"Liz and I...Tithe"

 

     Generosity is a core value of Northside Drive Baptist Church. Our vision statement says it: We are a place, "where resources are shared generously."

     Liz and I were taught generosity. We learned to tithe about the time we learned to walk. Giving was part of the Christian core curriculum. We learned it in Training Union (TU).

     I doubt I live long enough to see it, but I predict that TU will return one day. TU happened on Sunday afternoon, just before the evening worship service. Each attendee was a participant. Everybody had a "part on program." We learned leadership, Baptist history, ethics, missions, and tithing.

     For me, learning fractions in grade school math was a piece of cake! Everything I needed to know I'd already learned in Training Union. The pie charts and percentages illustrated which piece of the financial pie went to "foreign" missions, how much to "home" missions, etc.

     We also learned that a tithe was ten percent of one's income. If you harvested 100 bushels of apples, then a tithe was 10 bushels.

     Thus, with a little Training Union math, we knew just how much to put in our Sunday School offering envelopes. If I made $10 mowing yards that week, then at least $1.00 went in as my tithe.

     I've not always tithed. During five years of divorce survival, I didn't. But when Liz and I married, we just knew that we would and should.

     It also is our belief that the tithe, 10% of our income, should go to (or through) the local church of which we are members. Just this week, Liz and I were speaking of how fortunate and grateful we are. God and good folks have been generous. In response, especially the last few years, we have been able to give a little more than the math allowed. Then again, we are cheap empty-nesters.

     In addition, we also give to alumni associations, a bunch of charities like the Salvation Army, Doctors without Borders, The Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and a few more.

     This is our testimony (to use another rare word). It is not meant to be a template for anyone else; and we may be living in the poor house tomorrow. However, it is Liz and my way of seeing the financial side of faith-community-living.

     With only fourteen years under our belts, Liz and I feel like recent recruits in the Northside Drive generosity parade. A generation of givers has preceded us; and we are honored to be in the procession.

     This year's theme for NDBC's pledging campaign is "Generations of Generosity." We've used it before and it still is true. Each of us has a part to play in baking the hard-to-come-by 2012 church ministry pie.

     I ask that each person in the Northside Drive Baptist Church community (members and regular visitors) make a pledge.

     Liz and I tithe. We invite you to do the same.

  OCTOBER 26, 2011  

Pastor's Bible Study on Jeremiah / James Lamkin (FH), 10:30 AM

Music Together for Children (109), 6 PM

Northside Yoga / Amanda Gregg (202), 6 PM

Where Do 'I' Fit In Community / Mike G. & Zach B. (Parlor), 6 PM

Church-n-conference (FH), 7 PM

Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal (Choir Room), 7:45 PM

 

Visit our website, under the "What's Happening" section,

for more details, www.northsidedrive.org or see our list of events.

 

September 28-November 16

@ 10:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall

 

The Book of Jeremiah:

Weeping and Wondering about God

(This study also will be offered

on most fall Wednesday evenings.)

Northside Drive Baptist Church Work Days

 

Since NDBC is a "different kind" of Baptist church, we will walk through our history, vision, and role in the life of God in the world. For regularly attending non-members and new members. 

Where Do 'I' Fit In Community Workshop

with Zachary Bay & Michael Gregg

Nov 2, 9, 16, at 6 PM, in the Parlor

 

Zach Bay and Mike Gregg will lead a five week workshop utilizing spiritual and psychological inventories to help you, the participant, better understand yourself and how you can use your gifts, skills, and joys in your various communities. This workshop will be a fun and eye-opening look at "why you are the way you are." You will receive a free book about the Enneagram, an ancient religious tool to understand your worldview. Please contact Mike or Zach at info@northsidedrive.org to register or for more information. 

Come celebrate with Zachary Leland Bay and Kristy Lyn Eggert on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at 4 PM, in the Northside Drive Sanctuary! The future couple invite you to stay, post wedding, for a reception on the Chapel lawn. Please visit their website at www.kristyandzach.com. 

 

Wade's Deacon Families are:

  Helen Adams w/ Katie, William, & Hunter

Jim & Suzanne Barksdale w/ Lisa & William

Laura Butts

Greg & Betty Colson

Elizabeth Granger

Kathy Harris

Tom & Jeanne Hicks

Gerry Humphries

Randy Korando

Charlton & Blanche Roberts

Robbye Taylor

Ruth Trager

Don Wamberg

Kristi Wamberg

Pam Wamberg

Lindy Welch

 

The following will be remembered during the worship service on Sunday, November 6.

 

Northside Drive Church Members

Charlie Lathem

Jane Jones

Jack Morton

Bill Goddard

Dan Dalke

 

If you know of a church member, or staff member, that has died since All Saints Day 2010, please notify the church office by calling 404-237-8621 or emailing renee@northsidedrive.org by Wednesday, November 2.

 

NDBC's very own Rev. Michael Gregg will be co-hosting a breakout session with Chris Aho called Telling Your Story on the Internet: Social Media. For more information, please visit

http://cbfga.org/14/CBF-GA-Fall-General-Assembly. 

The Power of Non-Violence in the U.S. and Palestine-Israel

November 10-12, 2011

 

Trinity Presbyterian Church

3003 Howell Mill Road NW

Atlanta, GA 30327

 

Sponsored by Friends of Sabeel North America

 

Sabeel, Arabic for 'the Way', was founded by theologian and Canon Naim Ateek, and works with and on behalf of Palestinian Christians for justice through nonviolence in the holy Land.

 

For more information or to register go to www.fosna.org.

You are cordially invited to attend a concert by the William Baker Festival Singers which will be presented in our Sanctuary on Friday evening, November 11, at 7:30 PM. Featured on the program will be great choral works of the past and present. This is a benefit concert, and will be offered at no charge. A free-will offering will be taken, and 100% of all monies collected will be given to a local charity. For much of the last 25 years, the Festival Singers have presented a benefit concert during the fall season to support the work of a humanitarian organization. Past beneficiaries have included Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry, AIDAtlanta, Genesis Shelter, March of Dimes of Georgia, and many others. So please come on November 11, to hear some beautiful music to and support a worthy cause! 

Auctions Speak Louder Than Words!

NDBC Preschool's 3rd Annual Silent Auction

November 14-18, in the Fellowship Hall

 

Northside Drive Baptist Church Preschool is having our 3rd Annual Auction, November 14-18, and we need your help! We are looking for donations. If you are willing to help or have items for us to pick-up, please contact Caroline Houck at 404-502-6420 or e-mail her at carolinehouck@mac.com. Winners will be announced on November 18, after the Thanksgiving Feast.

Mark Your Calendars!

 

A gathering of more than 30 racially, geographically, and theologically diverse Baptist organizations from throughout North America

 

Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church

November 17-19, 2011

 

Thursday 7 PM-Worship and Music Service

Friday 9 AM-10 PM-Breakout sessions & worship services

Saturday-Opportunities for Hands-On Missions

 

Speakers/session leaders include Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter; Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University; Marian Wright Edleman, Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund; Stephen Thurston, President of the National Baptist Convention of America; and Bob Abernethy, executive editor and host of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS.