END OF THE YEAR, REALLY?

It is hard to believe the end of the year is just around the corner. Time flies when you’re dealing with Covid! Lol. The staff wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a Spirit filled New Year. There are so many ways I am happy to turn the page on this year. But there are also so many ways I want to rejoice and thank our Father in Heaven. Even as I write this article, I am aware that we have a worship center stage full of kindness. I am guessing we have a thousand diapers, over 200 jars of jelly and backpack snacks enough to fill 50 back packs for under-served kids. Thank you for your generous giving. You might remember that the 2020 Christmas Eve Offering helped provide a farm for a family in an impoverished area around the world. We were able, through the Southern Baptist SEND RELIEF mission provide fish for a pond, goats and cows, literacy classes and more. How fun it is to support missions around the world and here at home.

You may also remember that in August, we designated one week’s offering as Kingdom Sunday Offering. Every tithe and offering given that day and week, went to help others. We sent $5,000 to help with the Afgan refugees; $5,000 for Haiti earthquake victims and $5,000 for the Hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana through our friend at Carpenter’s House International, Charles Dillon. That does not include the mission work we are carrying on every week here in the Charleston area. Again, thank you for your generous giving.

As we speak, we have a team of volunteers working to completely renovate the Children’s Worship Area. It will look amazing. We will have an open House once they are up and running. Our Student Ministry Director, Logan Duvall had his highest attendance in student ministry last Sunday Night. In a time where we can be so distracted by bad news, we want to make sure we praise God for his blessings. I think he said he had 30 Students for their Big Event! Way to go Logan and Student Ministry Team. Well done.

My thanks to Scott for filling in for me this past Sunday. I woke up with a case of vertigo and was not able to make it. He only had an hour notice. Scott, thanks brother, you are amazing. It is Monday afternoon when I am writing this article. So far, so good…no spinning! Looking forward to seeing you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

PS Mark Livengood is collecting Christmas Cards this year for His ministry in Ukraine. Save your cards and bring them to the church office. They will be double blessed!

Celebrate Jesus

A Unique Feature in the Christmas Eve Services

I know we all hate to be teased. I am going to do it anyway. You know our Christmas Eve Worship Services have always been wonderful. We focus on Carols, Candles and Communion. We generally pack the Worship Center as we sing beautiful songs, enjoy a festive mood and worship our Lord. Ok, same this year with a wonderful, surprising little bonus feature. Remember, we have two services: one at 4 pm and the second one at 6 pm. By the way, don’t forget that a Christmas Eve service is the easiest service of the year to invite family and friends to join you. Use the invite cards. You will be glad you invited them. Oh yeah…come a little early to get a seat and to hear the “pre-worship” songs!

I Love The Way We Celebrate Advent

I have heard people ask with a note of cynicism “Why can’t we be this generous all year long?”  My typical response…you need to come and hang around James Island Baptist. From January through October, you gave an additional $3,325 to James Island Outreach; you gave 5,627 pounds of groceries; and we have a group of members who volunteer at JIO. This is how we live! It is not just at Christmas. At Christmas we turn on the afterburners and reach super-sonic giving levels. I love that I do not even know all the ways our church family and connection groups are serving our community. You can still bring jelly, diapers, baby wipes, healthy snacks, and make an offering to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We will continue to do that through the end of the year…and then we will start all over! I love the way we Celebrate Jesus!

Will They Ever Come Back?

A recent article in the Baptist Courier said that 98% of all churches are back to having in person meetings. The article also suggested that most churches are not near their pre-pandemic attendance levels. Worship attendance is improving but not back to full attendance. The average church has about 73% of their members back in attendance. About 35% say their attendance levels are between 50% to 70% of pre-pandemic numbers. Only 13% had 90% to 100 % of their previous attendance levels. Here is a Word that might be helpful: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” Hebrews 10:25. Our prayers and love to all who are still “hunkered down” trying to avoid getting Covid-19. I hope you can stay connected through the JIBC livestream. We are in the process of purchasing some equipment that will make our livestream efforts even better. We are better together. I pray for those who are away that they will not be away from the Lord, from the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible Study, or away from continuing to be outward focused.

See you Sunday, Good Lord willing and the Elves don’t rise!

Pastor Tom

What do you want for Christmas?

It is a fun question and can result in some very heartfelt answers. What do you want for Christmas? Let’s start with one thing that is always on the list…world peace. Right? How in the world the human race has survived for so long is a testimony to the grace of God. Sin, greed and self-centeredness seem to always be behind the callous call for attack and war, whether it is personal, political, racial, national or international. “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” By God’s grace we can have peace with God, know the peace of God in our lives and be agents of peace in our community and world.

Another thing I always want for Christmas is for family to be together. When my grown kids ask me what I want for Christmas the answer is always the same: I want all my kids sitting at my table talking with no cell phones. It is my favorite gift. If they get me socks of handkerchiefs, that is ok, too.

Wouldn’t it be a great Christmas if we could find a way to give gifts to those who really are under served? That is one of the reasons I love the way JIBC celebrates the Advent season. We keep the emphasis on Jesus, worship and giving. During the entire month of December we will be collecting jelly for James Island Outreach (jioutreach.org) diapers and wipes for The Low Country Pregnancy Center (LPCfriends.com); snacks for the Backpack Buddies ministry helping underserved students; and a love offering for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering that helps support almost 4,000 missionaries around the world (IMB.org).

Yep, that is a big part of what I want for Christmas: a church family that continually focuses outward. I love you all and hope you get what you want for Christmas. BTW, don’t forget to invite someone to one of the Christmas Eve Services. This year’s service will have something very new!

Pastor Tom

Celebrate Jesus

I love the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. It was on a Thanksgiving weekend that Janie and I were married 46 years ago, November 29, 1975. I was still in college and I had to ask off of my job as a grader for Dr. Carpenter. He thought a weekend honeymoon was long enough and suggested I not be gone for the week. And so ended my career as a Garrett Fellow grading for Dr. Carpenter! LOL. I think the trade off was so worth it. Can you guess where we went for our honeymoon? Yep, Disney World. We might not have been back every year for our anniversary, but we have been back for most of them. We feel kind of obligated to make sure Mickey has enough money to stay open for the next generations.

The day we came back from our honeymoon was the very day I was supposed to start my first staff position as Student Pastor at Edgewood Baptist Church in Walterboro. That was a great group of people who took Janie and me under their wings and helped us to succeed in mission and ministry. I finished my last two years at Baptist College, now Charleston Southern University, and then moved on to seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

So, when I think of this time of the year, I have wonderful fond memories of how our little family got started. I have a lot to be thankful for and even more that causes me to praise God. I know not everyone is in a festive mood during the holidays. My prayer is that you will be comforted and strengthened; that you will find moments of rest and peace that allow you to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. The birth of Christ was far less than a picture perfect fairy tale. He was born in a barn, sought by King Herod to be assassinated, had to flee as a refugee to a nearby country, etc. Yet, he carried on in obedience to His Father and for the love of broken people.

Our advent theme this year is “Celebrate Jesus”. Pure, simple, to the point…celebrate Jesus in worship, in daily living, in gifts to the poor and under-served…Celebrate Jesus. He has been tempted in all things as we have yet he was without sin and, by God’s grace, pushed on through the horrible start to find meaning and purpose. I pray we can all do the same. Knowing this is a hard time for some, I still say to you from the bottom of my heart…Merry Christmas. May His presence be so real to you it overshadows and overpowers the hurt and heartaches of life.

Celebrate Jesus,

Pastor Tom

This Sunday: First Sunday of Advent

The word advent comes from the Latin word that means “coming”. It refers to the coming of our Lord Jesus…both His birth (His first coming) and His return (His Second Coming). The Advent season refers specifically to the four Sundays before Christmas. This year we begin with this Sunday, November 28th as the first Sunday of Advent. And then December 5, 12, and 19 are the other Sundays of Advent.

We have chosen CELEBRATE JESUS, CHRISTMAS 2021 as our Advent Theme. The focus will be, of course, Jesus. This year the four sermons of Advent will be: The Joy in Creation; The Hope in the Cradle; The Love on the Cross; and The Peace Wearing a Crown. It will be more of a “theological” look at the Christmas celebration. We will celebrate Jesus as Creator, Immanuel, Our Redeemer and King.

One of the traditions I love here at James Island Baptist is how we combine our Advent Season with community and world missions. During the four Sundays of Advent, we are asking our church family and friends to give gifts that will help our community and help to share the Gospel. You can bring these gifts on any Sunday. They do not have to be brought in any particular order. First, there are gifts for the Low Country Pregnancy Center: diapers of any size, wipes or clothing for up to 2T. Second, the gift of Jelly to help support the James Island Outreach. Any flavor will do. For our new families, we have been designated as the “Jelly Church”. But truly, you could bring anything. Keep your eyes open for the BOGO’s! Third, Backpack Buddies is a ministry to provide food over the weekend to underserved families with elementary age children. Any of the following items would be great: Cups of Mac/Chz, can pasta, peanut butter, nuts, jelly, jerky, chips, granola bars and/or fruit cups. Last, but not least, is the Lottie Moon International Missions Offering. This offering goes to support worldwide missions. One of the practical realties of this offering is that 100% of the offering goes to the missionaries. Not one penny is used for advertising or administration. This is about as BIG a BANG that you can get for your mission gift.

The Advent Season is designed to help us keep in focus the reason for the season. It is designed to help us Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth; to help us remember the meaning of Christmas; to help us remember the underserved in our community; and to share the Gospel of God’s great love for the world. If you would like to help deliver any of these items, you are more than welcome to join in the festivities. Just let us know.

See you this Sunday, good Lord willing, as we begin the 2021 Advent Season.

Pastor Tom

Too Early? Never!

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go”. I know, it seems too early to say or sing that. But ready or not, here it comes. I was visiting at MUSC Ashley River Tower last week and they already have two, count them, two Christmas trees up in their lobby. Costco has had their Christmas items up since July 4th! And local radio station 102.5 is playing Christmas music as we speak. I’ve got to tell you, I am not all that upset about it. I say it each year, I love all things Christmas except anyone who goes into debt to buy Christmas. Never forget the meaning and purpose. Then celebrate the King!

For me, Christmas officially starts this Saturday when Janie and I put up our decorations. Friday night I pull the storage boxes out of the shed and all day Saturday, fire blazing and football games playing, the magic of Christmas decorations happen. This Sunday will be our Thanksgiving Sunday at JIBC. A few of the decorations will be up at JIBC Sunday and all of them will be up we you arrive on Sunday, November 28th, the first Sunday of Advent.

Another thing I love about this time of the year is our tradition of giving to certain Missions and Ministries. Our first gift of the year is to the Lottie Moon/International Missions Offering. I love this because 100% of every gift goes to the missionaries and their support. Not one penny is taken out for administration or advertisement. Our second gift goes to James Island Outreach. We give this at the community Thanksgiving Service. This year it will be an outside worship event held at St. James Presbyterian Church on the corner of Fort Johnson and Secessionville Road. By the way, it will be at 4:00 PM and it is outside, so bring your own chair! Really…that will be different. There are other missions and ministries that Janie and I give to, but these are always the first two!

Advent begins on November 28th with the theme of Celebrate Jesus. Each Sunday of Advent we will celebrate a wonderfully unique attribute of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course we will be collecting jelly for James Island Outreach and offerings for Lottie Moon and more. I love it. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Worship, giving, fellowship, family, decorations, festivities, etc. I love all things Christmas…except going into debt to pay for it. Don’t do that!

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

Some favorite Christmas songs: Tran-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Canon; Anything by the Rat Pack/Sinatra, Martin and Sammy; Baby It’s Cold Outside; Rod Stewart Merry Christmas; Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer…only if Janie and the Grandkids are in the car!

Thanksgiving Next!

It seems as though time is flying by quicker than ever. It may have to do with that age thing, lol. Whatever it is, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the first Sunday of Advent. Oh my. Our local radio channel 102.5 has already started playing Christmas music. They started on July 4th. So here are a couple of Thanksgiving opportunities for our church family and friends.

First, just a little hint…you might want to put the November 17, Wednesday Night Supper on your calendar. I have been sworn to secrecy, but not sworn to strategic leaks! Trust me..put your reservation in this week. Come as a family or invite a friend. You will not regret it.

Second, On Sunday, November 21 we will celebrate Thanksgiving week together. We will observe the Lord’s Supper together. We will build the service around the Eucharist…giving thanks. We have so much to be thankful for and now we will have a service dedicated to helping us give thanks. Now, after this service, believe it or not…our team of volunteers will be decorating the Worship Center for Christmas! The first to see it will be those who attend Celebrate Recovery on Sunday, November 21. Our lovely Worship Center becomes alive with Christmas colors.

Third, here is a new twist. On Sunday, November 21 at 4:00 PM you are invited to join together for our Community Thanksgiving Service. Here is the twist: the time will be 4:00 so no one will have to fight the night time. Second twist, the service will be held OUTSIDE. Yep, outside. St. James Presbyterian will be hosting this year’s celebration. They are located on the corner of Ft. Johnson Road and Secessionville at 1314 Secessionville Road. Those attending are asked to BYOC…bring your own chair! You could bring a blanket if that works better. In the event of inclement weather, the worship will take place inside and the event will be live streamed. Want to help out…we need two or three volunteers from JIBC to help with parking and guest arrival. Volunteers need to show up at 3 PM. If you can, bring a food item donation or a cash donation for the worship service. Oh, you do need to wear a mask to this event. Your Pastor will be singing a solo this year. Not really. I volunteered Janie to sing a solo…our attorney contacted me and suggested I withdraw her name. That being said, there will be some incredible music as always.

After that..Advent! We have a really good theme for this year’s Advent Season. I think you will really be challenged.

Let us give thanks to our Lord, for He is good. As they say…God is good all the time and...

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

Reason 2789 why I love our church family!

I love the sound of this old familiar song…“This Year’s Fall Festival May Have Been The Best Ever!”

You know, there is absolutely no way we could ever get a count of how many people attended. We know the number is somewhere between a lot and all we can handle. LOL. This year’s Festival had guest arriving at 5:30 and not leaving until 9:15…that is over an hour longer that we have had in the past. So the number of guests who attended were spread out over an additional hour.

You could almost feel the joy of those attending to experience a fun, free, family friendly event. Especially after such a long time struggle with Covid-19, Isolation, mask mandates, etc, etc. Man, this party for a thousand people was just what the Good Doctor ordered.

There is absolutely no way we can do an event this big without all the volunteers that came out to make it happen. Every volunteer was needed and help carry the load of serving our community. Thank you to those who prayed, those who gave, those who brought candy, those who volunteered at the booths, those who set up, cleaned up, showed up, came early, stayed late, worked on rocks, played great music, made phone calls, used their friend-fluence, stuffed bags, tended to emergency scrapes, purchased food, cooked food, served food, cleaned up food, picked up trash, brought friends, spoke to new people, loved on old people, and on and on we could go. Job well done good and faithful servants. Well done.

I just talked with a woman who said she and her family do not do “Halloween” because they do not go out on the streets. When I told her about our Fall Festival, she immediately thought of how wonderful it must be to have a safe event for families. We are thankful for Bill, our onsite police officer, the Firemen who stayed for an hour or so and our own safety team that stayed ever watchful. To God be the glory for a safe and fun time.

Our prayer is that every family that stepped on the campus of JIBC felt the love of God and the friendliness of His people. Perhaps, if they decide they would like to try a church out, they will consider JIBC. Maybe, just maybe, if they have a need, they will reach out to the people who seemed so real and genuine. Hopefully, they will remember…and decide to check us out some Sunday, Christmas Eve or some other special day in their lives.

Again, this is reason 2789 of why I love our church family! I love you all,

We are here for the harvest,

Pastor Tom

What Kind of Fish Hook?

What kind of fish hook should a person use in order to catch fish? If you are not a fisherman you might not ever give that a thought. If, however, you want to catch fish, it does make a difference. Are you fishing freshwater or saltwater? It makes a difference. You might not have even known fish hooks have sizes. Weird, the larger the hook number, the smaller the hook. Then when you go the other way, as the aught gets bigger the hooks get bigger. Are you fishing for trout or tuna? Ok, you know this is not a fishing lesson…especially from a guy that does not fish. Then what is it about? We are, as Jesus said, fishers of men. That is part of our calling as disciples, followers of Jesus. Sometimes we are fishing for little fish and sometimes we are fishing for the BIG one. We do not always use the same size hooks or the same kind of bait. The Gospel is always the same, but the methods vary depending on who we are going after.

Much of our fishing for men is done in what we call the “Community”. Most of the people in our community are not that interested in organized religion. So offering Bible Studies is not great bait for them. What might interest them is a Fall Festival where families can come to have fun in a family friendly environment. Another way to attract “Community” is our Weekday Preschool Ministry. Laura Holmes and her team do a great job of providing reasonably priced child care in a loving environment. Celebrate Recovery is a unique type of hook trying to reach people who are ready to change and recognize that Jesus Christ is the Higher Power. Those are three different types of “fish” requiring three different types of “hooks” but all of them motivated by the same Gospel.

What I love about our JIBC family is that you are fishing all over our community, using a variety of hooks and a variety of “baits and lures”. As you follow Jesus he leads you to sprits outings, to coach teams, to join clubs, go to events, watch ballgames…all places where we can find all types of “fishes”.

We have been commissioned by our Lord Jesus to go into the entire world and catch fish…to be fishers of men and to make them disciples. Keep up the great work.

Dear Father, I pray for your people known as James Island Baptist. May we be faithful to your call to become fishers of men. Give us wisdom, compassion, eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts ready for action. May there be a bigger catch this year than ever before. May we have the joy that comes from seeing changed lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THANKSGIVING?

I have been asked by a few people about the next mission trip to Louisiana. I am not sure when I will be making the next trip. I am sure about when Charles and Judy could use some help…Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving this year is Thursday, November 25. I feel quite sure Charles would love to have a team come to help pray for, pray with, cook, serve, give out Bibles etc.

Right after Katrina hit New Orleans 16 years ago, we had a big crew that cooked complete Thanksgiving Meals then we took the food to New Orleans and fed the masses! This trip may be a little different. I don’t believe Janie and I will be making this trip. But we would be glad to help plan and coordinate a trip for anyone interested in going.

Charles and Judy are currently working in LaFitte, Louisiana. That is right at 800 miles away which translates to about a 12- 14 hour drive each way. The last group that drove agreed that it really should be a two day drive and not just a one day drive.

JIBC might be sending the funds to help purchase some Thanksgiving Meals. So there should be no food to transport. They could always use help cooking, serving and loving on people. This would be a great trip if you have a desire to go. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up. If you want to go and need some help connecting with Charles, let me know. We will be glad to provide a support network.

We are still trying to provide Charles Dillon with some of the supplies and equipment he needs to carry on his work. If you would like to know more about going and how you could help, please contact me at tombrown41@comcast.net or 843.762.0244.

God has blessed Charles with great contacts with the Mayor of LaFitte, the Chief of a Native American tribe in the area and over a dozen pastors’. It sounds to me like Charles has found the place for the base of his mission of mercy. Let’s pray for and continue to support Charles and Judy Dillon.

Blessings in His Name,

Pastor Tom

FALL FESTIVAL #36

It is hard to believe we have been hosting the Fall Festival for 36 years. We started back in 1985. It has become a part of our culture. Again, let me walk through the vision and the mission of Fall Festival. We started this outreach event as a positive alternative for families. I know there are lots of people, JIBC families included, that love Halloween. It can be a fun day for families. Any way you look at it, the origins of Halloween has a dark side to it. Realistically, I know one could make the case that Halloween has evil origins connected with it. I also know one could make the case of how the Roman Catholic Church tried to influence and change the day into a day to remember their dead. This became connected to All Saints Day. I realize this is a very simplistic explanation. I could go much deeper into the specifics. I at least admire the Roman Catholic Church for trying to overshadow a day they viewed as evil or at least not helpful. Sacrificing to deities is a good way to bring down wrath!

When some of us were growing up, we made no association with Halloween except as the bonanza day for getting enough candy to last the rest of the year! In my neighborhood, you basically dressed up as a ghost or a mummy…or anything else a sheet could be used for. As the years went by, there were horrific crimes done on this particular day: candy being spiked, treats that were meant to do harm, children being harmed in various ways. It no longer seemed safe to send children to the homes of strangers to ask for treats. I know, I know, this is such an extreme position for what so many see as a harmless day of fun.

So, let’s get biblical: This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. We do not have to surrender any day to the devil or to evil. And we do not live in fear. We go head to head with Halloween by offering a positive alternative for families. There is no doubt that any child wanting to get candy can get more than enough at the JIBC Fall Festival. In addition, they can have a couple of hours of fun playing games, enjoying the atmosphere, winning candy and prizes, having a meal, listening to great music…all in as safe an environment as we can provide.

This is the largest community outreach event of the year for JIBC. It is an opportunity to love on the community and to meet a need for positive, wholesome fun! To make this year a success we need three things: prayer, volunteers and lots of candy! If you have never been to one of our Fall Festivals, please come and check it out. Volunteer at one of the booths for one or more shifts. We still have several slots to be filled. Pick up a bag of candy this week…especially if you see a “BOGO”.

Thanks for loving the community! See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

What’s in a name?

Mr. Shakespeare, in one of his most well known works, Romeo and Juliet, says: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. What is in a name? Often time it is quite a lot, good or bad. Other times a name is just a name, a handle by which someone is known or called. I mentioned a while back that Southern Baptist were putting forth the idea of a name change. The thought was to change from “Southern Baptist” to “Great Commission Baptist”. For two reasons I think that is not a bad idea. First, we have long since left the region of “southern” as the place we live and breathe and do the work God called us to do. We really are “Global Baptist” more than we are Southern Baptist. The name Great Commission Baptist does help identify who we are and at the very same time remind us of what our mission is to be. Second, try as we might, it is very hard to remove ourselves from our roots. Our start as Southern Baptist was only a little about missions and a lot about slavery. So, what’s in a name?

Well, let’s take a look at the name Great Commission Baptist. Did you know that as Baptists we have given over $5 Billion to international missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering? That does not include what was given through the Co-operative Program for International Mission Support. This year, concerning International Missions, we have approved 422 New Missionaries; have engaged 247 New People Groups; saw 86,587 Baptisms; welcomed 144,322 New Believers; and have planted 18,380 new churches. That really does sound like Great Commission Baptist. The Southern Baptist Convention/Great Commission Baptist, consist of 47,000 churches in North America. When we cooperate, we can do missions together that makes an impact around the world. A rose by any other name still smells the same. My prayer is that whatever we call the rose known as Southern Baptist/Great Commission Baptist, we will still make the same world wide effort to make disciples who make disciples that change the world. The lost person does not care much if we are called “southern” or “great commission”. They do care that we shared Good News about Jesus Christ, brought hope, lived out our love for God and people.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15.

It is not too early to start thinking of making an offering to the Lottie Moon International Mission Offering this Christmas season. Can’t believe I said the word Christmas before Thanksgiving.

Pastor Tom

ODDS AND ENDS

A few odds and ends in Mission and Ministry I would like to share. Sometimes, God is moving and I don’t always take the time to give Him praise and thanks. So here are a few areas that I want to share with you.

First, the Transition House if full. We have three women and one infant in the home right now. For those who are new to JIBC, our church family runs a Transition Home for women coming out of the Charleston Center Alcohol and Drug Inpatient Center. We are one of the few, if not the only place in Charleston that is willing to take women, with infants who are on “step down” drugs. It is a part of our mission to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world. We now have a Transition House Team that helps to lead this ministry. What a wonderful gift they have been. We gauge the success of the Transition House by opportunity. We are 100% successful in giving women the opportunity to transition in an environment that is loving and supportive. It is a hard, hard ministry and the needs in the community are as deep as they have ever been.

Second, we had a successful assessment trip to LaPlace, Louisiana as a follow up to Hurricane Ida. We met and worked with Charles Dillon to love on the community around First Baptist LaPlace. We were able to see the need first hand and see how we might work together. Your JIBC team did a great job. While we might not go back to First Baptist Church, LaPlace, I do suspect we will go back to work with our church member, full time volunteers, Charles and Judy Dillon. No plans have been made for our next trip. I do think we will go and when the plans are being made, we will try to let you know asap.

Third, mission at home is always a good thing. The Annual Fall Festival is the largest community outreach of the year for JIBC. Remember, we started this in 1985 with the intention of going head-to-head with Halloween. We wanted to offer a positive, safe, “non-Halloween” event for families. We don’t spend a lot of time beating the drum of the down side of Halloween. We do try to emphasize safe, family fun at a price you can afford…free! We usually have an unofficial count of around a thousand people come to the campus. Three things you can do to help make this another successful year. First, pray that God is honored, that families are drawn and that everyone is safe. Two, you can volunteer. This is a Volunteer intensive event. There is no way to have too many volunteers. Even our safety team will need more help. You can sign up for 1.5 hours or for the entire 3 hours of the event. By the way, the axe throwing booth is an inflatable…not a real axe! You can dress up, we just ask that there not be “sexy” or “bloody” or scary costumes. Third, you can pick up a bag or two of your favorite candy. We make sure no child is deprived of candy because their parents brought them to a church event! You can drop the candy by the church office or on the counter across from the office.

Odds and ends, but good ones right? I love that all three of these are outward focused on how can we bless others. We do a lot for our JIBC family of course, but I love the outward focus!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing as we continue our teaching series on the Beatitudes.

Pastor Tom

And They Are Off!

We have three teams that are well on their way to LaPlace, Louisiana. Hurricane Ida stalled out for 5 hours over LaPlace according to Charles Dillon. The damage was massive. So we have a team of 12 going to do an “assessment trip”. We want to see how the JIBC family might be able to help over the next months and maybe even years.

So as we go, we are taking the supplies that the people on the ground say they need the most. Thank you JIBC for so generously giving to make giving possible. We had just received word last week that the FBC LaPlace “free store” ran out of supplies. It is a free store where the community can come by and get what they need. Your gifts should allow us to re-supply the store for a little while! We have one SUV and two Sprinter vans loaded from top to bottom, front to back. There is just enough room for the driver and passenger. Joanne Brown and her father, in his SUV, left Sunday afternoon to drive half way there and are planning on driving the rest of the way Monday. Mary Braxton and Martha Faye Blankenship are driving one Sprinter Van (the big tall vans) and Ron Corry and Roddy Watts are driving the other. Ron Corry has some family on the way so that is a comfort. It is a 12 hour drive, perhaps 13, with stops for gas and food breaks. The rest of our team leaves Tuesday. Everyone on this trip should be back Wednesday. So, by the time you read this article, we should all be back into our regular schedules.

So, what should you do if you want to go? By the way, not everyone needs to go or even wants to go. Don’t feel bad about that for one minute. But if you want to go, we can help you make your plans so you know what you are going into and what you will be doing. We are blessed to have former members, Charles and Judy Dillon on the ground, now living in LaPlace, helping to coordinate incoming teams. There is no need to panic about when you might go…the needs will be there for quite a while. Just about any skill set you have could be used in these types of settings. Some people go to minister to the volunteers while others go to help those who have fallen through the cracks. I know people who would be great to take a thermos of hot coffee and just sit with victims and hear their stories. They could use prayer teams who prayer walk and set up booths for prayer. Some will go to provide music, children’s activities, grief counseling, yard clean up, etc, etc. As we get plans together, we will let the church family know in case one of the trips interests you and/or your family.

Again, the number one request from the people of LaPlace is prayer. We go in Jesus’ name, to offer hope, help and hands. Thank you for making this trip possible. May Our Heavenly Father grant us favor. Remember them in your prayers.

Pastor Tom

Another Round of Blessings!

I like the little phrase “Here we go again!” It kind of leaves it open to whether that is good or bad. It does suggest that something is being repeated, we are doing something again. I hope in the case of these two things, it represents “another round of blessings”. So, let’s talk about it.

The first round of blessings is in reference to our opportunities to bless the relief work and the community in LaPlace, Louisiana. Our former church members, Charles and Judy Dillon have set up their home and base in LaPlace, where they will likely live for the next few years. Hurricane Ida stalled out over LaPlace for 5 hours doing an incredible amount of damage. Remember when Hugo was the most destructive hurricane in history? Then came Andrew in South Florida that topped Hugo. Then came Katrina in New Orleans and other coastal communities proving to be the most expensive and destructive hurricane on record. Now, Hurricane Ida comes along and says “watch this!” So, here we go again. We are sending our first scouting team on Monday, September 20. We have four or five people going on the short bus loaded with supplies and loaded with love. Another group of 6 will meet them there Tuesday, September 21. Our goal is to meet with Charles and Judy Dillon, the local pastor and his staff, and hopefully some pastors in the surrounding community. We will have an African American Pastor, Larry Goss with us on this trip. He is the Pastor of Destiny Church, a part of the Charleston Baptist Association. Pray that our Father will open doors for us to speak to and encourage local pastors as they deal with terrific devastation on top of the Corona Virus pandemic.

My goal is kind of like what we do when we prayer walk a community: we are praying on site with insight. What has God blessed JIBC with that could be a blessing to this community. When we return we will put together a list of possibilities. Really, almost anything we do will be a help. I imagine things like prayer teams, cooks, kitchen cleanup crews, blood pressure stations, people to hand out food and Bibles, listening stations to have coffee with distressed people, children’s activities, bands to play praise music and lead in healing concerts, construction crews, chain saw teams, etc, etc. Here we go again…another round of blessings.

Now, the second round of blessings I was referring to. Janie and I celebrated our 36th year serving our Lord and His church family at James Island Baptist. I know it is so very unusual and uncommon for a Pastor and church family to stay together for anywhere near 36 years. I just read one survey that said the average stay of a pastor is 3.5 years in smaller churches and 7.7 years in larger churches. Janie and I have been honored to raise our children at JIBC and now to work on raising some of our grands here. I find myself saying it over and over…I love our church family. So, here we go again…another round of blessings, good Lord willing.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Pastor Tom

Do you like banana splits?

Do you like banana splits?  Many people do and that is part of what keeps Ye Old Fashion Ice Cream in business.  If you like ice cream…and what’s not to like…you can’t go wrong with a banana split.  Three scoops of ice cream layered with lots of deliciousness.  OK, I am going to push this analogy into our church world.

We have a “banana split” of blessing to be enjoyed.  I get it, not everyone loves chocolate or vanilla or strawberry.  None the less, we have three opportunities to move your discipleship forward.  I think all three are part of a wonderful mix of blessing.

First, the Wednesday night course based on the book by Emerson Eggerichs, entitled Love and Respect.  The full title is Love & Respect, The Love She Most Desires and the Respect He Desperately Needs.  This is one of the four books I recommend to young couples who are getting married.  Please hear me say this is an important presentation of Biblical principles presented in a way everyone can understand.  This study is being taught by John and Cindy Bohr.  If you don’t know John and Cindy, you are in for a blessing.  Both of them are wonderful followers of Jesus who are easy to love.  There is still time for you to sign up for this Wednesday Night blessing.

The Second Scoop of blessing happens every week…Connection Groups.  We have old groups, new groups, groups that meet on JIBC campus and groups that meet in homes.  You can find a group on your own of course.  Or you can use our very own spiritual GPS, Pastor Scott.  He is always up and excited to help our friends get plugged into groups.  For those who are not in a group I can only compare you to those who have never tried a big old scoop of banana split.  Try it...Connection Groups are one of God’s major delivery systems of blessing and growth.

The Third Scoop, so to speak, is the 8 week course I am teaching on Grief.  We are using the book Life’s Healing Choices by John Baker.  We grieve over many things: loss of loved ones; loss of health; loss of jobs and careers; loss of reputation; loss of friends when we move; etc.  Not dealing with our grief can lead to what we call hurts, hang-ups and habits.  So, we want to journey together in learning how to grieve in a healthy way that will move us toward healing.  We have all been there.  This group will meet on Sunday nights.  Join us for a fellowship meal at 5:30, Worship at 6:30 and the class at 7:00.

OK, three really great discipleship options for you to consider. Come on and enjoy the blessing of our Lord Jesus.  You will be glad you did.

Pastor Tom

 

HALLELUJAH! KINGDOM GIVING SUNDAY! HALLELUJAH!

This past Sunday, we made a commitment to give the entire Sunday morning offering to three relief causes: Afghanistan; Haiti and Carpenter’s House (Charles and Judy Dillon, JIBC Missionaries). Our typical weekly budget requirements are around $14,715. That is the projected amount we would need each week to carry out the missions and ministry of JIBC. So my hope and thought was that we might come close to that weekly amount for the Kingdom Giving Sunday. Hallelujah and glory to God. The offering was over $22,000! You gave so generously and God blessed so abundantly. To God be the glory.

We will get busy this week deciding how to give the offering to the relief effort for the Afghan people, the earthquake victims in Haiti and now, the Hurricane Ida disaster response. Thank you for being such a loving and generously giving church family. You can check out more of what Southern Baptist are doing at www.sendrelief.org. Here is one of the great things of Southern Baptist relief work: 100% of everything you give goes to the relief work. Not one penny goes to administrative or promotion or solicitation of funds. That is as effective as you can get!

By the way, on the home front, JIBC has now given over 440 jars of jelly to James Island Outreach and another 125 pounds of groceries. I asked Scott Graule, the Director of James Island Outreach how long that 440 jars of jelly would last them? He said just about 2 months. Wow, that is a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made in Jesus’ name. You can keep bringing jelly any week or every week. Our Awana ministry has built that into their mission; one of our school teachers offers extra credit for brining jelly! I love you all, I love you all, I love you all. Our next major push for jelly will be at the beginning of the Advent Season, just around Thanksgiving and Christmas time.

Just one more item for today. Please be safe when it comes to Covid. We have 18 JIBC members, that we know of, who have Covid. This current surge is real. I do not believe anything that comes out of Washington and I have lost confidence even in the CDC. I do, however, believe our members and my family members in the medical field. When they tell me the ICU is full, I know it is full. I hate that a pandemic was made a political pawn and that this is so horribly divisive. Wear your mask if you are concerned. We encourage that. Get the vaccine if you, your family and your health care provider decides that is best. (Janie and I are fully vaccinated and plan to get the booster). Be kind, be encouraging, no mask shaming for wearing or not wearing. Protect yourself and use common sense. You are loved and we want to spend a lot more time with you. We are followers of Jesus Christ first. May He be glorified in everything we do.

Pastor Tom

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING…OK THEN, LET THE BLESSING BEGIN!

One of the 2037 things I love about our church family is the willingness to bless others. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, you found ways to continue doing mission even when we were not having “in-person worship”. We fed hundreds with hot, delicious comfort food. We fed firemen, Express Care workers, homebound, the sick, widows, underserved, etc. You lived out the value that we are blessed to be a blessing.

Another way we were and are significantly blessed is in our finances. The tithes and offerings have been so extremely generous given the craziness of the two years. Because we have been so blessed, your Pastors, Elders and Finance Team want to make the following proposal: We would like this Sunday’s offering to be a Kingdom Offering.

If you have watched or read any news lately, you know of the devastating events happening in Haiti and Afghanistan. These are two countries, at their very best, are among the most difficult places on earth to live. Add to their difficult lives man made or natural disasters and you have a recipe for suffering, misery and pain. My experience has been when mankind is at its worst, God and His people are at their best. If there is a disaster, you know Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Samaritans Purse and other agencies will be present sooner rather than later.

So how do we fit in? I have asked and received whole hearted approval from our Finance Team and Elders, that we designate this Sunday’s offering, all of it, to help support 3 relief efforts. First the Afghanistan crisis relief efforts; second the Haiti earthquake disaster; and third for members, Charles and Judy Dillon’s ongoing Disaster Relief work in Florida.

God has blessed us with so much that we are in a great position to be able to bless others. We are simply passing on what our Father has entrusted to us. So this Sunday, August 29, 2021 will be a Kingdom Giving Sunday. Instead of taking up a special offering, we will designate everything that is given this Sunday to be a Kingdom Sunday Relief offering. We have been blessed to be a blessing. So, if you usually give, here is a great opportunity to make an impact. If you do not give to JIBC, but kind of like the idea of a Kingdom Giving Sunday, here is your opportunity to make an impact. Give this Sunday and know that 100% of what is given, that is not otherwise designated, will be given to Afghanistan, Haiti and the Dillon’s Disaster Relief work.

Please note, that anyone who would prefer, for one of many reasons, that your offering this Sunday goes to James Island Baptist, can still do that. You can mark your offering as designated, call the church office and speak to Neale, send us a text or email to let us know. Any offering designated to a specific cause will go to where it is designated. Anyone would be able to redirect their gifts to JIBC if they so desired.

Again, thank you for being so generous. You make this an easy choice to give because God gave to us. We believe that we are blessed to be a blessing. So let the blessing begin. See you Sunday with my offering!

Pastor Tom

LET’S CREATE A WAVE

Thirty years ago we used to say you cannot create a wave you can only ride it. That was generally true. Today, we can make waves. Almost every major water park has a wave making machine that can produce waves big enough to ride on with or without a surf board.

I am asking for our church family to work together with our Heavenly Farther to create waves of love and enthusiasm. Waves that many people could ride back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission. Covid-19 has created a lot of issues for everyone. One of the issues was if and when to go back out in public and when to re-engage with our church families. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get out of the good habit of assembling ourselves together for worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions and ministry. We all understood that isolation, social distancing, mask wearing was a part of the strategy to mitigate this wretched virus. But now is the time to come on back. For some, re-starting the good habit of worship will be hard. I am not sure some will be able to unless we can help them. So let’s create waves of love and enthusiasm so strong they will be able to ride it back to worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and mission.

Here is a basic law of physics: an object not in motion tends to stay not in motion until acted upon by another object. The water is not in motion until acted upon by wind, gravity, shore line etc. But once acted upon some beautiful waves can be experienced. Some have not been in “motion” for a while because of Covid-19. Let’s ask God to make waves of love to act upon them to bring them back. Amen?

Let’s see if we can be the wind and the force to make waves of love and enthusiasm that could bring our church family and friends back. God is able to help us do what looks impossible. He can make a wave and a series of waves that create beauty and opportunity.

So, how can we do this? What are the forces that could create waves of love and fellowship? Let’s start with the most basic…prayer. Let’s pray and ask our Father to show us where He is working and how we might join Him. Pray that we will work with God to create waves that would reach the ones He loves so dearly. Second, let’s contact those in our connection groups or those we have been missing. Let’s contact with a phone call, a text, a card, an invite out to eat, an invitation to a party, an invite to join us to go see the River Dogs…whatever. Let’s just find a way to create waves of love and fellowship. Our enemy, the devil would seek to steal and destroy. Our Heavenly Father seeks to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world.

Those of you make cookies and desserts…let’s bake a wave. Those of you who are party people, let the fun wave begin. Going to a game…a lot of people will ride that sports wave with you.

Imagine if we are blessed to work with our Father to create waves of love and fellowship. Families strengthened, people loved, souls saved, marriages strengthened, the possibilities are limitless because our Father love is limitless.

Talk about it with your connection Group, with your family, with a friend. Each of us can do our part to be a blessing to the church family and friends. We can do this to the glory of God. Let’s be the force of love that acts on the objects not in motion…and create waves of love!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

LIFE’S HEALING CHOICES

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars”. That is such a lovely quote…but it really does not do a lot for the pain we feel from loss. Starting Sunday, September 12, we will be offering An eight week course using the book Life’s Healing Choices written by John Baker.

Grief comes in and out of our lives in many shapes and forms. It comes far more often that we would like. Sometimes dealing with the pain seems more than we can handle. And then we read a beautiful quote…”the darker the night, the brighter the stars”. But I don’t want the bright stars, I want my life back, my child back, my job back, my health back, my reputation back. The pain is real. Grief has been described as the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social pain that we feel when we lose someone or something that we love. The pain can be real and it can be deep. As the poet said grief is the price we pay for loving deeply.

We realize we grieve for loved ones who die. We also grieve for many other losses in life. You cannot compare one grief to another. We can, however acknowledge the grief and try to live with it and learn how to move on with it. And so, we believe whatever we do we can do better together. So let’s give it a try. If you have experienced loss, whether a loved one, a relationship, a marriage, a reputation, physical health…whatever the loss, I invite you to join us on this journey of healing.

This discipleship study is being offered on Sunday night for several reasons. First, we have some built in benefits: an available fellowship meal; child care; healing worship; and small groups. Dealing with grief fits so perfectly into Celebrate Recovery’s Mission…freedom from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. It is a common mistake to think of CR as dealing with only alcohol and drug abuse. Only about 1/3 of those attending CR are dealing with substance abuse. The rest are dealing with every day hurts, hang-ups and habits. I attend CR to deal with past issues of anger, anxiety, control, etc, etc. Others may be dealing with depression, mental health issues, broken relationships and loss. It might surprise you how many of our hang-ups and habits have their beginning in our hurts…like the grief of loss that we did not deal with. You are welcome to join us. This study will be based on the 8 Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. We would love to have a book ready for you. Let us know.

Remember that grieving does not mean you are imperfect. It means you are human.

Pastor Tom

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

We are wired up to grieve when we lose someone or something we love. Grieving is not a sign of a lack of faith or that we don’t believe God is good and God is great. Grieving is a sign that we are human, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God….but still human. We love and get attached and then we lose someone or something we love…and we grieve. Jesus gives us the hope, the help and the healing we need in this verse: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mourning, good grief is the way to being comforted.

What is it that might cause us to grieve? The simple answer is loss. The hard answer is the loss of a loved one. That is usually what we associate with grieving…the loss of a loved one who died. The pain is real. Our pain can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and even social. You can’t just will the pain away and there is no time limit to how long the hurt lasts.

But there are other significant losses that cause us to grieve. My father had his leg amputated because of a poor circulation problem. He, and our family, grieved that loss. Others may grieve the loss of a job, a friendship, a beloved pet, the loss of mobility, a loved one who has dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are a myriad of things that can cause grief. The pain is real…not because we don’t have faith but because we are human.

That brings me to my invitation. Starting Sunday, September 5, I will be teaching an 8 week course on “Life’s Healing Choices”. This is a book written by John Baker. The book is based on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. I am hoping you will consider joining us for 8 weeks as we mourn together and experience comfort together. This is an open class for anyone who would like to attend. I will be leading the study. Each participant will have a book and a study book.

Now, here is the really good news about when this will be offered. Participants can, if they wish, join us at 5:30 for a fellowship meal. That is optional. At 6:15 we will gather in the worship center for a time of celebration. Pastor David and the praise band will lead us each week in a time of worship that will prepare our hearts for the teaching of God’s Word in Life’s Healing Choices. We will then go to our different small groups for a 45 minute study and we will be dismissed before 8:00. In addition to the Fellowship Meal, there is a nursery offered, a program for children and Jr. High and Sr. High Students.

Maybe this is for you. Maybe it is for someone you know who is stuck in their grieving or could use a little encouragement.

I hope you will join us. It will be worthwhile. Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. Let the healing begin.

Pastor Tom

IT’S TIME TO COME BACK!

It is hard to believe but summer is almost over! School supplies are out in the aisles at Wal-Mart. School starts back on Wednesday, August 18. Vaccinations are up and Covid cases are down. Somebody shout “Amen”. IT IS TIME TO COME BACK.

I would agree with anyone who wants to say we are not out of the woods yet. But we can see the clearing. We are closer that we have been. We are planning on launching our full fall schedule and by God’s grace carry on joining God in His mission to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world. IT IS TIME TO COME BACK.

Pray for this mission opportunity. We are planning a combined Back to School-Back Yard Bible Study at the EME Apartments on Central Park Road. This is an under-served part of our community and we are going to love on them in Jesus’ name. We are partnering with Emmanuel Baptist Church (located on Folly Road) to host a cook out, Bible Study and games event. Our church family is currently filling 90 book bags with school supplies for this one day event. By the way, this mission event is planned for Friday, August 7 at 5:30. Joanne Brown and Scott are coordinating this event with the leaders from Emmanuel. IT IS TIME TO COME BACK!

A NIGHT OF WORSHIP is being planned for Wednesday, September 1. We will be serving dinner from 5:30 to 6:15 and then have all ages gathered in the Worship Center for a night of praise and thanksgiving. This will be a night given entirely to worship and reading of scripture. It will include some of our favorite praise songs that we have learned over the past year. IT IS TIME TO COME BACK.

Then starting Wednesday, September 8, we are planning on having a full Wednesday night schedule starting with the Fellowship Meal, then all ages including nursery, Awana, Students and Adults. We have missed the Wednesday night fellowship and it is….TIME TO COME BACK!

We would absolutely love to see September kick off with a full house on Sunday at 9 and 11. Our worship has been so strong this year even with all the Covid 19 issues that we have had to deal with. The attendance has been so encouraging over the summer months. Mask or no mask, I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the LORD. IT IS TIME TO COME BACK.

Good LORD willing, I will see you Sunday. It is indeed time to come back.

Pastor Tom

“74” AND COUNTING

It came and went without too much fanfare. Sunday, July 11 was the 74th Anniversary of James Island Baptist Church. For almost ¾ of a century our Father has allowed James Island Baptist to exist on this corner seeking to be a light in darkness, a place of welcome for those seeking answers, a hospital for the spiritually sick as well as those, who by God’s grace, are spiritually healthy. It has been our charge to make disciples who make disciples that make our community and our world a better place to live.

I love the idea that on our “Anniversary Sunday” we had a good attendance; we observed the Lord’s Supper; we had a strong worship service; we were into God’s Word; we had dozens of guests and former members in attendance; and we baptized three students! Then for those who did not get enough, later that night we had Celebrate Recovery, a ministry not afraid to tackle the toughest challenges of our day. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate an anniversary: Worship, fellowship, discipleship, baptisms and missions. That sounds like we were doing that ON PURPOSE.

Now, next year…we celebrate our 75th year. I am looking forward to how we can pull out all the stops for that day. I am hoping we can be back at the County Park enjoying a church wide picnic with our entire church family. It will be a grand celebration and I am already looking forward to it. Hey, if you have any ideas, send me an email or text. I am starting a file already of great ideas.


ANOTHER INSPIRING WORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Starting Sunday, August 1, Celebrate Recovery will begin worship at 6:30. This is a slight change from the 6:15 time we have been using. I would love for you to come and join us for the Sunday night praise time. You don’t have to be a part of Celebrate Recovery to enjoy the worship time. Our worship time will run from 6:30 until around 6:45 or so. We continue the Celebration with the reading of the 12 Steps and giving out the “chips”. It is pretty cool to see. And then we have a lesson. By 7:00 or 7:10, the entire group is dismissed to go to small groups. You could leave then or you could leave just before the lesson begins. Either way, you will enjoy the worship celebration. After the lesson, we usually dismiss to small groups by 7:00 or so. You could join us from 6:30 to 7:00 for an inspiring time of worship and a very helpful lesson. Hope you will consider visiting or joining us. Casual dress of course! A few weeks ago, we were blessed with Stephanie and David Jr. as our featured singers. Pastor David, I loved that idea!


Be blessed and be a blessing!

Pastor Tom

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Have you ever been there? What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Most of us have been. Sometimes life can throw a curve ball that leave you ducking out of the way; or an emotional blow that causes you to gasp for a breath; or a confusing, conflicting situation that paralyzes you with fear or anxiety. What do you do when you can’t catch your breath? It happens. Sometimes in life we are attacked by our real enemy the devil who is described as a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. Other times we feel we are being attacked by enemies or people who do not have our best interest in mind. There are times when our bodies are attacked by disease and we race ahead in fear or anxiety about what to do next. Whatever the reason, chances are you have felt that way before…what do I do when I don’t know what to do.

I don’t mean to imply these things are a cure all; I just want to share how the Lord helps restore balance and peace into my life. These are the “go to” antidotes when my emotions get out of control. First, I try to increase my praise. I make an effort to praise more and praise louder. I need to lift up in praise the One who is the answer not the one who is the problem. I think there is power in praise. So, I try to listen to praise music, to sing praises and to read about the Greatness of God. Second, I try to increase my thanksgiving. The devil is a liar and he will try to convince us that things are bad and that nothing is good. Don’t buy it! Count your blessings. Start with the basics…you woke up, you were able to get up, the coffee was hot and fresh, my dog still likes me! Then start stretching your faith…give thanks for all things for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Giving thanks serves as a corrective to the negative tapes I allow to play in my head. I try to write down three things I am thankful for every day. I am currently over day 1,000 of giving thanks for three blessings every day. Third, I try to focus outside of myself…to help someone else. Do something we would call missions. Reach out to someone, take food to a homebound person, visit someone who is sick, and volunteer to help the underserved. When I am confused, I know it is always a good thing to help someone else. It is usually a good idea to try to get outside my own head. Fourth, but not fourth in importance…stay in the Word of God. Give our Father the opportunity to speak to your heart. Ask Him to speak to you about your circumstance through the wonderful Biblical stories. He still speaks and guides. Ask Him and let Him. Last, stay connected to your friends. Let them know as much as you are comfortable with sharing. They will listen, care, pray and be there. Whatever I am going through, I can go through it better with godly friends. If you don’t have any real friends, let me know…I will loan you one of mine, they are great and will be great for you too! That might not be a comprehensive list, but it is my go to list.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

PS…starting in August, Celebrate Recovery will begin worship at 6:30 and end worship around 6:50. I would love for you to come and join us for a Sunday night praise time. You don’t have to stay for the lesson…although you certainly could and would be welcomed. After the lesson, we usually dismiss to small groups by 7:00. You could join us from 6:30 to 7:00 for an inspiring time of worship and a very helpful lesson. Hope you will consider visiting or joining us. Casual dress of course! These past two weeks Stephanie and David Jr. were are featured singers. Wow!

WHEN IT IS ALL SAID AND DONE…

There is an old saying: “When it is all said and done, there is often more said than done”. That would be a terrible indictment for anyone or any organization. So, let’s think about that in reference to James Island Baptist Church. When it is all said and done, what are we hoping is done? What is the goal we are trying to achieve or the target we are trying to reach? And when all is said and done has there been more said than done?

So, how would I say it…what are we trying to accomplish. Bottom line for me is to lead James Island Baptist to do three primary objectives. First, we want to cause God joy, honor Him and give Him the glory He alone deserves. The second is that we make disciples who make disciples who change their community and world. We are to be fully devoted followers of Jesus who seek to make fully devoted followers. Third, we believe God is in business to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world…and we are in business to join Him.

How do we do this? My goal and effort has been to use the model of a church driven by the purposes of God as revealed in the Bible. We bring people into the family of God (Membership into God’s Family). Second we help them grow to become disciples, followers of Jesus (Maturity to become more like Jesus). We help them discover their service to the local body of Christ according to their passion and giftedness (Ministry to the Body of Christ). We teach and equip them to be outward focus into the community and world (Missions across the street, across town or across the ocean). We do it all with worship at the center of our individual lives and corporate lives (Magnify His Name).

We have processes, procedures, methods to help equip, train and deploy our members to carry out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The biggest challenge comes at the end of the day…was there more said than done? I dream of every Connection Group and every Ministry Team being driven by the purposes of God, each fulfilling their part to make disciples who make disciples who make our community and word better. We join God in His work to reach, redeem and restore a lost and broken world. And when we put our heads down at night we hear Him say “Well done, my good and faithful servants, well done!” When it is all said and done, I am hoping to hear our Father say “Well done”.

See you this Sunday as we continue the series “Family Values: Written In Stone”. Be blessed, live blessed and be a blessing!

Pastor Tom

TAKING A MOMENT TO SAY THANKS

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It is a good thing to give thanks, to say thank you and to be thankful. All three of these are in my heart after a full week of Vacation Bible School. I want to give thanks and to say thanks. Our Father in heaven blessed us with His presence as we prayed for VBS, as we prepared for the week and as we loved on the children for the week. To God be the glory. He blessed us with volunteers, with kids, with engaging Bible Study, fun recreation, some of the best songs ever, praise and worship and delicious food each night. In my mind and heart, these are blessings from God and for them we give thanks.

I also want to thank the volunteers. All of them working a full day and then coming to serve Him for four hours every evening. Smiles on their faces and good attitudes were a blessing to so many. I do not take for granted that you gave of yourselves, your energy and your talents to love His children. Thank you.

I would unintentionally leave someone or some group out if I tried to thank them individually. So allow me to send out a group hug and a sincere thank you for your service. You really do make a difference.

I am thankful for our leaders using their giftedness to lead, to improvise on the fly and still hit the bulls-eye night after night. Well done!

Vacation Bible School is an age old tradition that has evolved through the years. At the center of it all you have adults and students teaching the Gospel story to children. We will be praying for all the seeds that were planted this week. If the Lord allows, I suspect we will see the harvest in the months and years to come.

Hope we will see you this Sunday, July 4th!

Pastor Tom

“Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord”

That is the opening line for the chorus of an old gospel song. I like it for a couple of reasons. First, it reveals a belief and a faith that God can and will fill my cup, my heart, my longing, my mind. It is amazing that the Creator of the universe would actually have a desire to bless me and you. Who am I that He is mindful of me, that He loves me? Yet, I sing and pray in faith that our loving Heavenly Father will fill my cup—my emotional, spiritual, physical, mental and social cup. I can run on empty for a while, but eventually, I will need a refill of God’s presence, His “unction”, His grace and mercy. My car can get low on gas but it cannot run without gas. So, I fill it up. So it is with our souls. We must ask, seek and knock with the request that He fills our cup.

The second part of that line is equally important: “I lift it up Lord”. We typically will not seek help until we know we need it. It is easy for me to not pay attention to the spiritual, emotional, physical gauges as they move toward empty. How can I ask Father to fill my cup if I don’t know my cup is empty?

So, I spend time daily giving the Spirit of God another opportunity to speak. I seek to listen to Him as I read scripture and as I pray. I believe God speaks to us in many ways: through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, godly people around us and ultimately through His Son, our Lord Jesus. In order for that to happen, it helps if I ask Him to “fill my cup” and in the process make the effort to “lift it up”… to do what is necessary to put me in a place where He can, indeed, fill my cup.

I do not believe there is a right way or just one way to spend time with the Lord. The way I have been using for years is the old tried and true A.C.T.S. method of Time Alone With God. The “A” stands for Adoration: I spend time praising God. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I read Scripture that praises Him. The “C” stands for confession. There needs to be a time when I ask the Spirit to reveal any wrong way in me. As He does, I confess them and ask God to change my way of thinking. The “T” is thanksgiving. It has been my habit of a couple of years now to every day write down 3 things that I am thankful for. Giving thanks is a powerful “cup filling” exercise. The “S” stands for supplication or seeking. It is when I pray for others. Like I said, this is not the only way to have a quiet time with God…this is just the one I am currently using.

“Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord, come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of heaven feed me till I want no more, fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.”

Praying for your cup to be filled,

Pastor Tom

IS VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL STILL WORTH THE EFFORT?

I know the question almost sounds blasphemous. It is a good question and my answer is “YES-ABSOLUTELY YES!”. Not because it is a tradition that goes way, way back. A hundred years ago when I was a child, I attended VBS at Dorchester-Waylyn Baptist Church in North Charleston. It was almost a southern ritual that churches had VBS and that neighborhood kids went. But that is not why I think VBS is still worth having.

Every year, just in Southern Baptist world, there are 2.5 million children that attend Vacation Bible School. There were 70,135 professions of faith/salvation experiences. Think about those numbers. Drug deals, child abusers, and others with evil intent are after those same children. And God gives us the opportunity to reach them before the devil does. It is so worth it.

For many churches Vacation Bible School is the most evangelistic mission event of the year. Last year Southern Baptist identified over 155,000 prospects as a result of VBS. Think of the families that number represents. And one result most of us would not think about: 1,383 children responded to God’s call to mission work. Yes, VBS is worth it. Children get a week of Bible Study, over 15 hours of discipleship, learn fun praise songs, food and snacks, and recreational games that get their faces out of screens. It is so worth it.

VBS could not be accomplished without the large number of volunteers. Many of our volunteers work all day in and out of the home and then come to serve. That kind of heart is hard to beat. By the end of the week, they are exhausted but are blessed knowing they have touched so many lives. All together, Southern Baptist Vacation Bible Schools gave over 6 million dollars to missions and connected the local church to families in the community. Is Vacation Bible School still worth it? Look at the numbers.

Start praying for next week’s Vacation Bible School, June 21-25. Pray for the volunteers, pray for the children, pray for those who will make professions of faith. This could be the best year ever. Let’s pray as though it all depends on God and let’s work as if it all depends on us.

See you this Sunday…don’t forget we are giving away 2, count them, one, two, grills this Sunday for Father’s Day. Mom…use this to encourage your husband to attend. The nine o’clock has about half the number of people…I would attend that service if I really want to increase my chances of winning a grill. Both will be given away hopefully in good natured fun. Thank you to our two members who donated the grills!

Pastor Tom

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU JUST CAN’T BEAT!

Would you agree with that? There are some things you just can’t beat. You can’t beat a good Sunday family dinner that includes a well made mac-n-cheese and banana pudding for dessert. You can’t beat a really good hot dog and a coke at a Braves Game. You really can’t beat the first hug from your church family after social distancing for over a year! Your list will be different, but we all have things you just can’t beat.

For three Wednesday nights in June, June 9, 16 and 30, the JIBC family is invited to gather at Folly Beach at the Folly Beach County Park. You can’t beat it! The beauty of the beach, the healing sound of the waves, the cool breeze of the evening, sitting around with friends, beach games…it is hard to beat.

Pastor Kent has put together three Wednesday nights in June for our church family to gather for fellowship and friendship. Janie and I are planning on being at all three. By the way, I know there are 5 Wednesdays in June. Two will have already passed by the time you read this, and one is the week of Vacation Bible School (June 21-25). That still gives us two to enjoy together. Janie and I take our chairs and a sub sandwich and sit and soak in the beauty of friendship as well as the beauty of the beach. There are some things you just can’t beat. It is not too late to join us for June 16th and 30th.

Just when you thought that was enough, we also have Wednesdays in July “UNDER THE OAKS” MOVIE NIGHTS. July 7, 14, 21, and 28 we will host our church family and community for a movie event. Again, bring your chair and enjoy a fun night under the oaks. There is a rumor we will have food trucks! This is a kid friendly event that will be lots of fun. We have upgraded our equipment so the movie looks great on the big screen!

What a great opportunity for us to catch up on the fellowship we have missed over the past year. Come on out, meet some new friends, see some fun movies and eat some popcorn. What is not to love!

Really, there are some things you just can’t beat!

Hope to see you this Sunday as we continue a new teaching series on Family Values Written In Stone. The Ten Commandments are just as important today as the first day God delivered them to Israel.

Blessings,

Pastor Tom

DISCOVERING MEMBERSHIP AT JAMES ISLAND BAPTIST

This Sunday, June 6, we will host another Class 101: Discovering Membership at JIBC. It is one of my favorite classes to teach. First, it helps me put names and faces together. We are blessed to meet new families and new people each week. Those passing moments usually do not allow us to talk at length and share stories. Second, Class 101 is a great next step for someone who has been attending the JIBC. If you have attended more than a few times, you are probably ready to go a little deeper and “look under the hood and kick the tires” so to speak. This is the perfect, no obligation way to do just that. Those attending have the opportunity to hear my heart about what we believe and why we believe it. We begin with the basics of salvation, baptism and Lord’s Supper; go onto our purpose and lifestyle statements; then we review our strategy…why we do what we do and how we do it; we conclude with our structure, our affiliations our ministry partners. I really do get excited about teaching this class and I am passionate about the benefits to those who participate. Did I mention we will throw in child care and a free meal?

Can you imagine having a baseball team with players who might be on the team or might be on another team? No, it is hard to imagine any organization or team not knowing who is on the roster and who can be counted on to help the cause. Church membership is important in that regard. It is a commitment to be in a relationship with a church family. Often this family is closer that our own biological family. Church membership gives us a place to love and be loved, to encourage and be encouraged, to pray for and be prayed for, to bless and be blessed.

If you have not been a part of Class 101: Discovering Church Membership, I really want to encourage you to be a part of this one. Like the old milk commercial that says “Milk...it does a body good”. I think it would make a great commercial: “Class 101: Discovering Membership…it does a Body good”. I really do believe it has done the body of Christ known as JIBC good. I would love you to be a part of the next one, this Sunday, June 6, starting at 4 PM. Contact the church office to register.

By the way, the restart for Celebrate Recovery went great Sunday night. Pastor David and the Student band were at their best. I almost went “bapticostal” with joy! Well done, well done!

Pastor Tom

WHAT A SPECIAL SUNDAY!

Celebrate Recovery meets every week, 52 weeks out of the year. There is very seldom a Sunday when we do not meet, even on holidays. That being said, there are some Sundays that are special. This coming Sunday will be one of them. We have been adding back to our Celebrate Recovery services piece by piece. First we added group meetings, then the celebration worship and then the fellowship meal. Now the last piece is being added…we will be meeting back in the Worship Center for our Celebration time. Pastor David has been leading worship in the fellowship hall, but it is just not the same. This Sunday, we will gather back in the Worship Center at 6:15 with the praise band.

Here is my request. Would you consider joining us for the first Sunday back? We will worship from 6:15 until around 7 when the CR small groups will divide up into their women’s and men’s groups. Before Covid hit, we were running around 45 people every Sunday night. The Charleston Center is not able to come back just yet. They may start back in June but we are not sure.

Some of the students from the Student Ministry are playing in the CR Praise band, so the youth will be joining us for the worship time, and then will exit for their own meeting! I am so excited and would love for you to help get us started with a good crowd, ready to praise the Lord. There is a fellowship meal at 5:30, a nursery is provided and there is a children’s ministry.

By the way, this Sunday morning, we will have one of our favorite events…the cardboard testimonies. I hope you will be able to be there in person or at least watch it online. It is always a highlight to see what God is doing in the lives of His children!

Blessings, keep on coming back!

Pastor Tom

WE’RE NOT JUST SOUTHERN ANYMORE!

You may have heard, or might hear soon, that the Southern Baptist convention is considering changing the identity of our name “Southern Baptist”. The new alternative is one that I really like. It is more descriptive… “Great Commission Baptist”. In fact, this year’s theme at the Southern Baptist Convention will be “We are Great Commission Baptists”. Now, let’s deal with some questions and concerns. First, I know that change is hard whether it is good or bad, wanted or needed…change is hard. Technically, they say change is not hard…it is the transition that is hard. Okay, whichever. I have found that change can be challenging. Second, this is not an effort to be politically correct or incorrect. It is not a part of the current day movement of removing our history or being “woke”. As far back as 1903, Southern Baptists raised the question of changing our identity as just “Southern” to something that better reflects our commitment to all of North America and the world. Nine years ago, in 2012, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to approve the alternate unofficial name change to the more descriptive “Great Commission Baptist”. That was years ahead of this crazy trend of trying to erase or re-write our country’s history. So do not associate the two of them. We embrace the strengths of our past and we should repent and seek to correct the sins and failures of our past. If we can do better and be better we should do better and be better. My goal is to lead our church to be spiritually correct not politically correct.

Years ago JIBC tried a slight rebranding and tried to add “The Church @Riverland Terrace” to our name. It had nothing to do with rejection our past or not embracing our past. We were trying to reach out to our community with a name that would not limit interest to just those who wanted to attend a Southern Baptist Church. The experiment came out as “The Church @Riverland Terrace, James Island Baptist”. I thought it was a worthy experiment. I cannot tell that it made any positive difference. I still think it was a good faith effort to help us reach our community.

The name Great Commission Baptist is a positive, biblically based name. I like it. It will take some getting used to and it will be hard to change and get it out of our DNA. If it helps us stay focused on missions and helps us break down unnecessary barriers to reach those who desperately need the Gospel of Jesus Christ…then bring it on. We are not just “Southern” anymore. By God’s grace we have expanded across North America and to the far corners of the world. Let’s pray together “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Charleston Baptist Association newsletter has written a great article on this topic with some helpful resources. To read more than my reflections on this article, check it out at www.charlestonbaptist.net.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

THE PRODIGAL HAS RETURNED!

Janie and I have been gone the last three Sundays. By God’s grace and goodness, we were able to fulfill a lifelong desire of seeing the Grand Canyon. We did see it…and it lived up to its reputation. We had never been out west except for business trips or conferences and we had never been to Nevada, Arizona and Utah. We talked about it for years and just never made the time. This year we pulled the trigger and went. We have as strong a staff as we have ever had and so I felt completely confident that our Father would bless them to do whatever might need to be done. I want to thank our staff for covering for me during our time away. Thank you.

By the way, I think you will understand why we do not ask our staff to advertise when they are gone. Social media is too easy for people with bad intentions to access. We do always try to let our leaders know when we will be out of town.

At age 65 our pace is a little different from the glory days. We would spend a day hiking and then the next day recovering! Our first week, we spent a day at each of the following areas: Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Zion National Park and the Hoover Dam. Don’t get me started on the Hoover Dam jokes!

The second week we left Nevada and went to Sedona, Arizona. There we spent two days at the Grand Canyon. It really is awe inspiring. We would just sit and look and marvel at our Father’s creation. It looked like God made His beautiful world and then took all the left over beautiful pieces and made the Grand Canyon. We spent a day at Red Rock State Park and several other popular hiking destinations. We would carry our lunch and find a quiet place and just enjoy His beautiful creation.

All that being said…the prodigal preacher and his lovely wife have returned! I am back in town, in the office and looking forward to being with our church family this coming Sunday. I will be beginning a three part teaching series I am calling “You Have A Story To Tell”. This Sunday we have the Parent-Child-Church Dedication at the 11:00 Worship Service. And on Sunday, May 30 we are planning on Celebrating the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. If you would like to participate in any of these services, please let us know. You can call Neale at the church office at 843.762.0244.

To God be the glory! Good Lord willing, see you this Sunday!

Pastor Tom

PART TWO: WHY IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP SO IMPORTANT?

Last week I wrote an article about the importance of Church membership. We live in a day when institutional importance and authority are challenged and even abandoned. For example, I grow so sad and weary when I hear someone say that the wedding license is just a piece of paper. A check made out to that same person for $100,000 is just paper, too…but I do not think they would take it so lightly. Some may take the institution of marriage so lightly because it carries responsibilities and commitments. That same feeling can be found in relationship to church membership as well.

The fact that something is a trend does not in any way make it right. That is a slippery slope and a very dangerous way to gather your values. “Let’s see how the majority polled and that will be my position” or “let’s see what all the people in this age group are doing and make that our value”. We have political leaders that seem to be entirely driven by polls and crowds. Their values seem to be the values du jour! What shall we believe today?

Followers of Christ have a foundation that is sure. We have the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus, the inspired Word of God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of the saints. A church family and church membership is important to us because it is important to our Father. “Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family…and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” Ephesians 2:19 (LB) We are trying to build a church with members who have a sense of ownership with an attitude that they are all in! They are contributors, not just consumers of religious goods and services. We are family and belong to one another. The Bible has over 40 of these “one anothers”: pray for one another, encourage one another, admonish one another, etc. It is going to be very difficult to carry out these one anothers without one another.

In Class101: Discovering Church Membership we begin the discipleship process by teaching the basics of membership: Our Salvation, Our Statements of Purpose; Our Strategy and Our Structure. We want to make sure everyone is as on the same page as we can possibly be. That has helped to reduce and avoid some strife and division by making sure we all know, in advance, where we are going and how we are getting there. Not all churches do things the same way. Not even all Great Commission/ Southern Baptist churches do things the same way. Class 101: Discovering Membership lets you see how we do it. Hopefully, God is glorified, Christ is exalted and honoredand lives are transformed by His grace.

We love having family and friends attend to be a part of James Island Baptist Church. We know not everyone wants to join and not everyone will join. They are 100% welcome to come, attend and be blessed by the wonderful family known as James Island Baptist. When they are ready to move out of the stands as spectators to become participants, fully devoted followers of Christ, we will welcome them with open arms…and lead them through Class 101: Discovering Membership at JIBC.

I love being all in with James Island Baptist Church! If you are interested, the next Membership Seminar is Sunday, June 6. You can register now by contacting neale@jamesislandbaptist.com or text DISCOVER1 to 843-762-0244 or simply call the church office at 843-762-0244.

Pastor Tom