The Messenger June 2016

Transcription

1 The Messenger June 2016 Cumberland Plateau Baptist Association The Cumberland Plateau Baptist Association is a network of Churches committed to evangelizing, teaching and ministering to our World. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27 A Spring tradition that continued this year is our annual rebuild mission trip with Sequatchie Valley Baptist Association. Just last week several of us had the privilege of joining our friends to the south and traveling to Johnsonville, South Carolina. Johnsonville was in the middle of all the flooding that took place last October. Southern Baptists have set up a rebuild site here to help residents throughout the area rebuild their homes from the flooding. We had three volunteers from CPBA and four volunteers from SVBA travel to Johnsonville, SC for the week of May 15. Our group joined four other groups totaling about 65 from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. I believe this was one of the best groups to fellowship and work with that we have ever been in partnership. Our crew was given the assignment to do metal roofing. Three other men from North Carolina joined us and added a great wealth of knowledge and skill. Our first assignment was for a young family of five who had experienced about 6 inches of water in their home during the flood. Work had already been done in the home and we would put a nice metal roof on their home. Right next door to this project was a smaller home where an elderly widow lived. We also roofed this home as well as shoring up the large front porch with a new beam. These two projects took us three days to complete. On Thursday our three helpers from N.C. left us and we were assigned another home to do repairs and get as much of a metal roof on as we could. The owner of this home was also a widow and a very active grandmother. Our crew split up. Half of our crew tore out the back porch and rebuilt it. The other half of our crew began work on a new metal roof. In two days we completed the back porch and all the metal on the second story roof of the house. We also were able to put half the board work down so the next crew could come in and complete the roofing. Below are pictures of the work we were able to accomplish. Yes, it was all hard work but God blessed us with good cool weather and the safety of all involved. In past rebuild projects we have not been able to meet the homeowners. However, this year it was a joy to meet each homeowner, share Christ with them, and to have prayer with them after the projects were finished. WE ARE GOING BACK! Come and join us for our next rebuild project. We are looking at September 18 24, If you would be interested in joining us on this mission trip call our office. Thank you and your church for your support of missions through the CPBA, Kirk

2 Page 2 The Messenger Our crew is putting a metal roof on a double-wide trailer. Our crew finishing the metal roof on the home on the left and the porch and home on the right. We started a third house and were able to finish the two story side as well as build a new porch. We had to run a new beam to support covered porch. Here are our sleeping quarters for the week. Sleeping in a half gym were about thirty men. Donnie Hedgecoth from Bethlehem Baptist was on the metal roof on his first association mission trip.

3 Pastoral Counseling Center of the Cumberland Plateau A Christian Father Submitted by Carolyn Scott, Pastoral Counselor God placed great responsibility on the shoulders of all fathers and as we approach Father s Day, what better time to learn what scripture says on Fatherhood. I first want to share with you about my father, a WWII veteran, and how I feel he personified Godly character and was a strong man of integrity. I was blessed to have a wonderful, Christian father, Terrell Lee Raines, Sr. He fought in WWII and was one of 17 survivors in the Black Mountain War of the Battle of the Buldge. He would share few stories of the war but one particular story stood out among the rest. He told me of a time that the German soldiers were all around them, and he pulled his gun and prepared to shoot, but he heard a soft voice saying in his spirit, Thou shalt not kill! Daddy always said he knew it was God telling him not to kill another human. While German soldiers infiltrated and surrounded the area, he and the other soldiers covered themselves with snow to escape being found; for they knew if found, it would mean their death. He survived but with injury. His lower half of his body froze and he spent the next 18 months recovering from frost bite on his feet and learning to walk. You can imagine the emotional challenges he must have experienced but he learned to lean on God to cope. Many soldiers died in that war and it was a miracle of God that my daddy survived. Daddy believed that God should be first in everything. He served the church at various times as deacon, evangelist, Sunday School Superintendent, teaching, led singing, was always busy repairing the church, and many other things. He believed God s house should be provided for before his own needs were met. And, he believed in furthering the mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost world by sponsoring the Billy Graham crusades, missionaries, and many other evangelists. He tithed, gave offerings, and prayed over his finances. Often I would find my daddy reading the Word of God, and I would hear him praying out loud to God for provision, health, strength, and protection over his family. God always made provision through my daddy s dedication to provide a roof over us, a fire in the stove, food on the table, shoes on our feet, clothes on our back, and love in our heart. Daddy loved his family. He preferred my mother first, as it should be. He would always greet her after work, with a hug and a kiss, and say, I love you. He never left her without doing the same. I rarely saw my parents argue. And, when they did, they would make up and I would hear the sounds of laughter in the home once again.

4 Page 4 The Messenger Pastoral Counseling Continued He and my mother were devoted to each other. They stood in unity, and respect was taught as a foundational truth! If the children disrespected one parent, both parents defended each other, and stood together with their discipline. We were taught to show respect to others no matter how we felt about them, and especially toward those who were older. Daddy believed that parents should be in agreement on house rules and there were consequences for breaking them and he always carried out discipline. His word was solid. Daddy was a compassionate provider. He cared for my mother during three separate challenges of overcoming cancer. Times were challenging and mother went through great times of despair, hardship, medical challenges, and at times was not able to carry out her responsibilities. But daddy never threatened to leave her. He stuck by her, encouraged her, comforted her, inspired her, prayed for her, and was gentle and caring towards her and the family. He was always by her side. Daddy never complained about picking up the extra chores and responsibilities during this time, nor did he complain that he could not get proper rest with seven children in the house. But he stayed focused, dedicated, and committed to seeing his family through and never abandoned his family. Daddy demonstrated that time is a most precious gift from God and that we all have responsibilities. He was always doing something. I never saw my daddy take a nap, even though I am sure he could have used one. He was always busy working his full time (swing shift) job, mowing the lawn, fixing the car, repairing the house, raising a garden, loving on momma, and playing with his children. He would push us in swings, play ball, go biking, take us for hikes in the mountain, go swimming, build snowmen, have snow ball fights, have cookouts, and simply sit and talk on the front porch. He wanted to spend time with his family. He was a great listener. Daddy was a protector of his family. He never allowed fighting or yelling in the home. He was quick to defend his wife and family. He always looked after us and cared for us. We never experienced or felt fear as a child because we knew daddy would take care of us. Daddy was a man of integrity. He demonstrated his place was at home with his family. He was not a drinker, gambler, did not take drugs, was never arrested, pornography was never in our home, nor were movies of any kind that were not family oriented. He was highly revered in our community as a man with value. Many men would come to my father for advice. It seemed everyone could talk to him about anything and they always left feeling better than when they came. Daddy believed in blessing his children and when I was a young girl he spoke a blessing over me. We were standing at the end of our sidewalk one night looking up to the stars. It was just the two of us and he said to me, Do you see those stars? I said, Yes daddy. He said, One day, God is going to use you to reach that many souls for His glory! I never understood what that meant until I was much older, but I thank God for blessing me with a wonderful, loving daddy, who blessed me with the love of Jesus in his heart. My daddy was my hero! He was the one who inspired me in so many ways. When I turned 25, I lost my father to liver and colon cancer, but my daddy is now in the presence of our Lord! I will be eternally grateful for him and one day I will see him again.

5 Pastoral Counseling Continued It saddens me when I am in counseling talking to men and women who had no father. The sad reality of the world today is that so many young children are growing up not knowing what a daddy is, or what a father should be. Many fathers are absent from their homes, running around on their wives, looking at pornography, gambling, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, living a care-free, irresponsible life, being lazy and not working, not taking care of their property, not protecting their children, not encouraging or leading their children, and the children are left to try and figure things out on their own. Please understand I recognize there are some good fathers out there who are living a life pleasing to God and I know God is well pleased with them. But far too often, we hear the same story repeated over and over again. This is a cry for fathers everywhere to stand up, and become the righteous men of God that God intended you to become! First, anyone who is a father should first be a husband, otherwise, the man is guilty of the sin called fornication (1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and Galatians 5:19-21.) So to be a responsible father, it is necessary that the man learn to become a man of moral integrity and character. Secondly, the scriptures teach men to find that one love of their life, marry her, and build a Godly marriage together. God commands men to love their wives the way God loves the church (Ephesians 5:25). This is a command of God. To keep your home together, you must first build your house upon God (Matthew 7:24-27). Without God, it is impossible to truly love your wife the way God intended; for God is love! If you choose not to love your wife, you choose to deny God and disobey his command. Love is an active word (not passive), so we must sew into our marriage what we hope to reap. Based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 1 Peter 3:7, and Colossians 3:19, here are a few things we should sew. We must sew kindness, be steadfast, preferring others first, give understanding, honor your wife through faithfulness, be patient, self-controlled, thinking and speaking Godly thoughts and words, seek righteousness and avoid sinful temptations, be truthful, enduring, never giving up on family, be prayerful, forgiving and hold not onto bitterness, forgetting past failures and never bringing them up again, not be prideful, arrogant, selfseeking, haughty, and remember God is in control not you! (1 Peter 3:7, Colossians 3:19). Thirdly, after marriage come blessings from the Lord called children. But with every blessing comes responsibility. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4, And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (wrath meaning scornful, angry, resentful, discouraged and bitter - see Colossians 3:21). Fathers have a difficult role to fill between disciplining their child and discerning if the child is angry because they did not get their way, etc. But the Holy Spirit will lead you if you will simply ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. Furthermore, it is imperative that fathers demonstrate to their daughters how their future husband should treat them by the way he treats his wife. And, fathers should set the example to their sons how to be a loving and responsible husband to their wives. Children are watching you and learn from what you do, not just what you say!

6 P a ge 6 T h e Messenger Pastoral Counseling Continued The need for Godly fathers is ever increasing because the father is the spiritual head of the home (Eph. 5:22-24; 1 Cor. 11:3). One of our biggest problems today is that too many fathers are not spiritual men and this must change! The primary aspect of a father's responsibility is to bring his children up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The father must first submit his life to God, accept Jesus as his personal Savior, and allow the Holy Spirit to teach him what it means to be a follower of Christ. It is encouraged to read and study the Word of God, fellowship with other Christian believers, do Bible Studies, pray, attend church, etc. so you can teach by example how to be a Godly man to your child(ren). When a man comes under the obedience of the Holy Spirit he is then able to teach his children through a gentle love, acceptance, approval, encouragement, setting appropriate boundaries, giving admonishment, worship, leadership, and protection. When a father is absent from the family, it opens that family to spiritual attacks, and often devastating consequences. A child may feel neglected or even abandoned because the father is too busy or simply not there and all too often the child grows up fearing that God will abandon them too (a horrible lie and tragedy!) In some cases, fathers have very high expectations of their children and wives, and may become intolerable and overbearing. In some cases, we see abuse (physical, emotional, and spiritual) through violence, rejection, criticism, high demands, rigid structures and double-lives (claiming to be righteous but living like the devil). All of these things will provoke a child to anger and must be avoided. Scripture tells us to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Children need to be taught from a young age about the Lord and how to live by the Lord s commands (1 Timothy 3:15, Deuteronomy 6:5-9). So fathers. Spend time with your children loving and teaching them right from wrong, instructing them to avoid evil and to follow God. Teach them about the narrow way and to never depart the road less traveled that leads to Jesus (Proverbs 22:16). God gave this charge regarding our children to the father. He did not give it to the mother, though their role is absolutely necessary in its being carried out. He did not give it to the daycare, babysitter, nanny, grandparents, church, school, or the youth program. He gave it to fathers! Therefore, fathers will bear the accountability (the consequence for failing to carry it out or the reward for so doing). Let us never forget, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31, Psalms 127:3-5). God also gave us a promise that when we raise our children to have a Holy, reverent fear of God, there is the promise that our children will grow up as well-adjusted, happy children who love God and their families. In addition, these children will become our future generations, the strong men of God who will lead the next generation, if time last, bringing spiritual foundations to our world. And the best part is that it gives us hope that our children will spend eternity with God; isn t that all of our hopes? (Ecclesiastes 12:13.) So father s I would not want to be in your shoes; for your shoes are a challenging task, but God will give you strength and wisdom to do the job. If he gave you children, He has already put inside you everything you need to carry out what He has commanded. If you are struggling with feelings of failure as a father, it s never too late to do the right thing. Turn to God, confess your sins, apologize to your wife and children, and begin walking the walk of obedience in the likeness of Christ so your children may see God doing a new thing in you (Deut. 30). Blessings to you all this Father s Day! May you be blessed by the Lord always! The counseling center is available to help you. Call now or

7 P a ge 7 T h e Messenger Place Your Life before God I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1 JUNE Missions Emphasis Meetings: JULY 7 FIRST BAP- TIST OF CROSSVILLE 712 South Main: Speaker: Carrie Johnston, Kindergarten teacher at Stone Elementary, educating us on the needs of the students and teachers in the Cumberland County School system. MISSION PROJECT: SCHOOL SUPPLIES (we will sponsor Stone & Martin this year) OCTOBER 6 FRE- DONIA BAPTIST CHURCH 555 Fredonia Road MISSION PROJECT: CANNED FOOD (will give to a local food pantry/pantries) EVERYONE IS INVITED: MEN WOMEN CHILDREN Please make plans to join us, as we work together to serve the Lord through missions. LAST MINUTES THEN WE EAT! WMU JUNE DATES: National WMU Celebration & Annual Meeting, St. Louis FamilyFest: Aurora, Colorado Ages 6 & up YOLANDA HEUSER Last month s newsletter was filled with our Missions Get-Together information, so this month I wanted to give you the stats on our April quarterly meeting. CHURCH HOST: Oak Hill hosted our meeting and our guest speaker was Willie McLaurin. Brother Willie is the Harvest Field Team Leader and Leadership Specialist for the TBC. He is an outstanding speaker and conference leader. We were honored to have him as our speaker. I have received several comments on how much people enjoyed him. MEETING: Our theme was Are You GOLDEN, everyone received a bookmark to remind them just what we, as Tennesseans should be doing as we not only support our Golden Offering through giving but to be Going, Offering, Loving, Doing, Excited or Not for the 6 million lost in Tennessee. A removal gold coin was attached to the back and we ask everyone to remove the coin and put in their wallet or pocket and every time they saw or touched it to pray for Tennessee. To be excited about what God would have them to do. The food was delicious and the hospitality of Oak Hill was wonderful. It was an example of what a small but dedicated WMU group can do. Little is much when God is in it. We had 64 in attendance and the offering was $328.50; going toward our yearly mission project to have a cow processed and give the meat to Store House Ministry in Wartburg, Tennessee to help feed the hungry. Thank you for bringing in 61 jars of peanut butter and 71 boxes of macaroni and cheese dinners. As always you, the CPBA WMU came through and the food has been delivered to Five Loaves Ministry in Crawford, Tennessee. BABY COMFORT STATION: As we speak about being GOLDEN for Tennessee, our BIG project is just under 3 months; yes it is Baby Comfort Station time- August 29 th -Sept 3 rd! Once again I would like to reiterate that we DO NOT change diapers, and we DO NOT babysit children; what we DO is offer a clean private area for parents to change diapers and mothers to nurse. All the while we offer freezer pops, cups of water, suckers, Bibles, tracts, movies, books, prayer and most importantly the gospel to anyone that shows a desire to hear the Good News of Jesus. We need men, women and supervised children s groups to take a 2 hour shift. We need at least 3-4 adults per shift now, due to the high demand we are seeing during some of the shifts. We will have the sign-up sheets at the July meeting, please be in prayer as to what God would have you to do for this huge project. It is truly a blessing and an opportunity to give the fair goers Jesus through one diaper changing, cup of water, literature, etc., at a time. Please add the Baby Comfort Station to you prayer list and your schedule. OUR MISSION: Let s place our lives before God. Let us take our ordinary life and turn it into an extra ordinary life for and through Him. Let us use our everyday activities as we eat, work, play, meet and talk with people, let us as we simply walk through our days doing life, use it to embrace what God would have us to do to be on missions for Him. Remember we are, as you have so often heard, the only Bible some people will ever read. Hum, what are they reading from your life or mine? Let Romans 12:1 be our focus daily.

8 Page 8 The Messenger Clear Creek Baptist church celebrated their homecoming with the dedication of their new space in the remodeled parsonage next door to the church. Pastor Chip Bond and congregation expressed appreciation to the association churches that sent many volunteers to help remodel the parsonage. They look forward to the many opportunities that they will now have to use this new space. The Pastoral Counseling Center of the Cumberland Plateau will be hosting a special event titled Is Your Faith Worth Defending, with speaker Cathy Grant in the fall. If you would like to be part of the organization and planning of this special event, contact Carolyn Scott at Can you sponsor one person for an hour of counseling? Just $45 can sponsor one person. We see many who are indigent and our financial needs continue to exist. We have to pay water, electric, printed materials, etc. Please consider donating to The Pastoral Counseling Center of the Cumberland Plateau (PCCCP). The PCCCP is a non-profit, 501C3 organization and all donations are eligible for tax deduction. Please note on your donation that it is for counseling ministry. Thank you so much. We need more volunteers! You can help! Tennessee Disaster Relief is a cooperative, volunteer ministry of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and its affiliated churches. It is totally dependent upon volunteers who give of their time, energy, talents and finances to assist others in a time of disaster. Working closely with FEMA, the Red Cross and other agencies, TN Disaster Relief is one of the first to respond during a time of crisis. Contact: Tom Rice, Chapter Director (Home) (Cell)

9 Central Baptist Church VBS will host VBS June 5th-June 9th, 5:30-8:oopm. Memorial Baptist Church Their VBS will run June 5th-9th from 6:00-8:00pm. Family Night will be June 10th at 6:00pm. Pine Eden Baptist Church is having their VBS June 12th-15th from 5:30-8:00pm and Family Night will be on June 16th at 6:00pm. Lantana Road Baptist Church will host VBS June 19th-June 23rd, 6:00-8:30pm. Meals to be served 5:00-5:45pm M-Thu, with VBS to follow. Bethlehem Baptist Church will be having their VBS for Pre-K through High School on June 27th-30th from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Fairfield Glade Baptist Church will not hold VBS this year but will sponsor a faith-led sports camp July25th- 29th from 9:00am-4:30pm. Meridian Baptist Church will host VBS July 10th-16th from 6:pm-8:00pm. Clear Creek Baptist Church will hold VBS every Sunday night in the month of June beginning at 6:00pm. Pleasant Hill Baptist Church VBS will be June 5th through the 9th with family celebration on June 12 th, 6:00-8:00pm. A meal will be served at 5:30 each evening Prayer partners are needed for the counseling ministry. Please contact Carolyn Scott at Hodges Ministries Literature Don t forget to drop off your old Sunday School literature, Bibles, Christian books and tracts to the Association Office for Hodges Ministries. Please Do Not Include: Christian Magazines (Homelife, Mature Living, etc) or Missions Magazines (WMU, GA s or RA s, etc). Thank you. There are teams from our area that take these materials to Hodges Ministries quarterly. For a complete list of items they accept visit or stop by the Association Office for a brochure.

10 Cumberland Plateau Baptist Association 291 Sparta Hwy. P. O. Box 2508 Crossville, TN Phone: Fax: Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Crossville, TN Permit No. 3 Return Service Requested Associational Directory Office Hours Mon.-Thurs. 8:30a.m. 2:30p.m. cpba4ma@gmail.com Web: Kirk Casey, Associational Missionary cpbadom@gmail.com Cell: Alta Wagner, Ministry Assistant Office: Fax: *********************** Carolyn Scott, Pastoral Counselor, PCCCP Counseling Phone: cpbacounseling3@gmail.com Dates to Remember June Hodges Ministry Trip June 6 - Pastor s Conference Speaker: Jared Moore June 13 - Pastor s Conference Speaker: Ralph Reagan June Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting St. Louis June 19 Father s Day June 20 - Pastor s Conference Speaker: David Mahan June 27 - Pastor s Conference Speaker: TBA