Visions. Recovering Sinners, Stumbling Saints Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, Sounding Board

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1 D e c / j a n the pastor s Sounding Board Visions Here is the twenty-second in a series of articles called The Pastor s Sounding Board. This series gives you a chance to hear from senior pastors of CBF/GA. Matt Marston, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Moultrie, is the writer for this issue. A sounding board is a structure over a pulpit or rostrum to give distinctness to a speaker s voice. In these articles, we expect to hear about some of the best practices occurring in our churches, and we hope to hear some of the best thoughts that our lead pastors have. We hope these words will challenge you and your church to open new vistas of ministry in Georgia and around the world. Recovering Sinners, Stumbling Saints Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 About 8 years ago, an angel walked into our church. Not a supernatural being with wide-feathered wings. An angel in the other biblical sense of messenger from God. Henry came to Moultrie with an addiction, a record, and a need to turn his life around. He entered Turning Point Hospital, an addiction treatment center in town, and made his way through the program. One Sunday night, Henry circled the church building, looking for an open door and the church family he thought he needed. Eventually he came to the fellowship hall, finding a small group being led by Michael Helms, my predecessor. Michael and our members warmly welcomed Henry. I don t know if they were thinking of Hebrews 13 as they were living it. I know that small group had no idea how important this welcome was to be for our church. Henry is now a deacon. Our church now welcomes friends from AA and Turning Point that Henry and his wife Glenda introduce to us. We now have church members from Detroit! No small thing in Colquitt County. Along the way our church has learned how to welcome people different from most of the congregation without minimizing those differences. Some of our Inside... Matt Marston matt@trinityofmoultrie.org senior adult women have learned to go up to a visitors and say, Welcome. What do your tattoos mean? We re learning how to welcome people in recovery, which is a good thing. An even better thing is all the ways we are beginning to learn from our friends in recovery. For a long while, I knew what Frederick Buechner, Dallas Willard, and others say about AA it has much to teach the church. I m not sure I believed it until recently. I m convinced God led Henry to Trinity not so we could learn how to welcome alcoholics, but so we can learn from them. Our Wednesday evening study this fall is called 12 Steps for Christians. Each week, we cover one step. We listen to a testimony and explanation of the step from one of our friends in recovery and then endure me talking to show the relation between the step and Scripture. The steps were inspired by the Sermon on the Mount and our study confirms this inspiration. They are both challenging and liberating. They make us uncomfortable and give us new dreams of transformation. We are beginning to recover from our sanitized superficiality that pretends church is for people who have it together. Here s just one theological example: the concept of recovery shines bright light on Christian understandings of discipleship that often remain muddled. (continues on page 11) 2 Events & Updates 4 ReCharge 6 Now Serving 8 From Our Leadership 11 Financial Report 12 On the Calendar

2 Events & Updates CBF/GA 2014 Fall General Assembly Report The 2014 CBF/GA Fall General Assembly was a time of laughter and fellowship. The congregation of First Baptist Church of Athens gave a warm welcome to attendees. The two day event featured times of breakouts, networking, worship, and meals. The CBF/GA Coordinating Council, Baptist Women in Ministry of Georgia, and the Baptist Deacon Network Leadership Team held meetings on Sunday afternoon. After these three groups convened, all Fall General Assembly attendees gathered for a business meeting and worship service in the sanctuary. Music was performed by the First Baptist Church of Athens music ministry and a joint choir composed of singers from First Baptist Church of Athens, First Baptist Church of Jefferson, First Baptist Church of Monroe, Madison Baptist Church, Milledge Avenue Baptist Church of Athens, and Royston Baptist Church. Randy Brittain, Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Athens, led the music for the evening. Paul Baxley opened with a welcome from CBF/GA and from First Baptist Church of Athens. Financial and budget reports, the coordinating council nominating slate, and the discernment report were presented during the business meeting. Frank Broome ended the business session by thanking Paul Baxley for his work as Moderator. The 2 December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS

3 events & updates combined choirs began the worship service part of the evening with the call to worship and Edward Bolen, Pastor of Milledge Avenue Baptist Church of Athens, gave the invocation. Frank Broome described the need to tell the story of CBF/GA. Frank s reflections can be found on page 10 of this issue. Carlton Allen, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Commerce, read scripture and Martha Kate Hall introduced three of this year s scholarship recipients. Amanda and Trey Harper, Co-Pastors of Community Baptist Church in Milledgeville, introduced the keynote speaker, Susan Sparks. Susan, pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City, spoke about the need to identify and remove the trash in our lives that prevents us from growing beautiful things within ourselves. The benediction was given by Sarah Holik Murray. The service was followed by a dessert reception and book signing in the Fellowship Hall. Monday began with breakfasts for pastors, laity, and church staff. Networks for chaplains and pastoral counselors and workers in ministry areas of children, education, music, and youth were offered in the first session along with breakouts by Marion Aldridge, Alan Culpepper, and Brent Walker. Pastors met with Susan Sparks. The break between sessions was held in the Fellowship Hall with the exhibitors. The second session featured more breakouts with topics such as Cooperative Student Fellowships, healthcare, church and state, and an opportunity for laity to meet with Susan Sparks. The event ended with a luncheon. Laura Beth Adams, CBF/GA intern, gave the blessing and Randy Brittain performed the special music. Paul Baxley moderated a dialogue with Frank Broome, Sarah Holik Murray, and Suzii Paynter regarding CBF/GA and CBF/National related topics. Henry Tyson gave the benediction. We hope you will join with us in April for Spring General Assembly! (See page 5 for more details.)... December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS 3

4 events & updates ReCharge (our annual youth retreat) was held Friday-Sunday, October 3-5, at Woodland Christian Camp in Temple. We had an excellent weekend of retreat with 60 participants this year. As we focused on the theme Pause Life, students participated in a variety of breakout sessions including walking a prayer labyrinth, painting, working on mission projects, Bible study, and drama. Special thanks to Rachel Greco who helped in numerous ways throughout the weekend, Megan Cassady who served as our photographer, David Keel who was our preacher, and Ryan Wilson who was our worship leader.... Participating Churches First Baptist Church of Forsyth First Baptist Church of Morrow Peachtree Baptist Church Royston Baptist Church second-ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Atlanta 4 December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS

5 events & updates N E W T I M E! 2015 S p r i n g G e n e r a l A s s e m b ly will be held on Friday-Saturday, April 24-25, at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Mark your calendars now!... Of special note: The 2015 Georgia Youth Choir will not be performing in Macon as previously announced. For more information about the event, please contact Martha Kate Hall at mkhall@cbfga.org or , ext. 2. Mark your calendars now for Senior Celebration! The Monday event will be held on May 18 at First Baptist Church of Jasper. The Tuesday event will be held on May 19 at Haddock Baptist Church. For more information about Senior Celebration, contact Renée Bennett at , ext. 3. December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS 5

6 events & updates February 6-7, 2015 Now Serving: Atlanta is a great opportunity for college and graduate students to connect with each other and the needs of the world around them. Now Serving is a twenty-four-hour mission service event held Friday evening to Saturday evening. The event is sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and Mercer University s McAfee School of Theology. Participants meet and worship on Mercer University s Atlanta campus and serve a diverse collection of mission sites across the city. The cost is $20 per participant, which includes lodging, two meals, mission supplies, and a t-shirt. Lydia Fields, worship leader for this year, is the Associate Pastor of Communications and Young Adults/ College Ministry at First Baptist Church of Gainesville. Lydia went to Berry College in Rome for undergraduate studies and then to McAfee School of Theology. Lydia grew up playing guitar and leading worship and loves serving God in this way. She looks forward to an exciting weekend serving with students across Georgia! Luke Moody, preacher for this year, is a second year student at McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. He graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, in the spring of Go Bruins! Coming into seminary, he did not have a refined calling, but now senses God is calling him to serve in a community pastor position outside of the Southeast. He loves sports, coffee, and talking with friends. For more information, please contact Martha Kate Hall at mkhall@cbfga.org or , ext Registration is now open! Visit to register December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS

7 march mission madnes s March Mission Madness (MMM) is a weekend retreat for church youth groups which gives students opportunities for fellowship, worship, and mission work. MMM 2015 will be held Friday-Sunday, March in Madison and on Friday-Sunday, March in Warm Springs. During this weekend students will learn and explore multiple ways to do missions. They will have an opportunity for hands-on missions work in a variety of venues. Students will also be able to interact and develop friendships with students from other churches. While students will be working hard, there will also be time for rest, worship, fellowship, and play. David Collinsworth, MMM worship leader, is one of the founding pastors of Discover Point Church in Conyers. He serves as the Worship Arts Pastor. David and his wife Lisa moved to Conyers in 2005 along with their pastor s family to start Discover Point. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in music from Mercer University in Since moving to Conyers, David has focused on building relationships with the people in his community and connecting them to the local church. He believes living an authentic life and having honest relationships encourages people to know Jesus. He has also built relationships with a network of worship leaders in his area in order to encourage one another in ministry. He has a heart for people and wants to see more churches planted in Georgia and across the world. He also has a passion for songwriting. David and Lisa have 2 children, Ethan and Ella, and as a family they hope to help reach their community for Christ. Kristy Bay Kristy Bay, MMM preacher, grew up outside Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Belmont University. There, she earned two degrees in Music and French. While in college, she David Collinsworth Registration is now open online! The cost for those who register before Friday, January 9, will be $90 with a $40 deposit due no later than January 9. For any group registering after Saturday, January 10, the cost will be $100. The event cost will cover lodging, meals, mission supplies and a t-shirt for the weekend. The final registration day will be Monday, January 26. events & updates stumbled upon her love of student ministry and began to explore her calling as a student minister, preacher, writer, and musician. She earned her master of divinity degree from McAfee School of Theology. This is also where she met her husband, Zach (who is currently the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Middlesboro, Kentucky). Together, they are two ordained Baptist ministers who have four cats (because they are suckers for rescued kittens)...but that s another story! Kristy has nine years of experience (and counting) in student ministry. She absolutely loves helping students grow holistically as they discover the intersection of life and faith. Kristy has worked with numerous churches in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky as a preacher, student minister, retreat leader, devotion writer, worship leader, and student pastoral care giver. In addition, she has blogged for Baptist Women in Ministry, written devotions for Smith and Helwys Reflections and NextSunday Resources, and has been published in the book This is What a Preacher Looks Like. She was awarded the 2010 Emily Weatherspoon Preaching Award for excellence in preaching, and has been the Martha Stearns Marshall preacher for three years. During her time in Georgia, Kristy served on CBF s Coordinating Council, and has been pastor for Recharge and March Mission Madness. Kristy is delighted to return to Madness, as this is one of her favorite student ministry events! march mission immersion March Mission Immersion (MMI) will be held at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta on Friday-Sunday, March MMI will provide participants with an urban immersion experience as they sleep in bunk housing at Lydia s House which is a part of the Park Avenue Campus. Jen and Trey Lyon, CBF Field Personnel, will guide students through educational modules which will help them explore issues related to poverty and justice as well as lead the students in worship throughout the weekend. This year students will spend Saturday afternoon working at mission sites in the Atlanta area. N E W! NOTE: Registration for March Mission Immersion at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta is now closed. The event has been fully booked. Please visit for registration details. Contact Martha Kate Hall for more information at mkhall@cbfga.org or , ext. 2. December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS 7

8 ...from our leadership Llama Llama, HOLIDRAMA! Martha Kate Hall, associate coordinator for congregational life Sometimes we should take a rest and hold the ones we love the best. Wishing, waiting, wanting things we forget what this time brings. Gifts are nice, but there s another the true gift is we have each other. One of my favorite Christmas traditions is reading Christmas books with my daughter Melody each night in December leading up to Christmas. At the beginning of December, I wrap twenty-four books and each night we open a new one and read it together. Last year Melody received a new Christmas book from her grandparents that has become one of my favorites. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney tells the story of a little llama who, like any other preschooler, has a difficult time waiting for Christmas to arrive! Llama Llama helps Mama Llama as they shop for gifts, put up decorations, and bake cookies; all the while asking and wondering how long before Christmas. At school Llama Llama sings songs, makes decorations and gifts, but the days seem to go by so slowly. Finally Llama Llama has had too much. All this waiting for one day? Time for presents RIGHT AWAY! Too much music, too much fluff! Too much making, too much stuff! Too much everything for Llama Llama Llama, HOLIDRAMA! My favorite part of the book is Mama Lama s response, Come and listen, little Llama. Have a cuddle with your mama. Sometimes we should take a rest and hold the ones we love the best. Wishing, waiting, wanting things we forget what this time brings. Gifts are nice, but there s another the true gift is we have each other. This book came to mind as I was thinking of the way things feel in my work life at the moment. There is a certain pattern of things in the CBF/GA office. We spend a great deal of time and energy preparing for events such as General Assembly, Now Serving, or March Mission Madness. We create promotional materials, register groups and individuals, make room reservations, set menus, create schedules, plan activities, and work out every detail we can think of. Sometimes it feels like we have been planning, preparing, and waiting for the day to arrive for so long, that we wonder if it will ever come. When the day finally comes we are thrilled and can t wait to enjoy the gift of our CBF/GA family. While we do enjoy the preparation just as Llama enjoyed the shopping, decorating, and baking, the greater blessing comes when we are able to see the result of our work and spend time with our family. As Christmas and the New Year are quickly approaching, we are preparing for a very busy season in the life of CBF/GA. I hope you will pray with us in the upcoming year. Pray for the students and leaders who will serve at mission sites throughout Madison, Warm Springs, and Atlanta. Pray for the individuals who will be impacted through the work of these students. Pray for the churches within our state as they continue to seek to serve in their own communities on a daily basis. Pray for the ministers in CBF/GA churches as they seek to guide their own congregations and minister to one another. Pray for the CBF/GA staff, that we may continue to be good stewards of the resources given to us, that we may continue to provide quality programming for our churches, and that we may be a resource for Baptist ministers and laity in Georgia. Though the holidrama, may you enjoy the gift of each other this Christmas season,... attention: Ministers and Lay Leaders Who Work with Students Make plans now to join us for the Spring Gathering on Friday-Saturday, April 24-25, at Second- Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. On Friday we will meet together to discuss leadership development events for students hosted by CBF/GA. I would like for you to give input as we look toward the future, seeking ways to improve and expand our programming. 8 December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS

9 from our leadership Failure? or Abundance? Paul Baxley, moderator In recent years, I have been increasingly fascinated by Jesus so-called Parable of the Sower. It is the first of his parables of the kingdom, and it is presented in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I have memories that reach far back into my elementary and middle school years of studying Jesus parable and the interpretation he offers. In the decades since, like pastors everywhere, I have taught this parable and preached sermons based on it. More and more, it has become foundational for the way I understand the ministry of the church and the life of its ministers. I find myself thinking about it and praying through it more and more. It is hard to read that Parable without being struck by how much does not turn out well. Some seed falls on a rocky path and is immediately eaten by birds. Other seed lands on rocky ground, where there is not enough deep soil, and as soon as the sun comes up, the plant that sprang up quickly withers even more suddenly. Other seed falls among thorns and is choked before it yields any grain. Three fourths of the seed planted does not lead to maturity. If the seed represents the Gospel being planted in lives and congregations, three fourths of the places it is scattered it does not reach maturity. One cannot read the parable of the sower and walk away believing that everywhere the gospel is preached that mature faith will result. One cannot read this parable and decide that every act of faith will be met with success. One cannot hear this parable without recognizing that so often the word is cast into less than receptive soil, into toxic contexts. For this reason, there is a great temptation to read the parable primarily as a commentary on the manifold reasons that faith does not grow, or that we do not experience the results for which we hope and pray in the life of the church. Prominent theologian Stanley Hauerwas has gone so far as to suggest, I do not think it a radical suggestion that this parable rightly helps us read the situation of the church in America as Jesus judgment on that church. The church in America is not a soil capable of growing deep roots. I do think that Hauerwas challenge provokes important reflection on what kind collective soil we are as the church in North America, and what we could do to be communities more receptive to the word and more encouraging of growth. But at the end of the day, I do not believe that Jesus parable is about failure. Nor do I hear it as an announcement of judgment. While the parable does not participate in a denial of the challenges facing the church, I am coming more and more to hear Jesus parable as a proclamation that even in a world marked by unreceptive soils, there are still places where the Gospel flourishes abundantly. There are still communities in which lives are being changed by God s grace, Will we focus our attention where justice and righteousness and peace are being on what hasn t turned out, or will we fix our eyes on pursued, where people are being formed more and more the places where God s into the likeness of Christ. grace is breaking out and Jesus says, more or less, that participate in the abundant where the seed grows, it grows amazingly and abundantly. As growth that is there? he says, these are the ones sown on good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. The parable ends on a note of compelling growth and abundant life. This parable is not finally a proclamation of judgment; it is an announcement of abundance! So when we read the parable, we have to ask a question that ministers, lay leaders, and denominational leaders must ask each day. Do we spend our time analyzing failure? Lamenting what has gone wrong? Convincing ourselves that the future prospects are dim? Or do we train our eyes, minds, and hearts to see God s abundance, whatever form it takes, and offer ourselves to it? For the last several decades, there has been plenty of conversation about what is wrong in the church. It is easy to be focused on all the places and times where things have not turned out as we hoped. But Jesus parable places a clear call before each of us in our personal discipleship, before each of our congregations, and before Cooperative Baptists (along with Christians of all other denominations): Will we focus our attention on what hasn t turned out, or will we fix our eyes on the places where God s grace is breaking out and participate in the abundant growth that is there? In the year that I have served as moderator of CBF/GA, I have become more and more convinced that there are many places in our life together where the seed of the Gospel is growing, and where God is doing amazing work. I have experienced God s beautiful grace in relationships with Fellowship Baptists and have seen abundance breaking out in congregations and in the ministry of partners. As we strengthen our relationships with each other, clarify our shared mission further, and find our collective voice, I believe we will find ourselves being used more and more as agents of God s grace and instruments of his love. I look forward to being part of a community claimed by God s abundant grace. December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS 9

10 from our leadership Frankly Speaking Frank Broome, Executive Coordinator, At the end of September I attended the Preaching Consultation at St. Simons where Dianna Butler Bass was the keynote speaker. She is one of, if not the most, respected observers of religious life today. Her books have captured the attention of this generation and include such titles as Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, A People s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story, and Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith. She spent part of her three lectures introducing us to an inverted bell curve. One side represented the institutional decline of the church, and the other side represented the reawakening of the church. The bottom of the curve was, of course, a period of anxiety and debate that comes with emerging change. I was struck by how much this sounded like what I was reading and teaching in the 80s and 90s around the general theme of Shaping the Future of the Church. Based on the writing of Jere Allen and others, those of us in denominational leadership were trying to help congregations understand what was happening to their communities and their congregations. I will never forget an elderly lady who came up to me after one of these conferences and told me bluntly that I was wrong in my evaluation about the future of her congregation. She said, and I quote, All we need is for those who have left to return. If they will do that, our church will be fine. Of course, these members had moved from her transitional neighborhood in droves, and they were not about to return. On another occasion an older gentleman came up to me after my remarks and said, Brother Frank, you don t understand. I was baptized right there [pointing to the baptistery]. My wife and I were married right there [pointing to the platform]. My children were baptized right there. My wife s casket was right there. I want my casket to be there as well. We are not going anywhere. Of course, he is now gone, but so is the church. This church had baptized 400 people in It sold the property when it got down to 40 people in attendance. The difference between what we were saying in the 80s and what Dianna Butler Bass is saying now has to do with emphasis. We were talking about demographic change, such as income and race. She is taking about something larger what could be called a cultural shift. Instead of just thinking about demographic changes in the neighborhood, she is looking at shifts in attitudes and values. Things like the growing distrust of institutions or the emergence of online communities, coupled with a growing secular culture, have had a major impact on church attendance. The new buzz phrase of I am spiritual but not religious is but one example of this change. I wish she had said more about the decline in birth rate among mainline Protestant groups. From where I stand, about 60% of the decline in church membership can be traced to a decline in mainline birth rate. In the year I was born there were 42 live births per 1,000 white Protestant women. This past year that figure was 11 live births per 1,000 women. At the end of the last session I managed to ask her the following question: If our families were the same size as those of our grandparents, would we be having this discussion? She looked me in the eye and said, NO, we would not. If I am correct, 40% of mainline church decline is due to other cultural forces like the ones she so clearly identifies. That is no small percent, and we should take it seriously. I can hear some of my friends laughing while saying, Well. Frank, what do you want us to do? Have more children? That, of course, would help, but is not likely to happen in our crowd. What we can do is open ourselves to change. I mean real change. We either need to start new congregations that worship and minister in new ways, or we need to change our existing ways of worship and ministry. While other groups are talking about who is left behind, we need to be taking about who is included. We need to not only talk about inclusion, but practice it as well. Perhaps a combination of new congregations and revitalized old ones is the answer. I found some encouragement recently from an unlikely source. It was the last scene in the third Mad Max movie. In that scene Mel Gibson s character, Mad Max, has led the small group of young orphans to the border of the Promised Land. He has departed, and the leader of the group is a young alpha female named Savannah Nix. Each night she gathers her brood around the campfire and begins what she calls the tell. Listen to her words. Not only do they describe us, but they offer direction and hope something we desperately need. Time counts and keeps countin, and we knows now finding the trick of what s been and lost ain t no easy ride. But that s our trek, we gotta travel it. And there ain t nobody knows where it s gonna lead. Still in all, every night we does the tell, so that we member who we was and where we came from... but most of all we members the man that finded us, him that came the salvage. And we lights the city, not just for him, but for all of them that are still out there. Cause we knows there come a night, when they sees the distant light, and they ll be comin home. 10 December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS

11 Recovering Sinners Stumbling Saints... (continued from page 1) You ve seen the bumper sticker: Christians aren t perfect, just forgiven. Those seem to be our options. Either Christians are good people, maybe who were suddenly transformed upon conversion, who need to show their goodness to the world or Christians are just like everyone else, only forgiven. If Christians are good, what about our continuing struggle with sin? That leaves us in denial engaging in a cover-up. If Christians are just forgiven, what happens to Jesus call to personal transformation? Often, we make that call impersonal to us. It is for other people or primarily for social institutions and systems. The concept of recovery helps us avoid these extremes. In AA, those in recovery continue to introduce themselves as an alcoholic even if they haven t had a drop to drink in years. They will still be an alcoholic the rest of their lives. This isn t morbid or hopeless because they can be a recovering alcoholic. They can not drink. They can make real progress in healthy living and thinking. They can be transformed in ever deeper ways. In this life, we all remain sinners. We will never fully escape this condition or be free from its symptoms. But we can be in recovery. The Holy Spirit can bear fruit in us. We can become more patient, gentle, forgiving, peaceful, and loving. We can be recovering sinners. Dallas Willard asks, How different would our churches be if every time someone stood in front of a microphone they said, My name is and I m a recovering sinner? At Trinity, our friends in recovery are helping us ask that same question. Matt Marston joined the staff of Trinity as Senior Pastor in June Prior to that, Matt served as a pastoral resident at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Matt holds a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and a master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. CBF/GA has a Facebook page! Come like us at All 2014 contributions to CBF/GA must be received in the office, or be postmarked, by December 31, Thank you. (Please see back page for more details.) financial update Budget Receipts as of 10/31/2014 (fiscal year begins in January) Year to Date 2014 Budget Receipts: $416, Year to Date 2014 Budget Requirement: $460, October 2014 Budget Receipts: $38, October 2014 Budget Requirement: $46, Under $7, Year to Date 2014 Designated Receipts: $98, Year to Date 2014 Designated Expenses: $159, Under $61, Under $44, K 40K 60K 80K 100K 200K 300K 400K 500K... Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia P.O. Box 4343, Macon, GA phone fax CBF/GA Staff executive coordinator E. Frank Broome fbroome@cbfga.org associate coordinator for congregational life Martha Kate Hall mkhall@cbfga.org assistant to the coordinator for networking Renée Bennett rbennett@cbfga.org administrative assistant Rachel Greco rgreco@cbfga.org assistant for communications and resources ElizaBeth Ruff eruff@cbfga.org assistant to the coordinator for finance Dawn Williams dwilliams@cbfga.org disaster response coordinator Tommy Deal tdeal@cbfga.org campus minister for csf mercer James Blay, interim jblay@cbfga.org campus minister for csf georgia tech and csf at uga Scott Lee slee@cbfga.org cbf/ga atlanta network coordinator Tony Lankford tlankford033@hotmail.com CBF/GA Coordinating Council moderator Paul Baxley, Athens moderator-elect Sarah Holik Murray, Griffin past-moderator Joyce McCartney, Griffin clerk Larkin Hudson Cunningham, Manchester finance chair Henry Tyson, Villa Rica treasurer Jim Bruner, Macon Jonathan Barlow, Royston Marc Burcham, Atlanta Timothy Clagg, Alpharetta Ken Corcoran, Columbus Steve Davis, Carrollton Janice Hale, Gainesville Colin Harris, Stone Mountain Tom Hawkins, Morrow Neil Heath, Macon Joy Huddlestun, Jasper Bill Ireland, Dalton Glenda Kessler, St. Simons Island Matt Marston, Moultrie Craig McMahan, Macon Lauren Mills, Marietta Barrett Owen, Fayetteville Chip Reeves, Augusta Carey Russell, Forsyth David Sapp, Atlanta Charles Smith, Madison Ken Smith, Forsyth Steve Stokes, Thomson Geoff Timms, Hawkinsville Bob Trammell, Newnan Keithen Tucker, Eatonton Student Representative Meggie Dant, Atlanta VISIONS is published six times a year by CBF/GA. All questions and comments may be directed to ElizaBeth Ruff, eruff@cbfga.org or , ext. 4. December 2014 / January 2015 VISIONS 11

12 P.O. Box 4343 Macon GA On the Calendar t February 2-3, 2015 William L. Self Preaching Lectures Cecil B. Day Campus, Atlanta February 6-7, 2015 Now Serving: Atlanta Atlanta March 13-15, 2015 March Mission Madness Madison March 20-22, 2015 March Mission Madness Warm Springs March 27-29, 2015 March Mission Immersion Park Avenue Baptist Church, Atlanta April 24-25, 2015 Spring General Assembly Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Atlanta May 7, 2015 Dedication Ceremony for the Interfaith Peace Garden Mercer University, Atlanta Campus May 18, 2015 Senior Celebration - Monday First Baptist Church of Jasper May 19, 2015 Senior Celebration - Tuesday Haddock Baptist Church June (dates TBD) Touching Taliaferro with Love Summer Day Camp June 15-21, 2015 CBF/GA meeting (TBD) at the CBF National General Assembly Dallas, Texas September (date TBD) Preaching Consultation October 9-11, 2015 ReCharge Woodland Christian Camp, Temple Keep up to date with events... ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Please Note: NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID ATHENS GA PERMIT #11 All 2014 contributions to CBF/GA must be received in the office, or be postmarked, by December 31, If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at , ext. 5. Thank you for your continuing support. Dawn N. Williams CBF/GA Assistant to the Coordinator for Finance dwilliams@cbfga.org SAVE the DATE! 2015 Spring G e n e r a l A s s e m b ly will be held Friday-Saturday, April See page