Beginnings

The next stage of my career has begun. I am sitting in my new office at Templeton Hall at Princeton Theological Seminary and I am beginning (slowly) to adapt to new surroundings. Most of the students and professors are not on campus during the summer. It gives me time to try and learn the new process and procedure manual for how things are done at Princeton. I am working on the syllabus for my first class in September on Creativity in Preaching. I will soon be working on the syllabus for all three units of speech communication that I will be teaching - but there is a template already in place for those classes. I will be assigning my own work for each class, the assignments for the students to perform in class, and whatever other scheduling that will be unique to my sections. I am looking forward to doing all of this as the next few weeks go forward.

Joanie and I have begun unpacking our lives (the hundreds of boxes that our stuff was packed into) and are getting used to our new surroundings. Our apartment is full of character and is located just behind the seminary. The buildings are all in a historic preservation area located a block away from Princeton University. Our bedroom is coming together and there is much to do in the living room and kitchen, but we are coming along. Joanie took a day to help me get my office together. There are still boxes to unpack at both locations. We will get some opportunity to travel over the coming weeks. We hope to attend the Convention for the National Association of the Church of God as well as visiting with our kids some more. We may even travel to Florida to see Joanie's Dad. However, by the middle of August we will be back here and I will have my nose to the grindstone.

I cannot believe how God has led and directed our lives over the course of these last few years. I started this blog when I went on Sabbatical 5 years ago. Now, here I am teaching at Princeton. God has been very active in our lives. I freely acknowledge his goodness towards us. The video I am including here was put together by my son, Doug, after he and Jonathan surprised us by coming out to California for my hooding and graduation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed seeing them standing at our apartment door. God bless

More About Anderson Campmeeting

My friend and colleague, Jerry Webb, has been reading Patrick Nachtigall's new book and has commented that:
"A read of Patrick Nachtigall's Mosaic will convince that you are right about # 1. I, too, think it should remain in Anderson. But, multisite can be used for more than across the street. We should experiment with regional sites where there are large COG populations"

I find that an intriguing possibility. We are already using streaming video across the internet and it was reported that there were 800 hits on that venue. A "hit" represents individual access once. So, it could be that there were several thousand viewings of services but only 800 individual computers that logged on to the site. As to Jerry/Patrick's suggestion that regional centers could be established, I think this is a great idea. I know we attempted to have our local congregation gather in the sanctuary at one point to view a service. On the West Coast, that means folks coming together around 4pm for the service. Maybe some delayed broadcast or if the streaming can be on demand would help facilitate a better starting time for those out West.

Regional centers would help multiple congregations to gather together, affecting connectivity in a positive way. Large regional centers might also connect larger areas than just say, all the Church of God congregations in Portland, Ore. or Oklahoma City. I know the District Unity Service idea is not used very much, but it could be revived for something like this. A Saturday picnic/pitch-in or a Sunday evening service time could be adopted for sharing together with Campmeeting. Another idea would be to broadcast the GA so that ministers could "attend" without traveling to Anderson. I don't think that would decrease GA attendance but it might increase Movemental awareness.

Anybody else want to join in? What are your ideas?

Anderson Campmeeting

Part of our travels across the country was to spend a week at the North American Convention of the Church of God, commonly referred to as Anderson Campmeeting. It is a week of conferences, worship services, business meetings, and fellowship. One of the hallmarks of the Church of God has always been its connectivity. Key to this has been the fellowship that takes place at Campmeeting. Ministers reconnect after years of pastoring in separate states or regions of the country; the work of the Church is reviewed and explained so that individual congregations and pastors can keep connected to the larger movement; preaching and worship are renewed as the church comes together to share in the common experience of celebrating the Lord's presence. I am convinced that Campmeeting is at the root of this connectivity. Without it, the Church of God will fragment into a local or area fellowship with little or no central concern or mission.

This is not to say that Campmeeting is perfect. Far from it. However, the decisions made this year concerning venue will go a long way toward helping the Church of God remain connected. Several years ago the main worship center, a domed building that had been used since the 1960's, was torn down due to asbestos problems. Since then, there have been numerous problems in finding an appropriate venue that could enhance the fellowship and worship. The choice of two connected venues this year gave the Church opportunity to be in a central location (the worship venues were across the street - one a 2,500 seat auditorium and the other a 1,000 seat church sanctuary) and, following the service, to fellowship together in a Mall area common to both venues. It worked very well. Even though the worship was different (how could it not be with two different worship leaders and instrumentalists) the sermon was common to both venues, having been streamed live from one venue to the other.

In addition, the national leadership of the Church of God will be conducting research into the future of NAC. I would like to weigh in on this issue. Here are my suggestions:

1. It should remain a yearly event. Our connectivity is too important to go for 2 or 4 years between gatherings. Every region in the country, except the West Coast, has canceled their regional meeting. We need to gather together in order to stay connected. With our decentralized polity, we need to be together in order to stay together.
2. It should remain in Anderson. As much as moving it across the country might create interest, it would decrease the family atmosphere that is the central feature of Campmeeting. Moving it to a Convention Center creates a certain sterility that fights against the essence of what the gathering hopes to be. Indiana is enough of a centralized venue to continue as a viable location. It also allows for a less expensive meeting for those who gather there. Registration is very low and many have alternate ways to house themselves during the week (Camping slots are available as are dorms). This does not sound good to those who plan the event and would like to have it pay for itself. The solution appears to be a heavy emphasis on a high registration. This appears to be a good solution but creates more problems. Lack of attendance, decrease in offerings, and formality rather than family are only a few.
   
3. The name should be changed from NAC and return to Anderson Campmeeting. The arguments for NAC have been to give it a brand name. I don't think NAC is a strong or viable brand name. The use of Anderson allows for the designation that is used in many phone books and materials to refer to the Church of God (Anderson) - the formal way in which the Movement is publicly termed. Campmeeting, though somewhat archaic, is a better term than Convention when emphasizing connectivity. In a culture that is searching through Facebook and Twitter to find greater connectivity, something that speaks of gathering and connection should find a welcome home.
   
4. The use of multiple venues should continue and expand. I have suggested the use of a large screen, scoreboard type screen outside Reardon Auditorium to utilize the Mall area as another place to sit an watch the service. Young families and many others will find this a welcome way to participate in the service while handling the challenges of young children. I have heard that there is the possibility of adding Byrum Hall as another venue. It is some distance from Reardon and Park Place (across the campus) but affords an intimate venue for a small group.
   

For what it is worth, these are my suggestions. I hope they are helpful. Whatever is done, I hope that the act and influence of Campmeeting will continue. I continue to look forward to it every year.