Sharing the News:

A weekly publication of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida

December 7, 2016
In This Issue:
On That Which Is Not Needful (but Helpful)
Ray Johnson

I could write about a lot of exciting things that are happening in CBF Florida life: the mission exploratory trip that Rachel Shapard led a couple weeks ago, the food and electrical generators that we provided to the island of Grand Bahama after Hurricane Matthew, the ten churches and sixteen mission sites that were the focus of mission trips this year, the ordination of Crystal Holic this past Sunday at Church on the Drive in Orlando, the new peer learning groups in Vero Beach and Tampa Bay, the new church that is firing on all cylinders in Miami. There are so many ways that Florida's Cooperative Baptists are serving and caring across the state and the Caribbean.

I could write about those things, but I really need to mention something that is a bit more mundane, but still important for the ongoing life of CBF Florida, namely, that CBF Florida is preparing to update its Constitution and Bylaws. The Representative Assembly that met during the first weekend in November heard proposals for revisions, but the RA wanted our stakeholders to have a chance to review and comment on the proposed revisions prior to the next meeting during the first weekend in March 2017. So you can now read the proposed changes and make comments simply by visiting this link to our website.

With this being the season of Advent, with Christmas a little less than three weeks away, with schools getting out, with office parties and New Year's Eve festivities and New Year's Day football games -- you may not have much time to read CBF Florida's Constitution and Bylaws. I understand. If, however, between now and the middle of February you find that your Kindle has lost its charge or you finished your Christmas reading list or you've seen the latest episode of Fixer Upper and you can't fall asleep because of the endorphin rush, just take a look at the proposed changes and let us know what you think. 

Grace and peace,
Ray
Latest Issue of Florida Fellowship News Online Now.

Where in the world is Karen Alford (CBF field personnel from Florida)? From which country did Rachael Johnson, summer intern at Micah Center in St. Petersburg, come? Who are CBF Florida's scholarship recipients for the fall semester?

You can discover the answer to these questions, as well as read about a young hospital chaplain's discovery of the presence of God in a very difficult moment, or you can learn the value of story in connecting to CBF Florida, or one church's summer mission connection to Puerto Rico. Just click here to be connected to the most recent issue of the Florida Fellowship News.
PIVOT BAHAMAS 2017
Abaco Island, Bahamas
February 16 - 20

CHURCH WORKS 2017
Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church
February 20-22
Theme: Well-being in Ministry
ChurchWorks 2017 is the start of a three-year arc on the well-being of ministers, congregations, and communities.  As networks of Christian Educators, we want to consider the factors that help us to flourish in ministry; to thrive in order to do our work well and live out of our calling to serve God and the people in our contexts. Join your colleagues in Jacksonville as we consider the well-being of the minister and practical applications for thriving in your context. Come to be equipped, to be inspired, and to be renewed.

Registration for ChurchWorks 2017 opened on October 1, 2017. Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida will be our host. For more information, including how to register, please visit www.cbf.net/churchworks.
YOUTH MISSION TOUR 2017
First Baptist Church of Pensacola
 March 31 - April 2

Invitation to Pray
As you take time to pray this week, you are invited to remember the following concerns in the CBF family:

 

  • Pray for the people of the First Baptist Church of Tallahassee as they continue their search for a new lead pastor.
  • Pray for Donn Poole, founding pastor of Brownwood Baptist Church, who has begun immuno-therapy.
  • Continue to pray for Marti Edwards Thomas, CBF Florida's former Administrative Assistant, who continues to undergo therapy following surgery.
  • Pray for Shane Gaster, a CBF-endorsed chaplain in DeLand, who continues to undergo radiation therapy for cancer.
  • Pray for Mike Fronk, the Chaplain at Stetson University. Mike, a Stetson alumnus and friend of many Cooperative Baptists, has been placed in hospice care as he has been dealing with a chronic illness.
  • Pray for Joe Boronat, a former youth pastor for Ray Johnson. Joe has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
  • Pray for Edwin and Alma Pinder's daughter, Tametra, who was admitted to the hospital in Ft. Lauderdale with complications resulting from her leukemia. Edwin is the pastor of the New Emmanuel Baptist church in McLean's Town on the island of Grand Bahama.
Birthday Celebrations
Happy birthday to all of the following CBF field personnel, chaplains, counselors and church planters!
 
Wednesday, December 7
  • Phil Hester, Emeritus (Church Starter)
  • Robert Wilder, Jacksonville, FL (Chaplain)
Thursday, December 8
  • Tommy Deal, Dalton, GA (Chaplain) 
  • Edward Erwin, Pensacola, FL (Chaplain)
  • Shane Gaster, DeLand, FL (Chaplain) 
  • Virginia King, Columbia, SC (Chaplain) 
  • Donald Kriner, Canton, GA (Chaplain)
  • Robert Pitts, Greenville, MS (Chaplain)
Friday, December 9
  • Julie Brown, Paris, France (Field Personnel)
  • Wayne Hyatt, Spartanburg, SC (Pastoral Counselor)
Saturday, December 10
  • Cecelia Beck, Shelby, NC (Field Personnel)
  • Terri Byrd, (Staff-Alabama)
  • Beth Roberts, Chapel Hill, NC (Chaplain)
  • Gary Strickland, Sioux Falls, ID (Pastoral Counselor)
  • James Williams, Montgomery, AL (Chaplain)
Sunday, December 11
  • Ron Handlon, Rockledge, FL (Pastor)
  • Zachariah Maas, 2008, Belize (Child of Field Personnel)
Tuesday , December 13
  • Rick Landon, Lexington, Ky (Pastoral Counselor)
  • Scott Lee, Snellville, GA (Chaplain)
  • Jim R. Smith (S-Decatur)
  • Frank Stillwell, Lexington, KY (Pastoral Counselor)
  • Robin Sullens, Dallas, TX (Pastoral Counselor)
  • Will Yarborough (S-Decatur)
Payday Lending Documentary
CBF Global purchased a number of screening kits of a 33 minute documentary film on how  faith communities and non-profit organizations rose up to protect the poor from predatory payday loans in Texas. You can see the film trailer here. The documentary explains the problem with predatory lending and helps people of faith think through what they might feel called to do in response to this form of injustice. The screening kit comes with posters for advertising as well as discussion points and questions.

If you would like to show the film at your church during the Sunday School hour, on a Wednesday night or in any other format, we would be happy to mail a copy to you. Email Rachel ( [email protected] ) to receive a copy for your church.
Prayers of the People
Pivot: Turning Teams Toward God's Mission Near and Far is a leadership development resource that challenges our traditional thoughts and beliefs about God's mission. Many of us have participated in short-term mission trips and wondered both about the impact on the local community as well as on our team. From the mission preparation, on-site experience and pivoting back home, this resource trains and equips individuals and congregations to think critically about mission engagement internationally, regionally, and locally.

Our God is a God on mission. This mission is not ours. God is creating, renewing, reconciling, and restoring our world. Many are now working through Pivot with small groups in order to reframe how they join God in that mission. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 20:21)

Pray this week for conversion: Pray that God will convert your need to control to a desire to befriend. Ask God to convert your need to fix others to the hope of solidarity with others. Pray that God will convert judgment into curiosity and suspicion to generosity.

Pray that you will hear God's call and know God's transformation, through Christ's grace and mercy.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"
Isaiah 6:8
Current Job Openings 

Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship, Lexington, South Carolina
Position: Bi-vocational Pastor

Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Primary duties include worship leadership, congregational leadership, administration, pastoral care and outreach.  Please submit resume and cover letter to Melanie Ragland, EBF Pastor Search Committee, 117 Summerfield Drive, Lexington, SC 29071 or email them to  [email protected]. 

Deermeadows Baptist Church, Jacksonville
Position: Minister to Youth/Students

The Minister to Youth/Students will serve as a member of the Deermeadows Ministerial Staff to encourage and coordinate spiritual development and ministry leadership with and through those engaged in the youth ministry (grades 7 - 12) of the church. The ministry focus includes students, their parents or care givers, and volunteer leaders in the student ministry. For more information, email Terri Cooper, Chair of the Student Minister Search Team, at [email protected].