First through fifth graders are encouraged to read a book a week in our 8-week challenge starting June 18th. See Cheryl Beck for a calendar where you will record the books you read. At the end of the challenge, prizes will be awarded. Be sure and check out the church library for some great new titles. Find some books you like and get lost in the world of reading!
On the Horizon: Sunset at Waterrock Knob THIS Sunday, July 16
We warmly invite you to be part of our church family gathering on an extraordinary evening at Waterrock Knob. Join us at 7:00 PM THIS Sunday, July 16 for an unforgettable experience filled with delightful desserts, uplifting devotion, and a breathtaking sunset. Situated along the picturesque Blue Ridge Parkway, at mile post 451, Waterrock Knob offers a spacious and inviting open field, ideal for relaxing on lawn chairs, cozy blankets, and enjoying some frisbee fun. We'll be setting up a couple of tables, and we kindly request you to contribute a dessert of your choice (did someone say cobbler?) to share with everyone. Let's come together and create lasting memories in the embrace of God’s love.
Women’s Missionary Union Regional Annual Meeting
Ladies! The Women’s Missionary Union regional Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at Lighthouse Baptist Church on Hwy 441 S from 9-12. The cost is $15. The meetings are very interesting and since it is being held 4 miles from our church, it would wonderful for us to go. We will have wonderful speakers and it would be an excellent way to meet other WMU members in our county and Western NC. Hope you can attend! If you need help with your reservation, please call Gaye at 828-506-3270. To make your reservation yourself, send an email to assistlbc@frontier.com.
On the Horizon: Sunset at Waterrock Knob on July 16
We warmly invite you to be part of our church family gathering on an extraordinary evening at Waterrock Knob. Join us at 7:00 PM on Sunday, July 16 for an unforgettable experience filled with delightful desserts, uplifting devotion, and a breathtaking sunset. Situated along the picturesque Blue Ridge Parkway, at mile post 451, Waterrock Knob offers a spacious and inviting open field, ideal for relaxing on lawn chairs, cozy blankets, and enjoying some frisbee fun. We'll be setting up a couple of tables, and we kindly request you to contribute a dessert of your choice (did someone say cobbler?) to share with everyone. Let's come together and create lasting memories in the embrace of God’s love.
How Are We to Be Church When We Always Have Something Better to Do?
When I was a child growing up in Atlanta, the Fourth of July followed a familiar script. However, amidst the vegetable gardening, bean snapping, and homemade ice cream, my family had an unusual tradition: we went to church. This begs the question, why would we spend a portion of the Fourth of July at church?
One of our church traditions was to have a cookout on the Fourth in the pine trees beside the church. The pastor would don his white apron and chef’s hat and hover over a grill flipping something he called ‘Pastor Burgers.’ The burgers were charred to a crisp and nearly inedible. Even as a child, I wondered: “Why is he doing this? The burgers are terrible.”
But today, I ask another question: “Why did we do this?
I suppose that we gathered at church on the Fourth because it was where our friends were. Perhaps we showed up for ‘Pastor Burgers’ because our church was sponsoring it, and we felt obligated to go. Maybe it was because the road below the church was a great place to view the fireworks at Stone Mountain Park.
Or perhaps the most honest answer is the correct one. We went to a church event on the Fourth of July because we had nothing better to do.
More than ever these days, we have something better to do than go to church.
It’s a New Old World.
In an era where weekends are filled with travel opportunities, children’s sports events dominate calendars, and family commitments abound, church has become something we do when nothing else is happening. Our priorities are reflected in our calendars and credit card statements, and not surprisingly, participation in the church’s life is suffering.
Embracing a Wider Mission.
Let’s remind ourselves about Jesus’s parable of the great dinner, where the original invitees made excuses, prompting the host to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame to fill his house. This shift from a failed attraction to a mission intended to bless a wider audience represents a valuable lesson for the church. During our lifetimes, the church has focused on attracting people through events, activities, and ministries. However, as people’s lives become busier and with more attractive ways to pass the time, the church’s event schedule and calendar can no longer compete.
The church we know and love has been in the attraction business for the better part of a century. Church leaders and clergy created events, activities, and ministries to attract people to attend church. Children and youth ministries filled a void in young people’s calendars. Churches built gymnasiums and ball fields to capture the sports-minded enthusiasts. Playgrounds, parlors, pool tables, and ping pong all found their place in our churches to sweeten the invitation to attend whatever dinner the head chef whipped up.
But what happens when the church’s event schedule and calendar can no longer compete with the other things people have going on? And let’s be honest. The competition for people’s free time is an epic battle that the church is losing (engagement, participation, and attendance at US churches are down 28% across the board since before the pandemic).
Adapting to the Changing Landscape.
In telling the parable of the great dinner party, Jesus describes God’s shift from a failed attraction—literally, an event that didn’t attract people—to a mission intended to bless a broader audience that didn’t have something better to do. What does it look like for us to do the same? The following questions arise as we seek to shift from being an attraction to a mission-driven community:
How can the church offer a compelling invitation to be the Body of Christ that resonates with individuals amidst their busy lives and competing commitments?
What practices and initiatives can help the church foster a sense of community and connection that rivals the attractions and distractions of the modern world?
How can the church encourage individuals to embrace their purpose and calling within the context of their broader community?
What externally focused ministries can the church employ to engage and serve the wider audience, including those who believe they have something better to do?
So What?
Being part of the Body of Christ is a profoundly important aspect of life and our purpose in this world. As the church faces the challenge of competing with the myriad distractions of modern life, we must shift from being solely focused on attraction to embracing a mission-driven mindset. While definitive answers may elude us (if not confound us), we must face these questions head-on to embody God’s transformative love and purpose. By adapting and reimagining our role, the church can reclaim its relevance and become a source of inspiration, community, and mission in a world where something better always seems to beckon.
Summer Reading Round-Up for Children
There are 2 opportunities for children to hone their reading skills over the summer. First, preschoolers are invited to go "Down on the Farm" on Mondays, July 10, 17, 24, and 31 in the reading program geared for them and a parent, grandparent, or guardian. The program will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each of those days. There is no cost and it will be a "barnful" of fun! Please register to participate by July 5th by calling the church office at 586-2095.
First through fifth graders are encouraged to read a book a week in our 8-week challenge starting June 18th. See Cheryl Beck for a calendar where you will record the books you read. At the end of the challenge, prizes will be awarded. Be sure and check out the church library for some great new titles. Find some books you like and get lost in the world of reading!
Youth Newsletter
Click HERE to view the spring youth newsletter!
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 2023 General Assembly
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s 2023 General Assembly will be June 28-30 in Atlanta, GA
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." – Hebrews 10:23-25
Please follow the conversations that emerge from next week's gathering of our closest friends and partners in
ministry.
Flowers for Sanctuary
If you would like to provide flowers in the sanctuary for Sunday morning services, please contact Gwen Messer at 828-506-8370, or Janice in the church office to be placed on the calendar.
Sour Cream Blueberry Pie
An easy blueberry pie that you'll make over and over again.
Ingredients
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
1 egg, beaten
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 9” unbaked pie shell
Topping Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat sour cream, flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, egg, lemon juice, and cinnamon together with mixer. Fold in blueberries and pour into pie crust. In a small bowl, cut butter into flour. You can use a fork and just kind of mash it all together. Mix the nuts into the butter and flour. Sprinkle over the pie before baking.
–Provided by Tonya Lloyd
Sour Cream Blueberry Pie
Click here to download a printable version.
–Provided by Tonya Lloyd