On My Mind...
June? Is that possible? But it was Christmas just last week! No, it really is June and that means our team leaves for Nicaragua in just one week. They will depart early on Tuesday morning, June 9 and return late on Tuesday night, June 16. We’ve put together another prayer guide with more specifics, be watching your email for it. If you don’t get one, call Megan in the church office and she will send you one. We will also have copies available on Sunday.
It’s also time for Vacation Bible School. Our workers met briefly after service on Sunday. Be praying for final preparations, for our teachers as they prepare, the kitchen crew as they gear up, and of course, for the kids who will be attending.
I also need to clear up the confusion over our First Sunday Lunch. We had gone to an “every other month” schedule but Easter threw us off. We just had it on the first Sunday in May, but we are going to go ahead and have it this month too! So, yes, we are having a meal Sunday. Bring some food for your family and some to share. We will also celebrate the Lord’s Table in our morning service along with having a commissioning of our mission team, so you don’t want to miss this Sunday.
I would also ask that you be praying for our Convention. Our annual meeting is coming up next week. You may have already heard some of the talk leading up to this year’s gathering. Our current president is completing his second year of service which means a new president will be elected at this meeting. While the convention president is largely a figure head, there are important responsibilities that come with the job. For better or worse, he will be the “face” of our convention. While he has no authority to speak on behalf of the convention, his voice becomes our voice. This has been both good and bad in times past. Pray this time it is for our good. Also, there is already an issue stirring the political waters in our convention. I do not have the time or interest to address it in this article (if you have questions, I’ll be happy to discuss it with you). I bring it up to ask you to pray for unity, wisdom and calm at our convention. We are a voluntary convention of churches numbering 40,000 with somewhere around 12,000,000 members. You can’t get 3 Baptists to agree on much of anything let alone 12,000,000! Our convention is made up of churches and members who are in agreement on most everything. Some are more and others are less conservative. There are few, if any, liberals in our ranks. I’m 66 years old. I’ve been hearing, since I was about 20, “This is the most critical convention in the history of our blessed denomination. The vote on this issue will either make or break us as a convention.” Such cries come from those on the far right and the more left-leaning (again, no true liberals). The vast majority are solidly in the middle, understanding the need for cooperation for the sake of the gospel. Pray that cooler heads prevail. If the “issue du jour” passes it will not “save” the convention. If it fails, the convention will not be lost. While it does matter what happens at the convention, no vote at a meeting of the convention alters anything we are or anything we do, we are autonomous. So, relax. I’m praying, as I have been for a number of years, “Please Lord, don’t let us make fools of ourselves this year at the convention.” Sometimes my prayer has been answered, sometimes not. I hope to have the Lord’s smile this year.
Have a blessed week and I’ll see you Sunday.
Rod
It’s also time for Vacation Bible School. Our workers met briefly after service on Sunday. Be praying for final preparations, for our teachers as they prepare, the kitchen crew as they gear up, and of course, for the kids who will be attending.
I also need to clear up the confusion over our First Sunday Lunch. We had gone to an “every other month” schedule but Easter threw us off. We just had it on the first Sunday in May, but we are going to go ahead and have it this month too! So, yes, we are having a meal Sunday. Bring some food for your family and some to share. We will also celebrate the Lord’s Table in our morning service along with having a commissioning of our mission team, so you don’t want to miss this Sunday.
I would also ask that you be praying for our Convention. Our annual meeting is coming up next week. You may have already heard some of the talk leading up to this year’s gathering. Our current president is completing his second year of service which means a new president will be elected at this meeting. While the convention president is largely a figure head, there are important responsibilities that come with the job. For better or worse, he will be the “face” of our convention. While he has no authority to speak on behalf of the convention, his voice becomes our voice. This has been both good and bad in times past. Pray this time it is for our good. Also, there is already an issue stirring the political waters in our convention. I do not have the time or interest to address it in this article (if you have questions, I’ll be happy to discuss it with you). I bring it up to ask you to pray for unity, wisdom and calm at our convention. We are a voluntary convention of churches numbering 40,000 with somewhere around 12,000,000 members. You can’t get 3 Baptists to agree on much of anything let alone 12,000,000! Our convention is made up of churches and members who are in agreement on most everything. Some are more and others are less conservative. There are few, if any, liberals in our ranks. I’m 66 years old. I’ve been hearing, since I was about 20, “This is the most critical convention in the history of our blessed denomination. The vote on this issue will either make or break us as a convention.” Such cries come from those on the far right and the more left-leaning (again, no true liberals). The vast majority are solidly in the middle, understanding the need for cooperation for the sake of the gospel. Pray that cooler heads prevail. If the “issue du jour” passes it will not “save” the convention. If it fails, the convention will not be lost. While it does matter what happens at the convention, no vote at a meeting of the convention alters anything we are or anything we do, we are autonomous. So, relax. I’m praying, as I have been for a number of years, “Please Lord, don’t let us make fools of ourselves this year at the convention.” Sometimes my prayer has been answered, sometimes not. I hope to have the Lord’s smile this year.
Have a blessed week and I’ll see you Sunday.
Rod