Praying Without Ceasing

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

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!

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:

1. Listen to the rhythms of your context. Sit in local places. Hang out in local coffee shops. Talk to local people. Join community groups.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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

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 commandment greater 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

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)

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!

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

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

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: