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Past Articles – Messages of encouragement and information |
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What do you think about when you see the word “fellowship?” For many people, it means getting together to eat. We have “fellowship meals” in a “fellowship room.” Although we use the term frequently in context of getting together for a meal, there is much more involved in it. Fellowship is first of all a relationship we share because of our common faith in God through Jesus. God has called us into fellowship with Him through Jesus. (1 Cor 1:9) This relationship of fellowship is predicated on the message proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. (1 Jn 1:3) It is also predicated upon our walking in the light of God. (1 Jn 1:7) And yet, the concept of fellowship goes beyond a relationship in name. Fellowship because of Christ must express itself in our lives. We share our lives because we share the one Lord. We have a deacon who has been charged with helping to improve the expression of our fellowship as a church family. Gary Johnson has accepted this responsibility from our elders. His ministry is to serve as a catalyst for personal growth, involvement, and sharing of the common factor we have in Christ. Gary’s work focuses on ensuring that we have adequate opportunities to get to know one another as family. These opportunities include some of the things we are currently doing like our monthly birthday and anniversary pitch-ins, but will also seek to include other activities. From the perspective of some of our family, these activities just seem to happen. They are announced; we attend; we go home. How it gets planned, organized, set up, and taken down is not given much thought by some. We all know that these kinds of things don’t “just happen.” There is a lot of work behind the scenes involved in order to ensure that these events come off smoothly, and more importantly, that they accomplish their purpose. Some things in life are given’s. As surely as the sun comes up in the east, your help with fellowship opportunities will be sought. They are both given’s. When Gary, or someone working with him, asks you to help plan, or help set up, or help clean up afterwards, greet their request with enthusiasm – even the behind the scenes work is an opportunity for fellowship as we work with others of like precious faith. Until next time… Healthy congregations are made up of people of all ages. There are the aged who through their years of study in God’s word and practice living by it have etched the church’s path. There are those who are in the thick of rearing their children to the glory of God, working through all the struggles that accompany family life. And there are the young people who are so full of energy it tires some of us just to watch them. Each of these groups has its own assets which, when tapped, provides a great service to the church as a whole. It is the effective blending of these vastly different ages and their talents without compromising the faith that marks a healthy congregation. And that is no easy task! Our young people present some special challenges. Though their years span only a short time, their differences are dramatic. How can the church aid the parents in pointing them all to the walk of faith without overstepping the responsibilities of the parents? How can the church help bring into a cohesive group teens that attend competing schools? How can the church assist these young people in seeing the faith as more than “going to church?” One of our deacons, a man with young people himself, has risen to help coordinate these tasks. Jeff McClane has been charged by our elders to work closely with the youth and their parents to plan for the spiritual and social growth of our young people. He will help to coordinate activities that are designed to draw the young people together in spite of their academic rivalries. Yet these activities cannot be purely social gatherings or they do not focus the youth on the reason behind this intended unity – a common faith in the Lord Jesus. Woven within their activities will be moments that focus them towards that Lord who draws them each to His side. As with the other deacons, Jeff is not expected to handle this all by himself. He needs the help and cooperation of the parents of each of our young people. His work is to complement the work the family is already to be doing. When Jeff solicits your help, answer him as Isaiah did: Here am I. Send me. Working together with the family, the church can help our young people to develop into the church of both today and tomorrow, committed to walking in the faith as given in the New Testament. Until next time… 3/19/00 – Deacons: Communications We are said to be living in the information age. Gathering and using information is essential. There are things we really do need to know about. But sorting through the barrage of information to which we are exposed daily can be an exasperating task. With the advent of the telephone, radio, television, and now the computer, we have at our disposal more information than we could possibly use in several lifetimes. Some of this information we simply don’t want, at least not right now. All I really need to say is “Telemarketers” to illustrate that point. Television has become an advertising medium almost as much as it is an entertainment medium. Fortunately, if there is anything “fortunate” about that change, the ads are often times more entertaining than the programming. The U.S. Postal Service helps to contribute to our information barrage as well as do our newspapers. How much of your household waste consists of flyers from the mail or the paper? And we in the church add even more information. As a family in Christ, each of us needs to stay abreast of what is happening within our family. How do we communicate effectively with all the members of Columbus Avenue? That is the task that has been assigned to Mike Pryor, our deacon responsible for overseeing communications within the congregation. His responsibility is to communicate through every means possible the activities here at Columbus Avenue, both internally, i.e., to the congregation, and externally, i.e., to our community. To fulfill this responsibility, he has at his disposal many different avenues. Some of the means being utilized currently include the distribution of the bulletin by our greeters, “visitor packets” to our first-time visitors, and seeing that bulletin boards are used well. On the horizon are such things as taking advantage of e-mail for those who are “on line,” and working up a site on the World Wide Web computer network to inform the world about Columbus Avenue, and establishing a “calling tree” by which we can contact every member of the church quickly whenever such a need arises. As with our other deacons, Mike has those who help him. When he talks to you about assisting in some capacity, consider the magnitude of the communication task, and stand ready to help in whatever way you can. Until next time… 3/26/00 – Deacons: Comfort and Security The snow was blowing softly in the gentle breeze. The pond had a skim of ice on it that morning. It was a beautiful wintry day. And it was the Lord’s Day. Up before the chickens, you have donned your boots, heavy coat, scarf, and gloves. You’ve stoked the fire at home, and have taken out a few coals to take to the meetinghouse. Because you live close to the meetinghouse, you have the responsibility of getting the stove going on the Lord’s Day so that when the church family arrives, it will be warm inside. Some of our family here can remember those days. Fortunately, we don’t need someone to come from home with some coals to kindle a fire in a potbelly stove any more. We don’t even need for someone to come over early to turn up the thermostats. Programmable thermostats have made life a lot easier for all of us. It’s a wonderful time we live in, at least concerning creature comforts. But there are tradeoffs to the comfort we enjoy. Our meetinghouse (a word almost inadequate for the facilities we occupy) has a number of furnace and air conditioning units. While their work is automatic for the most part, the church needs someone who can ensure that they are adequately maintained, and even replaced periodically. They just don’t last forever. Our elders have charged Jim Hodges as the deacon responsible for ensuring that our meetinghouse is adequately heated and cooled. With as many HVAC units as we have, it can take some time. Have you taken time to thank Jimmy for making our time in the building so pleasant? Because of the size of our facilities, we are concerned not only with comfort but with safety. Our safety concerns include such things as fire extinguishers and fire alarms, our lighting systems, and even our parking lot. Our elders have charged Charles Buckner as the deacon responsible for the safety areas of our facilities. While we don’t need someone to come over with coals to kindle a fire, there are tasks that these areas open up for others to work with Jimmy and Charles. Have you counted the filters that need changing regularly, or the light fixtures that need attention from time to time? As a family, we can share in the upkeep of these areas of our meetinghouse. Want to help out? Talk to Jimmy or Charles about how they can use you to help out in some way. Until next time… |
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