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Spring-Summer 2008 Newsletter updated April 9, 2008

Philippians 3:10

Were U looking to find out what happened with YUBM Ministries during the spring and summer of 2007?  Click here.

PRAYER PRE-VIEW

WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY - taking a course with Dr. David Powlison entitled, "Theology and Secular Psychology" this semester.  Really enjoying it.

CENTER for URBAN THEOLOGICAL STUDIES (CUTS) - teaching another section of "Foundations of Christian Thought" (BIB 300C) and "Introduction to Philosophy" (PHI 110) - Spring semester 2008.

WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY - D.Min. Modules 1 & 3 - June 2-12, 2008.

AWANA CAMP - Refreshing Mountain Camp - Stevens, PA - with First Baptist Church of Highland Park of Landover, MD - June 27-29, 2008.

COSMOPOLITAN MISSION SERVICE BAPTIST CHURCH YOUTH RETREAT - Sandy Cove, MD - August 8-10, 2008.

O YES! CONFERENCE (OUR YOUTH ENLIGHTENED ABOUT SEX) - Philadelphia, PA - August 16, 2008.

MANNA BIBLE INSTITUTE STUDENT / ALUMNI RETREAT - Valley Forge, PA - October 17-19, 2008.

Found on a bridge over the Niagara River a couple of hundred feet before the Falls

Mural near Broad and Girard in North Philadelphia

Nataka nimjue Kristo na nguvu ya ufufuo wake na nishi riki mateso yake,
niwe kama yeye katika kifo chake;
na hivyo, kama ikiwezekana,
niufikie ufufuo kutoka kwa wafu.
Philippians 3:10-11 (Kiswahili)

All eyez on Him: Get to know the One Who watches over the 'hood, the 'burbs, the fields 'n forests

Eternity in view: wit' Him or wit'out?

No man has believed perfectly until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.
Malcolm X

PEOPLE to PRAY for:

 Regardless of how U feel about the war, please join them in prayer.
Photo by Romeo Gacad / AFP

PRESENT PURSUITS and PAST PERAMBULATIONS
( listed in reverse chronological order )

Jamaine, the Maine Coon, is one cool cat

JAMAINE - After a year of doin' without a cat since the passing of a beautiful Bengal named Melanie, I began looking for one; specifically, a Maine Coon.  Visited the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society's North Philly location on Hunting Park Avenue and discovered they had recently rescued a scared, straggly, stray Maine Coon off the 2000 block of Mifflin Street in South Philadelphia.  After a tentative playful " bite" (lettin' the room know who's in charge), Jamaine, who looks about 1½ to 2 years old, slowly melted to the floor of the cage with contentment as I gave his left ear a good rub.  "Ah-right.  Won him over," thought he to himself (the notion shared by man 'n 'Maine alike).  Deal.  Said to have dog-like dispositions and originally considered "working" cats (Got...mice?), Maine Coons often have a distinctive "M" on the forehead, square muzzles, lion-like manes ("ruffs") around the head and upper chest, tufted paws and ears, and bushy tails.  "Whaddup, 'Maine?"  "Don't worry.  I got you."

Yo, B.  Get me outta here!

N.B.L.I. Retreat Mass Choir rehearsing at Word of Life in Schroon Lake, NY, March 29, 2008
Photo by Tito Vasquez

N.B.L.I. Retreat Mass Choir singing during the morning service, March 30, 2008
Photo by Tito Vasquez

NEW LIFE BIBLE INSTITUTE ANNUAL ALUMNI RETREAT - Word of Life Conference Center, Schroon Lake, NY - March 28-30, 2008.  Another grand time with the saints from this school based at 50th and Spruce Streets in West Philadelphia (they have 5 campuses altogether).  Thanks to Evangelist Cheryl A. Johnson for having me in once again to lead in worship and praise and to work with the choir (a rather large group this year — about 32 or so — hence the name "Mass Choir").  A really wonderful time of fellowship with the saints, catching up with old friends and meeting up with new.

Spencer and Joshua in West Philadelphia

TWO VISITORS from ALEXANDRIA - Virginia, that is.  Honored to host my 16-year-old nephew Spencer M. and his 18-year-old good friend Joshua H. here in Philly during part of their spring break from school (March 16-19, 2008).  Did the usual Philly sight-seeing thing (Center City, the Avenue of the Arts, cheese steaks from South Philly [and later on South Street], quick drive-bys of the Constitution Center, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, a brief walk-through of the new Comcast Center lobby, etc.).  But the more important part of their trip was going through sections of Philly that most tourists (and the visitors' bureau) take great pains NOT to see: the forgotten communities that lie just beyond the brightly-lit, well-manicured campuses of N. Philadelphia's Temple University, W. Philly's University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, the devastated community hidden beneath SEPTA's Market Street El (still under renovation: see "Anatomy of a Memorial" for background and location), and some "stuff" here in the Olney section.  Lots of interesting, thought-provoking convos, discussions and great questions (which tuckered us all out) — and yes, we did manage to have some impromptu fun as well.  Their visit closed with sitting in on part of a church meeting at Epiphany Fellowship just before catching Amtrak back to Washington DC and then home. [ Spence was also able to do a little bit of woodworking on Hummer, along with a l'il leaf-rakin' (with Josh) in the front yard.  Thanks!  :o) ]  Interesting bookends: our 1st Philly cheese steak right after S. & J.'s arrival on Sunday night was from an establishment near 9th and Passyunk where we duly noted the nearby basketball courts.  In the church meeting on Wednesday night (right before taking S. & J. back to the 30th Street train station), Pastor Eric Mason mentioned the same two cheese steak outlets and the adjacent b-ball courts.  Mere coincidence?  Hmmm...I doubt it.  Providential design and purpose?  That option seems a lot more likely...if you subscribe to the notion we live in a very Personal universe.  More related photos found here.

SPECIAL ALERT: Spencer (my nephew) plays for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Power Baseball U15 team and is looking to participate in an international missions trip to Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic from June 30th to July 9th.  More information can be found here: http://www.fcapowerbaseball.org.  If you'd like to support him in this endeavor, you can write to: 

FCA Baseball Missions
c/o FCA
4000 Williamsburg Court
Fairfax, VA  22032

Please be sure to write: "Spencer Morgans / Mission Trip" on your check.  Thank you.

HAWTHORNE GOSPEL CHURCH - Serving Hands Ministry - Hawthorne, NJ - March 14, 2008.  Had the privilege and honor of speaking and presenting the ministry to this assembly of very active, missions-minded saints.  What a blessing!  Wonderful to re-connect with Linda Ibach, Dave Schuit (HGC's Missions Pastor), Marjorie Webster, Ruth Hennigh, Ermetta Olsen, Maggie Cooper and many other saints whom I haven't seen for a long time.  Thank you all for your love, hospitality and gracious support through the years.  While in the Paterson area, I went looking for Walter Stewart but wasn't able to locate him, although I was able to leave my contact info with someone who occasionally bumps into him.  Hope 'e doin' aight.

Street soldiers 'n bros. Tim 'n Sam H. at the corner of Upsal 'n Stenton in one of those late-into-the-night van convos

Pastor/Author Tim Keller fields questions at the University of Pennsylvania, March 11, 2008.
Westminster Seminary's Apologetics Department Coordinator William Edgar looks on.

TIM KELLER at U. of PENNSYLVANIA - had the good opportunity to hear NYC's Redeemer Presbyterian Church's Senior Pastor Tim Keller discuss his recent book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, at Westminster Seminary in the morning, then invited Tim H. (in the picture above this one) to join me for the U. of P. evening lecture.  It was a full house as some 780 people filled the University's Museum Auditorium to hear Dr. Keller, and although most of the questions during the Q&A were fairly "softball friendly" (Keller even said he was waiting for a difficult, thorny inquiry), the evening was nevertheless thought-provoking and engaging.  I kind of got the sense that more of a "Jerusalem" crowd showed up than that of an "Athens."  In the wake of a spate of recent books written from an atheist perspective, Keller's tome is worth investigating.  At the time of this writing (0315/06) it is # 7 on the New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list and Publisher's Weekly says it's "[a] compelling overview of the current debate on faith for those who doubt and for those who want to reevaluate what they believe, and why."  Here's a video of Tim Keller talking about the missional church (courtesy of desiringGod.org):

Saturday night rally at the J.A.M. Teen Retreat at Skycroft

J.A.M. TEEN MINISTRY WINTER RETREAT 2008 - Skycroft Conference Center - Mitchellville, MD - with First Baptist Church of Highland Park of Landover, MD, Emmanuel Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. and Peoples Community Church - February 29 - March 1, 2008.  The theme was "Come As You Are: No Perfect People Allowed" (Matthew 11:28-29) and instead of doing the worship and praise this year, I was privileged to do presentations to the junior and senior high brothers.  Topic?  "Jesus and Me ... n 'Junior.'"  The reception was fantastic, praise the Lord!  Kudos to the young adults to whom the retreat leadership baton has been passed, and thank you, Rev. Joel Washington, for allowing me to jump in in a different capacity.

Lunar eclipse, February 20, 2008: planet Saturn to its lower left and a fainter Regulus (star) above it.
[ Kind of cool the way the moon interplays with the little basketball icon above the photograph. ]

That same moon the next morning, setting in the western sky, as seen through the oak tree's branches.

Gun on the wire at 2nd and Master Streets — apparently an art installation protesting gun violence here in Philly.

Urban Youth Culture class at Eastern University: Brent P., Joel R., Victor G., Alysia W. and Kristen D.

EASTERN UNIVERSITY - team teaching "Urban Youth Culture" with Dr. K-lee Johnson in the Master of Arts in Urban Studies Residency - February 15-16, 2008.  This week-ending whirlwind 2-day event (they don't call it an intensive for nothin'!) with students from Philadelphia, Upper Darby and Aliquippa, PA, Chicago, IL and San Jose, Costa Rica.  How do you get everything in?  You don't.  You can't.  The course started online before the residency and goes on for the rest of the semester online as well. 

THREE of HEP's URBAN MISSION JOURNAL ARTICLES NOW ONLINE - Although they may be a bit dated (they were written in 1989 and 1992) they still got 'feet' regarding the street — enough so that Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson saw fit to quote from them in their 2005 book, The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting with the Movement Shaping Our Culture (InterVarsity Press).

"Penetrating an Urban People Group."  Bob Hepburn, Urban Mission, Mar 01, 1989, Volume 6:04, pp. 33-42.  http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=15652 

"Rap Music: A Window into a Culture."  Bob Hepburn, Urban Mission, May 01, 1992, Volume 9:05, pp. 6-19.  http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=15780

"Rap Music: Give Me My Respect, Man!" Bob Hepburn, Urban Mission, Sep 01, 1992, Volume 10:01, pp. 16-28.  http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=15789 

CHANGE in CHURCH INVOLVEMENT - After being a part of Great Commission Church for a number of years (G.C.C. began as a church plant in a living room, moved to a church in Roslyn, PA and is now located in another church in Hatboro, PA), I've sensed the Lord's leading to return to a fellowship here in the city of Philadelphia.  Some think it a step in the wrong direction (Philly's under the gun these days [literally — see below]), and yes, it's gonna cost me, but hey!  Who said followin' the Lord was supposed to be comfortable or easy?  As of August 2007, I'll be fellowshipping at Epiphany Fellowship at 17th and Diamond Streets in North Philly.  E.F may sound familiar to those who read the YUBM Ministries newsletters regularly.  Here are a couple of pages that will give you an idea what the church is like: E.F. Street Outreach, September 9, 2006 and E.F. Church Launch September 17, 2006

Thank you for your faithful love, prayers, patience and support,

His ‘n yours, with much love ‘n respect,

HEP

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