Being a Pilgrim

To journey without being changed

is to be a nomad.

To change without journeying

is to be a chameleon.

To journey and to be transformed

by the journey

is to be a pilgrim.

     The piece above was written by poet/philosopher Mark Nepo. His near death struggle with lymphoma opened him to a deeper awareness of life while living with an uncertain future. He discovered that the classroom of life is a journey; but not all who journey are pilgrims.

     Today is Ash Wednesday. Today, a cruciform smudge is smeared on our forehead to remind us of our mortality and our morality.

The ashes are the Start Line for the Lenten journey, the road to Easter. We walk it together. Every Wednesday evening we check-in. We come and listen for God's story amid our own stories; and we sing songs as we go.

     Throughout the forty days and forty nights (plus some Sundays) God will be working on us and walking with us. We will be pilgrims together.

     This coming Lord's Day, I'll be preaching on "Noah as Lenten Prototype." He is the poster child for readiness. Yet, the biggest punchline in the story is not about Noah. It's about God. God changes. God repents. God says, "I'm never going to do that again and I will put a bow in the heavens to remind me." God's expectations change in relationship to these humans God has created. In other words, God becomes a pilgrim, too.

To journey without being changed

is to be a nomad.

To change without journeying

is to be a chameleon.

To journey and to be transformed

by the journey

is to be a pilgrim.

     See you along the pilgrimage...on the road to Easter.

     The search for an organist at Northside Drive Baptist is now "officially" open. If you have a potential candidate you would like for us to consider, please let us know. The Notice of Vacancy for the position is available for viewing on our church's website, www.northsidedrive.org. There you may find three points of access for this information. Additionally you may view the full job description as set by our Committee on Staff. As the Notice indicates, all requested application materials should be sent electronically to: organistsearch@northsidedrive.org. Please no recordings now. Of course, all members of the Organist Search Committee, appointed by the Committee on Staff, welcome your input and suggestions.

The Organist Search Committee:

  Mr. Jim Hermance, Ms. Jackie Poole, Ms. Jo Meeks,  

  Mr. Paul Fletcher, & Dr. Irwin Ray, Chair 

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."

     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.

The NDBC Chapel

February 18-April 5

     The Stations of the Cross represents certain scenes in the Passion of Christ, each corresponding to a particular incident, of the special form of devotion connected with fifteen key events on the day of Christ's crucifixion. A majority of the images represent Jesus's walk through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the cross.

     The Stations originated in medieval Europe when wars prevented Christian pilgrims from visiting the Holy Land. Thus, European artists created works depicting scenes of Christ's journey to Calvary to help pilgrims make a spiritual journey to Jerusalem even if they could not go physically. The faithful installed these sculptures, paintings, or images at intervals along a procession path, inside the parish church, or outdoors in order to have a devotional route in which to stop and pray at each "station."

     The object of the Stations is to help the faithful make in spirit a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death by passing from station to station, with certain prayers and devout meditations upon the various incidents of Christ's final days. The Stations of the Cross will be in the NDBC Chapel throughout the Lenten Season. Simply follow the instructions attached to the walls and walk the Way of the Cross.

February 22 @ Moe's

     Join with other NDBC families for after-church lunches. Everyone is invited for a time of fun and fellowship together! For more information contact Amanda Gregg at amanda_agd@yahoo.com.

"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:  David Cook, testifier & Joel Stouffer, musician

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

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

February 28 & March 21

    As you may know, Northside Drive Baptist Church will host the Alliance of Baptists Annual Gathering in April. Any time we know "company is coming" we tend to look at our surroundings with different eyes. We have several small jobs that need some willing hands! Please mark your calendars for February 28 & March 21 from 9 AM-1 PM as two opportunities to spruce up the church. We will have the needed supplies ready, so simply bring yourself and join us in a day of preparation for this wonderful event! If you have any questions, please contact Susan Harlan. Childcare will be provided. 

     Next month the Youth will participate in March Mission Immersion at Park Avenue Baptist Church, Grant Park. This is a unique experience for youth to participate in a sustainable mission locally. We will stay at Park Avenue Baptist Church from March 27-29; the days leading up to Palm Sunday and Holy Week. It will be an exciting time to participate in the work of God and remember the call of Jesus to love others.

April 17-19, 2015

A Pastoral Invitation: Y'all Come!

by James Lamkin

    Northside Drive Baptist is one of the founding partner congregations of the Alliance of Baptists.

       As such, it is an honor to host this year's Annual Gathering. As pastor, I'm inviting you to come to the party.

        When Stan Hastey was hired years ago, he said that Northside Drive was the first Alliance church to invite him to preach; and he did so with joy!

    Already, my colleagues at Oakhurst Baptist, Melanie Vaughn-West and Lanny Peters, have been helping and consulting.

        Since the theme is, We've a Story to Hear from the Nations, I'll close with a quote from Nancy Mairs' book, Voice Lessons:

      "This is what we can all do to nourish and strengthen one another: Listen to one another very hard, ask hard questions, too, send one another away to work again, and laugh in all the right places."

        Sounds like an Alliance gathering, doesn't it? Y'all come.

Learn more and register today!

     The church's 2015 Pledge Campaign was extended a bit this year, in an effort to get sufficient pledges to fully fund all of the church's programs and missions. The final tally of 2015 pledges now shows 107 individuals or families pledging a total of $739,700. Included among those were gifts from long-time faithful givers to the church, and gifts from a number of new families in the church and others pledging for the first time. Once again, we have shown that we are a church family that shares its resources generously. The church has a history of managing its finances in a very conservative way, and so having pledges sufficient to cover the majority of its expected operating expenses is a necessity each year.

     A very big THANK YOU to everyone who has pledged for 2015. This enabled the Finance Committee and the Church Council to recommend to the Church-in-conference final approval of the 2015 operating budget, without any cuts in any individual program budgets. We can all feel good about all of the terrific things we can do and share as a result of the generous support from our congregation. We are certainly counting on other financial support this year from those who were not able to pledge, and we hope still more members will be able to pledge in future years or even for the current year. Again, thanks for your faithful support of Northside Drive Baptist Church.

Jack Guynn, for the Finance Committee

SUNDAY, February 22

  9:30 AM - Church School

11:00 AM - Morning Worship

12:15 PM - Finance Committee Meeting 

12:15 PM - Northside Kids: Family Lunches after Church

  5:00 PM - Northside Drive Ringers

TUESDAY, February 24

10:00 AM - Staff Meeting

WEDNESDAY, February 25

10:30 AM - Pastor's Bible Study

  5:30 PM - Northside Yoga

  6:45 PM - Lenten Worship Service

  7:15 PM - Sanctuary Choir Rehearsal

SATURDAY, February 28

 9:00 AM - Church Work Day