need of more translations. It is not politically feasible to open a church in that
country. Mr. Jin praised the Rev. Timothy as a very brave man.
Pastoral Renewal and Outreach
The fourth session had three concurrent offerings:
• The Rev. Brian Smith led an informal discussion aimed at Pastoral
Renewal. The objective was to help pastors thrive in their work through
sharing and discussing relevant passages from the Word, getting to know
one another, and brainstorming ways to succeed in a demanding job.
• The Rev. Nathan Cole helped colleagues install the Kempton Project
onto their computers and learn how to use it.
• The Rev. David Lindrooth hosted a session on video webcasting, “Live
Streaming.”
Mr. Lindrooth spoke of his goal of getting New Church doctrine out into
the public domain, and about the success enjoyed so far by Curtis Childs in
webcasting for the Swedenborg Foundation. (Monthly viewers see a total of a
million minutes of New Church content.)
Stewart Farmer, who webcasts for NewChurch LIVE, outlined what
viewers are looking for (immediacy, interaction and involvement); the
components of webcasting (capture, encode, host and storage); the equipment
and manpower needed (hardwired Internet connection, camera, tripod, mic,
mixer, computer and a technician who is not the pastor); and the costs (about
$4,000 in the first year and $1,550 annually thereafter).
In the evening, two electives were offered concurrently. The Rev. Michael
Gladish led a discussion on “What the Doctrines actually say about church
growth.” Favorite passages were shared and the discussion touched on such
things as the need to teach from good will and reach out to the good in
others; the applicability today of what was said about the spiritual state of the
world when the Writings were written; the kind of growth we are looking for
(publishing the doctrines, signing up members, individual regeneration); and
how we know the Lord is blessing our efforts.
The second elective was led by a layman and repeated the next day. Richard
Daum shared both experience and study on the subject of “Male Sexual Abuse.”
His hope was to help males who have suffered such abuse to overcome the
harmful results, as well as to bring light on this topic so that the perpetration
of such abuse can be addressed and reduced to the best of our ability.
He spoke both about things that make a boy or young man especially
vulnerable to being abused; the stages of coming to terms with having
been abused, and growing toward mental and spiritual healing in its wake;
resources available to those who have been abused; and what a pastor can offer
if someone discloses that he has been abused.
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