First Baptist News I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Pastor s Article 2 Church Staff 2 Ecuador Mission Trips 3 Camp Merriwood 3 Super Bowl Fellowships 4 Knowing God, Making God Known, and Becoming like His Son, Jesus Christ, through Worship, Bible Study, and Ministry R O C K Y M O U N T, N C F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 Our precious brother, Jim Alley, is now at home with the Lord. Biblical Church Structures 4 Church Planting Philadelphia 5 Disciple Now Weekend 5 Calendar 6 First Baptist 200 S. Church St. Rocky Mount, NC 27804 Church Office Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 2:30 pm Friday Church Office (252) 446-9113 Fax (252) 446-5025 Website www.fbcrm.org 24-Hour Prayer Request Line (252) 446-5993 First Baptist Child Care Center (252) 446-7416 Memorial Service with Visitation Following At First Baptist Church Sunday February 1, 2015 at 2:00 pm In lieu of flowers Jim requested donations be made to FBC s Music Department But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
P A G E 2 MINISTRY TEAM Dennis Darville Preaching & Leadership Tim Griffin Education & Discipleship Mike Avery Family Ministries Larry Curtis Pastoral Care Tom Jones Missions & Evangelism Jim Alley Music & Worship Stephen Weeks College Students Louis Griffin Music & Worship Bob Britt Homebound Visitation OPERATIONS & ADMIN TEAM Beth Thompson Operations Director Jewell Pullen Financial Administration Faye Strickland Facilities Administration Mary Helen Batten Receptionist/Admin. Assistant Kayla Dozier Administrative Assistant Nina Daughtridge Music Assistant Jane Clark Food Service Administration WORLDVIEW It s Importance and Consequences Rev. Dennis Darville George Barna once observed, Without a biblical worldview, all the great teaching goes in one ear and out the other. There are no intellectual pegs in the mind of the individual to hang those truths on. So they just pass through. They don t stick. They don t make a difference. He, of course, is right. You may remember that in January I pointed out that we each have one - a worldview that is. We all look at reality (i.e., the objective world outside of us prior to our perceptions or encounters with it) through a certain set of ideas. These ideas form the grid through which we understand the world and our place in it. We call this set of ideas a worldview. At the risk of oversimplification, we might say that we all have a view of the world. As I pointed out last time, a few questions immediately arise: 1) Is your view of the world true? After all, you have been wrong before, right? 2) Who is to arbitrate between conflicting views? I mean, we cannot all be right, can we? For instance, it is selfevident that the views of an atheist and the views of a theist cannot both be right. God either does or does not exist! 3) Are there consequences for failing to see the world rightly? Last month we began by exploring the question: Are the things we believe about the world true? (See the January newsletter). Now a second question emerges. What happens when you and a colleague disagree, for instance, about the origins of the universe? If you hold the view that there is an eternal, self-existing, allpowerful God who created it all ex nihilo, and your colleague holds that the universe is here by mere chance, explainable only from within scientific and physical categories, then you and he will view the world radically different from one another. Can we adjudicate between conflicting reports about the nature of the universe and our place in it? This not only happens at an individual level, but it also happens in larger collective ways being played out in social discourse. This battle This is where we find ourselves! The west, and, in particular, America is in the midst about of a winner-takeall-worldviewbattle! One side argues for a secular (i.e., without God) approach to culture and the other side, our side, argues for a theistic (i.e., God is the source of truth in every area of life) approach to life and living. What s at stake is nothing less than the soul and future of America. is ultimately differences in worldviews. Take, for example, the forty year battle over abortion. This battle is ultimately about differences in worldviews. One side argues from a set of beliefs deeply embedded in a naturalistic, atheistic, and an a-moral set of presuppositions; and the other (i.e., the biblical view), reasons from a set of assumptions deeply embedded in a supernaturalistic, theistic, and universally binding moral absolutes found in nature and Scripture. F I R S T B A P T I S T N E W S
The chasm could not be farther apart. The outcomes are polar opposite. First, what we want to know is this: Is our view of the world true? Secondly, what we want to know when we disagree is this: Can we find resolution between conflicting parties? In my not-so-humble-opinion, this is the ever present and pressing question: Is there a place to adjudicate between people and their competing worldviews who differ on the make-up of the world? Put another way: Is there a court of appeals that can arbitrate between conflicting worldviews? Of course, as Christians, we know there is a place. Actually, it is not so much a place as it is a book, the Bible. If the answer is no, the debate quickly degenerates into my opinion versus my opponent s opinion. That quickly degenerates into my power-plays. In this scheme, whoever owns the publishing houses, whoever gets their man or woman elected into office, whoever controls the educational system and its curricula, whoever influences the media, and whoever dominates the entertainment industry will control the shape of the culture and Is our view of the world true? P A G E 3 the destiny of society. You see, ideas really do have enormous consequences!!!! We are currently - and tragically - living in a society that has exchanged one set of ideas (i.e., biblical ideas) about living well with another set of ideas (i.e., secular ideas) that are utterly incompatible. We are locked in a standoff over who will determine the shape and direction of our country. Sadly, much of the Christian community has retreated into the ghetto of a privatized and personalized understanding of what it means to be a Christian. We focus on the internal (our hearts) or the eternal (heaven) while neglecting the visible/material, institutional, and temporal world of our current culture. To the degree that we do this, thinking or unthinkingly, we are more like Plato than Christ! God willing, for the rest of this year, we will explore the implications of the importance of worldviews. Let s show the world we love God with our minds as well as our hearts. July 3-11 November 6-14
P A G E 4 Sunday, February 1 at 6 pm In homes and the FMC The gathering on the 3rd floor of the FMC will be for students and Sunday night children s leaders (plus their families). We encourage anyone else whose small group is not hosting an event to join us bring the entire family! Our normal childcare will be suspended. PLEASE RETURN FAITH INTENTION CARDS BY FEBRUARY 8 Will Continue on Sunday Nights at 6pm in the Sanctuary Because of Super Bowl Fellowships, we will not meet February 1.
P A G E 5 This class is required for all those desiring to join FBC -but anyone visiting who would like to know more about us, is encouraged to come as well. Please sign up at fbcrm.org or by calling the church office. February 19-22 MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IDDLE & H Cost: $50 per person (Save $5 and pay only $45 if you register by Feb. 4) 2015 PARENTAL CONSENT FORM REQUIRED 2015 P Available at www.fbcrm.org Register by turning in Parental Consent Form with payment to Mike Avery. I want to answer a common objection to Church planting (Adapted from Tim Keller s book Center Church). Tim Keller states this common objection to church planting: In North America and Europe we have churches all over the place. We don t need to start new churches; we should strengthen and fill our existing churches before we do that. Here are a few excellent answers to this objection. 1) We need fully evangelistic Churches. Church Plants will seek to grow primarily through living missionally in a community and seeking to reach the Lost. These churches are seeking to embrace and support inquirers who can ask questions in a worshipping and shepherding community. 2) To reach cities we must grow the number of churches in the City. Studies on Church growth record that the average new church gains one-third to two-thirds of its new members from the ranks of people who are not attending any worshipping body, while churches over 10 to 15 years old gain 80-90% of new members by transfer from other congregations. This is not a negative statement towards existing churches. It is natural and desirable that older churches spend much time and money ministering to its members. Thus Keller goes on to state, The only way to significantly increase the number of Christians in a city is by significantly increasing the number of new churches. 3)The way to renew the existing churches of a city is by planting new ones. There are four reasons this happens. First, new churches bring new ideas to the whole body. This helps established churches to try new things. Second, New churches raise up new creative Christian leaders for the City. Third, new churches challenge other churches to selfexamination. And lastly, new churches can be an evangelistic feeder system for a whole community. 4) The way to reach the sheer diversity of the city is through new churches. Young adults, new residents and new sociocultural groups are typically better reached by new congregations. Keller says, One church, no matter how big, will never be able to serve the needs of such a diverse city. Only a movement of hundreds of churches, small and large, can penetrate literally every neighborhood and people group in the city. 5) New Churches will greatly help in supporting new ministries the city needs. Charities and other Christian ministries require support outside of their own resources. As new churches bring in large numbers of non-churched people, giving to kingdom work will significantly rise. Our desire as Christians should not be just to see churches maintain their traditional place in a city, but rather, to see Christianity grow exponentially in conversions, churches and influence in our city. While it requires many different kinds of ministries to achieve this outcome, aggressive church planting is the trigger for them all. (Keller) Adapted from Center Church by Tim Keller, Chapter 29: Church planting as a movement dynamic. Page 359-362. F I R S T B A P T I S T N E W S
REGULAR WEEKLY SCHEDULE Sundays 8:00 am Televised Morning Worship (WHIG Channel 17) 8:15 am Contemporary Worship Service 9:00 am Church Library open until 10:00 am 9:30 am Bible Study 11:00 am Worship Service 6:00 pm Biblical Church Structures TeamKID & KOGS (FMC) Mondays 10:45 am Inspiration Singers (Choir suite) 7:00 pm Praise Team Rehearsal Tuesdays 6:30 am Women s Prayer Groups 9:00 am Staff meeting Women s Bible Study 10:00 am Women s Prayer Group 1:00 pm Stephen Ministry (1st & 3rd Wks M103) 6:00 pm Handbell Rehearsal 6:30 pm Trail Life USA & Am. Heritage Girls (FMC) Wednesdays 10:00 am EQUIP for Interns (E200) 3:00 pm Church Library open until 6:00 pm COOL Kids (FMC) 5:00 pm Fellowship Meal 6:00 pm Nursery for Birth 1 yr. (M105 & M101) Mission Friends for 2 yrs. 3 yrs. (M102) Cherub Choir for 4 yrs. K (E202) Sonshine Choir for Grades 1 &2 (E201a) Music Makers for Grade 3 (E300) Young Musicians for Grades 4-5 (E307) Crossroads for Grades 6-12 (M301) Prayer Meeting for adults (Fell. Hall) 7:10 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal Thursdays 6:30 am Men s Prayer Group (Choir room) 12:30 pm Prison Ministry 3:00 pm COOL Kids (FMC) 7:00 pm Divorce Care 7:30 pm The Bridge (Wesleyan College) WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRESENTATIONS February 4 Tom Denton (Baptist Foundation) February 11 Philadelphia Church Planting February 18 Quarterly Church Conference February 25 Uganda Mission Report PREGNANCY CARE CENTER S CELEBRATE LIFE BANQUET Thursday February 19 from 7-9 pm at Englewood Baptist Church, cost is $20/person. Kirk Walden will be the guest speaker. Contact Audrey Humphreys for more information. February 2015 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Super Bowl Small Group Fellowships MOPS (7 pm F.H.) 8 Deacons Meeting (4 pm M201A) Biblical Church Structures (6 pm Sanctuary) 9 Forever Young Luncheon (11:30 am F.H.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 New Member Class (9:30 am E200B) Biblical Church Structures (6 pm Sanctuary) 22 New Member Class (9:30 am E200b) DISCIPLENOW 16 17 MOPS (7 pm F.H.) 18 Quarterly Church Conference (6 pm F.H.) w w w. f b c r m. o r g 19 20 21 DISCIPLENOW WEEKEND 23 24 25 26 27 28 TLUSA Camping Trip 21-22 MOPS Family Night (5 pm FMC)