WHAT HAPPENED TO FRIDAY'S BLOG POST?

     Last week a funny thing happened on my way to the blogosphere...I got unavoidably delayed and then detoured. 

     As anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows, I serve as an Elder in the church of Christ that meets in Manchester, NH. 
     According to the Biblical pattern for the church the only authorised offices, or positions, in the church are Evangelists, Elders and Deacons. 

     Sadly, there are over 40 churches of Christ in New England that do not have a regular full or part time Evangelist or preacher. Those duties are performed by the men of the congregation.
     Many churches also do not have Elders to oversee the work or Deacons to serve the needs of the church. To address this problem, the Ganderbrook Center for Christian Leadership (GCCL) was created. The GCCL is the brain child of our Evangelist, Park Linscomb. 

     Once per quarter there is a meeting of the GCCL. The purpose of the GCCL is to provide training for Christian men who are interested in developing skills as a church leader. There are three tracts of training available: (1) Preacher Tract - for men interested in learning how to develop and preach a Biblical sermon and to perform the other functions of a preacher; (2) Ministry Tract - for men who want training in carrying out church ministry; (3) Leadership Tract - for men who want to develop the skills to become qualified to serve as church Elders or church Deacons.

     Each quarter men from various churches of Christ meet to participate in training along one of the available tracts. The teachers consist of men who have been formally trained and possess college degrees from accredited church of Christ affiliated Christian colleges. Most are currently serving as Evangelists in a church of Christ somewhere in New England and have been for many years.

     The quarterly meetings run from Friday morning thru Sunday evening. Weather permitting the meetings are held at Ganderbrook Christian Camp in Raymond, ME. This most recent meeting was hosted by the Edgewood church of Christ in Mansfield, MA, because the buildings at the camp are not suited to year-round occupation. The Edgewood church had something that Ganderbrook did not have.....HEAT & RUNNING WATER!

     When I returned on Sunday evening I was more tired than I realized and fell asleep.  Therefore I did not write a blog entry.      As a result of my attendance at the GCCL I was unable to post my usual blog entry. I hope your weekend was as fulfilling as mine was. Although it was not pleasant being away from my beloved SWMBO, it was worth the sacrifice. God Bless You!