New Year = New Perspective

A new year, for most people, means we get to do the same things over again...and thus the cycle continues, but I am pushing for a new perspective this year in Kids Ministry at Millers Creek. Instead of teaching random or simplistic biblical lessons each week, our kids are going to be diving deep into the Word and learning how to develop and take hold of their own personal faith in God. Our teaching time will be series based, and we'll work our way through some fantastic lessons and truths beginning with Amazing Faith! This series is all about what it means to have faith...we use that word an awful lot but I don't believe that children can really describe what it means to have a personal, individual faith. Sure they know some basic ideas about believing in Jesus, but we will be learning what it means to understand God's promises and then access them like Jesus did when he came to earth and served in the power of His own faith in the Father. My desire as the children's pastor is that each child understands what it means to have a personal faith in Jesus, and then I want them to be able to use that faith to walk in the power of the spirit! Amazing Faith is all about trusting God, understanding his promises, and then unlocking the powerful effects of having faith. I'm very excited to see the Lord work in the hearts and minds of our youngest ones, and hopefully that will make an impression on the hearts of parents, classmates, and friends all over the community.

Kids in Worship is a constantly growing, changing animal, and my hope and prayer is that we will continue to work toward the best possible environment for the kids to learn and grow in the Lord. I will keep processing different changes that are needed to promote better behavior, interaction, and listening as the year moves forward. I am fully confident that God will do some great things in the lives of the people at Millers Creek, and the staff will be working hard to ensure that the congregation and families are growing and seeking the Lord even harder than last year!

Summer 2013 Big Dates and Events!

The end of October is the time where we begin placing our next-year events on the calendar, and I'm excited to see what God does in the life of Millers Creek Baptist for 2013! Perhaps the biggest announcement is our dates and theme for VBS!!! This year's theme will be coming from Answers in Genesis, and the theme is called Kingdom Chronicles. After surveying three VBS programs, I chose this one because the theme is simply awesome and limitless in possibilities, and because the teaching in the program is heavily evangelistic and deals with standing up for truth and worshiping our King Jesus. I am stoked for next summer's VBS on June 24-27... It's never too soon to begin thinking and developing ideas for VBS...!

CentriKid Website!

Another part of the Kids Ministry I will be developing is a new look at summer camps; I have always loved camps and what they have to offer, and my goal for 2013 is to have a group of at least 20 kids attend CentriKid at Ridgecrest near Asheville, NC. This camp is an incredible experience including all sorts of fun activities, loud and exciting worship, and free time to bond with friends and leaders. More details will come later about CentriKid, but as for now the dates will most likely be July 9-13: a four-night, action packed week! This camp is only for 3rd-6th graders, but for the younger kids I will be promoting a Father/Son or Mother/Daughter experience at Camp Caraway and Mundovista around the same time. I'm looking forward to a great summer with our Kids...and I hope you are too!

Falling Forward

The Kids' room at MCBC is completely ready, for now, with the walls displaying their bright colors and with random furniture and decorations to make it feel more like a true kids room! Below are some pics of the nearly finished product.

         Hopefully in the future there will be a few additions to optimize the space, including a TV, sound system, and some new signs which are right now in the process of being made for us. I went with the Kove as the theme, not only because it is downstairs in a musty basement...but because I wanted the kids to identify with their own area where they can play, worship, and learn about Jesus-a place where they will search for the truth and discover new treasures about the Christian life. I was reminded of the imagery of Treasure Island, the Sci-Fi channel mini-series based off of the old novel. Bandits and merchants alike sought out the coveted mound of endless gold treasures, but they couldn't reach it without a very difficult boat ride through tumultuous seas and many quarrels and disputes amongst themselves. Likewise, being a kid is all about discovery, whether it is how the world works, how our minds work, or discovering the truth of the gospel, my job is to facilitate that discovery. By providing a place of their own to which they identify, by challenging their hearts with Scripture memory and lessons geared toward finding truth, and by a fun, interactive environment, my goal is to see children discover for themselves who Jesus really is and how He can radically change their life, like finding the treasure on a lost island. For many it will be a difficult journey faced with various decisions and trials, but my prayer and hope is that the Kove and the Kids Ministry at Millers Creek will develop children and young adults who love the Lord and love His people.

~ Pastor Jared

Revival: more than an event

       Once again we've come to the season of church revivals, a time where congregations typically call in an outside speaker to come and bring the heat, so to speak, with the intention of stirring up revival and a renewed spirit within the people of the church. Historically, revival was never a planned event, and it happened beginning in the hearts of people through the work of the Holy Spirit. While having these events in churches is great, it requires great scrutiny, planning, and most importantly fervent prayer beforehand. This October, Millers Creek will be hosting the Life Action team, a group of 20+ individuals who are missionaries in this group for the sole purpose of stirring revival and ministry in the local church. The advantage of having this team is that they are trained, and handle all aspects of the church from preschool through adult ministry. This also removes the burden of planning and organization off of the church staff and volunteers so that they can spend more time spiritually preparing the people and themselves for the event. 
        The children have a special opportunity in this as well, for the Life Action team also has five children's ministers whose only role is leading and ministering to the children each night of revival. They will be setting up their own rooms and creating an exciting atmosphere for the children each session. This will be more like an intense, 4-day VBS for the kids instead of them having to sit in the main service each night; providing such an atmosphere will hopefully create a sense of spiritual renewal and excitement in the kids as well...and while I may be biased, I believe that the spiritual strength of the young ones can transform an entire church from the inside out. Therefore, in order for this revival to be successful, we all must be in prayer until then, starting now, so that the Spirit can prepare us to receive the truth we need to hear; and boy, do we need revival in Millers Creek just as badly as anywhere else in this country. 

Below are some pics and info about the upcoming revival and team so that you can be familiar and be praying for them already!

Revamping the KidMin Room

We are currently in the process of painting and reworking a kids room exclusively for use by Kids in Worship. The process will hopefully be completed by the end of September 2012 and create an awesome new environment for Kids in Worship, providing a place with which the kids can identify and enjoy as their own place of worship and learning at the church. The name will be The Kids Kove and it will feature some new technology, bright colors, and fun furniture and decorations for today's modern kids. You can also follow Beth Blair's feed as she will be posting pictures and updates as we progress:

http://adventuresofbeff.blogspot.com/2012/09/extreme-makeover-kids-in-worship-room.html

            -Pastor Jared

The Problems of American Christianity

While looking at the news online today, I discovered once again why so many people hate Christians (and rightfully so it would seem). The front page of Fox News had an article about the infamous Westboro Baptist Chruch, whose website (not a joke) is www.godhatesfags.com. The type of polemic these people have adopted is sickening and somewhat depressing, for their misinterpretation and exaggeration have caused them to form a cult, picketing signs all over the country protesting what they think to be God's most hated sins. I find this hard to believe, but then again it's not that surprising, for these types of cults have sprung up claiming Christianity as their base since the beginning of the church. Their blatant mockery of God's word is what is most appalling, citing scraps of verse to fuel their picketing instead of searching for the whole truth (which is obviously not calling Christians to hold up signs saying "God hates fags.")  Whether or not homosexuality is sin is not the debate, the problem is how sin is driving these "Christians" into even worse sin, for they have committed much of their time and resources to condemning and judging people who fall short of their claims.
          I do consider this is a cult, for one qualification is that a group takes one doctrine to the extreme and elevates it as the supreme guiding light of the congregation, as Westboro has done with homosexuality. Yes, homosexuality is sin, but so is hate, judgment, and arrogance, all of which are clearly seen in this church's actions. To give you some insight, the heading on their home page says "Welcome depraved sons and daughters of Adam" and "1000 reprobates have split hell wide open since you looked at this page." I don't know whether to be angry or just sad, for people like this (who boldly have "Baptist" written on their sign) I fear will be the one's who fall short, just as Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3, for they will "hold to a form of godliness, but they have denied its power."
        If Leviticus 20:23 is your churches verse, something is not right, because I am pretty confident Jesus never commanded his disciples to go into all the world, condemning sinners. Without love, the gospel can move, and these sorts of pseudo-Christians are trampling on the work of the gospel so many others are trying to share. My point being, we should heed the words of Paul given to Timothy, to "avoid men such as these" and "be on guard." Do your best to not be angry with these people, but feel compassion for they have been led astray by a false leader who seeks the kingdom of God by way of a different route  than the gospel of Christ that we as true Christians hold.




God Bless

The Call of the Gospel

As good Americans, I find the great commission to be a great stumbling block for Christians. It seems like Christ's call for us to preach his gospel has become some sort of reserved option for the bold and ministry driven people and not for every Christian. Some sort of hierarchy has formed over the years (probably due to the way the Catholic church began functioning in the early middle ages), and the call of the gospel has been left up to those bold enough to make a career out of evangelism and preaching. Where I see problems is that it seems rather obvious that Christ's command in Matthew 28:19-20 was not some sort of career option for those who "feel called" to go into missions; rather Jesus simply said "go" without providing a list of conditions for employment.

I hear all the time from friends and other people that as American Christians, we should go into a career and be a light and a witness in whatever we do. This sounds nice, but I don't know but maybe one or two people that have actually pulled this off. The overwhelming majority of people with this mindset are what I call "back-row baptists," for they are always in church, always giving money and saying nice things, but never once sharing their faith with anyone. I'm definitely not saying that these people are evil or wrong in their lifestyle, but it seems that something huge is missing. From my studies in the New Testament, the gospel is always first, regardless of circumstances; the apostles understood that salvation was the only thing that had any weight in light of eternity, and the other things they did in life simply weren't valuable in comparison to the gospel.

What I suggest is a refocus, a reworking of how we see people in the world. When we see people as souls traveling either towards heaven or hell, it tends to make a difference. When we view the world through the lens of the gospel, we no longer worry about our careers or possessions, for all of that becomes secondary compared to our true purpose. I am not, however, saying that everyone should be full-time missionaries, but what I am saying is that we should switch our mindset from "I'll get a career and hopefully spread the gospel when I'm not working," to "I MUST spread the gospel wherever I am, working, eating, vacationing, whatever..." For some people, like myself, the gospel is a career, and I cannot see myself doing anything else and being satisfied. I want to either be teaching the gospel, or teaching others to teach the gospel, but either way the gospel has to be the centerpiece. I fear living a life where God becomes 4th or 5th on my to-do list, like so many people sitting in church today. I don't think that everyone should see things my way, rather I suggest that the focus the church currently has should shift to making new believers instead of shuffling around the believers we already have.