"Irene" comes from the Greek--it means peace. There's a good name for a devastating storm!

I hope all of you survived the storm and are up and running again. At our house we were without power for 36 hours; had to bail water from our basement when the sump pump stopped running. And--for the first time in my entire pastoral ministry--we had to cancel Sunday morning services!! This never happened during our tenure in Minnesota, despite having several Sundays one January where the wind chills dipped below -50 F with blizzard conditions.

We are thankful that there was little damage to the church--some water damage through minor leaks in the roof. Those are currently being patched and repaired. Shout out to Josh Kellam for his help in this matter.

And we are grateful to those of you who gave on-line or who mailed in your offering to the office. Thanks! In years past we would not be paying that much attention to such matters, but this year we have been tight in terms of cash flow. I do want to report that your faithfulness in giving has been awesome this summer. Even with missing last Sunday, due to economy measures put in place and some cutbacks in benefits and due to your giving we are coming to the end of the summer at about a break even point between expenses and budget income! From where we started out the summer this is really remarkable. Thanks for your faithfulness. And we encourage you to keep it up as we move into a new ministry season this autumn.

Sabbatical for Pastor Rick. Debbie and I will be heading out on sabbatical after services, Sunday, September 18. Our plan is to be gone for two months, returning November 21.

Those who have been around Kensington Baptist/Wellspring for some time will realize that this will be my third sabbatical during my tenure as Senior Pastor of this fellowship. The plan for sabbatical leaves was part of my original call here, intended to provide a time for rest, renewal and refocusing every seven years. This has been intentional in order to facilitate a long tenured ministry.

I am very grateful for the two sabbaticals in the past and for the one upcoming in mid-September. I utilized my last sabbatical to bring the manuscript for Equally Yoked to completion.

For this coming sabbatical, Debbie and I will be starting with two weeks of vacation to drive across the American west on a northern route, making our way to Redding, California. We plan to retreat in the foothills outside Redding for about six weeks, within ten minutes of Bethel Church. It is our plan to immerse ourselves in the life, ministry and ethos of that great church to glean what we can and bring back fresh perspectives and impartation for the ministry here at Wellspring. We have been invited to do so by Steve and Wendy Backlund and will have access to the inner workings of the staff and ministry while there. I will also be doing some uninterrupted study on an issue the Lord has spoken to me about. More on this in the future. On our way back to Connecticut we will take a more southern route, pretty much driving straight home except for a day or two visiting our parents in the Cincinnati area.

As has been our pattern in the past with my two prior sabbaticals and with the sabbatical Pastor Wes enjoyed a few years ago, no church funds will be utilized for costs of the trip or expenses while in Redding. I will be paid my salary, as has been the practice in the past for prior sabbaticals.

Again, I am grateful to the congregation for the opportunity to be away for this season of renewal. These past several months have been quite trying for all of us. I intentionally sought the Lord and the counsel of others as to whether I should postpone this trip, but felt consistently the nudging of the Lord to proceed.

Please pray for us as we are away--and for the staff and elders who will carry on the ministry and leadership. Debbie and I are asking the Lord for safe travel, for divine appointments with key people, for rest and renewal, for fresh vision and for encounters with the Lord himself.

Thank you again for this privilege to serve such a great congregation as Wellspring and for this upcoming time of renewal.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

This rally cry, voiced each year by Jewish people at the Passover Seder was given to me as a prophetic word two years ago by Prophet Bob Hazlett. Since having received that word, I have been to the Holy Land twice. Both visits were incredibly stretching, instructional and inspirational.

Now--in concert with Rabbi Librach--I would like to invite you to come with me to the Holy Land next March. The Rabbi and I have worked out an itinerary that focuses primarily on visiting sites of biblical importance, and secondarily on gaining a sense of the miracle of modern Israel. I am excited about this itinerary. We have packed a lot into a week and have managed to avoid most of the sketchy uber-touristy, overly religious sites that have little real connection to the land or the biblical drama of redemption.

We will connect with believers in the land and Rabbi Cliff and I will share biblical teaching while we are on site. There is also something very special about a devoted rabbi and an evangelical pastor co-leading a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I think God is up to something very special in this trip. It will be a true adventure, a vacation and a spiritual seminar all rolled into one.

Brochures are available in the office and at the Welcome Center. More detailed information is at www.wellspring.net/israel2012. I hope you can make this trip with Rabbi Cliff and I--it's going to be great!

Pastor Rick

Greetings Sports Fans!





It's been awhile since I have posted anything. My fertile mind has been composting. So here goes!





SUNDAYS @ SEVEN prayer times. These times of simple worship and prayer this summer have been awesome. The Lord gave Pastor Wes a word about back to basics at the beginning of the summer and this prayer/worship time has been in response to that directive. Each week we have gathered with a simple format to seek the Lord in prayer and worship--and to let him lead and direct that quest. His presence has been powerfully present and I believe that many of our prayers for our congregation are being answered. We plan to continue with this simple format/basic quest beyond the summer season.





On that note, on Sunday evening, September 4 at 7:00 PM, there will be a joint GateKeepers' worship and prayer time to give thanks for the Purpose outreach this summer and to continue to pursue the advance of the Kingdom in our communities.





WELLSPRING SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP. The new fall term begins on Tuesday, August 30. We are extending the deadline for application for the new entering class of first-year students. The first course, Spiritual Formation, is something that will benefit every believer. It will be team-taught by Debbie McKinniss and Linda Johnson. Contact Mike@Wellspring.net for more information. But don't procrastinate any longer! Come on--you know you want to do this!





ANOTHER BREAKTHROUGH FOR ISAAC CAMPBELL!! Jenn Campbell, mother of the miracle boys Christopher and Isaac, passed me a note this past Sunday that Isaac had lost 2 and 1/2 pounds in the previous week, had lots of abdominal pain and had the worst diaper rash she had ever seen (and she has seen a lot of diaper rash). The congregation prayed during the 9:00 AM service for these needs and once again Isaac experienced breakthrough! She emailed me Tuesday at 2:22 PM (a good number for miracles--see Acts 2:22) to say that Isaac's rash had cleared up and that he tipped the scales at 30 pounds for the first time in his young and courageous life! How's that for an answer--the champion fighter boy moves up a weight class!





Then Jenn related that she had just come back from another doctor's visit. The doc wants to remove Isaac's tonsils because his tonsils and adenoids are huge and they inhibit good sleep for Isaac. Jenn is pretty reluctant to put this guy through yet another surgery. So she is urging us to pray for a shrinkage of Isaac's tonsils and adenoids. So Lord, we agree for this need. We call upon you to touch Isaac's tonsils and adenoids and shrink them in Jesus' mighty name! Amen.





FIFTH GENERATION REDS FAN. If you will allow me a point of personal privilege--and after all it is my blog--allow me to note that Elijah McKinniss will accompany his father tonight to see the Cincinnati Reds take on the Washington Nationals in D.C. This initiates Elijah as a fifth-generation fan of baseball's original professional baseball team and links him to the city of his forebears. It also initiates him into the company of the miserable, as he can expect about one good team a decade. Alas . . . .