FBC EXCEL. On Sunday June 10, 2012 at 10:00a.m. we will acknowledge and celebrate the service and leadership of Pastor and Sis. Sams.

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1 FBC EXCEL June 3, 2012 First Baptist Church Volume 11, Issue 5 Pastor s Pen For many people June is or has been the month of marriage. As I contemplate this month, it comes to me that June was a time of marriage for me and this congregation. It was June 1984 that I and this congregation entered into a marriage of pastor and congregation. We have now been working on this marriage for the past 28 years. This has been a wonderful journey. We have had very few if any fights. Yes some of you fell out with me, but I counted it as a momentary lapse of consciousness. And yes there have been many times that I felt that it was time for me to hit the road jack. However, the truth of the matter is, I have been good for you and certainly you have been good for me. It is abundantly clear to me that our coming together was nothing less than a match made in heaven. Whenever I posed the question to myself as it regards going to another mission station the answer came back: Where shall I go? This people have all of the wonderful things of life. It is right here that I can find all of the headaches, all of the foolishness, and all of the messiness I could ever want. LOL! God be praised, I could not find a greater love than that which I have found in this place. This does appear to be a life sentence and I am still glad about it. I really do love you like a rock. I am so in love with you! Let us continue to run this race together and look forward to spending eternity together with our Lord. On Sunday June 10, 2012 at 10:00a.m. we will acknowledge and celebrate the service and leadership of Pastor and Sis. Sams.

2 Celebrating 28 Years Dr. Clarence and Sis. Eugenia Sams Some little known facts. How much do you know??? Our Pastor loves his. Our Pastor loves us like a. Our Pastor and Sis. Sam s grandchildren s real names are &. Our Pastor & Sis Sams are from the. Our Pastor always encourages us to buy. After our church service, our Pastor tells us to go to. Each Sunday morning, our Pastor encourages us to share the with each other. Through his teaching and preaching, last year we became organized prayer, and shared prayer with each other. Our Pastor for recreation. Our Pastor could be a, because he is a music expert. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Sis. Sams works diligently to provide Christian and Arts opportunities for our youth. The More You Know! Thanks Pastor and Sis. Sams for 28 years of Service to the FBC Church Family! We Love You Like a Rock, Too!

3 The Joy of Fatherhood By Benjamin Brownlee I am the father of two sons - Jakevius (15) and Javien (10). Being a father is a great experience and comes with even greater responsibilities. The Webster s Dictionary defines father as the male parent or one who assists in bringing up offspring. This definition is not detailed enough for me. My definition of what a father is would probably read: One whose presence is needed on a full time basis to establish a safe nurturing environment so that he can properly lead, guide, direct, build, protect, provide, prune, and teach his offspring with the cooperative assistance of their mother. My personal definition added a little more detail, but it s still not complete. An effective father has a long road ahead of him. A Christian Father has an even longer road to travel. Some say a woman s work is never done, well, neither is a man s work. Christian fathers have to be ready to lead by example. We have to give a clear demonstration of the behavior that we expect and will accept from them. Deut. 6:7, 11:19. We must show respect in order to receive respect. Exodus 20:12, Lev. 19:3, 32, 1 Peter 2:17, 1Tim 3:4. Some of the things that work for me as a father. I call them my PR s: PRioritizing, PRaising, PRaying. Everything has a time and a place. Christian fathers must teach their children how to PRioritize. We have to show them how to include God first and foremost in every situation that may occur in their lives. Let them know and understand that our God is a jealous God and nothing comes before Him. Exodus 20:5. Secondly, Christian fathers must teach their children to PRaise. We have a right, we have a reason, we have an obligation to PRaise the LORD. When PRaises go up, blessings come down. There are many ways to PRaise Him. Teach them to find their way. Whether it is with song, dance, poetry, music, clapping & shouting Hallelujah, or raising your hand and saying AMEN! It has to be done! So JUST DO IT! No matter who or what we are, we MUST PRaise! Psalm 34:1; Psalm 145:21 Psalm 148, 149, 150. Thirdly, PRay. Prayer is powerful and significant to our everyday lives. Let s teach our children how to PRay and what to PRay for. Matt 6: Jesus PRayed. If He did it, then I know we ought to be doing it. Matt 6: God hears our PRayers. Deut 4:7. We should PRay without ceasing 1Thess 5:17. PRayer changes things. We should encourage them to P. U. S. H. (PRay Until Something Happens) Lastly, I want fathers all over the world to assist me in this last P.R. that I didn t mention. This one starts by introducing your children to God. Teach them who He is. Show them what He has done, is doing and going to do. The P. R. that I am talking about is Personal Relationship with God. We need to continue our PR s in order to build our relationship with Him. Draw closer to God and He will draw closer to us. James 4:8. There are so many other PR s that we can use to demonstrate unto our children. PRactice, PReach, PRepare, PRoact, PRomote, PRevail, PRoject, etc. The list goes on and on. Fathers, choose your methods. You can t go wrong with God as your main ingredient. Using this method to parent my children works well for me. They understand through Prioritizing, PRaising, and PRaying is just the right thing to do. I am not a perfect father, but I try the best way I know how to be the best that I can be. At the end of the day, I am happy with myself and my role as a father. God has given us the instructions and His expectations as a father. Let us obey. Ephesians 6:4

4 F I RST BA PT IST C HUR C H 204 Fannin Street P.O. Box 1464 LaGrange, Georgia Phone (706) Fax (706) FBC MISSION STATEMENT To win the lost to Christ through preaching, teaching, worship and fellowship FBC Excel Newsletter Staff Delores Brewer Dorsey Brewer Shirley Cox Pam Huff Kim Kendall Candace McGhee June Nelson Dr. Clarence Sams, Pastor Mark Your Calendar June Events Clothing Drive 4-8 Vacation Bible School 6:00-8:00p.m. 4 Graduation Reception 10 Pastor s Appreciation/Dinner 17 Father s Day 23 FBC Literacy Ministry Book Discussion NEW MEMBER 24 Marriage Day LaTasha Anderson The Excel staff will make every effort to see that information submitted by the deadline is published.

5 Congratulations FBC Graduates MICHAEL ANDRE ATWATER graduated from Strayer University, May 12, 2012 with a Masters of Leadership degree. Michael is the son of Sis. Martha Atwater and Henry Atwater. RANDALL EUGENE BURDEN Jr., is the son of Deacon Randall and Sis. Varice Burden graduated December 2011 from the University of Kentucky. He received a degree in Family Studies/Sociology. After graduation, he plans to train/hoping to play for a NFL team. He also would like to become a counselor/working with youth (to educate and guide them towards achieving their dreams and goals in life.) COURTNEY SHABREKA HURSTON, the daughter of Sis. Traci Hurston and Patrick Varner graduated from Callaway High School on May 19, She plans to attend West Georgia Technical College to major in Criminology/Criminal Justice. Her career goal is to become a crime scene investigator. DEACON DIANE MILLIGAN graduated May 19, 2012, Cum Laude from LaGrange College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is the wife of Deacon Charles Milligan. STANLEY ONEAL HEARD graduated from LaGrange High School, May 19, Stanley is the son of Bro. Stanley and Valerie Heard. He plans to attend Georgia Southern University in the fall and major in computer engineering with a minor in business. His career goal is to become a software computer engineer. MALCOLM D ANDREA MEREDITH is the son of Sis. Karen Meredith and Tony Ross. On May 20, 2012 Malcolm became a Cum Laude graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelors of Science, Biology In the fall, he will be attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., to pursue a Masters of Physiology and Biophysics before entering medical school. His career goal is to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. OMARI ALEXANDER GRAY graduated from Callaway High School on May 19, Omari will be attending Fort Valley State University to major in Agriculture. His career goal is to be successful in his chosen field. He is the son of Leonard and Sis. Deborah Gray. JADA NE COLE LITTLE graduated May 18, 2012 from LaGrange High School. She is the daughter of Sis. Angela Little and Tommie Tucker. Jada plans to attend Atlanta Metro College to major in Business/ Forensic Medicine.

6 We Salute our 2012 Retirees PAM HUFF retired from LaGrange Memorial Library on January 31, During her seventeen year tenure at the library, she served as Reference Librarian, Head of Public Services and acting Assistant Director. Pam shares her most memorable thoughts from her career/workplace: I arrived in LaGrange, April 1995 to begin work at Coleman Library for a year while LaGrange Memorial Library was under renovation. In 1997, I wrote book review articles for LaGrange Daily News which I thoroughly enjoyed. Following the renovation, the library opened with three public computer stations which increased to twenty-six when I left. Also, a Spanish-language collection was added as well as the beginning of a teen summer reading club, and downloadable e-books. I truly miss my coworkers whom I spent the last seventeen years of sharing, caring, laughing, praying, and of course working together. Over the years, many customers I was privileged to serve have become lifelong friends. After retirement, Pam plans to relax for a period of time, and then embark on another career of which she has not decided yet. EDWARD ROSS retired from the Troup county School System after eighteen years of service, effective June 1, He is retiring after serving as a cook with the cafeteria staff of Unity Elementary School. His most memorable thoughts involved working with all the wonderful young ladies on the cafeteria staff and seeing all the children over the years at Unity. After retirement, Bro. Ross plans to travel, relax and go fishing. We appreciate all of your contributions in the effort of giving back to the Lagrange Community. We are accepting shirts, pants, socks, etc. for all sizes of men, women and children. Please put the articles of clothing in the box located in the educational building. Thanks You!

7 FBC Community Garden In the first chapter of Genesis, it is very clear that God created the earth (and all of the things in it) good. And he made humans in his image and asked us to be stewards of his earthly creation. Pastor Sams vision of starting a community garden on the church property came to fruition when he and several FBC men met at the church with Master Gardener, Albert Gilliam. Mr. Gilliam instructed the group on how to start and care for the garden. The work began the group plowed, racked and planted. The fruit of their labor will reap vegetables, such as snow beans, collards, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and peppers.

8 Literacy Ministry Book Discussion JUNE 23, :30 A.M. 12 NOON We, the members of the Sylvia Ann Frazier Anderson Literacy Ministry, continue to be energized over the opportunities we have before us to serve as God s stewards of the talents He has given us. As book discussion leaders, registration / funds collectors, refreshment providers, musicians, floaters and others, we continue to praise God for His continued favor over us in this place and time. It continues to be our hope that each participant will develop a deeper appreciation of how the African American family has survived and thrived under adverse circumstances and conditions. The selected books all have one common theme-that education, love, random acts of courage, and HARD WORK go hand in hand, and the family is that thread that binds everything together. PARENTS, we need your HELP! At school it is suggested that a student read his/her AR book at least twice before taking an AR test. Some students read the book three times with hopes that they will score 100% and therefore be assured that they will get an invitation to the AR party or better still, be honored on Awards Day with the top reader s award in the school. (Reading is to the mind, as food is to the body.) Our Pre K and first graders will read Ron s Big Mission (Historical Fiction) about a true incident in the life of Ronald McNair (the African American astronaut who died in the Challenger explosion) at the public library. This group will complete other activities that deal with current issues of discrimination. Second and third grade students will read Through My Eyes (Autobiography-General Nonfiction). Very well written account that tells the true story of six-year-old Ruby Bridges in a white-only school in New Orleans. Other activities will include current issues in the classroom, such as, bullying, or classmates being disrespectful and rude to classmates and teachers. Fourth sixth graders will continue to read one of Mildred D. Taylor s books about the saga of the Logan family. Seventh eighth grades will read The Piano Lesson written by August Wilson. This is a play that explores African Americans relationship to family history, particularly to the history of their slave ancestors. The Piano Lesson won Wilson his second Pulitzer Prize and confirmed his status as one of America s most important and innovative living playwrights. 9th th -college Making the Impossible Possible by Bill Strickland Adults---The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander The price of the children s books continues to be $3 and the adults price is $5. If there are any questions, please call Connie June 4-8, :00-8:00p.m.