THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER

Hadrian, my oldest, is turning 13 next week. Besides not feeling like I’m old enough to have a teenager, my wife and I are beginning to experience all the changes and challenges that can come with the teenage years. My mother used to tell me often that I had to be careful with the company I kept. She would attempt to teach me that we often behave like the people with whom we associate. Of course, I was too smart to learn the lesson in my own teenage years. But now that my own child is entering those challenging teenage years, I can see such instruction from a new perspective.

One particular challenge for teenagers is that their brains (and entire bodies) are in the middle of structural changes. Around age twelve, our brains begin structurally changing in order to balance individual identity with group identity. As we mature, our group identity is a key player in the formation of our character. “We are formed by our strongest attachments and the shared identity of our community.”[1]

As part of our work together in thinking through character transformation and discipleship, the Ministry Team has been doing a number of exercises that combine Christian faith development and relational brain science. You have probably heard about our gratitude practices. Another practice is that we are developing a list of group identity statements. These statements are a way for us to highlight the values and important characteristics of people who are a part of our community. There is a simple formula for these statements: “We are a people who ___________________.”

Each time we meet, the Ministry Team works on adding identity statements to our list. At some point, we will work on going through the list and highlighting those statements that most represent who we are at First Christian Church. The goal will be to use these statements to help us transform our character into the type of people that God is calling us to be. I also hope these statements will help us build ministries that lead to such character transformation.

I would like to share the list of Identity Statements that we have put together so far. But I would also invite you to share any statements you might add to this list with me. You merely think about our church and denomination’s values and turn them into a statement about who we are as a people of God by filling in the blank line above. You could also think about the mature Christians who have helped to teach you the faith and add characteristics about who they were as people of faith. There are no right or wrong answers. We are merely attempting to define the type of people God is calling us to be at First Christian Church in Henderson, KY.

Current List of Identity Statements:

We are a people who get our group identity from the character of Jesus.

• We are a people who act with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
• We are a people who seek to be more understanding of others’ situations.
• We are a people who admit when we make mistakes.
• We are a people who value the relationship with a person over being right.

I look forward to hearing what you might add to this list. For now, continue to pray that we be the people God would have us be and the people that we claim we are.

Peace Always,

Rev. David Clifford

                Upcoming Pastor’s Bible Studies

Rev. David has two new Wednesday evening Bible Studies coming up. These classes will meet on Wednesday nights at 6:00 pm at the church. All are invited to join us.

Faith and the Spirits of Politics: It has been said that you do not discuss religion or politics in polite company, but it seems that this advice has only made it more difficult to discuss these topics at all. This class will explore how we might approach politics from our faith. This is not a political class. We will not discuss partisan politics, various political parties, or ideologies. Instead, we will focus on the social systems and relations that involve both authority and power. This 5-week class will meet each Wednesday from Sep. 6 thru Oct. 4 at 6:00 pm.

Singing the Lord’s Song: The songs of the faith can be a deeply moving part of worship. However, our musical preferences can also divide congregations when it comes to song selection for worship. This 5-week class will explore a number of ancient songs that are found through our scriptures. We will explore songs of hope, victory, pain, and glory. No singing will be required, but we will dive deeply into some of the most ancient parts of our scriptures. This class will meet each Wednesday from Oct. 18 thru Nov. 15 at 6:00 pm.

Update on Christian Women Fellowship

It has come to our attention that the Lucy King Center is in need of snacks for families of patients in hospice. Days can be long sometimes and they like to have snacks on hand for the families. You can contact me if you would like to donate a box of individually wrapped snacks or just drop them by the church and we’ll take care of getting them there. Saturday, October 7 – US 60 Yard sale 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.   Saturday, November 4 – Bazaar

 The CWF ladies serve the families of Christian Community Outreach the third Thursday of each month. Some of things we do are: Check client in at from desk, interview the families for qualification or update changes in information, help them shop for the groceries, help them select frozen and refrigerated items available and share a devotion. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to participate in hands on missions, Serving God by serving others! If you would like to join us, please contact me and I will help you get started.

Blessings,

Debbie 

Kingdom of God Within Us, Among Us

(Genesis 11:1-9; Luke 17:20-21; 2 Peter 1-3)

Editor’s note: Thanks to Debbie Enyart for the notes and thoughts below. She and husband Ken represented FCCH at the General Assembly in Louisville last month and graciously agreed to share her thoughts and experiences.

“Kingdom of God within us, among us” was the theme for the 2023 General Assembly 2023. More than 3000 Disciples gathered together in one place and Ken and I were among them. The opening ceremony included a parade of all the regions as well as a welcome from Gov. Andy Beshear, a life-long disciple. We were honored to be the voting delegates from First Christian Church and had the best time!

Our week included business sessions, two different workshops and the worship service.

“Rev. Chaplain Owen Chandler, who grew up in First Christian Church Henderson, preached during the worship service. He shared his time in Afghanistan during the withdrawal. It was hard to listen to all the things that happened, yet, we were so proud of the person Owen has become and how he handled such tragedy. Owen is truly dedicated to his faith, family and friends. God certainly looked down on him with pride during these difficult times.

“We attended two workshops. First, The Church Has Left the Building by the Church Extension Finance Committee. They concluded that the church is only as healthy as its finances. The second workshop “Does the Church Have a Future? “The conclusion was that it certainly does but you have to answer the question, “What do you have to offer?” No one is looking for a traditional church. We also worked on a project (Shore to Shore) to try to figure out what we want church to look like.

“My closing comments are: This was a wonderful time. I have to say we didn’t meet a stranger. Loved being with David and Onnastasia. We had some time with Lon and Maria, which was fun! We also got to see so many people that we know and haven’s seen in a long while. If you ever get a chance, go to an Assemble. There’s nothing like it. You’ll have been to church!”

The Secret Place devotionals have arrived, and been placed at the sanctuary entrances.

The FCCH board will meet tonight Thursday, August 17 @ 6:30 p.m.

The “Women of the Bible” bible study has been rescheduled for August 22 @ 3:00 p.m.

 The Ministry Team will meet Tuesday evening, August 29 @ 6:30 p.m.

The Elder’s will meet Wednesday  August 30 @6:00 p.m.

 The Monday Morning Preacher podcast with Rev. David and Jada will air live on Facebook Monday, August 21 at 3:00 p.m.  Mark your calendar so that you can follow the pod cast. Go to the church’s Facebook page to watch. You can also go to our website: https://fcchenderson.com/ and select the podcast.

Children's Bulletins are at the back of the sanctuary and have activities based on the lectionary scripture readings for the day. There are two options: a "reader" bulletin for older children, and a "pre-reader" bulletin for younger kids. Some adults enjoy them too!

 The Deacon’s Fundraiser: Pork Chop dinners are now on sale.  The tickets are $10 dollars. The dinners will be available for pick up on Wednesday, September 20, 2023 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. here at First Christian Church.