International
regional directors
meet for annual conference

By Randal Dick

INDIAN WELLS, California—Twenty-three international regional directors, wives, headquarters personnel and guests arrived in Indian Wells, about two hours east of Pasadena, for the annual regional directors conference and retreat July 29 through Aug. 2.

In addition to in-depth analysis of each regional operation over the past year, the conference included time for breakout meetings and fellowship.

The highlight of the regional directors conference was a two-day seminar presented by Eddie Gibbs, professor of church growth at the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.

Dr. Gibbs, author of several books on the challenges facing the Christian church today, had asked all of the attendees to read his latest book, Church Next, before coming to the conference. Dr. Gibbs then took the principles covered in the book and applied them to the context of the Worldwide Church of God. It was as if the book had been written with us in mind.

The first day revolved around the issue of the chaotic environment that the church finds itself in today. Dr. Gibbs pointed out that the Worldwide Church of God is a microcosm of what is happening throughout the West.

While the Worldwide Church of God has experienced some chaos from the process of doctrinal transformation, most of the chaotic environment is brought about by the rapid shift of society.

Dr. Gibbs pointed out key junctures in Western civilization where, in a period of 15 to 20 years, society changed so radically that society became totally different between one generation and the next. That which was before was considered totally obsolete, and that which followed was strange to those who were part of the world before the shift.

On the second day of the seminar, Dr. Gibbs explored how leaders can be effective in an environment of chaos. He said that a chaotic environment has opportunities, just as any other type of environment does. The key is to have the flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing situations and to be able to see the new opportunities that the new situation presents.

He decried the fact that so many churches today train their leaders for a context that is rapidly going out of existence.

Present at the seminar were Eugene and Lulu Guzon and Bill and Daphne Sidney from the Northeast Asia region; Rod and Ruth Matthews from the Australia, Southern Asia and Micronesia region; James and Shirley Henderson of the African region; John and Pat Halford from the European region; Gary Moore and George Patrickson from the Canadian region; and Charles and Carmen Fleming of the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.

Representing headquarters were Joseph and Tammy Tkach; Michael Feazell; Dan and Barbara Rogers representing U.S. Church Administration; Ron and Norva Kelly; Charles and Susie Albrecht; Barbara Edwards, my assistant; Deborah Nickel, executive assistant to Joseph Tkach; and my wife, Susie, and myself.

Words of wisdom
from Eddie Gibbs

Eddie and Renee Gibbs

Eddie Gibbs is known for his one-liners. But his one-liners are not jokes like you would hear from Jay Leno or David Letterman. They are simple statements that contain a whole suitcase full of meaning, that can be unpacked and put to use. Here are a few:

"As the WCG thinks about its past as a church, she needs to distinguish between her baggage and her treasures."

"Religion is not always about certainty, but the strength to live with uncertainty."

Speaking of Peter’s jumping out of the boat to walk on water, "There is a fine line between trust and bravado."

 

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001