Debt Ceiling Debate is Political Maneuvering

As Washington continues to bicker over the Debt Ceiling, I grow increasingly tired of seeing the American people used as political pawns. The rhetoric used by the President and Speaker Boehner during their televised comments just fueled the fire last night. This whole debate is ALL ABOUT POLITICS! Have we forgotten that John Boehner and Harry Reid had already agreed to a 6 month plan, but President Obama would not accept it. He didn't want this topic to come up during the 2012 election year. Obama KNOWS what is best for the country, as evidenced by his 2006 vote AGAINST RAISING THE DEBT CEILING when he was a US Senator. In fact, the Democrats in the Senate voted unanimously AGAINST it. The President has proven his ability to flip-flop on the issues, but he still offers no real leadership and has offered no plan of his own to date. He offers no original thoughts and simply criticizes anything that doesn't carry through the reelection year --- What does that tell you? It tells me that he is more concerned about keeping his office, than doing what's best for the country.

To add more fuel to the fire, it was reported this morning that General Electric (GE), the 4th largest company in the US is moving its headquarters to China. What an irony that the CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt, is the Chairman of President Obama's "Council for Jobs and Competitiveness." It is also ironic that GE has avoided paying taxes? So, by "balanced approach," the President really means we "MUST" increase taxes on the wealthy, so he can continue granting tax break favors to his friends (like Immelt) and corporations such as GE. More political games and no wonder no one believes what he says!

These debt ceiling discussions (in my opinion) are nothing but political maneuvering, without any real consideration of what is best for our country. Our credit rating is at risk, the economic recovery is at risk, and the reelection of those in Washington should be at risk! It's time to make some serious changes in Washington. My suggestion is term limits for all politicians, so they get back to representing the people, rather than protecting their reelection to office.

Peacemaker Series

Yesterday was another amazing day at Emmanuel Baptist Church. I'm continuing the sermon series entitled the "Peacemaker" and based on the biblical concepts taught in Ken Sande's book by the same title. This series is one that I would encourage EVERY pastor to teach to their congregation, and one that is essential based on all of the strife we see in today's churches.

This series is being developed for the purpose of teaching our people how to resolve conflict based on biblical principles. We see so much relationship trouble in the church, on the job, and even at home. We see people leaving churches, employees quitting jobs, and divorces even among professing Christians. What if "we" the "Church" would take the lead in teaching people how to handle conflict?

This series has been difficult and has broached subject such as "Judging," "Finding real peace," "How to hand criticism," "Forgiveness," "Confession," "Church discipline," and various other such topics. It is challenging our people to be Christ-like, rather than self-serving. It is encouraging them to please God, rather than defend self.

The best part of each Sunday is to watch people walk across aisles and embrace each other, to watch them come weeping and kneeling humbly at the altar, to watch people staying around 30 minutes after the service to talk with each other. I've received notes, e-mails, and heard personal testimonies of relationships that have been restored! Praise God for what He is doing at Emmanuel.

Ken Sande, thanks for listening to God and writing this series. Steve G., thank you for introducing me to it. God, thank you for using it in the Emmanuel church family!

VBS "On-the-Go"

Vacation Bible School brings back many wonderful memories of games, crafts, fun, and especially the snacks! Funny to me how VBSseems to have changed through the years, as churches began using standardized curriculum and parents began using VBS as free childcare by putting their kids in a different VBS each week. Have we somehow lost the true meaning of VBS? Has it in effect become simply a CBS, or "Children's Babysitting Service?"

I am so proud of our Children's Pastor, who last year had a vision to take VBS to the children who might never get to go. Rather than inviting parents to bring their children to one more church, we took VBS to the children whose parents may be working, others whose parents would not bring them, and some whose parents could not bring them. We took VBS into various apartment complexes, and even the local Boys & Girls Club. We saw over 30 children accept Christ!

This concept of VBS was not only good for the children, but also GREAT for our adult and teen workers, as well as, our church's children who also attended in this setting. It took our people out of their comfort zone, exposed them to things they were not familiar with, and allowed them to hear stories that broke their hearts and gave them a small glimpse into the lives of these children.

Within the church, we too often use attendance numbers as our measure of success; but with this style VBS success was measured by souls saved, tears shed, hugs distributed, and lives changed... mostly the lives of our church members. I extend a heartfelt 'THANK YOU" to everyone who made this possible through donations, teaching, serving, prayer, financial support, and more! Pastor David, THANK YOU for your vision to reach children beyond our walls! Managers and Directors, thank you for allowing us minister to the children in your community! God, please give us this opportunity again next year!

Sunday Summary 7.3.11

Last Sunday was a great day at Emmanuel. The crowd was down due to people traveling for the holiday weekend, but it was a great reminder that God's presence isn't dependent on big crowds. Interestingly, our Doctrines 101 class was one shy of our record attendance as we concluded our section on Angelology with a discussion of the existence of Satan and demons.

Great job by the new trio of Jill, Luke, and Tony. God blessed us with another incredibly talented musician in Paul. I noticed you moved to a new instrument this week. Perry, the Worship Center looked great! Thanks to everyone who filled in for those traveling. It was a seamless morning.

I continued preaching the "Peacemaker" sermon series and focused on Charitable Judgments. Those outside the church can quote the verse, "Judge not...;" while those in the church are very good at "judging." We encouraged people to examine the beam in their own eye, before worrying so much about the speck in someone else's eye. It was a message every believer ought to hear and would result in fewer church conflicts if believers would apply it. This sermon series is being taken from the book "The Peacemaker" by Ken Sande and I highly recommend reading it.

We closed out the morning service with 5 coming for membership (23 adults just completed our membership class). Even though it was a holiday weekend, we returned Sunday night with good crowds for our electives... probably due to the ice cream fellowship that followed. :-)

8th Annual Fireworks Festival

It never gets old. This was the 8th year that Emmanuel Baptist Church partnered with the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce to host the Family Fireworks Festival on our campus. The crowd annually exceeds the population of our city and the event includes: a full carnival, car show, food & craft vendors, a kiddie section, stage entertainment, gymnastics, dance teams, and of course... the largest fireworks display in Darlington County!

The event is not done for profit, but rather as a service for the community. The cost of the event was underwritten by the following major sponsors: City of Hartsville, LifeCare Hospice, NUCOR, Raceway Automotive, and Sonoco. Additional sponsors included Norton Funeral Home and SPC Credit Union.

To pull off an event this size requires nearly 100 volunteers and my thanks goes out to every one of you. We could not do it without you! We used the City of Hartsville's mobile stage, Senator Malloy served as the MC, the band "Nonymous" (and yes it's spelled correctly) provided the entertainment, Mcleod Farms sponsored the pie eating contest, Sonic sponsored the hotdog eating contest, Krispy Kreme provided the donuts, Carolina Printing donated the trophies, Koss Motor Sports organized the car show, Pleasant Valley Stables coordinated the Kids Zone, Coker College provided the golf carts, the Sheriff's Dept., SC State Troopers, and Hartsville Fire Dept provided the safety and traffic control, and I apologize if I left someone out. Thank you to everyone who had a part, especially the congregation of Emmanuel for your vision and desire to be a church that is involved in our community.

My thanks also to the Chamber of Commerce. This was its last year to partner with Emmanuel, but we appreciate the opportunity to work together. The event will go on and we've been approached by other entities desiring to partner. We will obviously need more sponsors, but we're certain that God will provide. In fact, we already had vendors register for next year, and we are looking at rearranging the layout to double our vendors and grow the event. Mark your calendars for the Friday, before July 4.

Thank you, again, to everyone who came out to celebrate Independence Day with us!