By James Lamkin

The Neg-Lectionary

I have been a 'lectionary preacher' for many years. However, I'm taking a break from it during the summer 2011. While in the chapel, I will be preaching from Bible texts which were left out of the lectionary. I am calling my summer sermon series on these neglected scriptures, The Neg-Lectionary!

Many, if not most, mainline churches and their ministers use The Revised Common Lectionary as the scriptural engine that drives the Christian liturgical year. The Lectionary coordinates texts with the holy seasons, such as Advent and Lent; plus, it harmonizes Gospel texts with epistle lessons, psalms, and other Old Testament readings. It has a three year cycle, using the Gospels as foci, Matthew is Year A, Mark is Year B, and Luke is Year C. John is used like seasoning and is peppered throughout the three years.

However, even with all of those Sundays and all those Holy Days, a lot of the Bible did not get included. For instance, there is the story of John the Baptist's father; he was the preacher who lost his voice. Also, there is the scripture in Acts 20 of the young fellow who fell asleep during one of the Apostle Paul's rambling sermons. Not only did he fall asleep, but he fell out of the window and died. Plus, everybody's favorite, the great example of Hebrew humor and story-telling par excellence of Balaam's talking donkey in Numbers 22...a tale referenced in the King James Version as 'Balaam's Ass.'

'Twill be good to splash about in some pools in the Bible that the lectionary leaves out. As always, we'll read three scriptures per service; and one of these will be from The Neg-Lectionary.

Rev. Mike Gregg will be preaching twice; I will be there the rest of the time. Here is where we are headed...with this disclaimer: 'Due to the fickle and faithful nudging of the Holy Spirit, topics are subject to change.'

The Neg-Lectionary Schedule

June 26 - Acts 9

You Never Know Who You Influence

July 3 - Luke 1

The Preacher Who Lost His Voice

July 10 - Judges 7

God's Ensmallment Campaign

July 17 - Judges 13

The Blind Side

July 24 - Deuteronomy 33:27

Leaning on The Everlasting Arms

July 31 - Numbers 22

Balaam's Ass

August 7 - Mark 8

Getting a Second Opinion

August 14 - Proverbs 15 & 17

The Spiritual Gifts of Humor and Friendship

August 21 - Matthew 21

And Jesus Cursed

August 28 - Acts 20

Eutyches: Patron Saint of Sermon Sleepers

September 4 - Acts 24

Almost Persuaded: The Sin of Procrastination

WHAT:  LOVING and APPRECIATION FAREWELL BUFFET LUNCH

 
FOR WHOM:  WILMA AND DICK UNDERWOOD

WHEN:  Immediately after worship, JUNE  26 @ 12:15 PM

WHERE:  Fellowship Hall

After 54 years of dedicated service to our church, the Underwood's are moving to Virginia near daughter Laura and husband Rob Dowling.

Fundraising Opportunity for the

NDBC Children's Ministry!

The NDBC Young Adults will be sponsoring Northside Drive's participation in St. Anne's Episcopal Church's HUGE SUMMER YARD SALE. Now is your chance to clear out some of the clutter you have been wanting to get rid of and support a great cause in the process. All proceeds from the sale will go toward supporting the growing Children's Ministry at NDBC.

If you would like to donate to the cause, please contact Zach Bay and arrange to drop off your donations at NDBC by June 10. If you would like to participate on the day of the yard sale, contact Zach and let him know your availability for that Saturday. 

A Memorial Service for

Mr. John William "Bill" Goddard

will be held Saturday, June 11, 2011,

at 2 PM, in the Sanctuary.

A light reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.

The NDBC Chapel

11:00 AM

June 26-September 4, 2011

"There shall be seasons refreshing...." This is a line from There Shall Be Showers of Blessing, a Gospel song based on Ezekiel 34:26 and found in the chapel's Baptist Hymnal. Worship this summer will be as the hymn alludes: a season which is refreshing. And the season's refreshment will come through the intimacy of the chapel's sacred space, through the vitality of sacred music and congregational singing, and through stories of how God is at work renewing our lives.

The summer's sermon series will be: "The Neg-Lectionary." Like most mainline churches, we use the Revised Common Lectionary as the engine that drives weekly worship. For each Sunday and holy season there is a Gospel, Epistle, Psalms, and OldTestament text appropriately selected. However, even with all those Bible verses, there are still many scriptures which are neglected. Thus, "The Neg-Lectionary." The summer's scripture sampler includes: a sermon-sleeper who fell out of a window and died, a man who was lectured by his talking donkey, and a preacher who lost his voice (to the delight of many, I'm sure). 'Twill be an angular and refreshing approach to some overlooked scriptures.

NO LONGER PONDERING....

After much pondering, prayer and discussion, the Hymnal Sub-Committee of the Worship and Music Committee, has narrowed the large list of potential new hymnals first to seven and now to three. As reported earlier to you, we followed a specific set of guidelines in our individual and collective review of the hymnals and compared them against our current Pilgrim Hymnal as well as a series of benchmarks and priorities. In that manner, each hymnal was fairly compared. It has been very labor-intensive, but we feel all three to be excellent choices for our church.

We are at the point where we need your help and insight. Beginning Sunday, June 19 and running through Sunday, August 14, three hymnals that have risen to the top of our research will be available for your personal review in the second floor Conference Room. They will be available from before church school until after worship each of the Sundays. Our hope is that the congregation will offer a few minutes to looking at each book and sharing your thoughts with us. To that end, a Congregational Review Form will be provided that you may complete and leave in the room for the sub-committee. The form uses the same "benchmarks" as the ones used by the sub-committee and will help us further narrow the choices and arrive at the decision we bring to the Worship and Music Committee. Please include your name and specific comments; our members agree that general statements will not be of help.

In addition there will be copies of reports which have appeared in The Pinnacle and the E-Newsletter which tell why we need a new hymnal, what criterion we used to review each hymnal and websites of the publishers of these three so you may read more (or in one instance watch a video) about each on-line. We genuinely appreciate both your prayers as we move forward and your thoughts as we deliberate.

Irwin Ray, Chair

Hymnal Sub-Committee

Register Now for the Women's Spiritual Retreat in September!!

We have our largest ever group going to the retreat in September and have only two places remaining. We want to fill all the beds and set a new record! Remember the dates are September 16-18, the place Enota Mountain Retreat, and the topic "Making Space for the Mary and Martha in You." A $100 deposit is due now. Come on and join us. You will have a great time and feel even more connected with the wonderful women in our church family. Contact Patti Clark to register: 678-428-7898 or patricia.phillips.clark@gmail.com.