January 2021
Newsletter
From the Desk of the Superintendent
Welcome to the Eastern Region Newsletter.

I pray that each of you had a good CHRISTMAS and New Year’s. We were home with the kids, but had a great time being together.

Many thanks to each of you who gave to United Ministries and Penny Crusade. Even during a difficult year, we were able to make ends meet and provide for our missionaries, many of whom will face challenges in the coming year even more dire than our own.

As I pray weekly with the Superintendents and the Eastern Region on Friday’s at noon time, it seems that there have been a huge number of people passing away and struggling with illness. Some of it is related to Covid-19, and some isn’t. This is certainly a time when much prayer is needed for the needs of so many. We were especially saddened to hear about Pastor Jay Hardy’s falling asleep in Christ. Jay pastored the Pittsfield, NH church for many years and passed quietly in his sleep without any illness. We are very saddened to lose this dear brother in Christ.

Our country is facing unprecedented challenges with a skyrocketing National Debt, the effects of Covid 19, military troops taking over Washington DC, an impeachment, and civil unrest. These may be the last days and this may be our final opportunity to proclaim Christ to many friends and neighbors. Rather than being hostile on social media, or cowering in fear, let’s use our time to win as many as possible to Christ with the time we have left. 

May we be found faithful in how we use our time for the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord!

Grace,
               Greg
The Superintendent's Discretionary Fund assists with various needs (medical, glasses, dental, etc.). This is a nonbudgeted fund that is replenished as needed and used to help when opportunities arise. Please consider making a donation in January or February to help with this need. Thank you!
Items Needing a Home
The Riverpoint Church has 60 hymnals.

Please contact the Regional Office if interested in these items.
Can you guess which church this is? The first person to email the office (secretary@aceasternregion.org) with the correct answer will receive a small prize. If this is your home church, we ask that you refrain from answering.
The December Church was the Oxford Advent Christian Church in Oxford, ME. Millie McLean from Presque Isle was the first to guess the correct answer.
Monthly Devotional Thought
Have you ever read a familiar portion of Scripture and had a gazillion thoughts come at you about what you just read? Well, that happened to me as I was reading the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Could I share just one of those thoughts with you? Let me set the scene; Jesus had been teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem just days (maybe weeks?) prior the story of Lazarus. While teaching, many of His words were hard and caused division among the people. On top of this, the religious leaders were actively looking for a way to take Jesus out. (literally!) At the end of John 10 we read that the people became so irate with Jesus’ words that they picked up stones to stone Him, while the religious leaders sought to arrest Him. Jesus slipped away, leaving Jerusalem to go to a place where He could continue to teach but would be safe. But even there, trouble found Him. He received a message from Mary and Martha telling Him that Lazarus was sick and dying. You know the story, remember how Jesus remained teaching for another 2 days before announcing to His disciples that it was time to return to Judea. He and the disciples get into a bit of, shall we say, dialogue (because you never win when you argue with Jesus!) “What??!!! Jesus, you want to go back to Jerusalem? We can’t do that, don’t you remember -they tried to kill you -and us!”  “Jesus, just speak the word and Lazarus will be well. If you were to do that, then we can stay here where we are safe; see, the people all like you here, they think you are great!” In the end, Jesus wins and the disciples’ desire to stay where it is safe is surrendered. Thomas the Twin comments: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” This causes me to think about how easily we get caught up in the “comfortable.”  Jesus and the disciples were teaching where they were safe, people liked what they were hearing and came back to hear more. Maybe they were staying in a comfortable house, had plenty of food and good fellowship with the people coming to see Jesus. They knew their purpose, they had everything they needed for ministry, all was good - then Jesus announces it is time to go to Judea. When the time was right, He told them they were going to the place where their life was not comfortable, where they were considered enemies of the religious system and were in constant danger of death. I’m thinking that while the disciples knew Jesus, there was still an element of distrust in His ability to take care of them in those difficult places, besides, they liked where they were and saw no reason to move on.  Before you go getting high and mighty, I’m thinking we are all guilty of this from time to time. We are very blessed by God. In America our life is fairly comfortable but if we aren’t careful, this enjoyment of comfort can lead to a phenomenon known as “Consumer Christianity.” (Taken from “Reappearing Church” by Mark Sayers – a great book if you are looking for a relevant book for today!) When I first heard that term, I had to asked myself if that was even such a thing. I did some research and, yep, it is alive and well in the Christian culture today. It is a mentality that is deeply rooted, the “name it and claim it” belief system that we may associate with this is really only one of the many symptoms of this phenomenon. It is a form of the Christian walk that is seeking a life of comfort with the avoidance of difficulty. We want “maximum say with minimum responsibility.” It aims to change our external circumstances to bring happiness to our inner world. We begin to treat Christ and His bride like commodities that exist to serve our wants, settling into a place that doesn’t push us to trust God, all the while convincing ourselves that “this is a good thing, we can still serve God here.” This mentality believes in “power and authority” without brokenness, humility or surrender.  Unfortunately, this type of mindset causes people to actually resist the move of God subconsciously because we become focused on our wants above God’s plans.  Now, I think it is important to point out that Jesus actually took the disciples to this place of comfort – there is a time for comfort and rest. Yet, we have to be careful not to become too comfortable in this place because it can cause us to miss the move of God.  Jesus calls us to be contenders instead of consumers. “Contending is choosing to step into the hard places with God…Consumer Christianity thoroughly entangles us in civilian affairs. Contending is living to please our commanding officer, leaving behind the irrelevance of civilian concerns and the myth of finding a life of meaning in the avoidance of difficulty.”  (Mark Sayers, “Reappearing Church”)  Ouch, stepping on some toes? Good! I had to repent too, I truly want revival for our churches and country today but this cannot happen until we allow God to remove this deep root of consumerism within us.  Revival only comes from the saints finding renewal in the presence of Jesus – which means there are times I will be called out of my comfort to follow Him - where ever He leads. He promises us that when we do this, He will be our Protector and Provider.  Oh, Father, forgive us for letting consumerism slip in our relationship with You, instead help us to be contenders for our families, our churches, and our country.  May we be quick to follow where You lead, knowing your Presence is the only place to be!
~Cindy Ludwick
A HISTORY OF WILLIAM MILLER Part 2

Information gathered from ADVENT CHRISTIAN HISTORY (Ch. 2) by Albert C. Johnson
Selections and comments by Greg Twitchell

After gaining much light on the prophecies and feeling assured that the end of the world was drawing near, he was convicted that the light which he had received placed him under obligations to his fellow men and that he must give them the message of warning. While resisting this conviction, so far as public labors were concerned, he spent some five years in further careful study of the scriptures, more especially weighing the objections which occur to him that might be raised from the Bible or other sources against the views he felt compelled to accept from this further study he became more settled and confirmed in the conclusions reached, and still more impressed with his duty to bear witness.  
 
At length, the conviction that he must go and tell the world the faith which he had accepted became so pungent and agonizing, and the voice of God called him so plainly, that he was led to consent in a covenant of prayer to go if the way was plainly opened for him. In less than an hour after this, a messenger arrived from Dresden, a town 16 miles distant, asking him to come and talk to the people on the subject of the Lords coming. He was angry with himself for making the agreement, and tried to resist, until he was so convicted of the sinfulness of his rebellion that he surrendered again to God, and accepted the request. At the close of the Sabbath services, he was invited to remain and lecture through the week. He did so, and large numbers came to hear and a very gracious revival ensued. Thus began his public labors in the year 1831 or 32. Invitations immediately followed to speak in other towns which were accepted, and similar results followed in almost every place where he labored, backsliders were reclaimed and sinners converted. He was usually invited by the ministers of the various congregations whom he visited, and he never lectured in any place to which he was not previously invited.  
In 1835, Mr. Miller reports that the Lord was opening doors faster than he could enter them and names 19 places where he had engagements or calls, and speaks of others too numerous to mention. Thus, he went on from year to year traveling far and near with a great message of the Lords near coming. In 1839, closing a tour of Massachusetts, he records that between October 1, 1834 and June 9, 1839, he had delivered 800 lectures. He concluded this Massachusetts tour in Lynn and the editor of the record of that city comments on his character, manner and preaching as follows: we have overcome our prejudices against him by attending his lectures and learning more of the excellent character of the man and of the great good he has done and is doing.  No one can hear him 5 minutes without being convinced of his sincerity and instructed by his reasoning and information. All acknowledge his lectures to be replete with useful and interesting matter. His knowledge of scripture is very extensive and minute, that of the prophecies especially, surprisingly familiar.  

Brother Miller had a strong conviction regarding the Gospel and the Second Coming of Christ as this Statement of Faith gives evidence:

I believe that the scriptures do reveal unto us, in plain language, that Jesus Christ will appear again on this earth, that he will come in the glory of God, in the clouds of heaven, with all his Saints and Angels; that he will raise the dead bodies of all his Saints who have slept, change the bodies of all that are alive on the earth that are his, and both these living and raised Saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There the Saints will be judged and presented to the father, without spot or wrinkle. Then the gospel Kingdom will be given up to God the father. Then will the father give the bride to the son Jesus Christ; and when the marriage takes place, the church will become the new Jerusalem the beloved city and while this is being done in the air, the earth will be cleansed by fire, the elements will melt with fervent heat, the works of men will be destroyed, the bodies of the wicked will be burned to Ashes, the devil and all evil spirits with the souls and spirits of those who have rejected the gospel, will be banished from the earth, shut up in the pit or place prepared for the devil and his Angels.
ELDERSHIP TEACHING

I believe that we need to focus on developing leadership teams to lead our churches. In the New Testament these were called Elders and Paul instructed Timothy to appoint these leaders in every church. There are many reasons why we should change to an Eldership model. 
-         Pastors are experiencing burnout at an extremely high rate,
-     teams are stronger than individuals,
-     there are fewer qualified pastors to consider today,
-     Eldership is a Biblical principle
-     many churches can’t afford to pay a full-time salary.

I would like to spend some time studying Eldership here in the newsletter and encouraging you to consider moving toward this model in the coming year. Here is a Theology of the Character of Elders as described in the Pastorals by Paul. 

“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full[a] respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
- 1 Tim 3:1-7


Marks of Maturity in Elders:
Personal Orderliness, Balance, Discipline

Four Main Qualities of Character:
  1.      Respectable = a well-ordered life (life in balance)
  2.    Prudent (sensible) = a well-ordered mind (mental balance)
  3.    Temperate = a well-ordered spirit (emotional balance)
  4.     Self-controlled = self-mastery, personal discipline

ADDITIONAL QUALITIES OF CHARACTER:
  1.       Not addicted to wine = not a drunkard
  2.     Not pugnacious = not a fighter
  3.     Not contention = peaceable
  4.     Gentle = kind, sweet, reasonable, makes allowances for others; mistakes
  5.     Not self-willed = not stubborn or arrogant
  6.     Not quick tempered
  7.     Above reproach = no grounds for accusation against
  8.     Just = not violating the sovereignty of God; keeping his laws

FAMILY ORDERLINSS, BALANCE, DISCIPLINE
  1.     Husband of one wife = a one-woman man (looking at present character not past failure)
  2.    Manages own household well = leader, laborer, and lover
a.      Children under control = under authority with all dignity – respectfulness
b.   Children who believe = who are either believers or faithful
                        i.     Not accused of dissipation = a life that has completely broken apart and is about to be abandoned
                        ii.     Not accused of rebellion = a life that cannot be controlled

c.      Hospitable = loving toward strangers, generous to guests

ABILITY TO HANDLE THE WORD
  1.  Able to teach = skillful in teaching
  2.  Holding fast the faithful word = cling to, be devoted to
a.      Exhort in sound doctrine = urge, appeal, encourage, comfort
b.      Able to refute = bring to light, expose, correct, reprove

MOTIVATION
  1.       Devout = pleasing to God, one whose life is a spiritual sacrifice
  2.       Loving what is god = a heart, affection for what is good and right
  3.       Free from the love of money = affection not attached to money
  4.       Not fond of sordid gain = dishonest gain

RELATIONSHIP TO NON-BELIEVERS
  1.      Good reputation (with those outside church) = spoken well of (Lk. 4:22)

AGE
  1.       Not a new convert = from Greek word “newly planted”

Lou Going from the Maranatha Conference is writing a monthly newsletter to the pastors and has given us permission to post it in the Region's monthly newsletter as well. Click on the image to read the full article.
Upcoming Event
Beginning January and running through November, the Maranatha Conference will be sponsoring online live instruction on the topic of Biblical Interpretation or Hermeneutics. There is no cost for these sessions. The first session is on January 16. Click the link below to register or read more about this event.
Click on Willie's picture to visit his website for upcoming events.
The Eastern Region would like to congratulate Chase Mendoza, Lead Elder of the AC Church in Charlton, MA. Chase has completed a Bachelor’s degree in Ministry through the Antioch School based out of Hope Church in Lenox, MA., with Steve Brown as his Mentor. We had a wonderful time celebrating with the church on January 10th. 

Chase is now facilitating a course called Life to the Nth. This is one of 6 courses currently being offered via Zoom through the Eastern Region and we have a number of developing leaders and those seeking degrees. There are 15 students working on degrees in our group and 30 currently taking classes for personal benefit. We are incredibly blessed to have a partnership with BILD International to provide a fully accredited degree granting education that is servicing 100 million believers worldwide.  
Leadership Development
The Way of Christ and His Apostles

There have been many different church paradigms over the years. Recently in the U.S. we have seen:

  • Christendom Model - being a Christian was normal and accepted
  • Attraction Model - Mega churches begin reaching thousands of people
  • Mission Model - smaller groups begin reaching their community through relational interaction
  • New Testament Model - following the principles of Paul and the Apostles as found in Scripture

This article is introducing the New Testament paradigm - a paradigm based on the way of Christ and His Apostles. This model is founded on the teachings of Christ and the ministry model of Paul and the Apostles as it was given to them by the Holy Spirit. I will be discussing 4 key concepts in the coming months.
Concept #1: The Pauline Cycle

Paul began his work by taking the gospel to strategic cities, maybe better referred to as strategic areas. He preached the gospel and then gathered the believers together around Christ's teaching and quickly formed them into a church, appointing elders in each one. He then moved on to a new area, expecting the churches to permeate the surrounding areas with the gospel.

On future missionary journeys, he would send letters, key men on his team, or personally visit them, seeking to establish them more firmly in "the teaching," in order that they would become strong. An established church is not one with a pastor and a building, but rather a community of believers with strong leadership, so rooted in the gospel and "the teaching" that no one can come in and upset entire families with another teaching.
QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION/DISCUSSION

  1. How are we doing at evangelizing strategic cities in the North East?
  2. Or even the cities in which we live?
  3. How did Paul and his team fulfill the Great Commission?
  4. What would our report card say?
  5. How are we doing at permeating the area around our churches with the gospel?
  6. What if we reached each neighborhood in our community with a small group?
  7. Are we ministering within leadership teams (Elders) or with a solo pastor model?
  8. Are we developing Timothy's in our ministry who will pass on the teaching to others?
Time to fill out Pastor and Church reports.
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Visit our website to make a donation online.

You can now donate through Venmo as well.
Online Prayer Meeting Fridays from 12-1 p.m.
Previous copies of the monthly newsletter, the 2020 Convention, and helpful articles on Covid-19 are now on our website.

Throughout 2020 many of the churches in the Region and several individual donors were faithful in their financial support. THANK YOU!

Hope Church Lenox
Vernon AC Church
Riverpoint AC Church
Sunshine AC Church
Faith Evangelical in Melrose

These were the top 5 givers to United Ministries in the Eastern Region. Your generosity, faithful prayer support, and partnership in spreading the Gospel is so greatly appreciated!

ERA Board of Directors  
 
Rev. George Karl, President - sumkarl@yahoo.com
Rev. Frank Jewett, Vice President - frankrjewett@gmail.com
Rev. Allen Latimore, Clerk - aclatimore@netzero.net
Mr. Howie Munday, Treasurer - mundayhk77@gmail.com
Rev. Doug Tourgee, Heritage Conf. President - dougin401@aol.com
Mr. Kent Davis, Maine State Conf. Vice President - kdavis@pgagnon.com
Rev. Josh Rice, Maranatha Conf. President - jrice@emmanuelacc.net
Rev. Derek Irvine, New Life Conf. President - drick1221@gmail.com
Mr. Adam Facteau, New York Conf. President - afacteau@twcny.rr.com
Rev. Ken Perkins, Nova Scotia Conf. President - Ken.perkins@EastLink.ca
Mr. Charlie Merrill, ERA Representative to ACGC - cmerrill7967@gmail.com
Rev. Steve Lawson, ACGC Executive Director - slawson@acgc.us

The Eastern Regional Association Newsletter is published as a ministry of the Eastern Regional Association of the Advent Christian General Conference.
Eastern Regional Association
32 Four Rod Road, Rochester, NH 03867
Phone: 603-332-1412 / Fax: 603-332-1648
www.aceasternregion.org