"On the Road Again..."
 
     Isaiah Lewis is one of Northside Drive Baptist Church's almost-three-year-olds.  His mom and dad are Beth and Jeremy.  He is a cute and cool kid; but that's not all.  He thinks I'm Willie Nelson.
     I know.  As hard as that is to believe...he believes it.
     He will be gravely disappointed one day.  It may even set-off a faith crisis.  But he will survive it and be OK.
     While riding in the car with his dad, he always asked for Jeremy to put-in the "Pastor James" CD.  When Willie begins to wail, Isaiah smiles.
     Well, as Willie and I would say it, I soon will be "on the road again," as I lead an Inter-Faith Pilgrimage to Turkey, April 18-27.
     The group is World Pilgrims.  I was on their maiden voyage just a year after 9/11 in 2001.  Northside Driver, Ken Brant went back then.
     Jews, Christians, and Muslims will go together, travel on airplanes together, pray together, and go to our respective holy sites together.  Former Northside Driver, Mary Keller is going!
     The purpose is for each pilgrim to deepen his or her own faith, while gaining a greater understanding for the faiths of others.
     Whatever spirituality is about, it is about relationships.  As the miracle of friendship happens-across faith lines-it is beautiful.
     It is not a tour.  This is no way to plan a vacation!  But by being attentive to God, to others, and to ourselves, grace and growth happen.
     Though the schedule may vary, here is the proposed itinerary.
 
Pilgrimage Itinerary 
 *SUNDAY APRIL 18.  Fly from Atlanta to Istanbul.
 *MONDAY, APRIL 19. Settle in at the hotel.
 *TUESDAY, APRIL 20.  Visit several Mosques and ride on the Bosporus.
 *WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21.  See the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace.  Have an evening meal with local Muslim families.
 *THURSDAY, APRIL 22.  Meet with the Senior Rabbi of Turkey and go to synagogue.  Visit the Spice Market and The Bazaar.
 *FRIDAY, APRIL 23. Visit one of the oldest mosques and go to Jumma'uh Muslim prayers.  Then observe the Sabbath dinner meal with local Jews.
 *SATURDAY, APRIL 24.  Fly to Izmir.
 *SUNDAY, APRIL 25. Travel to Ephesus.  (I will lead a Christian service here.)  Discuss early Christianity in Asia Minor.
 *MONDAY, APRIL 26.  Fly back to Istanbul.
 *TUESDAY, APRIL 27 . Return to Atlanta.
 
     Please pray for us daily to be open and porous to God as we do what Isaiah and Willie sing about, "...on the road again."

 

The seven last words of Christ.

Homilies presented by NDBC members.

 

Jerry Poole
12:05 PM, "Father forgive them..."
Chelsea Clarke
12:30 PM, "Today, thou shalt be with me..."
Tiffany Gibson Cox
12:55 PM, "Woman, behold thy son!"
Laura Seay
1:20 PM, "My God, my God why...?"
Cathy Wooten
1:45 PM, "...I am thirsty."
Larry McSwain
2:10 PM, "It is finished."
Ruth Kramedjian
2:35 PM, "Into thy hands..."

Good Friday's noon until three service always surprises me at the depth of the sharing we hear from parishioners. With meditations built around The Seven Last Words of Christ, with autobiography woven in.

 

A book review of We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan that Will Work by Jimmy Carter will be Wednesday, April 14, at 1:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Nancy Davis will be the facilitator and Mary Ann Hickman the hostess. Bring your lunch; dessert and beverages will be furnished.

 

 
Alliance of Baptists
 
From the Reynoldstown section of Atlanta to Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries in New York to the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe, mission partners of the Alliance of Baptists are ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of those living in the margins-the poor, the oppressed, and the disenfranchised. Providing clean water, education, and medical care are just a few of the ways faith groups demonstrate God's presence in the midst of poverty, civil strife, and hopelessness. The national goal for the 2010 offering is $120,000 and Northside's goal is $2,000. Use the special mission envelope in your packet or mark your envelope Bridges of Hope. 

 

  Baptist Stories from the Emergent Frontier
 
Rev. Mike Gregg has written a chapter called Emerging Worship: A Postmodern Experiment for the book Baptimergent: Baptist Stories from the Emergent Frontier, Zach Roberts, ed. In this chapter, Mike describes the importance of being Baptist in a postmodern world. He uses the experiment of Church 1:01, an attempted postmodern worship service at Northside Drive Baptist Church, as an example that as worshippers become more postmodern, they might actually become more Baptist.
 
The title of the book, Baptimergent, is a combination of the words Emergent and Baptist. Emergent Baptists are those who believe there is more to God, Jesus, and God's kingdom than modern Christianity and its denominational categories have been able to define. Emergent Baptists believe it is incumbent upon them to participate in-and write-the narrative for their time and place. Like generations before them, they hope to take what their forefathers and mothers gave them and fashion something from it that is their own. This book contains some of their first efforts at doing so.
 
You may find a copy of the book through Smyth & Helwys Publishers. 

 

 

As a rule of thumb, we will not cancel worship services on Sunday morning except under the most extreme weather conditions.  Members are urged to use their own good judgment as to whether they should attempt to make the trip.  Should inclement winter weather cause the cancellation of a service, here is the plan:
 
1) The pastor and the moderator will make the decision.
2) The moderator will notify the Chair of the Diaconate.
3) The deacons will use the "phone tree" to notify the congregation.
4) One of the ministers will send an email to all those on the church's email list (electricity permitting) and place a notification on the church's voice mail.
5) One of the ministers will notify the media.