BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER!

I have said for years that the biggest mission bang for your dollar was the missions offering called the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Why so? Because every penny of your gift will go straight to helping and supporting our full-time missionaries around the world. Not one cent is taken out for advertisement, promotion or administrative fees. You will be helping greatly improve the work of our missionaries. Janie and I have traditionally made the first Christmas gift of the year our offering to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We know that is one of the most productive uses of our gifts. So far, our church family and friends have given $6,145 to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I have no doubt that more will be given. 

Now, let me tell you about a new twist to our International Christmas Offering. In the past, we have used the Christmas Eve offering for international missions. It almost always goes to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This year, the Christmas Eve offering (unless it is designated to something else) will go to “SEND RELIEF” a part of our International Missions. I am so excited to share with you how this works. We can designate our gifts to buy “projects” that can help a family start a business, provide food and possibly break them out of poverty. Here a list of examples: $3 will buy 10 fish to help a family start a fish farm; $10 will buy seeds to enable a family to grow produce to eat and sell; $25 buys a pair of rabbits…no explanation needed here; $25 buys 10 chickens to give access to eggs and meat that can help start a business; $50 is a pair of pigs; $75 buys a goat; $100 buys a gift of one sheep and $300 one cow; $100 buys blankets for 10 kids; $35 buys 5 books for kids; etc. Now let’s skip to some big ticket items: $2,000 buys a new home for someone is a disaster relief area; $588 buys a bundle of relief that helps a family start their own farm; $375 buys a pallet of water; $750 supplies a three day dental event; $1,000 buys a water well; etc.

Can you see why I am so excited? I am praying we will receive a Christmas Eve Offering that will be big enough to purchase at least one of all of these! That would perhaps be the BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER.

Be praying about a gift you might give for the Christmas Eve Offering. Oddly enough, also pray about the way we will receive the gifts. Passing the plate is in our DNA but not in our Covid Mitigation plan! You can, of course, designate your offering to budget or to Lottie Moon. I can’t wait to make another offering on Christmas Eve to help buy a couple of farms!

See you Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Advent.

Pastor Tom

Really, I’m fine!

Sometimes we tell people we are fine when we may really be living in denial. But really, I am fine. I have been out more Sundays since September than all my years at JIBC put together. I missed a Sunday with surgery, was back a few Sundays; then missed two Sunday’s with Covid 19, then back a Sunday; then missed a Sunday with a “complication” for the surgery; then back a Sunday; and then, Janie and I were out last Sunday for our annual anniversary trip (45 years and going strong). But really, I am fine.

Now, back to our business. You all did a fantastic job on donating 5,600 pounds of food to James Island Outreach. By the end of the year, that number will probably pass 6,000 pounds. Combined with the rest of 2020 we will be wearing the scales out aiming for 10,000 pounds of food relief for the underserved in our community. To God be the glory.

Our Advent Mission points include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This is the most bang for your mission buck that you can possible get. Every bit of your donation goes to support missions around the world. It is always the first Christmas gift of the year for our family. We also will be buying diapers to help women who have chosen life for their babies rather than abortion. Have you bought diapers lately? I know those who receive the diapers are very appreciative. When our kids grew out of diapers we felt like we had a pay increase! Of course, we always are collecting jelly for James Island Outreach. The new mission support this year is the BackPack Buddies. What a beautiful thought trying to make sure every underserved child has food to eat over the weekend when they are not in school. We have a groups that goes to James Island Outreach two Thursdays each month to help pack the supplies.

If you choose, you can bring these items on the particular Sunday they are being emphasized or you can bring them any Sunday. You can bring them to worship with you or drop them by the church office. It is all good!

Advent…the perfect time to combine worship and mission. Thank you for being such a loving and giving church family. See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

LET’S CELEBRATE ADVENT!

The word advent means arrival or coming. In our case, the case of Christianity, it refers to the coming, the arrival of Jesus Christ. We celebrate two advents: the first celebrates the birth of Christ and the second celebrates His return. 

The Advent season includes the four Sundays before Christmas. You know I love all things Christmas. The only thing I do not really love is the temptation to go into debt to pay for more celebrating than can be afforded. I love Christmas decorations…and by the time you read this my family decorations and the church decorations should be up! I love the Christmas lights at the county park and in the neighborhoods. I love the Biblical stories about the advent/coming of Christ. I love Christmas music, the old hymns, FM102.5 that plays Christmas music and all my old school Christmas CD’s.

All that being said, one of my favorite parts of Christmas at JIBC is how we have connected missions and worship. Each Sunday of Advent has a different mission emphasis. We partner with others to accomplish the work of Christ. The first Sunday of Advent is November 29. We will highlight the mission of The Lowcountry Pregnancy Center. We are helping them to collect diapers of any size. If you would like to buy some diapers, you can bring them any Sunday during December. The second Sunday of Advent, December 6, highlights The Lottie Moon International Missions. We have some really cool opportunities here. Janie and I always make the Lottie Moon Offering our first Christmas gift of the year. The third Sunday of Advent helps children in our community who are at risk of not having a meal over the weekend. This past Thursday, as we were leaving James Island Outreach, a team from JIBC was arriving to help pack food bags for Backpack Buddies. I love it! Then the last Sunday of Advent, December 20 is our mission partner, James Island Outreach. Our church family is the jelly church. We have been asked to provide jelly for the outreach. So when you are shopping, look for the BOGO deals on jelly! By the way, JIBC is on track to give 10,000 pounds of food for 2020. In a year of greatest need you gave the greatest offering in our history!

We top it all off with our annual Christmas Eve Carols, Communion and Candlelight services at 4:00 and 6:00 PM. Covid-19 has made this a little bit challenging but we are up to the challenge. We will be giving out free tickets that will help us monitor the size of our attendance. You may reserve your tickets at www.jamesislandbaptist.com. And we will have an overflow room in the Fellowship Hall that will have a wonderful experience should we run out of seats!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy and celebrate the Gospel story revealed in the Christmas event. See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

THANKSCHRISTMAS!

My granddaughter asked me “Granddad, what is your favorite holiday?” I told her “ThanksChristmas!” I love the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What is not to love? This Sunday is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I will miss the church-wide Thanksgiving Meal and the Community Wide Thanksgiving Service. By God’s grace and goodness, we will still have a Thanksgiving Meal and we can still see the Community Thanksgiving Service live-streamed! We will be having the Lord’s Supper this Sunday at both services. We have a lot for which to be thankful!

I hope you don’t get tired of me saying things like this: You did an outstanding job giving to James Island Outreach. In 2018 James Island Baptist gave 1,885 pounds of food plus our financial donations. In 2019 the food donations increased to 5, 408 pounds of food plus the financial donations. By the end of 2020: JIBC will donate pretty close to 10,000 pounds of groceries to help bless the under-served in our community! That is 5 TONS of food! To God be the glory and to you we give thanks! What is not to love about this kind of Thanksgiving?

I love that we will put up our Christmas decorations for the Church this Sunday and the decorations for our home! I love Christmas decorations. I have already started listening to Christmas songs and we are well on our way to planning our Advent season. By the way, we are having the Christmas Eve services. We will have one at 4:00 PM and the other at 6:00 PM. *Please note that there will be limited seating. The Christmas Eve services will be a free, but ticketed event. There will be a small number of seats reserved for those who do not have the opportunity to get tickets and there will be a very special, and I mean very special, overflow service in the fellowship hall.

I love ThanksChristmas! Just about the only thing I do not like about this time of the year is that some may feel pressured to go into debt to buy gifts. Please do not! Live within your budget and be creative. I put on our tree every year some of the handmade Christmas ornaments we were given as gifts. Made with love and filled with memories! Let’s say it loud and often…CHRISTMAS IS NOT CANCELLED! We are celebrating ThanksChristmas!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

LEVERAGE YOUR INFLUENCE

I could not be more pleased with the JIBC response to donate food to James Island Outreach. As you can imagine, during this Covid-19 Pandemic, the needs of the underserved have greatly increased. James Island Outreach is one of our ministry partners. We donate to them financially, with food donations, with volunteers and with leadership. We love what God is doing through them.

James Island Outreach was trying to make sure their clients, everyone who wanted, could have enough groceries for a traditional Thanksgiving Meal. That is a great goal, right? Now, put that together with Pastor Scott’s BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): he purchased 1000 re-usable grocery bags for us to fill! Wow. I love it. On the first go round, we filled 275 bags. If each bag holds 20 pounds of groceries, my calculations say that is around 5,500 pounds of groceries. That is only 500 pounds short of 3 TONS of groceries! I predict that this Sunday we will see enough groceries to go over the 3 TON mark! Are you kidding me? In the middle of a pandemic, little James Island Baptist Church family gave 3 TONS of groceries? Please hear our Lord saying to you: “I was hungry and you fed me”. James says that pure religion is caring for the widow and the orphan. Well done good and faithful servants, well done. I absolutely love that about our church family.

Now, could I be so bold as to go to the well one more time? I am asking that each of us consider how we might “leverage our influence” to involve others in joining this mission. What do I mean by leveraging your influence? God has placed each of us in different and unique settings where we work, play, live, recreate, etc. Would you ask God if there is a way for you to encourage those in your circle of influence to help collect groceries for the underserved? It is a win-win. Food is collected and more people are aware of the mission of James Island Outreach.

Here are a few examples of using your influence. One family took advantage of a neighborhood chili cook-off to put the JIO Grocery bags out for families to take. Another used their Neighborhood Community System to invite neighbors to stop by and pick up grocery bags. We reached out to a sister church to invite them to join the effort and they gladly accepted. A school teacher found a creative way to challenge students to join in the effort: bring a jar of jelly for extra credit! Maybe your office, your employees, your team would take on the challenge of filling 1 bag, 10 bags or…100 bags!

For sure, if we did not collect one more grocery item, we would still have a major success story! To God be the glory. Well done my friends, well done!

Pastor Tom

“Once in a Blue Moon”

Many of us were able to enjoy the beauty of the full moon on October 31. What a rare event: a full moon on Halloween and a “blue moon” on top of that! A blue moon, that is two full moons in the same month, happens once every 2.7 years or so. So, something happens once in a blue moon carries the meaning that it does not happen very often. I want to officially make that request about Covid 19. I have had my run in with Covid 19 and I hope it was a once in a blue moon kind of event!

Janie and I both thought we had a normal Charleston allergy reaction. When I put the Vicks Vapor Rub under my nose and could not smell it, I knew I had a problem. We tested the very next day. Janie and I tested positive for Covid 19/Corona Virus on Wednesday, October 21st. Symptoms may have started a 4 or 5 days earlier. We may have an idea of where we caught this virus, but we cannot know for sure. Our prayer was that we did not bless anyone else with it! We are thankful to have had relatively mild symptoms. We were interviewed by DHEC and sent a letter telling us how long we were to isolate and when we could rejoin the general population! Our quarantine was up on the 29th and we were able to attend our grandson’s football game on the 30th. We still wore our masks, practiced social distancing, sat in designated seats and talked to no one except our daughter and grandson.

Janie and I opted not to attend worship this past Sunday only because of the comfort level of others. Even though we were beyond the days required for quarantine, I felt others might be comforted if we waited another week. Good Lord willing I am planning to teach this Sunday at both worship services! We will finish up going through the Book of Malachi.

I will be in the office keeping limited hours this week just to make sure I am resting and recovering. I am hoping to be back at full throttle next week. I am so thankful for your prayers and love. Much appreciated. If you know of someone in the church family who has Covid 19, please let me know. I would like to reach out to them.

By the way: outstanding job on providing 250 bags of groceries to help the underserved. Janie and I came by Saturday night to drop off 20 bags that one of our friends provided! That is just one of the many, many things I love about our church family!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

GO BIG OR GO HOME!

That is the bravado of some sports teams and athletes. They are going all in, going for the prize, holding nothing back, looking for the win. GO BIG OR GO HOME! The Atlanta Braves had an outstanding year and certainly could live up to that slogan. They played an outstanding covid season and gave their fans a great season. They played big all year and ended their season in a spectacular 7 game series. 

What would you think of a church family adopting that same slogan “GO BIG OR GO HOME”? I feel like that is the exciting challenge we have with collecting food for the James Island Outreach. We are going after the largest food donation in our history to meet the largest need in the Outreach’s ministry. Pastor Scott went BIG, really BIG. He ordered 1000 bags for us to fill. That is right, 1000! If each bag holds 20 pounds of groceries that comes out to 20,000 pounds of food to help the underserved. TEN TONS of love! That fits the goal of GO BIG OR GO HOME and then some.

In the past we have done an outstanding job when we would collect over 1 ton of jelly from our JIBC family. Really, think about that. We have on several occasions, for several years, collected over 1 ton of jelly and other food items. That is fantastic. In addition JIBC always gives an offering to James Island Outreach and has volunteers that serve. Now this challenge and opportunity may be the biggest I have ever seen. How will we do it?

Two families used their Neighborhood Association to announce the project and invited neighbors to come get the bags and then return them with food. One person took them to her work and explained the project. Co-workers bought in and took 10 bags. Pastor Scott’s neighborhood was having a chili cook off so he set up a tent to pass out bags. With this kind of creativity, I believe there is a real shot at a record breaking grocery offering to meet a record breaking need!

It reminds me of the miracle when Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves. I am praying that the result will be the same, that this Thanksgiving everyone will have enough to eat and there will be groceries left over to bless others.

I love a challenge, so Janie and I, because we are so blessed, will take ten bags and commit to filling them. The goal of 1000 bags of groceries sounds like an impossible goal…for us. It is not impossible for the Worker of Miracles. W still have several weeks to get the bags out and the groceries in!

See you Sunday with the bags around the stage!

Pastor Tom

WIN.WIN.WIN.

You may be familiar with the idea of a “Win-Win” situation. The basic idea is to find a way forward in a negotiation where you win and the person you are dialing with wins. It is not to be seen as a way to compromise and both sides lose a little. It is a way to work on a solution resulting in both sides winning.

With that in mind let’s add another win. I like to aim for a Win-Win-Win result. That means you win now, I win now and we both win later. It is a beautiful thing if that can happen. Pastor Scott introduced our church family to a mission opportunity that is a Kingdom Win-Win-Win. James Island Baptist Church is partnering to help James Island Outreach meet the largest demand they have ever had in feeding the under-served in our community. So here is the first win: we have a partnership with James Island Outreach that helps provide food and other services for the most vulnerable part of our community. They are currently providing more groceries than ever before in their mission. That is a WIN in my book. The second win is the incredible generous hearts of our church family. We have been known as the jelly church. James Island Outreach assigned us with the task of supplying them with jelly. I think in 2020 we gave 4,000 pounds of jelly and other groceries. That is literally two tons of food! WIN! Now, here is the third win. We are providing 1,000 bags to be filled with groceries by November 1. The goal and idea is that you and I will take these bags to our neighbors and invite them to join in the effort to make the largest offering ever to meet the largest need ever. If we are successful in involving our neighbors, not just our own church members, than that will make it a WIN-WIN-WIN for the Kingdom of God. Instead of just our 100 church families we could possible involve over 1,000 families from our community. Many will have heard of James Island Outreach for the very first time. Some may become regular contributors to James Island Outreach or may even be moved to volunteer.

So, if we, by God’s grace and blessings, could fill all 1,000 bags, and each bag holds 25 pounds of groceries, that would be 25,000 pounds of groceries! Is it possible that James Island Baptist, in the middle of a pandemic, with about half of our regular attendance, could, by God’s grace, collect 10 ½ tons of groceries? ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. It would indeed be a WIN-WIN-WIN for those in need, for the Kingdom of God and for James Island Outreach. You could be part of a record breaking effort to answer Jesus’ call: I was hungry and you fed me. Janie and I took 10 bags for our neighborhood. Amen and Hallelujah!

Pastor Tom

 

THANK YOU

Thank you! Janie and I thank you all for the love and support. We are still enjoying the cards and letters from our church family and friends celebrating my 65th birthday and our 35th year of ministry. Janie bought me an awesome shirt that said “VINTAGE 1955: MOSTLY ORIGINAL PARTS.” She did not know how accurate that would be! We thank you for your prayers for my recent surgery to remove my gall bladder. The warranty had expired and so it had to go. Your prayers and love were greatly appreciated. I had the easy part of being the patient. She had the harder part of being patient! We both deeply appreciated your prayers and love.

I also want to thank our Lord for your amazing generosity. Even during the Covid 19 Pandemic, you continue to give generously. I am just back to work this week, so I have not seen the latest update. But the “Gift Match” was met with love and grace. It might not bring us up to even with our budget needs, but it certainly gave us opportunity to do more missions. We were able to send a $2000 gift to Charles and Judy Dillon to help feed the people in Sulphur, Louisiana. Because they are not a big name town, they were not on the radar to get help. That is exactly who Charles and Judy are drawn to. We will get pictures and updates soon. By the way, anyone interested in a hands on mission trip? Perhaps your Connection Group, Family, group of friends would be interested in a short term trip? Charles can set you up with a place to stay and they could use all kinds of help.

Your generous giving also made it possible to help James Island Outreach in their greatest time of need. We were blessed to have the Executive Director, Scott Graule join us for worship this past Sunday. He played the drums for us and gave us an update on the Outreach Mission.

Talk about a gift that keeps on giving: this gift also made it possible for us to replace an aging computer used every week in our worship services. I could really keep going on and on. It is my desire to give God glory, thank Him for His grace and mercy and to thank our church family and friends for their generous giving. You reflect His glory.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue the verse by verse study of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. It is a great message on how to re-connect with God! Invite a friend and join us.

Pastor Tom

 

DISCONNECTED

Have you ever been on a phone call that just dropped? What happened? Were you out of range from a tower, did your cheek accidentally hit “end call” or perhaps the other person just hung up? It is relatively easy to get disconnected while using a cell phone. 

It seems like it is equally easy to get disconnected from our Father in Heaven. We were talking to Him, enjoying His blessings and living our life. Than all of a sudden, we were disconnected. Maybe we knew we were disconnected or perhaps we were unaware and just kept on going about our lives. There is a haunting verse about the Old Testament judge, Samson. “But he did not know the LORD had departed from him” Judges 16:20. Imagine, facing all that he faced and not being aware the LORD was no longer with him…he had been disconnected.

Sunday morning we are going through the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. I am using the title and theme of “Disconnected from God”. Israel, like Samson, was once a strong and mighty nation. They were in a position to bless because they had been blessed. They were the stewards of the Torah, the Word of God. Then, perhaps little by little, they were disconnected from God. It was as if they did not know the LORD was no longer with them. Where did this disconnect show up? How can we avoid making the same mistake? First, they were disconnected from the love of God. They asked with contempt “How have you loved us?” Then they were disconnected from worship. They were bothered with going to worship and showed their contempt by offering sick, blind and lame sacrifices. They were disconnected from God’s Holy Word. When you put these three things together it is no wonder they felt disconnected from God’s life, peace, fellowship and the ability to influence others around them. They were disconnected from God’s blessing, from the covenant they had made and from their purpose. They hung up the phone. They turned away. Our Father in mercy and grace sent Malachi, His Messenger, to call them back to blessing and to warn them of the consequences of disconnecting from God.

The spiritual disciplines will help you connect with God, to reconnect with God or stay connected with God. Find time for daily Bible Study and prayer. Class 201 helped you learn how to hear, read, study, meditate, memorize, and apply His Word. Commit to praise that seeks to exalt the Name above all names. Seek to be a light to someone who is living in darkness. May your experience be the opposite of Samson’s: may you always know the Lord is with you!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

HOW CAN I SAY THANKS

This past Sunday was such a wonder filled day for me and Janie. Sunday, September 13 was my 65th Birthday and the exact Sunday of our 35th year serving as your Pastor and Pastor’s wife. I want to make sure I give God glory for my wife, Janie, and her role in our ministry. As Donnie Almond says, “Janie does all the work, writes all the sermons and picks Tom’s clothes out!” She has certainly been a major part of anything God has been able to do in my life. So, for these two days to fall on the same Sunday was wonderful.

First, the joy of being able to meet for in person worship is still such a thrill. I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord. Second, we celebrated three baptisms. What an honor and joy to baptize on any Sunday. But on this particular Sunday it was an extra privilege and cause to rejoice for me. Third, there was the totally unexpected paying off of the debt. Just by His coincidence, the debt amount was $35,000 and some change on our 35th Anniversary. I am pretty sure this is the first time in my ministry and maybe in the church history that we have been completely out of debt! Can somebody say “Amen!”? My heartfelt thanks to our leaders who worked to make that happen and to our church family that gave so generously over the years. To God be the glory. Janie and I have so loved the personal letters sent, the video testimonies and the very generous gift cards. Janie would not have to cook for a couple of months if we went out every night to eat! All of the cards and gifts are deeply appreciated and will be loved. My sweet wife suggested that we take a letter a day and pray for the ones who sent it. I love that idea!

My thanks to our Health Teams and Welcome Teams as they welcomed everyone and tried their best to accommodate the large attendance at the 11:00 service. We were not anywhere near our “legally suggested capacity” but we were out of room that allowed everyone to stay 6 feet apart. We will be working on fixing that issue and pray God will bless us with large attendance that requires our best creativity! What a wonderful problem to have…more people than expected!

Thank you to our staff for all the work you did to make this a wonder filled day. To top the day off, I had a great family birthday party and Marie Smith arranged the birthday parade for the old man! Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was a perfect day for me at JIBC!

Pastor Tom

 

SO FAR, SO GOOD!

A man fell out of a window. Every time he would pass one window after another on his way down to the bottom. He passed by one window and the person inside asked him “How’s it going?” He answered… “So far, so good!” That is how I have answered the question “How did your first Sunday back go?” My answer…. “So far, so good!”

Really, we did have a very successful re-re-launch to our in-person worship gathering. For a holiday weekend, I thought the attendance was very good. Certainly the spirit and enthusiasm was high. Under the masks there were smiling faces! How can you tell they were smiling under a mask? You can tell. Want to know the secret? A genuine smile involves your eyes. Sometimes when we smile for a picture it is a forced smile. When we smile and it is genuine, it affects the corners of our eyes. The outside corners kind of “wrinkle up” in a good way. Practice it sometime. It is so interesting. So, there were lots of smiles Sunday.

Again, thank you for your patience and prayers as we continue to work this pandemic response out. I do believe we will lose members who may choose to go to another church during this season. As much as I hate that I would rather lose members to another church family than to lose them to death because we did not try. Practice living out the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. If we will do this, my guess is we will make it through this season of trial together, better, closer and stronger. If we do not live these out, well, it could turn out to be a long ride. The old high school typing line is still appropriate: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Or in this case…church.

We are still a church on mission, making disciples, committed to the Word, Prayer and the spiritual disciplines, to serving, to reaching and to worship. Our mission has not changed one bit…only how we carry it out! And in some ways, that has actually gotten better because of the pandemic!

HAVE YOU RECEIVED YOURS YET? 

Many of you should have already received your gift package from JIBC. Our Connection Groups are in the process of delivering the gift bags to members of their Connection Groups first and then will try to deliver to the rest of our church family and friends. You really want to get the JIBC 40 Day Devotional. I am so enjoying reading mine. If yours has not arrived, please let Scott know. You can text him or email him.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 

This Sunday Worship will include baptism and the Lord’s Supper. What a day we have planned. I do hope you will be able to join us! By the way, this Sunday will be our 35th anniversary together with our JIBC family. Janie and I do not take it for granted that we have been blessed greatly with such a privilege. I am so sorry we will not be able to celebrate together the way Janie and I have planned. Good Lord willing, maybe we can do it for our 36th!

Pastor Tom

 

STARTING SUNDAY!

 Nascar legend Darrell Waltrip has a signature way to start a race: “Boogity, boogity, boogity, Let’s go racing boys!” If I could be so crude to paraphrase his excitement: “Boogity, boogity, boogity, Let’s go worship James Island Baptist style!” 

Ok, too much? Let’s try the words to one of my favorite praise songs “Church” (Take Me Back) by Cochren & Co. Check it out on you tube or wherever you listen to songs. Here are some of the words. Let’s see if you agree?

Take me back to the place that feels like home, 

To the people I can depend on, to the faith that's in my bones

Take me back, to a preacher and a verse, 

Where they've seen me at my worst, to the love I had at first

Oh, I want to go to church! 

THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, we are re-entering into what has now become known as “in-person” worship. We have always gathered for worship, but once again, we will gather for in-person worship. We will still continue our online presence and in a week or two add live streaming so you can watch our service as it is happening or go back to it at a later time. What a wonderful blessing this technology has been for us.

Preschool Worship and Children’s Worship will be offered at the 11:00 service. We do ask that you pre-register your children using the link on the home page of www.jamesislandbaptist.com. Of course, children are welcome to attend either service with their parents.

Thank you to our Welcome/Health team helping to make sure we bless others with our efforts to do the minimal health screen. Thank you JIBC for your servant attitude of doing this to bless others, to do our best to protect the vulnerable and well as anyone else.

So, when you arrive Sunday come a little early for the 9:00 worship or the 11:00 worship. Stop by the Welcome/Health station. They will scan your temperature and ask you a few very standard, very simple questions. You may wear your mask the entire time you are on the church campus. Everyone who can wear a mask is asked to wear a mask from your car to your seat in the Worship Center. You may then choose to remove your mask or keep your mask on. Those who want to keep their mask on may possibly find a group to sit near that also want to keep theirs on the entire time. *Please note, this could all change in a moments time. Right now this is the plan.

“Take me back To the place that feels like home, 

To the people I can depend on, To the faith that's in my bones

Take me back, To a preacher and a verse, 

Where they've seen me at my worst, To the love I had at first

Oh, I want to go to church! 

As always, those who are vulnerable or are not ready to return to in-person gatherings are encouraged to join us online. We bless you and your decision and are praying we all remain Covid-19 free and healthy. See you Sunday, good Lord willing and the temperature don’t rise”. Sorry, could not resist. Boogity, boogity, boogity!

Pastor Tom

LET’S TRY THAT AGAIN

Starting Sunday, September 6, we are going to start again with the “in-person” worship gatherings. Remember, you never stopped worshiping. The only question is Who or what were you worshipping. We only stopped “in-person” worship gatherings because several of our leaders had Covid-19, we had two deaths related to Covid 19 and the number of cases in SC were spiking at that point. I am so thankful for our staff that could arrange for our messages to be recorded and available. Bless all of our Connection Group leaders who continually taught the Word of God on Zoom and found creative ways to reach out to and pray for their members. Well done good and faithful servants.

So, we are going to try it again. This time we are inside for both services, one at 9:00 and one at 11:00. We would absolutely have the 9:00 service outside if we were not in the middle of hurricane season. The set up and take down of the tent, chairs, stage and equipment can be a challenge without the threat of a tropical storm or hurricane. Maybe we will go outside in October?

One of the most controversial parts of this pandemic has been mask or no mask. The emotions range from a mild “It does not matter to me” to bullying and shaming if you even consider not wearing a mask. It will not get any easier at JIBC. We encourage everyone to wear a mask as you come to worship and enter the buildings and to wear a mask when the service is over and you exit the building. At this time, you are encouraged to wear your mask the entire time with our blessing. Restaurants require masks while entering, going to your table and while exiting. You are of course, allowed to take off your mask while you eat. At this time, our principle is similar. You may want or need to take off your mask once you are seated, at your table, so to speak. Of course you may leave your mask on and you may choose to sit around family and others that you know prefer to keep their mask on. We will, by the way, continue to provide on line worship for those who cannot attend or choose not to attend. We bless your choice to be safe.

Until then, we ask that you stop by one of the Health Screening Stations for a quick temp check and to answer a few basic questions. If you are not feeling well, consider staying at home. Do let us know so we can keep you in our prayers.

“It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times…but these are the only times we have”. Let’s make the most of them for the glory of God. Hope to see you soon.

Pastor Tom

PRESS ON, DON’T JUST HOLD ON

We just finished with our weekly staff meeting. One of the comments I left them with was the following: PRESS ON, DON’T JUST HOLD ON. It is tempting to just hold on, whatever that means to you, during this Covid-19 Pandemic. Just hold on and eventually things will get back to normal. I am not sure many people believe we will get back to normal or that we even want to get back to normal. But simply holding on is not really an option for followers of Christ. 

During the last seven months, we have committed ourselves to pressing on when it comes to church mission and ministry. When we were not able to have in-person gatherings, we adapted and had online messages and worship. When Connection Groups could not meet together in-person, they began to Zoom! We have heard from several Connection Groups that in some ways they are more active and together than before the pandemic affected in-person gathering. My wife, Janie, loves watching her group share back and forth about mission and ministry. Gotta love that!

When we could not have Wednesday night dinners, God blessed us with a strategy to bless others. So we delivered to homebound, shut-ins, fire stations, EMT, first responders, medical clinics, etc. The pandemic did not stop ministry and mission it just made it different. The JIBC family has given more food to James Island Outreach since the first of the year than any two years put together…and the year is not over yet. Because of your generosity, we have been able to continue our support of International, National, State and Charleston Baptist Missions. I have heard the most wonderful stories of Connection Groups doing community outreach events. One group helped host a Neighborhood Movie night and collected 230 pounds of food for James Island Outreach. That 230 pounds will be matched by JIBC totaling 460 pounds of food. We have hosted meals for grieving families in our community that are not a part of JIBC sharing the love of Christ in difficult times. 

Our goal has never been to just hold on till this crisis passed. Our goal, as always, is to look where God is working and join Him. Press on, don’t just hold on. Sunday, September 6, we begin to press on with our in-person worship gatherings. We understand not everyone is ready, willing or able to come back. So we press on with technology and will provide recordings and live streaming so you can keep connected at home. On Sunday, September 13 we will have the Lord’s Supper and celebrate baptism. Press on don’t just hold on. Press on in your Bible Study and prayers; press on in staying connected with your church family and friends. Press on in your generous giving to help others. Press on whether it is movie night under the oaks, the marriage enrichment event, or family night at the beach…press on, don’t just hold on.

This pandemic does not build character it reveals the character that you have. Press on!

Pastor Tom

It’s About Time!

Usually that is said with a bit of emotion and even a little anxiety. You know, it is about time that someone did something about that problem. In our case, I am referring to Pastor Scott’s teaching series on time. It is about time…how we invest it and how we make priorities that impact our time. If you did not hear him Sunday, I hope you will go back and listen. His illustration was on target and so easy to remember and relate to. It’s about time. I want to thank Scott for being willing to teach a couple of weeks for us. I knew it would be good and super relevant.

We are prepping to launch 

If all goes according to plans, we plan to re-launch “in-person worship” on Sunday, September 6 at 9:00 and 11:00. Both services will be inside. We will encourage the same protocol that we used in the past. We ask everyone to wear mask while arriving and going to your seats, stop by the screening tents/area for a temperature check and the prescreen questions. We will only have preschool and childcare services at the 11:00 service and not the 9:00 service. Of course, your little ones are welcome at the 9:00. But we will not be able to staff both services at this time. Hopefully we will be able to offer that service at a later date. The balcony will be reserved for the Media Production Team and their families only. We still encourage all the guidelines you experience in so many places: mask, social distancing, wash your hands frequently, don’t touch your face and protect the vulnerable. This is all so foreign to everyone. Let us thank you ahead of time for your patience, good will and cooperation. We certainly bless those who are not yet ready to join us for in person worship or gatherings. We encourage those who are at risk or vulnerable to practice caution. We are hoping to enjoy fellowship with you for the long run not just for the immediate time.

A JIBC Devotional in the making 

We have asked 40 or our leaders to write a devotional that will be put together as a 40 Day Devotional. It will feature a brief introduction as to who they are, one of their favorite Bible verses, and a favorite song and a devotional thought that might encourage us during this crazy time. I really believe you will enjoy it so much the challenge will be to not read it all at one sitting! LOL. I am enjoying reading them as they come in. Just a reminder…if you have been asked to write one and have not turned it in yet please do so ASAP!

Blessings of peace and comfort to you all,

Pastor Tom

FOUR MINISTRY PROJECTS I AM WORKING TOWARD

In no particular order, here are four ministry projects I am working towards. All four are connected and all four help us carry out our mission to make disciples who make disciples that change our community and world.

First, I am looking for volunteers to help shop for groceries for the under-served in our community. You may have read in last week’s messenger that James Island Outreach has had a surge of families requesting help. The JIO Ministry is in need of groceries and funds. We can help with both. Of course, you can do this on your own. We did have a good time when we made it a group mission. Anyone can join us in our shopping spree. I would love to have some folks who have never seen James Island Outreach go with us. The Executive Director is so gracious to give us personal tours and to explain how the ministry works. Days and hours are pretty flexible. This could be a great mission for a Connection Group, a family, an Awana group, Students, Joy Club, etc. With a little creative thinking someone could even find a way to make it an outreach event involving those we have yet to reach for Christ. Interested? Call the church office and leave your info. I will call back with the details.

Second, our staff is working toward re-opening in person worship on Sunday, September 6. The plans, at this time, are to only have two worship services. One will be at 9 and the other at 11. All the protocols we used will be in place with a few more! Remember that we stopped ingathering worship when basically all of our worship leaders and team had Covid-19 or were in isolation because of it. This happened at the time when South Carolina cases were spiking. Seem like an appropriate and necessary step to take. Now we are working on returning. Details will come as soon as we have them to share.

Third, we have asked 40 or so of our leaders to join me in writing a 40 Day Devotional. If all goes according to plans, this should be available at the first of September. The plans are for our Connection Groups to serve as our delivery system. I am looking forward to hearing what our Father has been saying to this group.

Fourth, I am looking for volunteers to help me put together a Day of Prayer. It is good and appropriate that we would have a church wide prayer effort at such a time as this. We have had several members to contract this corona virus. They have been young adults, median age and senior adults. We have had some hospitalized; several at home with severe symptoms; some with mild symptoms; and two members that died due to Covid-19. To make a dreadful disease worse, somehow Covid-19 and even the medicine to treat it have become political. I truly believe we are already praying. I want to invite you to join together in a focused prayer effort. I am working on a plan to have us sign up for some period of time. You could come to the church or pray wherever you are. We know that all things are possible for God. Let’s go before Him…together. More to come.

Blessings to you all,

Pastor Tom

 

THAT IS A DEFINITE MAYBE!

“I have given you a definite decision…I said definitely maybe!” That is what I feel like when we start discussing when we will begin in person worship gatherings. By the way, isn’t that an interesting phrase…in person worship gatherings. If we think back B.C. (Before Covid) that was a phrase we very seldom used. The idea existed because there are those who can only worship online or on television. Now, it is a phrase that applies to many of us. But I digress. Let’s get back to the definite maybe discussion.

Our staff is working on when to attempt to re-launch the in person worship services. It is about as easy as the decision to open schools or not. You may remember the reason we stopped the services was due to almost the entire praise team being isolated because of Covid-19. JIBC went so long without having anyone with Covid -19. Then, coincidentally, the JIBC spike in cases joined the spike in cases that was being experienced in South Carolina. Just fyi, the members we have had with Covid-19 did not have mild symptoms. They experienced the full wrath of this horrible virus. Sadly, we have even now had a member to pass away with Covid-19.

So when will we try to start gathering again? Well, remember we have been gathering…online. I have wonderful reports of some of our Connection Groups doing good work in spite of not being able to gather in person. I think most of us really do miss the face to face, or should we say mask to mask, meetings. We are weary of all of this yet so very thankful for our Fathers blessings.

Our goal….drum roll please…is Sunday, September 6 as a definite maybe. We will try September 6 as our “let’s make sure we remember how to do all the Covid-19 procedures”. Then the actual launch will be Sunday, September 13. That date rings a bell. It will be our 35th Anniversary as Church and Pastor! It will also be my 65th birthday. Now that would be a great way to celebrate both occasions. Let’s meet together for a day of worship and celebration. That is a definite maybe!

Until then, join us as we gather together on line each week!

Pastor Tom

WHAT TO DO WHILE YOU WAIT

Do you suppose there will ever be a “normal” again? As the beloved Old Testament Prophet Amos said: “I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet.” I really have no guess if we will ever return to normal, if we really want to return to normal or if that is some sort of a sentimental dream! Lol. So, what do we do while we wait on the old normal, the new normal or whatever is coming?

Proverbs 4:23 encourages us this way: “Above all else guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life.” That is a pretty good place to start. Guard your heart is sound biblical advice. But what are we guarding our hearts from? When times are tough I think it is easy to give into the flesh and into our old nature. It is so easy to revert back to what was once our only nature…our old fleshly, carnal, lost, selfish nature. Our old nature is a breeding ground for things like pessimism, fear, anxiety, bitterness, resentment, rage, vengeance, and the need for control, arrogance, pride, immorality, surrender, stinking thinking and the like. I suspect that most of us are not plunged into such a pool of despair. We are more likely to wade into it…you know, starting with our toe, then our foot, then before we know it we are swimming, or drowning, in a backwash of our old nature.

But we, as followers of Christ, are not to live by our old nature. We have put that off as though it was a dirty garment that no longer fits who we are and who God has destined us to be. So we heed the advice of the wise man and diligently guard our hearts…what goes in and what comes out. Any time is a good time to practice what we refer to as the spiritual disciplines: prayer, Bible Study, devotional reading, rest, not having the last word, worship, giving, serving, encouraging, memorizing scripture, etc. We tend to get “good at” what we practice. These may well be the best of times and the worst of times but they are the only times we have. So let’s make the most of them.

Football teams have not been sure if they were going to have a season or not. Football players with any wisdom have been practicing and preparing as thought they are having a season. When the decision is made to have a football season, they will not have to “get in shape”. They have already been practicing and are in shape and ready to go. I am suggesting that team JIBC continue practicing the spiritual disciplines and be ready to go. Our season does not begin in September. Our season is today, tomorrow, this week and next.

There is a lot of life that may or may not return to normal. What I do know is that whatever the near future looks like, it must include followers of Jesus who have guarded their hearts, practiced daily the spiritual disciplines that make us more like Jesus and are actively engaged in ministry and mission in our community and around the world. “Above all else, guard your heart for from it flow the springs of life”. Let it flow!

Pastor Tom

TRANSITION HOUSE MINISTRY

It is hard to imagine that we have had the Transition House Ministry for almost 10 years. We have had 32 Women and over 32 infants/toddlers/children come through this unique ministry. When we started the Transition House we were the only one of its kind in the Charleston area. There may be one or possibly two others now. You may remember that we started this ministry when I heard a Charleston leader say that one of the greatest unmet needs in Charleston was housing for women with infants coming out of the Charleston Center. Particularly women who are on step-down medications. One of the many things I love about James Island Baptist is our willingness to take on the giants. I had no experience running a Recovery Transition House. My thought was it is better to try and to fail than to not try at all. So we tried. About 3 years into the ministry we temporarily stopped the ministry so we could do major upgrades to the house. The volunteers who did that did an amazing job. They made the house into a home. Four years ago we temporarily stopped the ministry again. This time we did it to improve how we administrated the home. We got input from others, had the Charleston Center Rehab give us help and we looked at what other ministries were doing. We did that re-boot about 4 years ago and it made a significant improvement in the day-to-day operations at the Transition House.

Now is the time for another re-boot of the Transition House Ministry. The re-boot this time will focus on a Transition House Ministry Team. Neale Young and I have basically been serving as the team. Now it is time to expand the team and to broaden the experience. I have every confidence that this will be a great move.

We currently have two residents plus their sweet children that live at the house. They will be transitioning out at the end of August. Jada has been with us for two years and Kate has been with us almost 1 full year. They have both become such a part of our church family. They are all loved and we are thrilled at being a small part of their recovery journey. My hope is that both of them will be continue to be a part of JIBC and Celebrate Recovery. I have every confidence that this will be a great move.

The timing for this re-boot is good because of the “shut down” of the Charleston Center. They have closed two of the programs that we worked with. The need is still great but not at this time because of Covid-19. I suspect they will re-open this fall and perhaps we will be ready to re-open the Transition House by then. We will look forward to whatever wonderful new friends God will bring us through this mission.

Blessings to all,

Pastor Tom

Be Kind to One Another

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God is Christ forgave you.” 

Ephesians 4:32 

This week I read a quote about kindness that I liked. I thought you might enjoy it too. “Happiness is the new rich; peace is the new success; health is the new wealth; kindness is the new cool”. Or as our old friend Mark Twain once said;”Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

It concerns me to see how far America has fallen in such a short time. I am one of those who believe God has greatly blessed America. That in no way means we are without fault, sin, problems, etc. I have had the privilege of traveling to many places around the world. I would not trade any of them for my home here in America. We are a land of opportunity and everyone has the God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I do not believe that our political system can provide the answers that our country needs right now. This will have to be a work of our Sovereign Father who works His will out in the history of mankind.

Now, back to “be kind to one another.” I am never surprised when people who are not part of God’s family act like they are not part of His family. I have been there and only by God’s grace has my life been changed. I am concerned when followers of Jesus do not act like followers of Jesus. Be kind to one another. That is not saying roll over and let someone continue doing wrong. It is saying “be kind”. The example I am chewing on at the moment is wearing mask or not wearing mask. How, in America, does wearing a mask rise to the level of a political controversy that causes people to act so mean? I really do understand the “how” we got to this point. I just find it hard to believe. We act as though to wear a mask or not wear a mask is reason enough to act snarky, uncivil, holier than thou. Our command to be kind to one another did not go away because you decide to wear a mask or not to wear a mask. By the way, the mask is just one current issue. Imagine trying to have a decent conversation about Black Lives Matter. Kindness and other Christlike virtues have left the room. It is like we have never lived in a world where people can hold different opinions and still be kind, civil and remain good friends. I suspect there are those who will read this, miss the point completely and be totally bent on explaining why they are right in what they believe.

I spend a lot of my time reminding myself and those I love to pray more, praise more and find a way to serve others more. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God is Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32. I hope you will be rich in happiness, successful in having peace, wealthy with good health and extra cool with being kind. Be so kind that even the deaf can hear you and the blind can see you.

Pastor Tom

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

This past Sunday, June 28, we chose to cancel the three worship services…at the very last minute Sunday morning. You know how much I hated making that call. We had three key staff members who were either sick or had been directly exposed to Covid 19. The end result is that we had three key staff members either in quarantine or isolation. I was one of the three. I could not answer the wellness questions and chose to err on the side of caution. When it comes to Covid 19, erring on the side of caution is most likely the correct choice. So, the Praise Team that was ready to lead all ended up in self quarantine; the praise team that usually leads was already in quarantine awaiting test results (at least three have been negative!); one Pastor was on an already scheduled vacation (well deserved, I might add); the Media Production Team had members who did not feel safe in attending; we were down to a guest leading our worship with no rehearsal, no lyrics loaded and no backup singers or instrumentals. There was no pre-recorded message because of quarantine issues. We quit including the killer hornets and the African dust clouds as part of the equation! Plan A, B and C was just not happening. A good while back, we had briefly talked about how easy and quickly the entire staff could be taken out of service. We did not realize how accurate our conversations were. So, our three Worship Services were called off around 7:00 A.M. Sunday morning out of necessity and caution.

WHAT NEXT?
The last staff meeting we had included discussion of what else we could do to help promote safety. We were down three options. All three are still on the table. First, some research shows our best bet is to have all the services outside. If we go there, we will work out details later. The second option was to co-operate with making wearing mask mandatory for those who can wear masks. It should be understood that some people cannot wear mask and others have reasons they are opposed to wearing them. Could we also understand that there should be no shaming of someone who disagrees with your position? As followers of Christ we are called to love one another, encourage one another and about 40 other “one another’s” in the Bible. For those who can, I think you could add “wear mask for one another”. The third option was to once again temporarily postpone in person gatherings. That means we would not have any of the three worship services.

We went with option three. We are temporarily suspending all three of the worship services until further notice. I know this is the correct thing to do. It still hurts to not be able to gather, see faces (or at least eyes) and to sing and worship. Gregg and Jane Steenbergen have the best idea yet. They gather on their lawn with neighbors and watch the JIBC service. How cool would that be if that trend caught on!

Blessings to you all: Stay healthy, pray more, praise more and think of how you can reach out and help others more.

Pastor Tom

IT IS A LEARNING CURVE

On behalf of the entire staff I want to thank our church family and friends for the gracious and supportive way you have accepted all the Covid 19 changes at James Island Baptist. We are so grateful for the positive feedback on our efforts. No system is perfect, but we are aiming for perfection wherever possible. We bless your decision whether it is to stay home or attend. We are praying for the day we can re-gather altogether, one church family in one location!

As I have said before, I know we have a variety of opinions about this pandemic. Some believe it is totally a hoax, a government conspiracy and that there should be no more reaction to Covid 19 than to any flu season. There are others on the opposite extreme who believes Covid 19 is as bad as they say it is and they are on maximum alert for how to avoid getting it. And then you have everything in between. There appears to be no letting up in the near future, so we are preparing for the long run. I suspect we will be doing health screenings as a part of attending worship for a while. I know that seems invasive to some. We understand that you may not want to have your temperature taken or answer basic wellness questions. That is ok. We bless you in your decision to stay at home until the situation changes. I do believe, with everything that is in me, that the overwhelming majority of our church family and friends appreciate the effort to help bless our church family.

Until today, we use to be able to say no one in our direct church family has Covid 19. That is not true any longer. It has moved from those that are in our circle of friends into our circle! Just remember we were always told it is not a matter of “if” you will get Covid 19 but “when”. So, let us do what we should have been doing all along. Wash your hands often and thoroughly; if you have a temperature, stay home; observe social distancing; avoid touching your face; wear a mask. These are just basic, common sense courteous actions. Let’s use this pandemic as a way to change our behavior for the better.

A few weeks ago I shared this with the staff: When you are in times of distress and are troubled by life circumstances, here is a suggestion: Increase. Increase your prayer time spending more time listening to the Father. Increase more time in praise focusing on the size of your God not the size of your problem. Increase in your outreach to help others who are in need getting the focus off of yourself. Keeping the main thing the main thing is a great way to see your life storm calm down. It may not remove your problem. It can help keep your problem in perspective.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

RADICAL: LIVING THE CHRIST LIFE

This is the name I gave the series I am teaching for June and July. The word radical means that something is different from the traditional, it can be extreme and/or revolutionary. That certainly fits a description of our Lord Jesus. He was no doubt considered very radical in his day. Often the crowds would respond that they never heard teaching like His and never saw miracles like He performed. I would even say the reason the religious leaders of His day wanted Him crucified is because He was such a radical. They did not care that He was religious and they really did not care that He was becoming known as a “Christ”. But they could not accept His claim to be the son of God. That was just one area where he was too radical. So I hope this series will help us see and understand the radical nature of our Lord; the radical nature of His teachings; and the radical nature of the call to come and follow Him.

I think the “world” does not really care if people call themselves Christian and act religious in their religious buildings. As long as you don’t do something real radical like let your commitment to Christ affect your vote in politics or affect your stand on the value of life. You can be religious and be quiet and not many will care. Try being outspoken about your biblical beliefs and you will quickly discover the meaning and application of the word radical. The radical nature of our calling to follow Christ is based on what I have called right beliefs/Biblical Orthodoxy. It must result in right behavior and practices in what can be called Orthopraxy. Right beliefs and right behaviors are to be supported by right attitudes, what I have labeled as orthopathy.

So this series is designed to examine the radical nature of the Christ life. We began with one of the most radical concepts of all: Followers of Jesus are forgiven and are to forgive. Trust me. It is a lot easier to say than to live out. Just try it. You can listen to that message online at the church website. This Sunday we will look at another crazy radical idea: Followers of Jesus are blessed and we are to be a blessing. Again…very easy to say but completely radically life changing when you try to live it.  Think on this: Jesus invited those who would become His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Him. Surely there was an easier membership class than that! What a radical.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom



By the Way, we had 58 people under the tent Sunday morning. Two couples came in their golf carts and one listened from a bedroom window! Remember if it is raining at 10 we will not have an outside service. Raining before or after…not a problem.

WE ARE OFF AND RUNNING

I am so very pleased at how well the three Sunday morning worship services went. We had great volunteers who cheerfully served and staff that led the way! Thank you one and all. I consider it a privilege to work with you all. One of the most amazing accomplishments was the timing of the services and having everyone making it from one place to the other…on time. Remember they were back to back to back at 9, 10 and 11. Many of our staff and volunteers did triple duty! Thank you and thank you and thank you. So, here is the run down: three worship services, one baptism and a wedding. It was a good day to be at James Island Baptist. I was pleasantly surprised at how many stayed after the 9:00 service to enjoy the music at 10:00. I suspect some who attend the 11:00 service will start coming earlier to enjoy the 10:00 music too!

One of the things I love most about our JIBC family is the attitude of cooperation and encouragement. Everyone was so on board and appreciative of having their temperature taken and answering the minimum health questions. This blesses them and others. We do this out of love for others and our willingness to be servants to others. By the way, if you ever do not feel like having your temperature taken or answering the basic general health questions, we fully understand that JIBC family might not be the place for you to worship or that you will wait to return when these precautions are longer necessary. That is ok. Some may wait to return when the Covid-19 pandemic is more under control. We will always want to bless you and your family for following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We encourage you to make choices you feel best for you. Your JIBC leadership team will do what we feel is best based on our research. Many of our members are rightly practicing caution by waiting a while longer. We bless you and look forward to seeing you again soon. Others are coming, wearing masks, strictly keeping distancing practices and doing all they know to do. Others are wading in using the best hygiene practices they know. I love you all. Thank you for staying in the fight!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

Psalm 122:1 

“I was glad when they said unto me ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord’”. 

Amen and Hallelujah! 

Psalm 133:1 

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity!” 

Sunday, we saw both of these Scriptures fulfilled. What a wonderful day to be back in the presence of our church family, gathered to worship and praise. All of our teams did an excellent job in the “soft launch” that allowed us to check all of our systems. Not one complaint about the effort to prescreen and then to screen everyone attending as a caution. Anyone not feeling comfortable with answering the general health questions and having your temperature taken may want to wait until screenings are no longer an issue. You do this not for yourself, but for your love of others. You are motivated out of love and a servant’s heart not fear. Thank you for spreading the love…not a virus…of any kind.

THREE SERVICES THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, June 7, we will start back with three, count them, 1,2,3 worship opportunities for our church family and friends. The first service will be at 9:00 in the Worship Center/Sanctuary. The 11:00 service will also be in the Worship Center/Sanctuary. Both of these services will be exactly alike EXCEPT for this..we will have a BAPTISM at the 11:00 service! Hallelujah and Amen. 

The 10:00 Worship Service will be outside under the tent. This will provide an open feel for those who would be more comfortable outside. (If it is raining on Sunday, no service outside.) The music at the 10:00 service will be completely different in style. It will feature, what I call, a little more folk sound, some older songs and a few rock classics that have been baptized.

We will evaluate all three of the services to make sure they are meeting the need of our family and friends. I had a non-church member contact me to say he would start attending because he and his family like the early service that gives them the rest of the day to enjoy!

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR TEAMS AND STAFF 

Offering our best could not happen without the large number of volunteers we have. There are too many teams to list so let’s just offer a great big thank you to them all. You are the best and we give thanks to God our Father for your willingness to lead and serve.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION 

My prayer: 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

Blessings,

Pastor Tom

AND JUST LIKE THAT WE ARE BACK…KIND OF!

This Sunday, May 31 at 11:00, we will be having a “soft re-entry” worship service. That means we will be checking out all the new procedures we are putting into place. We have done as much research as we can, consulting and meeting with leaders in every area necessary: political leaders on a national, state and local level; medical personnel have helped shape our policies; professional preschool leaders and children’s leaders; etc. That means is we are doing our best to show love and concern for those who would like to return to our gathered worship times at the JIBC Campus. (Remember, we have always been gathering and worshiping…just differently) So, if you would like to be a part of this “trial balloon” give us a call, email, text to let us know. It will be so good to be back.

WHAT ABOUT JUNE 7TH? 

On Sunday, June 7th, we really have some options for you. We will be offering three, count them 1, 2, 3 worship service options. There will be a 9 am and 11 am service in the worship center/auditorium. Temporarily, the balcony will be closed and we ask that everyone sit on the ground floor. There will be preschool and children’s care available at both of those services. 

There will also be a 10 am service outside under the big tent. This service will feature music by Laureen Deibert and her band! These songs will have a little folk gospel and a few baptized classics! No preschool or child care at this 10 am outside service. The goal for this service is to provide a worship option for those who would feel more comfortable outside. Our best health practices of social distancing, no hugs and handshakes will still be encouraged. You will be able to register for the service you plan to attend.

WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? 

We fully understand that we have members and friends all over the Covid-19 Spectrum. That means some who believe it is totally and completely a hoax and the opposite, those who believe it is deadly serious. Either way, we are taking steps to say we love you and want to do our best to provide worship while implementing the Best Practices for Re-entering Worship. So, everyone will have their temperature taken. If you have a temperature over 100.4, the best recommendation is to love your neighbor and stay home. The Welcome / Greeters / Health Stations will also ask you like 4 basic questions that help screen those who will attend. *Mask is optional. If you feel uncomfortable participating in this screening, it is perfectly ok for you to stay home and gather with us online as we have been doing for the last 10 weeks. 

THIS IS TEMPORARY 

We hope that sooner rather than later, we will be returning back to our usual gathering practices. Until then, remember we have always been worshiping…just differently. We have also continued doing mission, ministry, discipleship and fellowship. We don’t just go to church. We are the church. 

See you soon, good Lord willing

Pastor Tom

“I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the LORD!” Psalm 122:1

The Good Lord willing and the Creek don’t rise, we are planning the Re-Entry into Worship for Sunday, June 7! The first Sunday in June will be our attempt at “wading” back into the full flow of worship. The next few weeks you can expect a barrage of information coming your way about the process and the plans! Someone say “Amen!” I know that you have more questions than I can possible anticipate and answer in this article. So, we will be sending out letters, emails, and directions to our website, our Facebook page, smoke signals and any other way we can help communicate the plans and strategies.

Our staff has been “going to school” over the past months trying to learn as much as we can from leaders from all disciplines. We have heard from medical, legal, church, State Convention, Charleston Baptist Association, several churches of all denominations on James Island, professional preschool and children’s leaders, political figures and on and on! We have done about as much research as we can to prepare for re-entry back into worship.

We have put together JIBC teams in what we believe are the most necessary places and have assigned staff members to lead and assist in seeing these teams help our re-entry process go as successfully as it can. Our Re-Entry Teams include: Preschool; Children; Worship; Sanitation/Medical; Online Presence; Leaders who are influencers; Greeter/Safety Teams; and communication.

For the next 3 weeks, we would welcome any questions, thoughts, observations that you have. Send them to the church office and Neale will make sure we see them. The goal this week was to make the announcement that we are planning to re-enter worship on Sunday, June 7. Each week we will address more and more questions. You may have noticed that even on a national level, things change quickly: wear mask/don’t wear; gloves one week/gloves are bad the next week; 6 feet social distancing/18 feet distancing. So, my goal is not to criticize what anyone else is saying or doing. My goal is to plan as carefully and thoughtfully as we can, prepare as well as we can and be ready to adjust where we can. We do suspect there will be major adjusting from week to week. That is ok; we are a resilient group of people.

Now, hear this: there are some people who perhaps should stay home for a while longer. If you are in an at risk group, why push your luck? You have our blessing to stay home until a later date. By the way, we are investing in better equipment so we can Live Stream for anyone who cannot join us physically. What a great team we have!

We will be sending more information as soon as we can. Please don’t hesitate to send your questions in. Just remember, be kind. No one has all the right answers except our Father.

See you real soon,

Pastor Tom

MOVING TOWARD RE-ENTRY INTO WORSHIP

As we move toward re-entry into worship and fellowship, here is a great verse from God’s Word to consider. Inspired by God, 2 Peter 1:5-8 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the more interesting aspects of this pandemic known as Covid-19/Corona Virus is the wide spectrum of beliefs and feelings. Talking about the virus should be a rallying point since we all have to deal with it in one way or the other. It seems to me that this pandemic is just as divisive as any political issue between Republicans and Democrats. People who 3 months ago were just your well educated neighbours are now smarter than internationally renowned virologist. Others without access to first hand facts are now experts in fields they did not know existed in January.

My personal approach is to listen to the experts and believe that our President, our Governor and our Mayors have these two things in common: they want people safe and they want people working. I want to add to that the desire to see people worshipping together again. Thankfully, many churches are beginning to re-enter back into limited smaller version of gathering for worship. I have been reaching out to the churches on James Island and have been in constant contact with the Charleston Baptist Association. The CBA is doing a stellar job in helping the process information with local leaders from churches, politics, medical, legal, etc. You can check them out at www.charlestonbaptist.net. They have made their resources and research available to everyone. I made sure the James Island Ministerial Association also had access to these resources.

Now let’s get back to the Bible in 2 Peter 1. While I am very appreciative of those who have helped inform our decisions and to those who will help us implement and evaluate our decisions, I am most grateful for the guidance given by God’s Word. My opinion, your opinion or anyone else’s opinion does not trump the mandates found in God’s Word. 2 Peter calls us to add these things to our lives: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Here is my point: we are not somehow exempt from the command to exhibit these qualities just because we disagree with someone. There is no place for arrogance...which you may remember is listed as idolatry. It is always the time, but now in particular, to be kind, loving, faithful, good, self-controlled...did I mention kind. Mom was right when she said “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.” Generally speaking, that is pretty sound advice.

See you soon, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

COULD SOMEBODY HIT THE RESET BUTTON!

I am not quite there yet, but I do understand the emotions that are leading some people to protest! People are ready to get back to…everything: worship, work, recreation, the beach, the gym, restaurants, family, hospital visits, face to face encounters. We are so ready and so over Mr. Corona Virus. To those who are running on emotional fumes I would say “steady as she goes”. Now is not the time to give up, quit trying, slack off of prayers or lose hope. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country! That was my rally cry a month ago and it is still my rally cry today. Steady as she goes: keep the faith, continue praying, look for opportunity to bless, be encouraging, act responsibly and be kind. Especially be kind!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A GOOD BAPTIST? Have you heard that one? What does it take to be a good Baptist? You must be born again and own a good casserole dish! You know that even during a pandemic, the JIBC family is going to be all about the food. James Island Outreach was experiencing a shortage of food and an increase in clients because of the pandemic. In true JIBC style you gave generously. We organized a grocery shopping mission trip for the church staff. The idea was each of us would buy a grocery cart full of needed items for James Island Outeach. We did the shopping, but JIBC family donated the funds. Mission accomplished and you can see the video on Facebook…funny as it is! Before we returned to the office, JIBC family and friends gave another $1,500 for more groceries. So, I asked for 10 volunteers to join me again to go mission grocery shopping. We had 13 show up and bought right at 1,000 pounds of groceries. That made 1,500 pounds given in 7 days. Again, the offerings kept growing. Now I am asking for Jr. High and Sr. High students to join me in a mission grocery shopping trip. I want them to visit James Island Outreach to see the wonderful ministry and mission. My guess is that by next week, JIBC family and friends will have donated over 1 ton of groceries! To God be the glory.

HOW ABOUT OUR WEDNESDAY NIGHT DINNERS? Chef Barry and his Kitchen Krew Warriors did not want the church family to forget about Wednesday night dinners. So they devised a plan to eat and do missions! Winner, winner, chicken dinner. The idea was to buy boxed dinners for you and your family and buy an extra one for someone you know: a veteran, a homebound, an unchurched neighbor. Boom! Instant success. This week we will be sending 10 dinners out to EMT workers in addition to the 100 meals prepared for JIBC and friends. Jesus kind of set the standard when he ate a meal with Matthew/Levi and his tax collecting buddies. Eating evangelism. Gotta love it.

Hang in there, we are one day closer to getting back together. We have a team being put together to make re-entry as safe as possible as soon as possible. Until then, be a blessing to someone and be kind.

Pastor Tom

WHEN CAN WE RETURN TO CHURCH?

That is a great question and I wish I had a great answer. Like the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, we know every day brings us one day closer than we were. So, let’s talk about the process of re-entering the worship time together. Two things before we begin. First, the staff discusses the when and how every time we are have staff meetings, whether by Zoom or in person. When we meet in person we meet in the Fellowship Hall and sit at different tables. Really! The second thing is our awareness that there are churches meeting as usual, having drive-in services and finding other ways to worship. I see that but I do not envy that. I am one that thinks this pandemic Covid 19 is actually as bad if not worse than the officials are telling us. In 6 weeks we have had almost as many deaths as in the Korean War or Vietnam. I am not the least bit comforted in the statement that most of those who died had pre-existing health issues. They are still someone’s loved one. So, how will we decide when to re-enter worship together. As you might guess, we will try to use some Biblical wisdom and principles.

First: Romans 13:1 says “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities.” I am not likely to be one of those pastor’s who is jailed or fined because I refused to follow guidelines designed to keep me and my flock alive and healthy! Even with the sometimes confusing and mixed messages, I am still going to depend on our National, State and Local leaders to give helpful direction. The Charleston Baptist Association is helping to provide access to leaders (government, lawyers, medical, children’s specialist, etc) that can give wise leadership.

Second, let’s look at 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible but not everything builds up. No one is to seek his own good but the good of the other person.” I am trying to wear my mask in public and even have taken lessons on the right and wrong way to wear gloves. I am not being a recluse but I am not trying to be careless. Wearing a mask is a polite thing to do for the other person….not seeking my own good but seeking the good of the other person. Mass gatherings provide a great target for this virus. We might have a constitutional right to assemble…it just might not be the smartest, healthiest thing to do…right now.

Third, Philippians 4:5 says “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Some translations say “graciousness”, let your reasonable and gracious ways be known to all. What makes sense? Let’s be reasonable and gracious. Most would have no reason to ever think of this, but churches that meet in defiance to governing authorities could end with liability issues that were unnecessary. Let’s be wise in our decisions. Proverbs 15:22 says “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed”. We will seek the counsel of godly advisers. When we open, it will be with the blessing of our Staff, our Elders and other church leaders. We will be looking for the input of governing officials, attorneys, mayors, child care specialist, etc.

We want our witness to the cause of Christ to be strong. We do not want it to be negatively affected because we moved quickly in defiance of wise counsel. I am so looking forward to being back with you. Hugs, smiles, joy, worship, praise are among the things I miss the most. But until then, keep practicing social distancing, wash your hands thoroughly and often, don’t touch your face and say your prayers!

Love you all,

Tom

A NEW NORMAL?

Have you heard that phrase tossed around a time or two lately? For some, that seems to be the only salve that can be put on the disruption caused by the pandemic virus, Covid-19. It seems we will all be dealing with a new normal…whatever that might be. 

So, let’s start with what might be the obvious statements. Some of us loved the old normal and will be sad to see it changed. Part of me is hoping to hold on to my favorite parts of the old normal while gladly getting rid of other parts that were not working so well. Others are the opposite. They were not all that thrilled with the old normal and will gladly take a chance at shuffling the deck again and hoping for a better hand! Reality check: buckle up there will be some adjusting coming our way, some no doubt will be easier to accept than others. So, don’t be surprised if you find yourself grieving over losing a level of comfort found in our old normal.

I don’t know that I can accurately come close to describing all the ways the new normal might affect us as a church family. The staff is already burning brain cells trying to prepare our hearts and minds for whatever is coming. We will be meeting with leaders to add to the mix. After all, our leaders will be dealing with new normal in their own families and businesses too.

I find myself dealing with a little bit of denial…maybe things in church will end up very close to how it use to be. Oh, how I would like to think that could be true. On this particular day, I am planning, for the first time in my ministry a funeral that can only be attended by less than 10 people. I have not made a hospital visit in over a month. That is a first in my 45 year ministry. There are lesser questions like “will we still pass the offering plate” while getting used to this new normal? Will we go back to two worship services in order to meet suggested gathering sizes? As the old rock & roller used to say: “goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!”

I am not trying to borrow trouble from tomorrow. I am trying to say it is time to plan and prepare…not panic. You know what will not change? God’s love for you will not change; the ministry of the Holy Spirit to lead His Church to carry out the Great Commission will not change; our call to go, make disciples, to reach, to teach, to minister to one another, to help the poor, to be the hands and feet of Christ will not change. What might change is the way we do it. I might like parts of, and even most of, the old normal. But I do not worship what is normal. I worship God who is above whatever is normal, new or old. I worship a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever more. We worship a God who specializes in turning our mess into a message, our trials into triumphs, our test into a testimony. We cannot second guess what the new normal will be like. We can make a commitment to plan and prepare…not panic.

Blessings,

Pastor Tom

Let’s See What We Can Do

We have received word from James Island Outreach that they are in need of food items. In particular, they are in need of: jelly, jiffy corn bread mix, pancake mix, juice, instant potatoes, saltines, cereal, canned potatoes, canned mixed veggies (no green beans or corn).
Now, I like a challenge. I think that we could get them a ton, literally 2,000 pounds of food, if we just put our hearts and minds to it. So, I am committed to P.U.S.H….Pray Until Something Happens! I will do my best to send a letter out by the end of the week. Some of you might actually get my letter before you get the weekly Church Messenger. By then, I hope to have a plan in place as to how we might do this together! Here is what I am thinking today since we have limited access to drop food off at the church and it is not a good idea to come around to pick it up from your home. In that letter will be a stamped envelope addressed back to James Island Baptist. It will have something inside that will let you send us your prayer request, make an offering to help feed the underserved at James Island Outreach and/or include a tithe and offering gift for ongoing church ministries and missions. We have volunteers who will go and do shopping for James Island Outreach! The order to shelter in place/stay home only slowed us down a little. Missions and ministry continue on…albeit in a little different way!

In Case You Missed It We have former members of JIBC who have been serving for many years in International Missions. Apparently there was a security breech at some point and their names were associated with our mission agency. That is one reason we will not mention their names here. They are no longer allowed to return to the country where they have served for a couple of decades. This is a set back to the effort to reach one of the largest people groups in the world. While certain missionaries may not be allowed back we can know the Gospel will continue to go forward unhindered. Prayers appreciated.

Guard Your Heart “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  Proverbs 4:23
During this time of change caused by the Corona Virus/Covid-19, I encourage you to guard your hearts. The only people who really like change are babies with wet diapers! This amount of change can be stressful and can affect you physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially and socially. So, guard your heart. Spend time in prayer and praise, read His Word, exercise when you can, call someone to chat (one friend of mine has made over 90 calls during this time), try to be productive (we tackled a closet that we have not opened in over 20 years). This time has affected me emotionally more than anticipated. So I keep doing what I know to do…guard my heart!

Pastor Tom

AND LET ME REPEAT MYSELF!

Is this just the weirdest times you can ever remember? I know the virus is the topic de jour and it is for good reason. This is the only pandemic that I can remember in my lifetime. The consequences on me and my family have only been inconvenient. For some the cost has been deadly and devastating. I am praying for our national leaders, the researchers, world leaders, health care providers, truck drivers, and anyone else considered essential to helping end this plague! I have nothing but love for any and all who are helping and I have no time for the critic. Let me repeat myself: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of our country. God bless everyone who is doing their part to make a difference.

PLEASE LET US KNOW
We are trying to stay in contact with our church family. If you know of anyone who has needs we might be able to meet, please let us know. We would rather hear it two or three times than not hear about it once.

STAY IN TOUCH Your church staff is trying our best to avoid being in the office and are cooperating with the call to shelter at home…the best we can. Neale has the phones covered and all of your staff can be reached by phone, email or Facebook. Our team has done a good job at pre-recording Sunday’s service. This will be the first Resurrection Sunday/Easter Sunday I have not been present with our church family in 35 years. You can still watch the service by going to the church website (jamesislandbaptist.com), going to YouTube, or one of our Facebook pages. I am sure there are other places as well. If you are having trouble sleeping, you can go to my Facebook page and listen to the daily devotionals I have posted there!

Don’t forget to call someone today. You need them and they need you. I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet so take this for what it is worth.

THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO I do believe the worst two weeks are directly in front of us. We know there are three things each of us can do to make a tremendous difference. One, shelter in place as much as possible: stay at home and limit the number of targets this virus has. Number two: wash your hands often and thoroughly. Now do it again. Bring in the mail? Wash your hands 20 seconds with soap and water. Someone came to your house? Wipe down everywhere they went and then wash your hands. It sounds so simple yet it is the #2 way to beat this virus. Number three: DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE (EYES, NOSE, MOUTH). Again, sounds so simple yet it is very hard to do. One reason to wear a mask is to remind yourself not to touch your face. I am trying to treat everyone like I am the one who has the virus. I don’t think you have it, I will just act like I have it and I love you too much to give it to you. So I will avoid being around you for a short period of time.

Read Psalm 91 again today. Pray it as a prayer. Share it as a blessing.

Looking forward to catching up on all the hugs and handshakes!

Pastor Tom