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