Got Discipleship?

That was this past Sunday’s sermon title from Mark 8: 27-38.  If we asked the average person on the street “What it means to be a Christian?”, what do you think their response would be?  Now, ask the same question using a different word:  “What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?”  See the difference?  I agree there should not be a difference, but I think there would be.  Remember that words have usages, not meaning.  The way the term “Christian” is used today is often at odds with what it means to be a Christian.  But what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?  That seems to have held its meaning through the ages.

We spent some time on what it does not mean.  It does not mean “just” believing.  I think we have come short if all we ask people to do is to “believe”…as though being a disciple of Jesus was an intellectual exercise.  After all, even the demons and the devil  believe but are not followers of Jesus.  It is also not enough to be “religious.”  The tricky thing about being religious is you can have the right “form and look” but still miss the goal.  You can be religious on the outside and be a heathen on the inside.  Religion is part of what we need to be saved from.  It is possible to be very religious and be twice as fit for hell!  And certainly we do not believe that being “Baptist” automatically makes you a Christian.  Oh, that it were true, that anyone who claimed the name of Christ and happened to be Baptist was totally sold out to be a follower of the Lamb.

Jesus summed it up pretty neatly…not easy, but certainly very clearly.  If anyone would follow me he must do this:  deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.  It is counter intuitive and even counter culture to deny yourself.  Dethroning yourself, your ego is perhaps the hardest thing you will ever do.  We are wired up by our old sin nature to preserve, protect, and look out for #1.  Jesus calls his followers to a new style of life.  Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  That requires a change…who sits on the throne, who is in control, who are you following?

Got discipleship?  Yes, I think you do!

Pastor Tom

South Carolina State Missions/Transition House Offering

In the past, our church family participated in the Janie Chapman Offering for State Missions.  We usually have a week of prayer and a study of some sort.  This year our Women on Mission did a study, and I did a presentation a couple of Wednesdays ago.  This Sunday we will put the State Mission Offering  envelopes in the back of the pews.  One little change:  the offering will be divided between the Janie Chapman State Missions Offering and the Transition House.

Here is the status of the Transition House.  We currently have one resident there now.  We were able to help a young lady in a bad situation get into a safe one.  We are currently waiting on our second resident…or should I say “second, third and fourth?”  The next lady coming in is from the Charleston Rehab Center.    This lady has brand new twins, just one month old, a boy and a girl.   As will be the norm, our residents that come out of the Charleston Center are usually away from their home…a good thing.  But that means they do not have a support system here.  They start from scratch on finding a job, day care, or whatever they need.  We are their support system.

How does the offering help?  The residents are required to pay some minimal amount to help maintain the Transition House.  The offering will help cover the times when they do not have, but are looking for,  a paying job.  Even when we are “sponsoring” them, they will be volunteering in the community.  As we say, if you don’t have a job, working on your sobriety and sanity is your job.  So, half of the offering given during the State Missions Offering season will go to The Janie Chapman State Missions Offering and half will go to the Transition House.  It will provide major relief to these ladies.

Let me anticipate a question: why not just have two separate offerings?  If you have been a Southern Baptist very long you probably know my reasoning.  Every year we are asked to have special offerings for Lottie Moon-International Missions; Annie Armstrong North American Missions; Janie Chapman State Missions; Associational Missions; World Hunger in October; Connnie Maxwell Children’s Home; SC Home for the Aged Mothers Day; add things like Disaster Relief Offerings, our own folks raising funds,  Friends of Bonnie Doone, Low Country Crisis Pregnancy, James Island Outreach, Operation Christmas Child, etc, etc.  As you can see, it is possible to have a “special” offering every month of the year.  So, on this one, we are combining.  After all, if you want to see missions in the trenches, join us in the work at the Transition House.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing…

Pastor Tom

The Strangest Places, The Strangest Faces and Unusual Graces

This past Sunday I taught on the Mark 7:24-30 passage.  We have been going through the Gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings.  I have found it to be an action packed view of Jesus’ mission, his life, and ministry.  The “Big Idea” of the message is simple:  Jesus’ followers do what Jesus did.  So in this story what would that include?

Jesus intentionally went into the “strangest places.”  In this case Tyre, ground zero for the history of the Baal worship, home area of Jezebel, an area representing spiritual darkness.  Seems like the kind of place that any self respecting religious person would try to avoid.  Exactly!  Religious people, those interested in maintaining the “organized” religion, do avoid such places.  After all, those “strange place” also have some “strange faces”…some of those folks don’t look exactly like us.

Yet, Jesus intentionally went to this strange place, served a woman with a “different kind of face” and did indeed offer God’s unusual grace…He cast the demon out of her.  Now, back to the “Big Idea.”  Followers of Jesus do what Jesus did…they go to strange places, serve different faces, and offer God’s unusual graces.

That is one of the many things I love about the James Island Baptist family.  You can find our members in some of the strangest places: South Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Orleans, down town women’s shelters, low performing schools,  Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Alcohol and Drug Rehab Centers, working with inner city relief agencies…some of the strangest places filled with spiritual darkness and despair.  And right there in the middle of the strangest places, you can find our church members serving the strangest faces and offering God’s unusual life changing graces.

To what “strange place” of spiritual darkness and despair will you intentionally go to make Jesus known?  Don’t be afraid.   There is no hole so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.  Don’t be afraid of failing.  Be afraid of not trying.  Even if you light a little match in a place of darkness, the Light can make a difference.   Having trouble finding a place to go?  Let us know, we can give you some options or put you with groups already serving.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

Pastor Brent called to Baltimore to plant a new church

This is my definition of “bitter-sweet”.  Brent and his family have been a wonderful addition to our church family and community.  I love him and have appreciated his work with us over the past years.  So, I will miss his friendship and what he brings to the mission and ministry here at JIBC.  At the same time, I rejoice, kind of in the same way a parent rejoices, when their child goes off to college or gets their first full time job.  I thank God for Brent’s desire to plant a new church.  He is really at ground zero with what our North American Mission Board is doing.

 

When Brent told me of his decision, I immediately started making calls to help connect him with the North American Mission Board.  He really did not know much, if anything, about what Southern Baptist were doing in the way of starting new churches.  Now, by God’s good grace and the generous giving of Southern Baptist, Brent and his family may be partially supported by the North American Mission Board.  To God be the glory.  

So now, what will we do?

As soon as Brent told me of his desire, the first thing I did was to start working on his behalf to help connect him to the people who are the best at starting churches, the North American Mission Board.  The very next thing I did was to start the process of praying for the next person to come on board with us at JIBC to work with our students.  Even though we DO NOT KNOW an exact date Brent will leave, we started the search process believing it will be sooner rather than later.  At first, Brent believed it would be a year or more.  I felt it could be by the end of the summer.  It may be as early as mid September, but we still really do not know.

What I do know is we have already started receiving resumes and doing interviews.  It is not like we are just filling a job.  We are looking for a family member, a ministry partner, a fit for the church and a missionary to the community.  In the same way I feel sure God is leading Brent and his family, I feel God will lead the JIBC family.

We are meeting with the Elders and Finance Team Leadership to find ways we can help Brent and his family make this transition. They have served faithfully. We are allowing Brent to spend the necessary time preparing for the new job while continuing to serve here at JIBC.  It is Kingdom work, whether it is here or in Baltimore.  I know for sure, I expect Brent to serve faithfully wherever He serves.  He is a Kingdom servant.  I will miss him and his friendship.

See you this Sunday, Good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

LIVING IN PLACE

There are times in our stages of life when we need extra help.  Sometimes the help is for us as we age, and sometimes it is for a loved one.  James Island Baptist is hosting a seminar called “Aging in Place” that addresses issues and answers many of the questions we have about “aging in place” or how to best help loved ones “age in place.”

Today my goal is just to alert you that the AGING IN PLACE SEMINAR is scheduled for THURSDAY, AUGUST 23.  It will include a free catered lunch, so it will be a “sign up” or RSVP event.  I have never been to one of these events, but my wife, Janie, has been to three of them. (She wants to make sure I learn how to age in place gracefully!)  She assures me that the kind of information we will receive is the kind of information families desperately need.

So how can you lose?  It is a free lunch, with experienced speakers from 4 or 5 different agencies, from 11:30-1:00 on Thursday, August 23.  I will be there, signed up, and ready to learn.  There will be representatives from Hospice, the Reverse Mortgage Companies, pre-need funeral information, veterans info, and others.

Really, I would not offer to host such an event if I did not see the need.  Many times I have watched families struggle with the need for information that this seminar will provide.  Today, I am encouraging you to put the date on your calendar, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 11:30-1:00.  We will give you more information as the day draws closer.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

RHODES AND JESS ROBERTS: VAPOR MINISTRIES

Rhodes will be sharing during the Missions and Ministry Moment this Sunday.  He will also host a meeting Sunday afternoon for those interested in learning more about what they do.   Good to see our old friends again.

CALLING ALL WALMART SHOPPERS…

OK, how about all shoppers?  James Island Baptist Church works with the other churches and civic organizations to support James Island Outreach.  We have groups of volunteers who go to help stock as well as lead in the ministry.  We have become the  “jelly” provider for the pantry.  You can bring any kind of non-perishable canned good, but we particularly are supplying jelly for the James Island Outreach.  When it is all said and done, the outreach needs at least 80 jars of jelly each month to make sure each family served gets a jar in their bags of groceries.   So, as you are shopping, keep an eye out for sales, bogo, coupons, etc.  Just bring your donations to worship and set them by the office door.  We will take it from there.  By the way, would you like to volunteer to help in this ministry?  Let us know, we will help you get connected or get you the names of those who volunteer so you can learn more.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 COVERED DISH DINNER

This end of the summer evening will be quite the enjoyable event.  We have several things happening all in one night.

First, we will share a covered dish meal from 6:00-6:45.  Just bring, buy or send your favorite dish.  What is brought is what we will serve.  Second, we will see and participate in “Set One Free:  World Crafts Ministry” from 6:45-7:15.  Consider buying “Christmas” gifts in August that will help set someone free from poverty, slavery or prostitution.  We will have some items available to see, but we will have catalogs for you to order from.  Giving with a godly purpose…gotta love it.  Third, we will end the night with our Quarterly Ministry Conference from 7:15-7:45.  This will be a brief time of sharing, worship, questions and answers.  A night packed with meaning that can make a difference.

PRAYERS AND MORE PRAYERS

The tragedy in Colorado is beyond our understanding.  What a tragedy to hit any community anywhere, any time.  But Colorado has had several horrible events.  Let the news serve as an immediate reminder to pray for the victims, their families, the first responders, the medical professionals, the local government leaders, etc.  may our Gracious Heavenly Father have mercy and may all involved be supported by His everlasting love and compassion.  May the Prince of Peace protect their hearts and minds and grant them strength beyond their own.

Lord willing, see you this Sunday as we continue our teaching series from the Gospel of Mark.  This week we will be looking at Mark 6:30-44, the Feeding of the 5,000.  How do you trust God for a miracle?

Pastor Tom

65th Church Anniversary

65^th Church Anniversary

This Sunday, July 15 is the celebration of our JIBC anniversary.  Usually, it is on the second Sunday of July.  Following so closely after VBS, we decided to back it up one week to give everyone a breather.

WHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER?

As it turns out, it looks like the weather might be a little bit better this Sunday.  The weather channel has a 40% chance of rain for Sunday.  Which, by the way, sounds like a 60% chance of no rain.  Either way, we will have the anniversary. Sunshine, we will be outside.  If it rains, the party moves inside.

CORN HOLE????

 I have received several questions about the game commonly known as “corn hole.”  Most of you know what it is, you just did not know the name.  It is a very popular game played with opposing players trying to toss a small bag into the hole on the game board.  If you have never seen it or heard of it, trust me, it is very popular and is played almost everywhere…the beach, homes, even restaurants have games set up.  Don’t be afraid to try it.  It is a game where skill helps, but luck is king!

FOOD?

You know it.  Our great kitchen team has volunteered to cook out for everyone.  They ask that you consider bringing a dessert.  Your Pastor asks that you remember mac-n-cheese can be counted as a dessert!  Bring some cold watermelon, peaches, something grown from your garden, or bought from Walter at Bi-Lo.  It will be delicious and fun.

WORSHIP

Remember we will combine our worship services and just have one service at 11:00.  We will celebrate Lord’s Supper and Baptism (if our candidates are ready).  We will have some of our historical pictures out for you to enjoy.  The Sunday Connection Classes/Bible Study will carry on as usual, no change there.  All in all, it is shaping up to be a great celebration. 

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom