Team

Team

Know why I like baseball so much?

The hot dogs? Yeah, that’s part of it, but there’s more.

Let me count the ways:

There’s the pure, beautiful geometry of the game. Everything happens at home plate, the point of contact, then radiates outward, into expansion…fair or foul. The bases make a perfect square, set within wedge…a circle.

The moment you first walk into a major league stadium as a child and see the outfield unfold in a shade of green you didn’t know existed…it’s all over. Hooked.

There’s the first clear day of spring (like today), when the hint of warmth on the breeze reminds us of the scorching days that will follow. We unfurl like baby seedlings in the springtime sun at the crack of real wooden bats and pop of new baseballs on old leather.

Every team is a winner, and hope springs eternal. The boys with the tomahawks on their chests have a new bullpen and something to prove. Life is good.

But the thing that I love most of all about baseball is the beautiful interplay of individual effort and team achievement.

Baseball is a team sport. Nobody wins or loses games by themselves.

But baseball is also a deeply personal athletic endeavor.

The moment of confrontation between pitcher and hitter happens on a mighty individualistic plane.

One person throws the ball. One person swings that bat. Only one.

From there, anything can happen. The series of individual defensive and offensive efforts that follow begin to form a collective outcome. In the end, a team wins or loses…together.

It seems to me that life, and ministry, follows a similar track.

Truly great things happen when individuals recognize their gifts, and begin to act. No one swings the bat for anyone else (ok, I know…pinch hitters, right --- not quite a perfect analogy).

Even so, it’s rare that any one of us can even accomplish what’s truly possible without the help of some committed “others.”

I get to watch those “committed others” do the things God has called them to do and gifted them for…all the time. What a blessing that really is.

Last year, a group of individuals had an idea for future ministry at SOTH. They formed a team to do a new thing. Watching their work unfold has been a lot of fun.

Our communication team began to assess all the ways SOTH speaks its message to the world. They found the right resources, formed the right relationships, shared positive ideas and put those thoughts into action.

Today, www.sothumc.net looks a whole lot different. It’s so exciting, and I really hope that you’ll go spend some time there and see what I mean.

Our new logo and website went through multiple generations, possibilities and re-workings. Our church council members gave input and feedback. A new idea began to emerge.

The red and black colors are from our United Methodist denomination, as are the symbols of cross and flame. The design communicates energy and vitality, one of SOTH’s defining characteristics. The “path” metaphor says so much about our church: we don’t judge folks, we invite them. We don’t think we’ve got it all figured out, but we’re convinced that God does. Our path points to the cross, and together we move toward life, grace, redemption and new hope.

Life is good. So is the team.

Today, you’re not just “on deck,” you’re “in the box.” Pick up the bat, and when the moment comes, swing it like you mean it. God will do the rest. Each individual effort makes us part of the team. Together, we’ll do more than we’d ever thought possible.

Grace & Peace, and welcome to Lent ---
that great season of preparation and possibility,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH: Send your friends to our new site! Let’s See What We Can Do!

Everybody please take a minute and check out our new site, www.sothumc.net! Even better, forward our address on to the folks in your address book, and let’s see how many hits we can generate this week! We’ve got a brand-new fancy-schmancy counter, and we want to use it. We’ll let you know how many folks you sent our way next week!

Many, many thanks are due to all the people who served on the communication team last year, and to the good folks at Details Communications who designed our site and the other new print and electronic tools that you’ve seen and that will be forthcoming. The team was chaired by John Sheffield with awesome creative input from Jeff Seymour and many hours from our new webmaster, Andrea Vantrees. Great job, team!

SOTH Land Update: This past Sunday, the members of SOTH voted nearly unanimously to place 24 acres of property under contract for purchase! Our new location will be just west of our present one, ½ mile west, down Dorsett Shoals Road. This is only the beginning of a process that will play out over many, many more months to come. Please keep SOTH in your prayers and know that we always appreciate any help you have to give. We’ll keep you posted.

Congrats to Kimberly and Scott Samples on the birth of their new baby girl Daegan, born yesterday morning!

Open

Yesterday I seized the opportunity to run home at midday and grab some lunch.

For those of you who do the Atlanta commuter thing, please know that I do appreciate how wonderful a luxury this option really is.

I pulled into our neighborhood, headed down the street, and pulled into the driveway.

I stopped the car, just as I’ve done hundreds of times, hit the garage-door opener on my visor, and got out.

As I stood there in my driveway, what I saw just made me laugh out loud.

My garage was beautiful. Pristine, in fact. Immaculate. Graceful. Invitational to the act of parking.

It had gotten that way the day before. That’s when I used most of my day off to clean and organize it.

Then, I forgot it happened.

I should mention that a pretty major rain storm was moving through Douglasville as I stood in the driveway beside my vehicle. Literally, the heavens were opened and insight descended from heaven. Really, it was just raining on my head.

And I stood there, laughing.

All that work and energy from the day before…it was done with one purpose in mind. I was determined to do the unthinkable. The holy grail of suburban subdivision life…park in the garage. Yes, park…in…the…garage.

I had put up extra shelves. I’d thrown away tons of stuff. I’d finally put Christmas completely to rest until next year. I’d run the blower and experienced the joy of seeing dust and debris find its way out of our garage to settle into the greater world at large. I was one with the storage universe and created quite a little Garden of Eden.

Then, the next day, I parked in the driveway.

Did I mention it was raining? Habit can be so strong.

Sometimes, we park in the driveway when we don’t have to.

Have you ever had a Sunday church experience that just really hit home, touched your heart, lit a fire and opened the heavens?

I have, and I’ve seen others experience the same.

Then we park in the driveway come Monday morning. What was so real, so strongly desired and yearned for just a short time before so easily gives way to our concept of “life as usual.”

“I can’t park in my garage,” we tell ourselves, “because it’s full of stuff.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

But what we believe about it matters most.

Here’s what I mean: the grace of God is the most powerful thing in the universe. God loves us. He forgives us and stands completely ready to give us abundant life.

I’m not making that up, I have it on good authority

John 10 (The Message):

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

There have probably been moments when you’ve known that truth completely, and it’s resonated deeply in your heart.

Then, because you’re human just like me, you’ve proudly driven your car right up to the garage door and put it in park.

The habit of smallness can be hard to break.

Break it. Dare to believe.

Open that door, and drive right in. God is ready.

Grace and Peace --- and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Church Conference to approve land purchase, this Sunday 10 AM.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our conversation about buying property last Sunday. This Sunday, there will be one worship service only, at 10 AM, so that as many of us as possible can be present together at one time. Our Church Council has recommended the purchase of property close to our existing location and we will again present that this week in a “Church Conference” for up or down vote of the congregation. This is an exciting time in the life of our church, and our vision of the future is beginning to come more and more clear. Be sure to come out and be part of this great day.

Gang activity informational session last night at SOTH: Thanks to Mike Mulcare, our District 3 County Commissioner, and to all the county officials who were on hand last night at SOTH to provide information on gang activity in Douglas County. We were proud to serve as the venue for this important meeting, and it was awesome to see 425 concerned citizens come together (cramming every square inch of our property) to deal proactively with a problem that threatens us. We heard great words from law enforcement, elected officials and Juvenile Court Judge Walker. All of them emphasized the important role that churches and other communities of faith can play in providing direction and stability for our children and youth. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Servant Evangelism Update: Thanks to Tim Potate, Lamar Gilstrap and the many, many volunteers who organized our servant evangelism event this week. Thanks also to Chick-Fil-A and Jolty’s, who provided great coupons for our valentine bags that were distributed at the Target shopping center and at Wellstar hospital. A group of about a dozen SOTH’ers gathered and extended the grace of God to those who were out and about doing their shopping. Response was wonderful and great time was had by all. Look for details of our next even in March, which promises to be one of our best yet!

Talk

I stood in the little hole-in-the-wall savoring the aromas that wafted their way through the damp air of Athens, Georgia in June.

“Fried” flavors of all kinds mingled with down-home treasures: turnip greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, peach cobbler, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni-and-cheese (of course declared a vegetable in the South).

It was my first time in the one-room establishment, though it certainly has not been my last. Since it was my first, I didn’t know what the regulars already knew and anticipated with some zeal…a rather odd initiation was about to take place.

As my turn came to advance to the counter for placement of my order, I prepared myself to say with all soul-food credibility, “friend chicken, cornbread, double-greens.”

I never got the chance. Before I could speak, the mountain of a man standing behind the counter looked at me with an expression that I read as a curious mixture of boredom and hostility.

He opened his mouth and bellowed: COE-MYOON-UH-KAY-SHUN!!!!!

No one had ever yelled, “communication” toward my general person before, so I didn’t really have a good construct to apply as I feebly grasped for an appropriate response.

A regular behind me took pity on my plight. “Tell him what you want,” he said.

“Uh…fried chicken, cornbread, black-eyed peas (I thought the extra credibility was needed at this point), double greens and sweet tea.”

His response?

“AUTOMATIC!”

…And with that, I perceived that I had been dismissed.

Surely enough, my food came up “automatic,” as it appeared in a window adjoining the counter. I paid, and jockeyed against 30 other patrons for one of about 24 seats in the house.

As I ate the truly incredible food (crispy on the outside, moist on the inside) and talked with friends about the history of the place (which I already knew a little something about), the Communication/Automatic dialogue began to come more clear (sort of).

You see, those two words are Weaver D’s trademarks.

Weaver D’s has become an institution in Athens. Famous diners sustained by his deeply southern cooking have included the B-52’s, R.E.M., and Widespread Panic.

Being a true aficionado of both R.E.M. and friend chicken, Weaver D’s and Adam Roberts was a match made in heaven.

The deal was sealed for me when I saw Weaver’s motto on the sign out front.

“Automatic for the People.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I thought.

You R.E.M. fans out there know this was the catchphrase the band took for one of its greatest and most famous albums. Affixed to the wall inside Weaver’s still humble facility was a huge picture of the restaurateur and his mother, taken at the Grammy’s, the night that “Automatic for the People” won Album of the Year.

How cool is that? Pretty stinking cool.

It was hilarious to watch the line of people approach the counter, each welcomed with the loud request for “COE-MYOON-UH-KAY-SHUN!!!”

Well…he does make a pretty valid point, you know. All good things, even fried chicken at Weaver D’s, do have to begin with communication.

That's what my all day meeting on Tuesday was all about.

You see, once a year, a series of meetings takes place around the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. They’re called the “Clergy Days Apart.” Pools of about 200 clergy at a time meet together for the day. Our Bishop is there, as are many District Superintendents and other leaders of our Conference.

Always, there is an inspirational speaker, and the aim of the day is continued spiritual and professional growth. 200 people who do COE-MYOON-UH-KAY-SHUN for a living, and this year, we were invited to think about that very topic.

“Today,” our guest leader began, “we will engage in some counter-cultural activity.”

I was intrigued.

“We’re going to speak to each other from our hearts, but even more importantly…we’re going to really listen to each other.”

I know. There is inherently a “groan” factor for most people in this kind of thing, yours truly included. It’s all a little touchy-feely, isn’t it?

That’s exactly why it’s counter-cultural. It's hard work that most folks don't want to do.

The issues for the day were fascinating. We were to “communicate” with each other about the things we pastors usually leave for discussion only amongst our closest friends.

“What has your experience of this Annual Conference been?”

“What do you think of our appointive process?”

“What could be done to increase trust among the clergy of our conference?”

“What will you do to open lines of communication with your colleagues and build trust this year?”

If you don’t know what those questions mean, let me give you a lesson in Methodese (that’s the native language of United Methodists) 101.

Imagine that all of the accountants --- that is to say the licensed, accredited CPA’s from Augusta, westward to Lagrange, and north to Tennessee lived in the same, big professional pond.

What I mean is, imagine that those CPA’s are employed in a closed system. There are 1000 CPA’s and 1000 CPA positions. There is really no leaving that system, and entry from outsiders is somewhat suspect.

All 1000 positions are placed by a group of 12 Super-CPA’s with final authority resting in the hands of one Super-Super-CPA (and, I need to be nice, because that Super-Super CPA, if he existed, just hypothetically, I mean --- maybe reads this blog).

Those 1000 positions range dramatically in terms of community context, “standard of living,” and pay-level. Oh yeah, and all 1000 people know what the other 999 get paid.

How would that work out?

There could be issues of trust, to say the least. There could be some politics…some attempts to manipulate the system. There could be some bitterness when folks don’t get what they want, or what they think they deserve. There could be some hurt.

Welcome to the clergy life of the North Georgia (and every other) United Methodist Conference.

Now don’t get me wrong…I’m not so cynical as to think that my clergy colleagues only care about what they get paid, where they live and what prestige their churches can generate. Without a doubt, some care more than others. Some do attempt to manipulate the system. All of us are vulnerable to those temptations when we believe that our lives, and our families’ lives are on the line.

We really do trust those making the decisions to do so prayerfully, earnestly and honestly. We believe that they do, and we even go so far as to say that God ultimately gets us all where we need to be. But we don't talk about it. It's uncomfortable to acknowledge the tension, the mistrust, the difficulty.

That’s why communication is counter-cultural.

That’s why getting invited to really, really communicate ---- about hard, uncomfortable things, just sort of takes one aback.

It’s like getting yelled at by a large man who stands behind the counter, bored yet aggressive.

COE-MYOON-UH-KAY-SHUN!!!!

We need to talk. And listen. Nobody does that nowadays. We’re the church…we could be the first.

By the end of that day, a day when I’d rather have been busy doing the things I “needed” to do, I’d met 6 colleagues I didn’t previously know…and now I do. Not only that, I know their stories, and as was said at the seminar, “you can’t be afraid of someone if you know their story.”

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up,building up faith as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”

Let’s talk in a way that builds up. There is need, and we’ve got the time. Giving grace is what Life at SOTH is all about.

Grace & Peace Everybody ---
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Land Acquisition Update: We’ll talk about the property that we’re proposing for purchase, this Sunday morning between worship services: 10:15 AM in the worship space. Our Church Conference vote is planned for next Sunday, February 18th, with one worship service only --- 10:00 AM.

“Bib” Overall Sunday at SOTH: This Sunday is also “bib” Sunday in honor of our own overall-wearing icon, Wendell Felch. It’s Wendell’s birthday, so wear ‘em if you’ve got ‘em in honor of Wendell! Yep, Wendell even gave Adam his very first pair of “Liberty’s,” and he’ll be wearing ‘em in fine style.

2006 New Members: Well, we’ve just passed the end of January, the time of year when all United Methodist Churches have to submit their “year end” reports. We wanted to share with you the impressive list of those who have joined the SOTH family this year, 59 altogether!

Baptisms:
02/26: Kasey Brelsford
02/26: Leah Brelsford
03/05: Cierra Fountain
03/05: Brina Davis
03/19: Shane Meador
03/19: Tammy Meador
03/19: Erin Meador
03/19: Luke Meador
04/23: Faith Wyche
05/14: Tyler Rahn
05/14: Sam Rahn
05/14: James Rahn
06/18: Kenneth James Price (KJ)
06/18: Jorden Ethan Murphy
06/18: Tristen Ryann Murphy
09/10: Kurt Meador
11/19: Jenny Archer
11/19: Aaron Vantrees
11/19: Bobby Cook
11/19: Jessica Murfree
12/10: Malachi Lightcap

New Members (By Transfer)
01/08 – Kevin Wall
01/08 – Denise Wall
01/08 – David Vaughn
01/08 – Dianne Vaughn
03/19 - David Pearson
03/19 - Ashley Bedosky
03/19 – Mike Bedosky
07/23 – Rocky Barnes
07/23 - Susan Barnes
08/06 – Virgil (Ike) Eisenmann
08/06 – Liz Eisenmann
08/20 – Patricia Perry
08/20 – Amanda Bunday
08/20 – Phyllis Bunday
08/20 – Maria Davis
08/20 – Sharon Hudson
08/27 – Joshua Taylor
08/27 – Jennifer Taylor
09/24 - Karen Suttles Hubbard
09/24 - Mike Hubbard
11/19 – Joel Kilthau
11/19 – Lisa Kilthau
12/24 – Chuck Leake
12/24 – Joy Leake
12/24 – Randy Leake
12/24 – Ryan Leake (Midway UMC)

New Members (By Confession of Faith)
01/15 – Monica Ellis-Witt
01/15 – Tony Ellis-Witt
01/15 - Devin Ellis
01/15 – Cameron Witt
02/26 – Brian Brelsford
02/26 – Ginger Brelsford
03/19 – Tammy Meador
03/19 - Shane Meador
03/05 – Cierra Fountain
03/05 - Brina Davis
04/16 – Lynn Cook
04/16 – Wendell Felch
05/14 – Tyler Rahn
05/23 - Faith Wyche
06/18 – Angela Price
06/18 – Kenneth James Price
08/20 – Harry Shore
08/20 – Angie Shore
08/20 – Samantha Smith
08/20 – Sara Loehne
10/08 – Brandy Murphy
11/19 – Jennifer Archer (Confirmation)
11/19 – Bobby Cooke (Confirmation)
11/19 – Briana Fountain (Confimation)
11/19 – Derrick Fountain, Jr. (Confimation)
11/19 – Katelyn Price Gibson (Confirmation)
11/19 – Joshua Henry Kilthau (Confimration)
11/19 – Erin Lena Meador (Confirmation)
11/19 – Jessica Rachel Murfree (Confimation)
11/19 – Audrey Leigh Reid (Confirmation)
11/19 – Kelsie Ann Seymour (Confimation)
11/19 – Aaron Jamal Vantrees (Confirmation)

Preparatory Members
Trey Bedosky
Steven Bedosky
Madeline Wall
Sam Wall
Kasey Brelsford
Leah Brelsford
Luke Meador
Jorden Murphy
Tristen Murphy
Martha Jo Barnes
Sam Rahn
James Rahn
Tyler Shore
Brandon Shore
Chelsea Shore
Angel Shore
Jessica Suttles
Jake Suttles

New members for January, 2007 include Anna Garner, Joyce Pierson and Alex, Angie and Grey Walker.

Thanks be to God for his great work in our community in the last 12 months!

Prayer Concern for Honduras Outreach, Inc:
Many of you know that I have traveled multiple times in mission to Honduras with a wonderful organization, HOI, Inc. My heart, along with thousands throughout North Georgia and Honduras, has been broken this week by the news of the loss of three missionaries in an accident while working in a remote village.

In addition, my wonderful friend Lucas, who was here in Douglasville and visiting briefly in our home over Christmas, was injured badly as well. Lucas has suffered severe leg injuries and is currently hospitalized in Tegucigalpa. Our prayers are with all who have been involved, for the people of San Esteban and Olancho province Honduras and for all the leadership and volunteers of HOI.

These have been dark days for those of us who know and love that ministry and those it serves. May God’s presence be known in that ministry, now even more than ever. Thanks to all of you for supporting HOI with your prayers, and for lifting prayers for Lucas.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

Rain

We woke up this morning to rain.

We had hoped for something more.

Don’t get me wrong. I can savor the awesome, early morning sound of rain on the rooftop as well as any tender-hearted singer/songwriter type out there.

But we were hoping for something more. Something white and fluffy. Something sticking to the ground, willing to stay with us for a few hours of exquisite, government-sanctioned downtime.

We were looking for a snow day. It didn’t happen.

Instead, we got rain, by the buckets full. Cold rain, 34 degree rain. A few measley degrees colder, and we’d be celebrating like the folks in Blairsville this morning.

Blairsville!!!!!!!!!

The worst part came at about a quarter till seven, when we had to wake our sleeping first grader. “Did it snow?” he asked, still warm and groggy from his long winter’s nap.

“No. It just rained. There’s gonna be school.”

With a tear in his eye, he got up and dutifully got ready to take on the day.

Disappointment can be a bitter pill. Especially when you turn on the local news and see the scornful radar displayed in shades of white, pink and green.

Douglasville? All green, baby. Rain.

It’s tough to see the hateful truth played out in your living room in living color. God is snowing on the people just to your north when you’re a Southerner so close to the holy grail of a “snow day.”

If you’re from Minnesota, there’s no way you can understand the concept of disappointment in not getting ice or snow. You have to be from the land of “I need to get to the grocery store NOW to get milk, eggs and bread,” to understand.

And so, I suspect this blog greets many of you in wet, cold and less-than-festive moods this morning.

Maybe this will help.

This is one of my favorite time of year for TV, even though I hate to admit it.

It’s American Idol audition time, and it’s compelling TV because the drama of disappointment is perfectly played out for the audience.

If you’re not among the 40 million Americans who watch the yearly, amateur singing competition, then you’ve missed some quite wondrous moments of entertainment.

With each initial audition, we witness the birth of hope and possibility, and its growth into full-blown joy or deepest despair.

Phrases like, “I’m going to Hollywood!!!” or “Dawg, singing --- not your thing” are well-known to Idol fans.

Without fail, each episode showcases moments of disappointment. Potential contestants will have hoped for something more than they found in the judges’ reactions. The tone-deaf, ignorant of their missing skill sets, will learn the harsh news --- they absolutely cannot sing.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but…” Simon Cowell will say, and you always know something amazingly rude is about to come next.

When asked about his penchant for crushing the untalented with his brutal honesty, and whether he ever feels bad for telling the truth, Simon said, “"No, what I am doing is kind by telling people who are useless 'Do something that you're good at'. So I would only feel guilt if I misled somebody who was terrible."

That’s how disappointment works, you know.

Sometimes, life takes a Simon-esque turn. “Look,” life says, “you thought something else was going to happen. It’s not. Find another way.”

Obviously, some disappointments are harder to take than others. A lost snow day can be forgotten by lunch. A lost job, a broken relationship, a crashed dream…these take more time and work for healing to happen.

But it can happen. Disappointment means a new direction, and that new direction can be better than any we’d ever imagined.

“Dawg…” sometimes singing’s just not your thing. Something else is.

Psalm 31 reminds us:
Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as a city under siege. I had said in my alarm, ‘I am driven farcut off from your sight.’ But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help."

Sometimes we wish for snow…and God sends it to Blairsville. You know what I mean.

Life moves, and turns, and the road rolls out before us, or maybe even drops, for just a moment, from beneath us. Don’t give up.

He hears you.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:
Great things are in the works at SOTH! This Sunday we’ll begin to see some of the great work come to fruition that our Communications team has worked on since the Spring of 2006! We’ll be revealing our new “On the Path of Life…Together” logo, and also unveiling some new graphics in Sunday worship and a brand new, full-color worship guide.

In coming days, a complete overhaul of our website, sothumc.net will be ready as well. All of these great tools help communicate the spirit, life and faith of our congregation to the world around us, and invites them to come take part in the great things happening at our church!

LAND ACQUISITION UPDATE: Our land acquisition process has changed and developed since our last congregational meeting in November. We will have another town-hall information session during Sunday School, in our worship space: Next Sunday, February 11th, at 10:15 a.m. Don’t miss this important time of information and discussion before our scheduled charge conference.

Our D.S. Jacqui Rose-Tucker will be on hand the morning of February 18th as the congregation votes on the proposed land purchase. One worship service only that morning, 10 AM.

SOTH This Sunday: Our new worship schedule continues to do well! Come out for worship at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. for part 4 of our New Year’s series based on Rick Warren’s 2006 book, God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions. This week: How Can I Have Confidence in Crisis? At 10:15, we’ll continue our new adult SS class in the worship space with the Gospel of John, chapters 4 and 5.

Servant Evangelism Update: Tim Potate and Lamar Gilstrap will be leading a servant evangelism event at Arbor Place Mall on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Join them and other SOTH members as they engage in simple acts of kindness to illustrate the grace and love of God in our community.

Book Study: A new book study, Facing Your Giants will begin meeting at the home of Tim and Ellie Potate, Monday night, February 19th at 6:30 PM.

Life

Well, it’s been quite some time since last we talked via the blog.

Truly, much is going on in world. Much of it during these last few weeks of Christmas and Roberts family expansion time has caught my attention for a few fleeting seconds – at least long enough to make me think, “I could write about that on the blog…”

There is the very serious and overwhelming. More troops are going to Iraq. A Lutheran church trial is happening in Atlanta, and a child abduction filled the news and thankfully resolved, but with many details yet to emerge.

There is the silly. I mean, we’ve had a couple of nights of the greatest tv in the world --- the first round of bad, bad auditions on American Idol.

Certainly, there is much to write about, but those topics will have to wait for another day.

This week, my thoughts have been colored by a symbolic trip through time and space.

My parents have been at our house (and they’re faithful readers of the SOTHBLOG, of course), and there is nothing like standing in the middle of three generations to give a person a sense of perspective and place.

For instance, even with all that’s happened in the world, and the ways that things change every single day --- some things really do stay the same.

These are the things you learn when a new baby makes its way into your family. When you’re blessed to be surrounded by family and friends and an incredible church.

For the last couple of weeks, the world of the Roberts house has shrunk down to a wonderful couple thousand square feet.

Whatever goes on in the world at large, the world right around us demands our attention, and is the place that life is really lived. Please don’t get me wrong --- I want Christians to engage with the world and to be God’s agents of transformation and kingdom-building.

But these few days have brought me to a new realization. When I think about all my memories, my childhood and family and all of the things that weave generations together, it’s the simple things that really matter.

I’m pretty sure that life comes down to all that happens in the processes of keeping everyone fed, clean and healthy. Life happens one home at a time, one day at a time.

I love the new series of – yes – sausage commercials that have been on tv lately, playing on this very theme. Click here to see them, and make sure to go all the way down and watch the one called, "Why."

It’s a push and stretch for most of us to keep it all in balance. We may not have to “light and heat the earth,” but we all certainly have a variety of responsibilities that keep us more than occupied.

A quick glance at the magazine rack of most any major retailer will find a common question posed most often: How can we do it all?

How can we cook gourmet meals in thirty minutes or less? How can we shed fat and build muscle in only minutes each week? How can we beat stress, succeed professionally and still find time to be the best moms and dads?

And, then your pastor says, “don’t forget to give of yourself, plug in, build relationships and grow closer to God.”

Church guilt, the sweetest kind.

How we gonna get it all done? Jimmy Dean pre-chopped breakfasts?

There’s bound to be another way, right?

This Christmas, a wonderful cousin of mine gave the family a tremendous gift. She spent time sitting down with my grandmother, preserving her time-tested recipes and compiling a cookbook of all our favorite, home-cooked meals.

Sixty years’ worth of biscuits-and-gravy wisdom are contained in those pages. But the recipes, incredible as they are, aren’t even the best part.

On about every other page, my cousin included quotes of folklore, wives’ tales and common sense from my grandmother.

Early in the book, she poses the question all of us have wanted to ask:

“I asked Grandmother how she did it, how she raised six kids and cooked three meals a day and took care of everything else. I wanted to know her secret.”

My Grandmama’s response is a wonderful thing: “It wasn’t real easy, but it was a different way of life back then, you were expected to learn and do certain things and not fight about it. It was just something you did.”

I love her response, because I don’t think the question even really makes sense for her. It’s certainly not one she’d ever thought of asking. We might as well ask her how she breathed for those years.

It’s just what you did.

The key, I think, is that she wasn’t trying to do it all. Just the important things, and to do them “without fighting about it.”

What if life really could be more about getting breakfast on the table for the kids than an existential quest for fulfillment?

Jesus had a job. A trade and craft. He had a mother and siblings. Meals were put on the table…everyone was kept clean and fed and healthy. Life happened, day by day.

In the midst of it all…fulfillment.

May you know the presence of the Holy Spirit today, and as Garrison Keillor always claims for “powdered milk biscuits,” may it give you “the strength to do what needs to be done.”

And don’t fight about it.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Once again, what needs to be said is a huge thank you to all of you who have done countless acts of kindness and giving for our family since Jack’s been born. SOTH UMC, you are the greatest! Adam

Don’t forget, SOTH’s new worship schedule is 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. with Sunday School for all ages between services.

Second installment of our sermon series this week from Rick Warren’s book, “God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions: How Can I Live Life Above Average?”

Our Bible Study of the Gospel of John continues with chapter 2 in the worship space at 10:20.

Expecting

“I wonder what he (she) will look like?”

What parent-to-be hasn’t asked that question?

Mary and Joseph surely must have been wondering, too.

Five days before he was to be born, so much remained unknown.

Who would he be? What was God trying to do? The angel…the dream…it was all real, wasn’t it?

The days just prior to the birth of a child are overwhelming.

On some level, expectant parents (even experienced ones – maybe most of all) know that they’re sitting together in a little inflatable raft, just this side of Hoover Dam.

They know that at some point very soon, that dam is going to burst, and a flood of new experiences will flow forth in a way that changes life forever.

In the meantime, life goes on as usual inside the little vessel. Really, what else is there to do…but wait. These final days are the very definition of what it means to be “expecting.”

We’re “expecting.” It could be anytime. We wait.

I remember standing in my Grandmama’s “sewing room” when I was all of 9 years old. At 9 years old, I knew myself to be much more than a mere “child,” and I was working hard to shed my “childish” ways.

It was just about 5 days before Christmas. As she worked, making the final stitches on hand-made gifts for me and my cousins, I proudly proclaimed to my Grandmama, “This Christmas has just flown by…you know, I think they get faster every year.”

I didn’t really understand why she started laughing.

I do now.

The truth is that Christmas seemed to take forever in those days. The year’s journey from Christmas to Christmas seemed to last several lifetimes. That’s what excitement, hope and expectation can do to time in the mind of a child.

As the days go by, our account of years-lived grows larger and deeper. Our perspective begins to change.

The formerly cavernous space occupied by the period of a month or a year has collapses under its own weight. The years really do go by faster every time. The danger is that repetition can dampen excitement. Expectation can get lost in the shuffle of time.

Time changes things, and sometimes those changes are not easy for any of us.

The time is gone when little children will beg treats from my great-grandmother’s Christmas candy-filled apron, like I always did those many years ago. But the wonder of God’s world, and God’s time (it’s not really ours, after all) is that even still, her role will not go unplayed.

The generations of our family, like summertime-cousins playing “Mother May I,” have all taken one “Giant Step Forward.”

That Christmas, when I was 9, my Dad was the same age that I am now.

You get the idea. It all happened while we were expecting one thing or another.

And here we are.

…In time, his parents came to know what he would look like. Eventually, “the days were accomplished.” They years can teach us that we really are cast together in the great loom of time. The Christmas Baby teaches us of God’s love.

Our beginnings and endings may overlap, and we may even lose sight of one another for a time. He will not let us be lost forever.

“So that no one should perish…”

God really does love us that much, and yes --- he does have a plan.

On this, yet another 20th of December, I stood in my kitchen, sipping coffee. The house was quiet and dark. Across the way, a seven-year-old version of myself and a three-year-old version of his mother lay in their beds, sleeping away the hours till Christmas morning.

Sewing-room to kitchen. A short, little stroll…now decades long.

Jack Spitzer Roberts is waiting, too -- anxious to carry those Crockett County names into the world that he will help make.

For a moment, I felt that my own name could be Joseph as the thoughts felt their way through my mind: “I wonder what he’ll look like, be like, think like, play like, talk like…”

Our little raft bobs in the water…stirred by currents that came from the other side of the dam.

God was with that uncertain but faithful man and his frightened, young wife as they made their way, two millennia ago. They waited, and they wondered.

Their faith is our life raft.

Their child is our savior.

Excitement…expectation…hope…joy

Seconds…and…minutes…and…days…and…years.

We have never been alone, not in a single one of them…and we never will be.

May the peace of Christ fill you with all joy and expectation. May the clock run slowly, just like it did when we were kids. And may we savor each second, praising God with thankful hearts!

Grace and Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

"Baby Jack" Watch: Given the subject of this blog, it seems only fair to give you the update that Holly is 38 weeks and nearing delivery, and we're "waiting" to see what will happen when. Thanks so much to all of you who have kept Holly, me, Will, Sam and "Jack to be" in your prayers. We'll let you know! Adam

Christmas week is here! Take a look at our Christmas worship schedule, and please invite a friend to meet you at SOTH!

Tonight, 6:30 PM – Blue Christmas Worship, a time of reflection and remembrance for those who struggle emotionally and spiritually during the holidays. This service will be long on hope and celebration, and we hope that you will join us and all who look to Jesus for hope in their lives this season.

Sunday Morning, December 24th: One worship service only – 10 AM

Christmas Eve Communion and Candlelight: Two Service, 5 and 7 PM with childcare provided both times.

Christmas Morning, December 25: SERVANT EVANGELISM EVENT
Meet at SOTH at 7 AM Christmas Morning to join our team of servant evangelists who are going out to freely share the love of God with our community. Our team will be taking coffee and doughnuts to local fire and police stations and hospitals to help remember those who are away from home on Christmas morning and to tell them that God loves them. Making this small sacrifice on Christmas morning may make your time together even more meaningful and will really mean a lot to those who experience God’s love through this simple act of grace.

Sunday Morning, December 31st: One worship service only – 10 AM

Sunday Morning, January 7, 2007 – NEW WORSHIP SCHEDULE BEGINS!
9 AM and 11 AM with Sunday School for all ages, 10:15 AM

Line

Parents. Everybody’s got ‘em.

Some people have really got ‘em.

Jay Bakker, for instance.

Does that name ring a bell?

His parents’ first names might. They’re Jim and Tammy Faye.

Oh……that Bakker.

Jay, their only son, was 11 years old when his parents’ televangelism empire, “The PTL Club,” began to crumble. Allegations of his father’s affair turned into eventual criminal charges of fraud.

An article in today’s AJC details the new reality show based on the last year of Jay’s life, “One Punk Under God,” that began airing on the Sundance channel last night.

Jay has grown up and entered the ministry in his own right….and in his own way.

He founded Atlanta’s “Revolution,” and has since moved on to begin another Revolution ministry in Brooklyn, New York.

Further reading this morning uncovered a sad article about another famous Christian family. Apparently, the Grahams are embroiled in a private (now becoming public) disagreement over the final resting place for Billy and Ruth.

Kids. What’re you gonna do?

If even the Grahams can see their family descend into feud and struggle, is there a lot of hope for the rest of us?

Well, Christmas says there is.

Here’s what I mean: have you ever taken a good look at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel? Maybe not --- genealogies don’t tend to be the most exhilarating of all scriptural passages. The secret is you’ve got to read close, and a little between the lines.

Why would Matthew kick off his story of Jesus in such a “compelling” way?

Perez, Zerah, Hezron, Aram, Aminadab, Nahshon, Boaz, Obed, Abijah, Asaph, Joram, Salathiel, Eliud, and etc., and etc., and etc.

I wish you could see that sentence as I’ve written it in Microsoft Word. It’s got more red underlining than my freshman English essays. My computer says those names do not compute.

So, what is the deal, anyway?

The deal is Matthew’s need to draw us an important picture of Jesus’ identity.

Everybody has parents. And kids, what’re you gonna do?

There are definitely some “characters,” several of the “ill repute” variety, in that historical parade. Let’s just say that there are a lot more folks on the “naughty” list than the “nice” one in Matthew’s Christmas story.

And people --- that’s Jesus’ family we’re talking about.

Prophecy said that the messiah would descend from the line of David.

That’s exactly what Jesus did, and Matthew illustrates, through “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the messiah” (Matthew 1:16).

Really fascinating is that Matthew, while mentioning each man in the line of fathers, mentions only five women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “the wife of Uriah,” and Mary.

Each of those women are mentioned prominently in other scripture, and the stories would make most daytime soap writers blush with embarrassment.

The, “wife of Uriah?” She could also be known as “mistress of David.” Or even, “cheater with David.” Her husband was intentionally left to be killed in battle on her new lover’s order.

Those are Jesus’ great, great, great…you get the idea…grandparents.

So…what is Matthew telling us?

Whatever his intention, what I gather is that God doesn’t mind a mess. Redemption is always possible. Everyone, even Jesus, falls somewhere in a line of those who’ve gone before and those who follow after. Somewhere in the middle of the line, when the world would least expect it…God chooses to do his work.

That’s incarnation. That’s inherently Christian. That’s the good news.

I hope this blog finds you this day in the middle of your work, in the middle of your week, in the middle of your shopping, parenting, playing, loving and living.

The middle….the mess….that’s where the good stuff lives.

May something transformational, even incarnational, happen for us today.

Immanuel. God with us. Amazing, and true.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

We're coming down to the end of 2006 and entering a season of wonderful Christmas celebrations. Please make plans to join us on December 20, 2006 at 6:30 pm for our second annual "Blue Christmas" worship celebration. This time of worship is very special for those who want to remember those they miss during this season, and we'll focus on the hope that Christmas offers all in our community who may be blue during these days.

Christmas Eve candlelight and communion: 5 and 7 pm, with childcare available at both services.

One worship service only, Sunday morning December 24th, and Sunday, December 31: 10 AM.

New Worship Schedule begins January 7 --- 9 AM and 11 AM with Sunday school for kids and adults, 10:15.

Satisfice (It's a real word)

So, one big thing that I haven’t talked about on the blog in a long time now is the very real and exciting reality that Holly, Will, Sam and I expect to welcome little Jack Spitzer Roberts into the world, maybe by the end of this month.

Even though we’ve lived pretty far from both sides of our family since 1998, we’ve never lacked for love and support from the people who surround us in our day-to-day lives.

Church is amazing that way. The folks at Caney Head-Roopville-Welcome, Wesley, and now Shepherd of the Hills have showered and showered us with the stuff of raising babies, each and every time that the opportunity has come around. We are eternally grateful for the adopted brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, moms, dads and (especially) grandparents who have been the day-to-day stand ins for the real ones who live a little more than just around the corner from us.

One thing we know about having and raising babies. We couldn’t do it without you. Well, maybe we could…but it wouldn’t be nearly as easy…or fun, and we wouldn’t do it nearly as well.

A couple of weeks ago, Holly and I ran across a catalog of baby-raising accessories. It’s pretty amazing to see what’s out there.

Did you know that for just $20, your baby will never have to suffer the indignity and discomfort of a cold baby wipe?

That’s right, there are really baby wipe warmers. Yes, I did check to make sure nobody gave us one of those before writing this piece.

Having a baby in the U.S. in 2006 requires more technical gear than you’d need for a month of backpacking across Alaska.

As first-time parents, Holly and I were pretty susceptible to the baby-panic-oh-my-lordy-what-if-we-didn’t-think-of-everything-and-scar-our-child-for-life syndrome that the baby-gear industry seeks to induce.

Then I took some trips to Honduras and saw a different culture of baby and child-rearing. Like the 8 day old baby girl I saw wrapped in an old blanket and laid on a bench, outdoors where the chickens were scratching. There were no safety straps. There was no decorative-padding pattern. Did I mention there were chickens?

I don’t tell that story as an example of a practice we necessarily plan to adopt at the Roberts house. I do tell it as a point of reference and perspective. Mostly, to raise a baby, you need energy, faith, strerngth, stamina and support --- more than stuff. The church has always given us those things in ample supply, as well, and that’s a beautiful gift.

Right now, we’re headlong into the time of year when the non-essentials really have the power to outweigh the really necessary things that matter. There are lots of choices to make ---- and many decisions are waiting. I’m working hard this year to become more conscious of those fork-in-the-road moments each day.

An example: Christmas lights.

For years, I have been a Christmas lighting fiend. Not that I’ve ever achieved any spectacular, Clark Griswold-like results, but it’s not been for lack of planning.

For every home in which we’ve lived, I’ve developed master plans, thought through the possibilities and purchased all the necessary cords, bulbs, plugs, hooks and strands.

We shouldn’t even talk about The Tree. Every year since our marriage in 9 years ago, Holly has dreaded Tree Day. You see, I’m a recovering light-wrapper.

Don’t know about wrapping a tree? Don’t start.

This year, I actually just sort of…well…. “shoved” the lights into the tree. When finished, I wasn’t angry or frustrated, and my lower back wasn’t throbbing. I was finished in time to watch football.

Guess what?

The tree looked great. My little boys lay beneath it, staring up at the mass of twinkling lights, making Christmas memories that will last a lifetime.

I put lights up in our yard, and the entire process didn’t take more than a half hour. The “WWWOOOOWWWW!” that came from my 3 year old when we lit them up that night was infinitely worth the time and energy.

I’m working hard to become a “satisficer,” not a “maximizer.” This is not my nature.

Maximizers buy baby wipe warmers. More than that, they probably read back-issues of Consumer Reports to make sure that they buy only the baby wipe warmer with the ultimate features at the best price.

Maximizers do not have the most fun.

Satisficers do.

According to Barry Schwartz, “satisficers” enjoy life, simply because they have the ability to utter, and mean, a simple, magical phrase: “That’s Good Enough.”

Happy is he or she who can say, “Good Enough.”

Immediately, I feel the impulse to defend the pursuit of excellence. Immediately, I feel the need to defend myself, and assure you readers that I will never set low standards for ministry…or anything else for that matter.

I told you, I’m recovering. It will be quite a process.

What about you?

What about Jesus: maximizer or sufficer?

On the one hand, he did say, “be perfect, therefore, even as the Father is perfect,” but he also said, “do not worry.”

So, which is it?

Hard to believe, I know, but I really think there is a middle way. Excellence is a good thing. The question is, to what end? Why am I maximizing? Do I want people to think well of me? Do I have fear that I won’t control an outcome? Am I afraid that someone else will get ahead? Do I really care first, and only, about the glory a situation, choice or decision can bring glory to God?

Tough questions. Is there a way I can take God seriously, but not myself? I think it’s possible. I need to hear that message at this time of year, because there’s a lot of “gear” out there. There’s not nearly as much love.

What if the goal of our Christmas celebration this year could be pretty simple? What if it could be about The Message, not just The Tree? I’m thinking that there really is a way to make Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope our priorities this year.

Is “stuff” blocking the path to those priorities? Time to say “Good Enough,” and let it go.

I think The Book says, “Neither Christmas lights, nor cards, nor schedules, nor pressure, nor advertising, nor traffic, nor baby wipe warmers shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” Something close to that, anyway.

May this be your most joyful, most fun Christmas ever.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

A “Christmas Letter” currently making the rounds on the internet, author unknown:

10 Ways to celebrate Christ's Birthday A letter from God to His children:

Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of you're predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth just, GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can & may remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching explaining who I am in relation to you & what each of our tasks were. If you have forgot that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing George complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile it could make the difference. Also, you might consider supporting the local Hot-Line: they talk with people like that every day.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary, especially one who takes My love & Good News to those who have never heard My name. You may already know someone like that.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals & whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them (and I suspect you don't) buy some food & a few gifts & give them to the Marines, the Salvation Army or some other charity that believes in Me & they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

P.S. Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me & do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above & get to work; time is short.

I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember, I LOVE YOU.

Turn

So, I’m cruising down the road yesterday, heading toward my 1:30 appointment. Radio is on. Tea (in my SOTH travel mug, of course) is hot and, might I say, tasty. The day is gray and a little rain is falling, but life is good.

That’s the reason I didn’t see the taillights.

The car ahead of me ground to a halt. It screeched, actually.

I had about 2 seconds to figure out a plan, but I needed about 3. Thankfully, I had just enough time to opt for the ditch to my right, and to miss somebody’s mailbox by about 6 inches.

I was stuck in a ditch, but ok. My ol’ jeep had come through like a champ.

Now parallel to the driver who was formerly traveling in front of me, I rolled down my window to ask if he was ok.

The young man, maybe 19 years old, said he was alright, but he was obviously shaken.

“What do we do?” he asked.

For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what he meant. What do we do?

What I wanted to say was, “WHY THE HECK DID YOU STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!!!!!!??”

Instead, he took my silent confusion as the sign of misunderstanding that it was. Without a word, he nodded toward the pavement in front of his vehicle. Realizing what had happened, my peripheral vision now drew clearly an image of the aged lady who stood at the end of her driveway, crying.

The young man had tried to stop in time, but he couldn’t.

Believe me, as a father of two little ones, I know it could have been worse.

No person got hurt. But a beloved pet dachshund, on its daily accompanying trip to the mailbox, had wandered into the road to meet its end.

Right before our eyes.

I was immediately thankful no person had been hurt, but my heart went out to this lady who had lost her pet. A moment before, life had been “as usual.” But there was obviously no way of putting things back the way they’d been.

I shifted my jeep into 4-wheel drive (a rare and delightful occurrence, though for a very sad occasion), and began rocking my vehicle free from the ditch. We both pulled to the side of the road and I put myself in pastoral gear.

When we had stayed as long as we could be helpful, the young man looked to me again, with the very same question, “What do we do?”

“Nothing,” I said. “You’re ok, I’m ok, they’re ok. Our vehicles are fine. It was nobody’s fault. We say goodbye and keep going.” And that’s what we did.

Some things, you can’t fix.

To say the least, I didn’t have the greatest focus once I arrived at my meeting.

Ancient words emerged from their resting place to trek, in pieces, through the corridors of my mind:

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes XII

Yep, those are the words.

They’re the kind of words that should just always be in King James English.

Though I probably don’t remember the first time I ever heard them, I definitely remember the first time I ever listened to them. The admonition to “Remember my Creator” struck home because I was clearly in the “Days of My Youth.”

Even though I didn’t fully (or perhaps at all) understand the implication of the words, I knew that I wanted to listen, and follow.

These years later, here’s what I think they mean:

Life is precious. Youth is precious. Today matters.

There’s a lot we don’t know, and more that we can’t fix, but our job, while it lasts, is to live in relationship with God, to do the best we can…and to keep going forward.

On Monday, I met my first-grade son at the end of his school day. My grin told him that I had a plan. We were skipping town, if just for a few hours, because life can turn on a dime.

Homework? It could wait.

Cell phone? It has an off button. Or something like that.

The woods were waiting for us, and they were impatient. We hadn’t visited them in quite a while. The next two hours were spent scaling the red clay ridges of Douglas County, and two little boys (at heart) had a wonderful time playing together.

That was a good day.

We remembered our Creator, and he was right there where we’d left him.

This Sunday, the season of Advent begins. We wait, and remember. We look to a future of hope and remember a 2,000 year old baby boy.

God will be there. Savor the season.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

The Tables Turned
William Wordsworth, 1798

UP! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun, above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless--
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

LIFE AT SOTH:

CONGREGATIONAL "TOWN HALL" SESSION REGARDING LAND ACQUISITION: This Sunday, December 3rd, following 10:00 worship. Members of our leadership team will present the congregation with options for possible land acquisition in planning for our building and relocation process. Bring yourself, your input and questions to this important time.

This Sunday, both 8:30 and 10:00 services will have elements of "Hanging of the Greens," a Christmas tradition in many churches. Worship will be interactive as congregation members are invited to help decorate our sanctuary for Christmas. Come out this Saturday at 3:00 and help with some of the work that needs to happen before Sunday.

SOTH's 2nd Annual "Blue Christmas" worship service will be held on Wednesday night, December 20th at 6:30 pm. This service is an uplifting time of reflection on the hope of Christ for those who have experienced loss or other reasons for sadness connected to the holidays. Last year our service was very meaningful for several in our community and we hope that you'll help spread the word.

WORSHIP SCHEDULE CHANGE: Beginning on our first Sunday in January, SOTH Sunday worship times will change to 9:00 and 11:00 AM. This schedule should balance our worship attendance and allow us to maximize seating space for worship. In addition, we will begin offering children's SS at 10:15, with adult classes and a Bible Study for adults lead by Adam in the sanctuary at 10:20. Please make a note of this change and look forward to the new opportunities ahead and 2007.

Pilgrimage

Folks, the big day is almost here. That's right, your Chapel Hill Rd. Publix supermarket is about to open.

I heard they'll be giving away 20lb turkeys to the first 1,000 customers. Milk is 25 cents a gallon and eggs are a nickel per dozen.

OK, slight exaggeration perhaps, but I can bet you that there will be some great deals over there as they open their doors for the first time and begin their courtship of long-term customers. I can promise, if the folks at Publix are good business people, and they are, they're going to do everything they can to make their store a place where "shopping is a pleasure."

And, even though the store's huge marquis lights up "The Ranch" at SOTH with an eerie green glow every night, you can bet that I'm bound to go check it out, and I do wish them the best of luck in their venture.

But, when I go to their store, I won't be going to give, but to receive. I will have high expetations of service, quality and value.

What are people looking for when they go to church?

I found a great video this week that speaks a little more truth than we might want to admit.

Me/Church, "Where It's All About Me."

"I work hard all week, and when Sunday comes around, I'm tired," the lady proclaims from behind her desk. "I want a church that starts when I get there."

The announcers warm, solid voice responds: "Can do."

As the commercial parody winds further and deeper along, the demands from prospective worshippers grow more and more realistic, but the announcer remains determined to please.

The spot is hilarious, mostly because it represents the real dilemma of what life, faith, thankfulness and selfishness are all about.

Church is a place of theological tension, where ideals and reality crash headlong into one another. We know that faith in Christ is all about letting go, following him, responding to God's love and seeking to share that same love with others.

But we also know that those who first walk through their doors will often come asking one question, "what's in this for me?"

That's ok. In fact, it's a valid question. But it ought not ever be the final destination.

Somewhere along the journey of faith, "me" has got to become "you."

Here's what I mean, SOTH can't model its own motto after the big supermarket's.

SOTH: "Where worshipping is a pleasure."

Why not? What's wrong with that?

Well, while we certainly want do all that we can to make a morning's experience at SOTH a good and pleasurable one, the plain truth is that God just doesn't promise that life or worship will always be a pleasure.

Sometimes, faith will be a sacrifice. Sometimes, life will take an unexpected turn. Sometimes, we will hear about a cross, and always about a resurrection --- but we will be called to die to our old ways if we are to rise and embrace God's new ones.

But if "shopping is a pleasure" can't be our message, what can?

Well, our church council did, in fact, just adopt a new look, feel and message for our church. SOTH's communications team worked hard all year to produce some wonderful new pieces that you'll begin seeing soon. The message?

Shepherd of the Hills: "On the Path of Life...Together"

I like it. We're on the path. We're on "the way." We're moving toward the cross, the sign of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. We're learning, growing and becoming. We are thankful, making a humble pilgrimage through this gift of life that God has given us.

Philippians 2:5-11 says it all (The Message):

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.


And so, it's important this morning that we're thankful. For this gray day and the rain that is falling around us. For the way that God sustains us on the path of life. For the wonderful things and the hard things, too.

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner, and there won't be a new "SOTHBLOG" next Wednesday, in honor of the holiday. So, I'm hopeful that we can continue our Thanksgiving tradition and spend a few moments here using the "comments" section of this blog to express our thankfulness to and for one another.

If you have a few more minutes to spend, you can check out some interesting history of Thanksgiving and also hear an idea about how the pilgrims might have prayed on that first Thanksgiving Day. I love their intepretation of a prayer of Myles Standish, which goes like this:

"Almighty God, we humbly thank you for all these great bounties that you have visited upon us. For these herbs and these beasts that have given their bodies and their blood to nourish our bodies as your son our Lord Christ Jesus gave his blood to nourish our souls. we thank thee Lord for the bounty of this place, for its frutifulnes and magnificence. We pray that you may protect us from the dangers of the woods and the seas and that you might smite any enemies that come to harm us. That you might watch over us and keep us and make us never in time to come fat and prideful. But help us to know that it is only through service of you that we have any wealth at all. In all things we pray through the name of our Lord Jesus, the Mediator of our Peace, Amen."

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Confirmation this Sunday! Our 2006 Confirmation class will be received into full membership this Sunday at 10:00 worship. Don't miss this important time in the lives of these young men and women.

One Worship Service on Thanksgiving Weekend, November 26th: 10:00 AM only

WORSHIP SCHEDULE CHANGE: Church Council voted on November 5th to change our Sunday morning worship schedule beginning in January, 2007. Worship times will be 9:00 and 11:00 AM with children's and adult SS at 10:15. This schedule will allow for better use of our facilities, more growth in worship attendance and more volunteerism in our SS programs. Our current Adult SS class will continue to meet, and a new Bible Study for adults will be offered in the worship space between services. Look forward to these exciting changes!

BIG BONFIRE WEEKEND AT SOTH! Our annual bonfire will be this Saturday night with a time of live music, food and fellowship. Lunch will be available as our UM Men's group provides BBQ and Friend Turkey plates for sale. All proceeds will support their mission efforts in the church and community.

"OUT OF THE BOAT" FOLLOW-UP: Thanks to the many of you who made an "Out of the Boat" commitment for 2007! We have many new ministry groups forming, and each of you who made a commitment will receive a letter in the mail this week confirming your responses to ministry opportunities and your financial commitments. This effort has also been SOTH's most successful financial commitment campaign in its history, and your faithfulness will result in wonderful ministry in the year to come.

Vote

Well, it’s the Wednesday after the Tuesday after the first Monday of November.

You know what that means, right? Election Day is over!

I’d like to repeat the offer that I heard a radio DJ make yesterday. If any of you are experiencing campaign ad withdrawals, you can call me up and I will tell you lies about people you don’t know in 15, 30 or 60 second increments.

I really try not to be too cynical about politicians, elections and our government. The problem is that politicians, elections, and our government don’t make that task very easy. After all, you can only believe and have your hopes dashed so many times, right?

Sports writer Frank Deford had a great article about the American electorate this morning, and you can listen to it here.

Like him, I’ve grown to be cynical about more than just the politicians. My deeper fears lie with the public’s seeming inability to care about issues and vote responsibly. What matters is not so much that we agree or disagree, but that we plug in, pay attention and hold our elected officials accountable. In democracy, things don’t just break down when leaders are corrupt, self-serving or shortsighted. Things really break down when the populace falls asleep at the wheel. Sometimes, sleeping at the wheel is a defense mechanism.

When we believe the lie that our energy, opinion and voice doesn’t matter, and when we become so deeply cynical as to believe that there are no good leaders left to vote for, sleep comes as a welcome alternative to anger, frustration and pain.

But here’s the problem. Head-burying is not a long-term answer. It’s a short-term pain reliever.

“Christian Cynic” just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Those words shouldn’t live too easily together.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first to say that cynicism is the natural response to much of what our nation’s leaders have presented us…over the last several decades in particular. As I was being born into the world, the truth of G. Gordon Liddy’s break-in to the Watergate hotel was coming to light. The nation was just leaving the quagmire of Vietnam and was faced with the reality of corruption in the Oval Office.

Scandal was followed by ineffectiveness, and then by more scandal. Then more ineffectiveness.

As I came of age in the early 90’s, we watched the Clinton scandals unfold, culminating in some famous and amazing presidential yarn-spinning, right into the camera and our living rooms. “I did not…” he said. Well, yeah….he did.

And so, here I am, squarely situated in a generation that knows better than to trust anybody elected to anything. I’ve seen a U.S. Secretary of State sit in the U.N. assembly and proclaim the urgent truth of things that just weren’t true. I’ve seen scandal and corruption and confusion. Need we say Mark Foley, Jack Abramoff, etc., etc., etc.

I’m not sure any of us know exactly why we’re where we are at this moment, nor where in the world we should clearly go from here.

Undoubtedly, we’ve got every reason to be cynical…and then some. So, why did I go vote yesterday, anyway?

Cynicism doesn’t absolve responsibility. Brokenness should never eradicate hope. “Better” is always possible, even if “perfect” isn’t.

This truth applies to more than politics, leadership and international events. It applies to the reality of our lives and the validity of our faith.

Followers of Jesus Christ, like all people, sometimes fall prey to the tempting draw of spiritual cynicism. There are moments when the most devout and faith-filled people wonder why it matters, why good people suffer, why evil people prosper and why the path of goodness and truth can’t be a little more obvious and well-paved.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

“Truly God is good to the upright,
to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
Therefore the people turn and praise them,
and find no fault in them. And they say, ‘How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?’
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.
If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.

But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.

Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!

They are like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast towards you.

Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me with honor.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.”
-- Psalm 73

You see, “it just doesn’t matter” may be one of the most dangerous and sad phrases in our vocabulary.

It matters.

Politics will be politics, and people will be people…but God will be God. Faith says that good will win the day. Faith says that nothing outlasts truth, integrity and worship.

We may get broken, but we won’t get cynical. God is good, all the time…even on election day.

Keep our leaders in your prayers, every single day.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

“Out of the Boat” Commitment Sunday was this past weekend, and it was a great success! Thanks to all of you who submitted commitments, both volunteer and financial for 2007. Already, over $100,000 has been committed and many more commitments should still come into the church office. This represents the greatest percentage of operating budget ever pledged at SOTH to date, and it’s a great sign for next year’s ministry. Many, many of you have also volunteered your time and talent, and we are sorting that information right now and forming ministry teams. If you made a pledge, look for a follow up letter in the mail very soon. Special thanks to all who hosted and led small groups during these last six weeks!

SOTH Photo Directory: Priceless Portraits will be doing our 2007 photo directory, and setting times are available now. Please look for the sign up this weekend at church, or give us a call in the church office.

Our Community and Congregational Care Team will be sponsoring its basket auction at our Thanksgiving Dinner next Wednesday night, November 15th. Don’t miss the great meal, special time of fellowship and opportunity to support local mission outreach by bidding on some of your favorite items.

Pray for our youth who will attend HarvestFest this weekend at Rock Eagle. This retreat is an annual event that always means a lot to the members of our youth group.

Our confirmation class will be received into membership on Sunday, November 19th with a dozen Jr. High students being received into full, professing membership!

Men of SOTH --- Don’t miss a time of prayer, fellowship, food and ministry this coming Tuesday night --- UM Men’s meeting @ The Ranch – 7pm, November 14th.

Concrete

The actors on stage did their best “thousand mile stare.”

Looking far into the distance, they gave their best descriptions of the beautiful castle that lay upon the remote hillside.

They spoke of its shining spires and magnificent lines. Instantly, 200 heads whipped around to take in the awesome sight.

…I’m a grown-up, so of course, my head did not turn.

Suddenly, I was confronted by 200 confused little faces, their eyes staring just over my head to the back wall of the theatre. They looked back at the actors who still gazed longingly toward “the castle.” They looked back at the wall, back at the actors, then back at the wall again.

The mom sitting behind me started to giggle uncontrollably.

I now know that there’s nothing quite like watching a play with a theatre full of six, seven and eight-year olds.

They react to a play very differently than we grown folks do.

They have a lot more fun. Generally speaking, I think they have a lot more fun than we do at most everything.

Why not, after all? No bills to pay, no job responsibilities, no kids of their own to raise and worry about. No office politics, no church politics, no local, national or international politics for that matter, either.

But being a chaperone for my son’s field trip to the Alliance Theatre yesterday taught me that the “castle” moment was about more than just a lack of worries.

Kids have a wonderful penchant for “concrete thinking.” They are able to take the world as it comes --- to see it and believe it.

At adolescence, children start to form more logical thinking abilities. They can begin to think of abstract possibilities, and (my personal favorite), they can begin to “think about thinking.”

Seven year-olds are gloriously free of such burdens. The result is that their ability to enter fully into a story remains much more intact than ours does.

Yesterday, as Aladdin met and wooed Princess Jasmine, but was then arrested for theft and sent to a cave, little faces fell and brows furrowed with fear. When the Genie turned him into a prince, palpable rays of hope shone throughout the room. As the evil Jafar almost ruined the royal wedding day, I watched eyes widen with anxiety. When Aladdin tricked him, trapping him in the Genie’s bottle forever, audible cheers could be heard. Finally, as Jasmine and Aladdin were pronounced man and wife, to live happily ever after, 400 little hands clapped wildly. Their little lungs cheered with delight because all was right with the world, and good really did win-out after all.

See, they have more fun than we do. They believe.

I can’t help remembering something Jesus told his disciples:

Mark 10

13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ 16And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (NRSV)

“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

I have thought for years about what Jesus might mean. How can we be child-like when there are some many things forcing us to be “adult-like” in our daily experience?

Here’s the question: Can we enter His story?

Cheers should be heard as we enter the stable of Bethlehem on Christmas Day to behold the baby, born into the world because “God so loves us.” Smiles should cross our faces as we watch Jesus receive his baptism and begin his ministry, calling his disciples, teaching transformation and healing those who hurt. Eyes should widen as we see the religious establishment of his day misunderstanding him and plotting his demise. Tears should fall when he is arrested and beaten, crucified and laid in the tomb.

And hands should clap – lungs should cheer -- at the awesome happy ending: “He is not here, he has risen!”

It is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

Don’t get me wrong: I love logic. I enjoy “thinking.” I believe that grown-ups should be responsible, that we should be thoughtful, that we should do the right things.

But I really wish some part of me had even thought about turning around to look for that castle yesterday. Thank God for the little kids that did. They reminded this grown-up what it means to believe.

This Sunday, those of us who worship at SOTH have a chance to turn our heads, look off into the distance, and believe. Our “Out of the Boat” discipleship series is coming to an end, and our culminating act of worship will be one of response.

Hopefully you received an “opportunities card” this past Sunday, where you can respond in many ways and offer yourself in service to “The Kingdom.” We’ll also be sending the card via e-mail this week (to those on our SOTH prayers and announcements list – e-mail sandi@sothumc.net if you’d like to be added), and cards will be available in worship this Sunday.

My hope is that we’ve presented the story faithfully ---- that you’ve put yourself in the boat with Peter and the disciples, and that you’re willing to “look” into the distance of the year ahead --- with the concrete faith of a child. As commitments are laid on the altar this Sunday, we clap our hands and shout with joy at the reality of a risen Savior.

Belief. Concrete. It’s all God asks --- God can take it, and us, from there.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Difference

I really think I remember when this happened.

Some time just after 9/11 (two months after, it turns out), I remember somebody saying, “Hey, I just saw on the news where some guy ran through a security point at Hartsfield. Now nobody’s flying over like half the country.”

Some guy…

“Some guy” was Shane Lasseter from Gainesville, GA. I’m sure he would love that I’m bringing this back up, and that the AJC has decided to bring it up again as well. His tale was again rehearsed this Monday in their “whatever happened to” feature.

Lasseter’s 15 minutes of fame was not the kind you’d want. He had a colossal, public, lapse of good judgment.

The UGA fan (nope, I’m not saying anything) was on his way to see the Bulldogs play at Ole Miss. He never got that far, and more than his weekend was ruined.

Like an old-time O.J. Simson-luggage-hurdling-rent-a-car commercial, Lasseter tore backward down the “up” escalator.

He flew, in reverse, right through a security checkpoint --- all in an effort to retrieve the camera bag he’d left behind. His ticket remained behind in the pocket of a travel bag at the gate. He had pierced the vale of the “secured world” and entered the unclean world of the “unsecured,” all without his ticket.

Not good. At all.

The result? A “code orange” was issues at the incredibly busy Hartsfield International Airport. Flights were grounded at 18 other airports. Dominoes started to fall. Traffic piled up on I-85. Marta was halted at the College Park station. Soldiers evacuated and guarded the terminal.

Was Osama on the loose? Nope. “Some guy” forgot his camera bag.

So, have you ever thought that the actions of one little person ---- say one little person like you or me --- couldn’t really make a difference in the world?

You’d be wrong.

In just a moment’s time, an impulsive decision made worse by adrenaline, hurry and fear turned a community upside-down for an afternoon, impacted thousands and thousands of people, and sent deep currents through the waters of one man’s life.

Ultimately, Shane Lasseter was sentenced to five weekends in jail, 500 hours of community service and a year’s probation. Oh, and he wasn’t allowed back to another UGA game for a year. Not kidding.

He also resigned from his job and had to re-make his life.

Our choices really do matter, both for ourselves and for countless other people in our homes, churches, businesses, communities and world.

Thinking of Hartsfield makes me think of the flights that I’ve taken from there and the times that I’ve returned. The vision of metro Atlanta all lit up at night, with its multiple skylines and seemingly infinite grid of streets and neighborhoods never fails to leave me stunned.

I always think, “there are a LOT of people down there. How can God really know us all? Isn’t it amazing to believe that he does?”

You could almost believe that one person’s little life and choices couldn’t matter in such a sea of humanity.

But we’d be wrong.

As I journey through life in a church, as a pastor, and as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I sometimes venture back toward a poem that leans in its frame against a shelf in my office. It was a gift to me from my parents --- and it continues to mean the world.

The poem speaks of frustration, weariness, and all the times that we might be tempted to resign ourselves over into insignificance.

But the last line says it all:
“A life lived for Jesus really does make a difference.”

Every single day, we are faced with decisions. Change is an inevitable reality --- tomorrow will be different, even if ever so slightly, than today. But God gives us the incredible gift of choice.

That idea is humbling. It can be overwhelming. What if we mess up? What if we forget to follow in His steps? What if we lose our way? What about all that pressure?

Knowing that it matters isn't about pressure...it's about the precious gift of significance. God promises to be with us, to help us, and most of all just wants to "do life" with us...together.

The idea of insignificance is an illusion. Worse yet, it’s a form of self-deception that dishonors God.

Remember that it matters, and that God is always there.

Oh yeah, and don’t run backwards through any security checkpoints. For that matter, I’d try not to run in an airport at all. I’ll see you this Sunday.

Grace & Peace,
Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

So much is happening in the life of our church! New officers were elected at our Charge Conference on October 15th, and all of our new leadership information will be available for the entire congregation this Sunday. Our 2007 leadership team is strong and skilled, and we ask you to hold each of our leaders in prayer.

Confirmation continues for about a dozen of our youth who will be received into full church membership on Sunday morning, November 19th!

Pumpkins are here! Don’t forget that our pumpkins are here at SOTH and we’re looking forward to a huge weekend of sales. Get them while they last and help support our youth!

Small groups continue to meet each week during our “Get Out of the Boat” fall discipleship emphasis. Special thanks to Tim Potate, Lamar Gilstrap, Derrick Fountain, Sandra Wells and Andrea Vantrees for their outstanding leadership, and to the Clary’s, Potates, Brooks and Bartletts for serving as hosts.

You will be presented with a set of options this Sunday! Our “Out of the Boat” series on committed discipleship is drawing near its close, and this Sunday, everyone present in worship will receive an “Opportunities Card” for 2007. We’re working hard to list all the ways that you can serve at SOTH in the year ahead, and we will be asking for “pledges” of Worship, Prayer, Scripture, Relationships, Service and Giving in 2007. Thanks for the great response that you’ve all made to the challenge of this series, and for your willingness to serve and grow deeper in relationship with Christ.