Pastoral Reflections 

"On the Road to Easter"

     Believe it or not, Ash Wednesday, February 18, is right around the corner. (Note to self: Take down front door Christmas wreath!) Ready or not, Lent is coming.

     The theme for this year's Lenten Wednesday Services will be, "On the Road to Easter." And the road will be paved with words from Luke 24. This is the story of the Emmaus Road, remember?

     Two unnamed disciples walk with feet as heavy as concrete. It's Easter Sunday on the calendar, but it is still Good Friday in their hearts. And to make matters worse, not only has Jesus been killed and buried, now there's a rumor that the dead body is missing.

     In good Jewish storytelling style, the slumped-over, sad disciples are suddenly accompanied by an unknown stranger. The readers are told that it is Jesus; however, the main characters are clueless. We snicker in the bushes by the road as Jesus Himself does a Bible Study right there on the spot incognito. The disciples are speechless, and still clueless.

     Jesus stays for supper. They are the hosts, he is the guest; but then he becomes the host, and they, the guests. He takes the bread, breaks the bread (the host), blesses and gives it. Then, and only then, do the disciples get it. Then Jesus is gone.

     It is a porous story. Plenty "scriptural space" for our stories to seep in. It is woven with provocative lines, such as:

     --While they were talking and discussing, Jesus came near...

     --But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

     --He walked ahead as if he were going on.

     --When he was at table with them...

     --Then, their eyes were opened.

     It is an in-between story: no longer Epiphany, but not yet Easter, which is about the place where most of us spend most of our lives.

During the Lenten Wednesday Services, we will let this story hold us each week. We will sit around the chapel's chancel. We will sing and be silent. We will open The Book and open our hearts; and musicians will make music. Some might even testify.

     There's more to be said later; but the road trip begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18. Bring your walking shoes. We have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. 

 by Rev. Michael Gregg 

"Reversing Hospitality  

and Receiving God"

   Part One

       I found God at Starbucks. This is odd since I usually experience God in church, worshipping among my Christian community. It was strange to experience God's presence in a group of people not connected to the Church. I found God dwelling among the community of baristas and regular patrons who shared coffee, conversation, and friendship with me for four years while studying for my Doctor of Ministry degree. I was a stranger and they welcomed me. I received their hospitality and listened to their stories, and somewhere in the midst of it all, I experienced the presence of God dwelling among them.I received their care and was able to participate more fully where the presence of God was at work within this community of baristas and patrons.

     I experienced mutual care in this community because I first received their care for me. I received their hospitality, and in doing so, experienced God's presence outside of the Church. As Alan Roxburgh, missiologist and author claims, "God is on the move."1 God is not confined to the church building. The reign of God extends farther than our churches and worshipping communities and is among groups of people where Christians might not even be present.I did not bring God with me into Starbucks. God was already present in a community of baristas and patrons who found spirituality in their connections to each other rather than the institutional Church. If God is present among communities outside of the Church, the ways for Christians to experience the presence of God expand beyond congregational walls. We must discover ways to participate in outside communities and name where God is at work. By receiving hospitality, can we, as church-going Christians, see God moving in new ways among communities outside the Church? I believe we will not only experience God's presence, but also learn to accept the gifts of God through people outside the Church. We might also discover forms of hospitality better able to meet the needs of people who visit our own congregations.

     We, as modern churchgoers are already accustomed to giving hospitality. We must now rethink our roles as givers of hospitality and become like strangers in outside communities, humbly receiving the care of others. Roxburgh postulates a radical rethinking of hospitality as primarily receiving care. Even though biblical hospitality consists of a healthy balance of giving and receiving, modern congregations primarily focus on giving and serving others as their sole understanding of hospitality. We are taught to serve others as our commitment to and connection with God. Yet, receiving care tends to be more difficult for us because we must humbly embrace vulnerability. This vulnerability gives the power in a relationship to the people in the community who are providing care. If we, as church-going Christians learn to expand our ideas of hospitality and begin to receive care as the primary relational contact with outside communities, could we experience God in the communities outside our church buildings and find new ways God is moving in the world? I think we can and that is why I conducted a Doctor of Ministry thesis and project on reversing hospitality. (To be continued in the next issue)

1Alan J. Roxburgh, Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood (Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2011), 162.

     Mark describes a hectic itinerary for Jesus, and Dr. James Lamkin says we can all relate to the busy-ness of it. But Jesus carves out time alone with God in the midst of a crazy schedule of activities. We too must keep a balance between contemplation and action, as Jesus did.

Scheduled for web release at 12 AM on February 3, 2015

Radio Affiliate Airdate: WSB Radio AM750  

at 7:05 AM, Sunday, February 8, 2015

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:

• Modern English Bibles
• with Dr. Larry McSwain
• How to Select a Modern Translation/Transliteration/ Paraphrase
• with Dr. Steven Sheeley

Baptist Women in Ministry Celebrates the Gifts of Preaching Women

Sunday Morning Worship @ 11 AM

 with Paula Clayton Dempsey 

February 15, 2015

    Beginning in 2007, Baptist Women in Ministry invited Baptist churches to participate in Martha Stearns Marshall Month of Preaching by having a woman preach during the month of February. This annual event has been a deeply significant source of joy and discovery for many churches as they have celebrated the giftedness of women. This annual preaching month is named for Martha Stearns Marshall, an eighteenth-century Separate Baptist woman.

   Our guest BWIM preacher this year is Paula Clayton Dempsey, Director of Partnership Relations for the Alliance of Baptists during the 11 AM service on Sunday, February 15, 2015.

     Dempsey has degrees from Meredith College and Southeaster Baptist Theological Seminary. She has served as a local church pastor, a director of Christian social ministries, a college chaplain, a hospice chaplain, coordinator of a spirituality center and is a wife and mother. She has also deepened her sense of calling to the contemplative dimension of the Gospel by studying with Contemplative Outreach and The Shalem Institute. 

April 24-26, 2015

Blue Boar Retreat

Robbinsville, North Carolina

SPACE & TIME ARE LIMITED

  Reservation deadline is Sunday, February 15. Make your reservation with a $100 deposit (made out to Joyce Wilson) & give it to Joyce Wilson or Virginia Gilbert.

For more information: Joyce Wilson (770)773-3333

Virginia Gilbert (770) 333-8933

Church Council*

       *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.

Imposition of Ashes

February 18, 2015

In the Chapel, 7:30 AM-7:30 PM

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

"On the Road to Easter"

February 18-March 25

6:45 PM in the Chapel

     The road to Emmaus (Luke 24) is our guide for the Lenten Wednesday night worship services in the Chapel. The road is a symbol of the "in between" time. The road is the journey between our homes and our destinations. During Lent, we are on the road to Easter, travelling the way of the cross to the resurrection. The walk to Emmaus by the two followers of Jesus will spur our theological conversations, our music, our holy silences, our prayers, and our worship. Join us on this journey to Easter every Wednesday night of Lent. The Lenten road will prepare our spirits, enliven our senses, and reveal to us new visions of Jesus.

     Dr. Steve Sheeley will be writing devotionals through the Lenten season. If you would like to be on his email list and receive his musings, you may email him at ssheeley4@comcast.net. May the longings of this Lenten season lead us to the resurrected Christ.

February 18, from 1-2:30 PM

In the Fellowship Hall

     A book review of The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd will be Wednesday, February 18, at 1 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Billie Davis will be the facilitator and Robbye Taylor the hostess. Bring your lunch; dessert and beverages will be furnished.