When we moved to Myrtle Beach I was excited about the possibilities of ministry at First UMC, but little did I realize how it would be a ministry that involved Ron to such a degree. Although Ron has always been an active church member and supportive of my ministry, he was also busy with career and parent matters. He is now retired and our sons are married. Therefore, he now can do some new things, such as creating the Mousepad, introducing PowerPoint to our Monday evening worship, assisting with our webpage and most importantly chairing First Church’s Environmental Stewardship Committee.
After being aware of environmental concerns for a number of years, it was only when Ron began to read some of the serious literature about it that he truly became a bona fide tree-hugger. After attending an environmental conference at Lake Junaluska, he began to claim it as a faith issue and encourage others to make a commitment to care for God’s creation. Recently, a writer from the SC Advocate contacted him about the First Church’s green ministry and an interesting story has been written for South Carolina United Methodists to read. It is now posted on our church website, also. It is a good story, but note that Ron is a retired engineer, not a retired minister.
Although, I often refer to Ron as my administrative assistant, he has his own ministry and I am very proud of his efforts as I know that they encourage faithful discipleship. I hope that we both model to others that learning and growing can be part of who we are no matter our age or stage of life.
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Jesus mission, the salvation of the world, as viewed in a contemporary light, encompasses
a mission of unprecedented magnitude. In our modern era we can contemplate the human
contribution to the destruction of a planet and all the life on it. We no longer have to fear that
our sins will cause us individual damnation, but that our sins will collectively result in
an insult to God and creation so blaspemous that we ocassion the nullification of a large part
of God’s plan for creation. Global warming and species mass extinction are products of our
actions and thoughts. products of our failure to be good stewards. For most of Christian
history man has thought that all he had to save was his eternal soul. that Christ as savior
meant that He would save the world by “saving” or converting everyone to Christianity. What
if His mission was literally to save the world from destuction at our hands, and that his was
and truth and life were truly the blueprints to life and life eternal. Wouldn’t God seem more
powerful and awesome if we allowed ourselves to see Him as not just the Creator, but as the
protector of His own creation with all the answers worked out beforehand for how to fix all
the problems man could cause. The Bible would be more than a self help book but a true
owners manual for a planet. The journey toward spiritual enlightenment and a Christlike life
is truly the secret formula for coexistence. We must grow as Christ grew, in wisdom and in
stature and in favor with God and man. Let us all, like you and Ron, continue to grow in a
direction that allows personal salvation on a truly cosmic scale.
Jesus, Himself, had to come to grips with the true nature of God so that he could give us a head start on the same path. The path stretches farther than our individual cul de sacs in our individual neighborhoods. Thank you. Thank Ron.
Ron is an effective minister. He influenced my choice of Christmas wrapping paper - plain brown paper with no petroleum based inks etc to leak toxic stuff into the ground or air!
Ron may be a retired engineer, but he is a very active minister, part of the priesthood of all believers who is witnessing his faith in a most passionate and meaningful way.
It is 8:15 p.m. Monday. Tom says good luck to Ohio State in their struggle against the SEC. I wish you had been playing my GA Bulldogs
It was a wonderful day for Myrtle Beach and First UMC when you and Ron joined us! You have highlighted so many important issues with so many different types and ages of people. You keep us all stretched and thinking. God bless you both! I hope you continue to bless us for a long, long time!
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