Apex Baptist Church Blog

Handyman Ministry in Shangri-La

2012-01-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of our Handyman Ministry hard at work in Shagri-La today! (If you'd like to get involved in our Handyman Ministry please contact us here!)

Exposing the Dark Work of Abortion

2012-01-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

Today is SOHL, but since we were introducing our interim pastor today, Dr. Greg Heisler, we'll be observing SOHL later in February. More info on that coming in the next few weeks.

In the meantime check out this free e-book generously made available by John Piper and Desiring God ministries. It's entitled "Exposing the Dark Work of Abortion" and you definitely want to download and read it!

Racial Reconciliation in Apex: The New Humanity (Part 1)

2012-01-21T16:00:00.070-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

This is the first of a series of posts on the issue of racial reconciliation and how that could take shape in Apex, NC. John Piper recently published a book entitled Bloodlines, which is worth your time to read. In fact, you can download the PDF for absolutely free by clicking here.

I wanted to begin this series by summarizing one of Piper's chapters on race. In his book, he has already established that the mission of Christ was closely tied with the end of ethnocentrism (defined as "feeling that one's own ethnic group should be treated as superior"). He continues by investigating the text of Ephesians 2:11-22 (read the full text here). Piper proposes that Jesus ends ethnocentrism and creates a new people of God who are defined not by race, but by faith in Christ through his death on the cross. A new humanity. He writes, "horizontal reconciliation between alienated peoples happens through vertical reconciliation with God through the blood of Christ."

An amazing idea with astounding implications!

A few thoughts from Bloodlines and Ephesians:

In verses 19-22 we read that the Gentiles are now fellow citizens with the saints and part of the same household of God.

In verse 14 Paul tells us that Christ came to die for sinners and by his death on the cross to give Jews and Gentiles one way to God through faith.
Then Paul adds in verse 15 that Christ's aim was that he might make one new man. "The church is a single person." Jesus is our common identity. By "our" I mean all believers regardless of ethnicity. We see this thought continued in verse 16.
The "mystery of Christ" we read about later in Ephesians 3:4-6 is that Gentiles and Jews are now one person in Christ.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:13 that we are "Brought near by the blood of Christ." Piper adds, "Brought near to God and therefore brought near to each other. By the blood. . . . if one design of the cross of Christ is to reconcile alienated ethnic groups to each other by reconciling them to God in Christ, then will we not display and magnify the cross of Christ better by more and deeper and sweeter ethnic diversity and harmony in our corporate and personal lives?"

We'll talk more next week about how these thoughts could be fleshed out practically in our lives. In the meantime, let's examine our hearts in the light of God's Word and strive to bring glory to Jesus in our attitudes and in the habits of our hearts!

Upward Celebration Night

2012-01-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

This past Tuesday we had our Upward Celebration night and it was a wonderful time. We wanted to share a few photos with you so you can experience some of the excitement from the night! We'll probably post a few video snippets as well later on. Here you go!

The Privilege of Journeying to the World's End

2012-01-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

We began Reconcile yesterday afternoon and I wanted to share a quick reflection with you based on a book I'm reading entitled CrossTalk.

I quickly forget in my own life what a privilege it is to be a "minister of reconciliation" and to be part of God's mission. A privilege!

One of my favorite books is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Read the way King Caspian responds and encourages his weary sailors and friends as they debate the pros and cons of journeying to the World's End.

"Friends," he said, "I think you have not quite understood our purpose. You talk as if we had come to you with our hat in our hand, begging for shipmates. It isn't like that at all. We and our royal brother and sister and their kinsman and Sir Reepicheep, the good knight, and the Lord Drinian have an errand to the world's edge. It is our pleasure to choose from among such of you as are willing, those whom we deem worthy of so high an enterprise. We have not said that any any can come for the asking. That is why we shall now command the Lord Drinian and Master Rhince to consider carefully what men among you are the hardest in battle, the most skilled seamen, the purest in blood, the most loyal to our person, and the cleanest of life and manners; and to give their names to us in a schedule." He paused and went on in a quicker voice: "Aslan's mane!" he exclaimed. "Do you think that the privilege of seeing the last things is to be bought for a song?"

We are co-laborers with Jesus our King, and it is a privilege and honor to come alongside him and plead for the world to be reconciled to God! It shouldn't be a duty only, or something that we check off of our list each week. This is no onerous chore. This is a high and holy calling for children who have been adopted into the family of God through the blood of Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the grave!

This is a glorious task! Let us "press onward and outward, expressing our love for others in sacrificial ways."

(If you'd like to get plugged in to a Reconcile Team please contact Tim Shaw.)

A Few Thoughts for Fathers

2012-01-13T13:40:00.045-05:00

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to a CD series on Fatherhood by Chip Ingram. It was excellent and I wanted to quickly share with you his four main points. These four points are what Fathers are called to be in their Families:

A Leader: Fathers aren't passive. They fight for their families and they make things happen. They invest in their kids.
A Priest: Fathers make God known to their children. As Fathers, we have the privilege of revealing God to our kids and taking their needs to God. We are constantly asking ourselves: Do my kids know God? Does our home honor God? Do my kids have an accurate knowledge of God? Fathers also model authentic worship. This means that I am worshiping in front of my children 24/7 in whatever I do, including the way that I treat my wife.
A Teacher: As a Dad I'm responsible for imparting wisdom and building character in my children. A Father is not someone who incessantly lectures and wields absolute authority. In other words, don't be harsh, don't be passive, and don't always find fault with your kids. Be careful not to provoke your children to anger.
A Lover: A Father gives his children what they need most: provision (both spiritual and relational) and protection. There should be an intimate heart connection between the Father and the children and the children and the Father even during the difficult times.

Dads, I hope those are challenging and encouraging!

Reconcile Begins This Sunday!

2012-01-11T09:20:00.006-05:00

Reconcile, our weekly community outreach, begins this Sunday, January 15! We're so excited to have this opportunity to love on our community for Jesus and so far we have around 60+ folks from ABC participating!

How about you? Would you like to get involved in something special? Here are some FAQs:

When is Reconcile?

Reconcile meets from 4:00-5:00 each Sunday afternoon. We currently have eight teams and your commitment on a team would be for one Sunday each month. That's right: one hour one Sunday a month!

Where does Reconcile meet?

We meet in the Fellowship Hall at 4:00 and then split up from there.

What will I be doing?

When you check in at the Fellowship Hall you'll sign up for various options: emailing, letter writing, note writing, phone calls, visits, prayer, childcare. Whatever you feel like doing that particular afternoon.

Who will we be contacting?

None of these contacts are cold calls. Everyone we will contact has had a touch from ABC or visited ABC previously. We will also be ministering to those in the community who have recently lost loved ones.

Why is this ministry called Reconcile?

Great question! The name comes from Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5. "That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us." Paul goes on to say that we are ambassadors and that God appeals to the lost through us "to be reconciled." What a calling and a charge! Our hope is that through the ministry of Reconcile we can be a part of peoples' stories as they come to know the mercy and grace found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

What happens when there are five Sundays in a month?

During that month we will be involved in some sort of community project. It won't necessarily be on the last weekend or on a Sunday, but we'd love for all the Reconcile teams to be involved and anyone else from our Fellowship to come alongside as well. i.e. April has 5 Sundays so we will be organizing Project Reconcile (formerly known as Operation Inasmuch) on Saturday, April 21.

Do you have other questions or would you like to sign up for a team? Contact us here!

Pastors on Evolution and Creation

2012-01-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

Recently, Lifeway Research released research on Protestant Pastors and their views on the Creation account in Genesis. Check out the graphic and the below link for more in depth statistics.

Click here for more in depth analysis and trends.

How about you? Any thoughts or responses?

Amplify Photos

2012-01-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

A few photos from Amplify last night. Come join us for Bible studies, dinner, ONEeighty and AWANA next week!

Amplify Begins This Week!

2012-01-03T14:39:00.000-05:00

Amplify for the winter/spring begins this Wednesday night! Here's the lineup:

Fellowship Dinner starts at 5:00 in the ABC Fellowship Hall (you can call the Church Office at 362-6176 ext. 221 for reservations). Jill and her team fix a great dinner at a very reasonable price, and it's a fantastic opportunity for you to come and spend time with other ABCers!

AWANA (2 year olds through 6th grade) runs from 6:15-7:45. It's a wonderful program that focuses on the importance of God's Word in our children's lives. Email us here to register your child today or to find out more info.

ONEighty for youth (7th-12th grade) also runs from 6:15-7:45. It's a time when our youth meet for Bible study to deepen their relationship with Jesus, grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Bible and begin putting Godly principles in action.

We offer Adult Tracks (6:30-7:30) that deal with several issues including parenting, Bible study, life questions and men's/women's classes. Click here for more details including schedules and adult track locations.

Wednesday nights are a time for your entire family to grow in maturity in faith and in their relationship with Jesus Christ. In these busy days, we hope you'll make it a priority in your family's life to come and join us!

The Revolution of Christmas

2011-12-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

Here's one last Christmas quote this year. This one is from G.K. Chesterton's The Everlasting Man:

Christmas for us in Christendom has become one thing, and in one sense even a simple thing. But like all the truths of that tradition, it is in another sense a very complex thing. Its unique not is the simultaneous striking of many notes; of humility, or gaiety, of gratitude, of mystical fear, but also of vigilance and drama. There is something defiant in it also; something that makes the abrupt bells at midnight sound like the great guns of a battle that has just been won.All this indescribable thing that we call the Christmas atmosphere only hangs in the air as something like a lingering fragrance or fading vapour from the exultant explosion of that one hour in the Judean hills nearly two thousand years ago. But the savour is still unmistakable, and it is something too subtle or too solitary to be covered by our use of the word peace. By the very nature of the story the rejoicings in the cavern were rejoicings in a fortress or an outlaw’s den; properly understood it is not unduly flippant to say they were rejoicings in a dug-out. It is not only true that such a subterranean chamber was a hiding-place from enemies; and that the enemies were already scouring the stony plain that lay above it like a sky.

There is in this buried divinity an idea of undermining the world; of shaking the towers and palaces from below; even as Herod the great king felt that earthquake under him and swayed with his swaying palace. This is perhaps the mightiest of the mysteries of the cave. Indeed the Church from its beginnings, and perhaps especially in its beginnings, was not so much a principality as a revolution against the prince of the world. It was in truth against a huge unconscious usurpation that it raised a revolt. Olympus still occupied the sky like a motionless cloud moulded into many mighty forms; philosophy still sat in the high places and even on the thrones of the kings, when Christ was born in the cave and Christianity in the catacombs.

This is War

2011-12-22T10:42:00.000-05:00

This is War
Dustin Kensrue

This is war like you ain't seen.
This winter's long, it's cold and mean.
With hangdog hearts we stood condemned,
But the tide turns now at Bethlehem.

This is war and born tonight,
The Word as flesh, the Lord of Light,
The Son of God, the low-born king;
Who demons fear, of whom angels sing.

This is war on sin and death;
The dark will take it's final breath.
It shakes the earth, confounds all plans;
The mystery of God as man.

(Dustin is the lead singer of Thrice. You can listen to the song below.)

Victor Hugo

2011-12-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

From a devotion I shared at the AHS Christmas Musical last week:

This time of year frequently combines two things that I really love: Christmas + music = Christmas musicals. The two are a wonderful combination!

I recently came across a quote from Victor Hugo concerning music. Read what he had to say:

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."

It's the truth. Music seems like it comes from somewhere deep within us and really connects on an emotional level. I've met people who like lots of different styles of music, but I've never met someone who didn't care for it at all! Music is a universal language.

You're probably familiar with this, but Victor Hugo is also the author of Les Miserables. Les Mis is the story of a man named Jean Valjean and was written in 1862. It's a powerful novel and quite complex, but I wanted to share one particular scene with you:

Jean Valjean has been in prison for nineteen years for a terrible crime—he stole a loaf of bread. After he has been finally released as a parolee, he comes to a Bishop’s house who takes him in for the night. Valjean repays the Bishop’s generosity by promptly stealing the Bishop’s silverware and silver plates and taking off in the darkness.

He’s caught almost immediately by the police and brought back to the Bishop’s home. But when he arrives something strange happens:

The Bishop shocks the reader when, instead of prosecuting Valjean, he insists to the police that he himself gave Valjean the silver. And then the Bishop freely offers Valjean his silver candlesticks too. It's an extraordinary moment of grace. "Valjean is made an honest man through another man’s sacrifice." Valjean doesn't deserve it in any shape or form, but the Bishop's action towards this hardened criminal embodies both mercy and grace. (And Valjean's life is changed because of it.)

Mercy came when Valjean was not given the punishment he deserved for theft, and grace came when he was given something he didn’t deserve: the candlesticks and the rest of the silver that he stole.

Christmas tells us another story, THE STORY of mercy and grace. It tells us of how God himself came to the world—a world full of death and darkness that had rebelled against him—God came and was born as a baby so that he could rescue our world from death.

Christmas is a story of mercy because Jesus, the God-man, did not come to condemn the world because of our rebellion, but to save the world through his death on the cross and his resurrection three days later. He is God’s great rescue plan.

Christmas is a story of grace because we’re given something we don’t deserve: new life and a new beginning. Freedom. Hope. Peace with God. And it’s all made possible through a baby that was born on Christmas day that would one day grow up and die on a cross to take our place—to those who believe in the name of Jesus.

Recognition

2011-12-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

Recognition
Luci Shaw

Who on earth saw him first, knowing
truly who he was? Belly to belly, when
John, prophet in utero, distinguished
in the natal soup the fetal bones, the body
curled like a comma, eyes tight, skull
packed with universal wisdom,
this unborn cousin began to dance.

And when she, birth-giver—
her ordinary vision arrowing down between
her legs through pain and straw to her son's dark,
slime-streaked hair, to his very skin, red with
the struggle of being born—she lifted him
to her breast, kissed the face of God,
and felt her own heart leap.

God With Us

2011-12-16T08:47:00.000-05:00

I ran across this video and loved it. What a great Christmas song from Folk Angel (by the way, I highly recommend their newest Christmas album)! You can check out the lyrics in full right here.

First Coming

2011-12-15T09:48:00.000-05:00

First Coming
by Madeleine L’Engle

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait

till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

A True Christmas Photos

2011-12-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

A few photos from this past weekend. For more, check out our Google+ page:

Mary's Song

2011-12-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

Mary's Song
by Luci Shaw

Blue homespun and the bend of my breast
keep warm this small hot naked star
fallen to my arms. (Rest …
you who have had so far to come.)
Now nearness satisfies
the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world. Charmed by doves' voices,
the whisper of straw, he dreams,
hearing no music from his other spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed who overflowed all skies,
all years. Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in my womb
to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth for me to be new-born,
and for him to see me mended
I must see him torn.

Why Pastors Should Bless Interracial Marriage

2011-12-12T09:51:00.000-05:00

We'll have a few more posts on racial reconciliation in the next few weeks, but first check out this video from John Piper.

The Glory

2011-12-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

The Glory
by Madeleine L’Engle

Without any rhyme
without any reason
my heart lifts to light
in this bleak season

Believer and wanderer
caught by salvation
stumbler and blunderer
into Creation

In this cold blight
where marrow is frozen
it is God’s time
my heart has chosen

In paradox and story
parable and laughter
find I the glory
here in hereafter

A True Christmas

2011-12-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

Dottie Stam
Worship Leader

This weekend, our Adult Worship Choir will be presenting "A True Christmas." It's a wonderful story that shares the true meaning of Christmas: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We'll offer five shows, all of them absolutely FREE. There will be an evening show beginning at 7:30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We also will be presenting two matinees on Saturday and Sunday, both at 3:00. Doors open an hour before the performances.

We hope that you can make it, and that more importantly you'll bring a neighbor or friend who doesn't know what Jesus did for them on the cross!

Below is a short synopsis of the musical. Enjoy!

The story takes place in a small North Carolina town in the year 1872. Twelve year old Nan and her best friend Johnny are headed up to Herbert Morgan’s new barn. A fire has destroyed his old barn, so the men of the town are building Herbert a new dairy barn. A time of celebration at the barn raising is followed by the local school teacher, Rose, using the barn as a class room. When Christmas eve arrives, the local preacher, Sam Moore, also decides the barn would be a good place to hold the evening service. As the service ends, word comes that the Womack River, running through the center of town, has overflowed its banks and all the homes are soon to be flooded. The new barn proves to be a Godsend for the town as they are all forced to take refuge there, the only structure built on high ground. Meanwhile, Sam finds out Rose’s secret.

Later as the town is gathered inside, a stranger arrives proving to be the estranged brother of Nan’s father, Thomas. This brother, Sterling, had chosen to fight for the north while the youngest brother, Henry, had fought for the south and had been killed in battle. The brothers' initial meeting does not go well and there seems to be no hope for reconciliation.

As everyone anxiously waits for word on the flood, Johnny decides to go climb an old tree to be able to see the entire town. The tree is wet and Nan follows, warning Johnny about the tree. Sterling sees the children leave for the tree and follows. When the local Representative, Jubal, warns everyone that the tree is about to fall, other towns folk leave to save the children. The tree does fall and while Nan is saved by her Uncle Sterling, Johnny is brought in with a head injury. In the panic that follows, Bess and Herbert Morgan are faced with the dilemma of where to find a Doctor. Rose had once studied medicine but has mysteriously returned home to teach school. Bess persuades Rose to help Johnny and she reluctantly reveals the she is a certified Doctor and performs the needed surgery on Johnny. The surgery is successful and Thomas and Sterling reconcile. The town rejoices and prepares to celebrate Christmas by reading the Christmas story.

Another stranger arrives and reveals that he represents a church from a neighboring county that has offered to help the town. Everyone celebrates over this offer of help. Finally Nan and Johnny figure out what is really a True Christmas.

Resonate

2011-12-02T09:24:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I wanted to share a few quotes with you today from Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

The Collins English Dictionary defines resonance as "the sound produced by a body vibrating in sympathy with a neighboring source of sound." I think this concept has a lot of wonderful implications for the church!

Listen to what Vanhoozer writes:

The faithful church resonates the Word of God to the extent that it continues to sound deeply and clearly the divine voice speaking in its holy script. . . . Resonance is not repetition. To live biblically is not to re-create the past but to resonate in the present. The church 'resounds' to God's glory not by replicating the self-same sound again but by filling space and time with booming echoing sympathetic vibrations--sound and shock waves from the big bang of resurrection.

What a metaphor for our church! Let us resonate the Word of God in our present context as we hold out the Word of Life to our community and urge people to be reconciled to God. Let us set off some "shock waves from the big bang of resurrection" in Apex!

A CONFESSION AND A PLEA TO THE ALMIGHTY

2011-11-23T08:38:00.000-05:00

A Thanksgiving poem from Andrew Peterson:

O God, Magnificent Confounder,
Boundless in mercy and power,
Be near me in my apathy.

Be near me, Savage Dreamer,
Bright Igniter of Exploding Suns,
But not too near. I’d like to live,

By your grace, just long enough
To taste another perfect steak.
And to see my children marry,

And, perhaps, to pen a memoir.
Great redeemer of my lechery,
Bright Dawn of Blessed Hope,

Lay waste to every prideful thing,
Each black infraction of your law.
O Swirling Storm of Holy Anger,

Be patient with me. I’m certain
I will make a second gluttonous
Trip to the festal spread of food.

And I might as well admit, O King
Omniscient, I plan to make a third.
And that will lead to sloth, I know,

If only for the afternoon. Awake,
O sleeper! But not yet, not yet.
I want to dream a dream of light

In Heaven’s towering splendor.
I long, my Lord, to walk its streets
Or better yet, to drive them.

I’ve always wanted a motorcycle,
A cool one that blats and rumbles
Like a herd of flaming zebras.

I could totally impress the ladies
With my holy rolling zebra steed,
But only by your perfect pleasure,

Ruler of the angel armies, blaster
Of the horn of strength, would I ride
The golden highways awesomely.

O Wisdom of the Ages, speak!
Sing to me of secret knowledge
Open wide the gates of truth,

And let me learn it, by your grace,
Through the medium of television–
Smartly written situational comedy,

Perhaps, or an epic space opera.
Let me taste the honey of your word,
My beloved savior. Seriously. Save me

From my wit, my words, my songs,
My sin, my bad poems, my vanity,
My every single human impulse,

Except the ones I like and am able
To justify using my corruptible
Reason, my imperfect understanding,

And my belief in your inexhaustible
Forgiveness. When I awake, saintly,
I will consume a dish of pumpkin pie.

And, as I politely swallow a belch,
I will lean my heart on yours, Almighty,
To whom, alone, is due thanksgiving.

Thick Headed and Hard Hearted

2011-11-18T14:00:00.042-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Have you ever felt thick headed and hard hearted?

I am mentally raising my hand. And I usually don't recognize it's the case until after the fact; when it is too late for me to do anything about it.

Confession time: I'm extremely thick headed in my marriage. I'll have a plan that I've worked out, but have not communicated adequately, and then when the said plan gets nixed I have a hard time being flexible. (The reason why my plans get nixed is usually because there is a better, more efficient plan that actually makes sense!)

If you feel like I do, you are not alone. The Israelites were some of the most thick headed and hard hearted people around. Just read the book of Joshua sometime.

You know the Exodus 32 story: Moses had been gone some time on the mountain and the people become impatient and demanded Aaron make a golden calf they could worship as the one who delivered them from Egypt. How stupid was that?

It comes as no surprise that God, in Exodus 33, refers to the Hebrew people several times as "a stiff-necked people." (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want God to think of me in those terms, and at the very least not to make it public for millions of people over the centuries to read.)

"[Go up] to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way."

Of course, Moses intercedes for the people, and God in his graciousness forgives them.

How does this apply to me? I've heard it said that as a person grows older they either age like a fine wine or they stink like old cheese (that's my paraphrase). God help us to grow in grace and to not become thick headed and hard hearted and stiff necked in our relationship with our Lord and Savior and brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead, teach us to be flexible, bearing each other's burdens, and forgiving wrongs out of love.

May our necks be loose!

Bloodlines

2011-11-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Check out this powerful video from Pastor John Piper as he shares his story of growing up in the South. Ask yourself the question, "At ABC, how are we working toward racial reconciliation and diversity?"

A Big FX Thank You!

2011-11-02T11:57:00.000-04:00

Chuck Thompson
Youth/Missions Pastor

Wow! What a night! Together we had one of our biggest, and arguably one of our best, ministry events ever this past Saturday night. We had workers from elementary school age to folks in their 80’s; workers who are brand new to our ABC Family and some who have been with us for more than 60 years - and we had more team members than ever, too! It was great to see the body of Christ – with all of its Spiritual gifts, Heart’s passions, Abilities, Personalities & Experiences (SHAPEs) in action! We were incredibly blessed to serve with all of you!

“Yes,” it was special to engage, serve and share the love of Jesus with that big BUNCH of folks, but just plain AWESOME to watch our Lord work during the invitation times. Our praying for unsaved folks, our pursuing them in spiritual conversations (bringing Jesus up) and persuading them to come to FX (ultimately Jesus) paid off. We recorded 33 decisions for Christ – most of those for salvation! Please pray for our follow-up touches with these folks this week. We will be presenting many these folks to the church at the conclusion of the worship services this week – I know that you’ll greet and encourage them warmly.

FYI, on Saturday night, we sent our FX guests an e-letter with an invitation to visit our ABC services. We’ll be inviting them to our Christmas programs, too. On Sunday afternoons we’ll make more contact with many of these non-churched folks through RRCONCILE. If you would like to help with this flexible, low risk ministry, please contact Tim (tim(at)apexbaptist.org).

Thanks again for all of the energy, time & love that you invested in our first FX. Every contribution was important, and we trust that as you gave generously, you were blessed richly. If you have any, we want your FX photos so we can post them on the ABC website. Please email these to Adam (adam(at)apexbaptist.org) or drop them off to him ASAP. We welcome, your ideas, too, that will make our FX on Saturday, October 27, 2012 even better!

Lastly, we’d like for you to share a simple blessing, reflection, story or “at a boy” with us about FX so we can rejoice & praise the Lord with you. Send these to Nathan (nathan(at)apexbaptist.org), and we’ll post them on the website. We’ve got one from Jackie Gilbert below:

On Saturday night at 7:00, I had the amazing and totally unexpected privilege to hear the testimony of Kevin Clapp, a member of the FAITH FORCE team, who I had known in Burlington while living there for 10 years. I was in choir with his Mom and styled her hair. Kevin was so sweet, and when he was led astray, she was surprised, heartbroken and asked all her friends, "PLEASE PRAY FOR MY KEVIN". During Kevin's testimony, he told us of the wrong path he'd taken, which mirrored the pain I remembered sharing with his precious Mom. That young man that I thought was lost now stood before me, transformed by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak with such a boldness that made me want to shout! Tears flooded my eyes through his whole message remembering the pain and rejoicing as I was seeing this miracle of Christ right before me. The power of muscles breaking blocks symbolized how God broke the walls of Satan's lies with the message of love- John 3:16. Oh! The power of Jesus love!

I have folks that I'm praying for and Saturday night was a message from the Lord that nothing is too difficult for HIM who IS in control. We just need to continue to trust and pray to Him who is ALL powerful--- He is able to perform miracles!

God is SO GOOD!!

FX October 28 Update

2011-10-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

It’s getting exciting around here! Tomorrow we expect more than one thousand children, plus their parents, to join us for our first FX. Thanks to all of you who have already registered to help, passed out FX fliers, prayed and contributed all kinds of candy, goods & services. It’s gonna be great! Below is today’s update.

Pray
• That our Lord’s love, joy & grace will fall over our campus on Saturday
• That the skies will be clear on Saturday afternoon/evening
• That our workers will lovingly & genuinely engage all of our participants
• That our e-letter going out to our guests on Saturday night will be well received
• That many of our unchurched guests will join us for services on Sunday morning (Tim will be preaching)
• That the relationships within our church family will sprout, sweeten & be strengthened as we serve together on this ministry project.
• That souls would be saved and that strongholds would be broken during the FAITH FORCE presentations

Needs
• more donations for the Cake Walk - we certainly don’t want to run out!
• another photographer or two
• more vacuum cleaners to speed up the cleanup process
• plenty of clean up help – the last 5+ years we did a great job & were more than 95% complete in less than 45 minutes – YES! Let’s do it again!
• sign board help for the hallways (Saturday afternoon). We use the Preschool's dry erase boards for directions, welcome, etc

Reminders
• If you ordered an FX t-shirt by Monday, we’ll have it labeled & ready for you to pick up in the fellowship hall on Saturday afternoon. We ordered a few extra, so if you don’t have one, contact Amanda Poe (Amanda@apexbaptist.org or 362-6176 x222) to reserve one. First come – first serve.
• If you want to dress up in a non-scary fashion – go for it.
• Please park away from the church campus on Saturday afternoon so we’ll have more room for our guests to park.
• Our final briefing and prayer time for our workers will be at 3:40pm in the fellowship hall.
• We want to be in position & ready to begin by 3:55pm.
• Eat when you can during the evening.
• Rotate in and out of service with your team mates or others who want to spell you
• Around 5:15, we’ll invite the children & parents to go to the Sanctuary for FAITH FORCE. If you can break away to serve as an usher/counselor that would be great. Likewise, we’ll shut all events down at 6:50 and encourage everyone to go to the sanctuary. We’d like our ushers to be in place by 6:40. Both performances will be shown live in the Choir Room.
• After FAITH FORCE, we’re asking each of you to help clean up the area where you served so it is ready for services on Sunday morning. Then please help others clean their areas so we can all go home ASAP.
• Smile all during the FX, especially when your photos are being taken. We’ll post them on our church website on Friday night. You may see yourself on the big screen on Sunday morning, too!
• If you know some others who would like to help, but haven’t “officially” registered, contact me (Chuck@apexbaptist.org or 362-6176 x232 or 602-5677). We’ve got several places to plug folks in to serve.

Why Come To FX?

2011-10-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

Here's one reason you should come to FX on Saturday:

There will be horses!

FX October 20 Update

2011-10-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

FX- biggest & best party in town!
Yes, FX will have all of the elements of the Fun Fests we have had in previous years plus more – more events, more food, more ABC member participation, and more evangelistic outreach. Festivities include: horse riding, the mechanical bull, 4 inflatables, carnival games, a blue grass band, hay ride, cake walk, Limbo, fishing booth, chicken wings, hot dogs, chili, nachos, snow cones, smoothies, lots & lots of candy and MORE! FAITH FORCE will perform at 5:20 and 7pm in the sanctuary. Don’t miss it!

HELP WANTED!
We need help in the following areas:
• Picking up & setting up the halogen lights in the parking lots
• Serving chili, crackers & tea in the Fellowship Hall
• Cooking & serving fried Oreos & candy bars
• Horse clean up after the event
• Grills & help with chicken wings
• More baked goods for the Cake Walk
• More candy donations
• Pumpkin painting help
• Stage cleanup after FAITH FORCE

You can sign up to help online at www.apexbaptist.org/fx or on one of the FX sign up sheets available at the ABC hallway displays

Did you know?
Did you know that Mark Kerr of FAITH FORCE was a 2–Time Drug Free Strongest Man and 5-Time World Powerlifting Champion? Guess what position he played on his high school football team? You may get the answer on the 29th – great & inspiring story! Who are you bringing with you to be entertained, inspired and to hear the Gospel?

Publicity help
Our FX Fliers are available in the hallways as well as online. Hope you’ll use these to help get the word out to your friends, neighbors & businesses.

Let’s pray that …
• our ABC Family will do a great job of publicizing FX
• that our ABC Family would greet & engage guests & each other warmly
• lots more ABC members will sign up to help with the remaining FX needs
• we will pray, pursue & persuade non-believers to see FAITH FORCE
• the weather would be great for FX – we don’t want rain!
• that souls would be saved at FX!

We Arise

2011-10-17T14:02:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

If you missed worship services this past week we had a great time. The kids led us in worship and were fantastic. The worship band and Jesse also shared a song with us called "We Arise." I wanted to share the lyrics with you because they are just plain powerful. The song is by a group called Daylight Worship and you can actually download their album for free on Noisetrade (just leave a tip if you like it!). Here are the lyrics:

Sleeping’s for the night we have seen the sun rise over us
The King has come
Awaken to the day we have had His glory revealed to us
Love has won

We arise for our light has come and the glory of God has risen on us
We arise, Jesus is alive and the power of Christ lifts us up

Tear off all that weighs down
We are called to run now free from sin
Alive again
Children of the light flee the things of darkness and follow Christ
Turn and shine

We arise for our light has come to us
For our God has rescued He has rescued us
We arise Jesus is alive in us
Through His death we’ve overcome We have overcome

For Your blood was poured out
And Your life was given
Through death You conquered
You are the word that was spoken

FX October 14 Update

2011-10-14T19:15:00.000-04:00

So what is FX again?
Yes, FX will have all of the elements of the Fun Fests we have had in previous years, but we’re adding extra emphasis on ABC member involvement & evangelistic outreach. There will be food, fun, fellowship & games galore for everyone. Additionally, we’ll have Bluegrass music provided by Fairview Grass and two special programs by the FAITH FORCE power team. Through serving & being served there’s plenty of good stuff for your whole family to experience!

Have you signed up yet?
We’ve had several Life Groups sign up to help with events like: the “Dot Room”,
the “Limbo Room”, fried candy bars, and registration. We’ve also had several individuals sign up to help with various events. How about you? Remember that we want lots of folks to help so that we can minimize the burdens, maximize the blessings and have a lot of fun along the way. The sooner you sign up, the sooner we’ll be able to work out schedules. Sign up sheets are available in the church hallways and at www.apexbaptist.org/fx. Register by Sunday, October 16 and get your free FX t-shirt!

Want to know more about FAITH FORCE?
Check out www.faithforce.com to see learn about some of the feats of strength these men perform, about their ministry and the stories behind the men – good reading! FAITH FORCE will perform at 5:20 and 7pm in our sanctuary. Who are you bringing with you to be entertained, inspired and to hear the Gospel?

Publicity help
Our FX Fliers should be ready by the weekend. We’ll have a version that you can email to your friends & neighborhood groups, too. The best publicity however is word of mouth. Let’s get the word out!

Other help needed
We need Life Groups or groups of individuals to help with pumpkin painting, stage set up, take down & ushering for FAITH FORCE. We need lots more CANDY to give away, too!

Let’s pray that …
• our ABC Family will do a great job of publicizing FX
• our folks will sign up promptly to help with FX
• we will pray, pursue & persuade non-believers to see FAITH FORCE
• the weather would be great for FX
• that souls would be saved at FX!

Why FX on October 29th

2011-10-11T11:04:00.002-04:00

So, after twenty plus years of the Harvest Fest at ABC followed by the Fun Fest all happening on October 31, what is going on with FX (ABC Family Experience), and why are we having it on Saturday, October 29?

Those are great questions and we'd like to take a moment to answer them briefly:

FX is basically the same thing as Fun Fest, except a whole lot bigger, a whole lot Funner, and is much more INTENTIONAL in sharing the Gospel with our community. We'll have more details on the schedule soon, but one of the highlights is Faith Force coming to do two shows--one during FX and a 7:00 show following FX in the ABC Sanctuary. Faith Force is all about the Gospel and we're excited as to what God is going to do through their presentation.

But what about October 31? I thought the whole point of having a "Fun Fest" was to provide a safe alternative for parents to bring their kids, instead of being surrounded by a culture that celebrates death and darkness?

Dr. George Robinson, from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote an interesting blog on this subject entitled provocatively, "Why All Good Christians Should Celebrate Halloween." (He said what?!)

We'd like to share a few quotes here from Dr. Robinson's blog in regard to Halloween and our calling as believers in Jesus Christ.

"Ironically, most good Christians that I know won’t be celebrating either Reformation Day or Halloween. Instead, they will be showing support for their local church by attending a “safe and sanitary” alternative called a Fall Festival. This alternative allows good Christians to invite their neighbors and friends to come to the church and get candy, play games and have some good, clean Christian fun. No pagan witches and goblins allowed. But they can dress up as David or Moses or some other biblical character. All the fun without the pagan revelry, right?"

This is exactly what we've done with the Harvest Festival and the Fun Fest the past few decades. But Dr. Robinson continues:

"I would like to propose another alternative – that good Christians should indeed celebrate Halloween. I think that they should stay home from their church’s alternative Fall Festival and celebrate with their pagan neighbors. Most of them wouldn’t have come to your Fall Festival anyway. And those who did would’ve stopped by briefly on their way to “real” trick-or-treating. I’m sure that some of you reading this blog might be more than a little unhappy with my proposal at this point, but stick with me for a moment: The reason I propose that good Christians celebrate Halloween and stay home from the “Christian alternatives” is that Halloween is the only night of the year in our culture where lost people actually go door-to-door to saved people’s homes -- and you’re down at the church hanging out with all your other good Christian friends having clean fellowship with the non-pagans."

Ouch! We leave our homes the one night of the year that our unbelieving neighbors drop by our house?

"Living with missional intentionality means that you approach life as a missionary in your context. I lived with my family in South Asia and we had to be creative and intentional in engaging our Muslim neighbors. We now live in the USA and we still need to be creative and intentional. That’s why for the past 2 years we have chosen to stay at home and celebrate the fact that Halloween gives us a unique opportunity to engage our neighbors. In fact, last year we had over 300 children and 200 adults come to our doorstep on that one night. And we were ready for them!"

So, what are some practical ideas of how we can be intentional on Halloween?

"We had a tent set up in the driveway and gave away free coffee and water to the adults who were walking with their children. Our small group members manned the tent and engaged them in conversation and gave each one of them a gospel booklet (“The Story” gospel booklets are available with a Halloween distribution rate here: http://story4.us/offer). The children ran up to our door while the parents were waiting and got their candy, along with gospel booklets (even if they were dressed as witches or goblins!). In all we gave away more than 500 pieces of literature that night, each with our name, e-mail address, and a website where they could get more info."

How about it?! Let's be intentional with the Gospel on October 31 and see what God does!

FX (Family Experience)

2011-10-05T13:47:00.000-04:00

FX (Family Experience) is coming on Saturday, October 29 and we'll be using the blog to keep you updated on what is going on in the FX camp these next few weeks! Here's the first update!

FX Sign-ups Have Begun
We want everyone to “get in the game” and be a part of FX – that way we’ll maximize the blessings, minimize the burdens and have a lot of fun along the way! Sign-up sheets are available on tables near the sanctuary, at the welcome center and online at www.apexbaptist.org/fx. You can serve as life groups, families, or individuals. We’ll try to have a point person at each station to help schedule the team’s workers. In these weekly updates we’ll inform you of other areas to serve as they arise (BTW, we’ll need several ushers for the Faith Force programs).

NEW FOR 2011
* YES!! This year we’re glad to have FAITH FORCE (see below) with us for two programs
* YEEHAAH!! Fairview Grass, (Billy Powell & his blue grass buddies) will be “pickin’ & grinning” with us
* YIDDIE UP!! We’ll have horse rides in the rear lot
* Praise YAHWEH!! Bible Bee Students will dazzle & inspire us with their scripture memorization
* YIPPEE!! The Apex Police will have a 911 Simulation for the kiddies

FAITH FORCE
We’ve been friends with the FAITH FORCE power team since Metamorphosis 2003, and three team members will do two programs during FX. In addition to having incredibly strong physical bodies, they have wonderfully tender hearts. They just got back last week from a 10 day trip in Russia where they saw our Lord work sweetly & powerfully. These guys will do a great job of entertaining, inspiring and clearly communicating the Gospel. You don’t want to miss! The first program will be around 5:30 and the second (longer one) will be at 7. Yes, you’ll be able to view the program in the sanctuary or on the big screen in the fellowship hall. (We’ll aim to close all of the FX activities down just prior to 7).

Pray, Pursue, Persuade
Do all of your friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers and classmates know Jesus as Lord? Probably not. Today, begin to pray for these by name that God would stir in their hearts. Next, look for opportunities to “bring up” Jesus and pursue them with the truths of Christ in conversation. Ultimately, you want to persuade them to come to Christ. Persuading them to come to FX and to see the Faith Force Team can play a big part in them coming to Christ! Your guests may even get saved on Saturday night! What an FX experience that would be!
Pray…
* That our many wanted & needed workers will sign up promptly
* That our ABC Family would do a good job of praying, pursuing and persuading in these next 24 days
* That our workers will lovingly & genuinely engage all of our participants & guests
* That our Lord’s love, joy & grace will fall over our campus on that Saturday evening
* That many of our unchurched guests will join us for services on the following Sunday morning
* That souls would be saved on Saturday night and Sunday morning
* That the relationships within our church family will sprout, sweeten & be strengthened as we serve together through this ministry project.
Also
* Sign up to serve by October 16th, and we’ll get you a free FX t-shirt! You also may wear your Fun Fest t shirt from a previous year or dress up in some non- scary fashion.
* Supper (hot dogs & chili) for our workers will be at 3pm in the fellowship hall.
* Our final briefing & prayer will be at 3:30pm in the fellowship hall
* We want to be in position & ready to begin by 3:50
* We’ll have a FAMILY EXPERIENCE Flier attachment for you to forward to your friends & neighbors next week. We’ll have hard copies, too. Remind everyone that it’s all FREE!
* Remember that helping at our Fun Fest is a great way to meet a lot more folks in our ABC family.

Global Missions Video

2011-09-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

In case you missed Sunday evening, here is the Global Missions Video with several missions opportunities for you and your family this year!

Psalm 136 Remix

2011-09-26T12:36:00.000-04:00

Here is the text of Psalm 136 Remix we shared last night during Vision Night. Greater things are yet to come!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
His love endures forever
Give thanks to the God of gods
His love endures forever
Give thanks to the Lord of lords
His love endures forever

For God’s abundant provision in allowing us to remain debt free
His love endures forever
Who blessed 68 couples that attended the Hispanic Couples Conference
His love endures forever
And has given us a Spirit of unity and a bond of peace
His love endures forever
Give thanks for a gracious, steadfast, and faithful Lord
His love endures forever
For over 500 children who learned that God is wild about them during VBS
His love endures forever
And 70 first time professions of faith at our 2011 Metamorphosis Retreat
His love endures forever
Who has called many to commit themselves to the work of the Kingdom in the Hispanic Ministry’s 40 Days of Purpose
His love endures forever
For over 200 who served our community in Operation Inasmuch
His love endures forever
And well over 2000 people loved by 300 Apex Baptist Members during our Fun Fest
His love endures forever
God brought 11 people to faith during our Atlanta Power Plant trip
His love endures forever
And demonstrated His love when His body helped families devastated by the April tornadoes
His love endures forever
Our Upward Celebration in January saw 50 children and 12 adults trust in Jesus
His love endures forever
For those from our body who are currently serving overseas planting churches
His love endures forever
For lives that were changed and marriages strengthened through the Festivals of Marriage Retreat in Ridgecrest
His love endures forever
And to Him who brought us a faithful minister of the Gospel for the past 28 years!
His love endures forever

Give thanks to the God of heaven
His love endures forever

ABC Vision Night

2011-09-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

Come gather with our whole church family for our 2011 ABC Vision Night this Sunday, September 25 from 6:00-8:00 PM in the ABC Fellowship Hall.

At Vision Night, we'll talk and pray about how God is leading and equipping us to move forward. We'll hear about the vision He's given us thus far, talk about how we're currently responding to it, and look forward to what God has in store for us this next year.

There will be some wonderful music, and Phil will be giving his final charge to our local body as he prepares for the next adventure in his life! We hope you can come hear him!

We'll also have a chance to vote on our 2011-2012 budget and new Bylaws and Constitution. Come join us as we gather as a church around our mission to celebrate, pray and worship God for what he's done. You don't want to miss it!

We'll begin with some light refreshments at 6:00 PM and childcare will be provided for Birth through 4th Grade.

See you on Sunday in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00!

The Most Important Unreached People Group

2011-09-15T09:00:00.005-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

We hear about unreached people groups all the time in evangelical circles. And for good reason. According to the Joshua Project there are currently 6,913 unreached people groups. Around 2.83 billion people. Unreached means that less than 2% of each of these groups are evangelical (Christians with fairly clearly defined theologies). Bringing the Gospel to these peoples is truly a monumental and an important work for our generation. There is no doubt that our relationship with Christ compels us to GO.

But here's the other side of the coin. Recently, in a seminar, I heard a person make an argument that I had never quite heard in this particular form. He said, "The most important unreached people group today is the children of believers."

I had to let this sink in. And as it did, I realized the truth of this statement. Someone once said that it only takes one generation for a church to drift into heresy and folk Christianity. We can have the fastest growing church in the world, on fire for Jesus, but if we're not grounding our children in a Biblical worldview and teaching them a personal relationship with Christ, it can be all for naught. It really is a task of utmost urgency in the church.

With that being said, it is sad that we have to beg and plead for folks in the church to help in our children's ministry. It should be an honor! A privilege! A most sacred undertaking! Not done out of guilt or duty. These kids are our future--our hope that God will continue to use ABC in the future as a light in a dark place long after our time is gone. We should have to turn away workers because we already have too many!

“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children..."
Lamentations 2:19

RECONCILE (Coming This January)

2011-09-07T09:03:00.000-04:00

We are excited to announce our new Go Initiative beginning Sundays, January 2012. RECONCILE springs from 2 Corinthians 5 and is all about our church living missionally as “ministers of reconciliation” in our community. Throughout this Fall we will have three Launch Prep meetings for RECONCILE that we hope you can attend! During these times we will worship together and seek God’s Face. Make sure to attend our Vision Night on September 25 from 6:00-8:00 PM in the ABC Fellowship Hall where we'll talk a little bit more about RECONCILE and plans for 2012. Check out the Launch Prep dates below and contact us with any questions!

Launch Prep 1: Sunday, October 2 at 4:00 PM in the ABC Choir Room
Launch Prep 2: Sunday, November 6 at 4:00 PM in the ABC Choir Room
Launch Prep 3: Sunday, December 4 at 4:00 PM in the ABC Choir Room

Fall 2011 Reading List

2011-09-02T07:40:00.003-04:00

Here are a few books recommended by some of our staff for Fall reading! Enjoy!

Eugene H. Peterson's book, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading, will take its rightful place on my list of twenty must read books for any Christian, even though I don't agree with every point made in it. Peterson wants to make reading the Bible personal, relational, and transformational. Instead of someone being lord of the text, examining it as if in a laboratory or solely coming to it for information or with a desire to build a dogmatic belief system, he wants the reader of the Bible to submit their life to the transforming, power-filled, recreating, inspirational thoughts of Scripture. He wants us to read the Bible in everyday language and metaphors that helps us relate to, understand, enter into and live within God’s currently unfolding story.
Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch's book, The Faith of Leap, is a convicting read dealing with the theology of risk and adventure in the church. This book is a corrective to the dull, adventureless, risk-free phenomenon that describes so much of contemporary Christianity. It explores the nature of adventure, risk, and courage and the implications for church, discipleship, spirituality, and leadership.
D.A. Carson's book, The God Who Is There, is an excellent introduction to the God of the Bible for both seekers, new believers and those who need to go back to some foundational principles. In this basic introduction to faith, D. A. Carson helps readers to know what they believe and why they believe it. A wonderful read!
Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle's book, Erasing Hell, addresses the deepest questions you have about eternal destiny. Like you, sometimes the authors just don't want to believe in hell. But they state up front, "We cannot afford to be wrong on this issue." This is not a book about who is saying what. It's a book about what God says. It's not a book about impersonal theological issues. It's a book about people who God loves. It's not a book about arguments, doctrine, or being right. It's a book about the character of God.

The Fall Plan

2011-09-01T10:19:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, August 21 the ABC Personnel Committee presented a motion regarding church operations and staff responsibilities for the period of October through December 2011. We wanted to reproduce it here in case you were unable to attend the worship services on August 21.

In addition to his current responsibilities, Chuck Thompson will be considered the official head of the Apex Baptist Church staff. Interactions between staff and all escalations will be worked through him.
In addition to his current responsibilities, Tim Shaw will ensure the pulpit is manned for all Sunday services and any other events, as required. Tim’s responsibilities include publishing a rotation for staff to preach (which has been included below:)
Oct 2 - Chuck, Oct 9 - Peter, Oct 16 - Nathan, Oct 23 - Chuck, Oct 30 - Tim; Nov 6 - Alex (combined service), Nov 13 - Nathan, Nov 20 - Chuck, Nov 27 - Tim; Dec 4 - Nathan, Dec 11 – Alex, Dec 18 - Peter, Dec 25 - Tim
All other ministerial staff responsibilities remain unchanged.

In October 2011, the Personnel Committee will begin a search for an interim pastor to fulfill weekly duties beginning the first Sunday in January 2012.

Praying Without Ceasing

2011-08-29T08:30:00.002-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

We could learn quite a bit from the Celtic missionaries of the 7th, 8th and 9th Centuries. Although they were monastic they didn't sequester themselves away from the world, but traveled all over Europe sharing the Gospel with the barbarians--daring to pioneer the way into uncharted and dangerous territories. And scores of them paid with their blood.

One of the many beautiful legacies they leave us today is that of "contemplative prayer." Their concept of prayer fulfilled Paul's admonition to "pray without ceasing." George G. Hunter III writes that contemplative prayer "is an ongoing, or very frequent, opening of the heart to the Triune God, often while engaging in each of the many experiences that fill a day."

The Carmina Gadelica gives many examples of these prayers, including prayers "to accompany getting up in the morning, for dressing, for starting the morning fire, for bathing or washing clothes or dishes . . . and for going to bed at night." Here's an example of one for starting the morning's fire:

I will kindle my fire this morning
In presence of the holy angels of heaven,
God, kindle Thou in my heart within
A flame of love to my neighbor,
To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all,
To the brave, to the knave to the thrall . . .

These prayers engaged people's imaginations, and contemplative prayer could be a useful tool for many believers today. Not as mantras, but as a way of turning our hearts to God throughout our common activities. Ray Simpson has written a book, "Celtic Blessings for Everyday Life," which includes prayers for the every day workings of a modern world. It even includes a prayer for taking an exam! Check this out, and if you're a student this prayer might behoove you to focus your thoughts on Christ before you plunge in to filling in bubbles on the Scantron or writing in your Blue Book, and totally change your thinking on tests!

I bless this exam

in the name of the Designer of truth.
I bless this exam
in the name of the Protector from ill.
I bless this exam in the of the Spirit who guides.
Open my eyes to see how this subject
reflects something of you.
Aid me to understand this subject
with my heart as well as with my head.
Give me
Wisdom to know the nub of things,
Strength to recall what is useful,
Peace to leave the result to you.

2011 Festival of Marriage

2011-08-24T10:29:00.000-04:00

Festivals of Marriage 2011 Promo from Apex Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Fall Festival of Marriage 2011: “COURAGEOUS: Building Biblical Marriages”

October 21-23 at Ridgecrest Conference Center

This three-day weekend event for couples will encourage, challenge, and build healthy marriages. Includes bold fatherhood and family principles based on the highly anticipated movie, COURAGEOUS; dynamic worship; and breakout sessions that promote courageous living. If you want your marriage to leave a lifelong impact, Festivals of Marriage's Courageous: Building Biblical Marriages is your 2011 must-attend event.

Festivals of Marriage will guide you to:

· Connect, assuming Courageous responsibilities
· Grow, setting Courageous priorities
· Serve, leaving a Courageous legacy
· Go, with a Courageous faith

For more information or to register, please contact Holly Ladner or call 567-2699.

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!

2011-08-22T13:30:00.017-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

The last two blog posts (including this blog title) have been taken from The Faith of Leap by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch. I highly recommend it!

In our calling to be a missional church it is helpful to have practical steps we can implement. Especially as we strive to be a people of God involved in non-Christians' lives outside the four walls of our building where we meet each week.

So, how do we do it? And what does this kind of missional life look like? Juliet Kilpin from Urban Expression in the UK has a few suggestions:

Listen to the rhythms of your context. Sit in local places. Hang out in local coffee shops. Talk to local people. Join community groups.
Be employed in the neighborhood. Be free of being so driven by results. Stop measuring your success by how many people attend, and start measuring it by what God is doing in your context.
Engage in snowball research. That is, meet the community gatekeepers, the movers and the shakers. Listen to them. Hear of their dreams for your neighborhood. Who knows, they may be the persons of peace referred to in Luke 10.
Get rid of your church building!! Well, Juliet was being cheeky here, but she pointed out that many churches don't engage in their neighborhood because they are too locked into their building. If you got rid of it, you'd have no choice but to go and engage with the community.
Say yes to every invitation you receive. Follow Jesus's advice to his disciples in Luke 10 and accept all offers of hospitality. Say yes to every party, every meal, every committee you get invited to attend.

It's all about "cultivating a church with deep roots" in our community. How about you, do you have any ideas of how we can minister in our community where God has placed us?

Learning to Love

2011-08-19T08:42:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Jesus answered, "The most important is,'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandmentgreater than these."

As seen in this passage from Mark 12, love is multi-dimensional. It's also inherently risky.

Augustine wrote that in every new love there is contained, "the seeds of fresh sorrows."

C.S. Lewis famously stated, "Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket of coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; instead it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and disturbances of love is Hell."

It costs to love God and to love our neighbor. It involves suffering, and we like to be safe and comfortable. We have a case of risk aversion to the extreme.

Are you willing to learn to love? To love your God with everything you are? To love your neighbor as yourself? It will cost you something. Maybe everything. The seeds of fresh sorrows will be planted and who can know what what will grow in the watering of your heart?

But it's worth the uncertainty. It's what we're called to do as followers of Jesus. To love unreservedly. And we'll never be alone.

Seeds of Mustard Ministry

2011-08-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

Today's blog is dedicated to a wonderful new ministry called "Seeds of Mustard." Check it out to see how you can get involved!

Seeds of Mustard is a faith based IRS recognized non-profit ministry. The ministry began in Sept of 2009, following the untimely death of George and Nicolette’s 16 year old son. The ministry is funded by the support of local churches, individual donations and the operation of a thrift store located on Maynard Road in Cary. (For more details on the history of SOM, visit www.seedsofmustard.org.)

The mission of SOM is to bring glory to God by assisting children and families in crisis situations with the hopes of furthering HIS kingdom by serving HIS people. Since its inception, SOM has helped dozen in families in providing clothing, furniture and financial assistance. Currently, SOM is providing support locally to children in low income communities in Cary near the store and abroad in Dominican Republic through Rainbow Families. It has partnered with Freeway Church, Grace Christian School, Haven House, the Cary and Kraft YMCA and Rainbow Families, and is looking for more opportunities to form additional long-term relationships.

SOM needs help. Thrift ‘n Gift is located in 2000 sq ft and is outgrowing its space. God has given us opportunity to double our space and our rent. Currently 100% of our proceeds from the store go straight to the mission field. Expenses including rent, utilities, insurance and our one paid employee have been paid through regular individual contributors to the ministry.

How can ABC and its members help?
ABC can greatly help by spreading the word through church communications. (How will they know if we do not tell them?) and setting up collection boxes for the store several times a year.

Members can:
1. Consider becoming a regular financial contributor to Seeds of Mustard.
2. Shop at Thrift ‘n Gift located at 1381 SE Maynard Road, Cary, www.thriftngift.org
3. Donate gently used items to Thrift ‘n Gift.
4. Donate time by becoming a volunteer. We are in desperate need of Spanish speaking volunteers as well as volunteers to help with Craig’s list items, website, advertising and general store positions.
5. PRAY for Seeds of Mustard and Thrift ‘n Gift. That GOD’s will and ways would be accomplished for HIS name’s sake.

Amplify (Coming August 31)

2011-08-12T12:04:00.000-04:00

One of the most commonly asked questions around ABC is, "What do you have for...?" So, in addition to our Sunday Worship & Life Groups, we now offer "Amplify" on Wednesday evenings for the entire family!

Amplify means "to increase in effect". As believers we should grow or increase in effect to amplify Christ in our own lives so that we may amplify Him in the lives of others. To experience ABC is to discover a variety of opportunities for you to Amplify your personal relationship with Jesus as both Savior and Lord.

We'll begin August 31 at 5:15 with the Amplify Dinner and then the Amplify Studies begin at 6:30. Whether it is something for children or you are looking for a men's group, a women's Bible study, or lfor special life or family issues, there is a study for you!

Take a few moments and see where you are going to participate!

Amplify Dinner (5:15pm - 6:30pm)

Chef Jill and her team work hard on Wednesdays so you don't have to. Don't worry what to feed your kids (or your husbands), we will take care of it for you. It's amazing food for an great price, and it makes life just a little bit easier. Contact the Church Office (362-6176 ext. 222) TODAY to sign up!

Cost:
$4.00 per adult (11 and up) - $2.00 per child (3 to 10) - Free under 3

Amplify Studies (6:30pm - 7:30pm)

Amplify: Awana (Kids ages 3-6th grade)
Amplify: 180 (Youth 7th-12th grade)
Amplify: Life (Adults)
Amplify: Men/Women (Adults)
Amplify: Family (Adults)

Click here to register for one of the Amplify Adult Studies today!

Bylaws and Deacons!

2011-08-10T15:12:00.000-04:00

In the coming weeks we will be voting on two important issues in the life of our church. The first of these will be our new deacon nominees. This vote will be held in both worship services on Sunday, August 14th. For the full list of this year's deacon nominees and their bio's you may click here.

Secondly, we will be voting on our new proposed constitution and bylaws in both worship services on Sunday, September 18th. Before our vote we will have discussions on the revisions made at 3:00 pm in the Choir Room on the following dates:

Sunday, August 14th ~ 3:00 pm ~ Choir Room
Sunday, August 21st ~ 3:00 pm ~ Choir Room
Sunday, August 28th ~ 3:00 pm ~ Choir Room

If you didn't receive a copy of the revised, proposed ABC Constitution and Bylaws please email us here and we'll email you a soft copy. Hard copies will also be made available in the church office and at the round window.

The Lake

2011-08-09T13:25:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday we had a wonderful time at Jordan Lake as we celebrated baptism of 20+ folks, and then enjoyed a delicious dinner of fellowship afterwards! It was a little toasty outside, but that did not stop God from showing up and blessing us with the intimacy of His presence as brothers and sisters came together to rejoice in what He is doing in the life of Apex Baptist Church!

Check out some photos below!

A Slugs and Bugs Christmas Concert

2011-08-02T09:26:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

We are excited to announce a special Christmas concert for children of all ages and their families coming December 4. Slugs and Bugs is the brainchild of Nashville recording artists Randall Goodgame and Andrew Peterson, and they currently have two CDs released, the most recent being A Slugs and Bugs Christmas (although I do believe they're working on a new album this Fall).

It will be tons of fun--for you and your kids!--and it is absolutely free. No tickets. The concert will begin at 6:00 PM in the ABC Sanctuary so come early to get a good seat and mark your calendars! Please, feel free to invite your unchurched neighbors and friends to come join us--they will have a blast, and it is a great opportunity to plant some Gospel seeds in their lives.

Go to slugsandbugs.com for more info, or shoot me an email, and check out this short promo video, courtesy of Slugs and Bugs:

Update from Mexico Missions Team

2011-07-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

Make sure to keep up with our mission teams for updates and photos on the missions blog...

We arrived on Thursday, it was an 18 hour trip door to door. Friday was our tour day and we spent our day touring the city and learning about the culture and religion in the cities of Mexico. The King and Pagan children were so excited to see one another and we sensed the encouragement God has planned for all of us in just bringing us together. The photo from Micah’s ipod shows that enthusiasm.

Friday we visited the city of Guantanamo and a group of believers that are planting churches as well. This group has been working for several years and has several ministries for children, youth and adults even in other cities. We were able to pray with and for them and offer them prays of encouragement. We also visited a mummy museum, this gave us a better sense of the false worship in Mexico. As the days progressed, we have seen the Catholics here worship Mother Mary, of course, a doll which is in the city of San Juan De Los Lagos. This doll, is believed to have miraculous power and the legend of her bringing a dead girl back to life has thousand or hundreds of thousands, millions Jamie says, pilgrimage hundreds of miles to worship her. We visited this church yesterday and watched people approach this alter of the doll on their knees. Some stay on their knees until they bleed. This is all "works" based so that they can earn there way to heaven.

On Sunday we were blessed to be a part of the home church service at the Pagan home and then to a larger established church in Leon, where Alex was invited to preach. The audience was very attentive to his message from Hebrews 6 and we enjoyed the Spanish worship. George was able to share our testimony as a family who is becoming more mission focused at the morning service and he also was able to introduce us to the congregation in their native tounge as a family. It was wonderful to worship in spirit and truth despite the language barrier.

Today we went into a community in Leon where the Pagan family has been working to try to start a new church. They go there about every other month and set up an outreach event with food, games for the children, bible lesson and time of talk with the women. It was amazing to see the effort in trying to make relationships and build trust so that one family might offer their home as a place to start. There is one family with a very sick little girl, she has no aorta. She was not expected to live and is now 6 months and they go and pray for her and the family is considering allow a group to start meeting there. Please pray for this family, pray for a door of opportunity....today as we prayed in their concrete floor, three room home, the front door was open and I sensed the holy spirit saying just as the door to this home is open so will the door of opportunity be opened here, for a door that the Lord Jesus opens, no man can close.

We also have had several opportunities to share why we are here with some of the Mexican people esp in the hotel although the language barrier keeps us from gaining much ground.

Please remember us in your prayers and we finish our week here, as the Cosio's go onto Mexico City to do VBS with Lena's brother's church, as the Pagan family continues this great work and as we travel back to the states on Thursday.

Blessings from Mexico,
The King family

Staff Vs.

2011-07-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

Be ready, Apex Baptist Church. There's a train heading your way late August/early September and its conductor is none other than renowned basketball legend, O. Phillip Qualls. Check out the video below and email Nathan if you'd like to field a team. The date is still tentative because of an undisclosed injury to one of our staff members, but we're working hard rehabbing said injury and will be ready to go soon.

Staff Vs. from Apex Baptist Church on Vimeo.

The Resistance

2011-07-19T13:50:00.030-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

So . . . the resistance. I was recently introduced to the music of Josh Garrels (you can get his amazing CD for free by visiting his website, by the way!) and he has a song entitled "The Resistance." Here are some of the lyrics:

"Every mortal breath is meant to bring forth fire;
but only when when the fear of death gets consumed
On the funeral pier.
So let the flames rise higher
Let every man be considered a liar
If he doubts the goodness and faithfulness of God."

Reminds me a little of Hebrews 2:14-15!

Let's breathe fire. Resist complacency and laziness in our walk with God. Death has nothing on us because of Christ. Hold fast like an anchor in the storm.

I found the same themes of resistance and resurrection in a book I read recently, entitled "The Island of the World" by Michael O'Brien (definitely a must read!). It is the story of Josip Lasta and chronicles his sufferings in the former Yugoslavia. He knows first hand what resistance is like, particularly under the Communist Party, and as his life and faith fall apart, you can just feel the power of the Gospel and of forgiveness pulsing in his heart, aching to break out, until resurrection eventually bursts through every pore and his life is changed forever--despite the injustice and heartache he's experienced in his life.

How are you living out the resistance? As a co-heir with Christ you are free from the slavery of death. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit and resurrection flows in your very blood. Are you breathing out fire in a world that is lost in darkness? Join the resistance and be a part of the movement of God.

10,000 Reasons

2011-07-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

"For all Your goodness I will keep on singing;
10,000 reasons for my heart to find."

Definitely check out Matt Redman's new album "10,000 Reasons." We should never be short of reasons to worship our Creator and Savior and these are some great songs to help express what God has done in your life. "Never Once" is probably one of my favorite songs. You can view a live performance below:

The Serampore Compact

2011-07-13T10:00:00.006-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" (David Livingstone)

You're probably familiar with William Carey, known by many as the Father of the Modern Missionary Movement. Carey, after being called to missionary work in India, became part of the Serampore Trio--joined by Joshua Marshman and William Ward. Together they preached, translated Scripture, began a school, and loved the Indian people with the Gospel.

Three times a year (January, May and October) they would gather together and read out loud what was known as the Serampore Compact of 1805. This document is amazing, and well worth the read (you can see the full text here).

A few highlights:

1. "It is absolutely necessary that we set an infinite value on immortal souls." Is that how I feel about people? The man at the auto shop who works on my car? Our pediatrician? The driver in the car that cuts me off on the way to work? The one who hurts me deeply with false accusations?

2. "It becomes us to watch all opportunities of doing good." Is that how I live my life? Am I constantly looking for and aware of opportunities to love and to serve other people and to point them to Christ?

3. "Let us give ourselves up unreservedly to this glorious cause. Let us never think that our time, our gifts, our strength, our families, or even the clothes we wear, are our own." Have I given myself unreservedly for Jesus to use? Am I only willing to serve and love when it is convenient or when it is not difficult to do so? Do I recognize that everything in my life is a gift from the Great Giver of all Good Things?

Definitely check out the compact when you get a minute!

Stealing Cookies

2011-06-06T20:00:00.001-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I remember it well. There I was in the middle of the night involved in a nefarious scheme to fill my hungry and growling stomach. The kitchen was quiet and dark, and the storage areas were filled with endless and bountiful provisions. The cookies that I was eating were perfect--not too hard and not too soft. The end result of a baker's labor. I had never felt more guilty in my life. Or more alive. That could possibly have been the result of all the sugar.

Let me rewind. The year was 1997 and I was ending my sophomore campaign at NCSU. I had become involved in Young Life and along with several others traveled up to Lake Saranac, New York for something called "Work Week" where Young Life leaders spent time cleaning up the camp from the winter and getting it ready for the summer.

We worked hard. Cutting down trees with chainsaws, painting, putting out the dock into the lakes in our wetsuits. And we were fed well for our toil. But I hope it's not too hard to believe that one night as we lay down to sleep a friend of mine mentioned he was hungry and my stomach rumbled in response. Our options were limited. We were in the middle of nowhere, did not have the foresight to bring any snacks, and had no hunting equipment.

Fortunately, my friend had an idea, and the means by which to execute said idea. The plan was simple: as our forefathers had done long before, raid and pillage the camp kitchen. The means was also simple: my friend mysteriously had the key.

So that brings us full circle to me munching on cookies in the dead of night in upstate New York. After eating our fill we slipped out as quietly as we came in and retired to our beds with a slight sugar buzz, but feeling much better than before about the next day's work.

It was a fun memory, but every time I read Philippians 3:19 I feel slightly guilty whenever my stomach begins to growl in the middle of the night.

The Missional Manifesto

2011-05-23T17:58:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

The Missional Manifesto was put together by an incredible team of godly men and women, and represents what I hope Apex Baptist Church believes, and is moving toward, as we seek to go and love our community with the Gospel. You can read it by clicking here, and if you agree you can even sign your name to it at the bottom! It includes a Preamble and 10 Affirmations with a concluding statement of action. Check it out today!

You can also check out the following video for a little more background into the thinking behind the Missional Manifesto:

The Exchange May 2011 - The Missional Manifesto with Guest Alan Hirsch from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Operation Inasmuch & Letters to Soldiers

2011-05-11T09:04:00.000-04:00

Chuck Thompson
Youth/Missions Pastor

Here's another Operation Inasmuch "thank you" from the 805th Military Police Company:

Dear Apex Baptist Church,

The 805th Military Police Company sends its appreciation to the fine young men and women of Apex Baptist Church. We received the letters of encouragement entitled "American Hero" and passed them out to the Soldiers serving this fine country. I have heard many comments regarding the letters and feel that they had their intended effect.

I also opened a letter from Alexandra (3rd Grade). Her words were warmly felt and appreciated. Please let her know that I make the sacrifices of being away from friends and family to protect the freedoms of this great nation from afar. I serve willingly and with great pride; for if I have the ability to change lives for the better, then my calling in this life is complete.

I conclude with a verse that applies to all facets of life:

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

1LT Andrew Callanan
Executive Officer
805th Military Police Company

Operation Inasmuch & the Mabopane Foundation

2011-05-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

Chuck Thompson
Youth/Missions Pastor

It's been a month since Operation Inasmuch, but we wanted to share with you a few "thank yous" you've received along the way. This is one is from the Mabopane Foundation: (Quick Note: the Mabopane Foundation is a Raleigh, NC based nonprofit organization that gives assistance to orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children in Mabopane, South Africa)

Good Morning Apex Baptist Church Family,

I want to thank you for the many ways your "Operation Inasmuch" has helped the Mabopane Foundation. All of you willing, wonderful workers have blessed our ministry beyond belief.

So many of our volunteers/mission sale contributors come from Apex Baptist Church. They are always such a light in whatever they do.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the many ways you partner with us!

Blessings,
Becky Young
President, Mabopane Foundation

Is Church Membership a Biblical Idea?

2011-05-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Recently, I finished a condensed version of Mark Dever's "What is a Healthy Church?" One of the issues that he addresses is the topic of biblical membership in the local church and I thought it would be appropriate to bring up in the light of our upcoming New Member's Class on May 24 and May 31.

Dever begins, "When a person becomes a Christian, he doesn't just join a local church because it's a good habit for growing in spiritual maturity. He joins a local church because it's the expression of what Christ has made him: a member of the body of Christ. Being united to Christ means being united to every Christian. But that universal union must be given a living, breathing existence in a local church."

What a perspective on membership! As a member of the body of Christ (that includes believers all around the world) it's only natural that we become a member of a local body where we can be discipled and be in community!

Dever continues with a gut check, "Committing to a local body is the natural outcome--it confirms what Christ has done [given us his righteousness through his death on the cross]. If you have no interest in actually committing yourself to an actual group of gospel-believing, Bible-teaching Christians, you might question whether you belong to the body of Christ at all!" (Check out Hebrews 10:23-27 on this point)

So, is membership in a local church a biblical idea? The answer is "Yes!" Check out the list of widows in 1 Timothy 5 or Paul's instructions to the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5. What does church membership mean?

Dever writes, "By identifying ourselves with a particular local church, we are telling the church's pastors and other members not just that we commit to them, but that we commit to them in gathering, giving, prayer, and service. We are telling them to expect certain things from us and to hold us accountable if we don't follow through . . . Church membership means being incorporated in practical ways into the body of Christ. It means traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home."

I don't know about you, but on this journey with Christ I need all the help I can get from my brothers and sisters in the faith! I can't do this on my own!

Mark Dever ends with a challenge:

"If your goal is to love all Christians, let me suggest working toward it by first committing to a concrete group of real Christians with all their foibles and follies. Commit to them through thick and thin for eighty years. Then come back and we'll talk about your progress in loving all Christians everywhere."

Contact Tim if you're interested in taking part in the New Member's Classes!

Embrace Hope

2011-05-05T12:52:00.000-04:00

We just wanted to give a quick shout out to all of you who gave and collected money for our Baby Bottle Fundraiser for Hand of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center this past winter. You gave an amazing total of over $4300 that will go to helping young women with unplanned pregnancies in Southeast Wake County. Not only that, but you made an investment in the Kingdom as each of these girls and their families are presented with the truths of Jesus Christ! Thank you for your generosity!

Check out this video to learn a little more about Hand of Hope:

Embrace Hope from Nathan Stam on Vimeo.

Tetherball Nightmares

2011-04-26T18:54:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I have tetherball nightmares. Seriously. I was reminded of them as I drove through carpool the other day and saw a few kids playing tetherball. There was a girl who was brutally taking a little boy to school. I started to feel the trickle of a tear make its way down my cheek.

Let's start with a confession: I am extremely uncoordinated. (Case in point: if you ever see me trying to clap during a song in the worship service I will not be clapping on the right beat much to the enjoyment of my wife.)

When I was a kid I used to play tetherball all the time at the Triangle Swimming Pool. It didn't matter who I played, they would hit the ball and I would flail unsuccessfully at it every time it came around the pole. As the ball would pick up speed, the rope would wind tighter around the pole, and my hopes for my first tetherball victory would be crushed yet again. Swing and miss. Swing and miss. Swing and miss. The crushing agony of defeat.

I experienced the same emotions in my early years of being eligible to play on one of the ABC softball teams. Don't worry, I won't mention any names here, but let's just say I probably led the league in strikeouts. That's right, in softball. I was so bad that whenever I even made the slightest sort of contact with the ball my team (and sometimes the opposing team) would cheer for me. But mostly it was swing and miss. Swing and miss. Strike three!

So, that's me opening up and being honest with you. Sharing some of my deepest humiliations with you. Now, let me ask you a question:

When was the last time you led someone to Christ? When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone who didn't know Christ? I mean, really shared the entire Gospel with them, and gave them a chance to respond?

If you are like me these are not comfortable questions. I can feel guilty and get defensive real quick. But the bottom line is this: if Christ has loved me and I believe He is the only way to have a restored relationship with God why would I ever hold that information back? Now, it's true, I might share the Gospel with a friend and be totally rebuffed or even ridiculed. It might seem like a swing and a miss--just like I used to miss all those tetherballs and softballs.

But in reality, when we share the Gospel, WE NEVER SWING AND MISS. We are being faithful--as ministers of reconciliation--and we leave the results up to God.

So, let's get to it! Let's make a difference in our community as lights that shine in the darkness! Swing for the fences!

Operation Inasmuch Thank You!

2011-04-14T11:42:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Operation Inasmuch this past weekend. We had nineteen different projects in three different counties and you guys were awesome! Way to show the love of Jesus to our community in concrete tangible ways! Check out the video below for a few photos. (Music by Charlie Hall and Gungor)

Operation Inasmuch Highlights Video from Nathan Stam on Vimeo.

April 8 Operation Inasmuch Update

2011-04-08T09:52:00.000-04:00

Chuck Thompson
Youth/Missions Pastor

Operation INASMUCH (OIAM) is less than a day away! Are you working with a project? Do you want to do more? You can read a brief description of some of the projects listed, their addresses and contact person's info from the OIAM roster. Please note the requests for help below:

Bob Lynch's class could use some more help with their interior painting project.

We need more folks to visit the residents of Chatham Commons Nursing Home. We're targeting the folks who are seldom visited. Families with children are welcomed and encouraged to serve here together!

We want to visit some of our church members who are shut-ins and nursing home residents, too. Drop by room 206 (Bell Room) between 9am & 1pm to pick up an assignment or two, and some flowers to take with you!

Everyone is invited to write letters to American soldiers in Room 206 from 9am -1pm. We'll have samples to help you. Also in room 206, we'll have a few computers set up so you can write to imprisoned, persecuted Christians - in their own language! Way cool - and easy, too!

There is a sweet elderly couple in our community who has a problem with the brakes on their truck. Contact Chuck Thompson if you want to check into this one.

We are still collecting items for other ministries in our community. If you would like to help, you can donate clothing, shoes and canned food. Just place these in the designated bins located outside the church office. You can bring these through Sunday evening.

If you or your team placed an order for OIAM t-shirts by the cut off date (this past Monday) it will be ready for you or your group leader to pickup from the REFUGE after 2pm today or after 7:30 on Saturday morning. (We got a few extras so some of you who registered later may have one waiting for you). If you have any other questions concerning Operation INASMUCH feel free to contact Chuck Thompson (362-6176 x232 or 602-5677), Amanda Poe 362-6176 x222 or Mary Cantrell.

April 7 Operation Inasmuch Update

2011-04-07T08:43:00.000-04:00

Chuck Thompson
Missions/Youth Pastor

Operation INASMUCH is quickly approaching and we need your help! We are still collecting items for our ministry in the community. If you would like to help you can donate the following items by placing them in the designated bins located outside the church office:

* Clothing; Shoes: We need clothing and shoes of all sizes to pass out to those in need

* Bud Vases: We need bud vases to use for our nursing home ministry. If you would like to volunteer to help arrange the flowers in the vases you may contact Betty Coleman today! We will meet at 10 am on Friday in the Refuge to make the arrangements.

* Canned Food: We need canned food donations for our local shelters

As apart of our Operation INASMUCH service project, we will be visiting local nursing homes. If you would like to volunteer at the Chatham Commons Nursing Home you may show up at 10:45 am on Saturday morning. Contact Linda Cooke (362-8789) with any questions concerning this project. Families are welcomed and encouraged to serve here together!

We invite EVERYONE to participate in our letter writing project! We will be writing letters to US soldiers overseas and Christians around the world who have been imprisoned for their faith. The most exciting part of this opportunity is that we will be able to write these believers in their own language. Wonder how we will make this happen? Come participate and you will find out! Join us between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm in room 206 (the old bell room) at Apex Baptist Church. Be an encouragement to those who need it most!

Operation Inasmuch Promo Video Two

2011-04-02T13:09:00.000-04:00

Check out our second promo video for Operation Inasmuch and feel free to share it to spread the news of what's going down this weekend! Let's make a difference in our community loving people for Jesus! Email Chuck today with ideas or questions!

Operation Inasmuch Promo Video 2 from Apex Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Seven Stanzas at Easter

2011-04-02T11:14:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

With Easter approaching in a few weeks I thought I'd do the same thing on the ABC Blog as we did with Christmas and post some thoughts, quotes, poems--for the purpose of awakening in our hearts a fresh perspective on the Resurrection and what it means for us as followers of Christ.

Here's the first. It's a few stanzas from John Updike's Seven Stanzas at Easter:

Make no mistake: if He rose at all

it was as His body;

if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules

reknit, the amino acids rekindle,

the Church will fall.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,

analogy, sidestepping transcendence;

making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the

faded credulity of earlier ages:

let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,

not a stone in a story,

but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow

grinding of time will eclipse for each of us

the wide light of day.

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!

In Need of a Skilled Craftsman, Please?

2011-03-15T16:16:00.000-04:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Recently, we've been reading through the Book of Exodus and have come upon Chapters 25 and 26 where God instructs Israel in the construction of His Dwelling Place: the Tabernacle. The instructions for everything--framing, the lampstand, the altar, the curtains--are quite specific and complicated, and I found myself chuckling whenever God mentions that a skilled worker or craftsman should be involved with the process. These tasks were not for any ordinary Israelite.

Why do I find this interesting?

I'm not a handyman. I can only shake my head when I read the details involved in constructing the crossbars of acacia wood. Here's the extent of my handiness: I can change light bulbs. I can put in new batteries (generally). Occasionally, I've been known to wield a drill and use a stud finder (although not very accurately). It's one of my great regrets in life and I wish I had the time to go into the great 2008 walk-in-shower-renovation-debacle at the Stam House for your entertainment, but I don't. Suffice it to say, whenever we've bought a new bookshelf I struggle to follow even the simplest instructions when I am well aware that there are some in my family who could go outside in the woods, chop down a few trees, and make a beautiful bookshelf from scratch in the time it takes me to get all the pieces out of the box and get them organized.

I'm sure there were probably Israelites like me. They could gather manna, they could wander, they for sure could do some complaining, and maybe were decent swinging a sword fighting against all those "'-ites" they ran into, but when it came to crafting God's dwelling place with man, He wanted the very best. And the call went out for a skilled craftsman. The neat thing to me as I think about it, is that God was the giver of that particular skill. He was the source of the talent in their craft. He had prepared them in advance for the work that He knew they would do, and He knew they would do it well. And they did! The Tabernacle was beautiful!

Operation Inasmuch Promo Video

2011-03-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

Check out our first promo video for Operation Inasmuch and feel free to share it to spread the news! Let's make a difference in our community loving people for Jesus!

Operation Inasmuch Promo Video 1 from Apex Baptist Church on Vimeo.

March 10 Operation Inasmuch Update

2011-03-10T08:31:00.001-05:00

Chuck Thompson
Youth/Missions Pastor

Good News!!!
Jesse Davis' Life Group will be serving the Hand of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center doing some landscaping work for the ministry and sharing a meal with some of the Center's clients.

Tim Shaw's Life Group will be doing a block party cook out and games as they serve our neighbors down Chatham Street at Lake Ridge Apartments.

Charles McLaurin (362-6358) will evaluate and assess various home repair needs and make recommendations to solve them.

Our Operation Inasmuch sign ups are ready to go so groups and individuals can begin registering!

Margaret Lawrence (303-1234) will be point person for Brookridge Nursing Home (formerly "Atwater).

June Thompson (362-6526) will help anchor our letter writing to soldiers.

Projects For You Or Your Life Group To Consider:
Clients from the Western Wake Crisis Ministry are and will be submitting requests for minor home repairs, yard work, some light automotive work and more. Contact Chuck to check these out.

Thrift N Gift -- 1381 SE Maynard Road, Cary
Ministry of ABC Members, George and Nicolette King (623-9131)
Let's help these folks get this new non-profit ministry off to a great start! There are lots of ways to serve in this project!

Durham Rescue Mission
Men's Campus: 1201 E. Main St., Durham
Contact Joe Stroup (417-1641)
Clean up flower beds around the men's campus (would need to bring your own hand tools) and putting down 12 to 15 bales of pine straw and Preen to control weeds. Could plant pansies--3 trays of 36 each. Possible cookout or other meal for supper (60-70 people) -- maybe even have a hymn sing and testimony time with their Victory Choir.
Women and Children's Campus: 507 E. Knox St. Durham
Strip and wax tile floors in medical clinic (5 rooms), daycare (5 rooms), classroom (one LARGE room) at Good Samaritan Inn (would need to bring equipment and supplies). Clean windows on the outside, first floor at Good Samaritan Inn. Organize a "Fun Time" from 1:00-3:00 for children at Good Samaritan Inn (moon walk, cotton candy, Bible story, etc.). We have a moveable basketball goal that could be used.

Durham Rescue Mission Thrift Stores
Durham Rescue Mission Bargain Center, 10701 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh
Resource Treasure Thrift Shop, 3220 Hwy 55 South, Durham
Work at the thrift stores to sort donations.

Other Hot Needs:
We need some point people to "shepherd" some of the above and various other projects like nursing home ministry sites. This includes making sure that we have your team's t-shirt sizes, the number desiring breakfast, the number desiring lunch, insuring transportation to/from your project, some digital photos and a simple evaluation of the project. Contact Mark or Mary Cantrell if you're interested or to submit other potential projects.

Romans Bible Study

2011-03-04T10:01:00.000-05:00

Make sure to check out our new Romans Bible Study that begins this Sunday evening, March 6. It will be a seven week study and will run from 5:30-6:45 PM in Room 206. Childcare is provided through AWANA. Contact Peter with any questions and check out the promo video below:

Romans Promo Video from Nathan Stam on Vimeo.

Operation Inasmuch "Thank Yous"

2011-03-03T11:59:00.000-05:00

Chuck Thompson
Missions/Youth Pastor

Check out some of these thank you notes from our previous Operation Inasmuch projects:

"I wanted to say thank you to you and your church members for the outreach ministry that was performed here at Cary Health and Rehab Nursing Home . . . The impact that it had upon the people that live here was very moving . . . It was a blessing to see [you] compassionately interacting with the residents of our facility." (Alicia, Activities Director, Cary Health and Rehab)

"I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated all of the help you gave me . . . It really gave me a boost! I had been feeling so overwhelmed by everything that needed to be done . . . Please convey my heartfelt thanks to all who helped!" (Cindy, Apex Resident)

"For the compassion and love you showered on my daughter, Andrea, who lives in Apex, you can't imagine how surprised and touched she was by your generosity . . . When she called me and told me what you had done, my eyes swelled with tears of appreciation . . . Thank you!" (Alice, Apex Resident)

You can make a difference in our community on April 9! Click here to read more about Operation Inasmuch or click here to sign up for a project today!

Operation Inasmuch

2011-03-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

Chuck Thompson
Missions/Youth Pastor

"Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me."

Matthew 25:40

WHAT EXACTLY IS OPERATION INASMUCH?
It is one day filled with missions projects where we as a church will serve some of the needy residents and "the least of these" in our community (Matthew 25:40). The message on the back of our Inasmuch t-shirts is "The Church has Left the Building," and that's what we do to share the love of Jesus in some practical ways. We've done a few of these in the past and it's time to do it again. Our next Operation Inasmuch will be on Saturday, April 9, so get ready to serve again!

HOW CAN YOU, YOUR FAMILY, OR YOUR LIFE GROUP GET INVOLVED?
The first step is to prayerfully ask Jesus to open your eyes and help you see this community as His compassionate eyes see it. What needs do you see that you and others can meet? Are there home repair projects, yard cleanup projects, painting projects we could do? Where do you see people who need the Gospel, encouragement, prayer or a friendly visit? If you're having trouble coming up with a project, would you drop by a nursing care facility or other organization to ask them how you could help?

When you have an idea on your heart share it with your Life Group to see if it's a project your Life Group would like to develop. If no one bites on it, or has another project lined up, share your idea with an Operation Inasmuch Lead Team Member, and we'll help promote your idea to others. Previously, we have had Operation Inasmuch folks who participated with home repair and yard work jobs. This was some of our best ministry for those whom we ministered to as well as our church members. The Western Wake Crisis Ministry will channel a few projects to us, but we have the manpower to handle more. If you see the need, make us aware of it, but let's try to focus our attention on the "least of these" in our community.

Yes, we have $$$ budget for projects, and it will be given out on a first come, first serve basis. Contact me to submit your requests.

Below are some ideas to stimulate thoughts for projects:

Can you or someone in your Life Group sing or play an instrument? How about visiting a nursing home? You could do a short music program. Maybe take some requests. Share a short devotion. Pray with some of the residents. Paint some fingernails. Write letters for them. Visit with those who rarely are visited.
Could you prepare bud vases, or some type of potted flowers for our teams to give to those with whom we minister?
Could you donate rolls of quarters for our teams to use as we serve people at area laundromats?
Could you donate some bags of balloons that we'll use to make balloon animals, flowers, etc. for children?
Could you serve as a captain for an area of ministry like a free car wash ministry, a yard work crew, a nursing home team or home repair team?
Could you help prepare food for Saturday's breakfast or lunch?
Could you fold and label Operation Inasmuch t-shirts?
Could you donate some Bibles for homeless people?
Could you help pray for Operation Inasmuch workers that day, do some prayer-walking, maybe make some house calls to pray for needs?
Could you offer some help with an Operation Inasmuch Bulletin Board?

We're certainly encouraging families to serve together as much as possible. This may mean that parents may bring their kids to their Life Group projects, or that the kids may bring their parents to the Children's Classes projects. OR, you may simply sign up as a family and we'll help plug you in to one of the projects we are providing. Our goal is to have everyone place and informed of their projects at least a week prior to the event (April 2).

T-Shirts
We'd like to give everyone an Operation Inasmuch t-shirt, but only if we have your name and size(s) by Sunday, April 3. We can go as small as a Child's 6-8 and as large as an Adult XXXL (the shirts run a little large). The best way to give us your size is on the Operation Inasmuch sign-up sheet, but you can also send it to us by emailing Betty Coleman or calling 362-6276 (ext. 222). OR, if you are doing a Life Group project, submit your whole list of participants and their sizes to Betty. If you already have a t-shirt please wear it on April 9.

Food for the Operation Inasmuch Participants
We will be serving all participants a free country breakfast at 7:30 AM on April 9. We'll pray and head out by 9:00 AM. We will also be providing a sandwich lunch beginning at 11:45 AM (bag lunches for takeouts will also be available). If you and your family/Life Group would like to participate in either or both of these meals, please contact Betty by no later than Monday, April 4 to place your reservations. We'll also have these meal sign up sheets passed around through our Life Groups.

Operation Inasmuch Sign-Ups
We'll have several Operation Inasmuch project-specific sign-up sheets posted on bulletin boards in the Sanctuary hallway on March 12. You may pick up a general sign-up sheet from the info rack this weekend or download an updated one from the church website next week. When completed, please return it to the Church Office.

Please continue to pray for this outreach ministry and encourage others to get on board with you. Next week we'll post some of the different ministry contact people so you can contact them with your ideas, questions, or concerns. April 9 will be a huge day for you, your family, for Apex Baptist Church, and for the Apex community! Get involved now!

Out of God's Reach?

2011-03-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

If you missed Pastor Tim's sermon on Saul's conversion from Acts 9 this past Sunday you can listen to it right here, but we also wanted to make available to you the action plan for becoming an Encourager/Discipler that was passed out on Sunday morning in case you weren't able to grab a copy. Here it is:

1. Step One: Finding Someone to Help

I already know who I will help. That person's name is: __________.
I know someone I hope to lead to Christ. Then I will disciple that new Christian. The person's name is: __________.
I will pray that God will bring someone into my life very soon. I commit to be watching for that person and to begin cultivating a relationship as soon as I find that person.

2. Step Two: Seeking Resources for Helping
Discipling someone is an important responsibility and one that I would never undertake in my own strength. Therefore, I commit to take the following actions in preparation for this assignment:

Spend time in prayer each day
Study God's Word each day
Attend training that will help me share the Gospel and better understand discipleship

3. Step Three: Committing the Time and Effort to Help
Helping someone will require that I spend time with that person. Depending on the person's schedule, I would be able to set aside one or more of the following times:

Early morning prayer time one day a week
Breakfast one day a week
Lunch one day a week
One evening a week
One evening a month
An hour or two on Saturday or Sunday each week

4. Step Four: Planning Actions to Help
Although simply developing a relationship with someone will be helpful, I will also need to take some specific actions that will help that person grow. I would feel comfortable doing one or more of the following as needed:

Explain the purpose of and encourage baptism
Encourage to join a church
Lead to have assurance of salvation
Help find answers to theological questions
Be a prayer partner
Suggest steps toward spiritual growth
Help win new Christian's friends to Christ
Be a good listener and encourager
Lead in a one-on-one Bible Study
Call every day or two to encourage

5. Step Five: What Else Do I Need to Do?
What else do I sense God telling me to do as I make plans to be an Encourager/Discipler?

The First Bite

2011-02-21T12:00:00.040-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Phil challenged us this past Sunday to have heart surgery. He used the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch to challenge our church family to go and tell the good news of what Jesus has done. If we're not going and telling then something is not right with our hearts. I don't know how you felt hearing that, but it was like a punch in the gut for me. It's too easy for me to get complacent and exist in my comfortable circle of friends instead of intentionally looking for people who don't know God. To hear those words from Phil was both convicting and hard for me to swallow, if I'm honest, because he was right: there is something wrong with my heart.

How many times have I read God's Word, it's convicted me, and at first, that conviction has tasted bitter to my soul? It has, let me tell you. Most times I don't like what I'm reading (or hearing) at first. It's not until I stop and consider what the Spirit is saying to me that I can get out of defensive mode and transition into I-need-to-change mode.

The way I react initially to hearing truth that stings (or hurts) reminds me a little bit of Tobin, our one year old. He's at the age now where we're trying new foods and are attempting to expand his taste range from just dairy products (i.e. milk in a bottle!). He'll generally open his mouth for the first bite of anything, but his facial expressions after that first bite can be hilarious. We tried peas the other day, and he DID NOT LIKE them! It was evident that they were bitter to his taste buds. I wish I had a picture I could show you, but he starts to quiver and shake his head and screw up his little lips, and you better believe he's not going to open that mouth back up for any round green thing that we might try to stick in there! (You'll have to earn his trust back with some yogurt or maybe some cheese!)

God's Word, while its truths can be painful to swallow at times, searches out our hearts and leads us to life if we're willing to change. If we surrender ourselves to undergo some heart surgery from the Holy Spirit and get our priorities right. I love how Psalm 19:7-10 describes God's Word as faithful and delicious (not bitter!):

The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.

God's Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.

Grace

2011-02-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Not sure how you feel about Bono, but in light of this past weekend I wanted to share a few thoughts he once shared about Grace:

"You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff."

Love interrupts. What a beautiful thing. I love how Thrice puts it as well in their song "Beggars":

All you big shots that swagger and stride with conceit,
Did you devise how your frame would be formed?
If you’d be raised in a palace, or live out in the streets,
Did you choose the place or the hour you’d be born?
Tell me what can you claim? Not a thing - not your name!
Tell me if you can recall just one thing,
That’s not a gift in this life?
Can you see now that everything is grace after all?

Here's the video put together by Adam Davis and friends from this past weekend. Thank you, Jesus, for Grace!

The Creek Church Interview (Part 3)

2011-02-09T12:39:00.002-05:00

Here is the third and final installment of our video interview done with Matt Rice, Lead Pastor of the Creek Church, in Cary, NC. We hope you enjoy this insider's look at what makes Matt tick!

Music Recommendations!

2011-02-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Now that 2011 has started with a bang I thought I'd give you a few CDs that I would most definitely recommend* to you for this new year! I'll just list them out (in no particular order) and add a few comments about genre, etc.

Andrew Peterson: "Counting Stars" (singer/songwriter and very mellow guitar based songs)
Charmaine: "Love Reality" (if you're a Mom of a teenage daughter you really need to buy her this CD!)
Ivoryline: "Vessels" (some good rock n' roll with great lyrics!)
Amberlin: "Dark is the Way, Light is the Place" (another rock record)
Andrew Belle: "The Ladder" (singer/songwriter from Chicago; just stumbled across this guy and he's great!)
Deas Vail: "Birds and Cages" (piano based pop/rock)
Sleeping At Last: "Yearbook" (very mellow with great lyrics! Their Yearbook project is very cool)
Lecrae: "Rehab" (hip/hop album of the year!)
Brooke Fraser: "Flags" (piano based singer/songwriter; Brooke also sings for Hillsong United)
Fair: "Disappearing World"(alternative rock; I love these guys!)
Gungor: "Beautiful Things" (a great worship record! You definitely need to get this one!)

* These are only my recommendations and I don't speak for the entire staff at ABC! :)

The Creek Church Interview (Part 2)

2011-02-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

This is the second installment of a video interview done with Matt Rice, Lead Pastor of the Creek Church in Cary, NC. In this installment, Matt shares where he sees the Creek heading in the next few years!

I Run This Universe!

2011-01-26T14:38:00.002-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Recently, in our chronological Bible reading plan, we've been reading through the Book of Job. Just the other day I saw a video that totally brought to mind these verses where God is speaking to Job in Chapter 41:

Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel?
Can you lasso him with a rope,
or snag him with an anchor?
Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
or flatter you with flowery speech?
Will he apply for a job with you
to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Will you put him on display in the market
and have shoppers haggle over the price?
Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
or drive harpoons into his huge head?
If you so much as lay a hand on him,
you won't live to tell the story.
What hope would you have with such a creature?
Why, one look at him would do you in!
If you can't hold your own against his glowering visage,
how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
Who could confront me and get by with it?
I'm in charge of all this--I run this universe!

Here's the video if you haven't already seen it. Beautiful. Stunning. (Watch it in high-res if you can)

The Creek Church Interview (Part 1)

2011-01-21T17:20:00.002-05:00

This is the first part of an interview done with Matt Rice, Lead Pastor, of the Creek Church in Cary, NC (an ABC Church Plant). In this installment, Matt shares where The Creek came from and where they are today. Check it out!

Stay tuned next week for Part Two of our interview!

But What Does It Mean?

2011-01-11T09:16:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

It always frustrates me when I wonder what a lyric to a particular song means and I try to search out the answer from the artist, generally somewhere on the internet. The typical answer is something like this: "It means whatever you want it to mean," or "I don't like to answer that question because I don't want to limit the song to a certain meaning. I want people to be able to interpret it however they like." This suggests that the artist would like their lyrics to speak to everyone and that the meaning changes based on the listener and their particular needs.

But that drives me crazy! I don't care what I think a lyric means, or that it means something different to everyone, I want to know what the musician intended. What was the context for the song? Why did they write it? There was obviously a reason!

(That's why I appreciate Sleeping at Last. They frequently write on where lyrics and ideas for their songs are born, and I am thankful! For example, the line "hold your breath and count to 28" isn't just random and means whatever I want it to mean as a listener. The line is referencing an elevator ride to the 28th floor that emphasizes how uncomfortable we are when we get on elevators with strangers and there is that awkward silence as we count down the floors till we get off.)

Taking this one step further the same principle applies to the Bible. Have you ever been in a Bible Study where you have read a passage and then gone around the circle sharing what the passage means to you? We have to be careful here because Scripture doesn't mean whatever we want it to mean, or whatever we're feeling at the time, as if it was written in order to meet our felt-needs.

The question we should be asking is what did the author of a particular passage, divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, intend for his words to mean? There are a lot of factors involved in that discussion, but that is what we're after--what is the author's intention in his original context? With that being said, while there is one interpretation, there are many applications, and that's where we can do our best to apply the meaning of the text to our lives in 21st century America. But those applications should always flow naturally from the meaning of the text.

Going Deeper Bible Reading Plan

2011-01-03T11:41:00.000-05:00

Several of you have asked if we are doing another Bible Reading plan for 2011 and the answer is: YES! In 2011 we will be reading through the Bible chronologically, which I am extremely excited about! You can go to the Going Deeper page by clicking here to access a downloadable PDF that has all the readings for the next 365 days. (YouVersion also offers a great FREE app for your phone or mobile device that includes this chronological reading plan. It's very helpful because it helps you keep track of where you are and it also provides you with "Catch Up" days in case you miss a few readings. Check out the app here!)

Winter Reading List

2010-12-31T13:00:00.001-05:00

We usually have a few books recommended here on the website (you have to be logged in to see it) during the year, but this winter everyone from the staff pitched in and we compiled a Winter Reading List. Here it is, put 'em on your 2011 reading list, and enjoy!

On Christian Liberty by Martin Luther. (Peter's pick) Easy to read, historically important, theologically significant, wonderfully concise; you can finish the book in an hour or two. This book is worth reading, especially given its historical significance and the fact that it succinctly summarizes Luther’s thoughts on justification. Why read about Luther’s thoughts from either his detractors or defenders, when you easily can read his translated works? Here, Luther sets forth the whole of the Christian life in two theses: "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." Some of his other more poignant thoughts of the book are as follows: "One thing, and only one thing, is necessary for Christian life, righteousness, and freedom. That one thing is the most holy Word of God, the gospel of Christ." And again, it is the "wedding ring of faith" which unites believers to Christ. "So let him who wishes to do good works begin not with the doing of works, but with believing, which makes the person good, for nothing makes a man good except faith, or evil except unbelief."
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew. (Chuck's pick) As a boy he dreamed of being a spy undercover behind enemy lines. As a man he found himself undercover for God. Brother Andrew was his name and for decades his life story, recounted in God's Smuggler, has awed and inspired millions. The bestseller tells of the young Dutch factory worker's incredible efforts to transport Bibles across closed borders-and the miraculous ways in which God provided for him every step of the way.
Radical by David Platt. (Nathan's pick) It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment --a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.
True Sexual Morality by Daniel Heimbach and 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer (Matt's picks) * Daniel Heimbach examines the biblical teachings on sexual morality in True Sexual Morality as well as four counterfeit views that have crept into our "sexually revolutionized" society. He gives us an in-depth look at the moral relativism that has spread through our culture and opens our eyes to the effects that nonbiblical sexual choices have on individuals, the family, the church, and the culture. * In 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, New Testament Professor Dr. Robert L. Plummer tackles the major questions that persons ask about reading and undestanding the Bible. Questions include: Does the Bible contain error? Were the ancient manuscripts of the Bible transmitted accurately? What is the best English Bible translation? Is the Bible really all about Jesus? Do all the commands of the Bible apply today?
BONUS PICK: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

New Years and the Gift of Gab

2010-12-30T10:00:00.030-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I'm making a New Year's Resolution. And it has to do with a gift that I was born with (I hope that doesn't sound too arrogant!). You might have heard of this particular gift: it's known as the gift of gab.

This gift manifested itself early. As a child, I could talk my way out of anything. There was once an incident in middle school where I ate some pop tarts that were not mine and somehow talked my way out of what would have been swift and just punishment. My mouth would run at 100 mph as I filibustered and did my best to deflect. I know I must have driven my parents completely mad, and it's probably why, even now, they still look at me and wonder how in the world a beautiful girl married me and I have four kids (technically, the fourth is still being fearfully and wonderfully knitted together!).

I remember in college, going to different spiritual retreats, where I was contemplating my future, and being asked, "What kind of gifts do you have?" or "How will the Lord use your gifts in His Kingdom?" All I could think of was that I had the gift of gab and that was about it.

Now, as I've grown I've matured in my thinking and know that God has blessed me in so many ways. He's allowed me to have experiences that have shaped my life and He's equipped me every step of the journey so far. So, I've been thinking lately, "What kind of legacy do I want to leave for my kids? What do I want them to remember about me?"

I definitely don't want to be remembered as a man who had the gift of gab! That would be depressing. Instead, my New Year's Resolution is to be known as a man who followed Christ radically. What if my kids remembered me as a Dad who followed Jesus with all of his heart, no matter how difficult! That would be awesome! So, how do I get there? Practially speaking, I love David Platt's Radical one year challenge (you can read more about it in his book, Radical):

Pray for the entire world during one year.
Read through the entire Word in one year.
Sacrifice my money for a specific purpose.
Give my time in another context.
Commit my life to a multiplying community.

So, that's my New Year's Resolution: to be a radical follower of Jesus!

Bonus New Year's Blog Feature: Here's a great song from Charlie Hall on the New Year!

Approaching the Manger

2010-12-26T06:51:00.000-05:00

Another Christmas thought from Bonhoeffer:

For the great and powerful of this world, there are only two places in which their courage fails them, of which they are afraid deep down in their souls, from which they shy away. These are the manger and the cross of Jesus Christ. No powerful person dares to approach the manger, and this even includes King Herod. For this is where thrones shake, the mighty fall, the prominent perish, because God is with the lowly. Here the rich come to nothing, because God is with the poor and hungry, but the rich and satisfied he sends away empty. Before Mary, the maid, before the manger of Christ, before God in lowliness, the powerful come to naught; they have no right, no hope; they are judged.

Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour

2010-12-25T11:08:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Happy Christmas Day everyone! I hope it's a special one with your family! Check out the words to this Christmas hymn by Frank Houghton:

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becomes poor.

Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising
Heavenwards by Thine eternal plan.

Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship Thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship Thee.

The Twelve Words of Christmas

2010-12-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! This is a short little video that talks about the first broadcast ever on AM radio. Pretty cool!

Future of Forestry - O Holy Night

2010-12-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite version of the Christmas classic. Check it out!

I Heard The Bells

2010-12-22T10:37:00.001-05:00

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

An Un-Christmas-Like Idea

2010-12-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

When the old Christendom spoke of the coming again of the Lord Jesus, it always thought first of all of a great day of judgment. And as un-Christmas-like as this idea may appear to us, it comes from early Christianity and must be taken with utter seriousness...The coming of God is truly not only a joyous message, but is, first, frightful news for anyone who has a conscience. And only when we have felt the frightfulness of the matter can we know the incomparable favor. God comes in the midst of evil, in the midst of death, and judges the evil in us and in the world. And in judging it, he loves us, he purifies us, he sanctifies us, he comes to us with his grace and love. He makes us happy as only children can be happy.

Snow

2010-12-21T10:38:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Here's a video of a song called "Snow" by Sleeping at Last. It's a great Christmas song, particularly if you love the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life." It has a lot of allusions and nods to the movie including the line, "Like the petals in our pockets may we remember who we are." (Speaking of Snow, will we have a white Christmas? I do not remember one from NC in my entire life. We've had rain and we've had 70 degree days, but no snow. Could this be the year?) Enjoy:

The Death of Life

2010-12-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

This is one of my all time favorite quotes on Advent. It comes from Augustine and I think it captures the mystery of the Incarnation perfectly:

Man's maker was made man that He, ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.

That Holy Thing

2010-12-14T14:21:00.000-05:00

That Holy Thing
by George MacDonald

They all were looking for a king
To slay their foes and lift them high;
Thou cam'st, a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.

O Son of Man, to right my lot
Naught but Thy presence can avail;
Yet on the road Thy wheels are not,
Nor on the sea Thy sail!

My how or when Thou wilt not heed,
But come down Thine own secret stair,
That Thou may'st answer all my need-
Yea, every bygone prayer.

Highway Hypnosis

2010-12-13T11:00:00.003-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Me: "I have no idea where we are."
Kristi: "We're on Bells Lake/Hilltop Needmore/Optimist Farm/etc. Your turn is coming up at the next light."

For some reason, I tend to zone out in my thoughts when I'm driving, especially when I'm traveling those old back country roads heading home (I guess they're not so country anymore, but they used to be). All of those bends and turns in the road tend to blend together and look the same in my subconscious. I literally will suddenly come out of my reverie and have absolutely no clue where I am. Dangerous, I know. I'm sure you're excited to be on the same road as I am. Fortunately, Kristi always knows where we are so if she's with me in the car I'm in luck. If not, it might take me a few minutes to remember where I am, where I'm coming from, and where I'm going.

They warned us about this in Driver's Ed. I don't know how you did it in your day, but I took the one-week class during summer after my Junior Year of High School. In between all of the videos of accidents they showed us, my instructor told us about a mysterious phenomenon called highway hypnosis. It sounded like a bunch of mystical mumbo-jumbo at the time, but I was wrong.

I have been the victim of highway hypnosis over the years many times, and not always on the highways! Country roads, back roads, dirt roads, alleyways, it doesn't matter. The hypnosis sucks you in: the cars flying by, the yellow lines, the trees all a blur.

The concept of highway hypnosis got me thinking seriously about a few verses from Scripture. The first is from Hebrews 12:

"Therefore, since we also have such a large crowd of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne."

Also, from Proverbs 4:

"Let your eyes look forward;
fix your gaze straight ahead.
Carefully consider the path for your feet,
and all your ways will be established."

I really wish that I was so into Jesus that it would be literally impossible for me to take my thoughts off of Him. That my heart would be constantly in tune with God's heart, and that His love would so consume my waking hours that I would be immune to distractions. Not that Christ would hypnotize me or that I'm out in some la-la land (like I get when I'm driving), but I'm compelled because of the Cross to fix my gaze straight ahead, to carefully consider the paths that I walk on, and to keep my eyes on Him. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Prophets

2010-12-09T16:20:00.000-05:00

Prophets
by Ann Porter

Once in the Advent season
When I was walking down
A narrow street

I met a flock of children
Who all came running up to me
Saying that they were prophets
And for a penny they
Would prophesy

I gave them each a penny

They started out
By rummaging in trash-cans
Until they found
A ragged piece of silk

It's blue, they said
Blue is a holy color
Blue is the color that
The mountains are
When they are far away

They laid the rag
On a small fire
Of newspaper and shavings
And burned it in the street

They scraped up all the ashes
And with them decorated
Each other's faces

Then they ran back to me
And stood
In a circle 'round me

We stood that way
In a solemn silence
Until
One of the children spoke

It was the prophecy!

He said that long before
The pear tree blossoms
Or sparrows in the hedges
Begin to sing

A Child will be our King.

Advent Summons

2010-12-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Another Advent Poem...

Advent Summons
by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

Come forth from the holy place,
Sweet Child,
Come from the quiet dark
where virginal heartbeats
Tick your moments.

Come away from the red music
Of Mary's veins.
Come out from the Tower of David
Sweet Child,
From the House of Gold.

Leave your lily-cloister,
Leave your holy mansion,
Quit your covenant ark.
O Child, be born!

Be born, sweet Child,
in our unholy hearts.

Come to our trembling,
Helpless Child.
Come to our littleness,
Little Child,
Be born unto us
Who have kept the faltering vigil.
Be given, be born,
Be ours again.

Come forth from your holy haven,
Come away from your perfect shrine,
Come to our wind-racked souls
From the flawless tent,
Sweet Child.

Be born, little Child,
in our unholy hearts.

The Risk of Birth

2010-12-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I thought I'd kick off December and the Advent season with an Advent poem from Madeleine L'Engle (probably best known for her A Wrinkle in Time series). I'll try to post some more of these as Christmas approaches.

The Risk of Birth (Christmas, 1973)
Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,
with the earth betrayed by war and hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out and the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honour and truth were trampled by scorn-
Yet here did the Saviour make His home.

When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn-
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

The Lazy Blog

2010-11-30T17:00:00.001-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I have a confession to make as November draws to a close and December peeks its frosty head around the corner: I'm lazy by nature. It's a roaring grizzly bear that I've had to wrestle as long as I remember, although I think that as I've gotten older and matured some of that laziness has been tempered. At least, I hope so! I don't know where it came from; my Dad and Mom are some of the hardest working folks I know. My work ethic must have been a genetic mutation.

Here's an example of my sorry lazy self. When I was in high school I was given the all important job by my Father of mowing the grass on Saturdays. Now, this was back in the day before there was a neighborhood behind my parents' home and our backyard was much larger. (That was my one mitigating comment.) I would literally take our mower and mow a small square in about fifteen minutes and go back inside to cool off for an hour or so. Then I would head back outside and repeat the process. Ad infinitum. What should have taken me maybe two hours would literally take all day. My Dad would come home and stare incredulously at his half-cut grass. (Wait, I do have one other mitigating comment: One time our lawn mower was broken and we borrowed Mr. Jones' riding mower. I knocked that job out in no time and forever lobbied for a riding lawn mower to no avail.)

It really shames me to dredge up those memories, but maybe some of you can identify. The challenge in my life is, how do I overcome this slothful inclination in my heart when I study my Bible? Because really studying the Bible, getting down to the nitty and the gritty of it, is hard work. We went through Living by the Book in our Life Groups this past Spring and Howard Hendricks gives an example of Acts 1:8 when he discusses the art of observation. It's one verse and he mentions that over the years in his classroom students have come up with over six hundred observations on Acts 1:8. Did I mention it's only one verse?! Six hundred observations!

In my Bible study, I have to develop my powers of observation and that requires hard work! It doesn't come naturally to me. My constant prayer has to be Psalm 119:8: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law," and 2 Timothy 2:15: "Be diligent to present yourself to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth."

Into the Deep

2010-11-27T12:35:00.096-05:00

Part Seven in a series of Thanksgiving Blogs...

Here's Part Two of the last word-picture in Psalm 107:

"Others went to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the vast waters.
They saw the Lord's works,
His wonderful works in the deep." (verses 23 & 24)

It's important to realize that navigation was so little practiced amongst the Israelites that if you were an Israelite sailor you received major props--the occupation of sailing was looked upon as one of incredible danger. Anyone who had survived a journey on the sea was given respect and an ancient mariner was listened to with great reverence. Voyages were looked on as descending to an abyss ("going down to the sea in ships"). Israelites tended to avoid the sea unless they had business to attend to. Solomon didn't even keep a pleasure boat. The Mediterranean was "the great sea" to David and his countrymen.

"He spoke and raised a tempest
that stirred up the waves of the sea.
Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage melting away in anguish,
they reeled and staggered like drunken men,
and all their sill was useless." (verses 25-27)

He spoke...God's word is enough for anything. All He has to do is say it, and the tempest rages. The glassy surface of the ocean is broken by waves and it rises up in fury.

We would probably need to have been on the ocean in a violent storm to appreciate how accurate these frightening words are (verses 25-27). The sailors rise up on the crest of the wave and it's like they're being lifted into the sky, but it's only for a moment, because then they quickly fall back down to the depths. They are tossed up and down, up and down (are you feeling sick yet?). If you have ever been in the spiritual depths of a great storm in your life you can identify with this verse. There is no heart left for anything. Your courage is gone; your hope is almost dead. They were like men intoxicated. All of their skill was useless; they had tried everything.

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a murmur,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for. (verses 28-30)

Though they had come to the end of themselves, these sailors still had the wits to pray. And again, God heard them. God hears us in the thunder and answers out of the storm. When we call out to Him we honor who He is: His Sovereignty, His Wisdom, His Rescue, His Faithfulness. John Trapp once wrote, "He that cannot pray, let him go to sea, and there he will learn."

When they prayed, look what happened in verse 29: The waves bowed in silence at the feet of the Creator. There was peace. It's hard to appreciate these verses unless you've been in a storm at sea, but the principle is this: the rougher the voyage, the more the sailors long for port; and likewise for us as believers, heaven becomes more and more a desired destination. Phillip Henry Gosse said, "Blessed be God for the gift of His beloved Son, the only Harbor of Refuge for poor tempest-tossed sinners."

"Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His faithful love and His wonderful works for the human race.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders." (verses 31 & 32)

Have you ever seen a movie when the characters have endured something at sea and they finally get to land and they just jump out and lay in the sand? Sometimes they kiss the shore? That's the picture I see in verse 31. And then in verse 32, the Psalmist teaches us that our thanks to God for His mercies should be public; in the place where men and women gather for worship. When you have been in a great spiritual storm and have at last found peace, the acknowledgment of the Lord's mercy before His people should follow.

This fourth word-picture speaks not of our guilt before God, but of our smallness. The hurricane, the storm, shakes us into seeing that in a world of gigantic forces we live by grace. The point is made in verse 27, "all their skill was useless." There are wonderful works both to humble man (verse 24) and to save him (verse 31).

We, as the redeemed, should be filled with thanks. One of the marks of an unbeliever is given in Romans 1:21: "They neither glorify God as God nor give thanks to Him." If we are followers of Jesus then our lives should be characterized by thankfulness! By hearts filled with joy for whom God is and what He's done in our lives!

Shackleton's Amazing Voyage

2010-11-26T19:32:00.002-05:00

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

Part Six in a series of Thanksgiving Blogs...

Let's take a two-part look at the last word-picture in Psalm 107:

One of my favorite books in the past few years is called Endurance by Sir Alfred Lansing. It's the true account of Shackleton's amazing voyage to the Antarctic in 1914-1916. Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men became stuck in the ice and had to abandon the ship, which eventually sank. This would not be heartening for a sailor I don't believe:

They were stuck on the ice, but eventually made their way to Elephant Island. Their only hope for rescue was to get to a whaling station on South Georgia Island so Shackleton and five of his men boarded the James Caird (one of their three remaining lifeboats) and proceeded to attempt the crossing of one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. Here's a photo of the James Caird:

Not only were they in this tiny boat that was in constant peril of capsizing, but all they had for the journey to navigate to South Georgia Island was a sextant, which is not easy in calm waters much less the stormy and incredibly rough South Atlantic.

In fact, two of the men would hold the navigator up over their shoulders while he tried to sight the sun. The horizon could only be estimated. Over the seventeen day, eight hundred nautical mile journey they were only able to take four readings because of the ocean and the weather. The slightest mistake could have caused them to miss the island. Amazingly, they made it and not one man was lost. Check out the route of the James Caird (and you can see where they drifted on the ice as well, previously):

When I was reading verses 23-32 of Psalm 107 I couldn't help but be reminded of this part of Shackleton's voyage! A lot of commentators say that the most beautiful, the most poetic, and certainly the most stirring section of Psalm 107 are the verses that describe the peril of God's people while at sea. It might have been descriptive of the difficult sixty-five day, late-fall cross of the turbulent North Atlantic by the Pilgrims as well.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we dive into the text of this fourth word-picture!