Pastoral Reflections 

"Radio Land"

     Standing head and shoulders above all of these was The Protestant Hour. It was a classy show birthed in Atlanta during WWII which broadcasted quality, contemplative preachers, instead of the holler-and-spit variety.

     Radio preachers? Well, guess what, now I are one! On WSB, AM 750, I'll be on the radio this coming Sunday, February 8, 2015, at 7:05 AM.

     For several Northside Drivers, 7:05 AM on Sunday is in the middle of the night. For others, they're just going to bed. But if you are up, give it a listen. Also, it will be on-line. Check out the Day 1 (formerly The Protestant Hour) website at Day1.org.

     Our very own Walter Grant is on the Day 1 board. Just yesterday, I was talking to Bill Self. He spoke of his respect for Walter and the clear, connected leadership Walter provides on the Day 1 board. I was not surprised. He gives the same to our church. NDBC has been a supporter of the Day 1 ministry.

     In case you are thinking about cutting worship on Sunday by listening to the radio sermon instead...don't! In fact, the February 8 sermon will be a bit different. We "radio preachers" have to record the broadcast at least two months in advance. (I walked past a Christmas Crèche into the studio.) Preaching alone in a sound proof booth felt disembodied. A soundtrack of a crying baby in a congregation may have helped. Several times we had to stop the recording because the sensitive microphone picked-up my stomach growling.        

     The best sermons have a short-shelf life. They are specific words said to a specific congregation at a specific time and place by a specific preacher. Sermons require particularity.

     In spite of that, I bet Holy Spirit is right at home with the airwaves. In fact, a Philco radio on the kitchen table, or iPad on the subway, may have better access to a porous heart than a hard church pew.

     So, "turn your radio on." Get in touch with God. And know of my joy to be introduced to all those out there in Radio Land as the pastor of Northside Drive Baptist Church. 

     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

 by Rev. Michael Gregg 

"Reversing Hospitality  

and Receiving God"

   Part Two

     My Doctor of Ministry thesis, Becoming Strangers: Discovering the Presence of God by Receiving Hospitality in Communities Outside Northside Drive Baptist Church, evaluated how participation in communities outside traditional Church boundaries might help Christians adapt their concept of and approach to hospitality. It posits that by not only giving, but also receiving hospitality, church-going Christians will experience God's presence and learn to accept the gifts of God through people who are both philosophically and geographically outside the confines of the traditional Church. The completed results indicated that Christians who receive hospitality actually do experience God's presence in outside communities. They connect more fully with people and receive their inherent God-given capacities. This, in turn, helps the recipients of hospitality build mutually satisfying relationships with people in their communities. The participants in my study found that congregations must connect with both their own members as well as people outside the church through alternative forms of communication, such as the Internet and social media. Churches must also train lay members to practice mutual hospitality and create more spaces inside and outside the building for more meaningful conversations. Christians who humble themselves and receive hospitality discover the presence of God in their communities and find more effective ways of providing mutually hospitable opportunities within their own congregations.

     One participant realized how quickly strong connections could be made with the people in the observed community. The participant marveled, "It was surprising to me to realize how little it takes in just participating in people's lives to gain enough relationship with them to matter to them and vice versa." By becoming strangers in their settings and reversing hospitality, the participants created spaces where the guests and the hosts could build relationships and experience mutual care in order to find God at work in the world.

     God is on the move and the work of God is larger than our congregations and Christian communities. Roxburgh agrees, "The Lord of creation is out there ahead of us; he has left the temple and is calling the church to follow in a risky path of leaving behind its baggage, becoming like the stranger in need, and receiving hospitality from the very ones we assume are the candidates of our evangelism plans."2 The Bible, especially Luke 12, calls Christians out of their churches and into their neighborhoods and communities. Instead of forcing ecclesial ideas about God on communities where God is already at work, Christians must enter their neighborhoods and communities and receive the gifts people have to offer. For what matters to communities outside the Church matters to God. One participant said it best:

     I love doing this community study because it has made me much more intentional about sitting back and studying the ways in which people interact, how their method of interaction changes given situations or other people they're with, the level of empathy they exhibit, and what really matters to them.

     If Christians can receive the gifts of their neighborhoods and communities by becoming like strangers and humbly receiving hospitality, not only will they discover more effective ways of providing mutually hospitable opportunities within their congregations, they will experience the presence of God already at work. This would truly be a great reversal for the Church in a postmodern world.

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 to Select a Modern Translation/Transliteration/ Paraphrase
• with Dr. Steven Sheeley

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

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. 

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.

On the Road to Easter --- Testifiers and Musicians:

February 25:  Parker Holloway, testifier and musician

March 4:  Kurt Thomas, testifier and musician

March 11:  Kristofer Schleicher, testifier and Joel Stouffer, musician

March 18:  Gene Ledbetter, testifier and Alyssa Aldape, musician

March 25:  Liz Harris-Lamkin, testifier and Alan Johns, musician

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.

     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.