Whole In One

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Enjoying the Sights of Sunset Road

Greetings! Gail and I have had a some scheduling changes that have afforded us the opportunity to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Gummerman in Bloomington, IL. Grandpa and Grandma just hate that! Having to spend time with their grandson, Anthony, is a real chore!

Kurt and Martha have lived on Sunset Road since they got married...a few years ago. While nestled in the middle of the city, Sunset Road boasts a wonderful country feel! Here are just a few shots of the Gummerman's majestic lane.

Ewing Manor~ Castle owned by the University at the end of Sunset.

Friday, October 21, 2005

What? YOU talkin' to me?


Anthony turned 2 in August, and we have continued to be amazed at his ability to talk in what seems to be an unending flow of consciousness! We're not sure if he gets this from his great-grandma Janet or just passed directly from me, his father. Either way, we realize that he has a great linage of talkers! One can only conclude that Anthony must have a HUGE heart...for the Bible declares, 'from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks!'

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Inspirational Rhetoric of Bloviating Proportions



"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
~Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

It is a baffling disease of the mind that causes man to strive toward the place of 'arrival' only to find out upon arriving, he has not yet 'arrived.' There is a two fold revelation that emerges from our journeys plight. First, the humble recognition of our need to perpetuate the learning process even unto death. Secondly, the blissful truth for those found in Christ; while we are foreigners passing through this world, there is a promise that we will arrive someday, not on our own merit, but by the simple grace of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

The metamorphic life of Whole In One has reminded us that all ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. There have been victories to cheer about, yet challenges that have forced us to grow, persevere, and adapt. As one of my dear pastor friends once said, 'the only change we like in our church is the change we put in the offering basket!' Change is rarely easy, but it is always an opportunity for us to re-surrender our will and to acquire an abundance of grace to trust Him more. Even this week, we have seen His grace and His provision work miraculously on our behalf. Gail was preparing a bank deposit today and said, 'if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it.' We faced several challenges this month that left us wondering how we would make budget, but through it all, God has been so faithful and trustworthy.

So I speak without any reservation; we haven't arrived yet, nor have we even gotten close; however, there is an unspeakable joy in the journey, and 'the glory of the climb' belongs only to the One who has carried us thus far--Jesus Christ!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

1st Assembly of God, Terrell, TX

October 9th - 12th, we shared "All Hands On Deck" Kids' Crusade at 1st Assembly of God in Terrell, TX. We had an amazing time with strong nightly attendance. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the weeks events. From the wacky games to the interactive Bible stories, the young people had fun while learning about Jesus, the captain of the USS Hope!

This was our first solo Kids' Crusade since Todd and Angela took their staff positions in O'Fallon, IL. I'm glad to say Gail and I survived. Everything went fairly smoothly as we adapted our material and attempted to allow God to be God. It really took the pressure off when we discovered one of the co-children's pastors had 40 years of experience (Pastor Maxine) and the other, Pastor Michael, had 25 years experience in children's ministry. He has done training workshops and traveled as a children's evangelist. This served as a great place to break in a new phase in the ministry of Whole In One. (If you have difficulty perceiving sarcasm...please note that the past few sentances were packed full of sarcasm!)

Ultimately, we come back to the reality that it's not about us, it's about Him, and it's about them! Just over a dozen kids responded to accept Christ as their Savior. three teenagers also responded Tuesday night. THAT is what it is all about. He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Here are some pictures of our time in Terrell. Churches that are considering a good contest should take notice of 1st Assembly. Their offering contest resulted in a Tar & Feathering...Okay, it was syrup and feathers, but it was beautiful!! All I can say is...sorry ladies!!

Pastor Mikkie...Michael Clay, Children's Co-Pastor

Pastor Maxine, Children's Co-Pastor



The Winning Boy's Team


Miss Tracey (Pastor Michael's wife), Gail, Anthony, and Pastor Maxine

Our incredible van driver (on left) who brought 108 visitors this week, along side of Sarah & a crusade worker, Miss Chandra and Pastor Harris (Senior Pastor on Right)

Miss Carolyn, Pastor Harris' wife at the registration table


Kristie & Esther

Miss Carolyn and Miss Tracy - Well, the boys won this year!

(Pastor Harris - Lookin' like he might just enjoy this!)


I want to say a HUGE thank you to the entire church staff, crusade workers, teenagers, and young people who made this week a very memorable one! A special thanks to Pastor Harris, Pastor Michael and Pastor Maxine for their generosity and hospitality. 1st Assembly, you really blessed us in so many ways! Thank you!



Monday, October 03, 2005

First Assembly of God, O'Fallon, MO


It was truly a pleasure to be with Pastor Aaron Bernabe, his family, and the congregation of First Assembly in O'Fallon, Missouri this past Sunday, October 2. We shared in music and drama in both morning and evening services.

Before you commit yourself to a fine institution of your choice, O'Fallon has been the topic of many of our blog entries and does have a close tie to Whole In One. I'm pretty sure you haven't lost it...yet. As of September 25, Todd and Angela assumed their new staff position at O'Fallon A/G in O'Fallon, Illinois....where, ironically, Gail and I served during the turn of the century, (Y2K...You know!) and it has been our church home when we're in the area without any other commitments.

Our services this past Sunday were across the great Mississippi, in Missouri. O'Fallon, MO is about 20 minutes west of the STL Airport (Lambert).

Whole In One has officially begun its new season. Gail and I have spent hours praying, practicing, and preparing music and drama for the two of us to continue fulfilling God's call and the mission of Whole In One. It was appropriate that our first solo WIO service was with Pastor Aaron. Pastor Aaron Bernabe has been a dear friend since college, and he has been instrumental in the development of Whole In One. Prior to his pastorate in O'Fallon, Pastor Aaron was the pastor in Correctionville, Iowa. His church in Iowa served as our "guinea pig" for ALL of our drama and music material. They had us back so often that we were constantly having to develop new material. While it was challenging, they had a great hand in the development of this ministry. Needless to say, there have been MANY 'firsts' with Pastor Aaron.

While this story from our service on Sunday may serve as my last blog entry as my wife may shoot me, I feel compelled to share it. If only there were pictures!! Gail and I adapted 'The Prayer Skit" that we used to do with Todd & Angela. Going from four people to two people requires some creative genius...so we kindly made the prayer skit into a clever infomercial of the "To Do's and Not To Do's" of prayer. One of the 'not to do' types of prayer that we highlight is the ever famous "sneak attack" prayer. Formerly, I approached Todd (who needed prayer) and very nicely told him that I could pray for him. I then proceed to pray at an ungodly volume and toss Todd like a rag doll.

Obviously, this would not work well with just Gail and I...so I told Gail to come up very sweetly, offer to pray, begin by 'spiritedly' saying, "Help him, Lord", stomp her foot and hit my forehead with a good stage hit.

Well...she did most of that...minus the GOOD stage hit. Needless to say, our faces were both priceless as she was too short to hit my forehead, but, rest assured, she got in a good whack !! She hit me just above the nose...and broke my unbreakable titanium framed glasses!! I may have losted a pair of glasses, but I gained a firm respect for her left hook!

Even after that crazy skit, one person made a first time commitment to Christ and many others responded for prayer. Thankfully, Gail was there to see that one hand go up in the back...I couldn't see that hand without my glasses! You'll be glad to know that we have plans to change our skit, but we pray many continue to respond to the Holy Spirit's tug on their heart in our services.

As of October 2, since January 2003, over 400 people have made first time commitments to Christ in our services...Praise the Lord! God is still in the life changing business! That is why we travel!! Blessings to you all!