IT’S GETTING REAL UP IN HERE!

Remember what it was like to be a kid waiting on Christmas…it would never get here fast enough. Compare that to remembering the joy of having the summer off with no school but knowing that September would be here before you knew it!

The Kitchen Renovation is about to be complete and baptized with its first function. It is not “complete complete” but it is functional and ready to go. Just a few more things to do. This week will be given to moving things back into the kitchen into their brand spanking new home! There will be one “soft-opening” to make sure everything is up to snuff and ready to go. The big celebration will be Wednesday, May 27 from 5:00 to 6:15. By God’s good grace, we will be serving the #1 meal featuring fried chicken, mac and cheese and all the fixin’s. I believe there will be banana pudding for dessert. My eating plan takes a holiday that night!

By the way, what better timing than to celebrate the renovation with the Awana Awards night! Our JIBC kids and friends will get their well-deserved recognition for all the hard work they did. Awana leaders will get to celebrate the fruit of their loving labor. Teaching children the Word of God…well done.

Then, the welcoming of our new staff member, Josh Sorrow along with his wife, Laura and their three children. We are so happy to have them on the team. Saturday, May 30 we will have a drop in at JIBC for leaders to come by and say hello. Sunday will be the formal introduction and a commissioning. All adult Bible Study Connection Groups are invited to a Meet and Greet Sunday from 10:00 to 10:40. We will have Josh share some and maybe do a question-and-answer time.

As I said, “IT’S GETTING REAL UP IN HERE.” Kind of like aging…it was slow at first and then it picked up a lot of speed! Love you all.

Pastor Tom

The Invitation Has Been Extended!

All things being equal, James Island Baptist Church has extended a call to Josh Sorrow and his family. We are inviting them to join the JIBC family and staff where Josh will serve as Pastor of Administration and Small Groups/Discipleship. Josh is coming to us from Somerset, Kentucky. He grew up in Summerville where his father served for years as the Associate Pastor of Administration and Small Groups at Old Fort Baptist Church. Josh is a graduate of Charleston Southern University and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In the past Josh has served as Minister to Students as well as Pastor of Administration and Discipleship. Fun fact: some of you may remember Scott Miller who served at Clearview Baptist/New Beginnings Church here on James Island. Scott went to southern Indiana as Pastor of Graceland Baptist Church (yes, named after that Graceland). Josh served as a Student Intern under Scott Miller. He could not have had a better pastor/leader/mentor than Scott.

From our first contact with Josh, which was with his resume, we felt like he was a perfect match for what we are looking for. His experience, his spiritual gifts, his passions are lined up great with the mission and ministry of JIBC. This is the first “public” announcement we are making. We will start planning the details of his move in the days ahead. Oh, by the way, Josh is married; he and Laura have three children, a daughter and two sons! If you are on Facebook, look him up and send him a friend request! I look forward to having Josh and his family as a staff member and as a part of the JIBC family!

PS: Josh is coming to join us in what we sometimes refer to as “Second Chair”. He is coming as the Associate Pastor. He is not coming as the replacement of the old guy that currently sits in the Pastor’s Office. Sorry to mention that but curious minds will want to know.

Matters Closer to Home

As I am typing, the Kitchen cabinets and shelves are being put in! They look awesome! Somebody say “Mac-n-Cheese, please!” It looks like our first meal served in the renovated kitchen will be Wednesday, May 20…even though it may technically be “finished” by May 13.

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

IT IS TOO SOON TO GIVE UP

When do you throw in the towel and give up? There may be a time that is right. Too often I think some people throw in the towel and walk away too soon. This past Saturday, May 2 was the 152nd Run for the Roses, the famed Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. What a great lesson to learn. The horse, Golden Tempo, was a long shot with odds 23-1. The race starts and the impressive field runs like the wind, packed together jockeying for that sweet position of getting out early to be number one. It was an impressive field indeed. At the half mile mark not many people had their eye on the horse that was in last place, 19th out of 19! That horse was Golden Tempo. Last…dead last…with 18 proven winners out in front of him. Not last for a second but last for the first half mile of the race. Then the alpha male horse said enough is enough and he turned on the afterburners and closed the distance. From dead last to winning by a neck, winning by less that one second! Golden Tempo, his jockey, Jose Ortiz and his trainer, Cherie DeVaux did not throw in the towel because they were last. They did not quit or give up on their horse. Golden Tempo climbed from last to first. Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer in Kentucky Derby History to win the most prestigious of all horse races. The reason? They did not quit or give up.

Don’t give up too soon. God may still be working a miracle, He may still be waiting for the moment to bring you from last to first, from the prison cell to freedom, from the whale’s belly to your assignment, from the cross, the grave to the resurrection. Don’t give up too soon. Your Owner sees you, He knows where you are in the race of life. He knows the odds.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize!” (1 Corinthians 9:24) No matter how far back in this race of life you have fallen, you can, by God’s grace and mercy, make it back to the front! It is too soon to give up.

Love you all,

Pastor Tom