing everything from classical to jazz to pop music.

She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Voice from The University of British Columbia and the Doctor of Ministry Degree in Preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. She has published in both music and theology.

Sally Morgenthaler will be the keynote speaker for the Heartland Cluster transformation event at the Ramada St. Joseph in St. Joseph, Mo., on Marcxh 6-7.  The event is hosted by the Northwest Area of the Christian Church in Mid-America and by Disciples Home Missions.

Morgenthaler is recognized as an innovator in Christian practices worldwide. Her prophetic role among church leaders and local congregations continues to increase in denominational scope and impact, as her work now broadens into the arena of new forms of leadership and the untapped potential of women. Known best for her book, Worship Evangelism (Zondervan, 1998), Morgenthaler became a trusted interpreter of postmodern culture and a guide to the crucial shifts the North American church must make if it is to become a transforming presence within pre-Christian communities.

In 2005, Morgenthaler launched a unique retreat model for women, “Conversations,” where discussions center around the female advantage in a flattened-culture relationship.

The cost of the event is $120 for one or two people.  Groups of three or more can register for $100 each.  The event cost does not include housing.  Scholarships may be available.