Pastor Danny's weekly update is back! This week, Danny looks to an important message this Sunday, the ordination of three new deacons coming, and how we can continue to care for one another with best health and safety practices. Take a look!
Hello Church!
Happy New Year! For lots of folks and for many reasons, it feels good to close the book on 2020 and welcome a new year. Makes sense … this past year was a tough one filled with many challenges. In the midst of it all —the pandemic, the unrest, the election, the economy—in the midst of everything, God has been present and faithful and doing some truly amazing things! This Sunday during worship, I will present the annual State of the Church message. Together, we will review this past year and take a look at the many ways the Lord has worked in and through Shades Mountain Baptist Church. I think you will be surprised at how many times in 2020, we’ve just stood back and said “Only God!” We will also look ahead to 2021 and discuss how we, as a church and individually, can continue to steward our resources, to harness the creativity, to push the technology and be ready to influence our world for Christ.
One great start to the new year will be our Deacon Ordination Service on Sunday evening January 17th. At 6:00 that evening in the Worship Center, we will ordain three men as they prepare to serve with the deacon body here at Shades. Greg Eudy, Jonathan Osborne, and Ryan Wilson will be ordained into Christian service during a special time of personal testimony, prayer, and commissioning. So join us in-person if you can on the 17th to support and pray for these men. If you can’t make it campus that night, you’ll be able to watch via live-stream.
Church, we are entering month 10 of the pandemic, and I know that we all are getting a little weary of the inconveniences the precautions have brought. Covering our faces, keeping our distance, missing our families, shifting our plans, no donuts in Sunday School—all can be frustrating. But I just want to encourage you to hang in there and continue to do things to protect yourself and the people around you. In the Book of Philippians, it calls us to act in “humility and count others more significant than ourselves, to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
We will get to the other side of this I promise you, but in the meantime let’s keep caring for one another by wearing those masks, washing your hands and practicing social distancing. Church leadership is regularly assessing the COVID numbers in our area and evaluating how they impact things around here. We want every Shades event—every worship service, every bible study, every gathering—to be safe for everyone who participates. And so far, the Shades family has done a great job of cooperating with guidelines and sacrificing conveniences to find a balance that allows us to meet together safely for study and worship. You have graciously accepted the restrictions and have flexed with us as we have had to revise plans …and we appreciate that. Realistically though, there is likely more of that to come over the next several months. Frustrating yes, but a small price to pay to fellowshipping with other believers and working together to advance the gospel.
I am so grateful for the people of this church and I’m excited about a new year of ministry with you! I look forward to this Sunday sharing the amazing things God did in 2020 and a very important strategic direction for 2021. You do not want to miss this! I will see you Sunday—either in-person or online.