Nothing better than an update about a month late, right? That should show just how busy our fall/winter has been here in eastern KY. Here's a quick recap of September - November.
September marks a new Sunday School year for Baptist churches. We started one new Sunday School class, specifically for high schoolers. In addition, we were able to plug in 3 church members, previously not serving, in various positions of leadership. The nominating committee has now identified, I believe, only 7 faithful attenders who are not actively serving in a weekly capacity. Worshiping and serving together - it's important to church health!
In September, we were able to reestablish a church emergency food pantry. The church had one years ago, but it stopped and no one really could explain why. It's purpose is for emergency food - one or two meals at a time. We consistently have people contact us (James and I personally) because they don't have food for dinner or need a hygiene product. We're praying this pantry becomes a blessing to our community and a source of outreach with the gospel.
The first Sunday in October, we had a church dinner after church. These are always fun - sampling the tasty dishes everyone brings. Also, our church participated in the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes program. We were able to collect and send 40 boxes. Praying these boxes are blessings to the children who receive them. 143 children came through our annual Halloween Trunk or Treat. We were able to register those families and gave away two gift cards and a food basket. It was so COLD that night, but we had a good time together as a church family being kind to the families who braved the cold for candy. Ending the month, we were able to take our children/youth to the Crab Orchard Pumpkin Patch in Tazewell, VA. It was such a fun day of hayriding, pumpkin chunkin', playground playing, etc...
November began with Homecoming. It is the 124th anniversary of MBC. NAMB Missionary/ARM Director Bro. Bill Barker was our guest speaker. James and I have known Bro. Bill for about 10 years and are always blessed and encouraged when we spend time with him. His message encouraged our church to not only celebrate our church's past history but to look toward the future and continue to persevere in ministering in our community. Also in November, we took some of our teen girls to the WMU Acteen winter weekend in Ashland, KY. We stayed at Southland Bible Institute, which coincidentally used to be in Pikeville and their president is from Grapevine, only about 15 minutes from Mouthcard. It was a mini-Pike Co reunion up there. We enjoy Bible studies, hearing from missionaries, serving at a local community service center (The Neighborhood), playing games, and spending time with one another.
I'm sure I'm missing things we did. It's been a wild quarter with tons of busyness and ministry. December, so far, is proving to be just as busy. Looking forward to that Sabbath rest in heaven!
Praises
- Two baptisms: Adult B and tween C both professed faith in Jesus and were baptized this fall. C's family was the winner of one of our trunk or treat gift cards. So excited to see immediate fruit from that ministry.
- New baby! Married couple, C and L, gave birth to their second son, A this fall. So precious! Pray for this little one to come to know Jesus at an early age.
- Hudson has been asking a lot of salvation questions about following Jesus. I know he loves Jesus and believes in him. Knowing he's a sinner? Maybe? LOL It's exciting (and slightly frightening) to be having these type of serious conversations with a 5.5 year old. Prayers for wisdom and understanding appreciated.
Prayer Requests:
- New widows. We had three sweet ladies become widows this fall. All three having been married 40 years and more. Please be in prayer for these ladies as they face their first holidays without their sweet husbands. Pray for our church to be sensitive and intentional in ministering to them.
- New Sunday School Class. Be in prayer for the leaders: B and S as they teach well and reach out to prospective students.
- Discouragement. It's a nasty, persistent thorn in the flesh of those in ministry. Nasty stuff, it is. Please be in prayer for positive attitudes, refocusing on the calling of Jesus, and renewed love for our church and community.
- Health. James and I are both having some health issues. His is gastric in nature and mine is pain in my back. Neither are super serious, that we know of, but definitely annoying and inconvenient.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
What seminary did/did not teach me - Part 2
A few days ago, I blogged about the things that seminary did not teach me - things I wasn't prepared for in ministry. Now, I will elaborate on the things seminary did teach me and it's a lot.
While I felt fairly unprepared for a lot of practical areas of ministry, seminary definitely prepared me theologically.
1. Seminary taught me to know my doctrine and know it well. When I started seminary in the fall of 2004, I loved Jesus and that was about it. I came from a small, country, and somewhat dysfunctional church just outside of Nashville, TN. I learned to love Jesus and love his church there. However, I did not learn much else. I was fairly theologically illiterate when I started school. Ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology, hermeneutics, all the fancy words were Greek to me, including Greek and Hebrew. Not so today - I not only learned doctrine and theology but learned to love it, know it, be able to teach it, and defend it.
2. Seminary taught me to depend on the Holy Spirit. This is MUCH easier said than done. This will sound arrogant (and I don't mean it that way), but I am good at stuff. I am a good teacher - it's what I studied in college and what I did for 7 years of my life and many more years in the church. I am also good at organizing and planning stuff. However, I am 10,000,000 times better at those things when I depend on the Holy Spirit for strength, guidance, and wisdom. Dr. Lawless, in particular, was the professor who really stressed this to me. I may be able to do a good job at teaching and administrative type activities at church on my own and fool most people, but I can't fool Jesus. Depending on the Holy Spirit is key to taking being "good" at something to being able to glorify Jesus through it.
3. Seminary taught me to be intentional in sharing Jesus. Dr. Beougher's Personal Evangelism class not only taught this, but forced me to be it into practice. The best evangelistic advice I ever received was from this class when Dr. B said to "speak to all people as you do to fellow believers." Oftentimes when asked how we are, we would tell a fellow believer "Wow, God has really blessed me today" but to non-believers we respond with a "fine" or whatever. He emphasized that by speaking the same way to all people, you open the door for explaining what you said. I have seen this happen so often in my life - both the door opening to share some truth of Jesus and meeting people you didn't know were believers and being incredibly encouraged. When I was pregnant with Hudson and uninsured (thank you pre-existing condition) I remember being asked at my OB-GYN's office for my insurance card. Sighing, I answered that I was self-pay but added "we're trusting the Lord to provide." The sweet receptionist looked at me for a minute then began reciting the 6th chapter of Matthew where Jesus reminds us not to worry because he provides for the birds and flowers and will provide for us. It was super encouraging and just one example of how being intentional about Jesus not only blesses others, but blesses us as well.
4. Seminary taught me to look for the question behind the question. When people find out your a believer, especially one involved in vocational ministry, the questions begin. Sometimes people are straight-forward with their questions. However, oftentimes their question is disguised by another question. Questions about the problem of evil are often asked as complaints of suffering, accusations of God being evil to allow such suffering, and sweet people who are simply desperate for relief. Questions about salvation are often guised with questions about being good enough, comparisons between one and someone who is considered worst-behaved, etc... You get the picture. It's easy to get distracted by questions and sometimes people do that on purpose as a way to not hear about Jesus. Knowing the question behind the question, comment, or complaint keeps me focused.
5. Seminary taught me that we're all on the same team. I am not athletic. However, that doesn't mean I'm not competitive. Like I said in #2, I'm good at stuff. I am especially good at school. I was able to graduate from SBTS with all As and 2 Bs - that's pretty stinkin' good y'all. However, there were SO many people smarter and wiser than me. I remember distinctly in Greek 2 there being a young man in my class who scored higher than me on every.single.test. Gosh it was frustrating. I was annoyed that he was smarter than me. The Lord is always kind to discipline us. He spoke to me one day in class when I was frustrated (yet again) that he had scored a few points higher than me that "I ought to be thankful there are people smarter than me because I'm not all that smart." Jesus speaks rather directly to me sometimes - haha! Believers, we're on the same team. I can now rejoice when I see someone's ministry is fruitful, when someone knows more than me, or someone succeeds more than I do. We're on the same team - to bring people to know and love Jesus. I'm not the end all be all in that goal so praise the Lord that there are people better at it than I am. I can learn from them, be challenged by them, and be encouraged by their faithfulness.
Overall, I am super thankful for seminary - the professors, Dr. Mohler and other admin, and the super sweet friends I made while there. Louisville will forever be my home away from home.
While I felt fairly unprepared for a lot of practical areas of ministry, seminary definitely prepared me theologically.
1. Seminary taught me to know my doctrine and know it well. When I started seminary in the fall of 2004, I loved Jesus and that was about it. I came from a small, country, and somewhat dysfunctional church just outside of Nashville, TN. I learned to love Jesus and love his church there. However, I did not learn much else. I was fairly theologically illiterate when I started school. Ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology, hermeneutics, all the fancy words were Greek to me, including Greek and Hebrew. Not so today - I not only learned doctrine and theology but learned to love it, know it, be able to teach it, and defend it.
2. Seminary taught me to depend on the Holy Spirit. This is MUCH easier said than done. This will sound arrogant (and I don't mean it that way), but I am good at stuff. I am a good teacher - it's what I studied in college and what I did for 7 years of my life and many more years in the church. I am also good at organizing and planning stuff. However, I am 10,000,000 times better at those things when I depend on the Holy Spirit for strength, guidance, and wisdom. Dr. Lawless, in particular, was the professor who really stressed this to me. I may be able to do a good job at teaching and administrative type activities at church on my own and fool most people, but I can't fool Jesus. Depending on the Holy Spirit is key to taking being "good" at something to being able to glorify Jesus through it.
3. Seminary taught me to be intentional in sharing Jesus. Dr. Beougher's Personal Evangelism class not only taught this, but forced me to be it into practice. The best evangelistic advice I ever received was from this class when Dr. B said to "speak to all people as you do to fellow believers." Oftentimes when asked how we are, we would tell a fellow believer "Wow, God has really blessed me today" but to non-believers we respond with a "fine" or whatever. He emphasized that by speaking the same way to all people, you open the door for explaining what you said. I have seen this happen so often in my life - both the door opening to share some truth of Jesus and meeting people you didn't know were believers and being incredibly encouraged. When I was pregnant with Hudson and uninsured (thank you pre-existing condition) I remember being asked at my OB-GYN's office for my insurance card. Sighing, I answered that I was self-pay but added "we're trusting the Lord to provide." The sweet receptionist looked at me for a minute then began reciting the 6th chapter of Matthew where Jesus reminds us not to worry because he provides for the birds and flowers and will provide for us. It was super encouraging and just one example of how being intentional about Jesus not only blesses others, but blesses us as well.
4. Seminary taught me to look for the question behind the question. When people find out your a believer, especially one involved in vocational ministry, the questions begin. Sometimes people are straight-forward with their questions. However, oftentimes their question is disguised by another question. Questions about the problem of evil are often asked as complaints of suffering, accusations of God being evil to allow such suffering, and sweet people who are simply desperate for relief. Questions about salvation are often guised with questions about being good enough, comparisons between one and someone who is considered worst-behaved, etc... You get the picture. It's easy to get distracted by questions and sometimes people do that on purpose as a way to not hear about Jesus. Knowing the question behind the question, comment, or complaint keeps me focused.
5. Seminary taught me that we're all on the same team. I am not athletic. However, that doesn't mean I'm not competitive. Like I said in #2, I'm good at stuff. I am especially good at school. I was able to graduate from SBTS with all As and 2 Bs - that's pretty stinkin' good y'all. However, there were SO many people smarter and wiser than me. I remember distinctly in Greek 2 there being a young man in my class who scored higher than me on every.single.test. Gosh it was frustrating. I was annoyed that he was smarter than me. The Lord is always kind to discipline us. He spoke to me one day in class when I was frustrated (yet again) that he had scored a few points higher than me that "I ought to be thankful there are people smarter than me because I'm not all that smart." Jesus speaks rather directly to me sometimes - haha! Believers, we're on the same team. I can now rejoice when I see someone's ministry is fruitful, when someone knows more than me, or someone succeeds more than I do. We're on the same team - to bring people to know and love Jesus. I'm not the end all be all in that goal so praise the Lord that there are people better at it than I am. I can learn from them, be challenged by them, and be encouraged by their faithfulness.
Overall, I am super thankful for seminary - the professors, Dr. Mohler and other admin, and the super sweet friends I made while there. Louisville will forever be my home away from home.
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
What seminary did and didn't teach me - part 1
This weekend marks 10 years since I graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a M.Div in Great Commission Studies. It's went by like a flash. James and I are entering our 5th year in vocational ministry. Looking back over the past 10 years, there are several things seminary did and didn't prepare me for in this crazy world of ministry. For part 1, we'll look at what seminary didn't teach me:
Top 5 things Seminary did not teach me:
1. How much church work has little to do with Jesus. At larger churches, there are secretaries and other administrative personnel to take care of the paperwork, curriculum ordering, All Church Profiles, website maintenance, scheduling events as to not overwhelm members, coordinating phone calls, etc... James has felt called thus far to smaller, rural churches which means in many cases a lot of that work falls to me. I am good at administrative things, but I wasn't prepared for how much paperwork there would be to church.
2. How much ministry wouldn't be expressly Christ-centered. Seminary prepared me to intentionally point people to Jesus. However, I was quite taken aback when I realized that some of our much ministry would literally be teaching people how to live, not just live for Jesus. James and I have had so many conversations with adults (some even older than us) about practical life skills we take for granted as common sense: budgeting your money, not procrastinating if you need a ride to court, speaking respectfully to a judge, bathing your child on a regular basis, the importance of cleaning your home, buying groceries before cigarettes, etc... I remember distinctly a community member being at our home distraught that he was being arraigned for stealing copper from an abandoned home. His excuse: "I didn't know the house belonged to anyone." I couldn't hold back anymore; in my best teacher voice I explained that it doesn't matter if you know the owner or not, you knew you didn't own it. Who knew we'd be explaining these things to adults?
3. What to do when people's sin literally lands at your doorstep. One morning, we were awakened at 6am. Standing there crying was a sweet young mama and her two small children. She and her husband were traveling to family when they began arguing. Angered, her husband dropped her off at our house. We let her stay until he returned and encouraged reconciliation. Another young mama called me months later after he had hit her. We had her pack a bag and drove her to an out of town family member's home. James was talking with a man once when he literally passed out from whatever he had taken in our driveway. James picked him up and drove him to his mama's house. When a mama was fighting with her ex-husband and called to ask that we take the kids so they wouldn't witness the fight. We took them. Should we have insisted that they stay, hoping that would restrain the parents? I don't know? Were those the right things to do? I hope so. Much in life is black and white - do this, not that - but there are gray areas where you must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you to know what is best.
4. I wasn't ready to be a pastor's wife. Granted, seminary has the Seminary Wives Institute, but I graduated before James graduated, so I missed attending those classes. My role as a pastor's wife has been on the job training. There have been blessings, victories, encouragements, tears, failures, disappointments, and intentional hurts. At times I have seriously questioned my ability to do this role. That's how hard it can me at times, folks. I'm thankful for other pastor's wives who have given wisdom and advice to me. They are invaluable to me.
5. How to prepare my son for ministry hardships. When we left Missouri, Hudson cried. A lot. It was the only home he knew. I know that we follow God and where he leads us. I know that the eternal reward outweighs today's sadness. Hudson doesn't yet understand that. What do you do when a church member places unfair expectations on your child? Do you correct them? Or do you explain to your child the pressure the whole family faces? Would that alleviate or add to the problem? This has probably been one of the hardest parts of ministry. For Hudson, church is fun. He LOVES it! But it is also sacrificial in nature. Just 6 months ago, James missed part of Hudson's 5th birthday because a community member had an emergency and needed someone to counsel her. Hudson sometimes overhears the not-so-pretty parts of church life that other children are spared. We emphasize that while the church isn't perfect that Jesus loves her and died for her and so we love her as well. It is my prayer that these experiences, both positive and not so much, will only deepen his young faith.
Part 2 will be the top 5 things I learned from Seminary.
Top 5 things Seminary did not teach me:
1. How much church work has little to do with Jesus. At larger churches, there are secretaries and other administrative personnel to take care of the paperwork, curriculum ordering, All Church Profiles, website maintenance, scheduling events as to not overwhelm members, coordinating phone calls, etc... James has felt called thus far to smaller, rural churches which means in many cases a lot of that work falls to me. I am good at administrative things, but I wasn't prepared for how much paperwork there would be to church.
2. How much ministry wouldn't be expressly Christ-centered. Seminary prepared me to intentionally point people to Jesus. However, I was quite taken aback when I realized that some of our much ministry would literally be teaching people how to live, not just live for Jesus. James and I have had so many conversations with adults (some even older than us) about practical life skills we take for granted as common sense: budgeting your money, not procrastinating if you need a ride to court, speaking respectfully to a judge, bathing your child on a regular basis, the importance of cleaning your home, buying groceries before cigarettes, etc... I remember distinctly a community member being at our home distraught that he was being arraigned for stealing copper from an abandoned home. His excuse: "I didn't know the house belonged to anyone." I couldn't hold back anymore; in my best teacher voice I explained that it doesn't matter if you know the owner or not, you knew you didn't own it. Who knew we'd be explaining these things to adults?
3. What to do when people's sin literally lands at your doorstep. One morning, we were awakened at 6am. Standing there crying was a sweet young mama and her two small children. She and her husband were traveling to family when they began arguing. Angered, her husband dropped her off at our house. We let her stay until he returned and encouraged reconciliation. Another young mama called me months later after he had hit her. We had her pack a bag and drove her to an out of town family member's home. James was talking with a man once when he literally passed out from whatever he had taken in our driveway. James picked him up and drove him to his mama's house. When a mama was fighting with her ex-husband and called to ask that we take the kids so they wouldn't witness the fight. We took them. Should we have insisted that they stay, hoping that would restrain the parents? I don't know? Were those the right things to do? I hope so. Much in life is black and white - do this, not that - but there are gray areas where you must rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you to know what is best.
4. I wasn't ready to be a pastor's wife. Granted, seminary has the Seminary Wives Institute, but I graduated before James graduated, so I missed attending those classes. My role as a pastor's wife has been on the job training. There have been blessings, victories, encouragements, tears, failures, disappointments, and intentional hurts. At times I have seriously questioned my ability to do this role. That's how hard it can me at times, folks. I'm thankful for other pastor's wives who have given wisdom and advice to me. They are invaluable to me.
5. How to prepare my son for ministry hardships. When we left Missouri, Hudson cried. A lot. It was the only home he knew. I know that we follow God and where he leads us. I know that the eternal reward outweighs today's sadness. Hudson doesn't yet understand that. What do you do when a church member places unfair expectations on your child? Do you correct them? Or do you explain to your child the pressure the whole family faces? Would that alleviate or add to the problem? This has probably been one of the hardest parts of ministry. For Hudson, church is fun. He LOVES it! But it is also sacrificial in nature. Just 6 months ago, James missed part of Hudson's 5th birthday because a community member had an emergency and needed someone to counsel her. Hudson sometimes overhears the not-so-pretty parts of church life that other children are spared. We emphasize that while the church isn't perfect that Jesus loves her and died for her and so we love her as well. It is my prayer that these experiences, both positive and not so much, will only deepen his young faith.
Part 2 will be the top 5 things I learned from Seminary.
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