One full year! I arrived on October 17th, the family followed on Thanksgiving day. Looking back it seems like longer; so much has happened in this time.

Our minister's meeting was quite an experience. Meeting the ministers, presenting a program, having been in the region less than a week. The outgoing board was indispensable as they helped me put together my presentation.

Our most memorable Thanksgiving, as we drove into town and had lunch at Old Country Buffet! It didn't seem like a sacrifice, we were entering a new season of God's call on our lives. We are so thankful for all of you who have helped us fulfill that call.

Then there was the collapse of the housing market, the freezing of the credit markets and the unexpected exodus of our renter in Kentucky. As Christmas approached we had to sign a lease with two houses to sell and no bank in the country lending money. Facing two voluntary foreclosures (we never missed a single payment on either house) God brought a miracle just in time.

Christmas banquet, Prayer Conference, Ladies Conference, Campmeeting, Youth Camp: the year has run by so fast. We've made relationships that will last forever. We know this because we still have friendships in Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia that have survived time and distance.

Coming up in October we have the freedom to do some things we've been wanting to do, since there is no minister's meeting to prepare for this year.

Amanda is hosting a girls sleepover in Waterville, ME October 9 and 10. She is expecting some 50 girls from 3 states. Her theme is Face to Face (playing off of Facebook). She's emphasizing getting face to face with God and face to face with friends. In a day where text messaging has replaced conversation, face time is so important. Real relationships provide real accountability and lead to real spiritual formation.

October 23-25 is the Not Your Ordinary Leadership Conference. Due to facility restrictions, we are limiting it to 12 high school juniors and seniors and college age adults. We are going to explore postmodernism, and post-postmodernism and how these philosophies affect ministry now and into the future. We'll be emphasizing servant leadership with ministry opportunities in the homeless shelter, Angelfood ministry, and working with the inner-city ministry: the Root Cellar. Participants will be set on a path to potentially work internships in some of our churches next summer.

We are excited about what God has done and what he is going to do in the coming year!

The Woodruffs



If you would like to sponsor the Woodruffs' work in the Mission Region of Northern New England, please e-mail us your address at nnecog.yce@gmail.com for a pledge card. All donations are made directly to the Northern New England Church of God Regional Offices and are therefore tax deductible.

If you aren't following Bill Isaacs on Twitter, you should be. An insight a day. Usually more. Always "real".

Monday and Tuesday the 14th and 15th of September, I had the privilege of attending the Symposium on the Great Commission in Atlanta. Many ministers across the Church of God came together to discuss and renew our focus on the mission at hand. General Overseer, Raymond Culpepper applied the question Norman Schwartzkopf repeated in strategic sessions during the first Gulf War: Why are we here?

The mission is the Great Commission.

Dr. Culpepper shared statistic after statistic outlining how the church in America - across denominational lines - is either stagnant or declining. The only category showing growth was Pentecostal/Charismatic, and even that growth was not keeping up with the growth of population.

Various models were shared from oversees. Ministers from Cambodia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Germany, and Israel each shared either in person or live via webcam. The message was strong though not stated. We are doing something wrong in America, and God is moving oversees. It was stated, however, that the mission field is at home.

The implications of this conference are multiple. There is a change in our movement regarding missions. Missions is still a priority, but it is clear that missions includes the US. In fact, the need is great here. As a minister in the "least churched" region in the US (less than 2% of the population in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont is in church on a given Sunday) I see the need to recognize the mission field in your back yard every day.

Second, there is a change in the way we are doing large meetings as a movement. There has been discussion of a "National Assembly" in the US. Did we just experience it? The General's message spoke primarily if not exclusively to the state of the church in the US. Alternately, General Assembly is changing. With teen talent removed from the equation, there is plenty of room for change in the format of General Assembly. Bill Issacs, via twitter, shared his belief that this is a model that should be considered for General Assembly.

Finally, we saw the need to come together. Change is coming and we need to be wise as serpents in considering that change. I met with a pastor in Atlanta who suggested that General Assembly should be done electronically via Skype in multiple locations worldwide. While I agree that involvement would skyrocket, I disagree that such a process would provide a net gain. What you gain is much less than what you lose: Community. Our coming together is our strength. I facebook. I tweet. Clearly, I blog (though more seldom). Our generation maintains more relationships than any before, but they tend to be more shallow than any generation before as well. Nothing takes the place of coming together face to face (this is the theme of the upcoming Girls Ministry conference my wife is facilitating). This Symposium allowed us to hear the stories of fellow laborers around the world (albeit often via webcam - yes, I see the irony) and refocus our attention on the mission: "why are we here".

In the coming days I hope to reflect on the individual messages presented at the Symposium.

Now is a great time to be a Christian.

A global pandemic, which has been predicted for decades by many "out there" prophets and members of the medical community is quite possibly upon us. While swine flu is nowhere near global pandemic proportions, it at least has enough potential to spark the interest of every major media outlet. It's no longer a fringe idea when WHO (the World Health Organization) has raised its pandemic alert to phase 4 (of 5). In addition to this, though some say the economy is showing signs of recovery, third world nations will feel the effects of this bump in the road to Americans for decades even if the US economy recovers to 2007 levels tomorrow. In the midst of all this, exiled to the bottom of the screen ticker this morning is the fact that the British have officially withdrawn their troops from Iraq, the same day that conflict escalated between Turkey and Kurdish Iraq. A subconscious reminder that the US is still at war. Israel and the EU are at loggerheads. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Gay marriage or civil unions are recognized on some level in 12 states. Turmoil in every direction.

In the middle of all this (and more), the light of Jesus shines. We are not like those who have no hope. Better yet, in times like these we're the only ones who have hope! This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Christians to let their light shine. In a time where every institution is under attack, we can declare that Jesus transcends institution, that Christ offers hope in a hopeless time, and Jesus offers not only eternal life in heaven, but abundant life here on earth.

I'm not sure why I'm so upbeat today; I've been studying the corruption of the papacy leading up to the reformation. Yikes! I'll save my take on that and modern applications for another blog, but suffice to say, I'm more confident than ever that trust placed in Christ is trust well place.

He is able to do exceedingly abundant above all that we ask or even think. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Jesus is more than light at the end of a tunnel, he is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Tell the world that Jesus is the light that can dispel their darkness!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING SWINE FLU:

Don't do this.

Jocelyn Barnett is preaching up a storm at the NNECOG Ladies Conference.

I am returning from the listening tour in Connecticut. We had a fabulous time seeing the the quest for trust brought out of the ideological stage and into practicality. There was no preset agenda, simply an open mic. It was an opportunity for the ministers of the Church of God to voice concerns and ask questions of our general overseer and another member of the executive committee. Dr Culpepper was transparent and forthright with the men. He dodged no questions, even ones it was clear made him uncomfortable.
The topics raised surprised me. Many of the speakers asked about curriculum, resources and letters from HQ in either French or Spanish. One specifically asked for reciprocity in overseers (ie if there is a white overseer in a predominantly black region, there should be a black overseer in a predominantly white region) Gender equality was requested. Retirement for those not involved in a plan. Most of the concerns were regionally driven. Literally no questions were asked and no statements given by the men on the reduction of tithe-of-tithe, although it was referenced in the responses by Dr. Culpepper often. Usually as the reason their concern could not be addressed.
In the afternoon session, many of the questions were about church planting. Teen talent was mentioned and the response was the “probably” teen talent will no longer take place at the general assembly. I have vowed to write a letter to the EC to the effect that though I think removing teen talent from the general assembly may be a valuable decision and perhaps even necessary, it creates or exacerbates another problem. That being the generational disconnect. If we had a venue and opportunity to mitigate the ever widening gap it was the fact that our teens had the chance to participate in our general assembly, esp. the evening services. With this confluence lost, we need a venue to pass on the heritage of our church. Not that having the two together was enough to or even successful in passing on the heritage, but it at least gave the opportunity. Where is that opportunity now?