Guess which one I am writing about today.

Yep, thaaaaaat one.  Yes I saw Tiger’s carefully orchestrated press conference, but I had to hear it and see tape after the fact.  Yes, I guess he gets the right to call all the shots and make the rules on HIS press conference.  And Yes I think he was sincere.

He seemed to have written it himself and I only wish he had practised it some more so he did not so robotic.  I would sayit’s clear he is not a public speaker.  But the emotion and sorrow was there.  He covered almost everything and everything HE chose to cover.

He spoke and then obviously is headed right back to the treatment facility that only he and hundreds of other choice millionaires can afford to attend.  I believe he is ’sick’ although his greed, sense of entitlement and desires probably caused this type of affliction.

I’ll pray for him and wish him the best.

I miss him on the tour, but actually I don’t watch, probaqbly cuz he is no longer on the tour.  I hope that he is totally focused so as to wait until the appropriate time family wise and heath wise to reurn.  Although, as a Christian I really love a good recovery/change story (David, Moses, Saul/Paul) I think it will be a while before he could re3aly be counted on as a successful ‘recovery.’

For  his wife’s sake and the kids, I will hope for the best.  By the way, I expect him to be able to be a BETTER golfer if y’all can imagine that, by not having all this extra curricular activity in his life.  Going way back to my professioanl foosball days I DO have a persepctive on that….

You know I could not resist this one.  Lions.  Some of you may think because I am from the midwest that I MAY right about the Detroit Lions, very much the BAD NFL team, and a study in futility.  WRONG.

It’s the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.  Surprised?  I am a Christian, not just a suggestion or a once-in-a-while act I put on.  I heard the word at the age of 38 or 39 I believe after some varied exposure and after preparing by being involved in very selfish, destructive, and somtimes major sin for years.

I believed the Word, again, after much messing up in my life, I guess God said, this one’s ready to do some work for me.  Having owned a Bible for years but developing a layer of dust on it as I packed it up and moved it from place to place, never to open it.  I really went after it, and studied the Bible with some of my peers who knew what it meant and lived what it said.

I repented, having done things wrong for so long, I had to make a strong effort to reverse course and move away from the behaviors, thoughts and atitudes that had me in the dark.  I was serious and welcomed the assistance of the others who now were geting to know me.  They started to hold me accountable.

I understood what I studied, asked questions and certainly answered a lot of them as I made my way through studies.  I drove an hour each Sunday and worshipped with other believers.  I noticed the diversity of the fellowship, the joy and the zeal to hear the Word and implement it in the disciples’ lives.

On that important night, and following some extra soul-searching and thought and prayer, I confessed “Jesus is Lord!” as I acknowledged that He lived, died and was crucified, and then resurrected on the third day for the forgiveness of all of our sins. 

And then I got baptised, fully immersed, and shot up out of the water.  My sins were washed away, forgiven and I was added to God’s Kingdom!  I received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Wow. 

I understand that some of you (is anyone left?) may not believe that all of these steps are necessary.  Heck, just say a prayer, or ‘have something emotional happen.’  My Bible says to do what I did and that’s what they did in the first century after the Day of Pentecost, when Jesus’ disciples were still alive. 

So, that’s what I did and if you want to take your chances by following a teaching that came about in the 18th Century in England or here in the US…let me know how that works for you.

PS To any who are curious or serious about studying the Bible let me know and I can perhaps arrange for that to happen.

Rick Emmerich

He’s brilliant, and I resent the non-stop attacks he is getting.

I hate that he seems to be willing to take away freedoms and I have never been able to accept Pro Choice since coming out of the waters of baptism.

Health Care needs fixing and Corporate Greed permeates EVERY area of government and politics.  No one may have the strength to change that.  60 Minutes tonite talked about the Medicaid (or what it Medicare) inability to stop massive fraud. 

McCain seems somewhat gracious as the loser but I can’t imagine him as president.  Palin is a nut and I really would be fearful with her having massive influence in the government.  She seems fully suited…to be a Reality Show actress, but may feel that is below her now.  Pity, she obviously needs the money.

There’s no one else to discuss.  Saying that he is/was the lesser of two evils is too strong, but he’s not the huge favorite with me or the rest of the country anymore.

I think it’s imperative that we, as hard-working citizens in control of our own destiny, take charge of our lives and build our businesses and happily pay our taxes.

I guess that’s it for now, gotta get back to work,   rick

God will hold everyone accountable and that includes you, me and Obama. 
 

Just wondering what your thoughts are now that they have been in office for awhile and you can now see first hand the “change” that has been implemented in the country.  Would you vote for him again if you had the choice to do it over?  Just curious – I am not being factious.

This letter is racist and wrong.  Most of Obama’s education came from the prestigious private school called Punahou here in Honolulu.  The emphasis on the color of his mothers’ skin and father’s skin is a sick attempt to inflame racial hatred.

Obama is from the USA and has worshipped for 20 years at a Church of Christ.

When you say he’ll come from the East, do you mean Hawaii, or Chicago, or Kansas?  Which one of those is the East you are referring to?

Oh wait, he spent 2 years in a Catholic school.  He must secretly be a Catholic, right?  One could twist it that way, as well.

I am a Christian and what I see here is hogwash.  My NIV Bible does not say anything that can be interpreted in THIS way.

By the way, we are NOT at war with the Muslim Nation.  If we ever get to THAT we will lose.  The terrorists are a small group of radical Muslims amidst a very large number that are not.

I feel sorry for those that are easily misled, like sheep that simply and mindlessly forward this without questioning.  Those that are of more noble character, like the Bereans examine the Scriptures daily and make sure what they are told is true.

I will pray for those that are so easily misled.  It is sad that some are so paranoid.

I am a Christian who is for Barack even though I do not believe in everything he stands for.  He is NOT the one who has anger management issues and wants to drag out this terrible war and who stands for 4 or 8 more years of the same old same old.  He DOES stand for hope for millions of Americans who feel that their voices have not been heard.

I pray that you all will have the discernment to see through this hate-inspiring rhetoric.  I am not necessarily asking people to supoport Obama, just to have the decency to disregard this poorly disguised racial hatred.

Rick Emmerich 

It seemed so….authentic, as we met for the first time with our new evangelist and the mission team.  We were at the home of Joe and Mary Santos, who had the courage to start their own house church 21 months ago, fed up with the doctrinal changes and the attitudes of their previous church.  My wife (Dr. Malia Emmerich) and I had watched from a distance as we were forced to endure some very ‘non-christian’ behavior from that very same church, that we still attended.  Not that this post is about me, but after a long period of thought, prayer and seeking of advice we were also ready to make the break later that winter. Last night, we were one with the new arrivals from the CAICC (City of Angels Intl. Christian Church)… CAICC.org and our new evangelist, Kyle Bartholomew.  Joe had fielded a recent call attempting to slander Kyle, but Kyle’s life and his passion to work for God are an open book.  And we expect the persecution.  When others see a sold-out committed movement that actively preaches the Word and expects others to live by the Bible, they feel threatened. Our World Missions leader, Kip McKean preached a fiery and fact-filled message that dipped into little known Old Testament (OT) details.  During his history of the movement, tears were shed, and many Amens were heard.  His wife Elena’s soft voice would frequently say "Preach it Babe." As Kip highlighted, they have been persecuted mightily, but continue to do God’s work, which has shown phenomenal growth in the last 3 years.  One year ago a similar but larger missions team went to LA, with 42 members.  Through much sacrifice and then, of course lots of hard work, 101 baptisms and many resorations and move-ins have taken place in the LA area.   Again, see CAICC.org. Sadly for many were the details of how the old ICOC churches changed doctrine when things got tough and controversial, and how much those chuches (no longer united) have fallen in conviction and membership.  Many of us had been a part of those fellowships and we love so many friends that have been left behind. I have documented some of these details almost ad nauseum in other forums, but may chose to get into the previous church changes at a later date, if it’s deemed relevent.  Also, please view "Hope For The Islands" on this same site. The kick-off of this new version of the Honolulu International Christian Church was a loud, boisterous affair, with great song-leading and sharing late into the night. For those that desire a strict and thorough adherence to Biblical teachings, with the zeal and desire to seek and save the lost, join us in Honolulu at the Mauna Kea Chapel at 1330 Mauna Kea across from Zippys.  That’s Mauna Kea and Vineyard, at 10AM on Sunday morning. Can’t make it to the island, then go to http://CAICC.org to find a congregation near you.  Also, http://honicc.org and http://honicc.com for those of you who want to follow our growing fellowship.    Rick Emmerich

Hope For The Islands!

Guest Editorial: Kyle Bartholomew

Kyle and Joan Bartholomew with their son Brett

(On Sunday June 1, 2008, the Honolulu Mission Team will be sent out! On that historic day, it will be my honor to appoint Kyle as an Evangelist in the Kingdom of God. Kyle was born in Hilo, Hawaii on October 2, 1981 to Jay and Cindy Bartholomew. He has an older sister Robin and two younger brothers. Throughout his life, Kyle’s passion has been basketball. Following in his father’s steps, Kyle played at the University of Hawaii – Hilo. He was a three year starter, two time All-Conference selection and captain of the team in both his junior and senior years! It was in college that Kyle was baptized by Chris Teves on July 29, 2001. Before he graduated in 2003, he baptized his brothers, Evan and Levi. On August 14, 2004, he marrried an awesome disciple, Joan Udtohan. God blessed them with Brett on March 15, 2006. Later that year, Kyle became the full-time minister for the Hilo International Church of Christ. When the Bartholomews left to train in Los Angeles in 2007, Evan and his wife Kelly began to lead the Hilo Church. This past year in Los Angeles, Kyle has been abundantly fruitful at Cal State Fullerton. With their “Hawaiian warmth” both Kyle and Joan have endeared themselves to the entire Orange County Region as their leaders. Though Kyle has remained a Cleveland Cavalier fan resisting the Lakers’ resurgence, he has become a very close friend and dear son in the faith! I am so looking forward to being “partners in the gospel” with Kyle in the Islands and throughout the Pacific Rim.) KM

“My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.” Isaiah 51:5

In this prophecy of Isaiah, we learn that it is and has always been God’s heart to bring His righteousness, hope and salvation to the nations! God’s heart for the nations is reflected in many other passages such as Acts 1:8 – the command to take the gospel to the “ends of the earth”; Acts 2:39 – the promise that the gospel message would reach “all who are far off” (Gentiles); and perhaps most familiar, Matthew 28:19 – God’s command “to baptize… the nations”! Since I was born and raised in Hawaii, the most exciting aspect of Isaiah’s prophecy is that God’s arm will extend out even to “the Islands”!

Kyle and Joan on their wedding day!

When I was baptized as a disciple on July 29, 2001 through the efforts of the Hilo International Church of Christ (ICOC), I was blown away by the commitment, passion and love that I saw in each and every disciple. What inspired me most was the dream that each disciple shared to evangelize the Islands, the Pacific Rim and ultimately the world in their generation. In 2001, there were about 60 disciples in Hilo, 75 in Maui and around 1,000 in Oahu – every disciple believed this dream was possible, and so did I. 

Sadly, in November 2002 after the ICOC leadership’s decision to return to a more mainline Church of Christ theology, as well as the advent of the “Kriete letter” in early 2003, so many beloved aspects of “my church” began to change. Gone was a fellowship where every member was a practicing disciple of Jesus. Gone was the deep love for one another through discipling relationships. And gone was the dream to evangelize the Islands and the world.

By 2006, membership was declining at an alarming rate! Oahu dropped from 1,000 disciples to 200; Hilo went from almost 60 disciples to 38; and Maui was reduced from 75 disciples to 25. Oahu went from six full-time couples to two, and both Hilo and Maui went from a full-time couple leading each congregation to untrained volunteers, as vision and then contribution plummeted. Baptisms became extremely rare, restorations were almost non-existent and there had not been a single church planted from the Islands for over six long years. It was obvious to me that something needed to change!

Kyle and his brothers Levi and Evan!

In late 2006, I was asked by the “leadership group” of the Hilo ICOC to be the minister. They were indeed desperate as the Hilo Church had not had a baptism for over a year! Since I was untrained, I was convinced we needed additional help. Therefore, in considering which church to ask for help, I decided to attend the Portland World Missions Jubilee. I was so in awe of God so obviously working through the Portland Church, as the fastest growing church in the ICOC at that time, that I asked Kip and Elena to disciple Joan and me. Thankfully, they agreed.

One month later, the McKeans came to help us rebuild the Hilo Church’s foundation to be composed of only disciples (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). After an eventful weekend of Kip and Elena’s preaching, God left us with a “Gideon-like” twelve disciples, whose dream was to once again evangelize the world in our generation! The other 26 members, many of whom were lukewarm, started a new congregation with the help of evangelists from both the LA ICOC and the Oahu Church of Christ. Not having a baptism for over a year in Hilo, yet starting with twelve sold-out disciples, God blessed us with 20 baptisms that next year! Sadly, yet to the point, the congregation that was started in opposition to Kip’s and my vision of world evangelism through God’s plan of discipling, still has not seen a baptism to this day.

Kyle making two points for UH-Hilo!

Visiting that fateful weekend, during the calling out of the remnant, were Chris Teves and Joe and Mary Santos from Honolulu. Likewise, discouraged by witnessing only five baptisms a year on Oahu, they made the decision that weekend to start a new congregation of only sold-out disciples in Honolulu. Heart-breaking for me, after just one week, Chris Teves under overwhelming pressure from close relationships, decided to give the Oahu Church of Christ another try. Therefore, starting with only Joe and Mary, God has grown the group in Honolulu to 16 disciples!

Most impressive is that four former full-time ministers are now solid members of the remnant group: Joe and Mary Santos, Jody Tyrell (restored in January) and Chris Teves (who recently decided to rejoin us after a failed attempt to reform the existing Oahu Church of Christ).  Dr. Malia (Millard) Emmerich, who was on the original Oahu COC planting back in 1989 is a part of the Honolulu Intl. Christian Church as well.  Truly God is faithful to His promise to gather His remnant, when we repent and begin to seek Him with all our heart (Nehemiah 1:8-9).
After a long talk with Joe and Kip in the summer of 2007, Joan and I decided to move to Los Angeles to receive the training needed to lead the Honolulu Church, which will become the pillar church for the evangelization of the Islands and the Pacific Rim. We borrowed $20,000 from a home equity loan to train full-time. We have been fortunate over the last several months to lead both the Cal State Fullerton Campus Ministry and then recently, the Orange County Region. We will be forever grateful for Kip and Elena, the Comisfords, the Hardings, the Kirchners, the Underhills, the Hernandezs, Vic and Aurora Gonzalez, and many other brothers and sisters who have helped us learn how to be more effective disciples and church builders.

Jody and U’i Tyrell with their three daughters,
Makana, Sera and Gabby!

On Sunday June 1, the Honolulu Mission Team will be sent off by the Holy Spirit from the City of Angels Church to join the remnant group in Honolulu! The Honolulu Mission Team includes four incredible young men in Albert Wagers, Lorenzo Prueitt, Josh Aguirre, David Rysdet and three awesome young women in Joy Axelson of Maui, Naveh Pilate of Honolulu, and “CL” Salamanca, and of course, Joan and me. The Inaugural Service of the Honolulu International Christian Church will be held the following Sunday June 8, 2008 at 10 am at Maunakea Chapel, 1330 Maunakea Street! It is at the corner of Maunakea and Vineyard across from Zippy’s.  We would like to invite all of you who still believe in the dream to evangelize the Islands of Hawaii to join us!

This is not a matter of salvation if you are a faithful disciple, but joining us will allow us all “to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19) through multiplying disciples as a movement of God. Our prayer is that through our efforts God will be glorified by His righteousness, hope and salvation returning to the lost Islands of Hawaii! If you are interested in joining in our efforts please give me a call @ 808-217-3904 or Joan @ 808-271-5577. Aloha!

Kyle Bartholomew
www.honoluluicc.org
kyle@honoluluicc.org

Rick Emmerich’s note.  One can certainly contact me as well for info, and questions about the church.  808 371-6501.  Obviously we’d like to invite you to the service this Sunday the 1st too.

Here we are in a small, but beautiful office space for the Innaugural meeting of the San Diego International Christian Church.  It is cramped, hot and we wouldn’t have it any other way.  The room is full with the spillover into the hallway.  We have outgrown the space in the first week!

 I am so blessed to be here to hear God’s Word preached.  Waiting in  the wings is Kyle Bartholomew, who will soon be heading up to share the first message.  This is the San Diego house church and some of the remnant from San Diego are participating.  Visitors from Tijuana, Hawaii, (me), Calgary, Canada, and of course, LA have raised the enthusiasm to one that can be felt by all.

Kyle is the soon to be lead evangelist in Hawaii.  He started with Rev. 1:9  John speaking…sending the scroll to the seven churches.  Kyle relates the actual history of John from the Isle of Patmos.  After the evil emperor Domitian tried to kill John, he finally gave up and John wrote Revelations.  Continuing from verse 12.  His face like the sun…..

Continuing from verse 17….

There are about 50 of us, psyched for the message that our fired up brother is sharing.  For an ‘unschooled ordinary man’ Kyle has perfected his ‘relatablity’ with the averae person.

Pt. 1  Suffering Paves the Way:  Rev 2:1  and following              You have forsaken your first love (something no one wants to hear about ‘their’ church,   from the mouth of Jesus).  At first commended for their work and faith, they were now enduring hardships.  The story that Kyle related was amusing, and convicting.  Suffering and hardships await us on our walk with Christ.

1 Peter 4:12  Dear friends, do not be surprised,     rejoice…….   rest on you.  We are following a crucified messiah.  Many of us lose faith when the recession hits and it takes a shot at our pocketbook.  Kyle had gotten bitter at God, and Joan told hm to pray,      and then pray again.  Life is not an easy stroll down the garden path as a disciple.

Do we understnd God’s plan of suffering?  We are wiser when we come out of sin.

Deut. 8:2                               Israelites (God’s People)   Remember….

Kyle knows now that he has not trusted God totally financially recently.  God tests us to find out what is in our heart.  When He sees it we see it too.  Do we obey his commandments?  Suffering paves the way.

Rev 2:4       (false prophets)  the church chased them off, which they were commended for.     Jesus looked at that church with blazing eyes……”Yet if hold this against you….first”

They feel in love with something (else) that replaced God.  What is it?  Pornography, Pleasure, Careers.  Whatever, it takes us away from our God.  Kyle sinned and fell out of his first love. 

“Remember the heighth from which you have fallen.”  Kyle had one sin, but did not repent and cure his heart.  He then got into internet gambling.  When asked to do a study in the midst of all that, he was totally convicted.  He and his brother had to face the fact that they needed to give their lives back to God.  Funny how the Discipleship Study can convict the one leading it.  (And the one taking notes.)(And the one blogging.)

How are our spiritual decisions working for us?

“Repent and do the things you used to do.”  Kyle reminds us of a person with a severe injury relearning his motor skills, as he redid the things he had done at first from QTs to sharing faith to tithing.

“I thought you were committed to Jesus.”  That hurt.

No more excuses, back to where he had started,  What about us?

We can make the same decision.

Acts 3:19.  Repentence (is a good thing)  Our sins are wiped out and times of refreshing come.  God says he erases them!  He forgives, forgets and we are free.  Repentence renews us day by day.

Pt 3 __________________”If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand…..A church in a state of unrepentance will have its lampstand removed.  Verse 7…..

“Lukewarm”  Kyle’s 28 of 40 followers left from the Hilo Church. It is on the person…..

A man can overcome or he IS overcome.

2 Peter 2:20  “If they have escaped……..than to have known it and..dog returns to its vomit……..

Make a decision and turn and run from sin, or we’ll get entangled in it again.

Genesis  Adam and Eve:  Two trees.  Their days were numbered when they ate from the wrong tree.

We will die.  That day we will be judged, and it will lead to our final destination.

Rdev 22:1  “The angel showed me……down the middle………healing of the nations.  No longer will there be…and they will reign for ever and ever.”  What an image.  Now we can approach God.  Once that privalege was taken from us.  WE can again, but we have to overcome.

If we have to have trials and give up what we do on Earth, and      Many have not chosen the path of righteosness, but have taken the wider road to hell.  Many will trade their 80 years of live for an eternity with God.

Earth is like the shower cold water, short time, as the hot water comes through like the joy of Heaven.  Choose God or Satan, Heaven or Hell.  See you next week, San Diego.

Now, what has changed, and why am I grateful?

I was grateful that I came out of the procedure without too much damage, heck I was breathing.
I’m grateful that so many of my bros and sisters in Christ saw fit to visit me. My mom, and two of my sisters made the drive up from Chicago (to Milwaukee).

I took another look at my life, and eliminated most if not all of the stress. Eventually people stepped up big time to help reassemble my poor condo.

Less than one year after the visit to the hospital I married the most wonderful perfect woman for me. And she is a Holistic Chiropractor. I live in Hawaii. God has been very very good to me.

The changes I made right after I got back home from the hospital included adding fruits and vegetables and cutting out the red meat for the most part.

Then Dr. Malia and I met in person. The moment I saw her at LAX, I said “She’s the one for me!” She said to herself “He’s OK.”

She gave much more advice about nutrition and gave me adjustments. She also introduced me to NET,(Neural Emotional Technique.) I felt more love and encouragement the more we got to know each other. We are a great match.

I work at home (do you call this work?) so most of the frustrations from a job are gone.

The beauty, the skies, the beaches the air so wonderful, the trade winds, the temperature here in Hawaii obviously blows away the gray, too cold or too hot, rush hour traffic life in Milwaukee. I know there are good things there too, of course.

I want to share my life, my knowledge of health, my wife’s knowledge and advice. I want to help those I can. I know the Bible a little and find that that is a major help in my life. I am willing to share that too. (I don’t think God let me live to just kick back and watch ESPN.)

Sharing YOUR story will be refreshing and will help others. You definitely CAN become a part of a published book, Thank God I had a heart attack. (If that is your passion.)

We will get some audios, some videos and some pictures of other survivors. The top pic is me and my lovely bride, Dr. Malia walking down the aisle. I guess you will see others.

I have lost 20 pounds with the help of some herbal tea, and I can share that with all of you. The Holy Tea can be found on my blog.

I use a health formula, a liquid nutritional, called Zrii and that has really impacted my health.
Go to http://www.rickemmerich.myzrii.com for details.

I’m starting Yoga and can’t wait to get back into a workout routine. It’s been a while.

We have some new technology that will really impact people and their sleep and energy.  Go to http://www.squidoo.com/wishforlove

Please write your heart attack survivor story and share pics at http://www.squidoo.com/ThankGodIhadaheartattack.

Malia and I believe that God kept me around for a reason, and my relationship with Him is so important.  If that is a need or desire of yours as well, we’d love to share more how He has impacted our lives.

Those more interested in Chiropractic and Dr. Malia (not TOO interested guys) can go to  http://honoluluchiropracor.net to find out more

I love you all, my wife Dr.Malia and I are very grateful for our lives… hope you all are as well.

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My wife and I were planning our trip to the Big Island and we went over the options.  We could just be lazy, and really enjoy the many pools, and places to discover on the grounds of our resort.

We could go over and take a look at an active volcano,    ah  no thanks, I’ll pass.

We could go on a snorkel cruise and even maybe see some whales at the very tail end of the season.

I could take enough work to keep me busy the whole time and just ‘put in my time with my wife.’

How about a flight in a little airplane over the active volcano……I don’t really think so.

I heard about a place called Dragonfly Ranch.  Now that’s a name.  The head dragonfly lady is not going be there, but her assistant will be.  His name is Phoenix.  Of course it is!  I wonder if he is the dragongfly herder,   or trainer.

What about the lesbians?  (I am NOT a really big fan of lesbians, but then again, I don’t give them much thought.)  I guess they own a little place that makes some pretty awesome natural smoothies.  I hear that they tag-team hypnotize you, and convince you that their awesome drink can actually cure everything from migraines to male-pattern baldness.  I don’t have either, but they don’t really scare me, now that I think about the whole idea.

I want to see my buddy, but it’s a long way from our resort…..Really I intend  to relax and unwind, and study my Bible with my wife, a little spiritual retreat.  And I am going to do exactly that,        after that smoothie.

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