Our demand for food is up
Please help stock our empty shelves!!
Please Support United Christian Ministries Food Drive
When: This Friday & Saturday Sept. 22 & 23
Friday 10:00am – 6pm
Saturday 10:00am – 2pm
Plus Hot Dog Sale Both Days!!!
Pastor's Tea for Ladies of the Church
Let’s Be Honest: No One Wants to Be a Servant to All
Many years ago, I served in an associate role alongside an interim pastor at a First Baptist Church in a far-off town.
We were going off to lunch in my vehicle one day, passing by in front of the church. The interim pastor pointed out the window as we pulled out and remarked, “Look at that garbage on the sidewalk. We need to get someone to pick that up.”
I put my foot on the brake and began to slow down.
“I’m happy to pull off. We could pick up the trash real fast,” I offered.
My colleague guffawed and waved me off saying, “And how would that look? The pastor of the First Baptist Church picking up garbage!”
Appearances matter. Don’t deny it. Who among us doesn’t wish to be regarded as the best or most important? Admit it, y’all. We all want to sit at the head of the table; whichever table that may be.
“Status is not a gift of the Spirit.”
With that opening salvo, Dr. Craig Hill goes about the work of challenging us about our desire to be at the top of the heap in his book, Servant of All: Status, Ambition and the Way of Jesus.
Status can be defined as one’s position of prominence or rank. It’s a limited commodity in our world. You can gain it. You can lose it. Status is valuable and can be traded for worldly treasures, admiration and potentially—if you play your cards right—power and control. “Power, wealth and physical attractiveness are common denominators of status,” Hill argues, “which are displayed in everything from job titles to clothing styles, food preferences to street addresses.”
We shouldn’t be surprised by the irony on display in social media. Many of us are aware that the way to post ‘updates’ about ourselves on Facebook is colloquially known as our ‘status.’ Oh yes, social media is to status as gasoline is to fire.
But then, Hill levels the boom on faithful followers of the Son of God when he posits: “Has anyone but Jesus lived with such utter disregard for social status?”
No, our insatiable desire to look good, accomplish much, and rule over the masses was not learned from Jesus. Think about it. Jesus himself rejects the temptation to be first and best. Rather, he relentlessly champions a Kingdom that values the least of these, and is best described as a Great Reversal. Jesus teaches parables that proclaim an upside-down values system. Furthermore, Jesus cautions us to not practice our piety for worldly reward. He condemns the hypocrites who like to be seen and heard. He rejects the idea that our material wealth is a sign of Divine blessing—surely a rebuke to proclaimers of a prosperity gospel. It’s clear, isn’t it? Jesus is not like us.
Jesus is, without question, a servant. “He showed no concern for his own standing, spending most of his days in the company of the socially insignificant and marginalized.”
Sadly, as history and our own personal experiences will yield, we do not live up to Jesus’ ideals, commandments and expectations. The disciples, of course, are prime evidence to this point, but we too are driven by own our ambitions to be ‘something’ in this world.
Hill will argue that it is not whether we will be ambitious for high-standing in the world, but rather toward what we are ambitious, and why.
To make his point, Hill states that we are to model our life after Jesus and that we are to be zealous and ambitious for the good of all, and not simply seek the good of the self or the individual.
I struggle with this. I am proud of my accomplishments, my pursuits and my post at the First Baptist Church of our fair town. I carefully craft my entries on social media to look clever, successful and admirable. And before you think that the interim pastor who didn’t want to be confused with a sidewalk custodian was some villain, consider the fact that I knew exactly what I was doing when I suggested that we stop to pick up the trash. Let me be clear. I was intent on shaming, not service.
What will be the guiding principle in our lives? Will it be what’s best for ourselves? Will it be our ruthless attempt to improve our own standing, and to garner the most praise, or get what we ourselves want? We’re not so different from Jesus’s own disciples who told the Son of God: “Hey. Do whatever we ask of you.”
We can choose to do this. It’s certainly the path of least resistance in our world. We can tread down that path. But when we do, we won’t look anything like Jesus.
Nope. Not one bit. And that prospect haunts and convicts me.
How about you?
Hurricane Disaster Relief Team
FBC Sylva is putting together a group of individuals who are interested in going to either Texas or Florida to help with hurricane disaster relief. The prospective dates are Oct. 22 - 29. If you are interested in joining or donating to this cause, please contact Harold Messer: 828-586-9416, or the church office: 828-586-2095, fbcsylva@gmail.com.
1st Explorers Staff Spotlight
Get to know our 1st Explorers staff as we highlight a different staff member every week!
MEET HEAVEN LEMUS
Where are you from?
My momma. Kidding.
Globe, Arizona
Statesville, North Carolina
Where are you in school? What year are you? What’s your major?
I am a Junior at Western Carolina University where I am working on my Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship with a cognate in Art.
When you were in Kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?
In kindergarten, I wanted to be a doctor and fix people.
Now, today, what kind of career do you want to have?
For my career, I would like to start my own School, Art Center or Business.
Favorite Bible verse or story? Why?
1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
This is my favorite verse because, I believe love is the strongest thing on earth. It has the ability to change people, can cure hatred, and can be shared with anyone.
“I spend a lot of my free time doing…”
Things on my phone: looking up crafts for Art, searching wedding ideas, talking to friends/family.
One thing I love about living in Western North Carolina is…
the scenery and the many colors nature has to offer.
One thing I want to do before graduating is…
to take a moment to reflect on college life. To look back and see how what has happened and where I’m going is making me into the person God intended me to be.
A Note from Jameson Stout
Church Family,
Now that I am considered officially recovered by my doctors, I wanted to take a moment to thank you all. Afton and I have never been more humbled and appreciative of the love and prayers offered on our behalf as I recovered from my incident this past June. I have received many cards, meals, and encouraging words that have helped bolster my faith more than many of you may ever know. While there were many times I may have questioned "Why?" to God; it is because of your charity and support that I never doubted who God is and how he cares for all of us. Once again, we thank you and may God bless you and this congregation.
In Christ,
Jameson Stout
Humbled at the Nursing Home
On the first Wednesday of each month, I visit two nursing homes and help to provide a brief worship experience with their residents.
I do not go alone.
Dr. Bob Holquist and Barbara Vance have been committed to this ministry for many years. Additionally, many others have joined us in singing hymns and visiting with the residents. Furthermore, you won’t be surprised to learn that on selected Sundays throughout the year, both men and women’s groups from our church also take turns in providing a worship service in our community’s other assisted living facilities. I am proud of our church’s leadership in this ministry, and I am touched by our church member’s kind and gracious presence with the elderly. In truth, these individuals have been effective teachers for me in the discipline of providing pastoral care.
Ministry to individuals in our nursing homes can be difficult. Many will characterize these visits to be sober and disheartening. They will say that the visits remind them of their parents’ or grandparents’ slow declines in the last seasons of their lives. Others will claim that they feel haunted by the reality that many of the residents’ dearest loved ones have already died. And then some of us may harbor feelings of guilt and regret for decisions made about loved ones’ extended care in the past. Who among us isn’t touched by the residents’ chronic pain, physical and mental disabilities and the hardships that accompany the loss of mobility and freedom?
In truth, we resist frequenting these assisted living facilities because the trips can feel uncomfortable. They can remind us of the fragility of life, as well as the inescapable realities of pain and suffering, loss and death. The experience of visiting a nursing home can feel alien to us and we often find ourselves counting the minutes until it’s time to leave. It is little wonder that these group homes are not littered with visitors, family members and young people.
But they should be because ministry to the elderly is one of the surest embodiments of servanthood.
The life to which we are called, namely a life of service as modeled by our Lord Jesus Christ, is hard work. First and foremost, service requires sacrifice. Whether we sacrifice time, energy or our comfort, service to others requires that we willingly give something up out of concern for someone else. When we visit and care for those in the last season of their lives, we do so with the faith that our presence, our touch, and our words matter.
Visits to our local nursing homes require patience and gentleness. Upon arriving at the facilities, our church members take their time in greeting the residents who are in various states of vitality. I am deeply moved by the way in which our church members bend down to look individuals in the eyes, or who help to straighten someone’s bib, or who comment on an elderly woman’s baby doll. Their touch brings life to the residents’ eyes. Their words evoke a sweet smile, reminiscent of the grin they may have once had when their grandchildren walked in the front door. When I see our church members visit these residents, I see Jesus’s unqualified love. When I hear our church members patiently answer a question that has been offered multiple times, I see God’s persistent and gracious presence. When I see our church members linger by the wheelchair of a person who is comatose and unresponsive, I feel the strength of the Holy Spirit turning the linoleum tile into holy ground.
These hospitable visitors provide pastoral care for no other reason than the blessing that they receive from putting someone else’s needs before their own. Service is best embodied in the humbling image of a Christ who takes on the role of a servant and washes his disciples’ feet. As followers of this Christ, this should define our identity and shape our call.
I know what service and selflessness is because of the witness of our church members’ willingness to serve. You serve because you love. You love because God first loved you. God’s love is embodied and made incarnate when you share His love with these who yearn to feel the warmth of another. I am grateful for your inconspicuous ministry and I am humbled by the way in which you allow Christ to live in you.
To myself and to the rest of us, I must reflect on the question that Martin Luther King, Jr. once asked: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
We look most like God when we serve others in love. But service does more than that. The act of providing care and assistance takes the emphasis off ourselves and gives us a refreshing perspective on the world around us. For when we are focused solely on our own family’s needs, desires and agendas, we over-inflate our own anxieties and undervalue the needs and concerns of others. In short, service reorients our perspective and moves us from entitlement—or what we feel is owed to us—to loving kindness.
Thank you, First Baptist Church, for teaching me what it looks like to serve in such selfless, beautiful and Christ-like ways. May we all be inspired by the way in which you think of others before yourself.
A Note from Virginia and Frank
To My Church Family
Thank you for the texts, calls, cards, and prayers during our father’s illness and death. You love and support is very comforting.
Virginia B Milligan
Louise & Frank C. Burrell
1st Explorers Staff Spotlight
Get to know our 1st Explorers staff as we highlight a different staff member every week!
Meet Alexis Dills
-Where are you from?
I'm from sylva
-Where are you in school? What year are you? What's your major?
I am in my first year of college, I want to major in physical education
-When you were in Kindergarten, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was in kindergarten when I grew up I wanted to be a mechanic and work with my dad
-Now, today, what kind of a career do you want to have?
Now today I want to be a PE coach
-Favorite Bible verse or story (and why?):
My favorite bible verse is "I can do all things through a Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 that's my favorite verse because I know I can do anything I set my mind to because God is always with me no matter what!
-"I spend a lot of my free time doing..."
"I spend a lot of my free time with my family and friends, going to church and going fishing with my papaw"
-One thing I love about living in Western North Carolina is...
One thing I love about Western North Carolina is there's so many places to go on adventures and go hiking and it's beautiful here.
-One thing I want to do before graduating is...
-One thing I want to do before graduating is lead at least one person in the direction of knowing Jesus.
1st Explorers Newsletter
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