Meet Luke Herche

Luke Herche is the other of our two Senior Interns. His primary work will be with college students for which his background well suits him. Luke's spiritual turning point came while a student at the University of the Arts. He attended the Bible study led by Sheffield and Attee Wood, who then brought him to Tenth and TCU. Luke graduated this past spring from Westminster. His intention is to enter the pastoral ministry. Presently, he teaches Bible at City Center Academy, which he has done for several years. He, his wife Debra, and their two children, Thomas and Nathaniel, have moved into the Russo's old home on Chadwick Street.

Meet Robert Polen

You have read postings by two Tenth interns. I thought I would introduce our interns who are serving this coming year. I'll devote a daily posting to each one.

Meet Robert Polen, who is helping to lead the City College and Career ministry. Robert is from Phoenix, AZ (hot, low humidity). He attended college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN (less hot but high humidity). He has one more year of seminary at Westminster. Robert has already served two years as an intern and is taking on a new level of internship we call Senior Intern. He has joined the mass migration of young adults into SOSS (South of South Street). We have been very pleased with the service he has rendered the church over the past two years, first in assisting the Strategic Planning Committee and more recently with CCC, as well as his leading of worship in the pulpit. For those of you who have been in the new members class this past year, much of the written material and the curriculum outline is the result of his working with me on that project.

Teacher Sought

Calvary Temple Christian Academy
3301 S. 20th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19145

We are looking for a qualified, Christian teacher to make a difference in the lives of young people. If you feel you are that person, please feel free to contact us. We have an opening for a Middle School Language Arts/Literature Teacher.

To receive an application packet, contact us by phone, 215.462.2822 x.22 (ask for Kathy Droppa or Julie Capaldi) or email, jacapaldi@yahoo.com

Helping the Church

Calling all painters! We're painting parts of the 315 building, and we need your help! We will be painting the building this Saturday, August 11, and for the next several Saturdays in August and maybe into September. We start at 9 am and will be painting through the day. If you are interested in working in fellowship with other Christians in helping us take care of God's church, please volunteer to help. If you would like to help, call Aaron Snethen at (856)313-5471 or e-mail him at aasnethen@aol.com. Thanks!

Strange Maps

Joel Belz has an article in WORLD Magazine about a peculiar map website: www.strangemaps.wordpress.com. Jonathan Olsen will want to check out map 160 posted for August 3 of "The United Countries of Baseball." The territory showing the Devil Rays is really Yankees country, and the Cardinals territory seems much too large.

Free Dryer

Kenmore used gas clothes dryer available for free. For inquiries call Bruce McDowell at 267-441-0734 or email at bruce.mcdowell@juno.com.

On This Day

On this day, George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart in 1782. When your boss is not looking, check out the website "On This Day."

Those Sweaty Days of Summer

Ah! The feel of sweat! It brings back happy childhood memories in South Carolina. (Hugh Taylor and Tom Elliott understand.) It never occurred to me that one could be hot and not sweat until I spent a summer in South Dakota. I recall seeing a thermometer recording 100 degrees and concluding that it was broken. Then I returned to my home state and was drenched in sweat. So this is humidity! Like a fish who doesnt know what water is, I did not understand humidity as something separate from heat until I was out of it.

GO: a subliminal message?

While reading the blog entries on TCU's name change to City College and Career, I was reminded of another new label that has been introduced gradually into our publications and communications - Global Outreach.

We've had a few people ask us if we are trying to send subliminal messages, since the initials for Global Outreach are GO. Well, not really. The commission discussed both Global Outreach and World Outreach as possible names. In the end, we decided that if we do send any subliminal messages, GO is better than WO (as in Whoa! or Woe!).

You may have noticed that through the past year, we have also altered the way we publicly talk about gospel ministry throughout the world. For a more detailed explanation of these changes, visit the Global Outreach blog at http://multiplyingministry.blogspot.com.

Of Danger and Wrath

Looking over next Sunday's sermon titles, I'm a little nervous about attending worship. Paul Tripp is preaching in the morning on "The World's Most Dangerous Prayer" and Chris Seah in the evening on "Averting God's Wrath." Did Chris get a peek of Paul's sermon and anticipate what we will need to do in the evening?

Sunday Tripp

The Session has asked Paul Tripp to take the Sunday evening preaching duties beginning September 9. This will not be an additional responsibility for him, but rather the mid-week service we had been contemplating will in effect move over to Sunday. I will wait until after this coming Sunday to say more. Paul is preaching this Sunday morning and will also have the Living Church. I'll let him announce the plans for Center City ministry. So stay tuned.

Sermons Posted

Both Sunday sermons are now posted at DMC Messages.

Course Offered

This coming September, the Philadelphia Access Center for Change will be offering the course, “Changing Hearts, Changing Lives,” developed by CCEF. It will involve a 13 week commitment. The classes will begin on September 8 and conclude on December 15. We will meet every Saturday morning from 9:30 till 11:30 at the Philadelphia Access Center, 11th and Mifflin Streets, with the exceptions of November 3rd and 24th.

The cost for the entire course will be $25 per person. This will include a workbook. All you have to do to register is call Kimberly or Joe (Joe Welch, a member of Tenth) at the Philadelphia Access Center at 215 389-1985 and let us know that you would like to make the commitment. The registration deadline is August 31st.

CCC, Part 3

(Robert Polen will be giving special attention to the "Career" aspect of CCC - City College and Career. I asked him to tell a little about the trend of Tenth young adults moving into the city.)

If you have read Luke Herche’s posts over the last few days, you probably have a better idea of our strategy for reaching and discipling college-age young adults. But how are we going to reach and disciple the non-college young adult population, which makes up about 30% of the residents of Center City? One of the most exciting things that have happened over the last year is the significant influx of members of City College and Career to the city. Luke and I, along with close to 20 others, have moved into the city in the last year, bringing the Tenth population just south of South Street to about 40. There are no doubt many individual reasons for these moves, but two reasons have been relatively consistent within the group. The first reason is a desire to be close to the people within the community of City College and Career. The second reason is a desire to be a witness to the gospel in the city and more engaged in the life of Tenth. The most effective means of ministry to the young adults in the city will be the presence of this community living out the gospel in the city. Our times of prayer, Bible study, and fellowship have a bigger goal than our desire to be with one another. We believe we are called into gospel community to be and become witnesses and servants of Jesus Christ for others and all to the glory of God.