Lottie Moon - Activist and Advocate

“It is a small thing to be judged of a man’s judgement. It is good to know that we are judged by God.”

When I stumbled across the quotation above it gave me pause. The open defiance of authority expressed was notable in the writing of a female missionary, certainly. But this was not any missionary. This was Lottie Moon, the Southern Baptist icon and namesake of the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, promoted vigorously each year to supply funds for the denomination’s mission efforts. The woman I remembered from a childhood spent in Southern Baptist churches seemed at odds with this intriguing quotation so I began to read research on Moon. Who was this woman who supposedly starved herself to death out of devotion to the Chinese and mission cause?

As I looked closely at the publications, I found a woman whose life and work offers a view of nineteenth-century womanhood that corrects an understanding of them as passive and resigned to a domestic fate. Moon’s decision to go abroad as a pioneering single woman missionary was notable, to be sure. But her decision to advocate for the formation of the Woman’s Missionary Union and to argue for equal treatment of male and female missionaries moves her into the realm of activist and advocate. Only by removing the artifice of legend are we able to reveal the story of Moon’s unusual upbringing in Albemarle County, Virginia, her willingness to challenge gender norms, and to support female organization.

Yet to consider Moon’s biography alone would provide only part of her powerful story. The legend of Moon’s death from starvation on the mission field has played a central role in how she has been remembered, especially since the myth of her Christ-like sacrifice is essential to Southern Baptist mission fundraising. Through the research I discovered Moon did not starve herself to death nor did she give all of her money away to famine relief. It is, indeed, ironic that Moon’s active life, her call for female equality and her support for female organization have been overlooked.

I invite you to a new consideration of the missionary in Lottie Moon: A Southern Baptist Missionary in History and Legend by Regina D. Sullivan.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (NIV)

Craft Night Fellowship

FRIDAY - AUGUST 12
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Special Projects
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM Free Craft Time
Student Building
Child Care Available 7:00 -10:00 PM
Devotional Time Led By Raelene Soritau
Cost: $10.00

We will provide craft materials, pizza, and drinks.
Bring snack foods and personal craft projects for added fun!
Examples of the crafts we will make are located on the
Women's Ministry table in the foyer

Invite your girlfriends over and spend an evening learning to
make fun crafts, eating some great treats, and
making new friends!


You don't have to be "crafty" to have a good time!

RSVP at the Women's Ministry table in the foyer!!


For child care RSVP contact Ronda Standard at rstandard@children.hillcrestbc.com
For more information contact Debra Meek meek_2902@yahoo.com

Kindness and Honor

The Lord God is like a sun and shield; the Lord gives us kindness and honor. He does not hold back anything good from those whose lives are innocent. – Psalms 84:11 NCV

Coming to believe this declaration from the psalmist has taken some time in my walk with Jesus. In my early years, I would think upon it almost as a guarantee that “nothing bad will happen to me or my household” because I have Jesus. As my journey continued, I came to know Him “in the hard places as closer than breath itself”. Now, as I continue, I am finding that even the “difficult” issues coming my way are actually the pathways for the kindness and honor that He gives me. Above all else...my innocence is only because of the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Leak A Little

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.” Isaiah 55:10 (NIV)

On my back deck I have two identical flower pots. They were planted at the same time. They contain the same variety of flowers and the same soil. They both get the same amount of water, shade, and sun. They are similar in every way but they look vastly different.

One is thriving. The other is not.

One is full of flowers cascading down its sides. It is lush, full of blooms, and an absolute delight to look at.

The other has a few flowers among the greenish brownish leaves. It is sparse with a few gangly sprigs — not exactly a gardener’s delight.

So, I asked my husband the other night why he thought the two containers were turning out so differently. “Simple,” he said, “one’s got holes so excess water can leak out and the other doesn’t.”

Interesting.

The one that has the ability to leak out excess water is the one that’s thriving.

The one keeping all the water in its container is the one that’s not such a beautiful display.

This morning I was reading Isaiah 55:10-13 and it made me think of my flower pot situation.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

Water is supposed to be poured out, create growth, and leak out so it can evaporate, having accomplished what it was created to do.

It was never supposed to be poured out, sit stagnate, hoarded by the container thus stunting the growth of life within.

So like God’s Word.

God’s Word should be poured out into our lives, creating growth, and leak out through the way we live our lives. People should notice we’ve spent time in God’s Word. They should see our joy and peace.

We should be a little less prickly like the thorn bush and briers. We should be a little more fragrant and lovely like the juniper and myrtle.

We should leak God’s Word.

Which got me thinking about how I respond to criticism and harsh emails. And I am challenged.

It’s not enough for me to just respond properly when I am criticized. I should use those criticisms to remind me how much the world is desperate for encouragement.

I should be a little more leaky with positive emails or notes or thank yous to the businesses and ministries and staff members of my church who bless me week after week after week.

I’m not one to criticize. But I also shouldn’t be one to stay neutral and stagnant either.

In order to be the grand display of God I should be, I need to be, more holy…or holey as this case may be.

Be a little leaky this week sweet friends. The one that leaks is the one that thrives.

Prayer on August 6

No Lone Rangers

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

I remember reading a news story several years ago about an incident in Kansas. It was in the fall of the year, and a little toddler wandered out into a large field. Now, his parents did not miss him for several hours, and then realized, to their horror, that their little boy was missing. So they began to search the field.

There was tall wheat in the field and they couldn’t find him. They searched and searched until finally they called the local authorities and the word got out that this little boy was missing.

So all the people in the small town began to look and they were scattering about, just running here and there across that field. Until finally someone had an idea after several hours for all the people to join hands and make a human comb across the field.

But as they reached the edge of the field, they found that little boy’s lifeless body. He had died of exposure. The local newspaper had a picture on the front page showing a despairing and weeping father. They quoted him as saying, “If we had only joined hands sooner, perhaps we could have saved my boy.”

As you and I look at the decaying and dying world in which we live, we must realize that not one of us can live this life alone. Therefore, we must join hands. That’s why God has given us a church—a people of God to work side-by-side to expand his Kingdom and bring more people to life in Christ.

THERE ARE NO ‘LONE RANGERS’ IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. SO WORK ALONGSIDE OTHER BELIEVERS FOR GOD’S KINGDOM PURPOSES.

What excuse do you use?

If Not You Then Who ... If Not Now Then When? Remember Isaiah 6:8

Let Your Light Shine

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Have you ever noticed that when you’re in the dark, everything is confusing? Some things may look closer or farther away than they may be. And many things can’t be distinguished at all. That’s why, when you’re in the darkness, the most instinctive thing to want to do is turn on the light.

And you know, that’s the way so many people are living today in this dark world. They’re stumbling and falling and failing because they’re living in a dark and decaying world and barely managing to get around. And that’s exactly why Jesus told us as his people, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Jesus has given his people the unique privilege of being his light in the world. But the light that we shine in the darkness is not our own. We, like the moon, reflect the light of a power much greater than ourselves.

As God’s people, you and I are to simply be reflections of God’s light to a dark world. So shine God’s light by living a Christ-filled life to a watching and waiting world. When you do that, you’ll make a significant impact for Christ on the people around you!

SHINE GOD’S LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD BY LETTING OTHERS SEE CHRIST’S CHARACTER IN YOU!

Scripture

"...and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." Acts 5:40-41

What do you rejoice about?

What? Manna Again!

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not…” Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Exodus 16:4, 31

A little Israelite boy wakes up one morning and says, “Mama what’s for breakfast?”

“Manna!”

“What’s for lunch?”

“Manna!”

“What’s for dinner.”

“Manna!”

God was with his people in the desert on their way to the Promised Land, and he saw they were without provision. So God performed a miracle. Every day, he gave bread from heaven and laid it on the ground. And every day, they experienced this same miracle.

It was “manna in the morning, manna in the evening, and manna at the suppertime.” And this manna was a gift of God and proof of his provision. But they got tired of it. It was a miracle of God, placed in their lap day-by-day, but they despised the miracle.

Many Christians have that same attitude today, don’t they? They see God’s provision over and over again, yet they become so accustomed to it that they develop a sense of entitlement. And all of a sudden, God’s provision is no longer good enough for them!

Do you give thanks as you should for God’s provision in your life? Are you content with the direction he’s taking you? Or do you maybe think, “God, this is a little over your head. You better let me take over since I know what’s best.”

God is never in over his head. He knows everything you need to do and every blessing you need to do it. So trust in him to provide for you each day and be thankful when he comes through!

Rest

As Christians, we live in a performance-based culture that measures success according to how much you can cram into your life. The more you do, the more you're doing, so to speak. This mentality has, by and large, infiltrated the church, and you don't have to look beyond the church's leadership to see that. Many pastors are over-worked and burned-out, and their families suffer as a result.

This over-commitment is also the reason many pastors are more susceptible to moral failures. A recent study gave each participant either a two-digit number or a seven-digit number to remember. Then, each participant was sent down a hallway, individually, where they were presented with two options: a sensible cup of fruit, or a delicious (but extremely unhealthy) piece of chocolate cake. The participants had to choose which one they would accept.

What the study found was this: The participants who were trying to remember the seven-digit number were TWICE as likely to choose the cake.

Why did this happen? According to the scientist who conducted the study, Professor Baba Shiv, "Those extra numbers took up valuable space in the brain—they were a 'cognitive load'—making it that much harder to resist a decadent dessert. In other words, willpower is so weak, and the prefrontal cortex is so overtaxed, that all it takes is five extra bits of information before the brain starts to give in to temptation."

Jonah Lehrer, who authored the book How We Decide and included the above study in his research, summarized the findings saying, "The part of our brain that is most reasonable, rational and do-the-right-thing is easily toppled by the pull of raw sensual appetite, the lure of sweet. Knowing something is the right thing to do takes work—brain work—and our brains aren't always up to that."

In other words, the more we have going on in our brains and in our lives, the more likely we are to make bad decisions. Or at the very least, it clogs our brains in a way that makes consistent, good decision-making difficult.

This study has very real implications for Christians, but especially for leaders. All Christians must bear in mind the consequences of cramming our schedule instead of making time to rest (Ex. 20:8) and be still (Psalm 46:10): We are much more likely to make bad decisions otherwise. But Christian leaders should be especially mindful that their scheduling choices set an example for the rest of their church. When Christian leaders feed into the performance-based, frenetic pace of the surrounding culture, they risk causing their flock to do the same.

Fortunately, we do not measure our schedules according to worldly standards of success. We measure them according to a God who says that rest is good and He designed us to have it. Does your schedule reflect this truth?

Be Specific

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” -- Luke 11:9-10

I was asked to help organize prayer for Love Loud again this year so I've been reading about prayer and special programs people have written to help groups pray. The conclusion I have come to is that we simply need to be more specific.

So often among Christians today, prayer is too general. Some ask, “Lord, bless us. Lord, bless the church. Lord, bless the missionaries. Lord, bless and save the lost. Amen.” Now that’s safe praying because you never know if God answers it.

When you pray that way, you miss out on the joy of seeing your prayers answered. I talk to Christians all the time who can’t name one prayer that God has answered for them. And inevitably, it’s because they aren’t praying for specific things!

But when Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray specifically. As we see in Luke 11:9-10, we aren’t to be timid when it comes to prayer, but to present our requests to God knowing that he is going to do something great. And when you begin to ask God to do specific things in your life, you’ll see him work in amazing ways.

So the next time you pray, make a list with specific prayer points and pray boldly. Then, write the answer down when God gives it! Doing this will not only help you see a clearer picture of God’s faithfulness, it will empower your prayer life as you continue to pray boldly!

If you would like to help with the 2011 Love Loud Prayer please contact Barbara Parker for more information.

God Bless America Once More - Sunday July 3, 2011

Mayor Rob Franke Narrator

When Patriotism Interferes with Spiritual Growth

I am a patriotic guy. I love the United States of America. I catch myself in long conversations with others about her, where she seems to be going, and what that will mean to all of us and the generations that will follow.

But I am first and foremost a disciple of Jesus Christ. I’m realizing more and more that we sometimes forget that our first allegiance is to God’s Kingdom and that, in the end His Kingdom will prevail. We are “not of this world” and so we are to keep our minds “set on things above not earthly things.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a sin to care about elections or to keep up with what’s going on on the political scene. In fact, we should all vote and we should study the issues and the candidates so that we can make an educated decision. But it is downright spiritually debilitating to be more passionate about our country than Jesus Christ.

In your small group you probably have people who could talk politics all day long. Those same people lean forward and the volume rises when discussing the next election or some decision being made by the Executive branch. They’re asking you if you’ve read some blog post or seen in the paper or watched the news so that you are aware of a particular issue being discussed in Washington D.C. You receive emails from them telling you the latest political news or they send petitions your way, petitions they believe “every person who cares about this country” needs to sign. But when you talk about Jesus and His Word they clam up and you seldom if ever get an email with a scripture passage on it or a statement from something they read in their quiet time. It’s obvious that they have given more of their heart to their country than to their Jesus. If they were to do a serious check on their hearts, the cross for them looks much like a donkey or an elephant as they are more passionate about a political party than Jesus Himself. Don’t beat them up, don’t be angry with them, they probably don’t even realize this is true of them. But it may be important to point this out to them. Serving two masters is impossible and a Christian disciple can only follow fully one person, Jesus Christ. Until they have as their deepest passion Jesus and the gospel their spiritual growth will forever be stalled.

You may be asking yourself… Will Howerton shoot off fireworks, celebrate our independence, watch Saving Private Ryan to remember the sacrifices made for this country? I will. I am a patriotic guy, a pretty old-fashioned conservative fella in love with his country, even concerned about his country. But I am learning that I cannot allow my allegiance to Jesus to be interrupted by my passion for my country.