The Good News of Bath Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

The Mission Statement of the Bath Christian Church is: “To serve the living God, to nurture our personal faith, & to witness the good news of God’s love to others.”

~ Pastor Jim’s Thoughts for May ~

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of officiating at the celebration of life for a man who had been well known in the community. He had been a leader in political, commercial, civic, and church circles. He was a lifelong farmer and still maintained the family farm that has been in the family for more than 100 years. I have been in many places where his name was remembered. On no occasion have I heard even one hint of negative or hurtful talk. This man had lived for nearly 87 years. How does someone live this long and cast such a positive shadow? I learned that he carried a scripture in his wallet and often pulled it out to help himself and others focus on guiding principles. That scripture is found in Proverbs 6:16-19.

There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,

A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NASB)

From this, we catch a glimpse of what God expects from us. We should live in such a way that others see: humility, honesty, justice, wholesomeness, and harmony. There is nothing contained in this passage that is impossible. In fact, it should be easy for us to live our lives using this simple list as a litmus test to gage our actions. Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors. Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 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.” (Mark 12:29-31 NASB) When we love God, we live our lives reflecting the things that are dear to God. We live a life that is humble. We live, speak, and deal honestly with others. We seek justice for all people. We promote peace and harmony. In short, when we love God, it is reflected in every area of our life. It is obvious to everyone around us. We will radiate God’s love. To what higher calling may we aspire?

Issue

May 2017

Monthly Devotional:

Learning from Failure Luke 22:31-34

The disciple Peter was a man of great faith and

bold action. But as readers of the New Testament

know, his brash style sometimes led him to make

humiliating mistakes. More than once, this disciple

had to wear the label of "miserable failure" rather

than that of "obedient servant."

We can all relate when it comes to falling short

of expectations. Obedience to God is a learning

process, and failure is a part of our development as

humble servants. When we yield to temptation or

rebel against God's authority, we realize that sin has

few rewards, and even those are fleeting.

Failure is an excellent learning tool, as Peter

could certainly attest. Through trial and error, he

discovered that humility is required of believers

(John 13:5-14); that God's ways are higher than the

world's ways (Mark 8:33); and that one should

never take his eyes off Jesus (Matt. 14:30). He took

each of those lessons to heart and thereby grew

stronger in his faith. Isn't that Romans 8:28 in

action? God caused Peter's failures to be put to good

use as training material because the disciple was

eager to mature and serve.

God doesn't reward rebellion or wrongdoing.

However, by His grace, He blesses those who

choose repentance and embrace chastisement as a

tool for growth.

We would probably all prefer to grow in our

faith without ever making a mistake before God's

eyes, but we cannot deny that missteps are

instructive. Failure teaches believers that it is much

wiser and more profitable to be obedient to the

Lord. That's a lesson we all should take to heart.

Submitted by: Lesley B. Woolard http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/

in-touch/in-touch-apr-25-2012.html

May Comedy Break!

Laughter is an instant vacation!

The Good News - May Page 2

CMF Minutes

The CMF met Wednesday night, April 5, 2017

with Dick Adams presiding and 14 in attendance.

Present were B. Tankard, J. Burgess, D. Adams, R.

Tee, S. Stell, L. Schmitt, L. Wingate, G. Heath, R.

Winstead, G. Morris, R. Smith, M. Watson, C.

Dupree, and B. Hill.

The evening meal was prepared and served by

Reeves, Claude and Gerald Morris. The pork was

cooked on quite a nice grill that was donated to the

Church by Rick Tee.

After calling the meeting to order, Dick read a

devotion by Dan Patrick titled “Thank God For

Fleas”. Source for the devotion was Romans 8:28:

And we know that all things work together for good

to them that love God.

Minutes of the last meeting were read and

approved. Claude gave the treasurers report, also

approved.

In Old Business, Merritt has available literature

for the men’s retreat in June. This retreat is not just

for CMF attendees but all men of the congregation.

In New Business, thanks was given to Rick Tee

for the generous donation of the grill to the Church.

We also discussed where CMF has been helping a

lady with fuel oil and the status for the future.

Merritt spoke of a family that had been helped with

their utility bill and the possibility that this same

family would be in need of a ramp. More

information will be needed before proceeding with

this.

Cooks for May will be Dick, Mark and Rick.

Time was taken to highlight some prayer concerns.

The meeting was closed with prayer by Merritt.

Reporter: Billy Hill

The Perfect Church

In our 71 years of living, Barbara and I have

attended a total of five churches. That’s right! Five

churches! And guess what? Not one of those five

churches turned out to be perfect! Not even one!

You’ve probably heard it said: “If you find the

perfect church, don’t join it because it won’t be

perfect anymore!” I also heard a story where a fellow

stranded alone on a deserted island built two

churches. Why did he need two churches? Because

he didn’t get along with the guy who attended the

first one.

Well, I’m sure we can all come up with a list of

things that make Bath Christian Church a less-than-

perfect church. You could even start by writing “A

Flawed Board Chairman” at the top, and you

wouldn’t be wrong. But I don’t want you to spend

time talking about what is wrong with BCC. I want

you to make a list of positive things you can do that

will help make BCC a better place. For example: A

place where all people feel loved. A place where

everyone feels at home. These are two things that

would make BCC a better place. Try listing as many

as you can. There are many others.

When you finish your list, look at it closely and

decide how you can make your list come to life.

Make it more than words on a page. Make your list

come alive! For example: What can we and our

families do to help guests and regular attendees feel

loved at BCC? How can we help guests and regular

attendees feel at home? Let’s do something about it.

Take the initiative. It’s easy to point out what is

wrong; anybody can do that. But it takes real effort

to be a part of the solution.

In 2017, let’s work on making BCC a better place

altogether. When people come to BCC, it ought to be

the nearest thing to being in heaven.

Gerald Morris

BCC Board Chair

The Good News – May Page 3

Announcements Upcoming Banquet

It's time for our annual Celebration of Women

Banquet!! The date is Tuesday, May 16th at 6:30

pm in the church fellowship hall. This year's theme

is "Hats Off to Women". Everyone is encouraged to

wear a hat- sentimental, favorite. beautiful,

whimsical- and we can share some of those stories.

Our committee would like to borrow some of your

hats and hatboxes for display. Contact Alice

Wingate, Rachel Jordan, Debbie Smith or Barbara

Morris. There will be signup sheets in the church

vestibules. Women of the church and guests are

invited. Our awesome CMF members will be

preparing and serving our meal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graduate Recognition Sunday

We will honor our graduates on Sunday, June 4,

during the morning worship service. A covered dish

luncheon will follow. Eighth grade, high school,

college graduates, and marshals will be recognized.

If you know graduates and marshals who should be

included please submit their full names in writing to

Terry Everett or Nancy Hill by Sunday, May 21.

Include name of school and degree for college

graduates. Graduates do not have to be present that

Sunday to have their name included on our

recognition list.

***Do not assume that a graduate’s name will be

included. We try very hard to not overlook anyone

and we depend on the information we receive.

Please make a special effort to submit all names by

the deadline. Thank you.

April’s Schedule

Greeter Schedule:

May 7th Gary Shepppard

May 14th Mary Lynn Edwards

May 21st Terry Everett

May 28th Barry Norman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flower Schedule:

May 7th Rick & Connie Tee

May 14th Shannon Blackstone

May 21st Bill & Barbara Sanderson

May 28th Dee & Barry Beckman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nursery Schedule:

May 7th Jeff & Jessica Staton

May 14th Jessie Brooks & LaDonna Younger

May 21st Gerald & Barbara Morris

May 28th Kandice & Billy Dean

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Children’s Moment Schedule:

May 7th Claudia Alligood

May 14th Alice Wingate

May 21st Kids of God’s World

May 28th Jeff Staton

The Good News – May Page 4

Church Family Prayer Concerns:

Jamie Barnhill, CM Cartwright, Charlie Clark, Bill

Cutler, Bobby Drake, Melba Edwards, Marion

Everett, Vernon Godley, Beverly Holt, John Holt,

Jim Richardson, Sammy Robbins, Jack Wallace,

Jeannie Woolard, The Family of Shirley Cox, &

Unspoken Requests

Friends & Community Prayer Concerns:

Mary Lou Alexander (Larry’s Cousin), Sam

Antrican, John Barnhill, Mark & Mary Scott Baver,

Verma Baynor, Frankie Black, Terry Black, Noah

Ray Bonds, Lois Boyd, Barbara Britt, Christy

Carpenter-Weathers, Donald Chrismon, Colt

Cowell, Jimmy Davis (Jean Winstead’s Brother),

Bryan Douglas, Maryanne Edwards, George Elliott,

Esther Flowers, Patrisha Griffin, Jon Hadel, Amy

Adams Hardee, Tawney Hollis, Jeff Jenkins, Vickie

Jessen, Lane Jordan, Gerry Klas, Carol McRoy,

Johnnie McRoy, Jerry Modlin, Brad Moore, Alvin

Norman, Wilson Paul, Robbie Peoples, Joyce Pitt,

Mike Proctor, Beth Rodgers, Jeanne Rutledge,

Angela Shakelford, Betty Slade, Latasha Slade,

Jackie Smith, Sr., Jo Smith, Sarah Starlipper (Gary

Sheppard’s niece), Phyllis Barrington Taylor,

Delores Teachey (Bill & Harold Cutler’s Sister),

Diana Tew, Mike Trumich, Wayne Tuten, Sue

Waters, Vaniessa Waters, Ronnie Watson, Brandi &

Jay Womble, & Unspoken Requests

Military Prayer List:

Jim Bass, Blane Boyd, Chase Brooks, Timm Cox, Wil

Cutler, Zack Davis, Jonathan Dupree, Kerry Mills,

Grayce & Lucas Owens

In Nursing Homes: Charles “Pete” Fell, Dorothy Matthews, Mary

Maynard, Barbara O’Neal, Myra Wingate

Please submit any news to me

for the June Newsletter by Sunday May 28th. Thank you!

You can contact Lesley Woolard at 252-945-9779 or via email: lesleywoolard@yahoo.com

The Good News - May Page 5