Schedule Change

We--meaning the BHBC staff--have been monitoring the weather and road conditions this Saturday and have made the decision to revert to our holiday schedule for tomorrow. Our holiday schedule means we will only have one service at 10:30 Sunday, March 1. We will not have any of our Bible study classes, Sunday school classes, or small groups meeting tomorrow morning.

We made the decision based upon some thawing taking place this afternoon, but realizing all this will refreeze overnight, leaving black ice everywhere. Hopefully, by 10:30 road conditions will have improved enough for many folks to safely travel to church.

Please be wise tomorrow morning. As much as we'd love to have you at Bacon Heights, we want you to be safe.

Aging and Prayer

2015 is a week old and aging rapidly—like me. I’ve come to believe the only humans who enjoy aging are children. Their desire to be older is so they can enjoy the perceived benefits of some measure of maturity.

Many people choose not to go “quietly into that good night.”  (One of the funniest comments I heard about this occurred at the Preston Smith International Airport. A male passenger walked by who was doing his “best” to resemble a younger Elvis. His attempts bordered on the ridiculous. Actually, the border into ridiculous was nowhere to be seen in his rear view mirror.  A friend standing nearby commented, after Elvis was out of earshot range, “Waging the war on aging with all the weapons at his disposal.”)

I always chuckle when someone says, “I’m not as young as I used to be.”  My disturbed mind just begs me to add “but you never were.” Even a newborn infant is not as young as he used to be just moments after birth. Our grandson Seth, born September 20, is not as young as he used to be.

Perhaps my obsession with aging has to do with an approaching birthday. In just over two months I will hit that magic age qualifying me for ……I’m not sure I can even write it….can I just say “that word” is what I’ll be eligible for?  No? So you’re going to make me put it into print? O.K., here goes.  I’ll be eligible for……Medicare……… OUCH, THAT HURT!!!!!!! As you can see, not even my computer wanted to type “that word.”

In my mind it wasn’t that many years ago I was the young pastor churches were considering. (Ouch again—just realized that last sentence DOES make me sound like an old codger.) Now, I’m at the “sunset” of my professional career.  We’re looking for—AND NEEDING—a younger pastor who is maybe at the “sunrise” of his career. We may even get a pastor younger than my children!  YIKES!!! I AM OLD!!!!!

My memory does allow me to recall what it was like when I was the young pastor moving to a different church. My first few churches were single-staff churches. When I finally got to  churches that had staff, I was the youngest, or second youngest, member of the staff. The existing staffs had been together a while. I was the new-kid-on-the-block, charged with the responsibility of providing leadership to a few folks who were questioning my ability to lead. I do remember one staff meeting when I was seeking counsel from the staff and one guy quipped, “Act like you’re in charge. Maybe one day you will be.”

Believe it or not, this whole rant is a call to prayer. I know what it is going to be like for our new pastor. He will be inheriting a staff that will, possibly, all be older than him. Regardless of his age, he is inheriting a staff that has been together for quite some time. He’s coming to a church that has been experiencing decline in attendance for several years. He’s coming to a church in a transitioning community. Please don’t get me wrong, I believe he’s coming to a very good church that can be a great church. I still believe our best years can be and are still ahead of us. But they won’t automatically come. IF YOU CAN, JOIN US SATURDAY EVENINGS, 5:00, TO PRAYER WALK OUR FACILITY. WE, AS A CHURCH, WON’T BE ABLE TO DO MUCH ELSE UNTIL WE PRAY. After we pray, the sky’s the limit. 

Summer of Change

The Summer of 2013 needs to be remembered as the summer of change. At the beginning we lost our Pastor and just a few weeks later, our System’s Administrator. We have continually been making upgrades to our technology but speeded up the changes this summer. We changed our software from Shelby to ACS and have encountered many, many more challenges than expected. In fact, we’re still working to get the financial package working smoothly before moving on to the calendaring package.

            The driving force behind changing software was the need to improve our check-in and security processes. ACS seems to have the best check-in system in place today, thus the change. We now have check-in stations in preschool, children and youth areas. Fortunately, we’ve not had any close encounters of the wrong kind concerning security, but many churches have. We chose to be proactive and get systems in place BEFORE we had problems.

            We’re also relying on more volunteers to help with our IT needs. Chris Gscheidle is a God-send. He has so much knowledge about technology and is helping us in more ways than I can describe. David Taylor is also making significant contributions in our Sunday morning worship “production.”  I continually thank God for these two men.

            We’re also seeing some changes in our financial position. At the moment, we’re about 5 weeks behind our budgeted receipts. Fortunately, we’ve not had to dip into our cash reserves, but if the trend continues, we will. I’m not sure if our offerings are down because: 1) we’re out of debt and some feel the money is not needed; 2) we don’t have a pastor so they feel that don’t have to give as much; 3) other spending is considered more important than supporting Bacon Heights.

            Folks, ministry is continuing even without a pastor. Yes, we’re out of debt, but our debt was not being financed by the budget. Just because we’re out of debt doesn’t mean we no longer need your support—WE DO! Actually, during this interim time we’re working to make improvements in anticipation of our new pastor AND God is providing us with new opportunities.

            What BHBC couldn’t do 15 years ago we can now accomplish—purchase property next to our campus. At the moment we have an opportunity to buy two houses. One is next to our parking lot on the 54^th Street side. (We already own the one on the 53^rd Street side.) For a few years I’ve been calling that house Annex 2. In my mind, this purchase is a must because it connects to our parking lot.

            The other house is across the street at the east end of the block. At one time BHBC owned this house and Charles Murray lived in it. When the South Campus was purchased, we sold the house to Vera Perkins. It is available for sale. We’ll discuss the purchase of these two houses Sunday night during our business meeting.

            Sunday we begin our Senior Adult Revival. Actually, it’s being sponsored by the senior adults but is for the whole church. I trust you will be in attendance Sunday morning and evening. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings we’ll also have services and hope many of you can make these times.

            Sunday morning, Chris Slayton, Chairman of the Pastor Search Committee, will give a brief update on the work of the PSC. We’ve got some great days ahead of us and working together, we can make our future days be our best days. 

Pray & Work/Wait

We now have the Pastor Search Committee in place with leadership. Sunday the group met and selected Chris Slayton to be the Chair and Glenna Applewhite as the Secretary.

Their first order of business was to select a time for weekly meetings. They will meet Sunday afternoons, from 3:00 to 5:00, to pray together and seek God’s direction. I gave them copies of the 16 resumes we have already received and let them know I was available to support them in any way they deem helpful.

Now they begin the arduous task of praying and working to find the man God has selected to be our pastor. We, the members of the congregation, have the responsibility to pray and wait. Both are difficult. Probably the reason many people don’t pray much is because it can become hard work. Anyone who takes prayer seriously knows it’s not something done casually and quickly. Genuine prayer can occur at any moment, in any situation, no doubt. But intercessory prayer takes time, effort and energy. Too many of us are not willing to invest the time/effort/energy to get serious about prayer.

Church NOW is the time to GET SERIOUS ABOUT PRAYER!  When our PSC (Pastor Search Committee) finds the man God has chosen for us, we will see God do some amazing things. However, if we are not serious about prayer and if we don’t allow the PSC time to do their work and pressure them to short-circuit the process OR if we attempt to convince them that we know who is the best person to be our pastor without allowing them time to make this discovery, then we won’t have our best days ahead of us. The stakes are too high for us to not be involved in prayer.

Please join me in praying for our PSC daily. Lift up the names of:

            Chris Slayton, Chair

            Glenna Applewhite, Secretary

            Mary Satterwhite

            Jay Jacobus

            Mark Finkner

            Ron Ward, Chairman of Deacons

            Harry Bruton, Chairman of Personnel

            Duane Locke, Alternate

            Dan Johnson, Alternate

Pastor Search Committee Named

It is with great joy that we reveal the names of the members of the Pastor Search Committee. They are:

            Representing the 9:15 service:

                        Mary Satterwhite

                        Glenna Applewhite

                        Duane Locke, alternate

            Representing the 10:45 service:

                        Chris Slayton

                        Mark Finkner

                        Jay Jacobus

                        Dan Johnson, alternate

            Ex-officio Members:

                        Ron Ward, Chairman of Deacons

                        Harry Bruton, Chairman of Personnel.

The five voting members selected by the church represent five different Sunday school classes. Of the seven voting members, four attend the early service and three the late. Overall, this is a good representation of our church.

As soon as possible I will convene this group so they can name a chair, then they will begin their work of praying and reviewing resumes. We, the rest of BHBC, must support them with our prayers. 

Announcement coming SOON

Wednesday evening the Personnel Committee and Church Council reviewed the nominating ballots and began the process of contacting the top "vote getters." Just as soon as we receive confirmation from the whole committee, I'll post the list of names here. Check back often because I'm anticipating being able to announce the committee VERY SOON!

Making Progress

Where did our summer go?  It seems only a week or so ago we finished the school year and headed to Japan. Now school is in full swing and it’s time to begin our Fall schedule at BHBC.

Our Kick-Off will be September 10 with the meal and an all-church program. Dana Kluzek has a ventriloquist scheduled for that night and we decided everyone would appreciate the opportunity to share in the fun.

Melissa Rowe will be cooking for the Wednesday night dinners. She has a catering business and many of you have already enjoyed her meals. (Yes, she is the daughter of Joyce and Hal.) Melissa has a passion and gift for cooking and is excited to be serving the church where she was raised.

With the cost of everything increasing, we’re going to have to up the price on our meals just a little. We will now be charging $6.00 per person with a $15 family maximum. This will still be a bargain.

Sunday we will observe the Lord’s Supper. Come prepared to approach the Lord’s Table with a heart for Him.

Sunday is also the last day to submit nominations for the Pastor Search Committee. Wednesday night the Personnel Committee and Church Council will meet to “poll the numbers” and begin contacting the top vote “getters” to see if they are willing to serve. WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS!

We have many exciting things happening at Bacon Heights and I cannot wait to share them with you. A few are still in the “I think this is going to happen” stage so it would be premature to mention them, but I’m thrilled at our progress. We are gearing up for our new pastor and for our best days to be ahead of us.