I N D I A N A S O U T HI N D I A N A S O U T H

WESLEYANAUGUST 2008

I once read that all weddings are happy. It’s the living together afterwards that causes allthe trouble. Mrs. Billy Graham was once asked, “Have you ever considered divorce?”“No,” she responded. “Murder many times, but never divorce!”

You’re probably just like my husband, Dan, and me. You want a great marriage, onethat pleases God and draws others to Him. But maybe there are times when you feel thatyour marriage is a tiny outpost in the middle of enemy territory and the opponent isshooting at you from every side. Perhaps you feel that your marriage has endured toomuch pain to survive and there is no hope left.

I know that this world is not a friend of marriage, but I also know that God certainly is.In fact, marriage was God’s idea as well as His plan and design. Yes, it is hard work andeven painful at times. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Dan and I have been married almost 32years, and I can honestly say that our relationship is stronger and better today than it hasever been. We have worked hard, prayed like crazy, cried and laughed, sacrificed much,and trusted God to make our marriage what He wants it to be. We are getting there andlearning important lessons along the way.

Here are some lessons we’ve learned on the journey so far:1. When the going gets tough, the tough stay right where they are.

Ephesians 5:31 says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and beunited to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Commitment is the very breath of a healthy marriage. The Spanish explorer, Cortez,knew the importance of commitment and insisted on it from his men when they landedin Mexico. The plan was to invade the land of the Aztecs, but when he saw the crew’s fearand hesitation, Cortez gathered them all on shore, set fire to the ships, and said, “Nowthere can be no turning back!” That is the kind of commitment needed in marriage.

We live in a world of “throw-away” marriages. If it doesn’t work, we can always throwaway the relationship and find another! Affairs of men and women in ministry headlinenewspapers and top the evening news. Why? We have forgotten just how serious God isabout commitment.

Jesus tells the story of a man who found a valuable pearl in a field. The man immedi-ately sold everything he had to buy the field in order to gain the pearl. If the pearl wasworthless, the man would be left with nothing. He was, however, willing to take the riskand make the commitment. For marriage to be all God intends it to be, we must be willingto do the same.

2. Be committed to God.Every Sunday, words of commitment roll easily off the tongues of men and women in

pulpits across the world, but true commitment to God demands a radical obedience everyminute of every day – no matter what – even when we are tired and caught off guard, evenwhen it seems justified or deserved. Many marriages are in trouble because we expect ourmates to meet needs that only Jesus Christ can meet, but the reality is that Jesus Christ iseither Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all – and He is enough!

3. Be committed to your mate.Commitment is not based on feelings, nor can feelings build a solid marriage. No-

where in the Bible does it say that love is the basis for marriage. Love is not the basis formarriage. Marriage is the basis for love!

Superintendent’s Schedule

August

1-3 Family Camp

9 Softball Tournament–Columbus

10 A.M. Corydon

P.M. Church Visit

13 Medora

24 A.M. Rising Sun

P.M. Gnaw Bone

28 IWU Meeting

31 A.M. South Washington

P.M. Bicknell

September

3-6 BYF Retreat

14 A.M. Shelbyville Grace– Installation

P.M. Greensburg

21 A.M. Boonville

P.M. Somerville

28 A.M. Shelburn

P.M. Sullivan

Dr. Mark S. F. EckartDIST. SUPERINTENDENT

Making Marriage Work – Part OneBy Mary Southerland

Continued on page 3

Page 2 / August 2008 INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN(USPS 334-970)

August 2008Vol. 35 No. 8

Executive Editor Dr. Mark Eckart

Office Editor Cindy Caniff

Periodical postage paid at Orleans, IN 47452and additional mailing offices.

Publication Office: P.O. Box 174,Orleans, IN 47452

Published monthly by the Indiana SouthDistrict of The Wesleyan Church.

Postmaster send address changes to:INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

PO BOX 174ORLEANS, IN 47452

2008 – 2009 MinisterialClass Schedule

General Church HistoryDr. Mark Eckart

October 11th & 25th, 2008Paoli Wesleyan Church

Dr. Jerry Pence – Guest Lectureron October 11th.

Doctrine of HolinessDr. Mark Eckart

February 7th & 21st, 2009Paoli Wesleyan Church

PASTORAPPRECIATION

October is Pastor Appreciation

Month. The Wesleyan Church has des-

ignated October 12th as Pastor Appre-

ciation Day. Don’t forget your pastor

and his family as they work very hard at

what God has called them to do.

CONDOLENCESOur sympathy goes out to Rev. Jewel

Gilley , the pastor at WashingtonVincennes Ave. and her family in the lossof her father, Rev. John P. Cissell, Sr.Rev. Cissell was retired minister on ourdistrict.

Our sympathy also goes out to Mr.

David Hoss, our camp caretaker, and

his family in the loss his brother, Mr.

John Hoss.

THRIVE: creating irresistible adult ministry environmentsSeptember 18-20, 2008

WHERE: Wesleyan World Headquarters.

WHO: Any leader of an adult ministry (pastors, volunteers, students).

For Info: www.headhearthead.com or call 317.774.3880

Hurry…registration deadline is August 19th!

Spiritual Formation District TourPlease mark Saturday, November the 8th, 2008 on your calendar. The Paoli

Wesleyan Church is going to host a district wide training day. Dr. Jim Dunn and hisstaff from the Spiritual Formation Department will be the presenters. There willbe sessions for those ministering to adults, teens, and children. We encouragepastors, staff, and lay people to attend. This will be a great day for all involvedin ministry, not just the pastor.

This is a crucial training day for our district. The International Center is helping tofund this event so you are strongly encouraged to be there if at all possible. My goal isto serve you by offering all the facilitation in ministry we can on the district levelwithout having something planned so often it interferes with your local agenda.

Teen Camp 2008Teen Camp 2008 will be remembered by all who were in attendance. We had 106

campers & 25-30 staff. On Tuesday, July 8th, thirty-four teenagers, college studentsand camp staffers, from our Indiana South Teen Camp, drove to Columbus, Indiana.They spent the day tearing out flooring, paneling, insulation and cabinets from therecently flooded home of 84-year-old Lillian Gilley. Others in the group spent theday packing Mrs. Gilley’s belongings for storage. Everyone worked extremely hardand made a beautiful sacrifice in Jesus’ name. This work project saved the home-owner $8,000 - $10,000 in labor, which can be used to replace some of her losses. Ourdistrict can be very proud of the work which was accomplished through their youth.It was a wonderful blessing for those who went and I believe that GOD was honored!

We had at least 5 campers pray to receive Christ for the first time! 1 student feltthe call into ministry; at least 3 students were sanctified and at least 7 students thatrestored their relationship with Christ. Many students were at the altar for specialprayer needs.

Rev. Matt Leroy was our camp speaker and GOD used him to teach us truth andmany were challenged. Rev. Wes Wickard and the band lead our worship each eve-ning and the Holy Spirit was in each service.

THANKS to all the staff who volunteered their time the week of camp and forthose who prayed for us during the week!

Rev. Joseph Gormong, DYP & Rev. Wesley Jones

Keynote Speaker:Dr. Bill Donahue,

Executive Director of AdultMinistries for the

Willow Creek Association

Pre-Conference Speaker:Bill Franck,

National Director of SingleAdult/YA Ministries

for the Assemblies of God

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN August 2008 / Page 3

If you are hanging on in the midst of atough marriage, remember God is wellaware of where you are and will provide ev-erything you need to succeed. Someoneonce asked Napoleon to explain his defeat atWaterloo. The warrior replied, “The Britishdidn’t win because they were better trained,larger, or more equipped. They won be-cause they fought five minutes longer!”

Faithfulness is the foundation of truecommitment and knows no boundaries inthe marriage relationship. We are to befaithful physically, mentally, and emotion-ally. Failure in marriage is the result ofwrong priorities and wrong choices. Yourmate is your number one ministry, yourgreatest opportunity for Kingdom service.When our priorities are askew, we are op-erating in our own strength and wrongchoices will surely follow.

I wonder what battles we have lost be-cause we gave up just a little too soon! Holdon to your commitment to God. Hold onto your commitment to your marriage.

4. Accept your mate and changeyourself!

Colossians 3:13-14 says, “Bear witheach other and forgive whatever grievancesyou may have against one another. Forgiveas the Lord forgave you. And over all thesevirtues put on love, which binds them alltogether in perfect unity.”

The marriage relationship has a certaindynamic. If one person in the relationshipchanges, the entire relationship mustchange. We keep trying to make sure thatour mate is the one doing all of the change.

I approached marriage and my new hus-band like buying an old house. I could notwait to see it remodeled. Over the years,the Father and I have often held differentpoints of view and had different opinionsabout how a marriage should be run andhow my marriage should look. I once pre-sented God and Dan with an actual list ofchanges I felt Dan needed to make. Nei-ther one was pleased.

For months, I desperately tried to im-plement those changes – with little success.I might as well have walked around spout-ing, “Isn’t Dan lucky to have married theHoly Spirit?” Well, let me assure you thatmy “Change Dan” plan did not work. Infact, the harder I tried to change things, themore set in concrete they became. Then Ifinally discovered the harsh reality: I justwanted Dan to be more like me!

We really can be different without beingright or wrong. We need to celebrate thedifferences that add spice to a relationshipinstead of letting them rip us apart. It is al-most humorous to realize that the thingsthat we try so hard to change are the verythings that attracted us to our mate in thefirst place. He used to be carefree, but nowhe is irresponsible. She used to be deter-mined, but now is stubborn. He was oncemore concerned about inward qualitiesthan outward appearance, but now he’ssloppy. You get the idea!

What would happen if we uncondition-ally accepted our husband or wife? Whatwould happen if we took the energy wewaste trying to change our mate and used itto change our own life? Accept your mateand ask God what changes you need tomake.

Over the next few weeks, we will con-tinue to explore the basics of a healthy,solid, and godly marriage. Make no mis-take, friend. The enemy wants to destroyyou, your marriage, your home, and yourfamily. Stand firm! Remember that nomatter where you are or where you havebeen in your marriage, the rest of yourmarriage can be the best part of your mar-riage.

Copyrighted by Journey Ministry, Inc. All

rights reserved.

BGS Announces NewPastor Orientation

The Board of General Superintendents issponsoring a New Pastor Orientation, No-vember 12-13, 2008, at the World Head-quarters of The Wesleyan Church in Fishers,Indiana. Ministers who have taken their firstministerial assignment with The WesleyanChurch during the past two years, whetherby transfer from another denomination or bycompleting credentialing and accepting anappointment, are invited to attend. Spousesare encouraged to participate as well. Lodg-ing and meals onsite, and orientation materi-als are provided through a grant from theWesleyan Investment Foundation.

More information is available throughthe General Superintendent’s webpage(www.wesleyan.org/bgs). Persons who areinterested in participating may register bycontacting Ken Heer, Box 50434, India-napol is , Indiana 46250 (email :heerk@wesleyan.org) and providing theirname, address, local church, district andemail address.

Best Years Fellowship RetreatSeptember 3 – 6, 2008

Wesleyan Campgrounds, Orleans, IN$50.00 per person

Speaker: Dr. Norman WilsonMusic: Max & Vernita Hamilton

� Games & Crafts �� Bring items for our annual auction! �

Reasons to Attend the BYF Retreat:

� The beautiful grounds and facilities at the OrleansCampground.

� Special Music, devotions and great speaker.� A place to make wonderful friendships.� Delicious, well-prepared meals.� A relaxed, cheerful atmosphere.

BRING YOUR OWN BEDDING

Name ________________________________________

Address ______________________________________

City _________________________________________

State ___________________ Zip__________________

Phone # ______________ Number Attending ______

Amount Paid $ _____________ Need a Room ______

Will pay at Retreat______ Have Camper or RV ______

Church_______________________________________

Mail to: Rev. Philo Jones, 6739 E. Speed Road,

Milltown, IN 47145

Making Marriage WorkContinued from page 1

Austin T.B.S. 18 19 1 32 22 10 15 11 0

Bedford J. Keaton 41 25 16 56 56 0 28 16 1

Bicknell First M. Reed 30 43 13 47 54 7 24 38 0

Birdseye D. Murphy 24 24 0 26 20 6 0 0 0

Bloomfield Mt. Calvary F. Collings 16 16 0 16 16 0 14 0 0

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 36 23 13 36 23 13 16 9 0

Bloomfield Southside C. Thomas 20 17 3 15 14 1 17 0 0

Bloomington Central M. Linville 31 40 9 36 45 9 19 23 0

Bloomington Shepherd F. Shannon 16 16 0 18 18 0 15 8 0

Blue River A. Marshall No Report

Boonville E. Ames 31 28 3 52 52 0 32 77 0

Brazil Jackson E. Hayes 17 21 4 22 26 4 15 7 0

Carthage C. Stroud 35 35 0 37 37 0 0 20 0

Clear Fork C. Uebel 10 9 1 16 18 2 8 7 0

Columbus Bethel B. Carpenter 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 0 0

Columbus Central B. Miller 15 16 1 15 16 1 13 0 0

Columbus Flintwood W. Jones 52 53 1 79 86 7 34 0 0

Columbus Ohio Street C.Bullock No Report

Concord T. B. S. 20 28 8 21 28 7 11 7 0

Corydon New Hope J. Moore 6 6 0 22 22 0 0 8

E. Enterprise F. Wingham No Report

Edinburg L. Biddle 34 37 3 34 37 3 17 12 0

English P. Jones 36 38 2 48 48 0 30 25 0

Evansville Forest Hills M. Stoelting 123 136 13 239 249 10 92 63 6

Evansville North Park S. Boardman 65 65 0 82 90 8 40 20 0

Evansville Trinity D. Allison 29 32 3 44 50 6 10 11 0

Faith Pointe J. Wriston 14 14 0 15 15 0 0 0 0

Fort Branch M. Hughes 43 27 16 51 33 18 17 20 0

Franklin D. Neal 36 43 7 45 56 11 34 23 0

French Lick Spr. Valley J. Moffatt 57 62 5 159 145 14 63 47 0

Gnaw Bone G. Armstrong 19 25 6 22 26 4 40 5 0

Greenfield R. Albring 25 24 1 34 34 0 18 23 0

Greensburg D. Preston 40 37 3 66 61 5 19 16 0

Greenwood J. Hughes 37 37 0 64 64 0 0 9 0

Holton W. Vandervort 25 19 6 26 17 9 10 5 0

Hope First E. Boston 9 9 0 21 21 0 9 0 0

Lawrenceburg M. Kessen No Report

Lewis Creek D. Gates 9 11 2 21 20 1 0 14 1

Loogootee Mt. Zion J. Simmons 25 25 0 47 47 0 13 9 2

Madison Calvary M. Mahoney 32 38 6 56 58 2 31 16 0

Marengo Valley S. Lock 57 46 11 119 99 20 43 40 0

Martinsville K. Kearby 34 34 0 44 44 0 17 0 0

Martinsville Bethel J. Irvin 9 10 1 11 12 1 0 6 0

Mecca New Life T.B.S. No Report

Medora C. Breeden 28 32 4 27 33 6 18 6 1

Milan L. Brown 18 18 0 30 25 5 14 6 0

Mitchell S. Jones 72 84 12 153 184 31 111 79 0

Mooresville New Life M. Linville 27 31 4 33 44 11 15 21 0

Morgantown J. Irvin 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 0

New Albany Spring Ave. N. Watters 0 0 0 27 27 0 0 0 0

North Vernon J. Terry 48 45 3 70 50 20 34 30 0

Orleans H. Carr 40 46 6 45 56 11 23 13 0

Otwell R. Stilwell 28 30 2 28 30 2 20 0 0

Paoli B. England 71 71 0 119 119 0 59 50 0

Petersburg L. Lamar 9 14 0 9 14 0 0 0 0

Poplar Grove J. Downs 12 18 6 26 34 8 17 12 0

Potter’s Shop Y. Reyes 26 0 0 0 0 0 26 0 0

Prairie Creek T. Fennell 14 14 0 18 18 0 14 0 0

Princeton J. Dillon 33 33 0 46 46 0 27 0 0

Rising Sun J. Kelley 6 10 4 6 9 3 0 5 0

Rodney M. Miller 8 8 0 14 13 1 14 9 0

Rushville H. Baker 4 7 3 4 7 3 6 8 0

Salem S. Caniff 7 7 0 20 18 2 15 18 0

Sandford C. Hedden 16 10 6 16 10 6 8 8 0

Scottsburg P. Mills 10 10 0 11 10 1 8 7 0

Seelyville F. Burk 19 19 0 10 10 0 0 0 0

Seymour I. Holt 32 23 9 43 29 14 27 23 0

Shelburn B. Noel 11 9 2 11 9 2 0 0 0

Shelbyville Grace J. Allen 52 42 10 65 51 14 26 13 0

Shelbyville Westside T.B.S. 16 29 13 31 37 6 13 7 0

Simpson Chapel R. Brown 11 9 2 11 9 2 0 0 0

Somerville D. Brandon 43 36 7 43 43 0 22 23 0

South Washington P. Kessen 0 0 0 68 65 3 32 18 0

Spearsville B. Bray 0 0 0 14 14 0 0 0 0

Spencer J. Knight 10 10 0 9 12 3 0 0 0

Sullivan G. Larimer 54 48 6 67 54 13 59 46 1

Sylvania D. Taylor 36 44 8 84 78 6 35 35 0

Terre Haute Faith D. Gormong 137 131 6 235 245 10 135 144 0

Terre Haute Hulman D. Willis 58 60 2 92 86 6 40 36 0

Terre Haute North S. Landon 20 20 0 32 1 14 24 19 7

Trafalgar C. Hilton 5 6 1 5 6 1 3 3 0

Valeene D. Manship 10 16 6 87 82 5 38 30 0

Versailles J. Hundley 28 24 4 28 24 4 27 9 0

Walker Chapel R. Hendershot 20 21 1 44 48 4 0 18 0

Wash. Vincennes J. Gilley 24 35 11 29 37 8 28 15 0

Wesley Chapel W. Wickard 33 35 2 50 47 3 20 17 0

Westport C. Bell 54 70 16 69 82 13 50 38

West Terre Haute 6th R. Weeks 24 25 1 25 28 3 0 6 0

West Terre Haute 8th P. Shelton 65 68 3 69 74 5 42 35 0

Wheatland K. Mitchell 13 10 3 19 13 6 15 15 0

Whitehall D. Campbell 15 19 4 16 15 11 11 10 0

Wilmington Hills D. Gary 22 21 1 27 27 0 23 15 0

TOTALS 2465 2506 -41 3789 3762 27 1882 1442 35

CHURCH GROWTH REPORT JUNE 2008

Top 5 For Numeric Gain In Sun-SchoolChurch Pastor Gain

Bedford J. Keaton 16

Ft. Branch M. Hughes 16

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 13

Marengo Valley S. Lock 11

Shelbyville Grace J. Allen 10

Top 5 For Numeric Gain in AM WorshipChurch Pastor Gain

Marengo Valley S. Lock 20

North Vernon J. Terry 20

Ft. Branch M. Hughes 18

French Lick Spr. Valley J. Moffatt 14

Seymour I. Holt 14

Top 5 For Percentage Gain in AM WorshipChurch Pastor Gain

Terre Haute North S. Landon 78%

Sanford C. Hedden 60%

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 57%

Ft. Branch M. Hughes 55%

Holton W. Vandervort 53%

Top 5 For Percentage Gain in Sun-SchoolChurch Pastor Gain

Bedford J. Keaton 64%

Sanford C. Hedden 60%

Ft. Branch M. Hughes 59%

Bloomfield Mt. Zion L. Manship 57%

Seymour I. Holt 39%

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