"Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides YOU."  
Psalms 16:1-2
 

The Pilot
A newsletter of the Pilot Mountain Baptist Association       
July 2017 
A word from Walker,

"Pastors are people too!"
 
I know that statement sounds a little silly, but allow me room to dig a little deeper. As I minister to ministers each week, I typically hear some version of the following: "My church members think I don't have real feelings or never struggle with anything." This confession reflects a deeper problem that is all too common in churches - We have unrealistic expectations of those who lead our congregations.
 
It is not that we shouldn't expect a certain level of expertise from those who shepherd the flock of God. In a sense, anyone who takes on the mantle of spiritual leadership should possess proven giftedness in communicating the Word of God to the saints, sharing the Gospel with those alienated from God, discipling people, and even a basic level of managerial wherewithal. Over my last thirty-seven years of working with churches I have seen some cases where certain people just didn't have the basic tools needed to do a good job. God has other assignments for these fine folks.
 
On another level, it is also important to acknowledge that you want your spiritual leaders to have a baseline of character. The Scripture is explicit in outlining some basic guidelines for determining who is qualified to serve as a leader in churches. In contrast, our culture seems to value extrinsic qualities like appearance and giftedness above character. Unfortunately, the church too often chooses to mirror these superficial preoccupations. The end result of this focus should not surprise us.
 
But what I am referring to when I say that churches have unrealistic expectations of their ministers is that they don't give them room to struggle and even fail. This is not to suggest that I think the church should turn a deaf ear and blind eye to serious sinful behaviors that do damage to the minister, their family and the Body of Christ. A leader should always be held to a high standard of behavior. However, because no leader is perfect they will struggle with discouragement, loneliness, doubt, fear, and anger. Troubles in the church will feel like a personal assault on their leadership style. People will say hurtful things to them that cut deep. To expect a minister to not be impacted by these things is an unhealthy and unwise assumption.
 
At the same time, they will make mistakes. How should this be handled? I have seen churches that punish their leaders for mistakes. They make it almost impossible for the leader to learn from their errors, which often causes the leader to shut down emotionally or go into a mode of pretending that ends up creating more problems over the long haul. Both grace and truth should guide us instead of meanness and innuendo.
 
So what should be done to create a healthier culture in your congregation as it relates to helping your pastor learn and grow? Here are a few suggestions:
 
1.) Make sure that they have a reasonable work schedule. Because of some of the unique demands of ministry, it is easy to let days off bleed into the next week. Church leaders should come up with an agreed upon work schedule and encourage both the leader and the members to honor it.
 
2.) Encourage the minister to build a relationship with either a counseling professional or mentor they can talk with each month about their own journey. Ministry can lead to the kind of isolation that becomes the breeding ground for serious problems. Having a "safe" person to talk with can serve as a form of preventative maintenance that keeps the leader on track.
 
3.) Proactively address situations in which the minister is dealt with in a disrespectful or unfair manner. There will be times when a minister might need to be lovingly (notice the emphasis here) confronted over a mistake. On the other hand, there are times when they are treated harshly or inappropriately. Everyone can defend themselves. But unlike any other profession I have encountered, ministers are regularly subjected to troubled people who pose as concerned parishioners. Leaders in the congregation should step in and deal with these instances in a humble but firm manner. 4.) Finally, pray regularly for you minister. Pray for their marriage. Pray for their children. Pray for their health. The church that prays for their ministers will typically have healthier shepherds.
 
If you show love in these ways to those that serve the church you have helped to create an environment where meaningful ministry can take place. We are here at the PMBA to help ministers grow and prosper so that they may serve their congregations in a more effective manner. Keep praying for us as we seek to serve those that serve you.
 
In Christ,
 
Walker
Executive Director
Join LoveOutLoud to collect and distribute school supplies to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools begin the new year on August 28.  Students across Forsyth County will be going back to school, hopefully with the supplies they need to help them focus on learning.  To make sure that each student has what is needed to begin the school year, we are appealing to our churches to join with Love Out Loud to provide school supplies through a concerted effort in strategic places.   

Love Out Loud, a non profit agency whose sole purpose is to connect community agencies and churches with one another to impact our communities in a great way, is working to create a more streamline process to provide students with the school supplies they need throughout the year.  With the help of Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools and some representatives throughout the community, Love Out Loud has created a plan that they will be unfolding over the course of the next week or two.  

How It Works:  
  1. Collection and assembly of school supplies the week of August 14-19 at pilot schools (to date: Philo-Hill, Ashley, Kimberly Park, Easton, North Hills, Middle Fork).  (a) Basic requirements: A WSFCS staff member from a school joining the process. efforts at additional schools along with other community partners are welcomed! (b) Principals determine the distribution process (filled backpack given during open house, backpack with basic starter supplies then rest distributed through the year, etc.) (3) Volunteers with time encouraged to help teachers et up classrooms that week. (d) Plan something to bless our teachers
  2. Encouragement tunnel at District Kick-Off rally: Friday AM, August 18, Dash Stadium.
  3. Distribution: At Open Houses - Middle/High Schools on Thursday, August 24; Elementary on Friday, August 25. (a) Backpacks placed in home rooms. (b) All community partners on site to support and encourage school personnel and families (before begins: help with set-up; after it is over: great families, tear down. (C) Community eat distributed AFTER open house. A punched passport (ticket) is even to each family to have punched/stamped from each stop at Open House.
  4. Encouragement tunnels at all partner/pilot schools on the first day of school on Tuesday, August 29. 
Call Karen Taylor at 336-414-0812 if you would like to connect with Love Out Loud. We can go to a community meeting together.  I will be regularly reporting back to our churches on ways we can connect. Begin collecting schools supplies to take to one of these distribution sites.  Go online at www.wsfcs.org to get a complete list of supplies needed per grade. 

Working together,
Karen Taylor
Community Missionary

 


Dr. Tommy Pillow,  Pastor
King 1st Baptist




Openings Among 
PMBA Churches

  • Union Cross Baptist Church - is looking for a a part time minister of youth and children. If you sense God could use you in this part time position, please send your resume, including relevant experience/skills to [email protected].  Hiring August 2017
  • Iglesia Bautista de Union Cross is seeking a Bivocational Pastor for a local PMBA Hispanic congregation. Please call: Miguel Alvarez @336-772-3257
  • Walkertown First Baptist Church is seeking a part-tiime Minister of Music. Please send resumes to:  Personnel Committee, Walkertown First Baptist Church, PO Box 310, NC 27051
  • Union Hill Baptist Church is seeking a part-time Pianist.  For further information, please contact:  Pastor Christopher Burcham email: [email protected] phone: 336-575-1870.
Openings Among
             Neighboring Churches

Lower Creek Baptist Church - i s 
seeking a Director of Music and Media.  Located in the beautiful foothills of NC, Lower Creek was founded in 1826. Vocal and/or instrumental music training would be helpful. 
Interested applicants may send a resume to: Lower Creek Baptist Church. 
S earch Committee, P.O. Box 306, Lenoir, NC 28645 or Or email it to:  [email protected]  We will be accepting resumes until June 30, 2017. 

Maplewood Baptist Church  is prayerfully seeking a person who possesses a definite call to ministry & a passion for spiritual growth to serve as our full-time Associate of Worship and Family Ministries.  This person will lead the Worship Ministry, Family Ministry and assist our Pastor as needed.  Should posses Biblical training with a degree from a college or seminary in music with emphasis on youth and children or equivalent experience.  To apply, please submit cover letter & resume to Personnel Committee, PO Box 576, Yadkinville, NC 27055 or email [email protected] 
for more detailed job description. 

Please note: 
Check out our website:  www.pmba.org  for job openings from local businesses. 
Please help us pray for:



David & Kathy Parsons' family  - member of Calvary upon the death of their granddaughter Kathryn Grace on Sunday, May 21st . 

Jeff Jeffers - Pastor of Friendship Baptist - mother has had a stroke.

Barbara Benge - member of Bethany Baptist Church & PMBA volunteer, - suffered several strokes and is in rehabilitation. 

Please keep these people in your prayers this month.  If you would like to have someone added to our list or if you would like to send a note of encouragement, please contact the PMBA office at 336-830- 8189 for their address.
Bread of Life Food Pantry needs your help!

Children are out of school for the summer. Feeding programs are going on across the city of Winston-Salem to help make sure children are being fed on a regular basis. However, there are still those who can't make it to a local feeding site. The PMBA Bread of Life Food Pantry is making great efforts to help our families by providing more snacks and fresh produce in our boxes each week. How can you help?  By having a church-wide food collection for the Bread of Life Food Pantry, by providing gift cards to PMBA so that our shoppers can shop for the items we are short on, by providing fresh produce out of your garden.  

Did you know that the PMBA Bread of Life Food Pantry is open every Thursday between 1 pm and 5 pm?  Did you know that we service families in Davie, Forsyth, and Stokes Counties? (Pastors, if you have a family in your community who is in need, call Karen Taylor at 336-830-8189 or email me at [email protected] and refer that family to us.  We are glad to help!) Did you know that we help support Storehouse for Jesus, Pilot Mountain Outreach Center, King Outreach Center and East Stokes Outreach Center in an effort to help feed the hungry in the PMBA area? 

Have you a community garden at your church?  Are there some families who can provide fresh produce from their gardens? Our families love to get fresh produce.  Last week we were able to provide sweet potatoes to all our clients.  These were a gift from a local organization.  What a blessing!  We love to offer fresh fruit as an alternative for our moms to feed their children.  When we get blessed with milk and eggs, we feel our "cup runneth over."

Gift cards are a wonderful way to help!  Many of our volunteers can shop for us, lightening the load on the Coordinators, Kim and Kathy Triplette and myself.  But having you drop by with your donations encourages our volunteers!  We want to show you our food pantry.  We would love you to volunteer just one Thursday a month, from 1 pm - 5 pm.  Call PMBA at 336-830-8189 and ask to speak with Karen. I will be glad to give you more information.  Try it just one time!  You will want to come again, I know!

Looking forward to your help in feeding the many children through PMBA efforts. Together we can do so much more than we can apart.

Going His way,
Karen Taylor
Community Missionary

Dixie Classic Fair
Fair Ministry will soon be here! September 25--28, 2017

The PMBA Fair Ministry Week will soon be here.  It begins the last Monday in September. As always we need many volunteers to help  at the Canteen.  I can tell you that we greatly miss our Barbara Benge, who suffered a couple of strokes since January!  She was a marvelous gem who took care of getting bag meals donated, snacks donated, and volunteers to work the Canteen.  If you can help us, please call PMBA at 336-414-0812 and leave a message for Karen Taylor to call you. We have two ladies helping coordinate the Canteen, but we need lots of volunteers. Shifts are 8-12; 12-4; and 4-8 Monday -- Thursday, September  25 through 28.

Items needed:  400 Hygiene Kits, 300 golf style shirts, 300 gently used or new blankets, AND LOTS OF SNACKS (i.e., snack cakes, cookies, individual bags of chips, nabs, coffee, creamer, sugar packets, lemonade mix, napkins, paper plates, paper towels, AND LOTS OF BOTTLED WATER! (We use around 700-800 bottles of water each Fair Week.)  We can also use devotional books, Bibles and New Testaments. 

Many of our churches will be called over the next few weeks to see if you can provide bag meals for Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. We give out approximately 300 bag meals each night.  Each bag should contain a sandwich, a pack of chips, and cookies. Some groups include a piece of fruit or a cup of mixed fruit.  I hope you will consider helping by providing 25, 50 or even a 100 bag meals. Monday night is Community Night and we invite those who need to see a dentist and have no insurance to make an appointment ASAP. Call us and schedule as soon as you can. On that Monday night we will provide snacks but no bag meals.

Looking forward to another amazing Fair Ministry Week, September 25 -- 28.  

If you know of someone who would like to receive The  Pilot Newsletter, please call the PMBA office at 336-830-8189 and give us their email address.  Or, email their contact information to [email protected].

Please share this information with others in your congregations. [In July, due to the cost of postage, we can no longer mail newsletters individually, but we will mail each church a copy that they can reproduce for you. Please ask your church secretary about this or call Shelley at 336-830-8189.]