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