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NIC VOICE
P.O. Box 604
Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0604

NIC VOICE is a non-profit, non-business association of members within the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. NIC VOICE is not incorporated or filed as 501-C-3 tax deductible entity.

HE IS RISEN!
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6)

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NIC VOICE offers the laity within NIC churches an opportunity to become INFORMED. Upon invitation from a NIC church or group, NIC VOICE will provide a speaker to conduct a  presentation entitled "WATERSHED MOMENT:  Discussion of Theological and Doctrinal Issues in the UMC Raised by the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal".
What is a Watershed?

NIC VOICE provides an open meeting package (see "How to Schedule an NIC VOICE Meeting) to assist you in scheduling the meeting.)

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From NIC VOICE Links & Resources:  Bishop Sprague Complaint and Dismissal (Links directly related to Bishop Sprague's writings, the complaint, dismissal and responses)

Prayer of Protection & Guidance

Have you visited the NIC VOICE Comments Section lately? NEW Comments have been added.

Have you visited the NIC VOICE Resources & Links Section? Great resources are added frequently!  Check it out!

Thought to Ponder

Wesley on the Scriptures

"The faith of the Protestants, in general, embraces only those truths, as necessary to salvation, which are clearly revealed in the oracles of God. Whatever is plainly declared in the Old and New Testaments is the object of their faith. They believe neither more nor less than what is manifestly contained in, and provable by, the Holy Scriptures.... The written Word is the whole and sole rule of their faith, as well as practice. They believe whatsoever God has declared, and profess to do whatsoever He hath commanded. This is the proper faith of Protestants: by this they will abide, and no other."
—[John Wesley, "On Faith," Sermon #106, I.8].

Scripture to Ponder  

 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
--Ephesians 5:11

Have you shared the NIC VOICE Newsletter with other UMC members?

What The Bible Says About A Godly Attitude Toward Heresy

Doctrinal Issues Comparison Chart

"Risking Methodism", by D. Stephen Long, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

NIC VOICE Moody Broadcast Network – WMBI 90.1 Interview:  FULL INTERVIEW NOW ON-LINE NIC VOICE was interviewed recently by Roy Patterson, Community Relations Director at WMBI Chicago, part of the Moody Broadcasting Network.  The interview originally aired in the Chicago area on WMBI 90.1 FM on Monday, July 21 at 6:12 AM as part of the Morning Show segment, God at Work: with Roy Patterson.  Click Here to listen to this segment.   WMBI graciously provided the full interview, which was edited in length to fit the segment that aired on 7/21 (see above).  Click Here to listen to the full interview.

Deconstructing Liberal Tolerance by Dr. Francis Beckwith

Honest Answers to Tough Questions

Have a question about the United Methodist Church?  Ask InfoServ!

š FAITH THINGS FIRST WALLY’S CONSERVATIVE EVANGELICAL NEWSLETTER  An informal newsletter primarily to conservative,  evangelical, and orthodox Christians

NICVOICE
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WATERSHED MOMENT

 It is important that we not allow the passing of what Bishop Ough’s Supervisory Team has characterized as a “Watershed Moment” without examining their dismissal of recent charges brought against Bishop Sprague.  More importantly, presentations and discussions such as this forum will allow United Methodists throughout the Northern Illinois Conference and beyond an opportunity to decide for themselves what they believe to be the Biblical Truth about the doctrines that are at the root of this controversy.  

The charges in the complaint against Bishop Sprague state that his positions are contrary to the Statement of Faith in the United Methodist Book of Discipline. This controversy became public when a transcript of Bishop Sprague’s speech at Iliff Seminary was released in the summer of 2002.  Subsequent to that, Chapter 4 of his book, “Affirmations of a Dissenter” was released by Bishop Sprague on the NIC web site.

In the fall of 2002, the UMReporter published a series of articles contrasting excerpts from Chapter 4 of Bishop Sprague’s book with the published response of Bishop Whitaker. 

In addition, various renewal groups officially within the UMC, as well as other groups not officially connected, have covered various aspects of this controversy on their web sites.  They have published information and opinions about the complaint that was made by a group of laity and clergy late in 2002, and the subsequent dismissal in February of 2003.  These groups provide a forum for this and other issues of concern within the UMC.  

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MISSION

 NIC VOICE is a growing network of concerned laity whose purpose is to provide balanced information and dialog within the Northern Illinois Conference of the UMC about Doctrinal Issues raised by the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal.

This is in harmony with the recommendations by the Supervisory Response Team's dismissal of charges.  They urged that the laity become involved in the process of "serious theological reflection on issues of Biblical Authority, Christology and the Mission of the Church".

Questions or comments about NIC VOICE may be directed to:  nicvoice@nicvoice.org.

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NIC VOICE offers the laity within NIC churches an opportunity to become more INFORMED:

Upon invitation from a NIC church or group, NIC VOICE will provide a speaker to conduct a  presentation entitled "Discussion of Theological and Doctrinal Issues in the UMC Raised by the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal", or

You may choose to conduct the presentation 'in-house', using the NIC VOICE Watershed Moment Presentation, at a single meeting or in a series of studies on these key doctrinal issues of:

·         Christology (Trinity, Virgin Birth, Deity of Jesus)

·         Resurrection of Jesus Christ

·         Salvation through Jesus Christ Alone

·         The Atonement of Jesus Christ

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SUBSCRIPTIONS

To subscribe/unsubscribe, go to newsletter.htm.

If you don't have Web access, send your name and email address to:nicvoice@nicvoice.org 

or contact us:
NIC VOICE
P.O. Box 604
Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0604

For past issues, visit our archives at newsletter.htm.

Tell a friend about NIC VOICE.  It's free!  If they do not have e-mail access, you can print this newsletter and distribute it (see REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY below.)

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DISCLAIMER

 NIC VOICE is sponsored by a laity-led network in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church dedicated to providing balanced information and dialog about issues of concern relating to the Bishop Sprague Complaint & Dismissal.  This group has sole responsibility for the content of this letter.  

NIC VOICE provides original content on our web site and may distribute information from other sources.  NIC VOICE exercises no more editorial control over such information from other sources than does a typical public library, bookstore, or newsstand. The views and opinions expressed in such information do not necessarily reflect those of NIC VOICE.

 Copyright (c) 2003, NIC VOICE.  All rights reserved.

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REPRINT AND FORWARD POLICY

 Subscribers are encouraged to forward NIC VOICE News Letter and web site links to others and/or print it in its entirety, without any changes, for noncommercial use only.   If forwarding to another publication, please do so with the appropriate citation NIC VOICE in accordance with "fair use" rules, and our Disclaimer.

You can easily forward the NIC VOICE News Letter at

newsletter.htm using the Send this Newsletter link to a friend capability.

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 NIC VOICE News is sent to inform you about significant additions to our web site or relevant information. If you would like to be removed from this list, please click  "UNSUBSCRIBE".

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 Past Issues

• May 2003

• June 2003

• July 2003

• July Special 2003

• August 2003

• September 2003

• October 2003

• November 2003

• December 2003

• January 2004

• February 2004

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NIC VOICE March/April Newsletter
now online!

NIC VOICE Watershed Moment Presentation January 2004 Update now online! Includes  response to NIC VOICE letter by Bishop Minor, reflections on celebration of Christmas by Bishop Sprague.
NICEA, is the Northern Illinois Conference Evangelical Association. They generally meet on the first Saturday morning of each month from 9:30 to noon at Wheatland Salem UMC in Naperville.  For more information, visit their web site at:  http://www.umnicea.org/	Visit "Laity of the North Indiana Conference" resources on upcoming General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference from the laity of the Northern Indiana Conference, as well as background on Mark Fenstermacher, Episcopal Candidate.

• Winter 2003-2004 Issue of UMAction Briefing, April 2, 2004

  Contents

  • UM Church Lobby Violates Trust and Donors' Restrictions
  • UM Controversies Discussed at General Conference Meeting
  • Should UM Publishing House Become More Inclusive?
  • Good News! Bill Hinson Shares Cambodian Witness
  • UM Pastor Does Same-Sex "Marriages"
   
• Nullification trend endangers UMC
   
• A LETTER OF CONCERN
  We, the people of First United Methodist Church of Canton, Mississippi, write to you out of deep concern over the teachings of Bishop Sprague and the implications that surround his statements and claims. We have been patient as the sensationalism ran its course and the heightened emotionalism somewhat subsided. We have also tried to take into account that \W may not be totally aware of all facets of this situation.
  
  Nevertheless, we do believe that Bishop Sprague has denied biblical teachings concerning the Christ-the center of the Christian faith. We believe that he has broken trust with the United Methodist Church by words and actions that recant the vows he took as a minister and as a bishop, as well as the vows that he, as bishop, has required of others who would serve our denomination. In our opinion, this is heresy.  Read More 
  
  Note:  See also Wedron UMC letter
   
• PNWAC Broken Covenant Press Release Eight clergy members of the Pacific Northwest Annual conference of the United Methodist Church met in Ellensburg, Washington today to begin the process of briefing and strategizing in response to the recent trial verdict of the Rev. Karen Dammann.  We gathered to share our pain and disappointment, and to discuss potential responses to the betrayal of covenant within our Annual conference.  Read More
   

• Concerned Methodists, March 2004 Update 
  Those of us in Concerned Methodists have often been accused of being radical, stubborn, uncompromising, etc. When it comes to standing for the Orthodox Christian faith, we would raise each of our hands and plead, “Guilty!” We will accept these accusations gladly. We have unashamedly stated that United Methodist laity, good Christian men and women, should not hesitate to refuse to support with the money they give to God’s work the heretical activities of some of our church employees when those same people squander the money or even worse, when they espouse heretical beliefs.

  One example is the one we have mentioned before: Bishop Joe Sprague.  Read More
   

• 03/24/2004 -  The Rev. Benjamin S. Sharpe, Jr. Announcement   This is to inform you that effective June 22, 2004 I will no longer be an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church.  On that day I will surrender my ordination credentials to the District Superintendent of the Fayetteville District of the North Carolina Annual Conference.  The next day, June 23^rd, I will take a position at an Anglican Mission in America church here in North Carolina for the purpose of planting a new Anglican Mission church in the Research Triangle area. ...

  The point of conscience presented itself in February of 2003 with the refusal of the North Central Jurisdiction to deal with the overt heresy of Bp. Joseph Sprague, even after official charges had been brought against the errant leader.  As an elder of the Church I had vowed to “…be loyal to the United Methodist Church, accepting its order, liturgy, doctrine, and discipline… and accepting the authority of those who are appointed to supervise your ministry.”  One consequence of this vow of obedience was that I had to support and endorse funding Bp. Sprague’s heretical “ministry” by encouraging the local church to fully accept the “apportionments” (monies paid by the local church to the denomination).  The “Episcopal Fund” share of the apportionments pays the salary of the likes of Sprague. 

   In stark contrast to this, my commitment to Christ demanded that I oppose heresy and those who promulgate false teaching.  Since the Church would not censure or discipline Bp. Sprague, I determined that I was compelled to choose faithfulness to Jesus Christ over my vow to support the denomination.  Further, if I remained in the UMC and did not fulfill my vow to uphold the doctrine and discipline of the denomination by refusing to endorse the apportionments then I would be no better than Bp. Sprague in his refusal to honor the teaching of our Church.  Read More