David Drury, Author of ‘Transforming Presence’

By: Mia Anderson

David Drury grew up in Marion, Indiana. He was able to see Indiana Wesleyan grow and flourish as a university that wanted to change the world for Christ. When Drury graduated from high school, he knew drury_focusthat IWU was the college for him.

One of Drury’s favorite things about his time at IWU was the amount of leadership that was possible for a college student at that time, on that campus. He said, “If I wanted to lead things, I could do that. You had the opportunity to lead if you really wanted to: from residence life to chaplain, even launching Friday Night Live and being student body president.” Drury had many more roles of leadership than just those examples, but he always knew that he could have a great impact on the world around him.

Reflecting on his time at IWU, Drury said, “Changing your world starts with the people that are around you.” He graduated in 1996 and has been a true IWU Worldchanger ever since. Drury has worked in churches and currently serves as the chief-of-staff to Jo Anne Lyon at Wesleyan Headquarters. He has also written numerous books, including his newest work Transforming Presence.

Drury describes this book as one that is meant to be read by people to start a conversation. It follows the first half of the book of John and is meant to speak into the lives of modern day people through the lives 31E-aICe-kL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_and examples of people from the Bible. Drury said, “What’s great about the first half of the book of John is there are all these stories. It’s really just focusing on the people [in the book] and the experiences they had.”

One thing Drury has noticed as people begin to discuss Transforming Presence is just how relatable it is to their lives now. He said, “Each of [these people in Scripture’s] experiences start with a kind of word descriptor, like they were ‘exhausted’ or ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘afraid’, ‘trapped’. I think we all feel that way sometimes no matter what we’re coming from.”

Each chapter unpacks these descriptive words that so often speak to our own lives and struggles. However, Drury points back to the purpose of the book by reminding us that, “but then jesus shows up and that changes everything.” When life gets tough, it is easy to forget the simple truth that being with Jesus and being dedicated to his Word and promise can truly transform your life.

Transforming Presence is meant to guide people through the Scripture, but also to realize that they are not alone in their struggles–they have the power of Jesus to help them through their struggles. Drury said, “People in Scripture felt the way we feel, but when Jesus encounters your life His presence is what transforms you.”

Check out Dave’s personal website at:  http://www.daviddrury.com/

Written by Mia Anderson, Blog and Social Media Manager, and Writer for the Alumni Office. Mia is a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication with her concentration in Public Relations. She will be getting married and moving to Indianapolis after she graduates in December 2016! Mia loves hearing others’ stories and sharing them with the world. Visit her personal website at www.MiaLAnderson.weebly.com.

Jim “Umfundisi” Lo, Author of ‘Unholiness’

By: Mia Anderson

Jim “Umfundisi” Lo, has long been connected to Indiana Wesleyan University. He received both his

Rev. Dr. Jim "Umfundisi" Lo
Rev. Dr. Jim “Umfundisi” Lo

bachelor’s and master’s degrees from IWU. Previously, Lo served as Dean of the Chapel, however he now possesses a role that allows him to interact more one-on-one with students as Professor of Intercultural Studies in the Christian Ministries department and Campus Life Pastor at IWU.

After graduating with his bachelor’s degree from IWU in ministry, Lo and his wife Roxene travelled to Africa as missionaries. They were soon faced with the reality of addiction and spiritual warfare that was rampant in the third world culture. Lo recalled, “During a baptism service someone started going spiritually crazy on us.” He continued to descibe the aftermath of this encounter, “We had never faced spiritual warfare that manifested itself in addiction and direct contact. We lost credibility with those who we were serving and realized we had a lot to learn.”

Lo and his wife returned to the States and received their master’s degrees, all the while learning everything they could about spiritual warfare. They were more equipped to serve that population, but Lo realized upon returning to the United States after being a missionary that spiritual warfare was also an issue in western cultures.

“We as a Western culture are a little afraid about talking about [spiritual warfare],” he said. He

Jim "Umfundisi" Lo and Chris Bounds' book 'Unholiness: Overcoming the Forces that Attack Your Soul'
Jim “Umfundisi” Lo and Chris Bounds’ book ‘Unholiness: Overcoming the Forces that Attack Your Soul’

further explained that spiritual warfare often manifests itself in different ways in different cultures. In western culture, it is much more likely that spiritual warfare may manifest itself as a subtle doubt in your mind that, as Lo described it, “makes you feel worthless and like you don’t matter.” The devil may try to work

away at your confidence, making it difficult to find peace.

Through the book Unholiness co-written by Lo and professor Chris Bounds, they each unpack the idea of spiritual warfare and how it can cause turmoil in one’s spiritual walk. Lo said, “Dr. Bounds and my aim is to look at the stuff that can cause someone to come into the realm of unholiness. Your focus should not be on negative things, it should be on hope–and hope comes from the cross and resurrection. Because of that, we can live in victory because of what Christ has done for us.”

Lo and Bounds’ book focuses on creating awareness of the negativity and warfare around Christ-followers. They do this by telling stories and examples they have learned during their time in ministry–Bounds as a pastor in America and Lo as a missionary in Africa.

Unholiness serves as a helpful resource for the Church and Christians everywhere. Lo said, “In some ways what the book is saying is that the church needs to intentionally be alert not to let [sin] influence your life.”

View Unholiness on WPH’s website: https://www.wesleyan.org/4119/unholiness

Stop by the Alumni Booth, located at the entrance of the Assembly Hall (Booth #602-04) on Tuesday, June 7 from 2-4pm to meet Jim “Umfundisi” Lo and receive a free e-copy of Unholiness.

Written by Mia Anderson, Blog and Social Media Manager, and Writer for the Alumni Office. Mia is a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication with her concentration in Public Relations. She will be getting married and moving to Indianapolis after she graduates in December 2016! Mia loves hearing others’ stories and sharing them with the world. Visit her personal website at www.MiaLAnderson.weebly.com.

Wayne Schmidt, Author of ‘Ministry Velocity’

By: Mia Anderson

Rev. Dr. Wayne Schmidt
Rev. Dr. Wayne Schmidt

Rev. Dr. Wayne Schmidt has written many books that help churches in terms of ministry, council and leadership. He currently serves as the Vice President of Wesley Seminary in Marion, Indiana. However,

Schmidt has a long history serving in the church. He was the senior pastor at Kentwood Community Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan for 31 years where he watched his congregation grow exponentially and become more culturally and socioeconomically diverse. Schmidt has planted several churches and has learned from his experiences a wealth of knowledge about ministry, leadership and the difficulties that come with accepting the call to serve the Lord through pastoral ministries.

Ministry Velocity is a book that focuses on creating the most momentum possible in the Church regardless of our expectations and schedules, focusing solely on God’s plan. In the foreword to his book, Schmidt writes:

You’ve been there—alone in your office, perhaps tired and frustrated, wondering, Why doesn’t God do something? As leaders in local churches, we often invest ourselves deeply in ministry. We preach, counsel, pray, and lead with great tenacity. Then, too often, we’re disappointed when God doesn’t respond to our efforts in the way we’d hoped. Our ministry results are less spectacular than we’d envisioned. There are more setbacks that we’d ever dreamed. There is progress— but it’s slow. I don’t know a pastor who hasn’t yearned to be more fruitful in ministry. And I know few who haven’t felt disappointed or discouraged when those hoped-for results seemed slow in coming.

To illustrate this point, Schmidt uses the story and example of Joshua with all of his victories, shortcomings and leadership opportunities. “It is natural for churches to go through a time of growth and a time of stagnation,” Schmidt said. He hopes that congregation members, ministry students and pastors will use this book in churches, small groups and Bible studies. If whole congregations are learning about momentum and stagnation in the church, it is possible for the Church to become much more healthy and to flourish.

 

Stop by the Alumni Booth, located at the entrance of the Assembly Hall (Booth #602-04) on Monday, June 6 from 2-4pm to meet Wayne Schmidt and receive a free e-copy of Ministry Velocity.

Written by Mia Anderson, Blog and Social Media Manager, and Writer for the Alumni Office. Mia is a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication with her concentration in Public Relations. She will be getting married and moving to Indianapolis after she graduates in December 2016! Mia loves hearing others’ stories and sharing them with the world. Visit her personal website at www.MiaLAnderson.weebly.com.

Christin Taylor, Author of ‘Crew’

By: Mia Anderson

 

Christin Taylor is a writer, essayist, mother and dreamer. She is the daughter of Indiana Wesleyan University’s current President, Dr. David Wright, but her ties to IWU run even deeper. She graduated from

Christin Taylor
Christin Taylor

IWU in 2002 with bachelor’s degrees in communications, film and writing.

 

Taylor soon found herself fulfilling her own dream by moving to L.A. She said, “I really believed I was called to be a missionary to Hollywood in the film industry.” However, after seven years of working in the film industry she experienced several identity and calling crises–her own personal shipwrecks. Her time in L.A. inspired her to write Shipwrecked in L.A., a narrative nonfiction book about her struggle to find her meaning and passion in life as well as her call from God.

 

Ultimately, Taylor left L.A. with her husband, Dwayne, to move to Washington state. Reflecting on her time in L.A. she realized that while the time was difficult that, “It really was a season for us of discovering ourselves and what God wanted us to do.”

Christin Taylor's book 'Crew: Finding Community When Your Dreams Crash'
Christin Taylor’s book ‘Crew: Finding Community When Your Dreams Crash’

As she began to meditate on her experiences, Taylor soon began realizing that many of her friends and peers around her were all dealing with these “shipwrecks” in their lives, too–it was not just Taylor!

 

In order to help her readers learn how to best cope with their own shipwrecks and crises, Taylor wrote a follow-up book to Shipwrecked in L.A., called Crew: Finding Community When Your Dreams Crash. This creative nonfiction is narrative in nature and follows Taylor on her own personal journey to being “good company” and finding “good company”.

 

She speaks on the power of hospitality and being vocal about one’s struggles in order to ultimately be a more whole person. Taylor described her book as a helpful guide to form a crew of people to help you through your shipwrecks. She said, “Often people want to help, they just don’t know how to walk with us through that. So, there’s a real sense of empowerment that you can pick the people in your life that you trust and think can help you.”

 

Christin Taylor’s book is helpful for young people, leaders who work with young people and really anyone looking to be “good company” for others. Her writing style focuses on intimate stories from her own life, causing Taylor to mention, “People pick up my book and say, ‘I feel like I know so much about you!’”.

 

Ultimately, Taylor wrote this book to show that shipwrecks happen all the time to everyone. She said, “Hopefully my book makes people realize they are not alone. We can all grow and learn through it [shipwrecks].”

 

Written by Mia Anderson, Blog and Social Media Manager, and Writer for the Alumni Office. Mia is a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication with her concentration in Public Relations. She will be getting married and moving to Indianapolis after she graduates in December 2016! Mia loves hearing others’ stories and sharing them with the world. Visit her personal website at www.MiaLAnderson.weebly.com.

Stop by the Alumni Booth, located at the entrance of the Assembly Hall (Booth #602-04) on Monday, June 6 from 9-11am to meet Christin Taylor and receive a free e-copy of Crew.

Connect with Christin:

Twitter: @shipwreckedinla

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christintaylorwrites/?ref=bookmarks

Personal website: www.christintaylor.com

 

Wayne Richards and the Wesleyan Publishing House

By: Mia Anderson

 

Wayne Richards is currently the Director of Publishing Ministries at the Wesleyan Publishing House (WPH). He received his master’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1988 and has worked in Wayne-Richardsmany capacities for the Wesleyan denomination. The FLAME (Fellowship of Leaders Acquiring Ministerial Education) program was founded by Richards in 1988, giving those who wish to pursue ministry the opportunity to earn their pastoral license in a timely and cost-effective manner.

 

The Wesleyan Publishing House serves others as a ministry. In WPH’s mission statement, it is stated, “Wesleyan Publishing House is a leader in communicating the message of holiness around the world. Whether you’re a pastor, a teacher, a congregational leader, or an individual—we are committed to providing you with excellent service and resources to meet your unique needs.”

 

One way that WPH is trying to provide for the modern customer and learner is by making their materials available on e-platforms–readable on mobile devices, computers, e-readers and more. Richards said, “One of the things that is very important to us is to be able to publish relevant resources to develop leaders. It was really important for us as a publishing house to take everything we’re publishing…and make them available in all types of e-formats.”

exceleventwph

Richards and his team are 10 extremely hard working people. They put out 68 items last year and have worked to make over 250 resources available on e-formats. All of this work is to be a valuable source to Christians, or as Richards said, “Our main goal is to be a relevant resource of discipleship materials that challenge believers to live out a biblical walk in their lives.”

 

Check out author profiles coming out the next few days, in partnership with the Wesleyan Publishing House! If you are at General Conference, be sure to stop by the IWU Alumni booth and meet some of the authors highlighted through our stories.

 

Written by Mia Anderson, Blog and Social Media Manager, and Writer for the Alumni Office. Mia is a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication with her concentration in Public Relations. She will be getting married and moving to Indianapolis after she graduates in December 2016! Mia loves hearing others’ stories and sharing them with the world. Visit her personal website at www.MiaLAnderson.weebly.com.

Find the Wesleyan Publishing House and their materials through these means:

Website/Store – WPHstore.com

Online at Barnes & Noble and Audible

Facebook – WPH

Twitter – @WPHBooks

Richard Meeks – Serving the Marginalized

Reverend Richard Meeks serves as the District Superintendent for the East Michigan District of the Wesleyan Church. He is active in church planting and serving the marginalized. Through his ministry, Meeks focuses on racial reconciliation. “We have really seen people come together as the body of Christ,” he stated.

 

Meeks said, “I always knew I had a strong sense of call to ministry.” He felt his call to ministry in sixth grade and even preached his first sermon as early as eighth grade. After high school, Meeks enlisted in the military and served our country until deciding to leave in pursuit of an education in ministry.

 

Currently, Meeks is helping plant a church in Detroit called Mosaic Midtown Church. As District Superintendent, Meeks has made it a priority of the East Michigan District to focus on helping resolve the Flint Water Crisis. While there is a significant amount of the Flint population who cannot use their water, they are taking steps toward fixing this by establishing Flint Grassroots Initiative (FGI). FGI provides clean water, hygiene centers, physical and mental care, fresh fruits and vegetables, Spanish language volunteers and job training all with the goal of reconciliation with the marginalized in mind.

 

Meeks work revolves around meeting the population’s physical needs, as well as their spiritual. “You have to work hard at building relationships with other people and reaching those who don’t know Christ,” said Meeks.

 

Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a sophomore Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.

#MADENEW

https://www.wesleyan.org/emd

Robert Hallett – TLC Ministries

Reverend Robert Hallett is a minister under appointment by the Crossroads District of the Wesleyan Church. He serves as a church consultant. Hallett aids churches in raising funds. He said, “Mainly, we work with building projects, revitalizing visioning events, and pastoral counseling. We lead capital campaigns in churches.”

 

Hallett truly cherished his time at IWU. He graduated with a Bachelor of Art in Theology (‘69) and has been through six ministerial programs throughout his life. His formal ministerial training has included Kingswood University in Sussex, New Brunswick (Ministerial Diploma), Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana (B.A.), Anderson (Indiana) School of Theology, Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky (M.Div.), Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia (D.Min.). He says, “I still run into many people I became friends with at Indiana Wesleyan. We developed close friendships. It has been a very positive experience.”

 

Hallett began his company, TLC Ministries, in 1985 when he switched from pastoring to consulting. TLC Ministries takes a unique approach to capital campaigning. “We approach topics like sacrificial giving and stewardship, encouraging people to give at sacrificial levels,” said Hallett. This helps free the church from long term commitment and interest expense. 001.jpg - Hallett - Dr. Robert SHe said, “Page one of our program is the heart. This is where decisions about what people want to give are made. Page two is the financial side of it.” Attitudes must be resolved before one is ready to give.

 

TLC Ministries provides clients with a vision. Hallett said, “There are about eight different ways that we discuss stewardship issues within the local church.” TLC makes the campaign personal. “Giving is strictly on response basis. This is really a disciple making ministry within a capital campaign,” said Hallett. Individual teams that are intertwined to depend on each other work to form the campaign, and, “We bring the prayer requests and have a prayer vigil where people pray for each other. It is a very positive experience.”

 

TLC’s consultants focus on two separate but related sister campaigns. One is the Scriptural Funding Campaign, which has helped hundreds of churches raise over $300 Million through capital campaigns for their facility projects. The other is the Vision Explosion Journey, which features customized pastoral coaching in combination with a dynamic church renewal process. Contact him about either or both of these ministries at TLC Ministries’ booth (#101) in the exhibit hall at GC-16, or contact him at (800) 473-5352.

 

TLC also offers a free booklet download from their website  (www.TLCMinistries.com) of one of Hallett’s doctoral projects entitled When Your Church Needs to Build. It provides helpful, step-by-step guidance in an organized fashion for churches who plan to build.

 

A 50% off coupon for his book, “A Pastor’s Guide to Developing Disciples, Givers, and Stewards,” is being offered. You can find it on the IWU Alumni App under “Special GC16 Discounts.” The app is available for Apple and Android.

Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a sophomore Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.

 

#MADENEW #GC16

https://www.facebook.com/TheWesleyanChurch

https://twitter.com/WesleyanChurch

https://www.indwes.edu/alumni/about-us/

Dr. Robert Hallett

Stevan Sheets: Technology and Ministry

Stevan Sheets is the pastor of leadership development at Hyde Wesleyan Church in Pennsylvania. He works to train other pastors within the church to lead in specific ministries.

 

Sheets says he fell in love with IWU’s campus while attending Summer Honors Program there in high school. “I am even more in love with the campus and I don’t even have any interaction there anymore,” admitted Sheets. He believes that IWU confirmed his call to full-time ministry. “Ever since my time at IWU, I have continued to transition and transform and experience that call in new and different ways,” he said. While he doesn’t discount the classroom learning, he says it was necessary and crucial to his knowledge of ministry, he especially felt he benefitted from the hands-on activities Indiana Wesleyan provided for him.

 

Previously being part of a radio show and blogging, Sheets is very technologically savvy. He keeps his own website where he occasionally posts his thoughts and ideas. His knowledge on technology has given him the ability to be in charge of the social media of General Conference this year.

Stevan Sheets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He will be live tweeting updates during the conference, so be sure to check it out on Twitter at @WesleyanChurch.

 

Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a sophomore Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.

 

#MADENEW

http://www.stevansheets.com/stay-connected/

@navets

https://www.facebook.com/TheWesleyanChurch/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/WesleyanChurch

Stevan sheets

Jerolyn & Jim Bogear, Authors of ‘Faith Legacy’

By: Emily Lehner

 

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Jim & Jerolyn Bogear

Jim and Jerolyn Bogear met each other during their time in college at IWU. They have three children who have either attended Indiana Wesleyan or are currently attending; therefore, IWU has played a major part of their family’s journey. Mrs. Bogear said, “I got my English degree there, so that contributed to writing our book. That was a big step for me as an author.”

 

The Bogears have written a book called, Faith Legacy: Six values to shape your child’s journey. It revolves around the core values they use, as parents, in their everyday life. They said in an interview with WBCL, “Parenting doesn’t just happen. It is a process. It is somewhat, we hope, parenting on purpose.” Their book reflects key characteristics and values that they teach their children. It also explains when children are most likely to soak up teaching and advice. “This book is designed for you to create your own story and your own workbook for your own child and grandchildren,” Mr. Bogear states in an interview to WBCL. The focus audience is parents with young children, but both the Bogears agreed that they have seen examples up close and personal of when their book influenced a range of ages and parents. “It really is very simple, practical steps and ways to raise yourFaithLegacy-final1 children, because we raise our children to hand them off, to become fully functioning adults,” Mr. Bogear said.

 

The Bogears have previously worked with young adults, and now they reside in California, where Mr. Bogear is the pastor of a church they planted called The River Church. They’re passionate about cultivating healthy relationships. They have started their own business that provides coaching and consulting. Mr. Bogear said, “It’s all about relationships and trying to invest in those, but more specifically we do coaching and counseling.” The business started as a coaching platform that simply provided workshops for families and couples. Now, the workshops and retreats have expanded into the corporate world.

 

Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a sophomore Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.

 

#MADENEW

@jjbogear

@WPHbooks

“Being Made New” – Devotion Day 1

By: Emily Lehner

DEVO 1

What does it mean to be made new? As Christians, we use this phrase often, and often, we don’t dig deep enough into the meaning of it to fully understand it. I know that I struggle to realize what what it means for me to be renewed in Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 talks about being made new in Christ. It says:

 

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

As humans, we are either quick to forget or quick to overuse the never-ceasing grace that encompasses being renewed in Christ. Whichever category you fall into, it is important to remember one thing: Renewal is only made possible by one act.

 

Jesus’ work on the cross was accomplished by Jesus. It wasn’t accomplished by us. We must remember that new Creation is possible, but not because of anything we do on our own. Renewal is also a life-saving task, and I truly mean life-saving. Without it, your punishment is eternity in hell. I think it is necessary that renewal brings an attitude of gratefulness and reverence towards Christ. We must acknowledge Him in His power and glory.

 

Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a sophomore Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.