Rev. Dr. James Lamkin, Pastor

Rev. Dr. Michael Gregg, Associate Pastor & Minister of Education

Paul Fletcher, Director of Music Ministries

Mary Lou Swann, Director of Children's Choirs

Alyssa Aldape, Director of Youth Ministries

Rose Hidlay, Business Manager

Renee Gamache, Administrative Assistant

Richard Willingham, Custodian

Edith Varner, Custodian

Joleen Neel, Preschool Director

Christmas Eve Family Vespers

Wednesday, December 24, at 4 PM

    Do you need a Christmas Eve Service designed especially for your kids? If so, make plans to attend Northside Drive's Family Vespers Service at 4 PM on Christmas Eve. We sing kid friendly carols, have a costumed Christmas pageant, partake in family communion, and see the Pastor juggling while telling a Christmas story. Northside Drive Baptist Church has designed this unique service with the whole family in mind.

Lessons, Carols, and Communion

Wednesday, December 24, at 10:30 PM

     As midnight approaches on Christmas Eve, the world is dark. One by one, candles begin to light up the darkness as Silent Night, Holy Night resounds in the air. The Christ child is coming and the people will soon break forth with the jubilant hymn, Joy to the World! Join Northside Drive Baptist Church in a beautiful Christmas Eve service of Lessons, Carols, Communion and Candlelight. The Christmas story will be read from Scripture and the familiar carols will wrap us in the hopeful warmth of a Savior to be born.

"Rum Pah Pum Pum"

     Several years ago, John Buchanan, editor of The Christian Century, commented comically on this. He cited David James Duncan's book, God Laughs and Plays. Duncan says that only vindictive relatives give kids drums. And the rum pah pum pum endured by parents is just cruel. Maybe God should have asked a Wise Man to take away the kid's sticks so they could all have some peace and quiet!

     However, Jesus was just going to have to get used to it. Human beings do well-intentioned, but dumb and terrible things...and some of them are as annoying as a dentist's drill. Imagine God saying, "Never mind the noise. Let the drummer boy drum!"

     The world gets awfully loud: war, rumors of wars, Ebola, well-financed power, and downright bad-to-the-bone meanness. It has been so even since the days of Caesar Augustus.

     The Jesus story is how God fights meanness. It is "not with swords' loud clashing," as the song says. Instead, God sends a baby to a carpenter couple...parents near the bottom of the food chain, under the control of an occupying army, powerless and poor and pushed around by a political empire.

     Today, we are on the cusp of Christmas Eve. The old carols are in our heads and in our hearts. We step near the manger. Since it is a feed trough, we watch our step. And we put up with the noise-making kid. He's a lot like us. "I played my best for him, pah rum pah pum pum."

     "Let the drummer boy drum," says God.

     So, bring your drumsticks, bring what you have, bring who you are...and meet me at the manager. Like the gift of our young percussionist, by the grace of God, what we have to give is enough. 

     NDBC'er Dr. Steve Sheeley will be writing devotionals through the Advent season. If you would like to be on his email list and receive his musings, you may email him at ssheeley4@comcast.net. May hope, peace, love and joy be with you this Advent season.

December 14, 21 & 28 @ 9:30 AM

Located in the Art & Soul Room (#202)

     With the Advent/Christmas season right around the corner now, things are very busy in the music ministry at NDBC. Our Sunday morning worship services during this season will be blessed once again this year by ten minutes of pre-service music, provided by members of the congregation.

December 28 - Alan Johns, organ

    2014 Season of Advent & Christmas

Christmas Eve - Wednesday, December 24

  4:00 PM - Family Vespers

10:30 PM - Lessons, Carols, and Communion

1st SUNDAY of CHRISTMAS - Sunday, December 28

  9:30 AM - Church School

11:00 AM - Worship: "The Wonder of Christmas"

EPIPHANY SUNDAY - Sunday, January 4

  9:30 AM - Church School

11:00 AM - Worship: "The Wonder of Epiphany"

*Chrismon Pamphlets and Buckner Daily Advent Guides are available in the Narthex and also at www.northsidedrive.org.

     The next Church Council meeting will be Monday, January 12, at 7 PM, in the Art & Soul Classroom, #202.

     *The Church Council consists of the Moderator, Senior Pastor, Treasurer, and Church Clerk, the chairs of the Diaconate, the Finance, Personnel, and Nominating Committees, the Adult Education, Children's, Communications/Technology, Facilities Management, Grounds, Landscaping, Hospitality, Marketing, Membership Development, Memorial Gifts, Missions, Preschool Liaison, Worship & Music, and Youth Ministry Teams, and the Auxiliary Triple E.

The Mysteries of Federal Monetary Policy and Its Impact on Our Lives

Jack Guynn, Federal Reserve (Retired)

January 13, @ 11 AM, Fellowship Hall

     Jack, an NDBC member, was part of the Fed's policy making group for many years under both Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke before he retired. He will share an insider's story about how policy really gets made and how it impacts the economy and our individual lives. 

     We meet weekly (EXCEPT Dec 24 & 31) from 10:30-11:30 AM, in the church's Conference Room. We study the texts selected in the Revised Common Lectionary for the next Sunday. Large print editions are available each week and for the upcoming Sunday. Discussion is deep and wide and lively. All are invited.

SAVE THE DATE...January 25

Our Annual "Souper Bowl Sunday"

     Volunteers are needed to either prepare a pot of soup or chili, or to bake cookies or brownies! If you are not fond of cooking we can always use help with set-up or clean-up. Whatever your talents are, join us that day for fellowship and fun. The donations we collect that day help support the Hunger Fund. To volunteer contact Mona Stines at mona.stines@att.net or 404-936-8812.

Submit YOUR pledge FOR

THE 2015 CHURCH BUDGET

through any of these ways:

   1- You can return your pledge card by "snail mail".

   2- You can pick up a pledge card at the door of the church office, fill it out on the spot, and leave it in the envelope on the Business Manager's (Rose Hidlay) door.

   3- You can pick up a pledge card in the Narthex, fill it out and drop it in the offering plate (or hand it to an Usher).

   4- You can call the church office (404-237-8621), ask for Rose, and tell her your pledge (or even leave her a voice mail).

   5- You can e-mail your pledge to Rose at rose@northsidedrive.org.

   6- You can pledge via our website (www.northsidedrive.org) by clicking on the "Giving" link on our home page.

SUNDAY, December 28

9:30 AM - Advent Adult Church School

11:00 AM - Morning Worship

WEDNESDAY, December 31

12:30 PM - Church/Preschool Offices Close Early

THURSDAY, January 1

Church/Preschool Offices Closed

Sundays @ 9:30 AM

in the Art & Soul classroom #202  

January 4-February 8, 2015

     Do you want to know how we got our Bible? Dr. Larry McSwain and Dr. Steven Sheeley will co-lead a six-week Church School session January 4-February 8. Join us in the Art & Soul classroom #202, at 9:30 AM, on Sundays for this special class.

The course topics include: 

• How We Got the Hebrew Bible: Formation of the Masoretic Text and Septuagint 
• with Dr. Steven Sheeley
• How We Got the Greek New Testament: Formation of the Canon
• with Dr. Larry McSwain
• How We Got the Latin Bible: Formation of the Vulgate
• with Dr. Steven Sheeley
• How We Got the Early English Bibles
• with Dr. Larry McSwain
• Modern English Bibles
• with Dr. Larry McSwain
• How to Select a Modern Translation/Transliteration/ Paraphrase
• with Dr. Steven Sheeley