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Send us a textBishop Wright's sermon "To Be Witnesses" given at the 118th Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta. Read the full Annual Council Recap here.Support the show Follow us on IG and FB at Bishop Rob Wright.
Send us a textActs 1 shows us how Jesus exemplified the true nature of power—not through dominance but through actions and choices that reflect a true commitment to God and one another. That through the power of Witness, we can change the world.In this episode, Melissa and Bishop Wright have a conversation about Acts 1 and bearing witness to the love of God - now more than ever. Bishop Wright unpacks how using faith as a tool for unity and change elevates us above division! Listen in for the full conversation. This episode is based on an excerpt from Bishop Wright's Sermon "To Be Witnesses" at The 118th Annual Council of The Diocese of Atlanta. Read For Faith, the written devotional companion.Support the show Follow us on IG and FB at Bishop Rob Wright.
“From the 5th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John and the 6th verse, we hear Jesus pose a life changing question to a man, ‘…would you be made whole.' This story is one of my favorites,” Bishop Wright said. This story is about a wholeness and healing made of the coming together of word and deed.“And here he comes, the poet laureate of Nazareth, always the poser of poignant questions. And this morning he lobbed a doozy into our laps. It's a direct question. All cake, no icing. ‘Would you be made well.' What a caring question. It seeks to activate agency and commission capacity. I like that question for this man. I like this question for us individually and for our congregations and ministries. I like this question for us as the Episcopal Church in Middle and North Georgia. ‘Would you be made whole?' Read The General Thanksgiving slowly and you will get a glimpse of wholeness from these familiar words, ‘…and we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives….”An excerpt from Bishop Wright's Sermon given at The 117th Annual Council of The Episcopal Diocese of AtlantaSupport the show
What are the pillars of the Combined Offering Plan? The ideas for this presentation (see a summary below) came after a long conversation about this subject with Aniel Barbe, GC Stewardship Ministries Department Associate Director. The Combined Offering Plan was voted on during the 2002 Annual Council as the offering plan suggested and promoted by the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. How were offerings sent to Ukraine used? Check it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6XRh5R6ORjccdpJIfrGyXh?si=Pd_SHnbpRNWVHjV5Cy1Vzw The God First Videos - GC Stewardship Ministries YouTube Channel will be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMzCjsCnUpJSUJVd02qRwtw For your convenience, there are playlists with the content of each year. As an example, find here the 2023 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0lsI3JUv3A4AfS1Cwp19053dBNO989r5 This theme was presented during the online SPD Stewardship Advisory, on March 28, 2023. THE COMBINED OFFERING PLAN: IMPLEMENTING AND MAINTAINING The Four Pillars (they were presented in a different order in this podcast): 1. Theology 2. Accounting (distribution & administrative process) 3. Accountability 4. Permanent Educational Process PILLAR I - THEOLOGY · Focused on God (worship), not on projects (soul-raising X fund-raising) · Spiritual (not materialistic) motivation for giving - “… because He gave me something” · The God first principle · Regular & systematic giving (“Promise”) o Regular - after each/every income o Systematic - percentage-based giving · Difference between tithes and offerings o Percentage (annual personal pledging) o Destination/application · The Storehouse system · Jesus' missionary mandate – every nation, tribe, tongue, and people o Matt 24:14 o Matt 28:18, 19 o Rev 14:6 o Acts 1:8 The “Reflex Influence” Principle “To show a liberal, self-denying spirit for the success of foreign missions is a sure way to advance home missionary work; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work done in countries afar off. …” GW, 465 PILLAR II – ACCOUNTING (Distribution & Administrative Processes) · Treasury internal procedures to distribute the offerings · Respect for the giver's indicated destination · Very limited opportunities for special offerings appeals · Protecting the Local Church income · Churches operating within a budget · To develop local church treasurer's skills · To make easier the local church treasurer's work · Making electronic giving available PILLAR III – ACCOUNTABILITY · A platform for sharing reports · Regularity in sharing reports · Reports must reach the “mind” and “heart” · Reports in understandable language (not in “Accountish” language) PILLAR IV – PERMANENT EDUCATIONAL PROCESS · Spiritual Motivation · Regular and Systematic Giving · The Storehouse System · Equitable Distribution With Pastors · Annual Renewal of Vows (Councils) · Home visitation process · Testimonies · Annual “Holy Convocation” initiatives With Church Officials · Target – opinion makers o Elders o Treasurers o Clerks o Stewardship Directors · Annual training o Theology o Annual program · Newsletters · Resources available With Church Members · Regular “Holy Convocation” initiatives · Annual renewal of vows · Regular visitation program (with appropriate agenda) · Testimonies · Offertory Devotionals (text or videos) · Theology · Offertory: Powerful Worship Moments · Strong promotion of “Unassigned Offerings” (why?) · Envelope: little giving identified options
This is a special episode of Bishop Wright's sermon at The 116th Annual Council of The Diocese of Atlanta."The followers of Jesus over the last two thousand years have made progress in faith by doing something unusual with their allotted minutes of life. They/we, make our way with God and life by “remembering forward and hoping backward.” The logic is simple, if God did it then, God can do it again. Even more to the point, the logic is, if God can work through flawed people like our ancestors in their time, then God can work through our sins, fears, stubbornness and inattention in this moment. That is the essence of hope-if God is not dead, then we have every good reason to hope! And while God could run the universe without us, God has chosen to involve us in God's enterprise. So to each generation the invitation goes out not to simply pass time, kill time or consume moments but to attune ourselves to what God is doing in the moment and then join God with all that we are and all that we have.Excerpt from Bishop Wright's sermonIsaiah 43:1-20
Today we are talking about the next City Council meeting, coming up on Monday, December 6th. We'll be touching on a few interesting agenda items, including sidewalks, dollars for climate, and justice, and offer some ways for you to get involved. A quick process note: we record this a few days before the Council meeting, which means there will likely be some changes to the agenda between now and then.Links we referenced:-Sidewalk snow removal report-September 2021 Transportation Commission meeting video, discussion of sidewalk snow removal- Annual Council legislative policy agenda- Politico article about police reform in Washtenaw County- Coalition for Re-envisioning Our Safety (CROS) Petition- A2Zero plan and A2Zero investment plan- Independent HR investigationCome check out our episodes and transcripts at our website, annarboraf.com. Keep the conversation going with fellow Ann ArborAFers on Twitter and Facebook. And hey, if you wanted to ko-fi us a few dollars to help us with hosting, we wouldn't say no. Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/annarboraf)
Today we are talking about the next City Council meeting, coming up on Monday, December 6th. We'll be touching on a few interesting agenda items, including sidewalks, dollars for climate, and justice, and offer some ways for you to get involved. A quick process note: we record this a few days before the Council meeting, which means there will likely be some changes to the agenda between now and then.Links we referenced:-Sidewalk snow removal report-September 2021 Transportation Commission meeting video, discussion of sidewalk snow removal- Annual Council legislative policy agenda- Politico article about police reform in Washtenaw County- Coalition for Re-envisioning Our Safety (CROS) Petition- A2Zero plan and A2Zero investment plan- Independent HR investigationCome check out our episodes and transcripts at our website, annarboraf.com. Keep the conversation going with fellow Ann ArborAFers on Twitter and Facebook. And hey, if you wanted to ko-fi us a few dollars to help us with hosting, we wouldn't say no. Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/annarboraf)
When we make God our first love, God directs that love to the horizontal dimension. To people. Any vertical expression of love for God can be judged by the quality of our horizontal expression of love. That is why Dorothy Day said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Because of Jesus' vertical relationship to God, his horizontal relationship with humanity bears this out. This is not an enshrining of condescension but an enfleshing of Jesus' comprehension of the human condition. Jesus', high up-ness is only matched by his go low ness… down into our lives and our lostness. Down into our arrogance and ignorance. Covid with all of its harm and hurt has also helped us. Helped us to see that there are people in our midst who need what Jesus has shared with us. “If you love me, feed my sheep,” Jesus said. His request couldn't be any clearer. We grow churches in the horizontal and vertical dimensions because Jesus told us to. Because there are hungry people all around us. Even us. People with their backs against the wall. An excerpt from Bishop Wright's Sermon at The Diocese of Atlanta's 115th Annual Council
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
From Silver Spring, Bonnie Dwyer, editor of Spectrum, and I recap the four days of Annual Council 2021, the General Conf. executive committee meetings. We discuss various reports, the introduction of #Teds10 “theological issues facing the church,” and how we spent our Sabbath away from the GC and why it matters.
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
In preparation for next week's Annual Council meetings which set up major Adventist church actions, Bonnie Dwyer, Spectrum's editor, and I discuss the agenda. We note questions of power and compliance as well as some pending items about board make-up and proscribed duties in overseeing higher educational institutions and Union Missions.
On R&D in the QC Episode 108 Larken Egleston and Tariq Bokhari discuss the violence at the Capitol, the Annual Council Retreat, and Retiring of a Colleague The post Ep108 – Capitol Violence, Annual Council Retreat, and Colleagues Surprise Resignation appeared first on PFM Hero.
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
Spectrum managing editor Alisa Williams reports on global Adventist finances, electronic voting, and the changes to next year’s GC Session. We also discuss the rise of Adventist pioneer parody Twitter accounts and why they might be good for learning our history.
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
In our final podcast in 2019, Bonnie Dwyer, the editor of Spectrum, and Alexander Carpenter reflect on the year in Adventism including Annual Council and recent scholarly work on the 1919 Bible conference. We also look back on the year for Spectrum and draw attention to some major investigative reporting as well as hint at what Spectrum will be doing in 2020. Finally, we reflect on the Advent season and the spirit of giving.
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
Alisa Williams, Managing Editor for the Spectrum website, reviews the North American Division Year-End Meetings. We also discuss her thoughts on the recent Annual Council drama and how that will impact the upcoming General Conference Session. Finally, there’s #GossipJuice talk.
The Middle East and North Africa Union (MENAU) consists of 20 countries, each of which is comprised of an almost entirely Muslim population. Being part of the 10/40 window territory, it is considered to be one of the least reached areas in the world. Out of 545 million people in the region, only 5,000 are SDA church members. This means there are roughly 110,000 non-Adventists to every 1 Adventist. MENAU faces unique challenges since traditional evangelistic methods cannot be applied there. Pastor Rick McEdward, MENAU President, talks about alternative approaches MENAU is exploring for bringing the Gospel to the unreached people in their part of the world.Show NotesFollow MENAU on Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, TwitterOr send an email to Info@adventistmena.orgIf you have missed the IWM team report at Annual Council 2019, please check out the IWM Facebook pageInterested in learning more about Storytelling? Enroll HereMore content on storytelling:Podcast, Episode 37, Making Disciples Through Storytelling (With Pat Gustin)Webinar Storytelling for DiscipleshipRegister at the IWM website and get access to podcasts, webinars, online courses, and other resourcesBook Making Disciples of Oral Learners
This week we have a two-parter! For part 1, Tony and Ryan recap Annual Council and give their reactions and analysis of the major conversations and votes that took place. We talk Gossip Juice, the abortion statement, the discipline votes, and more. Disclaimer: this is an Adventist-centric episode. Here are the links for this episode: For a brief overview of Annual Council votes: https://thescratchnews.com/briefs/2019/10/11/e0bso4ienygnjcg5qi1k1y7pgzffi0-3b5ms Here are the tweets we reference: Gossip Juice Abortion Statement Question on Statement becoming Policy Compliance Action Dan Jackson Tweet #1 Dan Jackson Tweet #2 Administrator:Pastor Ratio Chart To support financially: www.theabsurdity.org/donate Music and editing by Kendall Foote. To contact him about your own production, you can email him at kfoote1221@gmail.com Twitter: @ryan180becker, @tony_anobile Email: ryan180becker@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/Absurditypodcast www.theabsurdity.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://absurdpodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
Matthew Lucio, host of Adventist History Podcast and the upcoming Adventists are Weird podcast, sits down with Ryan to talk Annual Council and the practical steps Adventists from all walks of life can engage with the system in order to create the changes they want to see. Check out the Adventist History Podcast here! Find Matt on Twitter: @LordLucio7 Music and editing by Kendall Foote. To contact him about your own production, you can email him at kfoote1221@gmail.com Twitter: @ryan180becker, @tony_anobile Email: ryan180becker@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/Absurditypodcast www.theabsurdity.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://absurdpodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
Andrews University president Andrea Luxton, PhD, joins Adventist Voices to discuss the state of her institution as well as the broader future of higher education. We converse about her love for John Milton as well as how schools can welcome diversity-seeking students, what questions board members should ask, and why there's hope despite the recent Annual Council actions.
Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum
Bonnie Dwyer, Spectrum editor, draws from her decades of Annual Council reporting to set the stage for this meeting of General Conference Executive Committee. She provides background on who will be present, the four major topics to watch, and why it all matters.
On this episode, our hosts have a conversation with Bishop Curry about youth ministry and its importance in the church. This episode was recorded onsite at the 112th Annual Council of the Diocese of Atlanta on November 10, 2018. The song heard at the beginning and end of the Podcast is a cover of Down to the River to Pray by Episcopal Youth Music in ATL. Copyright is public domain.
The North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists met in early November to discuss Division matters in general, but also to figure out how to respond to the recent Annual Council issues. If you want to know about those, head back to A57 and A58 to understand those votes. Tony and I break down what happened and we discuss our own response. This episode also includes our most heated disagreement to date! NAD Tithe Parity Dan Jackson's Speech NAD Voted Statement Check out Awaken Conference in Charlotte, NC: www.awakennc.com Check out our sponsors for this episode: www.thehaystack.org Music by Justin Janetzko Twitter: @ryan180becker, @tony_anobile Facebook: facebook.com/Absurditypodcast/ Website: www.theabsurdity.org Patreon: www.patreon.com/absurditypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://absurdpodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
This week the guys talk to Josh Wood (aka 'The Bald Ginger, aka 'The Bald One,' aka 'Something Something Bald and Ginger). They talk all things Annual Council, compliance committees, and what the future holds for the SDA Church. Website and Blog | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Instagram Send us an email at burnthehaystackpodcast@gmail.com.
Tony and I are back with part 2 of our series on 2018 Fall Annual Council. This is an Adventist-focused episode, so sorry to my listeners from other faith traditions! If you haven't been following what's happening at Annual Council, go back and listen to Part 1 before you hear this episode! This week is our reaction to the 184-125 vote that took place on October 14 and our opinions about moving forward. I have included all links from the past episode for reference! Survey Results Compliance Committee System and Members Committee Actions Document Compliance Committee terms of reference Compliance Committees Activated Early Check out our sponsors for this episode: www.thehaystack.org Music by Justin Janetzko Twitter: @ryan180becker, @tony_anobile Facebook: facebook.com/Absurditypodcast/ Website: www.theabsurdity.org Patreon: patreon.com/absurditypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://absurdpodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
Check out pastor Nelsons blog at www.nelsonsblog.com For more on Annual Council check out the Absurdity Podcase episode 57, "Annual Council, Compliance, and Unity Part 1" at: www.theabsurdity.org/podcast/2018/10/15/a57-annual-council-compliance-and-unity-part-1 For more on redesigning your local Adventist church for success visit www.thestorychurchproject.com
Tony and I give an explanation for what was being discussed on Sunday, October 14. This does not contain our reaction to the actual vote itself, as this episode was recorded prior to the vote. But if you want to understand exactly what is going on and what was discussed and voted on, this is the episode for you! Survey Results Compliance Committee System and Members Committee Actions Document Compliance Committee terms of reference Compliance Committees Activated Early Check out our sponsors for this episode: www.thehaystack.org Music by Justin Janetzko Twitter: @ryan180becker, @tony_anobile Facebook: facebook.com/Absurditypodcast/ Website: www.theabsurdity.org Patreon: patreon.com/absurditypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://absurdpodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm
A time of reflection, reaction, and first-hand opinions on the matters that transpired this weekend at Annual Council. Macy McVay, a new guest, and Judit Manchay, a returning guest, come to explain and process through what they have witnessed and conversations engaged this past weekend. Follow:Judit Manchay --> @judit_manchayMacy McVay --> @macymcvay--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/support
During this installment, we discuss the vote that the Annual Council delegates will be making during the 2018 event. Dr. Nicholas Miller, Professor at Andrews University and Lawyer at Lake Union Conference, expounds on the different votes that will mark some of the future of pastors, power, and policy.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/support
During today's episode, we take the time to review some part of the background that leads to the Annual council discussion taking place this week. We have a conversation with David Hamstra about the story, developments, and how to approach these important meetings with a spirit of unity and truth.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/disruptive-adventism/support