November 13, 2009 4:50 p.m.

Guest Blog by Dan Kopesky, Chairman of the Deacons

Over the last couple of months, the deacon body has been in the process of a deacon election.  This is the process in which active deacons seek out others to become part of the deacon body.  This is a long time tradition within Baptist life that has served the church over the years.  While the role of the deacon has changed gradually over time from the first calling found in Acts 6, the need for people to serve our church and our community couldn’t be greater.

What does it mean to be a deacon?  The term simply means “servant”.  As Paul writes in Romans chapter 12, we have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  For some, this gift is service so our charge is simply to serve.  As a deacon, it is my desire to assist our pastor and staff in any way that I can so that they can continue to focus on the “ministry of the word of God.”  That is their charge, mine is to serve.  I consider myself to have been called out by this church to serve.   I consider this to be a great privilege and a lifetime calling.  I hope that our staff believes that they can count on me when a need arises.   From time to time, the workload is great and additional servants are needed which is where we are now as a church.

The deacon body and staff have chosen twenty-one men that we consider to be of Godly character, equipped with a servant’s heart, who we believe would faithfully serve our church.  All of these have answered the call to become a deacon and have been tested as prescribed in 1^st Timothy.  Each of them understand the importance of this level of commitment and are willing to move forward in the process.

As a church that believes in self-government, you become one of the last steps in this process.  On Sunday November 22^nd, during a special called business meeting, you will have the opportunity to vote on each of these candidates.  Click the link below to see a brief biography and photo of each. 

http://www.jvbc.org/documents/11.09deaconcandidates.pdf

I hope that you will know some of them because you have already seen them serving in various areas.  My desire is that you will affirm these individuals along with the staff and Deacon body. 

Dan Kopesky
Chairman of the Deacons

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November 12, 2009 12:30 p.m.

Guest blog by LeAnn Luedeker, Financial Director

It's time for our annual church Thankgiving dinner next Wednesday, November 18 at 5:30pm.  You can purchase your tickets through the church office for $6 per adult and $3 per child.  It's a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings from The Bake Shoppe.  This is a great evening to fellowship with our church family, and feel free to invite a guest!  The meal will be served in the chapel.

We would love for all church members to stay for the 2010 Ministry Needs Projection presentation at 6:30pm  following the Thanksgiving meal.  I can promise it will not be a night of facts and figures.  Our staff will share our current financial position and where we need to be next year to meet our ministry goals.  This is a critical presentation considering the state of our economy.  We encourage everyone to attend.  There will be children's programs and childcare available during this time.  It will be an opportunity to hear the vision for 2010 as we worship, grow and serve together.  Come and be informed as we will vote on November 22nd during worship on the 2010 budget.  We want you to be part of this process.  Our ministries are soley supported by the tithes and offerings of our membership.  We appreciate your continued and faithful giving.

We hope to see you there!

November 10, 2009 9:45 a.m.

Kristen is going to a report by the Barna Group on Thursday afternoon. They are a Christian research group that studies demographics. Specifically they study trends in spirituality, religious beliefs, and religious behaviors. What makes this study interesting is that they are looking at Houston. Their particular focus is people who would call themselves Christians, but have not attended church in over six months.

There is an incredible amount of information in the report. It will take a long time to digest it all. I can’t talk about it before the report is presented, but I would like to talk about one thing.

What do you think is the number one strategy that is most likely to get someone who hasn’t come to church in a long time to come to church?

A personal invitation from a friend. It is better than cds, or websites, or mail outs. It is number one in a landslide.

We are nearing the Christmas season. There are remarkable opportunities to invite our friends to incredible events.

The women who put on our Ladies’ Holiday Banquet know how to do it. They are sold out. They know how to invite their friends. Their entertainment is called “Minnie Pause and the Hot Flashes.” Must be a chick thing, but it works. Personal contacts work.

We have Christmas Theatre, Path to the Cradle, and Christmas Eve services. I am no George Barna, but I guarantee this. Christmas is the easiest time of year to invite a friend and the easiest to get them to come.

Here is a link to the schedules, times, and ticket info. Would you take a second and invite a friend? It could change everything for them.

http://www.jvbc.org/Christmas.htm

 
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November 9, 2009 8:30 a.m.

Life is filled with cycles and routines.

I have a favorite comedian. He talks in one routine about the difference between a job and a career.

One of the ways you can tell this difference is Monday morning.

If you have a job you hate Mondays. It is a long time to the weekend. The clock seems to move slowly on Monday mornings.

I love Mondays. It sets the pace and agenda for the whole week. This morning is when I plan my priorities and necessities and all that needs to occur this week. If I can go home tonight and know that I have had a productive Monday, then the rest of the week is really downhill after that.

I love the weekly cycle of worship, work, and rest; when I live according to God’s plan for my life. It has been that way from the beginning.

I also love the seasonal cycles. I will write the Call to Worship for Advent this morning. It is early November, but my mind is already wrapped around Christmas. I will set the rehearsal schedule for dramas during advent today. One way I stay fresh and excited about preaching is this…by the time I deliver a sermon on Sunday morning, the idea has been moving around in my mind for six weeks or so. I can’t wait for you to hear what I have had on my mind for a long time.

I am starting to get a picture of what the first sermon series of the New Year should be.

I also love longer cycles in life and ministry. We are in a season of economic recession. Do you remember the prognosticators who reassured us in February with the promise of a third quarter or fourth quarter rebound? We are there and it still hasn’t happened. Why? This season isn’t a six month season.

In the weekly cycles there are patterns of worship, work, and rest…and in yearly cycles there are four seasons and work, vacation and holidays…there are also patterns in the extended cycles of life.

We go through times of school, career, marriage, parenthood, empty nest [yeahh!!!], retirement etc. Those times are also punctuated with times of affluence and times of struggle. There are times of health and times of illness. There are times of family stability and times of dysfunction. These seasons are not as predictable or measurable as are the weekly day timer and the year long calendar.

So how do we keep life balanced in the midst of longer cycles such as economic recessions?

I had a friend who helped me greatly in this area. He said we have to live every day like we are going to live forever and every day like it is our last.

My ability to stay calm, cool and collected in long term instability is based on my ability to make the best of today. Good days make good weeks and good weeks make good seasons and good seasons make good lives.

So in summary….Happy Monday to you. Happy Monday to you. Happy Monday dear friend. Happy Monday to you!

November 5, 2009 9:30 a.m.

It has been an unusually busy week and something had to be neglected. For better or worse it was my blog. Let me catch you up on a couple of items for your prayer support and general information.

The search for Joe Houston continues. Members of our church continue to minister to the family. Below is a link to a blog that can keep you up to date.  Unbelievably his plane went down last Wednesday and they have not found him yet. We join the family in praying for a miracle. My specific prayer is that they find him very, very soon.

http://www.findjoehouston.blogspot.com/

Sometimes knowing nothing is worse than the reality of the situation.

I had the privilege of conducting three funeral services this week. I enjoy the different ways that people approach these services. I love hearing the different stories. Johnie Schulte’s service was on Monday. He lost a son eighteen years ago. He became a father figure to many men.

I asked the people who were at the service how many men considered Johnie a mentor or father figure. No less than 75 men raised their hand. I have never seen anything like it.

A Lutheran tradition is that the family goes to church at the church of the deceased the Sunday after the funeral. It is a really great idea. It is hard to reenter the worship center where you last saw your husband’s casket. Barbara will not be alone when she comes to church this Sunday.

I told the story of Johnie’s desire to be baptized by immersion, but not having the health to do that. I spoke with a lady this week who heard the story. The day after the service her mother told her she wanted to be immersed at our church. I will have the pleasure of performing that ceremony Saturday morning.

Even in the midst of a busy and sometimes crazy week you never know which story or which word will be the one that God uses to help and bless others.

I never cease to be amazed at the ways that God lets us in on all the things He does here.

Pigskin Pickins returns tomorrow with guest pickers. I went 5-0 last week. The pressure is on.

p.s. One of our church members is making free tickets to Christmas Theatre available to church members who can’t afford them. Contact me directly and I will take care of this for you.