"Engaging. Energizing. Empowering."
“Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life in resistance to evil and injustice, or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed.”
Rick Warren, author, pastor
Please join with our Central Texas Conference youth April 28 – June 6 to pray for youth each day for 40 days. Download/print the Prayer Guide here (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=5d7evrdab.0.0.8vuxradab.0&ts=S0476&p=http%3A%2F%2Fct.brickriver.com%2Ffiles%2FoFiles_Library_XZXLCZ%2FPrayers_Z742AMGG.pdf&id=preview). The Student Leadership Team created this initiative. Look for it on Facebook and Twitter under 40 Days of Prayer for Youth!
Well, last week we signed a lease agreement for a space to call our own (at least for the next two years). The architect has been secured and is drawing up the plans as we speak. Hopefully the plans will be submitted on Monday (April 19), the interior construction will begin in May, and we will move in sometime in June. We can’t wait as we excitedly think about the new ministry opportunities this will afford us. (Plus I’ll admit: we’re selfishly excited about not having to set up and tear down a portable worship space every week.)
Our new physical address will be 1475 Heritage Parkway, Suite 313, Mansfield, TX 76063. I hope you will come and catch the excitement with us! You have a standing invitation to join us at any time for any of our activities. Just check out our calendar and come aboard. I don’t think there’s anything more exciting than starting a new church from scratch and inviting people to get to know Jesus better! But don’t take my word for it. Come find out for yourself!
We all know there’s more than 1 way to tell a story, even within the Christian story. The story we seem to hear the loudest, though, is in the Bible Belt. That’s the segment of our society in which the Bible not only holds a traditional place of high attention, as it should, but is often explained and interpreted in a fairly restrictive way.
The Bible Belt really isn’t a particular place, but an attitude. It’s a way of looking at life that just so happens to be prevalent in this part of the country. It represents a particular way of looking at the Bible which is occasionally tied to a belief that everyone else’s way of looking at the Bible is wrong.
For instance, United Methodists tend to feel it’s essential to take the Bible seriously, looking at the big picture and overall message. The Bible Belt leans toward taking the Bible very literally, finding small, isolated bits of information to focus on.
For the most part, how do you interpret the Bible? How do you share the Christian story?
In your personal straits, when patience is exhausted; when the last handful is taken from the barrel; when complicated trials meet and hem you in; when the iron gate and the keepers before the door appear to render escape impossible— then look up, God is marching with reinforcements to your aid.
F B Meyer, 1847-1929, English Baptist pastor and evangelist involved in inner city ministry