Search Results

MACOMB TOWNSHIP – Recently I learned about the art of the Japanese Kintsugi. In this practice, when a piece of pottery breaks, instead of discarding the pottery, the broken pieces are glued back together by gold or silver lacquer. In this way, the pottery is now made new. Not only was it recreated, but now it is more valuable due the gold or silver lacquer, becoming a one-of-a-kind piece of pottery. The more I think about this style of art, the more God uses it as an object lesson in my own life. Brokenness. This is not a topic we like to discuss. We don’t gather with our families and friends, and go around the room sharing about our struggles and brokenness. We don’t typically meet a new person and lead with our failures and shortcomings. We like to show that we have it all together, and put our best self forward. Sometimes, we become so entrenched in living behind the mask and showing others the “social media'' version of ourselves that we get caught up in the treadmill of trying to hold it all together. Failure and brokenness go hand in hand. Since we never want to let others know we are broken, we try to do anything from failing thus creating even more brokenness in our lives. This is the mindset many of us have around brokenness. Instead of viewing failure in a negative light, what if we shift our perspective and learn from our failures so that we can readjust and succeed out of our brokenness? What if we began to share with others what God taught us in our failures? If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:8-9 NIV We are all broken. We must recognize that and come to a place where we realize we need Jesus. We don’t have to strive to show perfection! Who can relate to perfectionism? No one is perfect this side of Heaven. Truth is, we will relate to people more when we share out of our vulnerability and brokenness. Just like the Japanese Kintsugi bowl, the cracks make the piece more valuable and defined. It is the same with the brokenness in our lives. When we offer the broken pieces of our life back to God, He can use them in a mighty way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV God will take our broken pieces and make them new. For this to happen, we have to get real with God, name our brokenness, and own it. We must confess it to God and ask for Him to heal us, and restore us to become the person he wants us to be in Christ. When we try to hide our brokenness and cover it up, we are doing ourselves and others a disservice to the Kingdom of God. Perfectionism is too high of a standard for people to reach. As Christians, if we always come across as perfect, then unbelievers will feel as if they can never achieve it. This is not the gospel! The gospel is coming to God in our brokenness and relying on Him to change us and make us new. It is then that we can share with others what God has done in our lives. We can relate to their struggles and give them hope that our good Father wants to meet them in their brokenness as well. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3 Embrace your brokenness and allow God to use you to make a difference for the Kingdom. You are a new creation made by broken pieces held together by God’s grace and mercy. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karen is married to Scott Blanchard, pastor of Lakepointe Church, and moved from Florida to Michigan in the summer of 2009 to plant Lakepointe Church in Shelby Township. She enjoys mentoring and discipling women and also leads women’s life groups through her church. She is passionate about helping women find their purpose in who God created them to be. She is on staff at Lakepointe Church and loves being part of what God is doing in the Metro Detroit area! #JANUARY23

GRANDVILLE – Lord, I recognize that some are reading this and are discouraged, would You encourage their heart today. Some are reading this and are not sure they can go another Sunday; would You strengthen their heart today. Some are feeling overwhelmed by a decision or with a person. Would You give them wisdom today? Some are wrestling internally; would You give them peace and rest today. And Lord, others are reading this and simply enjoying a sweet season of ministry, would You give them continued fruit in the days ahead. Lord, wherever we are at, on the mountain top or in the valley, excited or exhausted, we know this: that we all, like the Psalmist in Psalm 40, are “poor and needy.” We know that without You we are nothing and apart from you we cannot do anything. Father, we know that this work that You have called us to (yes, you have called us to it!) is beyond us, but it is not beyond You, because You are the One who promises to build Your church and sustain Your church. It’s Your Son who is the foundation of the church, the focus of the church, and the Savior of the Church! Not us. So, Father, would our churches across Michigan be all about Jesus, the Greatest One who has done the greatest thing! Father, we have seen You do some incredible things over these past few years. And we want to ask, collectively and humbly, would you do it again! Would you do even more! Lord, millions of people in Michigan still need you. So would You use us here in Michigan to help birth a massive Gospel movement that eternally impacts millions; I pray, one that the history books could not ignore. Not so that our name could be attached to it, but so that Your Kingdom would be advanced through it — that the spiritual landscape in Michigan would be changed, that the lost would be saved, that those running would return, that your disciples would be equipped, that more leaders would be raised up, that more servants would be sent out, and that more churches would be planted, mobilized, and multiplied! Father, we are asking You to advance a Gospel movement in and throughout Michigan, for your glory! And so today, would You encourage our hearts, would You fuel the mission, and refuel each Michigan leader, and through it all would You “accelerate Gospel movement”. So together we pray Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to You who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Thompson is a Church Planting Catalyst with the Send Network and one of the founding pastors at Redemption Church in Grandville, Michigan. Matt has been married to his wife Bethany for 16 years and they have three boys: Caden, Brennen and Aaron. #JANUARY23

BUFFALO, NY (BP) – A historic snowstorm that dumped over four feet of snow and brought at least 31 area deaths has left residents and churches acting to respond as best they can. “There’s not much we can do but take care of immediate needs,” said Michael Flannery, missionary for Frontier Baptist Association and state Disaster Relief director. Two churches received extensive damage through burst pipes. Pastor Dan Trippie announced in a Facebook post that Restoration Church will meet this Sunday, but at a local hotel after extensive flooding occurred at the 12-year-old church. Several inches of water can be seen in a downstairs children’s area in a video he posted on Christmas Day. “Brothers and sisters in the Christian community [have] reached out to us in this time,” he said, “as well as those in other faith communities in western New York.” Ridgewood Bible Church, a seven-year-old congregation, experienced water damage as well, said Flannery, adding that church leaders also discovered graffiti, which police are investigating. Regional Disaster Relief coordinators are maintaining contact with emergency responders, he said. “The intensity of the storm was so great that for two days all I could do was look out the window at it blowing 40, 60 miles per hour,” said the 73-year-old Flannery, who has lived in the area for nearly 30 years. “At some point, you just have to dig yourself out.” Send Relief is monitoring the situation. “In coordination with state and local emergency responders, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) and Send Relief have not been requested to participate in the Buffalo response,” said Josh Benton, Send Relief vice president of North American Ministry. “Send Relief is in communication with churches and local officials in the area and is prepared to provide support as needed.” Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has a history in the area. An October 2006 snowstorm, Flannery said, knocked power out for eight days and resulted in some 900 Disaster Relief chainsaw jobs. The blizzard’s devastation in an area accustomed to heavy snow is being attributed to occurring days before Christmas when many were traveling and many emergency response personnel were off for the holidays. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Erie County Sheriff John Garcia of the devastation. A deadly mass shooting in May led to the nation seeing how the Buffalo community bands together amid tragedy. Flannery has already witnessed the same this week. “Churches are helping dig each other out. People help their neighbors in distress,” he said. “I helped a neighbor, and he helped me. I delivered a Christmas ornament back to him and we struck up a relationship.” With temperatures climbing near 50 today (Dec. 29), Flannery said the next concern is flooding that may come with the heavy snow melt. “We’ve done flood recovery many times,” he said. “We may have to do it again.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Barkley is national correspondent for Baptist Press. #JANUARY23

FRANKFORT, KY (BP) – A Frankfort pastor whose small church has members who regularly supply pulpits in the Franklin Baptist Association is planning training in 2023 for those interested in preaching and teaching the Bible more effectively. Scott Van Neste, who has been pastor at Bellepoint Baptist Church for 15 years and graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the church makes it a habit to pray for brothers and sisters in the association. “We have a burden for pastors without churches and churches without pastors,” he said. Van Neste said the church has been involved with an organization in Memphis that trains pastors that are sent around the world. “I thought, ‘Why can’t we figure out a way to do that here?’” He thought Bellepoint Baptist was the best place to start since they have been providing pulpit supply to sometimes multiple churches every week. They currently are doing interim work at North Benson Baptist Church. “We’re talking to the young ones who want to pastor and going to have what we’re going to call a preacher school where we can train our guys to be able to do more pulpit supply and help the churches in our association,” Van Neste said. “We want to help the churches around us by having more guys than we can send out.” The idea, the pastor said, is to raise up young men who understand better how to assemble a sermon or outline a passage and help those with some basic training and teaching for those who may feel called to someday be a pastor. “Rural churches are struggling around Frankfort,” Van Neste said. “If they don’t have a man willing in the church to step up and preach or be a pastor, that church can really suffer. We have a lot of churches whose pastors are bi-vocational.” Doug Hamblin, the associational mission strategist for the Franklin Baptist Association, said the training could be invaluable for those who are considering the call to be a pastor. “I think it can be very valuable training for these men who are feeling called to the pastorate,” he said. “We are looking to grow the Kingdom, not just a church or an association. This exposes these men to what they need to understand about being a pastor or filling a pulpit. It’s almost like spiritual formations preparing them.” Hamblin said the 30-church association has three churches without pastors but that the turnover of pastors has been growing. He said this training could benefit pastoral search committees that are looking for godly men, too. Van Neste said in the past 3-6 months they have had one of the men from the congregation preaching somewhere. The training will only enhance and improve these potential pastors for the future. He said even if someone doesn’t want to be a pastor, the training will benefit Sunday school teachers, too. He said they plan to start sessions at the end of January for church members or others in the community who might want to come. He said the sessions will be two Saturdays a month with three-hour sessions. Van Neste said it would take about six weeks to where they would be comfortable preaching a passage. Several other men in Bellepointe will also be involved in the training. “It’s accessible to men who have never preached but also meaty enough for guys who have had no experience,” he said. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mark Maynard writes for Kentucky Today, www.kentuckytoday.com, where this article first appeared. Kentucky Today is a news resource of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. #JANUARY23

BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA (BP) – It’s the listening ear. It’s the soap and shampoo, the fuzzy socks, the melody sung by a compassionate Christian. It’s the prayer for God’s protection and healing that means so much to the men, women and children staying in a medical shelter in Bogotá. It’s these things and more that International Mission Board missionary April Byron and her national partner, Salomé, provide when they visit the shelter each week. April and her husband, Donnie, minister to university students, the displaced and people seeking medical treatment in Bogotá. Salomé is a missionary commissioned by the Denominación Bautista Colombiana, the Baptist Convention of Colombia. The convention started its own missionary training center this year, and Salomé was in the first training group. People from rural areas come to the capital to seek medical care for ailments that cannot be treated where they live, and the government provides housing for them during their medical stay. April and Salomé visit a shelter that hosts between 35 and 70 guests. Every time they go, they take hygiene kits containing soap, shampoo, deodorant. They also provide infant formula, wipes and diapers for mothers. They often strike up conversation with the age-old go-to – the weather. At 8,660 feet, the weather in Bogotá is much colder than the regions where many of the visitors are from. It’s pumpkin spice and flannel-shirt weather year-round, April said. April and Salomé come ready to distribute “fuzzy socks.” Churches also donate jackets and warm-weather clothing. Each visit is a continuation of communication, asking how a doctor’s visit went, celebrating answers to prayer and praying for ongoing and new requests. “A lot of times they’re sad, they’re lonely, they just want to talk to somebody about their medical journey,” April said. Some people stay long-term, some come one week and are gone the next, making interactions brief but intentional. A husband and wife who stayed in five different shelters during the wife’s journey to beat cancer told April this was the first time someone came to visit them and that it was such a blessing. Because of the transiency of those in the shelters, their visits are often the entry point where seeds of the Gospel are shared. Follow-up and church formation will happen in their hometowns. Last month, April, Salomé and 30 church members from a local congregation visited the shelter. During the visit, shelter guests sifted through clothing church members brought, enjoyed worship music and listened to the pastor give an encouraging message. Salomé shared the Parable of the Sower. April and Salomé had been praying the Lord would provide someone to minister with them. After the church’s visit, Felicia, one of the church members, approached April and asked how she could be involved. The week after the church’s visit, April, Salomé and Felicia went to find the daughter of one of the women they spoke with in the shelter. They didn’t find the woman’s daughter, but they were given permission to come back and share Bible stories at three other shelters. “It was a hunt, but it was a very fruitful hunt,” April said. Join April and Salomé in prayer that the ministry will expand to other shelters and that their witness will extend. Pray for more opportunities to share Bible stories and pray that people’s hearts will be open to the Gospel. #JANUARY23

by Garth Leno Jasmina stood in the foyer of the beautifully decorated Pentecostal church in Belgrade where children from that fellowship and the Baptist church conducted eight performances of the Christmas play that was written for the occasion. Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes from Samaritan's Purse were made available through the magnanimous ministry of local missionaries. With a tear in her eye, Jasmina repeated, "Nothing brings them in like shoe boxes!" The church was packed with 1,500 eager participants—mostly refugees—for each of the eight productions. Men, women and children from Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo watched in hushed silence and sheer delight as the children from the two churches performed the play. Strangers in a Foreign Land It was the simple story of Jesus' birth. It was a profound demonstration of God's love. It was the transforming gospel in a child's play. The audience was full of doctors, farmers, professors, uneducated housewives, economists, writers, carpenters, and lawyers. Yet, they had one thing in common. They were all displaced people. Refugees. Strangers in a foreign land. Just like Jesus. After each performance the children in the audience were invited to come forward to receive colorfully wrapped shoe boxes full of small gifts such as stuffed animals, candy, hygiene items, small toys, and school supplies—boxes that had been generously packed by Christians in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Every year pastors and planters throughout Michigan and Southwestern Ontario wonder aloud how their churches can celebrate Christmas in a way that makes a difference here and abroad. This is it! In a special report, Samaritan’s Purse reported that in 2021 more than 9.1 million gift-filled shoeboxes were distributed to children in need all over the world at over 81,000 outreach events. I worked for Samaritan’s Purse Canada from 1999-2003. I have seen the shoebox distributions in person. In Serbia, for example, I saw with my own eyes what years of ethnic animosity has done to the people and to the nation. I also witnessed the devastation in Kosovo. I saw the burned-out homes and businesses. I listened to the heartbreaking stories. Nothing seems to open the hearts of children and families in crisis quite like these simple shoeboxes. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Garth Leno lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife Patty. His daughter Jamie passed away and is with the Lord. Two more children, Nathan and Kristin, are married with families of their own. Garth is the senior pastor at The Gathering, which he planted with friends in 2014. He also is on the Send Network Canadian Advisory Board and serves as Pastor/Planter Care Specialist for the BSCM. He has a doctorate from Bethel Theological Seminary and loves to preach. #DECEMBER22

by Dr. Tony L Lynn PLYMOUTH, MI – Pastor Tim Patterson, the Executive Director-Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan (BSCM), is pleased to announce that Dr. Garth Leno has joined the state convention to help churches take their next step to accelerate Gospel movement. One of the highest values of the state convention is to strengthen leaders because they shape the culture and set the pace. That is why Leno will serve as the Pastor/Planter Care Specialist throughout Greater Detroit and Michigan. Patterson states, “Garth and Patty are two of the jewels in the crown of Canadian Baptist work, and will continue to shine brightly as they minister in the Canadian Convention and the Michigan Convention as well. We are beyond blessed to have such an exemplary couple help us accelerate the Gospel movement here in Michigan.” Pastor Mike Durbin, the church strengthening leader for the state convention, offers his response to Leno’s arrival on the team. “With decades of transformative ministry experience as a pastor and church planter, Garth is uniquely gifted and positioned to use his gifts and abilities to encourage pastors in both Canada and Michigan. He and his wife Patty know firsthand the joys and challenges pastors and their wives face over the long-haul of ministry. Both conventions will be blessed in Garth’s role as Pastor/Planter Care Specialist.” Pastor Wayne Parker, pastor of Merriman Road Baptist Church, Garden City, and the Send City Missionary for Send Detroit, responds with his observations when he says, “Our pastors have so many negative voices speaking into their lives, what a blessing to have an additional member of the BSCM family with encouragement as their primary ministry. Garth Leno and his wife Patty have servants’ hearts and a wealth of pastoral experience. Cindy and I count them as dear friends and know their investment in our pastors will be an encouragement to all of us.” Dr. Tony Lynn, the church starting leader for the state convention adds, “I observed for seven years how people were drawn to the Lenos when they saw them at gatherings. I also heard others mention spontaneously how they were assisted or encouraged from their conversations with either Garth or Patty. So, when we learned about Garth’s impending retirement from the pastorate, I was hopeful we would find a way to redeploy their gifts and experience to benefit our pastors, planters, and their family members in Michigan/Detroit. I’m elated that many of us appeared to have the same dream and it is now reality.” Dr. Leno, reflecting on his increased service in Michigan/Detroit says, “We planted a church with the Send Network in 2014, and ever since day one we have been encouraged and supported deeply and consistently by the Send Network and BSCM. It’s a great honor for us to care for the pastors and planters of Michigan.” Leno most recently was the founding pastor and church planter of The Gathering Church in Windsor, Ontario, Canada until his recent semi-retirement. While increasing his family time with his wife, his children, and grandchildren, Leno will serve the pastors/planters and their families in the Canada National Baptist Convention and Michigan. Leno received a Master of Divinity Degree and a Master of Theology from Trinity Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He was awarded the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Bethel Theological Seminary in 1993. After planting The Gathering Church in Windsor, Ontario, Leno went back to seminary to study church planting, and in 2018 graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in Church Planting from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Garth and Patty have served the Lord together since they were married in 1980. Leno led a small church while attending seminary in Chicagoland. Then they moved to Canada to lead established churches in Alberta and Ontario before planting The Gathering Church in 2014 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Tony L. Lynn is the State Director of Missions for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before coming on staff at the BSCM, Tony served as lead pastor for more than six years at Crosspoint Church in Monroe, Michigan. He and his wife, Jamie, also served with the International Mission Board in Africa and in Europe. #DECEMBER22

by Alin Patularu WINDSOR, ON – The last 2 and a half years have been hard on most people. The pandemic and ensuing restrictions have had a ripple effect throughout our culture, and it’s been mostly, if not entirely, negative. This year has been exceptionally hard for my family and ministry. We’ve experienced decline in attendance, burn out of leaders, and countless, compounding residual challenges resulting from the response to the covid pandemic. As I reflected on what happened and what God was trying to teach me through all this, the one theme that kept emerging was, gospel generosity. What people need now more than ever before, is a clear display of gospel generosity, and what better time than Christmas to display that? As a church we don’t have a ton of disposable income, if any, but I knew that didn’t matter. If Church planting teaches you anything, it’s that God’s math is not like our math. After all, our King fed 5000 hungry people with a little kid’s lunch. The next challenge was, how to use what little money we had, to express gospel generosity to our neighbors? I was talking this over with our pastoral apprentice and he had an idea, “Why don’t we offer to buy coffee for people if they can pass the good person test, like you used to do at local festivals?” That was it, what a perfect idea. The next day I got to work on a sign that would hopefully attract people to come and talk to us. I made a sign saying, “Christmas Quiz. Pass & Earn $5.” I came up with some generic, Christmas ice breaker questions. I finally end with the “Charlie Brown” question, “What is Christmas all about?” After they answer I say something to the effect of, “What if I told you that Christmas is only necessary because of human evil?” This is a shock to their system and causes them to ask, “What do you mean?” With that I transition to the final challenge, the good person test popularized by Ray Comfort. I tell them that if they can pass the good person test, they will win the $5. I then walk them through the 10 commandments and demonstrate that they have broken God’s law. Unfortunately, they failed the test and don’t deserve the $5. Most people at this point are disappointed and I ask, “Do you know what God did for guilty sinners?” This is when I explain that Christ was born that first Christmas morning because of the evil of humans. He died and rose from the dead to redeem and restore us back to good standing with God. At this point I hold out the $5 bill and say, “You don’t deserve this. You did not earn it; you failed the test. But I am offering it to you as a free gift, if you will only reach out and take it.” When they reach out and take it, that's when you clarify the gospel by saying, “In a much more significant way, Jesus paid your debt for all your sin. You can’t earn it and you don’t deserve it. All you must do to receive this gift of eternal life is reach out to Him in faith and receive it.” The look on people’s faces is priceless. One night we were able to share this gospel message with 9 people in 1 hour. It cost us a total of $20 because only 4 people took the quiz while their family and friends eagerly stood around listening in on what was happening. In this way we are able to stretch our dollars further and get straight to the point of the Gospel while displaying generosity as well. Give it a try, share the Good News and make some new friends this Christmas. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alin Patularu is from Windsor Ontario Canada and planted Life-Giver Church in 2016 with the Send Network. He’s been married for 8 years to Shelly and is the father of twin boys, Jack and Henry. #DECEMBER22

by Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research NASHVILLE, TN – The closer it gets to Christmas, the more likely it is church pews will be filled. Half of U.S. Protestant pastors (48%) say a Christmas Eve service is their churches’ largest event during the holiday season, according to a Lifeway Research study. The frequency of the highest attendance events builds up to Christmas Eve and then tapers off into January. “Christians have many different Christmas traditions, and so do their churches,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Family and church traditions are most likely to coincide for Christmas Eve services, but many evangelical churches see the highest holiday attendance earlier in December.” Few pastors point to an event the first week of December or earlier (6%) or a service during the second week (10%) as their most well-attended. Around a quarter (26%) say an event during the third week of the month is top. While it may not be true for most congregations, early December is the high-water mark for Christmas season attendance at Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi. Senior pastor Rob Armstrong said attendance starts off strong in December, with their Sunday services the first two weeks of the month being their most attended events. “Excitement about the Christmas season feeds into the higher attendance in the first few weeks of the month,” he said. Their Christmas Eve service is also well attended, but he said the Sunday closest to Christmas and the Sunday closest to New Year’s Day have the fewest people show up. With that, they’re in line with most other churches. Few U.S. Protestant pastors see the largest crowds on Christmas Day (7%) or an event during the first week of January (5%). The Christmas season is a prime season for church attendance. Traditionally, Christmas is the second highest attendance time of the year behind only Easter, according to a 2012 Lifeway Research study. In 2014, more than 3 in 5 Americans (63%) said Christmas activities should include a visit to a church service, according to Lifeway Research. In 2015, Lifeway Research found a similar percentage (61%) said they typically attend church during Christmastime. Even among those who don’t attend church this time of the year, 57% said they would be likely to attend if someone they knew asked them. High-attendance events during the Christmas season vary from church to church. Pastors in the South (39%) are least likely to say Christmas Eve. Pastors at congregations of fewer than 50 (19%) are the least likely to say they have the most people attend an event during the third week of December. Mainline pastors are more likely than their evangelical counterparts to say their most attended service is on Christmas Eve (60% v. 44%), while evangelical pastors are more likely than mainline ministers to say their highest attendance event is during the third week of December (30% v. 17%). Denominationally, some churches fare better earlier in the month, while others see their crowds grow as the season wears on. Pentecostal (18%) and Baptist (15%) pastors are more likely than Methodist (3%), Restorationist Movement (2%) and Lutheran (1%) pastors to have their highest attendance during the second week of December. For the third week, Pentecostals (45%), Restorationist Movement pastors (37%) and Baptists (35%) are more likely than Presbyterian/Reformed (20%), non-denominational (17%), Methodist (13%) and Lutheran (7%) pastors to have the largest crowd of the season. Lutherans (84%) are the most likely to say their high-attendance event this season happens on Christmas Eve. Restorationist Movement churches are unique in that 21% say their most popular service is an event the first week of January. John Dobbs, pastor of Forsythe Church of Christ in Monroe, Louisiana, says there is a resistance to celebrating Christmas among the autonomous Christian and Church of Christ congregations. “That is based on the truth that we are never actually told in Scripture to celebrate the birth of Christ,” he said. Dobbs also noted that pastors and members at Church of Christ congregations have diverse opinions on how to approach the Christmas holiday. While many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas in January, the first part of the year also provides a natural time of reflection and focus. “Given the aversion to holidays among many traditional and conservative churches, a day of renewal and beginning again becomes a day of emphasis and engagement,” Dobbs said. At Harrisburg Baptist, attendance on the Sundays closest to Christmas and New Year’s Day are some of the lowest attended of the season, according to Armstrong, as many are out of town visiting family. Despite what may be smaller crowds, he still believes churches should gather on those days. “Churches should have worship on Christmas Day or any Sunday close to it,” he said. “It’s OK to have low attendance on those days because people travel.” “Pastors are always eager to see people attending church services, and the Christmas season is one time of year they get to see most of their congregation as well as visitors,” McConnell said. “But the nature of those traditions varies by church with some seeing attendance culminating in a special Christmas Eve service, others a Sunday morning service and others a special musical experience.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aaron Earls is a writer for LifeWay Christian Resources. #DECEMBER22

by Michael and Shannon Goforth “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” PORT AUSTIN, MI – At our house, you might catch us singing this classic as early as October. It has also become standard operating procedure to deck the halls the day after Halloween. Judge us all you want, but we absolutely love Christmas and everything about it. In fact, we were married on December 19th with a Christmas-themed wedding. Can you guess what song played after the preacher pronounced us husband and wife? Yup, “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams. But what do you do when this time of year is not wonderful? What if this time of year reminds you of the empty seat at your table? Or the magical childhood you never had? Or the bills that seem to keep piling up? Or the trial that you are currently enduring? As we write this, we’re reminded of several families in our church who lost loved ones this year. We know this season will be especially difficult for them. We’re also reminded of the heavy trial of our own that we’re currently walking through. To be honest with you, as much as we love Christmas, this year is difficult for us. We are struggling with infertility, and this will be our fifth Christmas of praying and hoping for a baby that God has yet to give us. So, what do we do when this time of year is filled with longing instead of celebrating? If this is you, we want to encourage you with something: You are actually stepping into what this season is all about. Historically, Christians have referred to this season as “advent” which means “coming” or “arrival.” In other words, this season is all about waiting, longing, and yearning for the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. After thousands of years of longing and waiting, Emmanuel had finally come. This is why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus, God with us, had arrived. At his first advent, Jesus came to die for our sins and rise again so that we could be restored into a relationship with God. Now, because of Christ, God is with us, by his Spirit. But if we’re honest, we still experience heartache, brokenness, and longing. This is because we are still awaiting an advent, the second coming of our Lord—when our Savior returns to wipe the tears from our eyes and make all things new. So here is our challenge for you: Let the coming of that baby in a manger fill you with hope this Christmas. Why? Because he’s coming again. Like the saints of old, we wait. This waiting can be confusing, sorrowful, and sometimes unbearable. But because of Christmas, it is never without hope. God is with us, right now, in our pain. He walks with us, between these two advents. He sees every tear that we cry and ensures we are never alone. And best of all? He is coming to rescue us from this sin-cursed world. So, if you’re hurting, broken, and longing this season, let that longing point you to this glorious reality: Emmanuel has come, and He has promised to come again. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael and Shannon Goforth have been married for eight years and serve together at Mercy Hill Church in Port Austin, Michigan. They led a team to plant this church in 2016 and Michael currently serves as the Lead Pastor. Mercy Hill exists to spread a passion for the glory of Jesus in Port Austin and beyond. #DECEMBER22

Because you give, a desperate plea was answered with gospel solution. Damir sat by the side of the road, destitute and crying. He prayed God would either help him or let him die. His employer hadn’t paid him; he couldn’t pay his rent and his family disowned him because they remembered the days when alcohol ruled his life. Damir just graduated from an alcohol rehabilitation program in Central Asia that helped him kick his crippling habit, but he struggled to get on his feet after he left. After dropping his car off at the repair shop, Yuri, a Central Asian Christian, saw Damir by the side of the road and invited him to House of Hope, a halfway house for recovering alcohol and drug addicts. This is what Damir, and many other Central Asian men need. Yuri and his wife, Elmira, realized many men relapsed after graduating from the alcohol rehabilitation centers. Men had trouble finding a job, getting back on their feet and staying clean. They opened the House of Hope as a remedy. House of Hope provides a place to stay, job skills training and fellowship for Christian Central Asian men who are recovering addicts. Men staying at the House of Hope participate in Bible studies and prayer times, and learn how to weld, which gives them a marketable occupation. They also raise and sell rabbits and grow vegetables for sale. The men are mentored and discipled so they can grow in their personal faith and also impact the vast lostness in their region. Four local churches, national believers and International Mission Board missionaries Aaron and Melanie Stoval are present, living alongside these men to invest in their healing and discipleship. Aaron visits House of Hope and studies the Bible with the men. He said national believers are leading the effort, which is one of the goals of the IMB — local ownership of the gospel task. Aybek is one of these local leaders. He was once a Soviet soldier in a neighboring country and that’s where he fell victim to the vice of vodka. Back at home, he became a police officer but lost his job due to alcoholism. He committed his life to Christ in a rehabilitation center. He’s now the director of House of Hope and he joyously guides the men toward Christ. Everyone Aybek talks to — whether it’s the vegetable seller or the vendor who buys the rabbits — hears his testimony of how God transformed his life. Because you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® and House of Hope’s special gift fund, men like Damir are set up for success so they can be gospel witnesses in their community. Damir is now a successful welder. He has a place of his own and is thriving. Aaron and Melanie thank you for giving to Lottie Moon. It allows them to support and encourage Aybek and Yuri. Your generosity supports the House of Hope, which answers the desperate pleas of men like Damir. Some names may have been changed for security purposes. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® is a registered trademark of Woman’s Missionary Union. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tessa Sanchez writes for the IMB. #DECEMBER22

(Scrooge. Noun: a mean or miserly person, a curmudgeon in Dickens' Christmas Carol.) by Tim Patterson PLYMOUTH, MI – Have you taken a survey of our nation and its present culture recently? Or for that matter, the world? I am not an alarmist, nor do I have a personality or character that focuses on the negative, nasty or the talking head nincompoops of our day. In comparison to most, I’m a relatively positive guy. I truly do look for the best in people and want to believe that they are honest and truthful, but the fact is that humanity as a whole and individuals in particular, seem to be a mess. At the writing of this article, I have lived on this planet for 25,254 days outside of my mother’s womb and from my perspective, longevity and experience, mankind is not improving but is declining rapidly. Meanness and madness seem to be the defining characteristics of this era. Reason and truth have been replaced with circumlocution and ambiguous uncertainty and self-centered authority. Standards for decency, morality and ethics have been jettisoned for what appears to be a free for all rugby match of “if it feels good do it”, with no rules. Every year during the Christmas season, Sabrina and I watch an inordinate amount of Christmas movies, and I read 10 to 15 Christmas themed books. (OK! We like Christmas. Don’t be hatin’ on us.) It is during this period that I read and watch various adaptations of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Some may argue differently, but I am fully convinced that A Christmas Carol is a Christian allegory. In this novella that was first published December 19th, 1843, Mr. Dickens was writing to address and to expose the depravity and self-centeredness of man, and how we must have an inward change of heart that is evident in an outward transformation of our actions, attitudes and demeanor. To not do so would leave us in a state of condemnation that would end in an eternal punishment in which there would be great distress and suffering. Today society has taught us to deflect and blame others for our maladies and missteps. Our failures are not our fault, nor the result of some internal flaw but they are the direct result of others, especially those with whom we do not agree or who may hold a different world view. No matter what popular opinion may proclaim, it is our own sin-pocked past that haunts us today. It is not the sins of others and not the failures of friends and family but our very own actions and attitudes that condemn us. Contrary to popular belief, mankind is not really “good at heart.” Humans have been Scrooged since we first walked in the cool and comfort of God's garden where we could bask in the warmth of His love and provision. We rejected His love and disobeyed His commands. As a result, our souls now live in separation, isolation, and loneliness. Miserable, cold, and hard. No peace with God. No peace with mankind and certainly no peace within. The truth is that deep within each of us resides the sin-cankered soul of an Ebenezer Scrooge. Peering out the ice-covered window of our spirit, it glares with disgust and hate at the precious and beautiful Gift of Christmas. Those who hate true Christmas do so because they hate the true God. This rejection and hatred is revealed in actions and attitudes. It is the result of being Scrooged. Our society has little by little pushed the hope of Christmas aside. It has said no to the wonderful gift of a Savior. It is my prayer that every Christian would seize the opportunity to share the Hope found in Christmas, and bring every man, woman, boy or girl into the warmth of our Fathers forgiveness through the Gift of Jesus our Savior. The good news is that it does not take four different ghosts and a long winter's night to bring us to a time of transformation and salvation. All it takes is personally receiving the Gift of a baby born in a manger who would pay for our sins on a cross and offer us eternal life. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tim Patterson is Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Elected unanimously in May of 2015, Patterson formerly served for 9 years as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He also served as trustee chair and national mobilizer for the North American Mission Board. #DECEMBER22