e-pistle2equippers
Posted by: ccfmo <ccfmo@...>
Weekly ministry letter (successor to "The Whetstone" ) from Christian Civic Foundation
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President August 29,2001
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CCF resurrects "The Whetstone" newsletter;
weekly e-pistle2equippers begins in September
A new-email ministry letter will be launched by Christian Civic Foundation beginning in the first week of September. This new publication, e-pistle2equippers, will replace "The Whetstone," the very popular CCF newsletter which was discontinued in the fall of 1999, after a successful run of five years.
"The Whetstone" was designed to be a resource for pastors and other ministers, helping to sharpen their skills, "as iron sharpens iron," Prov. 27:17. Each issue contained an original sermon manuscript by Dr. Curt Scarborough, along with other sermon ideas, Bible study outlines, and teaching notes. It also contained feature articles, theological think-pieces, conseling hints, family resources, and other helpful materials of interest to persons engaged in Christian ministry.
"The Whetstone" dealt with avariety of subjects, such as 12-step support groups, prayer, and spiritual warfare, and lifeskill development. It frequently contained helps for workers with preschoolers, children, youth, singles, and senior adults. From time to time, it highlighted topics ranging from personal spiritual growth and development to ministerial ethics and church administration. It also regularly included information about CCF workshops and other educational and service opportunities, as well as news about the Pillsbury Institute of Applied Christianity and the FreeWay Project's work of drug and violence prevention in the public schools of Missouri.
"The Whetstone" existed as a monthly publication through 1995 and 1996. It was reduced to bi-monthly in 1997, and to a quarterly newsletter in 1998 and 1999. At its peak, it had a circulation of over 3,000 ministers in Missouri. Its phenomenal success, however, let to its forced suspension of publication due largely to the increasing costs of postage.
Next month, out of the ashes of the old "Whetstone," will arise CCF's new e-mail publication. The "e-pistle2equippers" will maintain the same basic content and format of its predecessor, but it will be published on a weekly basis. A trail issur will be sent out late in August to all pastors and other interested church leaders whose e-mail address CCF has been able to discover. So far, a mailing list of more than 800 names has been compiled.
Please let CCF hear from you at ccfmo@netzero.net ... if you do receive "e-pistle2equippers" to let us know whether it arrived ... or if you do not receive it, to allow us to add you to our listing or to correct your e-mail address. If you have a friend or fellow minister anywhere in the world who might like to receive this ministry letter, just pass along that e-mail address to us. We'll check to make sure that the addresses are correct and that there are no duplications.
Persons who are interested in contributing articles or features to this publication are urged to submit those materials to CCF's e-mail address for consideration. Opinion pieces and "letters to the editor" also are welcomed.
God's "2020 Vision for Habakkuk
(Habakkuk 1:2, 5, 13; 2:1-3)
I. Concentration: on the question and answers between Habakkuk and God
1. "How long shall I cry out and You not hear?" (1:2)
2. "I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, even though I told you." (1:5)
3. "Why do You allow the wicked to go unjudged and unpunished?" (1:13)
4. "I will stand, set myself, listen to what God will say to me, and consider what I will answer
when I am corrected." (2:1)
II. Meditation: on God's vision and instruction (2:2-3)
1. Write the vision; make it plain so that he who reads it may run ... may respond promptly with swift action.
2. God has established a time-frame for the fulfillment of the vision ... but we may not yet perceive it.
3. Visions from God always are true and valid, but frequently the clear meaning of the revelation comes
only at the "end."
4. Always there will be a time period between receiving the vision and its fulfillment ... a time for faith to be
tested. (Wait patiently ... Hang in there! ... It will surely come to pass.)
III. Revelation: "God help us to . . ."
1. Do the right thing.
What? His mission.
2. At the right time.
When? His moment.
3. In the right way.
How? His method.
4. For the right reason.
Why? His motive.
IV. Application: on Habakkuk's "Hymn of Faith" (Hab. 3:17-19)
1. Even though everything looks dark, I will rejoice in the Lord of my salvation.
2. The Lord is my strength.
3. The Lord will miraculously change me so that I may walk with confidence and security.
"He will make my feet like a deer's feet."
4. The Lord will elevate me to walk victoriously upon the land which He has given me as my spiritual inheritance.
"He will make me walk on my high hills."
A Brief History of Christian Civic Foundation
The predecessor organization to the Christian Civic Foundation was established in 1890 by Dr. Howard Hyde Russell, pastor of the Southwest Tabernacle (Congregational) Church in Kansas City, Missouri. This was the first state temperance organization organized in the United States.
Originally called the Missouri Anti-Liquor Saloon League, it underwent two name changes under its original charter: Missouri Anti-Saloon League in 1908, and Temperance League of Missouri in 1948. In 1955, the organization was completely reorganized as an educational, rather than an advocacy agency. At that time it was issued a different charter under the new name, Christian Civic Foundation.
Christian Civic Foundation's recently updated mission statement now reads: "To train persons in Scriptural lifeskills to enable them to make drug-free, violence-free, addiction-free choices, for the glory of God."
In 1974, CCF spun-off an entirely separate not-for-profit corporation to carry on its alcohol and other drug prevention work in the public schools. This new organizaiton, operated by an independent board of directors, was named DATE (Drug Alcohol Tobacco Education, Inc.) In 1996, this school-based prevention program officially was renamed The FreeWay Project. FreeWay's administrative staff, as well as virtually all of its financial support, is donated by CCF.
In 1992, as an extension of its educational charter, CCF founded The Pillsbury Institute of Applied Christianity, named in honor of the Pillsbury family who had been influential in establishing CCF in 1955. The Institute operates as an independent graduate school under a certificate of authorization granted by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education of the State of Missouri. It's purpose is to help equip pastors, counselors, and other ministers in CCF's field of expertise: Scriptural lifeskills training.
Rev. William J. Setzer, a Baptist pastor from New Hampshire, served as the executive director during the transition period (1953-1958). Dr. Oliver R. Shields, a Missouri Baptist pastor, served as the executive from 1958 to 1971. Dr. Cleveland R. Horne, a Baptist minister originally from Florida, served as the associate director from 1966 to 1971, at which time he became the executive director, serving until his retirement in 1980. He was succeeded by a Tennessee Baptist pastor, Dr. Rober L. Abington, who served as executive director for less than two years (1981-1983.)
The present executive is Dr. Curt Scarborough, a Baptist minister originally from Illinois, who joined the staff as director of education in 1975. He was elected president (formerly, executive director) in 1983. The present senior vice president of CCF is Dr. Sharon J. Bartlett, a native Missourian who has been on the staff since 1977. She serves as CCF's chief financial officer and CEO of the FreeWay Project.
Alcohol kills 100,000 persons; costs $184 billion annually
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism remain a threat to the lives and productivity of millions of Americans according to a federal government report released at the end of November, 2000.
Alcohol-related illness and injury take "a personal, social, and economic toll on the American people - an estimated 100,000 lives and $184.6 billion annually," Dr. Ruth Kirschstein, acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in the preface to the report. The 492 page report (Tenth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health) which highlights research findings on alcohol use and abuse, is the first released since 1997.
"Alcohol problems, both those of individuals and those that affect society at large, continue to impose a staggering burden on our Nation. Domestic violence, child abuse, fires and other accidents, falls, rapes, and other crimes against individuals such as robbery and assault - all are linked to alcohol misuse," stated then Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala in her forward to the report. "Alcohol misuse also is implicated in diseases such as cancer, liver disease, and heart disease."
This authoritative report lists 70 individuals who cooperated in its preparation, most of whom were M.D.'s or Ph.D.'s. It contains research papers on the relationship of alcohol to strokes, heart attacks, the brain and nervous system, genetics, the immune system, injuries, violence, abuse, and many other problems.
For example, the report's authors note there is "substantial evidence ... that breast cancer risk if elevated for women consuming high levels of alcohol (three or more drinks per day) compared with abstainers."
More important, from my point of view, are efforts to keep young people from starting to drink, as well as programs to limit the availability of alcohol to underage drinkers. Those prevention efforts have proven successful, according to the NIH report.
The report, produced by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), contains two chapters on the annyal economic costs of alcohol in the United States: $184,635,000,000. How did the government arrive at this staggering total of over $184 billion?
The report takes 17 pages to provide the details. It itemized the annual alcohol-related costs of health care, residential treatment, outpatient clinics, veterans' hospitals, arson, rape, criminal justice costs, prisons, traffic crashes, property damage, industrial accidents, counselor training, lost productivity, premature deaths, insurance and legan costs, etc.
The report states that the average cost for each man, woman, and child is $638 a year. Most of these costs fall on persons who do not use alcohol.
The report also provides an official figure for the number of deaths due to alcohol consumption annyally: 107,360. The true figure is probably at least double that number because the official cause of death often is listed as "heart failure" or some other disease, rather than "alcoholism."
The report also lists costs that cannot be measured in dollars or deaths. "Alcohol problems exact a heavy toll in terms of human suffering: failed marriages, anguished families, stalled careers, criminal records, and the pain of loved ones killed or disabled from alcohol-related causes."
An entire section is devoted to the effects of alcohol advertising. The alcohol industry claims that the more than $1 billion it spends annually on advertising had no impact on comsumption. Their "pitch" is that alcohohl ads are not aimed at increasing the number of consumers or the per capita concumption, but rather are aimed at persuading drinkers to change brands. This runs counter to common sense and unbiased research.
Saddest of all is the chapter on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). This is the term used for all the permanent brain damage, mental retardation, and facial malformation of children whose mothers drank alcohol during their pregnancies. The report concludes this section by stating: "Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause specific, irreversible brain damage that can have devastating impact on affected individuals, their caretakers, and society."
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The name chosen for this new weekly publication states its purpost. It is a letter (epistle) to (2) pastors and others (equippers) of the saints. Eph. 4:12
To add, correct, or delete a name and email address, contact CCF at 3426 Bridgeland Dr., Bridgeton, MO 63044, or phone 314-739-1121, or fax 314-739-0848, or email ccfmo@netzero.net
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