Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  That is kind of a traditional way of greeting someone as we start a new year.  Really, I hope you have had a “Happy Old Year” and will continue with a “Happy New Year.”  I pray for your joy based on Christ as well as your happiness based on your circumstances.

The turning of the calendar is a great time for many people to renew efforts of starting over.  Don’t you wish you had a dollar for everyone who decided this is the year I will shed a few pounds or make a decision to start exercising?  I actually like picking a time to make new commitments or to renew former ones.  The New Year is a good time to start new and make renewed efforts at attaining goals in your life.  It is a logical time to say the past is behind me, today, this week, this month, and this year is a new year.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…so I can do this…whatever your “this” is.

Let me suggest some areas to consider as you make New Year commitments.  What will you do to deepen your faith with our Father and our Lord Jesus?  Maybe this is the year you read the Bible through or add a few minutes to your daily time with Him.  This year, above all else, I pray you will guard your heart.  The Father is working to make us more like the Son.  What will you do toward that end?

Second, what will you do this year to be salt and light in your neighborhood and community?  What do you see or think about that makes your heart burn with passion or concern?  It could be that is the area where you can shine the brightest.  I pray for all of us to find ways to join what God is doing outside of what we do here on Sunday mornings.  Every Bible study group and small group that I know of has a regular point of contact in the community.  They have places of darkness where they are taking the light of Jesus.  It can be done.  Don’t be timid about asking your group to consider taking on a project. (By the way, also don’t expect others to leave what they are passionate about to join your quest.  Get it, they are doing already. It is easy to feel like what we are doing is the most important.  It is not.  It is just one of a wonderful array of ministries).

Happy New Day!  Every day is new; His mercies are fresh, and each day is an opportunity to “begin again.”  So make a commitment, try again, and aim for the stars.  You will do more than if you didn’t try.

Happy New Day!  Whether it is January 1 or some other day He has created.  May He continue to do a new work in your life and in the community where you live.

Pastor Tom

EMERGENCY SHELTER and CHRISTMAS EVE

EMERGENCY SHELTER

Over the years, the church has owned a small apartment that is a part of the Ministry Center next door.  The little building, adjacent to the main building, houses Barry’s little café, the café where Luz Y Verdad meets, the Relson Gracie Charleston Jiu Jitsu Academy, next the small apartment, and finally the small food bank operated by Luz Y Verdad.  It has been a wonderfully multi functional building through the years.

In the past, the small apartment has been home for several of our members who had special needs.  Some will remember Bobby Jasch and Viola Skipper.  Other times we have rented it to members in need.  It has been vacant for a little while now.  We have just recently had a person there who had no place to live.  It provided a temporary shelter.

Now here is the deal.  It is a very small “efficiency apartment” that is in terrible shape.  We are currently in the process of emptying everything out of it.  It has a collection of junk from years of a variety of tenants.  Most of it will be given to the Kidney Foundation.  Once emptied, we will have it cleaned and sanitized.  Perhaps some minor repairs and adjustments.

We will most likely rent it out one day.  But for the short term future, there seems to be a need for emergency shelter.  I am hoping we might be able to lightly furnish the apartment for such needs.  It is a small efficiency apartment, so there is no room for big furniture.  If you think you might have something to donate, please call the church office at 762-0244.  Neale will help you make the arrangements.

We will not be doing a major overhaul on the apartment, but we will be doing some minor repairs.  If you would be interested in donating some labor, we would be glad to have you on board.

CHRISTMAS EVE

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of advent, and then we celebrate Christmas Eve together.  I am so looking forward to this festive service of Carols, Communion, and Candlelight.  I am also looking forward to a wonderful time of worship and celebration of our Heavenly Father’s great love and the advent/coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we do not see you then, Janie and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Pastor Tom

Christmas Caroling, Wednesday, December 19

Each year we join together on one of the Wednesdays in December.  We go out into the community, usually three different groups, and sing Christmas carols.  It is always a lot of fun.

This year, we are going to try something just a little different.  We are all going to go to the same place this year.  We are going to the Harvest Health and Rehab Center, Maybank Highway on Johns Island.

Here are the plans as we have them now.  The date for the Caroling is Wednesday, December 19.  Come to the fellowship hall as the gathering place.  We will TRY to leave the church campus at 5:45.  I know some may not be able to make it at that departure time.  You can still come on straight to Harvest Health and Rehab.  We will be there from 6 to 7.  Even if you come late, you will still have a lot of time to enjoy.  It will be our only stop.  Then we will gather back at the church to eat.

Now, here is the reason for the change.  There are approximately 1.4 million people living in Nursing Home facilities.  Nursing homes are in great need of having people come and visit.  The problem is if we arrive at 7, many of them are already medicated and put to bed.  Harvest has welcomed us to come and this will be right after the residents have eaten.  So they will still be awake and ready for a “dinner show.”  We are trying to find out how many residents there are and what small items we might could take them as a small Christmas gift.

Imagine, you live in a nursing home facility, your family lives away and/or cannot visit you regularly.  Here comes a group of 30 children and about that many adults.  There is singing, greetings, beautiful music…ok, fun music, and lots of love.  It is taking LIGHT into the dark places of the community.

I will drive the bus for our children and adults…up to 39 of them.  We can use volunteers to drive and help with transportation.  Dave and Fred will be going, so we will have good music to help us sing.  We will have Christmas songs books, the Good Book, and lots of “Santa Hats.”  It will be fun.  No doubt, it will be meaningful and touch someone’s life deeply.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Hosanna!

Pastor Tom

ADVENT BEGINS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2

Our family will gather Thursday for Thanksgiving.  I love it!  It will be a wonderful, chaotic, noisy gathering where we laugh, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy wonderfully prepared food.  Maybe we will watch a football game or two.  Certainly, there will be a small football game in the front yard.  What is not to love?

But then comes Friday.  Not black Friday.  I am talking happy, happy, happy Friday.  I’m talking “Noah, granddad, and grandma” Friday.  The Christmas tree goes up, and the Brown’s home gets ready for the Christmas season.  Noah and I, for several years, have taken on the task of decorating the Christmas tree.  I tell Noah about the many ornaments given to us by friends and family over the years.  We hang the hand-made crochet candles Mrs. Ruth Salley made for us when she was 100 years old.  I show him the ornaments celebrating his mother’s birth into our family.   I tell him about family members no longer with us.  Of course, we hang the ornaments from Disney World!  We relive the trips that we made together.  And then, when it is all said and done, we wait for that moment when no one is around.  We both hang a “Christ nail” on the back of the tree.  It is out of view, but it is there.  It is a reminder of the reason for the season.  Once the tree is decorated, we put the train track around the tree and grandma comes and sets up the village.  Grandma does the pretty touches and gets things ready, then Noah and I will arrange the Nativity scenes.  Really, there is an easier way to do all this, but I do not know of a better way.

We take the same loving approach with our church family.  Our team will have the church decorated for the first Sunday of Advent.  What a wonderful job they do.  Like so many of our teams, they work behind the scenes, then beginning December 2, we will focus our worship services on the coming of Christ…The Advent.  We will use candles to symbolize that Jesus is the Light of the world.  Scriptures will be read reminding us of part of the greatest story ever told.  We will do our best to help call our attention to the reason for the season.

Let this Advent season enrich your Christmas celebration.  Refuse to become a Grinch.  Go ahead and say it…   “Joy to the World the Lord is come!”  Now sing it.  Go ahead.  Sing it.  I don’t care if I go shopping or not on Friday.  What I do know is this…good Lord willing, I will be making memories with my family and teaching the joy of the Christmas season.

Happy Thanksgiving…and I can’t wait to say “Merry Christmas!”

Pastor Tom

On Celebrating Advent…or one of my favorite puns: “Advent is Coming”

I have made a commitment to not skip Thanksgiving. Even though many stores already have Christmas decorations up, I will try my best to focus on giving thanks.  I do not want to skip right over Thanksgiving.  Now, come the Friday after Thanksgiving… “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”  It’s on.

I have already started planning this year’s “Advent Celebration.”  Don’t let naysayers or anyone else rob you of this meaningful time of worship.  While some Baptist did not grow up observing the Advent season, we have made some of its rich traditions ours.  The word “advent” comes from the Latin word “adventus.”  It means arrival or coming.  In this case, it refers to the arrival and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas day.  This year that will be December 2.

In a season of rush and an often embarrassing commercialization of Christmas, what a great idea to have moments of reflection.  The Advent season is a call to Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  It is our privilege to call our church family and friends to remember the true meaning of the coming of Christ. What a wonderful opportunity to worship and to teach the greatest story ever told.  We use Advent to teach the Word of God and the Mission of God; to help families find balance in a hectic season; to encourage giving to the poor and to others with a generous and thankful heart.  The Light of the World came…it is worthy of celebrating with the Word, with candles, with prayers, with gifts, and with whatever Christmas trappings can help us celebrate His advent.

Our family joyfully celebrates the Christmas season.  We build our celebration on the traditions of Christmas from the Word of God, from believers through the centuries as well as our own family traditions.  We have created some traditions built on the personal joy of what God has done for us in sending his Son as our Savior.  It has led us to give to others because God gave to us.  We sing and listen to great Christmas music because our hearts are filled with joy.  We light Christmas Lights celebrating Jesus as the Light of the World.

As the Under-Shepherd of this church family, I will lead you to do the same.  A friend of mine told me that we should not use pink candles in the advent service.  His reasoning was that over a thousand years ago, some pope used a pink candle in some insidious way.  My response…we will not let that pope light our candle!  Pink was God’s color long before it was the color of choice of some misguided person.  Don’t get distracted by those who take joy on raining on your Christmas parade.  March on; stay faithful to God’s Word; give thanks and be joyful; give to those in need…but don’t forget Thanksgiving!

See you Sunday, Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

Only Two Sundays Away

One of the most joyful services of the year is our annual Thanksgiving Worship Celebration.  It takes place on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 18th.  There are many reasons this is a Sunday of Thanksgiving.  I hope each one of them leads you to express gratitude and deep appreciation for all God has done for us.

First, there is only one worship service on Sunday, November 18th.  We will all combine for a united day of thanksgiving.  The 8:30am group and the Chinese Fellowship will join us at the 11am service.  This is one of the few times during the year that we combine our worship services.  The Chinese Church is planning to sing two songs during the service.  This is always a favorite.

Second, we will celebrate the two ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  If you are waiting for baptism or are interested, please call the church office at #762-0244.  It is always a moving part of worship to welcome new believers and new members into the family of God here at James Island Baptist.  We will also celebrate the Lord’s Supper as Eucharist…thanksgiving.  Reflect on what God has done for us in sending His only begotten Son.  Remember the ultimate love Jesus showed in being obedient even to the point of death on a cross.  Hallelujah, what a Savior.

Third, we will have the recognition of all new members since last Thanksgiving.  One of the blessings we are most thankful for are the new members God has brought into our church family.  If you have joined JIBC, one of our connection groups, Sunday School,...etc, we would like to welcome you and give God thanks and glory.  Janie and I, after the Celebration of Communion, will invite all of our new members to come and join us.  We will have a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.  It really can be a moving moment to see how the Lord has blessed.

Fourth, we will have a church wide Thanksgiving Meal.  Our fabulous Kitchen Krew is preparing food for the entire church family.  It is not necessary for you to bring anything.  If you would like to, why not bring a dessert or one of your favorite dishes.  Just take it back to the Fellowship Hall, and they will put it out for everyone to enjoy.  Trust me; it will be a feast and great fellowship.

Last, if you have any strength left, the annual James Island Community Thanksgiving Service.  This year, the service will be hosted at St. James Presbyterian Church located at 1314 Seccessionville Road.  You are invited to bring a canned goods and a financial offering for the James Island Outreach.  This is always a great gathering of the family of God here on James Island.

Give thanks; this is the will of God for your life!  See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

Update on Celebrate Recovery

“Anyone can curse the darkness…let’s be the ones who light a candle.”  That is especially true when we are followers of Jesus, the Light of the world.  I am thankful to God for the JIBC family that supports two outstanding ministries fighting for freedom for those struggling with addictions.  We have two very intensive, very focused ministries aimed at helping men and women experience freedom in Christ.

The first one is Celebrate Recovery:  a Christ centered 12 Step program.  It is recovery ministry using the 12 Steps and the 8 Principles found in the Beatitudes.  There is no mistaking that Jesus Christ is The Higher Power.  When we read the 12 Steps we also share their biblical basis.  For Bill W., the “founder” of AA, there was no question about the 12 Steps being based on the Bible and that the Higher Power was Jesus Christ.  We are gratefully continuing his inspired approach.  A typical meeting goes like this:  gather for a shared meal at 6:00; brief worship set at 6:30; we use the chip system to mark time and celebrate; we read the 12 steps and/or the 8 Principles from the Beatitudes; we have a lesson on one of the steps; then we divide into men and women’s groups.  The entire program is over at 8 p.m.

By the way, did you know that The Charleston Crab House, Kickin’ Chicken, and the Stono Café each graciously provide a meal one Sunday out of the month?  Please tell John, David, and Barry thanks when you see them.  Then our team cooks or provides pizza on the fourth Sunday.  What a blessing!  We have a strong team leading this ministry.  I am pleased when I can participate with them.  Just a reminder that we all are recovering from something.  It is not just about alcohol and drugs.  It is about codependency, bad choices, traumatic experiences, abuses of all kinds, eating disorders, etc.  This past Sunday night we had 35 in attendance;  about half from the Charleston Center and half from our church and community.

The second mission outreach is the Transition House: The 180 Ministry.  It took so long for us to get this off the ground.  Marsha Cline came in as the administrator and got the ball rolling and served as the first “house mother.”  When she returned to Indianapolis, she had a stroke.  She is doing better and still needs our prayers.  The Transition House was in such good shape and order, that we tried a new approach.  We now have two residents, and two itty bitty babies, living there.  We are getting ready for our third resident.  These are women who, primarily, come to us through the Charleston Center.  We did make an exception for one of the ladies who was in need when the house was empty.  There is only one other ministry like this in the Charleston area that we know.  The Ruth House just opened.  It is a ministry of The Mount Moriah Church in North Charleston.  So we have a sister ministry to compare notes.  Thank you Jesus!

And thank you JIBC for being a church family willing to take on the giants.  Anyone can curse the darkness…you chose to light a candle of hope that they might find Jesus.

Pastor Tom