Tapestry. Kyle Matthews is winter theologian. Gagliardi concert features special guest. This Week at Wilshire

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1 This Week at Wilshire Tapestry Weekly newsletter of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas Building a community of faith shaped by the Spirit of Jesus Christ Volume 61 No. 1 u January 6, 2013 Kyle Matthews is winter theologian This year s winter theologian guest at Wilshire is someone you might be surprised to think of as a theologian. Kyle Matthews is one of Christian music s most prolific songwriters. Among more than 60 of his songs recorded by major artists of disparate genres, Kyle has penned If You Want Me To, recorded by Ginny Owens, Everything and Nothing, recorded by Vince Gill, One and the Same, recorded by Cece Winans, and God Forbid, recorded by Point of Grace. His song We Fall Down, recorded most notably on a multi-platinum release by Donnie McClurkin, won A recurring comment George Gagliardi has heard as he s sung his own songs in churches, concerts and other venues is, Somebody ought to record that. Well, the time has come. Wilshire s own resident singersongwriter is pulling together some of his favorite songs that never have been recorded, and he ll sing them in a concert in Community Hall on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. numerous music industry awards, including the Dove Award for Traditional Gospel Song of the Year, the Stellar award for Song of the Year, and ASCAP s 2002 Christian Song of the Year. So why s he coming to Wilshire as a theologian? Because embedded in this songwriting is a deep river of Christian theology and because Kyle more recently has found his voice as a minister in a sister CBF congregation, according to Associate Pastor Mark If that s not enough to pique your interest, there s more: George will be joined on several songs by Cynthia Clawson, friend of Wilshire and Grammyaward winning recording artist. George and Cynthia have collaborated on numerous projects through the years. George wrote the song Words and Music, which Cynthia recorded and was nominated for a Dove award in A few years later she recorded George s My Finest Hour, which was the title cut on an album that Wingfield. For the past several years, we ve brought in a theologian for a special weekend seminar on Super Bowl weekend, he said. We ve had an Old Testament scholar and a New Testament scholar. This year, we re taking a broader view by asking Kyle to help us integrate theology with worship and song. Kyle will be at Wilshire the weekend of Feb. 2-3, including a Saturday morning workshop and events in Sunday School and morning worship. Continued on page 2 Gagliardi concert features special guest was nominated for a Grammy. Three of his songs ( Episode, What About the Children and Doubter s Prayer ) were featured on Cynthia s 2008 album, Episodes. In 2009, Cynthia and George collaborated with the music staff and Sanctuary Choir of Wilshire to present The Journey Home, a concert that included several of George s arrangements and a couple of original songs. The Jan. 18 concert will be free and open to the public, but advance tickets will be required to ensure adequate seating. The free tickets will be available beginning Sunday, Jan. 6. Today 8:30 a.m. Worship 9:40 a.m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Worship 12:00 p.m. Young adult directors lunch Room 1205-L 12:00 p.m. Personnel Committee Room 1205-G 3:30 p.m. Carillon Ringers 3:45 p.m. Shekinah 4:45 p.m. Youth Choir and Paradiso Choral Hall 5:00 p.m. Nova Monday, Jan. 7 7:00 p.m. Wilshire Winds Choral Hall Tuesday, Jan. 8 6:00 p.m. SAM s Place Youth Center 6:00 p.m. Stephen Min. training Room 1205-L 6:30 p.m. Stephen Min. supervision Wednesday, Jan. 9 9:30 a.m. New Song Choral Hall 11:00 a.m. Koinonia Cafe 12:00 p.m. Bible study 1:15 p.m. Adventurers Committee Room 1205-L 5:00 p.m. Beginning handbells Room :00 p.m. Children s handbells Room :00 p.m. Koinonia Cafe 5:45 p.m. MOPS steering Room :00 p.m. Music and missions 6:00 p.m. Bible study 6:30 p.m. Watershed Youth Center Thursday, Jan. 10 1:30 p.m. Knit Unto Others Parlor 7:30 p.m. The Corner 4830 McKinney

2 Sometimes, less really is more. That s a good reminder for the start of a new year, when we re all pumped up with great resolutions. This has come home to me in a surprisingly powerful way the last few weeks, as I ve adopted (for a season) a new variation on daily Scripture reading. I realized I had been skimming a lot reading many words but not really taking time to comprehend them. That happens to those of us who are checklist-oriented. So for a change, I started focusing on only one verse each day: the opening verse of a daily Psalm. That s it. That s all I m expecting myself to read each day. But I am expecting myself to really read that verse and soak it in. The result? The Psalms have come alive, practically jumping off the page. Example: I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth. Or this: The earth is the Lord s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it. Another Voice Zoom in To ponder what it means to bless the Lord at all times is challenging indeed. Only eight words, but plenty to chew on all day long. And to embrace the idea that everything I see around me belongs to the Lord, those are 10 lifechanging words. With so much information clamoring for our attention every day, there is power in zooming in for a closer look now and then. This is exactly what photographers and publishers do when presenting images in newspapers, magazines and books. It s called cropping, and it allows the photo editor to cut from our view all the extraneous parts of a visual environment so that our eyes are drawn to the focal point we are intended to see. What cropping do you need to do this year to gain a better focus on what really matters? Mark Wingfield Thank you for Giving Tree Overwhelming gratitude is what Harry Wakefield experienced when delivering Christmas gifts from Wilshire s Giving Tree this season. During the interim without a minister of missions, Harry has volunteered to serve as a liaison between Wilshire and the church s local missions partners. In that capacity, he organized this year s Giving Tree. The blessing, it turned out, was as much his as it was the recipients of the gifts. Thank you, Wilshire, thank you! That was the message to everyone who participated in the Wilshire Giving Tree, Harry reported. With each delivery, the reaction was overwhelming: Thank you for your generosity and kindness. You have made this Christmas a magic time for many families. Those who took down the individualized ornaments from the Giving Tree and brought back presents corresponding to the needs brought joy to more than 100 boys and girls, Harry said. And that was only the beginning. Many of you gave supplies and kitchen tools for families making the transition from temporary shelters to their own apartments, he added. Your gifts of stamps and copy paper helped to free up precious dollars for Healing Hands Medical and Dental Clinic to use toward their clinical costs. Kyle Matthews will be guest winter theologian at Wilshire Conitinued from page 1 Kyle s itinerant, ecumenical ministry includes almost as many speaking engagements as concerts, because those opportunities allow him to blend his songs and storytelling with preaching and teaching. His music company, See for Yourself Music, produces recordings, print music and devotional materials that model Christian edu-tainment more than entertainment. He has served as a teaching resource for the Staley Foundation, the Gospel Music Academy and the Samuel Project, a grantfunded mentoring program for students considering church-related vocations. Music is only a reflection of Kyle s deeper commitment to sound theology and spiritual health. Part of his mission is to motivate people to serve others in a way that allows them to meet Christ in the least of these, a fitting complement to what also is known as Souper Bowl Sunday at Wilshire, with an emphasis on world hunger. For 12 years, Kyle was a recruiter for the Wherry Project, a transitional housing ministry near Nashville, Tenn., which combines the provision of renovated, low-cost shelter with programs for child development and adult support groups. Kyle also serves on the board of directors for Hand Up Africa, a nonprofit organization sending road paving and farming equipment to the people of Uganda, and he is a child sponsor and sponsor recruiter for Compassion International. T Kyle lives in Greenville, S.C., with his wife, Susan, and children, Emily and Christopher. He serves on staff at First Baptist Church of Greenville, a congregation also affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Tapestry (USPS ) is published weekly except Christmas week by Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams Rd., Dallas TX Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, TX. Telephone: (214) Website: Editor: Mark Wingfield. Contributing writer: Sue Coffman. Postmaster: Send change of address to 4316 Abrams Rd., Dallas TX

3 Wilshire Academy Sunday, January 20 Everyone is invited to stay after worship and Sunday School on Sunday, Jan. 20, for an afternoon of learning. Choose from multiple options in three sessions. Child care is available. Lunch will be provided for all participants. Location is Community Hall. Session 1 11 to 11:50 a.m. Life After Spousal Loss: Hear a panel of widows and widowers talk about the adjustments they ve made after the loss of a spouse and how friends and others may be the most supportive in such times. Sponsored by the Grief and Loss Center of North Texas. We Love Our Residents: Hear Paul Johnson s report on visiting almost all of Wilshire s former pastoral residents where they serve across the country. Learn how Wilshire s children are doing away from home, and be inspired by the success of the Pathways to Ministry program. Seasons of the Church Year: Do you know why the church year begins with Advent? Ever wonder what the colors of the banners in the Sanctuary mean? Want to understand the annual cycle of worship and Scripture reading followed at Wilshire? Come learn all about the church year. Will You? If you think you re not old enough to make a will, you re probably wrong. Learn why you need a will, how to make one and how to do a world of good for God s work after you re gone. Know Your Own Strengths. This preview session will introduce you to the StrengthsFinder assessment and the Living Your God-given Strengths Class. Learn how to take a positive inventory of the giftedness God has placed in you. Lunch Noon to 12:30 p.m. Session 2 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. Life After Loss of a Child: Hear a panel of parents talk about what they ve experienced since the death of a child and how friends and others may be helpful and not helpful in such situations. Sponsored by the Grief and Loss Center of North Texas. We Love Our Residents: Hear Paul Johnson s report on visiting almost all of Wilshire s former pastoral residents where they serve across the country. Learn how Wilshire s children are doing away from home, and be inspired by the success of the Pathways to Ministry program. Why Am I Always Talking about Money? Hear Senior Pastor George Mason explain why he doesn t shy away from preaching about financial stewardship. Come ask questions and engage the pastor in a dialogue on faith, money and the church. CPR with Adults and Children: Learn how to perform cardiac pulmonary resuscitation on both adults and children. Ideal for parents, teachers and child care workers. The class will be taught by Parish Nurse Linda Garner and is limited to 10 participants by advance registration. Connections: All new members are invited to learn more about the work and ministry of Wilshire and how to plug in. Sponsored by the New Member Committee. Reading Scripture in Public: Doug Haney and Jenna Worthen will offer a laboratory experience for anyone who wants to gain confidence in reading Scripture in public settings such as morning worship or in Sunday School classes. Know Your Own Strengths. This preview session will introduce you to the StrengthsFinder assessment and the Living Your God-given Strengths Class. Learn how to take a positive inventory of the giftedness God has placed in you. Session 3 1:30 to 2:20 p.m. Life After Loss by Suicide: Hear a panel of parents, siblings and children of those who have completed suicide talk about how others may best support those who walk this road. Sponsored by the Grief and Loss Center of North Texas. We Love Our Residents: Hear Paul Johnson s report on visiting almost all of Wilshire s former pastoral residents where they serve across the country. Learn how Wilshire s children are doing away from home, and be inspired by the success of the Pathways to Ministry program. Reading Scripture in Public: Doug Haney and Jenna Worthen will offer a laboratory experience for anyone who wants to gain confidence in reading Scripture in public settings such as morning worship or in Sunday School classes. Seasons of the Church Year: Do you know why the church year begins with Advent? Ever wonder what the colors of the banners in the Sanctuary mean? Want to understand the annual cycle of worship and Scripture reading followed at Wilshire? Come learn all about the church year. Will You? If you think you re not old enough to make a will, you re probably wrong. Learn why you need a will, how to make one and how to do a world of good for God s work after you re gone. 3

4 Saddle up for Young at Heart Camp A new edition of Wilshire s popular Young at Heart Camp is planned for April, and all adults age 60 and older are invited to participate. Young at Heart is youth camp for senior adults. Our motto is, Why should the youth have all the fun at camp? explained Associate Pastor Mark Wingfield, organizer of the camp through the Wilshire Adventurers Committee. This will be our third senior adult camp, building upon the success of camps in 2007 and The location is Camp Buckner, located in the Texas Hill Country near Burnet. Accommodations are in private motel-style rooms with either double or triple occupancy. Most meals will be served in the camp dining room. Daily activities include crafts, hiking, table games, Bible study, worship and music. Camp pastor will be Pastoral Resident Samuel Gunter. The group will depart Wilshire on a chartered motor coach Monday morning, April 22, at 7 a.m. All Monday activities will take place at camp. On Tuesday afternoon, the group will travel a short distance to tour the LBJ National Park and the Texas White House, stopping in Marble Falls on the way back for pie happy hour at the famous Bluebonnet Café. After a full day of opportunity at camp on Wednesday, the group will enjoy dinner at the Canyon of the Eagles resort on Lake Buchanan. On Thursday afternoon, campers will travel to Austin for lunch and a tour of the University of Texas campus, followed by a guided tour of the Texas Capitol. Back at camp that night, the festivities will conclude with dinner and a hymn sing and talent show. After breakfast and Bible study Friday morning, the group will depart for home, with stops for lunch at Schoepf s Bar-B-Que in Belton Upcoming events for Wilshire Adventurers Tuesday, Jan. 22 Game day in Community Hall beginning at 10:30 a.m. Lunch also available: Taco salad and tortilla soup. No reservation required; just show up. Thursday, Feb. 14 Matinee performance of Anything Goes in the Lexus Broadway Series at the Winspear Opera House. Join the group for fantastic seats for this Valentine s Day performance at 2 p.m. Transportation on your own. Tickets on sale today in the South Lobby. Thursday, March 7 Field trip to the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Meet at the church for an 11 a.m. departure on a chartered motor coach. First stop is the downtown El Fenix for lunch, followed by a visit to the museum. and a driving tour of Baylor University in Waco. The bus should arrive back at Wilshire by 3:30 p.m. Cost for the week at camp is $455 per person based on double occupancy or $430 per person based on triple occupancy (three separate beds in the same room). To sign up, make a deposit of $50 with Kathi Lyle in the associate pastor s office. The final balance will be due Monday, April 15. Guests and friends of Wilshire members are welcome to participate. Hymns We Love: Joy to the World This is the fourth installment in the series Hymns We Love. By Michael Moorhead For most of my life, Joy to the World was not one of my favorite hymns of the Christmas season; as a youth I preferred O Holy Night or I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. And as a college student if someone mentioned Joy to the World to me I probably first thought of the Three Dog Night version. In fact, when the Court Jesters at Texas Tech University blasted out, Jeremiah was a Bullfrog, students in Lubbock present for a Red Raider basketball game erupted with applause and excitement and, yes, joy. But it really wasn t joy we were feeling, not like the joy expressed in our hymn. The feeling experienced by so many of us on those cold winter nights in Lubbock was the thrill of the athletic contest, the closeness 4 of other fans and the hope of a Red Raider victory; but we weren t experiencing joy. As the hymn notes, joy to the world comes about through the abiding, constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ. The coming of the Christ is the only time joy comes to the world. We experience extreme happiness through many of life s good occurrences the pleasure of a good marriage, the birth of a long-awaited baby, and many others but only Jesus Christ brings us joy. In numerous poems from the English Romantic writers there is mention of joy, and on most occasions my students quickly see the difference between joy and extreme happiness, and so do we. Jesus Christ expresses God s presence in the lives of all humankind, from the faltering, hesitant beginnings with Adam through the centuries until the end of time as we know it if that ever happens. And through all man s sins and shortcomings and our need to put ourselves first, before God and everything and everyone else, God has come to us through Jesus Christ expressing God s constant, unwavering love for us. And so as Isaac Watts s memorable words joyfully ring out, at this Christmas season and all year long, let us sing our Joy to the World and express our thanks for the wonders of his love. Sounds of Wilshire Did you know you can enjoy the sounds of Wilshire even after Sunday morning? Not only are full video versions of Sunday morning worship available on the church website, but be sure to check out the Sounds of Wilshire page, where you ll find audio recordings of much of the recent anthems, solos and instrumental pieces. This Wednesday at Wilshire Start the new year with a new habit of attending midweek Bible study at Wilshire. Come enjoy lunch or dinner in Koinonia Cafe before the study at noon or at 6 p.m. This Wednesday, Pastoral Resident John Jay Alvaro and Senior Pastor George Mason begin a new fourweek study on the Body. Next week s session will include appearances from Wilshire s resident alumni who will be in town for the annual alumni reunion week. If you ve never tried Wednesdays at Wilshire or you ve fallen out of the habit, now s a great time to come check it out.

5 I Am Wilshire Matt Powers At the beginning of 2010, Matt Powers began working for Guidestone Financial Resources, formerly known as the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, because he really likes helping people to achieve financial success. I set up retirement plans for individuals who work for churches, he said. I ve always been interested in money issues. They re so foreign to many people, but we have to learn to deal with them. It s a real privilege to work with people who want direction. I m also a financial advisor. We work with any organization that Guidestone serves, such as children s homes, any Southern Baptist Conventionaffiliated university; Baylor University; seminaries and hospitals, including Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene; and Valley Baptist Medical Center in the Rio Grande Valley. Born in Arlington, Matt is a graduate of Arlington High School. My dad was a coach at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, and I played baseball every season, he said. His position was second base, but the closest he got to big-time baseball was working in the parking lot at The Ballpark in Arlington when he was in high school. That was his first real job, and it was short-lived, as he soon moved on to being a host at the nearby T.G.I. Friday s. When he turned 18, he began waiting tables there. Baptized as an infant in another Christian tradition, Matt made a public profession of faith at a church camp he attended with friends when he was in ninth grade. When he was in high school, he attended Woods Chapel Baptist Church in Arlington. He also began playing guitar in high school. Now I play mostly with friends, he said, but as a teenager he played for youth events at a church whose worship pastor was a friend of his. As Matt was approaching graduation from high school in 2003, he was considering attending Baylor University or Southern Methodist University and eventually settled on Baylor, where his best friend was going. That choice turned out to be providential, as he met his future wife, Victoria, there. Initially he was interested in majoring in architecture, but Baylor doesn t have an architecture program, so I took basic courses at first, he explained. I finally decided to major in business, and I graduated with a degree in risk management, insurance and real estate. As a member of a Baylor fraternity, Matt was involved in intramurals and in a variety of service projects, such as Habitat for Humanity; river clean-up; fundraisers for the I Love Orphans organization; and annual events such as the yearly Sing and the construction of homecoming floats. He also kept busy by waiting tables, first at Friday s, and then, after about a year, at Diamondbacks, where some of his friends worked. He continued there all the way through school. That s also where he met Victoria. I was a junior and she was a freshman. We didn t start dating right away, Matt said. We went on our first date the week I graduated. After graduation in 2007 he stayed in Waco for several months while preparing for his financial advisor test. That made it convenient for him to continue getting to know Victoria better. Matt moved to Dallas that July to begin working for AXA Advisors. I specialized in setting up retirement plans for teachers, and I was there for about three years, he said. I proposed to Victoria in December 2009 after she had graduated from Baylor and was studying at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, he said. We were on a Christmas vacation in New York City. We were married the following June. Victoria and Matt became acquainted with Wilshire when Victoria was interning with Minister for Care Ministries Tiffany Wright. They previously had been visiting Broadway Baptist in Fort Worth. Broadway s pastor also mentioned Wilshire to them when they were planning to settle in Dallas. We lived in Old East Dallas, and we really liked Wilshire, he said. When Victoria joined Wilshire, he walked down the aisle with her, but he formally joined soon after the new church membership policy went into effect this fall. I affirmed my previous baptism in November, along with about 10 other people, he said. Matt keeps extra busy these days, as he and Victoria have just bought a house near the church. He also is working on an MBA in management at Dallas Baptist University and expects to graduate in December He and Victoria are members of Koinonia Class. By the numbers Financial report for Dec. 30 Weekly Ministry Fund projected... $263,443 Weekly Ministry Fund received... $207,565* Annual Ministry Fund projected... $1,881,287 Annual Ministry Fund received... $1,739,285* Annual ahead/behind... -$142,001* Crossings campaign this week...$31,722 Crossings campaign total received... $3,194,614 Pathways Endowment this week... $6,430 Pathways Endowment total received... $1,950,224 Special missions for year... $45,430 *An additional $143,103 in Ministry Fund contributions was received on Dec. 31, which will be reported in next week s totals. However, for the calendar year-end, that placed gifts ahead of budget by $1,102. Thank you to all who pushed to help us enter the new year ahead of budget. Condolences to: Pat Tomlinson on the death of her huband, Warren Tomlinson, Dec. 29. Henry Stone on the death of his uncle, Robert Brooke, Dec. 27. Doug and Lori Haney on the death of Doug s nephew, Matthew Haney, Dec

6 Wilshire contacts To any member of the Wilshire staff, use the first initial with the full last name and then To phone staff, dial (214) and the three-digit extension: Pastoral offices George Mason (132) Debby Burton (132) Mark Wingfield (128) Kathi Lyle (130) Pathways to Ministry Geri McKenzie (159) John Jay Alvaro (154) Annette Thornburg (153) Austin Almaguer (155) Samuel Gunter (152) Business offices Paul Johnson (157) Teresa M. Newtown (131) Susan Kimball (108) Dale Pride (101) Sandy Allen (150; sgallen) Lauren Crain (111) Wilshire Baptist Church 4316 Abrams Rd Dallas TX PERIODICALS RATE Age-graded ministries Jessica Capps (129) Darren DeMent (102) Julie Girards (103) Joan Hammons (141) Holly Irvin (106) Care ministries Tiffany Wright (107) Debby Burton (132) Missions offices Sandy Allen (150) Music offices Doug Haney (123) Sarah Stafford (121) Barbara Clayton (125) Jeff Brummel (122) Food services John Jost (117) Weekday Education Mary Browder (115) Parish nurse Linda Garner (151) Library Jeri Baker (114) Word as Image exhibit in South Lobby A new art exhibit in the South Lobby explores the mystery of the word as a vehicle of communication across generations. Word as Image features the work of Sandra Bowden, a friend of Wilshire who lives in New England and has been curator for a number of the traveling exhibits Wilshire has hosted in the past. Her work in this exhibit offers a complex meditation on time, incorporating biblical archaeological references and ancient text in the art. Visual concepts and textual concepts merge to offer both literal and figurative representations in various media. She fuses the vivid yet traditional imagery of the Old Testament stone tablets and artifacts, Hebrew inscriptions, architectural depictions with images of Christ s passion, important music scores and God s natural creations. Sandra has been interpreting Scripture and her own spiritual walk through mixed media for more than 40 years. She has been acclaimed as one of the most unique, impressive and inspiring Christian artists in America. Her work has been featured in books, magazines and gallery shows across the United States, Canada, Italy and Jerusalem. My Christian faith has been the driving force behind my art, Sandra said. I look at the making of a piece of art as a kind of doxology, a prayer or conversation with God. I don t mean this in any mystical way, but my ideas come out of my theology and thoughts about God. I am somewhat of a theologian, but one who translates those interpretations into visual form. Word as Image is now on display in the South Lobby and will be available for viewing most of January. Heavens Declare the Glory of God, by Sandra Bowden, part of the Word as Image exhibit now at Wilshire. 6