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. 

Good But Not Perfect

We have a great staff at Bacon Heights who diligently work to get things right. However, we are human, and as such, imperfect. Such is the case with the nominating ballot for the Pastor Search Committee.

It was decided by the elected leadership to follow the precedent of disallowing anyone who receives a pay check from Bacon Heights, or their spouse, from serving on this committee. To assist you we provided a list of ineligible folks on the back of the nominating ballot. Unfortunately, we failed to include the names of two valuable members of our church staff.  Tami Hines, Administrative Assistant to Nick, and Sherril Henson, Children’s Music Intern, were not listed.  Consequently, Andy and Tami Hines as well as Matt and Sherril Henson are not candidates to serve on the Pastor Search Committee. We’re not quite sure how this happened and are sorry for this oversight.

Because you are required to sign your nominating ballots, we can know who might have nominated any one of these four and will give you an opportunity to change your ballot and replace that now-empty-slot with an eligible nominee. Again, we apologize for this error.

STAFF ANNIVERSARIES: This month we celebrate the anniversaries of three of our Administrative Assistants. Gail White has completed 19 years, Tami Hines has 16 years and Tina Findley has achieved 8 years of faithful service. These ladies work tirelessly to advance the Kingdom of God through the ministries of Bacon Heights Baptist Church. I greatly appreciate each of them and invite you to join me in congratulating them on their years of outstanding work.

Our Youth Praise Team did an outstanding job in leading us in worship Sunday during the late service. These students practiced long and hard to prepare for this assignment, and their hard work showed. “Thank you, students, for a job well done.”

This coming Sunday we will recognize our teachers and consider the role the public schools and churches play in educating our children.  If you know a teacher, invite him/her to join you.

Please pray daily for the Lord to lead in the selection of our Pastor Search Committee. Pray for the man God has already chosen to lead our church. Pray for the Lord to lead us together in His time and that together we will work to ensure that our best days are still ahead of us.

Pastor Search Committee

Sunday, August 17, we will begin accepting nominations for the Pastor Search Committee. During a joint meeting with the Personnel Committee and the Church Council, it was decided we would have a committee of 7; 5 will be elected at-large by the church with 2 being ex-officio members as per the by-laws. It was also decided that, to maintain a balance on the Search Committee, the top 2 nominees from the early service and top 3 from the late service would be voting members of the Search Committee. The third nominee from the early service and the fourth nominee from the late service would be added to the Committee as non-voting alternates. The alternates will meet with the Search Committee, but not travel with them nor vote unless someone drops off the Committee.

In keeping with the process used during the last pastor search, no person receiving a paycheck or the spouse of a person receiving a paycheck from BHBC will be eligible to serve on the Search Committee.

Nominations will be received from August 17 through the 31^st.  Only one nomination ballot per church member will be accepted and ballots must be signed and dated by the member submitting the ballot. Ballots will be available in The Commons and can be submitted through the ballot box, mail or email, as long as they are signed and dated.  Nominating ballots will not be accepted after August 31.

The nominating ballot will have spaces for seven names. You do NOT have to fill in each blank to submit nominations, but bear in mind; you can only submit one nominating ballot. You do NOT have to only vote for church members who attend your particular worship service. We are counting on you to nominate members from both worship services.

Is this a perfect plan for selecting a Search Committee? Probably not, but it is a solid, workable plan the elected leadership of Bacon Heights agrees upon. What you and I have to remember is that God is in charge of His church and trust Him to get the right people on the Search Committee. He already knows who He has chosen to be our next pastor and we must pray for the revelation of His choice to our Search Committee and, ultimately, to the whole church.