Book Recommendation

I came across a good book recently that I'm recommending to our church, and thought you might be interested. It is, "Christian Atheist - Believing in God, but living as though He doesn't exist," by Craig Groeshel. Don't read it if desire to continue living a mediocre Christian life.

Taking It (VBS) to the Streets!

I have some great memories from Vacation Bible School (VBS) as a kid. Arts, crafts, games, Bible lessons, and yes... the snacks. Someone recently said that he remembered making an ash tray in VBS... must have been a deacon's child. :-) Sadly for some, the role of VBS has diminished into an inexpensive summer childcare program with parents strategically dropping off their children at a different VBS each week. This year at Emmanuel, we decided to try something different.

Kudos to Pastor David and all of our volunteers for taking VBS off campus and into the local community! This has made a tremendous impact and even the skeptics within our church have confessed their change of heart. It's not easy carrying supplies, food, sound systems, etc. back and forth daily; but TODAY, our VBS team ministered to over 80 children in our community and saw 26 of those children come to Christ! Now that's exciting!

What Happened to Common Sense in America?

Why are those patriotic Americans who are outraged by recent anti-American displays being labeled as intolerant, racists, hatemongers, etc.? Could it be that plain old common sense is not as common as it used to be in America? Consider the examples that follow:

• On July 4, 2010, the day America celebrated her Independence, Mexican flags were flown and prayers offered up in Spanish in the city of Hyrum, Utah. While there is nothing wrong with the Mexican flag or the Spanish language, there is something terribly wrong and offensive about the timing of such displays during an Independence Day parade. That showed a terrible lack of common sense.
  
• At Ground Zero in New York City, a mosque is being proposed. Those speaking out with patriotic concerns, and/or with respect for the 9/11 victims and their families are being branded as predjudice, intolerant and racists. Such comments reveal poor judgment, a lack of sensitivity, too much effort to be politically correct, and a terrible lack of common sense.


• Muslim Day has been hosted annually at Six Flags since 2000. This year, the celebration will be held on September 12 -- the 9/11 weekend! According to a report on Fox News, the group setting up the event (ICNA - Islamic Circle of North America) is suspected of contributing financially to the 9/11 attacks, has anti-American sentiment posted on their website, and is known to have contributed financially to Hamas. So, why are those opposing Muslim Day at Six Flags being labeled intolerant? It sounds like their concerns are simply a display of common sense.


• Giving illegal aliens the same benefits as tax paying citizens is ludicrous. This kind of stupidity enrages hardworking Americans. Let's help them file the paperwork to become legal, then let them work for the American dream. Giving free benefits to illegals makes as much sense as paying unemployed people almost as much to stay home, as they would make working for two years. Simple common sense will tell you that unemployment is going to rise under those conditions.

Common sense reminds me that I had no part in selecting my place of birth, but I am proud and blessed to be an American. I thank God for the freedoms that I enjoy and for those who fought for them. While America is hated by some, common sense reminds us that we are a nation that others will risk everything to be part of. Many Haitians and Cubans risked everything, on small boats and homemade rafts just for a chance to live in America. Mexicans cross our borders daily for the chance at a better life. Jamaicans, Guatemalans, Puerto Ricans, and so many others "choose" to live in the USA. In fact, common sense reminds me that my ancestors, like most of your ancestors, "chose" to live here and can be traced back through the lines of Ellis Island.

I am proud to be an American and agree with Aaron Tippin ..."I pledge allegiance to this flag, and if that bothers you, well that's too bad." Common sense tells us that no one is forced to live in the USA and the door of freedom swings both ways.

Spiritual Decisions -- Cause for Celebration!

Spiritual Decisions never get old and we are excited that God's Spirit has been moving in our congregation over the past several weeks. Allow me to share some spiritual blessings...

• Three weeks ago, we had two children make decisions for salvation.
• Two weeks ago, a family of four was baptized and joined our church family.
• Last week, we had two adults saved.
• This week, my wife got to lead a young lady to Christ. That young lady and another young girl are scheduled to be baptized next Sunday.
• During the month of July, our folks have had a renewed interest in sharing their faith and have handed out nearly 5,000 Gospel tracts. They are taking the first step in making disciples (sharing) seriously!
• Our church family also developed a prayer list by writing down the names of those they want to see saved, come back to Christ, or come back to church.

In addition, God has been bringing many new families into our services. One visiting mother asked one of our deacons, "Are the people of your church real, and will they really accept me?" Another young lady said, "I've wanted to be saved for a long time, but I just couldn't get everything right in my life." There are so many hurting people looking for The Answer -- Jesus Christ! God is still doing amazing things when we talk more about Jesus and less about us!

Smokey Mountain Vacation

What a week we had! Our oldest daughter was in NC on vacation with her college roommate, our middle daughter was in Belize, Central America on a missions trip, and we enjoyed some time in the mountains with our youngest daughter. Just a few weeks ago, she reminded me that I never took her on her 9 year old trip -- she is now 13. That was something we did with our other girls to celebrate their reaching the 1/2 way point of their life under our roof. (It's also a good reminder to us of how fast the time flies and to make the most of it.)

After much deliberation, she chose a trip to Tennessee as recommended by some friends of ours. In just four days, we spent time in Pigeon Forge, then Gatlinburg. We enjoyed the roller coasters at Dollywood, took a zip line tour 175' in the air, went horseback riding through the mountains, rode inner tubes down a river with mild rapids, rode a chair lift, went alpine sledding, played mini-golf, and even rode a water slide. It was GREAT! Our thirteen year old had to make all the decisions (well most of them) since it was her special trip. Hated to come home, but the fun and money had to run out at some point. My special thanks to David and Steve for preaching Sunday so I could just focus on having fun with the family.

If you are still developing traditions with your children, I'd recommend some sort of special celebrations or trips as your kids reach certain ages and/or landmarks along their journey to adulthood.

Sunday Summary 7.11.10

Yesterday was a GREAT day at Emmanuel. Our crowd was back up as many had returned from vacation, we had many guests in our services, and we had a great response at the invitation!

For months, we've been discussing the purpose of the Church, the purpose of our local congregation, the strategy to accomplish that purpose, goals, mission, and other elements that corporate America realize are essential; but the church considers optional. Too many churches meet weekly, but really have no way (other than numbers) to guage their success and effectiveness within their local community. We want to measure our success by our effectiveness in making disciples (Mt. 28:19).

So, during our morning services, I've been preaching an "educational" series on the process for making disciples. During June, I preached on the first step in the process -- Sharing. If we don't share our faith, how will others hear of God's love and begin a relationship with Him? The problem is that too many hear, receive, then park on the Share level.

In July, our sermon series has focused on the 2nd step in the disciple making process -- Connecting. We need to connect people to Jesus, to the church, to other believers, to small groups, to ministries, etc. Today, I focused on "why" we need to help people get connected. It was God Who said, "It is not good for man to be alone..." So, why do so many believers function with an independent mindset, instead of an interdependent mindset? If we truly realized how much we need each other, churches would naturally grow. We concluded our service with people going to others and telling them how much they need them, and taking time to pray for each other. I literally had to wait to close the service, because people were embracing and praying all around the room.

Last night, our guest preacher was Paul Coward, Jr.; a man who grew up at EBC & ECS and is now teaching in Christian school in VA. Paul used the failures of King Saul and the challenge of Paul to encourage us to "get it" as we obey and submit our lives to God... which is our reasonable act of worship!

Fireworks Festival 2010

The 7th annual Hartsville Family Fireworks Festival was held on Friday, July 2. It is a partnership between EBC and the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce. This year was amazing. The preparation for the event usually takes one partial week and one full week. Our staff and church volunteers usually carry the load; but this year, we had help from 160 teens and adults from Maryland who stayed in our gym as they were building houses for Habitat for Humanity. With their help, we were able to do far more than we ever could have done alone and our campus looks as good as it ever has.

This year, we added a full carnival to the Fireworks Festival. In addition, we had a car show sponsored by Koss Motorsports, inflatables section sponsored by Pleasant Valley Stables, stage provided by the City of Hartsville, entertainment provided by Lesa Hudson and Band, and Carolina Pines provided a tent for shade, and approximately 40 food/craft vendors were on hand. We once again had our eating contests and our Senator, Gerald Malloy, was our Master of Ceremonies! Senator Malloy has been out here every year since we started and has been instrumental in helping us with funding in years past.

This event would not have been possible without the major sponsors: Fitness World, LifeCare Hospice, Raceway Automotive Group, and Sonoco. Others businesses also contributed to help underwrite the event. Hilex Poly, Edward Jones (Joe Thomas), and Jackson Family Chiropractic provided carnival tickets for children from New Vision and the Billie Hardee Home for Boys.

This was definitely the largest crowd we have ever had and cars were parked for more than a mile down each of the major roadways approaching our campus! In fact, one parking area that usually closes at 9:00pm, was full at 7:45pm this year!

This event has now become one of the largest fireworks display in the Pee Dee and is a great example of what can be accomplished when groups across a community work together!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAD A PART IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN!

AWOL During Busy Few Weeks

The past several weeks have been extra busy, so I apologize for not keeping up with my blog. It was surprising how many people commented... I didn't realize that many were reading.

Over the past several weeks, I made three brief trips to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to see my 95 year old grandmother. I flew down, then drove down twice with the family. The trips were brief, but it allowed us the opportunity to spend some time with her prior to her passing. We returned yesterday from her funeral services. She was amazing and I'll tell you more about her in another post.

In addition, we were busy preparing for the 7th annual Hartsville Family Fireworks Festival that is held on our campus, I covered extra Hospice visits in the absence of the full-time chaplain, been busy interviewing music candidates, plus carrying out the regular duties of a pastor. Contrary to popular opinion... pastors do work more than one day per week.

So accept my apologies for not posting and I'll try to get back on track.