Walter Neuenschwander to join SLCC staff

After a three-month search, South Lansing Christian Church has extended a call to Walter Neuenschwander to become the Minister to Millennials at South Lansing Christian Church. He will begin his ministry here on January 5, 2015.

While Walter and his wife, Jamie, are originally from Michigan and attended Great Lakes Christian College and Michigan State University, for the past five years the Neuenschwanders have served on staff at Lane Christian Church just outside of Clinton, Illinois. During that time they each completed degrees at Lincoln Christian Seminary with Walter earning a Master of Divinity degree and Jamie completing a degree in counseling. The Neuenschwanders have two children. Their daughter, Adelaide, is three and their son, Simeon, is one year old.

Walter’s hiring expresses our church’s continued Next Generation commitment to helping high school and college students write the next chapters in their faith stories. According to Senior Minister, Frank Weller, “70% of young adults leave the church when they leave high school. When asked their faith preference, 30% of people – the fasting growing segment of people in our community – are the ‘nones,’ who say they have no faith preference. Our church is committed to confronting those trends by seeing that our students’ faith stories are grounded, enabling them to navigate the challenges of transitioning to adulthood. We are excited that Walter and Jamie are going to be part of the team helping us do that!” Walter’s ministry will focus on helping high school students and young adults navigate the critical transition between high school and whatever comes next by providing leadership for Modified, SLCC’s high school ministry, and by fostering a network of college / career-age small groups.

Walter was selected from a field of very highly qualified applicants with the help of a diverse search team made up of South Lansing Christian Church’s paid and volunteer staff, elders, parents and students, without whom we would not have been able to accomplish this challenging assignment in such a short time. 

Walter will be joining paid staff members Frank Weller, Wally Lowman, Josh Antonopulos, and Jennifer Batdorff. He will also be partnering with the volunteer staff of Modified, our high school ministry, as well as our dynamic team of elders, deacons and ministry leaders as we help people write the next chapters in their faith stories by creating environments where they can seek, study and serve God.

Blessing Buckets Milestone

You see them each week. “Buckets on a stick” located in the lobby of our church building. Did you ever wonder how much money we’ve collected in the three years these bright orange buckets have graced our lobby? Three years ago our church was contemplating how to stay in our building. Michigan’s economy was still in its doldrums and our church simply didn’t have enough money to meet all of our obligations. We contacted the bank and told them, “We might have to mail you the keys.” In spite of those challenges, we looked for creative ways to bless people. We wondered, “How can a church that is essentially broke still help individuals who are themselves experiencing financial crises?” About that time we were blessed with a $5,000 grant from for Lansing Community College students. Through all of this we urged each recipient to “Pass it on.” That experience challenged us to develop a way to continue funding benevolent needs within our church and the people we know. The result?

Our Blessing Bucket ministry.

This week I learned that we passed a major milestone: we’ve given away over $25,000 through our Blessing Buckets! How amazing is that? How good is God? How much can we accomplish when we each practice generosity and throw a dollar or two in our Blessing Buckets each week? I believe that generosity changes lives; it changes us.

We have created a completely anonymous online portal where you can do exactly that. Do your preacher a favor, please. Take five minutes; click on this link; and tell us how God has blessed you through the ministry of these bright orange buckets.

Thermostat Wars

Wally and Stephanie Lowman have their own game of keep-the-furnace-shut-off. This is the thermostat at their house. 

With the coming of winter, the Weller household is all set for the latest variation of an annual theme: the thermostat wars. While Mrs. Weller likes a cooler household, I prefer it a bit warmer. Evidence of this disparity can be found in our sleeping quarters. On her side of the bed is a fan. On my side of the bed is an extra quilt. Ours is the only bedroom I know of with hooks in the ceiling for hanging sides of beef. (Okay, that is an exaggeration – but not much of one.)
Naturally, our temperature preferences affect how we set the thermostat. She likes it hovering around 62 degrees while I prefer it a slightly warmer 65 degrees. While 65 is downright frosty by most folks’ standards, let Mrs. Weller catch me fiddling with the thermostat, and the fun begins. Our thermostat rocks back and forth so frequently that our furnace gets seasick.

Apparently we’re not alone. According to a servicemagic.com internet poll, nearly six in ten couples occasionally argue over climate control with 55 percent of America’s thermostat battles being “won” by the woman of the house. Only 40 percent of those surveyed said that the men in their lives have the final say over who controls the temperature. I guess I’ll just have to keep sneaking the thermostat up when I can, and put a sweater on when I can’t.

All this talk of temperature makes me wonder: who controls the spiritual temperature in your home? On this point, the Bible is pretty clear. It is the man’s responsibility to see to it that his wife and children are growing in their faith. According to the Apostle Paul, “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.” If my wife’s spiritual growth has plateaued, I need to act. The same is true for my children. The Old Testament makes it clear that I am to “train up a child in the way that he should go.”

Of course, it takes two parents to raise children. But, ultimately, if my household is not a Christ-like one, I am the one who will answer for it. That is a weighty responsibility, one which all men need to take seriously.

So let me ask? Who sets the temperature in your home?