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NIC VOICE NIC VOICE is a non-profit, non-business association of members within the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. NIC VOICE is not incorporated or filed as 501-C-3 tax deductible entity.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6)  NIC
VOICE offers the laity within NIC
churches an opportunity to become INFORMED. Upon
invitation from a NIC church or group,
NIC VOICE will provide a
speaker to conduct a presentation entitled
"WATERSHED
MOMENT: Discussion
of Theological and Doctrinal Issues in the UMC Raised by the Bishop
Sprague Complaint & Dismissal".What is a Watershed? NIC VOICE provides an open meeting package (see "How to Schedule an NIC VOICE Meeting) to assist you in scheduling the meeting.)
From NIC VOICE Links & Resources: Bishop Sprague Complaint and Dismissal (Links directly related to Bishop Sprague's writings, the complaint, dismissal and responses) Have you visited the NIC VOICE Resources & Links Section? Great resources are added frequently! Check it out!
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WATERSHED MOMENT It is important that we not allow the passing of what Bishop Ough’s Supervisory Team has characterized as a “Watershed Moment” without examining their dismissal of recent charges brought against Bishop Sprague. More importantly, presentations and discussions such as this forum will allow United Methodists throughout the Northern Illinois Conference and beyond an opportunity to decide for themselves what they believe to be the Biblical Truth about the doctrines that are at the root of this controversy. The charges in the complaint against Bishop Sprague state that his positions are contrary to the Statement of Faith in the United Methodist Book of Discipline. This controversy became public when a transcript of Bishop Sprague’s speech at Iliff Seminary was released in the summer of 2002. Subsequent to that, Chapter 4 of his book, “Affirmations of a Dissenter” was released by Bishop Sprague on the NIC web site. In the fall of 2002, the UMReporter published a series of articles contrasting excerpts from Chapter 4 of Bishop Sprague’s book with the published response of Bishop Whitaker. In addition, various renewal groups officially within the UMC, as well as other groups not officially connected, have covered various aspects of this controversy on their web sites. They have published information and opinions about the complaint that was made by a group of laity and clergy late in 2002, and the subsequent dismissal in February of 2003. These groups provide a forum for this and other issues of concern within the UMC. MISSION NIC VOICE is a growing network of concerned laity whose purpose is to provide balanced information and dialog within the Northern Illinois Conference of the UMC about Doctrinal Issues raised by the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal. This is in harmony with the recommendations by the Supervisory Response Team's dismissal of charges. They urged that the laity become involved in the process of "serious theological reflection on issues of Biblical Authority, Christology and the Mission of the Church". Questions or comments about NIC VOICE may be directed to: nicvoice@nicvoice.org. NIC VOICE offers the laity within NIC churches an opportunity to become more INFORMED: Upon invitation from a NIC church or group, NIC VOICE will provide a speaker to conduct a presentation entitled "Discussion of Theological and Doctrinal Issues in the UMC Raised by the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal", or You may choose to conduct the presentation 'in-house', using the NIC VOICE Watershed Moment Presentation, at a single meeting or in a series of studies on these key doctrinal issues of: · Christology (Trinity, Virgin Birth, Deity of Jesus) · Resurrection of Jesus Christ · Salvation through Jesus Christ Alone · The Atonement of Jesus Christ SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe/unsubscribe, go to newsletter.htm. If you don't have Web access, send your name and email address to:nicvoice@nicvoice.org
or contact us:
For past issues, visit our archives at newsletter.htm. Tell a friend about NIC VOICE. It's free! If they do not have e-mail access, you can print this newsletter and distribute it (see REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY below.) DISCLAIMER NIC VOICE is sponsored by a laity-led network in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church dedicated to providing balanced information and dialog about issues of concern relating to the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal. This group has sole responsibility for the content of this letter. NIC VOICE provides original content on our web site and may distribute information from other sources. NIC VOICE exercises no more editorial control over such information from other sources than does a typical public library, bookstore, or newsstand. The views and opinions expressed in such information do not necessarily reflect those of NIC VOICE. Copyright (c) 2003, NIC VOICE. All rights reserved. REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY Subscribers are encouraged to forward NIC VOICE News Letter and web site links to others and/or print it in its entirety, without any changes, for noncommercial use only. If forwarding to another publication, please do so with the appropriate citation NIC VOICE in accordance with "fair use" rules, and our Disclaimer. You can easily forward the NIC VOICE News Letter at newsletter.htm using the Send this Newsletter link to a friend capability. UNSUBSCRIBE NIC VOICE News is sent to inform you about significant additions to our web site or relevant information. If you would like to be removed from this list, please click "UNSUBSCRIBE". |
NIC VOICE Special Edition 2 August 25, 2004 – Fresno Congregation Wins Ruling Numerous sources, including Good News, themethodistchurch.com, www.ucmpage.org and www.umc.org are reporting information about the Fresno congregation that won a court ruling regarding its property. We are forwarding to you the latest Good News Update (see following) which includes a link to the article (you will be required to register for it), as well as links to related articles: Fresno United Methodist congregation wins ruling for property (this links directly to the news article) Ex-United Methodists Win Their Property Back (this links to an article referencing the news article) California Appeals Court Reverses United Methodist Grip On Local Church Property – (this links to an article with the actual text of court decision) UMNS: Court rules Fresno church may keep its property
From:
Bob Rempfer [mailto:Bob@goodnewsmag.org] GOOD NEWS UPDATE
Greetings to you from here at Good News. I hope this finds you having had a good summer season with time for personal refreshment--mentally, physically, and spiritually. Recently I read something written by Dr. Dennis F. Kinlaw in his book, This Day With the Master, his wonderful new daily devotional book, which I predict will become a classic. Dr. Kinlaw writes: "As you pore over Scripture, you should keep seeking to understand those great biblical clues that will enable you to interpret life as a Christian. How much happier and how much more effective all of our lives would be if we were thoroughly biblical in our outlook and orientation. Scripture is where the key to the interpretation of reality really is. There are so many of us who do not understand life. There are so many of us who live in confusion and uncertainty. God wants his children to see, to discern, to perceive, and to know, and therefore to be able to lead and to help others. . . (The Bible) is the clue to reality given to us by the One who created reality. "I doubt that one can understand the basic realities of life--whether the nature of God, the nature of persons, the nature of marriage, the nature of the state, or the nature of one's vocation--until one knows Scripture very well. The thing that now commends Scripture to me is the fact that it is the most realistic of all books, it is safe for me to plum its depths and then to base my life on it." Those are profound words from a great Christian leader. (Dr. Kinlaw is a former professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, a former President of Asbury College, and is President and Founder of the Francis Asbury Society here in Wilmore.) Now, let me invite you to become aware of and join a massive prayer movement that begins this fall. I invite you to find a way to plug in to "40 DAYS USA: 40 Days of Corporate Prayer and Fasting for National Repentance." The target dates are September 24 - November 2, prior to our National Election. A dear friend and great leader in prayer, Dr. Ray Bringham, of San Marcos, CA, is a major part of this effort. Ray heads up the "World Prayer Summit." See that web site for more information. Go to: www.WorldPrayerSummit.org Also, you can go to: www.40daysUSA.org The vision is to have 20 million Christians in the USA and 200 million Christians worldwide united in 40 days of Prayer and Fasting for National Repentance in the U.S.A. The late Dr. Richard Halverson, former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said once, "Nothing is clearer than that God alone is able to rescue our decaying society; nothing is clearer than that He waits for His people to reject materialism as a way of life; and that the crisis requires repentance from worldly waywardness and devotion to prayer." And as you pray, join us in thanking God for Good News' board of directors meetings here in Wilmore last week. This was a very important meeting as we look to the future and try to discern God's direction for our renewal efforts. Please pray for our board members who come from across the country to be a part of our national board. And please pray that our contribution income will be strong during August. We went into July with a significant deficit and had a good month of July. But we have considerable ground to gain. I believe the Lord will provide the resources we need. God bless you, friend. Thanks for caring and for your prayers on our behalf. Please feel free to share this with others in your various spheres of influence. Sincerely in Christ, Jim Heidinger
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