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Imagine for a moment
the current model of leadership development. An individual in your
church has a sense of God's calling to ministry leadership (we honestly
believe that He still does that). This individual has a good job,
their family is established in your community and, more importantly,
they are active in your church. Under the current model this
individual uproots their entire life to relocate to a seminary of their
choice, they incur upwards to $40,000 in indebtedness, putting their
family, occupational and, more importantly, ministry life on hold for 3
to 4 years.
Imagine another
scenario for leadership development. What if they were able
to gain the training and education while engaged in their current life
and ministry? What if they could do this for 1/2 of the cost
while learning from many of the same individuals that teach at the
seminaries? The cost of this could be reduced further with the
assistance of the local church, the beneficiaries of the developed
leaders. What if the skills they develop were put to use immediately in
their ongoing ministry of their home church?
From our mission of developing healthy churches and
healthy leaders,Rocky
Mountain CBA is working with Christian
Leadership Institute (CLI), under the leadership of
Dr. Michael Sabo, to develop just such an opportunity for this aspect
of the church's mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
In a few days, we will be sending information
packets
to each of our Rocky Mountain CBA churches. Please be watching
for this packet. In the meantime, you can visit www..christianleadershipinst.org for
further information.
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Estate
Planning for Christians
 "Estate Planning for
Christians" is a ministry of the Rocky Mountain CBA and Excel
Ministries, Inc. Linden
Kirby, former church planter and pastor in the Rocky
Mountain CBA, is president and CEO of Excel Ministries, Inc. This
ministry exists to a) serve churches and individuals in financial
stewardship and estate planning and b) assist local churches and the
Rocky Mountain CBA in raising the financial resources necessary to
accomplish their joint mission to be on the cutting edge of the harvest
for Christ.
The next "Estate Planning for Christians" seminar will take place at Trinity
Baptist Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado on Sunday, November 16th, 2008
at 2:00 p.m. This is a 2-hour seminar which will be
followed by one-hour free consultations for attendees who are
interested in completing a Christian Estate Plan. Please contact
Trinity Baptist Church at 303-424-4473 for more information concerning
this seminar.
Would you like to conduct an "Estate Planning for  Christians" seminar at your church. Visit Excel
Ministries for more information.
Also, from Excel Ministries - "Help for Hard Times" - 5 Ways to Help Your Parishioners Deal with
Economic Hardship. Click
here to read the article.
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Upcoming
Events
SENIORS CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON
Friday, December 12th at 11:30 a.m. Place to be
determined. Watch your mailbox for more information.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL MUSICAL
performed by Bear Valley Church in Lakewood, Colorado on
December 5th-6th and 12th-13th Call BVC (303-985-4000 x15) or visit
their website for
more details.
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Church News
I will be sending by mail our annual "Church Update
Form" for
you to fill out and return to us at the Rocky Mountain CBA
office. Please be watching your mail for it. We will use
these forms to update the 2009
Rocky Mountain CBA Directory which, when completed
will be sent to our churches. My goal is to have the new
directory to your church in January. Your quick response will
help get the directory to you in a timely manner. Thank
you! ~Edie Cooper
Recently, four of our churches called new
pastors to shepherd them. We will showcase them in our next issue
of e-companion!. Two of our churches will
soon be going through an assessment directed by Bill Hoyt of Growing
Healthy Churches.
Four
more of our churches are without pastors and working with Intentional
Interims. Five others are currently actively seeking new
pastors. And two churches are looking at the possibility
of joining Rocky Mountain CBA. Please be in prayer for all of our
churches.
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Book
Review
What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the
21st Century
by Gordon MacDonald
 "Who Stole My Church" is a fictional story that
reflects the all-too-real situation of many church communities today,
where loyal and long-standing members can feel pushed aside by the new
demands of evangelism in the twenty-first century. In this book
you can walk alongside an imaginary community, led by real-life pastor
Gordon MacDonald and his wife, Gail, and discover how to meet the needs
of all believers without abondoning the dreams and desires of any.
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 50
Years!
The Hay's
Celebrate 50 years of Marriage!
David and Marita Hay celebrated their 50th
anniversary on August 22, 2008 with a celebration with family and
friends. Earlier in the month, a trip to
Hawaii highlighted their celebration. David and Marita have
been serving in the ministry for most of those 50 years. Before joining
Rocky Mountin CBA, the Hays served in Oregon, California, Arizona and
Michigan. The Hays have three children, 24 grandchildren (21 of
whom are adopted) and seven great-grandchildren.
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The e-companion!
is published 6 times a year. We
are looking for articles, stories and events happening at your
church. Or, maybe you have read a good book lately and would like
to write a book review. We will consider
any information that you forward to rmcba@rmcba.org.
Deadline for the next issue of e-companion! is November 15, 2008.
Add "e-companion!
article" in the subject line.
Edie Cooper - Editor
Rocky Mountain CBA
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