THE PASTOR S DESK. Sunday, September 23, Please Join Us! Jeff Smith & Josh Reed Revival

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1 P I T T S B O R O B A P T I S T C H U R C H THE PASTOR S DESK Volume 62, Issue 8 August 2018 The Spiral - Keeping the people informed Sunday, September 23, 2018 Please Join Us! Jeff Smith & Josh Reed Revival 9:30 a.m. Sunday School Jeff Smith (Part 1) 10:30 a.m. Worship Jeff Smith (Part 2) 5:00 p.m. Church-Wide Fellowship Meal 6:00 p.m. Josh Reed

2 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPL E INFORMED Page 2 Help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend. What to Expect GriefShare is a support group that meets weekly. You ll find a warm, caring environment and will come to see your group as an oasis on your long journey through grief. There are three key parts to your GriefShare experience: Video seminar Encouraging, information packed videos featuring leading grief recovery experts. Support group Small group discussion about the weekly video content Workbook Journaling and personal study exercises that reinforce the weekly session topics. When & Where GriefShare meets at Pittsboro Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, Sunday afternoons, 2:30pm 4:30pm Cost There is a $20 fee to participate in a GriefShare cycle (orientation + thirteen seminars) Scholarships available. Seminar Topics and Calendar Orientation (one hour) August 5 Is This Normal? August 12 Challenges of Grief August 19 The Journey of Grief- Part One August 26 The Journey of Grief- Part Two September 9 Grief and Your Relationships September 16 Why? September 30 Guilt and Anger October 7 Complicating Factors October 14 Stuck October 21 Lessons of Grief Part 1 & 2 October 28 Surviving the Holidays November 4 Heaven November 11 What Do I Live for Now? November 18 You are welcome to begin attending our GriefShare group at any point. Each session is selfcontained, so you do not have to attend in sequence. You will be able to pick up any sessions you missed in our next 13- week cycle. How to Sign-up Telephone the Pittsboro Baptist Church office at , sign up at the back table or contact: Rhonda or rflym@gmail.com Julie (hm) (cell) or Julie@jilcpa.com

3 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 3 The Art of Marriage- September The marriage retreat for Pittsboro Baptist Church couples is being held on September It is an opportunity for a mountain get-away to refresh, reflect, and refocus on each other and God s will in your marriage. The Art of Marriage, facilitated by Paul and Julie LoRusso, portrays both the challenges and beauty of God s design for marriage by weaving together expert teaching, real-life stories, and humorous vignettes. The cost is $360 per couple which includes two nights lodging and four meals. A $100 deposit is due by August 26. The retreat, to be held at Ridgecrest, will begin the evening of Friday, September 28, then conclude at lunch, Sunday, September 30. If you are interested in participating, please contact Paul LoRusso by paul@jilcpa.com or pbccontactus@gmail.com or telephone

4 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 4 The song you know, the story you don t I CAN ONLY IMAGINE An Erwin Brothers Film Movie Night at PBC Sponsored by LIFE group When: Wednesday August 8 th at 6:30pm Where: Sanctuary Who: You and all your friends and family (Kids 1 st grade and under will have a separate movie) Snacks: Popcorn and water Join us for dessert in the Fellowship Hall following the movie

5 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 5 By Jennifer Cashion Children s Miniser Each year, during Vacation Bible School, our little church is overflowing with children learning about Jesus, praising God and having fun. Every year, Pittsboro Baptist Church Vacation Bible School sponsors a mission project in which the kids can either donate items or money. This year we chose the ministry, Pure Water, Pure Love, as one of our mission projects. During the Worship Rally and the VBS Mission Rotation, the children learned that millions of people in the world do not have clean water. They learned that in some parts of the world women and children will walk for six hours to carry water back to their homes. We told them that they can show Jesus love for the missionaries and the people they serve, by donating money that will buy filters. For two days, the children brought in their quarters nickels, and dimes. A total of $1, was collected for Pure Water, Pure Love. We sent the check to WMU after VBS and in return we received the following letter:

6 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 6 Meet Ralph and Jenny Sears When he was a child, Ralph Sears, Pittsboro Baptist Church s newly appointed Youth Minister, wanted to be a pastor. There were no Christians in his family, but on Sunday mornings, little Ralph would walk alone, Gideon Bible in hand, to a Cambridge, Massachusetts church. At the age of six, God directed Ralph to ask a priest to accompany him at the front altar to serve as witness to his confession of sins and acceptance that Jesus had died for those sins. In looking back, it was evident that God was directing me to the church and to the pastors who would lead me, Ralph commented. With a bachelor s degree in Music Education and a Master of Science in Math and Computer Science, both from the University of Lowell (MA), Ralph s career has varied from teaching music in elementary schools and math and computer programming in community colleges to working in information technology to running his own consulting business. Throughout, Ralph has used his skills, talents, and gifts to serve God by teaching Sunday School, working with inner-city youth, or planting churches. After graduation from college, Ralph moved to Dallas, TX to work for Texas Instruments. He constantly prayed, and knew that God wanted him to serve, thinking it would be as pastor. However, for several years Ralph s role was in a variety of other capacities, serving as needed, as lay minister of education, doing outreach, leading music, and sometimes doing all the jobs in a new church plant. Though he felt he wanted to be senior pastor, when opportunities arose for ordination, he knew the timing was not right to be ordained. Each time, the Lord said, Not yet! Ralph and wife, Jenny moved their family to Tennessee where Ralph began his own consulting business, working in manufacturing analysis and commodity management. It was highly successful. We were rich! Ralph explained. They used their wealth to help fund Campus Crusade ministries. Ralph designed a funding program utilizing business contacts and over a two month period raised $62,000 with the goal of funding Campus Crusade staff along the entire East Coast. When two of his contractors refused to pay, his consulting business suffered and the family had to live off savings. When 9/11 hit, Campus Crusade had a need for a specific ministry in New York City that needed exactly $62,000. The Sears gladly gave it, saying it was God s money. For quite awhile, Ralph and Jenny flailed around taking substitute teaching jobs, but then he took a job with Nortel in 1999 which brought them to North Carolina. In 2001, the Sears bought a house. Two weeks later, Ralph was laid off with Nortel shutting down RTP operations. Since then, he has spent more time not working than working. They each have continued to serve in ministries at First Baptist Church, Durham, where they were members. Though I wanted to serve as senior pastor and in adult education, I finally submitted to God s calling to be a youth pastor, Ralph stated. It became evident even prior to July 1, when Ralph Sears officially became the long-prayed for PBC Youth Minister, that where Ralph serves, his wife, Jenny also serves. After first meeting at an Easter Sunrise Service in Dallas, Texas, Ralph and Jenny discovered they went to the same church and lived only three miles apart. God kept bringing them together as their paths crisscrossed via their various but separate ministries. They will celebrate 32 years of marriage August 2. (Continued on next page)

7 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPL E INFORMED Page 7 Jenny was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and after moving to Atlanta and Memphis, her family settled in Houston, Texas, when she was seven years old. She attended two Christian colleges, Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee and John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, majoring in English. For the past thirteen years, Jenny has continually worked in the public school system, and is currently a teacher assistant overseeing the writing curriculum for Mangum Elementary School s fourth and fifth grades in Bahama. She is a writer, focusing primarily on short stories for children. Ralph noted that his wife won an award at the Christian Writer s Conference in Ridgecrest this past spring. They have two sons, Brennan, age 30 who is married with two sons of his own and works at Fidelity, and is attending Shepherd s Theological Seminary in Cary. Taylor, age 28, just became a medical doctor and is serving his first year of residency at Spartanburg General in South Carolina. Often youth ministers begin serving immediately after college or even while still in college. When it comes to potential concerns about Ralph being a more mature age, he stated, God s Word draws a person, not a personality. A personality will draw people for a period of time, but it is God s Word that will last. Praying has an intimacy and a closeness. Students can definitely pray, Ralph continued, but I don t think people recognize that they should be praying, because they are not adults. I think that is a mistake. I think praying draws closeness. With the Pittsboro Baptist Youth, Ralph wants to instill in them the need for a quiet time, a need for a relationship with God, so that they will walk in a manner worthy of their calling. To me that would be successful. Eighty percent of the decisions for Christ are made by the age of fourteen. If that is the case, I want to make sure that everybody before the age of fourteen is hearing the gospel. If you are waiting until they are adults, it is too late. Ralph said Working with youth is not all fun and games, said Jenny. I think that sometimes in youth ministry, people lose sight of that. In her youth group growing up, Jenny explained that her youth pastor was a mature man and though he did not say anything different from the parents, the youth were more likely to listen because he wasn t their parents. He had the maturity that someone in their twenties may not have. You don t go into youth ministry for the warm fuzzies. You may not get a lot of positive feedback, but regardless of what you see on the outside, you know that God is working on their hearts. Ralph described the people at PBC as sweet and loving. We were marveling and told our kids, You won t believe this church, but they actually love each other. It is amazing! Ralph said he still gets a tear in his eye thinking about the telephone call from Pastor Tripp telling him that he got the job, with the church members, who had just voted him in, cheering in the background. What a sweet, sweet welcome. In addition to serving as the PBC Youth Minister, a part-time position, Ralph is Director of Sales, Marketing, and Development for a start-up company called Tasti, a business catering service. Ralph and Jenny currently live in Hillsborough. The contact information for the Sears is: Ralph : ralphsears@gmail.com, (cell) Jenny: jsearsmail@gmail.com, (cell)

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9 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 9 Hey Y all, A Note from Katie Lipofski I hope everyone is having a good summer. It doesn t even feel like summer to me because I m taking so many classes. Just to let you all know I graduated basic training last week (June 28th) then shipped out the next day to AIT (in Gulfport, Mississippi). I really miss being able to go to church each Sunday. I m trying to do a bible challenge that they have for troops. It s really hard with my training taking up most of the day. A normal day here in AIT is: 4:45 Wake up 5:05 PT 6:55 Breakfast 8-11:30 Class 11:30 Lunch 12:15-16:00 Class 16:00 Dinner 17:30-18:30 Study Hall 18:30-19:15 Barracks Cleaning 19:15-20:20 Personal Time 20:20 Formation & Bed I only have like an hour to do what I want. After the third week, I ll be able to go to the beach on the weekends. We have the weekends off but I m not allowed to go off post right now. It s not really that bad. Basic was tough some days but overall it was fun. Looking back on it, I can t really believe I did it. I m just glad that I have a little more freedom now. At AIT it s like being in college. I m really looking forward to being home in a few weeks. Most of y all have had some impact on my life, if you know it or not. I ve really looked up to Alex P., Karlie, Alex C and Morgan. Each one of you had your life on the right path and I just never seemed to get mine there. Jackson and Jamison, I ve really tried to be a good example for you but it never really happened. The rest of you, I haven t really connected much with because of the age difference but hopefully once I get back home I can try to help you. I really hope that I can help some of the middle schoolers, so then they won t make the same mistakes I did. Congrats to Alex Parker and Karlie for graduating high school. I wish both luck on the next step in life, college. I most likely won t be home in time to see you before you both leave but I hope you both have fun and make sure to stay close to Christ. Make sure you don t let others pull you away from God. Just remember what it says in 1Timothy 4:12 Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. This isn t just for the ones heading off to college. Each one of you should try to be setting a good example for people when you go back to school. Again, I hope you have a great Summer. If you want to write to me, My address is: PVT Lipofski, Katie L. C Co 169th EN BN 5510 CBC 8th St. Bldg 315 Gulfport, MS I m praying for each one of you!

10 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 10 AUGUST 1 Trudy Sturdivant Carole Sanders 2 Maria Powers Don & Sherry Dodson 3 Janet Crutchfield Donna Whitt Minges Jennifer Davis Martha Brigman Devin Ridge Dwight & Marilyn Tyndall 5 Robyn Rhyne 7 Jeff & Debra Magee 8 JoLynn Perry 9 Erica Melton 11 Judy Beaver 12 Kuper Batcheller 13 Greg & Cindy Springle 14 Robert Johnson 14 Stephanie Mueller 15 Ken Haynes 18 Doug Clark Callan Ridge 19 Lula Bryant 22 Larry Gillam Kenna Martin III 25 Ryan Ridge Katie Stokes Hannah Brown Jeremy Smith 26 Joyce Dahmer 27 Spencer Braswell Andrew Parker Ryan Dibb 28 Debra Magee 30 Reagan Mueller

11 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 11 Ushers Frank Jurius, Chad Lambert Aaron Kivette & Don Dodson Greeters Jimmy Griffin, Susie Griffin & Geraldine Howard August 5 August 12 August 19 August 26 Beth Parker & Jen Gunter Ken Haynes & Erica Melton Jennifer Davis & Jackson Davis Karl Shaffer & Kimberly Houston Laura Stutzman & Andrea Hedgepeth Amy Dibb & Andrew Dibb Darren Powers & Owen Powers Tara Smith & Jeremy Smith August 5 August 12 August 19 August 26 Jo Lynn Perry & Carole Sanders Kathryn Poe & Jen Gunter Chad Lambert & Jill Lambert Jenice Walton & Jennifer Cashion

12 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 12 August marks the Dog Days of Summer and maybe one more time for a vacation get away. It is the perfect time to pick up a novel or two from the fiction section of the Pittsboro Baptist Church Library to read at the beach, lake, or mountains or in the cooling comfort of your air conditioned home. Each of the books suggested below are from a series, so as soon as you finish the first one, you will be wanting to read the second book. The Prince Warrior Series by Priscilla Shirer Get your 8- to 12-year-olds thinking about the reality of spiritual warfare---and challenge them to put on "the full armor of God"! Like most young brothers, Xavier and Evan are used to battling each other. But when they're whisked into the mysterious world of Ahoratos, they must stand together---against a far more frightening enemy! Featuring volumes 1 through 3 in the series, The Prince Warriors, The Prince Warriors and the Unseen Invasion, and The Price Warriors and the Swords of Rhema. Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years, they are the perfect books for kids participating in Read On! The PBC 2018 Summer Reading Program. (copied from christianbook,com) The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis Amelia "Amy" DeVries, a 24-year-old violinist, is disillusioned with life and love after the collapse of her long-running romance. Weary of endless rehearsals and performances, Amy sets out on a road trip through the Pennsylvania mountains. She leaves her cell phone behind so life's demands can't intrude on her solitude. She doesn't know, nor care, where she will end up. When her car breaks down deep in the mountains, Amy realizes the flaw in her "no cell phone" plan. She abandons her car and walks the winding roads, searching for help. Following the smell of woodsmoke and the sound of music, she finds a rustic log cabin. There she meets a young Amishman--and through him a community--that will change her life forever. ( The Home to Hickory Hollow Series Book 2: The Secret Keeper, Book 3: The Last Bride) (copied from amazon.com)

13 THE SPIRAL - KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED Page 13 Cassidy by Lori Wick Token Creek, Montana Territory, 1880 Cassidy Norton is a fine seamstress who makes her living sewing for others. Amid the bustle of a busy frontier town, her life is rich. What time her business doesn't take, her friends and church family fill. But Cassidy hasn't always lived in Token Creek, and few people know her full story. So she struggles with a nagging unsettledness in her heart. Cassidy's friend Meg is married to a rancher and has a baby, something Cassidy wants for herself. But that would mean revealing the details of her life. Will Cassidy find the strength to take that risk? (Big Sky Dreams Series Book 2: Sabrina, Book 3: Jessie) (copied from amazon.com) August Library Schedule 9-9:30a.m :30a.m. August 5 Judy Beaver Barbara Jones August 12 Cindy Springle Susie Griffin August 19 Kathy Shaffer Kathy Shaffer August 26 Susie Griffin Roderick Parker

14 Creator of all, Thank you for Summer! Thank you for the warmth of the sun & increased daylight Thank you for the beauty I can see around me and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy your creation. Thank you for the increased time I have to be with my Family & Friends and for the more casual summer season. Draw me closer to You this summer. Teacher me how I can pray no matter where I am or what I am doing. Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence and light my path with your work and counsel. As I enjoy Your creation, create in me a pure heart and a hunger and thirst for you. Amen 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 10:00am Prayer Quilt Ministry 6:30pm Life Group pm Adult Choir 3:00pm Praise Team 2:30pm Griefshare 5:00pm 1Way Choir :30am Staff Mtg 10:30am 3L s 10:00am Prayer Quilt Ministry 3:00pm Senior Choir singing at Cambridge 6:30pm Movie Night Budget request forms available for pick up in vestibule 12:00 Lifegroup Committee Meeting 2:30pm GriefShare 5pm JD s Ice Cream/ Donut party 9:30am Staff Mtg 7:00pm Property Mgmt 7:00pm Judgement House Leadership Meeting 10:00am Prayer Quilt Ministry 7pm Adult Choir 3:00pm Praise Team :30pm Griefshare 5:00pm 1 Way Choir 9:30am Staff Mtg 11:30 Lunch Break Missions 10:00am Prayer Quilt Ministry All 2019 Budget Request Forms Due Today New Members Mtg 2:30pm Griefshare JD s back to school pool party 9:30am Staff Mtg 7:00pm Judgement House Meeting 10:00am Prayer Quilt Ministry