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LTA Board of Director's Meeting
June 7, 2010
Dear Saints,
God bless you in the name of our living Lord Jesus Christ.
This past Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I travelled to Nashville, TN for our annual Board of Director's meeting with Living Tree Academy. There, the board met to further advance the mission and vision of LTA; and specifically to set the direction we will be taking in the year ahead.
As you may know, Nashville recently suffered devastating flooding. While the people of Nashville rolled up their sleeves and worked together to recover from the effects of the record breaking flash floods that ravaged the city; months of carefully laid plans for the meeting had been washed away. Reservations for all the meetings and accommodations were originally made at the Gaylord Orpyland Resort and Conference Center. That location sustained significant damage from the unprecedented floods, causing the LTA event planning committee to scramble to make all new arrangements for the main event, as well as other scheduled activities. With the help of our Almighty God, our hosts amazingly managed to reorganize the entire event in a matter of days in comparably perfect locales. The new site where we stayed and conducted most of our meetings was the historic Union Station Hotel, located in the heart of Music City, USA. Originally built as a railroad station in the same era and manner of such palatial like terminals as New York City's Grand Central Station, it was beautifully restored as a hotel in 1986. You may enjoy taking a virtual tour of the hotel at their website: http://www.unionstationhotelnashville.com/
Members of the board and invited guests arrived Saturday morning from the states of Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Meetings began Saturday afternoon and continued through the weekend, finishing up late Monday morning.
The theme for the weekend was “Walk Worthy,” and that theme remained the focus of not only the teachings, but the discussions during the meetings. As the called of God in this marvelous administration of the mystery, we have a tremendous responsibility to walk worthy by living the truth and giving it to others. Living Tree Academy seeks to accomplish that through our mission of training young people how to walk with God by teaching all things pertaining to life and godliness.
With the recent induction of three new board members in February 2010, a significant part of the meetings needed to be spent discussing the mission and vision of LTA, as well as our current strategic objectives. Other topics of discussion included specific board assignments, the location for LTA in Belize, an annual LTA event, and financial stewardship.
Throughout the weekend, various members of the Board of Directors presented teachings on aspects of the “Walk Worthy” theme. That included an open meeting on Sunday morning, where Rev. Brian bliss taught. Additional presentations were done on the key topics of academic curriculum, grants, Biblical curriculum; and in honor of Memorial Day.
Personally, I felt that the weekend was tremendously successful. When it’s right, a time like this transcends the bullet points of an agenda. The intangible accomplishments forged through the believing, inspiration, and love evident throughout the 48 hours we spent together will provide the true impetus for the work we have set our hands to do.
The mission and vision of Living Tree Academy is a decidedly and purposely an ambitious one. Some may find it too much so. But then so also is the one found in Mark 16:15.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Beyond the planning, beyond the presentations, beyond the discussions; the most important building takes place through all the times of fellowship spent praying together, reading God’s Word together, working together, eating together, singing together, playing together, laughing and crying together.
“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:16
These are exciting times that we live in, as we labor together to live and move God's Word. You are God's best.
In His love and grace,
Pat Malone
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