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| Greetings! |
I love Father's Day for two reasons. First, I have a great dad. Second, I am a dad with great kids.
Most of the important truths I've learned in life came through my parents. My dad always made time for me. He seldom ever sat me down and instructed me on anything. Instead, we talked about life as it unfolded. I learned what was worth focusing on and what was not. He taught me how to evaluate the relative importance of all that occurred in my life. We calmly celebrated wins and processed setbacks.
In my younger years, I wasn't sure I wanted to have kids. The job looked pretty hard. It is. However, I am enriched beyond belief with amazing children.
Melissa is an award-winning teacher in the Houston area. Every year her students achieve the highest scores on whatever is the latest standardized exam. Jonathan will soon earn the rank of Captain in the Marines. His wedding day is coming up next March. Paula is about to begin law school. How could I be more blessed?
I love being a dad. I don't require a tie in a box with a bow. I don't need to go out to eat. I don't want everyone to leave me alone so that I can do whatever I want. I simply love loving and serving those who mean the world to me. That is my ideal Father's Day.
Katie and I will drive to East Texas this weekend to take Mom and Dad out to eat at one of our favorite places in a tiny town you would be hard pressed to locate with a GPS. We will talk about all that the kids are doing. We will celebrate their courage and senses of adventure. We will swell with pride and fried fish as we look at their photos from the South Pacific and Europe. I will thank God for parents who gave me wings and taught me to fly. I will exalt God for children who soar to heights I will never enjoy this side of eternity.
Pastor Dad, make the most of your moments with your family. They are your first ministry. They deserve your best energy and your quality and quantity time. Make sure they are always at the top of your What's Important Now (W. I. N.) list. Live as if you are the Father of the Year. Give of yourself so that it is true.
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Pastors' Conference and Executive Board
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Pastors' Conference and Executive Board Schedule
There will be no Pastors Conference during the summer. We will resume after Labor Day.
The summer Executive Board meeting is scheduled for July 20 at Tarrant Baptist Association (4520 James Ave).
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Vacation Bible School
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Vacation Bible School Link Up
Contact the director if interested in sharing supplies, decorations, or curriculum!
Materiales de EBV (Spanish VBS Materials)
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Depression
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Depression is the enemy of our souls. It took the life this week of a leading pastor in our state. I don't pretend to know what all was going on with Phil Lineberger that led him to this point. I doubt I could understand the darkness that he could not find a way to pierce. I do know that many more of us have wandered close to the same lonely outskirts where Phil and others ended up.
Phil became our pastor not long after we first married. We benefited greatly from his leadership. He has remained a friend across the years. He always called my family by name when asking about them, no matter how much time came between our last conversation.
If you are struggling with thoughts of inadequacy or failure, if the darkness is closing in, please, please, please find a safe person who will lovingly embrace your challenges and help you toward health and wholeness. If you know someone you suspect is enduring these challenges, please, please, please help them find the assistance they need.
Depression is so much more than feeling the blues. It is so much more than we can handle on our own. Hope is real. Help is available.
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Texas Baptists Counseling Services
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Thanks for sharing your life with us, Kristen
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 A few years ago, we needed a new assistant here in our office. We posted the job and selected candidates to interview. After the first interview, Gary asked what I thought. I said, "The important question to answer here is, 'Compared to what?'" That first candidate was a good, solid choice. However, our next interview gave us the answer to "Compared to what" that we were looking for. The third person we interviewed turned out to be a perfunctory exercise. Kristen stood out from the other two candidates in every respect. She was pleasant, prepared, and professional. She was a pastor's daughter with great ministry skills. She was the one we couldn't let get away. Now she is getting away. She is going home to Missouri to serve on the staff of a growing church. We will miss her long after she is gone. We will enjoy watching her continuing growth and development. Kristen has made us look good every single day. She handles every challenge with grace. She is so much better than we could have expected. We will most likely require two people to replace her. Kristen, may God abundantly bless you and Joshua as you return to your home turf. I know you will experience success after success in the years ahead. Know that we love you both and are fully invested through our prayers in God's special future for you.
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Bookmarks
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 Summertime is vacation time. That means it's time to read something for fun. How about picking up a title or two from James Scott Bell? Bell is an attorney who tap-danced his way out of the legal profession into writing, a career move we should all applaud. All of his books are good and worthy of your time. Bell writes from a distinctively evangelical Christian worldview.
One of my favorite novels from Bell is Deceived. What if something terrible happened, so terrible that you couldn't tell anyone about it without the risk of going to jail? And what if you further complicated things by taking something of great value? And what if everything really spiraled out of control after that?
Do not leave this book early. Do not put it down until the last period has been fastened to the last sentence on the last page.
Next, pick up Try Dying. That will require you to read Try Darkness. Finish the trilogy with Try Fear.
Happy reading! Let me know what you think.
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Giving Options Are Not What They Used to Be
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Giving Options Are Not What They Used to Be
One thing is certain in the comings and goings of life. It is that with the march of time change happens in practically every area of our daily experience. Giving options to our church or any named charity today present some interesting possibilities that did not even exist, or at least were not commonly used, until the last few years.
The traditional approach for decades past is to give to your church either with a check or cash, and it is still a primary mode in most congregations today.
Personally, until this year I could never see our family giving any other way than this. However, the horizons are now much bigger than ever. I have set up a weekly recurring tithe to our church which our bank routinely sends out on the same day of the week, each and every week, just like I requested online. Amazingly, there is no cost to me or to my church for giving in this way. In fact, a growing number of churches send their donations to Tarrant Baptist Association in this very way. When I am in another church in Tarrant Baptist Association, traveling on vacation or sitting in the worship service at my church, those weekly checks just keep on coming. I don't have to remember to do "make up giving" or sit down and write a weekly check which I have to remember when going out the door to church. Of course, I still have my checkbook and can make other gifts during the year as the occasion presents itself, but my foundational regular giving is set in place on auto-pilot. It can be increased or decreased or completely discontinued any time with only one visit to the website of my bank. That's what I call user friendly giving.
In addition to these options, an increasing number of churches accept debit or credit cards. This can be done online or possibly at a giving kiosk in the foyer of the church for larger congregations. Some churches now even have an option to give by sending a text. Yes, it really can be that simple. However, these giving options usually come with a cost attached for processing that must come out of the budget of the church. This means that the church does not get to benefit from the full amount of your gift as it does with a check, cash or a recurring bill pay donation.
Many congregations that have expanded their giving options have dramatically increased the resources coming in to the ministry of the church. If your church is not doing some or all of those options discussed above, it might be time to consider that possibility. If you as a member of a local church have these options available to you, it might be time to think about changing to more closely align your giving with the realities of today's technology. Think about it!
Gary L. Crowell, CPA, CCA, ACC
Chief Financial Officer, Tarrant Baptist Association
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Hearing God Retreat
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The next Hearing God Retreat is August 31-September 1 at Riverbend Retreat Center. The retreat will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday and end at noon on Friday. The cost is $50 and includes a private room, dinner and breakfast.
This is a retreat. You will have two large blocks of time to spend with the Lord, sleeping and/or taking a walk. You will be guided through some Bible readings and other readings to help you connect with the Lord.
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Coaching and Professional Coach Training
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Need to make a decision or figure out how best to handle a situation?
The Tarrant Baptist Association staff are all trained ICF coaches and are available to assist you. Through the coaching process, they will listen deeply, ask powerful questions to help you think and weigh all your options. They will help you think about barriers or obstacles and how to address them. The staff will help you as you formulate a plan with accountability if needed, designed for your needs. All coaching sessions are confidential and will be bathed in prayer. 
Let us know how we can help you.
David Bowman - david@tarrantbaptist.org
Becky Biser - becky@tarrantbaptist.org
Gary Crowell - gary@tarrantbaptist.org
Jay Harris - jay@tarrantbaptist.org
  Professional Coach Training Modules 3-4 August 10-15 Tarrant Baptist Association Email frontdesk@tarrantbaptist.org for more information!
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Want to Invest in your Pastor or Staff?
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Want to invest in your pastor or staff?
Consider blessing them with time to get away to focus on God and how He is working in their lives. What if your pastor and staff team could get away for two days every six months to spend time with other pastors and leaders and just focus on God? How might that encourage and refresh them?
The next re:FOCUS journey will start Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. on October 25 and end at noon on Tuesday, October 27 at the Riverbend Retreat Center. Each retreat time is unique and will focus on different aspects to help empower leaders.
Retreat #1 - Leaders will spend time re:Connecting with God and with peers in an experiential learning environment. This time will include alone time with God enhancing their dependence on the Father and time to make friends with peers that are both authentic and safe.
Retreat # 2 - Six months later leaders will come back together to re:Discover who God has made them to be. They will spend time exploring things about themselves and formulating their own personal mission statements.
Retreat #3 - In another six months leaders will re:Think what it means to be a disciple. They will explore passages of scripture and write their own definition of a disciple. They will gain a clear picture of what this disciple looks like and how they personally will help others grow to be a fully devoted follower of Christ.
Retreat #4 - The final retreat six months later will focus on re:Engaging with God in His Kingdom. How has God created me to be most effective personally on engaging others? What is He nudging me to do? How do I most effectively lead myself and others?
Between these retreat weeks leaders will meet together monthly to encourage and pray for each other.
Interested? If so, contact Becky Biser at becky@tarrantbaptist.org.
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App of the Month - Periscope
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"A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around." So reads the last line of the description of the Periscope app on its web page. The app's tagline is, "Explore the world in real time through someone else's eyes."
Periscope is a new app that is only a few weeks old. However, it has proven its worth quickly. It essentially allows you to broadcast live videos through your Twitter network. Anyone who follows you on Twitter can view your videos. Videos can be viewed after they have been presented, but only for a short time. Some of my favorite teachers (Will Mancini, Todd McMichen, Chris Rivers, Bryan Rose, and Mac Lake) are using Periscope in creative ways.
Viewers can interact with the presenter through text messages. This makes the presentations come alive as presenters respond to comments and questions. The depths of this tool have yet to be explored fully. One great application I saw was a church staff broadcasting their prayer time so that their church members could join in.
Check out the myriad ways churches and ministries are using this tool. What great uses have you seen so far?
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Much is Expected...
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Much is Expected... by Jay Harris 
We are blessed as churches in Tarrant County with a wealth of resources, relationships and support. I challenge you to look out the windows of your church and to see the many ways God desires to use you and the blessings he has poured into you and your church.
There are new church starts here in the TBA as well as throughout the state, country and world who would be greatly encouraged, blessed and supported if you and your congregation came alongside them.
"What could this relationship look like?" you ask. To befriend, encourage, give attention and interest, and to even invest in are a few of the ways you and your church can get connected with a new church start, close or far. With the way phone and internet connections are in our day, you can personally visit with a new start pastor even in another country on a weekly basis. My re:FOCUS Peer Group in Vancouver meets regularly via FaceTime. It is like we are sitting in the room together.
"Where do you see God at work in your life? ...in your church? How is He challenging you to impact your community? What barriers are standing in the way of God's plan for you and the church? How can I best support you in prayer?" These types of questions create a relationship of interest, transparency and support.
Don't try to tell this young church starter how he should do it. Just be there for him, stand with him, listen to him, pray for him.
You may know a new church pastor, nearby or far away, who you could approach to connect with...do so. If you don't know where to look to find this person, call me. I know the people, organizations, networks to get you connected.
I am challenging pastors and leaders in the most blessed association in the world, because much is being given to us, let's ask God to use us to bless others.
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Church Unique Reflections from Pastor Kevin Roe
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Church Unique Reflections from Pastor Kevin Roe
 Church Unique was a wonderful process for our church. NorthPointe had been without a clear sense of direction over the past 3-4 years. As we walked through the process, it was clear to us that God was revealing His direction to us - through each and every member of the team. The end result was not a contrived set of statements and values; instead, it was something unique to NorthPointe that each of us felt strongly about, and we felt excited and energized.
Yesterday was our Vision Sunday. As difficult as it was to take 7 months of prayerful dialogue and work and attempt to convey it to the congregation in 30-45 minutes, it was an incredible day for us. Various members of the team shared a piece that they were passionate about. We painted the picture of the children of Israel at the edge of the Jordan River waiting to cross into the Promised Land. We painted the big picture and we shared what our Jericho is. And then we had an opportunity for each of us to actually walk across the "Jordan River" as a physical expression of their heart's commitment to the vision God has given to NorthPointe - not my vision, not any team member's vision, but God's vision.
This was a powerful process for us that will help us greatly in becoming whom God has called us to be. Reflecting on yesterday, a couple of the comments from team members were, "For the first time, I feel that NorthPointe has a clear sense of direction," and "I now feel at home and a part here."
Thank you to the Tarrant Baptist Association for offering this process. Thank you for helping guide us through it. I would certainly recommend this for any church or ministry that is unclear of the unique calling God has placed on it.
Blessings!
Kevin
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Disaster Relief Opportunities
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TBA Disaster Relief Team in Huntsville
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Tarrant Disaster Relief Team recently provided a meal for the guards in Huntsville at the Ferguson Unit.
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BGCT Upcoming Events
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African American Fellowship & Evangelism Conference 2015
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The Fort Bend Church 1900 Eldridge Dr. Sugar Land, TX 77479
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SBTC Upcoming Events
|  HIS Road Rally: June 19-22, Kansas City, MO Lead Camp for Youth: July 13-17, Kerrville Pastor & Wife Retreat: July 17-18, Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center Hispanic Women's Conference: July 24-25, San Antonio Children's Music Leadership Conference: August 1, Fort Worth, TX Strategic Growth Forum: August 13-14, Houston, TX |
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Other Upcoming Events
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2015 NAMB Sponsored Vancouver Vision Tour: July 27-29
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MinistrySafe Child Safety Workshop
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Save the Date!
Child Safety Workshop
About the Workshop:
A comprehensive training that covers the WHY, the WHAT and the HOW of creating a safety system to protect children and those who serve them.
Welcome: churches, schools, camps, non-profits and youth sport organizations.
Workshop Sponsors:
MinistrySafe, Gateway Church, Philadelphia Insurance Companies
Time and Location:
September 29, 2015
9:00am -12:30pm
Gateway Church - North FW Campus
4209 Basswood Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX
For more information: Contact the MinistrySafe Team: admin@ministrysafe.com or 817-737-7233
REGISTER HERE!
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News from the Churches
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Ridglea Baptist Church is seeking a Part-Time Music Minister (15-20 hours/week). Send resumes or call for an appointment:
6037 Calmont Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76116; 817-732-4421; Or email resumes to: sherry@ridgleabaptist.com
First Baptist Church Keller is seeking an Executive Assistant. The Executive Assistant to the Office of the Senior Pastor is responsible for assisting the senior pastor in the performance of his responsibilities. He/she must be able to manage time, schedules, appointments, and help in hosting special events. This is a full-time position with benefits. Please contact Jack Gatewood to learn more about the position or to apply (jgatewood@fbckeller.org; 817-431-2545, ext. 130).
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Becky Biser
Tarrant Baptist Association
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