Do

dg

eville

Un

ited

Meth

od

ist C

hu

rch

32

7 N

orth

Iow

a S

tree

t D

od

ge

ville

, WI 5

35

33

Pre

pa

red

esp

ecia

lly fo

r…

Ne

wsle

tter

OC

TO

BE

R 2

01

1

THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN WORSHIP GOD!

“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our

allegiance to his name.” – Hebrews 13:15 (NLT)

During the first sermon of our fall series—BORN TO WORSHIP, I mentioned a New Testament concept about worship that I’d like to expand on right now—the fact that worship that is acceptable to God has to be through Jesus. I didn’t get a chance to expand on that concept, so I want to take this very important opportunity to do that—adding to the teachings about worship this fall… Since ours is a Judeo-Christian faith (the origins of our faith being in Judaism), I need to speak to where the concept of ‘through Jesus’ comes from. For the Jews, in order to have a right relationship with God, they had to make sacrifices at the Temple and through their priest. This was the acceptable way to worship God in Old Testament times. In New Testament times and ever since then, our focus has changed because of God’s gift of his Son, Jesus. Jesus is now our High Priest—the final sacrifice (like in Old Testament days). And it is only through Jesus that today’s worship can be acceptable before God… How does Jesus then become our High Priest, so that our worship (and our very lives) will be acceptable before God? By faith; that’s how. We place our faith (John 14) in God and his Son, Jesus—for what God did through Jesus life, death and resurrection. He took our place in payment for the sin of this world; he paid our debt of sin (which is a debt of sin that we have all inherited—original sin). So now Jesus can be our High Priest … if we take the step of making our faith personal—of allowing him to be Lord of our lives! We’re not just talking about believing in Jesus as LORD, here. We’re talking about believing in Jesus as OUR LORD. Have you allowed Jesus to be LORD of your life? Have you made your faith personal, so that Jesus might be your High Priest, making all that you do in worship (and life) acceptable before God?

It is that step of faith—accepting Jesus as LORD of your life—that is the first step toward worship (and a life) that is pleasing to God. It is only through a personal faith in Christ that this can happen—that we can truly become a part of the Body of Christ. Nothing else about worship—God’s way—will ever make sense until we take this first step. (Remember, spiritual understanding only comes through obedience.) If this is something that you desire (or have desired for some time), make sure that you speak with one of your pastors about this very important, life-changing, opportunity. It is available to all; but, the decision, of course … is still yours! Our prayer is that we will all make this very important decision, that our worship as a Body will also be acceptable to God! That is our spiritual goal… See you in the house of worship, Pastor RomPastor RomPastor RomPastor Rom

FAMILY FUN FOR ALL! As a member of the Dodgeville United Methodist Church family, YOU are invited to the following events sponsored by the Christian Education Ministry Team. Mark your calendars for four great family friendly activities! Tell your friends! All are welcome! *October 30th Halloween Hoopla-meet at DUMC at 1:15pm and follow us as we join our friends at Fennimore United Methodist Church for lots of fun from 2 to 4pm! From 2:00-2:45pm Trunk or Treating (this is trick or treating from your car.) Decorate your vehicle and bring your tricks & treats! Prizes awarded for the best decorated trunks! 2:45-3:15pm Costume Parade & Contest, 3:15-4:00pm Games & Indoor Activities. Free hot dogs & treats will be provided. (They also have a Haunted Basement open from 4:30-7:30pm which for $1donation or non-perishable item for the food pantry per trip inside.) *January 29th Ice Skating and supper at Harris Park from 3-5pm. *March 25th Pizza supper and Movie Night at DUMC from 3-5pm *June 24th Pool party and potluck at the Dodgeville Swimming Pool 3-5pm

All women of the church are invited and encouraged to attend the following events. Local Unit Meetings and special happenings: The October meeting of our local unit is scheduled for Thursday, October 6th, at 7:00 PM at the church in Fellowship Hall. We will hold the annual election of officers at this meeting. Grace Post circle is in charge of the program and the Evening Star circle will be serving the refreshments. The annual Fall Rummage Sale is scheduled for Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15. The Bake Sale is also scheduled for Saturday morning starting at 8:00AM. The ”set-up” dates are Wednesday, October 12 and Thursday , October 13. Rummage may be dropped off starting on Tuesday, the 11th, and continuing through Thursday. Please drop off baked goods on Friday afternoon or before 8:00 AM on Saturday. Please be ready to help, there will be sign-up sheets available in Fellowship Hall starting on Sunday, October 2nd. Circle Meetings: The Evening Star circle will meet at the home of Jeanne Kapotas on Monday, October 10 at 7:00PM. Marilyn Liddle is co-hostess and Gayl Stewart will present the devotions. The Grace Post circle will meet on Monday, October 17 at the home of Cathryn Tredinnick at 1:30PM. Louise Price will be presenting the devotions.

Continued on following page…

UMW District and Conference Events: The annual Wisconsin Conference Annual Gathering is to be held Friday, October 21st and Saturday, October 22nd

at the United Methodist Church in Black River Falls. The deadline for mailing in your registration is October 6th. If you are interested in attending please contact Rosemary Edwards or Marilyn Liddle for registration forms or information. The annual Coulee District Day of Enrichment is scheduled for Saturday, October 29, at the Livingston United Methodist Church. The speaker for this event is Mr. Len DeMert of Cassville, WI. Mr. Demert is a retired teacher who makes regular trips to Haiti. He is involved in building a school and works closely with an orphanage located there. Please note that there is no advance registration for this meeting but a $1 donation will be collected at the door. Lunch will be furnished by the district. If you will need child care you must pre-register by calling District President Julie Oliver by October 20th at 608-588-2258. Submitted by Charlene Mingst

BELIEF, BEHAVIOR, AND BELONGING by Pastor Rom

This month, I’m going to be sharing with you a brief theology (what God thinks and what God’s word directs us to) regarding membership. So, let’s turn to God’s word for guidance, as we proceed with a theology of membership. In the opening lines of the baptismal covenant of the United Methodist Church, individuals are required to profess their faith. The question is: “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?”

1 How individuals answer this question should determine

whether they will become a member or not. In my personal experience, no one has ever answered this question incorrectly. Our overwhelming habit, as United Methodist ministers, has been to bring individuals into the life of the church, listen to them answer this statement of profession, and trust that they both understand what they are committing to and that they are willing live it. This raises a very important question, however. Do they truly believe what they profess and is their life a witness to this? In an article entitled “The Catechumenate in West Texas,” Brooks Morton explains that what we too often assume today in our process of taking in members, the Early Church in no way assumed. He says, “The early church theology of discipleship through the catechumenate [membership] emphasized one main goal: intensive holistic conversion as pre-baptismal preparation.”

1 Their personal conversion to Christ was of utmost importance.

This was a prerequisite for baptism (their time of official entry into the Early Church). Morton goes on to emphasize the importance of the catechumenate—the Early Church process of preparing individuals for life in the Church: “The catechumenate formed a new community and solidified existing members around a single unifying person, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1

Historically speaking, if one had not personally committed their life to serving Jesus—Jesus being Lord in their lives, they were not ready for an official connection to the Church—along with all of the expectations of life in the Church. At the start of our theology of membership needs to be the understanding that it all begins with a commitment to follow Christ; joining his Body meant following his agenda. Connecting with the Christian community through membership was not to have anything to do with social standing or politics or public image. In his little book on Christendom, Alan Kreider quotes Sir Herbert Butterfield from his work called Christianity and History (1949):

After a period of fifteen hundred years or so we can just about begin to say that at last no man is now a Christian because of government compulsion, or because it is the way to procure favor at court, or because it is necessary to qualify for public office, or because public opinion demands conformity, or because he would lose customers if he did not go to church, or even because habit and intellectual indolence keep the mind in the appointed groove. This fact makes the present day the most important and the most exhilarating period in the history of Christianity for fifteen hundred years; and the removal of so many kinds of inducement and compulsion makes nonsense of any argument based on the decline in the number of professing Christians in the twentieth century. We are back for the first time in something like the earliest centuries of Christianity, and those early centuries afford some relevant clues to the kind of attitude to adopt (1949:135).

1

Butterfield was obviously very optimistic in 1949 about the Christian Church and its following. What he was rejoicing over, we need to take to heart today too as we think about what it means to become a member of Christ’s Body—the Church. Again, historically, it was about buying into Jesus’ agenda for this world. Change in belief was so essential to our life in Christ that Wesley emphasized it: “For John Wesley, right doctrine was a vital ingredient for a right heart.”

1 So, at the very least, following Jesus

the Christ meant an intentional change in belief. What changes in belief should the Church be looking for in individuals seeking to connect with the Church through membership? According to one leader of the Methodist movement,

…we should begin with Wesley and recover those basic core doctrines which have generally been considered essential and non-negotiable for Wesley—those basic doctrines which represent what Methodists must believe … the doctrines which Wesley insisted on at various times in his ministry as ‘original sin, the deity of Christ, the atonement, justification by faith alone, the work of the Holy Spirit (including new birth and holiness), and the Trinity.’ These were non-negotiable….

1

The change in belief, therefore, would be a distinct shift from a world view that is secular or specifically ‘me-centered’ to a world view that is Christological or ‘Christ-centered.’ It is coming to an understanding of original sin, our need for a personal reconciliation with God, the deity of Christ—God’s loving response to our separation from God, and personal repentance, along with the other traditionally Wesleyan ‘non-negotiables.’ It is literally having a new desire to become more and more Christ-like in all that you are and all that you do. The Apostle Paul calls this change of belief having ‘the mind of Christ.’

1

We also need to become like Christ in yet another way; this is a part of the change in belief that we should also be witnessing in those desiring to connect with the Church. In light of the whole idea of lordship, we need to be like Jesus in our attitude toward ‘our rights.’ Henry Blackaby, in explaining our relationship with Jesus as Lord of our lives, parallels Jesus’ life with God the Father like this: “To yield this way in suffering obedience to the Father’s will meant that Jesus had to totally give up His personal rights. Paul tells us how Jesus ‘did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.’”

1 The

Apostle Paul, speaking of Jesus attitude, explained it as follows: “… who,

though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form….”

1 Again,

when we accept Christ in faith as our Lord and Savior, what we are doing is saying ‘yes’ to his agenda. Life is no longer about ‘our rights’ (me-centered); life is now about ‘Jesus’ agenda’ (Christ-centered). Life is no longer concerned just with ‘what I get out of it’; life is now more concerned

with ‘what I can do for Christ.’ Again, this is a part of the change in belief that we need to see in catechumens (those seeking membership) as they seek to connect with the Church. As important as change in belief is to preparation for membership in the Church, we cannot leave the topic there. This change in belief that is expected of all who seek to join the Body of Christ in a more formal way has to be followed by an anticipated change in behavior. One of the Early Church Fathers, Cyprian, learned this about those in the catechumenate—the group who was studying and preparing to be participating members of the Church. It is said of Cyprian, “…as a catechumen on the road to membership in the Christian church, Cyprian was among people who were learning to live differently.”

1 Here is the

proof, so to speak, about the sincerity of an individual’s change in belief that they would profess at the time of entry into the Church. In the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, under the section on Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task, we see some distinctively Wesleyan emphases along these lines:

Faith and Good Works—We see God’s grace and human activity working together in the relationship of faith and good works. God’s grace calls forth human response and discipline. Faith is the only response essential for salvation. However, the General Rules remind us that salvation evidences itself in good works. For Wesley, even repentance should be accompanied by “fruits meet for repentance,” or works of piety and mercy.

1

A change in behavior, then, manifested itself in the production of spiritual ‘fruits’ for John Wesley as well. A true change in belief, therefore, will be accompanied by a change in behavior—not because of the efforts of any one individual, but because of the Spirit of Christ that now lives within. Once again, experience in today’s Church has taught me many things—one of which is that we as church leaders need a variety of ways to confirm if individuals are actually ready to become participating members. A noticeable change in behavior would certainly be one of those ways. This is what should be anticipated shortly after we recognize a change in belief. It is beginning to live what we say we believe; there is the proof. According to historians like Alan Kreider, there were a variety of attractions for people to want to be a part of the Early Church. One attraction was the beliefs, especially the belief that Christ had conquered death and no one need to fear death any longer. That was very attractive. However, for some, the attraction to be a participating member of the Early Church was found in the change in behavior witnessed in individuals who had become Christians. Our life in Christ is not solely about our experience of personal conversion, however. Once we give our lives to Christ (justification), there is no room for a ‘me and Jesus’ theology. Ours is a theology—an understanding of God—that always involves community. Rick Warren

comments, “Following Christ is not just a matter of believing; it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God.”

1

When we consider joining the Body of Christ—the Church, it means that we are saying ‘yes’ to the community which we now belong to by virtue of faith. And, we are saying ‘yes’ to all that goes with that community. And, perhaps, this is the way it should be—reflective of the Godhead itself. Kevin Ford explains it this way: “The best journeys are usually those taken with others, ‘road trips’ with good friends. This is a reflection of the very nature of God, who exists in a dynamic, living community of love. The church takes its cue from God Himself.”

1

Though reflected in the imago dei (image of God), the idea of membership in the Church itself is hard to find actually spoken of in scripture. Yet, it was so important to the development of the Early Church that its presence in history cannot be denied. Again, Pastor Rick Warren helps show us how membership, early on, was simply a commitment that was expected:

Except for a few important exceptions referring to all believers throughout history, almost every time the word church is used in the Bible it refers to a local, visible congregation. The New Testament assumes membership in a local congregation. The only Christians not members of a local fellowship were those under church discipline who had been removed from the fellowship because of gross public sin.

1

If you were a professing believer in Jesus Christ, you were connected to a local congregation somewhere. If you were not, there was something wrong! Scripture does allude to the idea of membership however—being connected or belonging—in many of Paul’s writings. Just listen to one of the more familiar texts from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth:

As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1

This seems to be an excellent description of the relationship between members and the rest of the Body of Christ: ‘Many members, yet one

PASTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUND During the month of September, $100 was given to people in our community calling on the church for assistance. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please write PDF in the memo line of your check or on your offering envelope.

body.’ Though there are many who make up the membership, we should be functioning as a single unit for the sake of Christ’s kingdom, following his agenda. So, though the word ‘membership’ is not exactly voiced in scripture, Paul describes the expectation fairly well. And, we really do need the Body of Christ. A part of our membership needs to be a solid understanding of Paul’s biblical expectation to be connected to the Church. A part of our membership needs to be a solid understanding that from the earliest days of the Church, if you were a Christian you sought out membership in a local congregation—a place to formally live out your newfound faith, a place to belong. _____________________________________ 1The United Methodist Book of Worship, (Nashville: The United Methodist

Publishing House, 1992), 96. 2 Brooks Morton, “The Catechumenate in West Texas,” (Journal for the Academy

for Evangelism,), 65. 3 Ibid, 66.

4 Alan Kreider, The Change of Conversion and the Origin of Christendom,

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1999), xvii. 5 James V. Heidinger II, “John Wesley and United Methodist Renewal,” (Good

News, May/June 2006), 18. 6 Ibid.

7 1 Corinthians 2:16 (NRSV).

8 Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing the Cross: Your Greatest Opportunity for

Victory Over Sin, (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers Inc, 2005), 40-41. 9 Philippians 2:6-7 (NRSV).

10 Alan Kreider, The Change of Conversion and the Origin of Christendom,

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1999), 9. 11

The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 2004. 12

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan,

2002), 56. 13

Kevin G. Ford, Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great

(Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007), 124. 14

Rick Warren. The Purpose Driven Life, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan,

2002), 132. 15

1 Corinthians 12:20-27 (NRSV)

Aubrey Alaina Gochenaur was born on September 7, 2011 Weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz and 20” long

Congratulations to proud parents, Joel & Casey!!

OFFERINGS January through March: Interhope $874.04 April – July 3: UMCOR Japan $741.13 UMCOR Tornado $240 UMCOR Golden Cross Sunday $64 July-August: Homeless Shelter of Iowa County

$486.03 September: $137.30 Total Mission & Outreach Giving to date: $2,542.50

Cell Phones for Soldiers This charity is calling on individuals to sponsor free phone calls home through cash donations and the donation of used cellular phones. Every dollar raised and cellular phone received will provide that precious connection to family for service men and women.

Proceeds raised from donations are used to purchase pre-paid international calling cards for troops around the world as well as fund new communication programs for troops in need.

See box in fellowship hall for donating phones.

CURRENT MONTH August 2011 Monthly Income $10,205 Monthly Expenses Paid $ 16,282 Net Income for month $<6,077> Apportionments Paid $4,206 Unpaid Apportionments $0 Continued on next page

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

Wyoming Valley Church Hymn Sing Schedule October 2

Time: 2 Pm to 3:30 PM Church is located on state Hwy 23 Five miles south of

Spring Green, Ten miles north of Dodgeville

GriefShare Tuesday evenings at 7:00 at Spring Green Community

Church For more info: 608-588-2442

UMW of Concordia United Methodist Church

in Prairie du Sac hosting a Holiday Bazaar

November 5, 2011 For more info: 643-6356

ABC’S of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Tuesdays, October 11 and 18

6-8 PM Upland Hills Health

Conference Room A & B For advance registration call: 608-232-3400

YEAR TOTALS THROUGH CURRENT MONTH Years Income $124,138 Years Expenses Paid $110,090 Net Income for Year $ 14,048 Apportionments Paid $ 8,212 (figure included in Years Expenses Paid) Unpaid Apportionments $ 8,612(not included in Years Expenses Paid) TOTAL APPORTIONMENTS DUE FOR YEAR $ 25,236 APPORTIONMENTS DUE PER MONTH $ 2,103 Lois McComish, Finance Chair

*First name listed is 9:00 service, 2nd name is 10:45

PLEASE PRAY:

Military Tom Wagner

Harman Family (job) Bill Lorenz

Laverne Leffler Nan Gray Stu Miller Dick Strutt

Dan Williams Eddis Olson Mary Dunn

LaVerne Draves Del Schlueter Bob Wilson

1 Chris Beerkircher 1 Kory Beerkircher 2 Jeanne Kapotas 3 Heather Gullickson 5 Nicole Wieczorek 6 Deb Short 7 Steven Strutt 9 Colleen Gullickson 9 Ann Portzen 11 Olivia Steil 12 Thomas Hazlett 13 Jan Aschliman 13 Remington Huxtable 13 John Oxnem 14 Larry Forseth 16 June Jewell 17 Tonia Puckett 23 Shianne Carroll 24 Sarah Godfrey 25 Jim Middagh 26 Cathy Bandyk 28 Jessica Gorsline 28 Rebecca Gorsline 30 Renee Weber

octoBER BIRTHDAYS

october Anniversaries

10 Josh & Alycia Hathaway 11 Laverne & Dorothy Leffler 12 Ben & Mary Berryman 15 John & Bonnie Oxnem 19 Mike & Renee Weber 20 James & Deb Short 21 John & Lesley Houck 25 Don & Dee Dochnahl

*Worship Assistants OCTOBER

2 Dee Dochnahl, Sarah Godfrey 9 Julie Athey, Julie Piper 16 Sandy Alexander, Sarah Godfrey 23 Peggy Forrest, Terry Edwards 30 Merlin Gorsline, Cathy Bandyk

*Multi-Media

October 9:00 10:45 02 Gail Julie 09 Gail Matt 16 Gail Julie 23 Tom Matt 30 Gail Rays

November 9:00 10:45 06 Tom Julie 13 Gail Scott 20 Gail Matt 27 Gail Rays

Greeters October 9 AM: Scott & Denise Tolzman, Merlin Gorsline

10:45 AM: Dale & Nancy Mortimer, Howard Rideout, Mary Ellen Schultze

November 9 AM: Chip & Peggy Forrest, Steve & Julie Colden

10:45 AM: 6 Eliza & Maggie Godfrey 13 TBA 20 Eliza & Maggie Godfrey 27 TBA

October 2 **Dee Dochnahl 9 TBA 16 **Jan Aschliman & **Charlene Mingst 23 Sarah Godfrey & **Julie James 30 Mary Lou Oxnem & Ginny Gorsline November 6 Shirley Lewis & Lois Weier 13 **Julie Colden 20 Cathryn Tredinnick 27 Penny Edwards & Sandy Alexander **These people are treat suppliers only

*Acolytes

9:00 10:45 OCTOBER

2 Alex & Bethany Harman Lindsey Hazlett Zach Tolzman 9 Diana Dochnahl & Emily Prochaska

Maggie Piper Ryan James 16 Alex & Bethany Harman Maggie & Eliza Godfrey 23 Diana Dochnahl & Emily Prochaska

London & Dacotah Starr

30 Ushers

Café If you are unable to serve at your scheduled time,

please find a substitute to serve in your place.

Thank you!

OC

TO

BE

R

All Dodgeville area m

iddle and high school students are invited to join us for an am

azing night of food, fun and incredible live m

usic by national indie Christian recording artists, Lightsw

itch, with special

guest Restored. Lightsw

itch has been quickly gaining popularity and m

omentum

. With radio

airplay, multiple appearances in CCM

Magazine, H

M, and their m

ost recent appearance in Relevant M

agazine, the band is becom

ing one of the most

successful Christian indie bands in the USA.

LIGHTSW

ITCH has perform

ed with som

e of the best bands in Christian m

usic including: Sanctus Real, Rush of Fools, The Afters, Steller Kart, Barlow

Girl, Tenth Avenue N

orth, Kutless, Shawn M

cDonald,

Need to Breathe, and m

ore. Don't m

iss this event!!

w

ww

.all4o

neo

nlin

e.org