Roughly ten years ago, I had a wonderful 8 th grade stu- dent who loved the Lord, her family, and my wife and me. She is one of those students that youth pastors never forget for both posi- tive and negative reasons. While much of my ministry to her took place after her 8 th grade year, it was this year that sent her into a relational tailspin. Her father, a minister at the church I served had an affair with someone in another state while traveling to and from a ministry conference. While I have witnessed the wreckage brought on by di- vorce through the lives of many teenagers, the wreck- age in her life affected me greatly—if not deeply. To this day as a young adult woman serving in ministry, not a day goes by where the impact of her father’s deci- sion does not affect her spiritually, relationally, and emotionally. Most recently, in the last month, I have discovered that a leader’s wife in a church I served, had an affair (if not physically, certainly emotionally) and as of right now, the wife is filing for divorce. If that were not enough, the two individuals who were the best men in my wedding are on marital life support. One’s wife has had multiple affairs, and the other is so wrapped up in himself and his work that he can’t see the devasta- tion this has caused his marriage. Even yester- day (4/28), while in the dentist chair, my hygienist began to share with me how deeply her parents’ divorce (when she was in 8 th grade) impacted her and continues to affect her relationship with her husband and chil- dren to this day. Nevertheless, what seems to be more nau- seating is the affect it has on the innocent victims—the children. Just in the tally of the examples I have given above, there are 13 children affected. Now I understand that there are instances where divorce is almost unavoidable, but the impact on the lives of kids is almost certainly destructive and irrevo- cable. The following is a poem written by a ten -year old girl who was caught in the middle of her own living hell: Divorce shakes you off the ground Divorce whirls you around. Divorce makes you all confused Divorce forces you to choose. Divorce makes you feel all sad Divorce pushes you to be mad. Divorce makes you wonder who cares Divorce leaves you thoroughly scared. Divorce makes a silent home Divorce leaves you all alone. Divorce is supposed to be an answer Divorce, in fact, is emotional cancer. What wise counsel from a child who has been shaken to the core from the af- fects of divorce. In youth ministry today, it is virtu- ally impossible to find a student who is not in one way or another impacted by divorce. They may be experiencing this reality everyday in their own fam- ily, or they are friends with someone who is going through this emotional cancer. What must be uncomfortably obvious to all of us is that none of us are immune to divorce and its far- reaching implications. Working on protecting the sanctity and integrity of marriage takes hard work, and we must ear- nestly be praying for the protection of our own marriage, but for those around us—future genera- tions are at stake. For His Kids, Pastor Miles Emotional Cancer FIRST FACTS MAY, 2009
Transcript
Roughly ten years ago, I had a wonderful 8th grade stu-dent who loved the Lord, her family, and my wife and me. She is one of those students that youth pastors never forget for both posi-tive and negative reasons. While much of my ministry to her took place after her 8th grade year, it was this year that sent her into a relational tailspin. Her father, a minister at the church I served had an affair with someone in another state while traveling to and from a ministry conference. While I have witnessed the wreckage brought on by di-vorce through the lives of many teenagers, the wreck-age in her life affected me greatly—if not deeply. To this day as a young adult woman serving in ministry, not a day goes by where the impact of her father’s deci-sion does not affect her spiritually, relationally, and
emotionally.
Most recently, in the last month, I have discovered that a leader’s wife in a church I served, had an affair (if not physically, certainly emotionally) and as of right now, the wife is filing for divorce. If that were not enough, the two individuals who were the best men in my wedding are on marital life support. One’s wife has had multiple affairs, and the other is so wrapped up in himself and his work that he
can’t see the devasta-tion this has caused his marriage. Even yester-day (4/28), while in the dentist chair, my hygienist began to share with me how deeply her parents’ divorce (when she was in 8th grade) impacted her and continues to affect her relationship with her husband and chil-
dren to this day.
Nevertheless, what seems to be more nau-seating is the affect it has on the innocent victims—the children. Just in the tally of the examples I have given above, there are 13 children affected. Now I understand that there are instances where divorce is almost unavoidable, but the impact on the lives of kids is almost certainly destructive and irrevo-cable. The following is a poem written by a ten-year old girl who was caught in the middle of
her own living hell:
Divorce shakes you off the ground
Divorce whirls you around.
Divorce makes you all confused
Divorce forces you to choose.
Divorce makes you feel all sad
Divorce pushes you to be mad.
Divorce makes you wonder who cares Divorce leaves you thoroughly scared.
Divorce makes a silent home Divorce leaves you all alone. Divorce is supposed to be an
answer Divorce, in fact, is emotional
cancer. What wise counsel from a child who has been shaken to the core from the af-fects of divorce. In youth ministry today, it is virtu-ally impossible to find a student who is not in one way or another impacted by divorce. They may be experiencing this reality everyday in their own fam-ily, or they are friends with someone who is going through this emotional cancer. What must be uncomfortably obvious to all of us is that none of us are immune to divorce and its far-reaching implications. Working on protecting the sanctity and integrity of marriage takes hard work, and we must ear-nestly be praying for the protection of our own marriage, but for those around us—future genera-
tions are at stake.
For His Kids,
Pastor Miles
Emotional Cancer FIRST FACTS
MAY, 2009
shared current situations and
prayer requests.
• Elected new leadership and passed new budget of $664,349.94, down 6.2% from
last year.
• Penny Fosso (Trustee) re-ported on status of the Great Invitation campaign. The original operating construction loan has recently been converted to a commercial loan. The balance as of last month is $431,114. Watch the Great Invitation door upstairs in the foyer for pro-gress toward a debt-free Youth
Center!
• Great potluck
• Very successful bake sale for David Skonard's Eagle Scout
project.
• Last year's budget giving was under about $40,000. But thank-fully, budget spending was under roughly $20,000. Monies in the General Fund were enough to cover the difference. All
accounts are current.
• Larry and Patty Wilson, hometown missionaries with Wycliffe, were unexpected but welcome guests and had a
chance to visit with many of us.
• Kyle Dimler (Mission Bd), gave updates on several of the missionaries we support, and
Believe it or not VBS is right around the corner. We are a little frightened to say that it is only 42 days away. So that means that you can’t delay in signing up to help!!! We still need several crew leaders, preschool workers, games leaders, and a few nursery helpers. We also need some people to put up some signs out in the community and help with publicity. Remem-ber we are trying to reach out this year to kids we
never have and increase the number of children we can have an impact on so that requires lots of extra help. Please consider helping es-pecially if you never have done so. I can guarantee you will not be sorry but will be blessed!! Also please take a crocodile head off the donation board if you haven’t already done so and return your items to the
table in the hallway.
VBS
June 8-12
6-8:15pm each
evening
For ages 4-6th
grade
Page 2
FBC Annual Meeting Highlights
Crocodile Dock
FIRST FACTS
FIRE DRILL !!! As Drew Hoffman
gave the Deacon's report, Kent
Rodelius very nonchalantly asked if it
was a long report and calmly an-
nounced that we needed to vacate
the building-the Fire Dept was on the
way over. There was a very strong
electrical smell that needed checking
out. So out we went! And that was
the end of the meeting. I suppose
we'll finish up at the quarterly busi-
ness meeting...see you then-
May 21 – Thursday 9 a.m. – Room 115 – Coffee and VBS Helps Morning We will be doing simple sorting, cutting, stapling, painting on paper etc. to help with Bible School prepara-tion. Coffee and goodies will be served. Please come enjoy the fellowship and be an encouragement to the
VBS team. Men are needed as well as women.
June 18 – Thursday 2 p.m. – Westview Village – Coffee Party and Program by David Lanning.
July 16 – Thursday 11:30 a.m. – Picnic Potluck, Lawn Games and Fellowship – At Stangeland’s
on George Lake
August – Plans are being made for a morning tour of Munsinger Gardens followed by dinner at Old
Country Buffet in Saint Cloud. Stay tuned for date, time and other arrangements.
Page 3
LAFF Events
Summer Worship Times
NEW SUMMER SCHEDULE:
9:00/10:45 Worship Times The Deacons set the Summer Schedule for Sunday worship at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
The Christian Education Ministry Team decided to offer one intergenerational Sunday School class during the summer. The class will meet during the first worship service. The specific time for this class will be announced at a later date. Summer schedule begins Sunday, June 7th and runs through Sunday August 30th.
Family and Friends Sunday School The Summer Sunday School class will be intergenerational and called Family and Friends starting Sunday,
June 7th at 10:30 a.m. Contact Darcy Dimler if you have any questions.
One of the books that I have recently read was Esther, Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles Swindoll. It is book two in the Great Lives from God's Word series. I found it useful reading another per-spective on the wonderful book of the Bible, Esther, while going through the study the woman's Bible Study group at church. Come find out more about this marvelous woman, the characteristics in her that made her shine above the others to not only the king, but to a nation. Also find out how these characteristics apply to
modern day Esthers.
Written By: Katrina Fisk
Library News
Pa
Hwy. 252 Bless the Kids in Ukraine this Summer
FIRST FACTS
What a blessing the kids have
been on Wednesday night!
Over the past few weeks the kids on Wednesday were given an M&M candy tube to
bring home to earn and save their quarters to help send kids to Adventure camp in a
brand new part of Ukraine-They even met Pavlis Grigas and his family from Ukraine as
they visited our children at HWY 252
Here’s how some children earned quarters to fill their tube...
Ben Lanning-cleaned the yard
Jayden Zammert-she did extra chores
Kyler Johnson-picked up twigs at Grandmas
Megan Meyer-worked for her mom
You should see the joyful look of our kids when they
bring their offerings on Wednesday nights. It’s priceless!
This year is very special as the Summer Ukraine team will be going 2 weeks to hold two
Adventure Camps. After the first week of camp in Drabiv, the team will go to the
Romanian side of Ukraine and hold first time ever Adventure camps with the FBC
team and a Ukrainian team from Drabiv! This mission trip is so new that we are the
first team to experience what God has for this expanded ministry. Exciting Stuff! With
the help of Hwy 252, more kids will have get to hear the Good News-that GOD
LOVES THEM!
Thanks- the 2009 Ukraine Ministry team
Page 5
FIRST FACTS
Theater for Thirsty Comes to FBC
FBC Family and Friends are Invited to…
THREE STORIES TALL
Wednesday, May 13th
6:15 PM
Jeremiah Gamble will be bringing several delightful sto-ries for our Hwy. 252 year end celebration. His own,
Hold the Boat — a comical account of a young boy trying to sneak onto Noah’s ark; How the Groo Grew — an
original tale about monsters, forgiveness and sibling ri-valry, as well as the favorite folk take, The Tale of the
Three Trees.
Then make sure you stay to have some Ice Cream. This is a great family night, so make sure you mark it on your
calendar today!
Sunday, June 28th
And
Sunday, September 13th
Following the 10:45 a.m. Worship Service
with an All-Church Picnic Following.
Outdoor Baptism at Eagle Lake at the home of
Ross & Dawn Marcus.
Please notify a pastor at least a week in advance if you would like to be part of either of these dates. **Note: Pastor Phil will not be available
for the June 28th baptism
Summer Outdoor Baptism Dates
James (and DeLoris) Clark
served as Assistant Pastor
here at FBC from July 1971 to
January 1978.
This article was taken from the
Calvary Bible College & Theological
Seminary Newsletter
Weathering the
Finan-
Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 Wednesday, May 20 First Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church————————1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street1000 SE 6th Street
1:00-2:30 p.m. | Seniors, Retirees, Empty Nesters
6:30-8:00 p.m. | Singles, Young Married, Parents
Personal Finance Principles. Matching Your Financial Goals to God’s
Values. Budgeting Insights for Surviving A Recession.
LEARN and APPLY these FINANCIAL FUNDAMENTALS
PRESENTED at the SEMINAR...
Roger Madison, PresenterRoger Madison, PresenterRoger Madison, PresenterRoger Madison, Presenter
