galen and melissa swint

8/14/2019 Galen and Melissa Swint

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“Among Friends”

This Sunday, March 30, we are going to worshipon the front lawn together under a big tent. I’m gladabout this for several reasons. For one thing, whodoesn’t enjoy being outdoors at Springtime? FirstBaptist Decatur has one of the largest green spaces inDecatur—let’s enjoy it! More significantly, I’m glad that we’re“taking it outside” because it’s good for us and for our community.

It’s good for us because anytime we deviate from some of our regular church habits, we discover all over again how alive God is inall kinds of settings! I know you know that God isn’t confined to our church’s sanctuary or to Carreker Hall. Worshiping in a newenvironment is a nice reminder of that lovely truth. And our beingoutside is good for Decatur because it sends significant ripplesthrough any community whenever a church visibly ventures beyondits own walls. I can’t wait till Sunday!

But I’m also glad to be under the big tent this Sunday becauseit’s such a great visual picture of the church that First Baptist Decatur has come to be through the years. What is a “big tent” congregation?It’s a church that, because of an unwavering focus on the gospel and

on the towering, all-encompassing call of Christ, draws all kinds of people from all walks of life. In a “big tent” church on any givenSunday, folks with widely differing opinions about all kinds of topicssit side-by-side in worship and Bible study and lean together towardthe one reality that matters most: Jesus is Lord!

Admittedly, “big tent” churches are rare. That’s because theyrequire a great deal of patience and humility and love.

A pastor friend of mine, Brett, reminded me recently of a greatstory about the church. A man with a pile of bricks was measuringhow long and wide and deep each brick was. He threw a bunch of good-looking bricks out, saying: “I’ve got to get them all exactly thesame. I’m building a church and I want it to stand.” Some peoplethink that the way to build a church is to gather people who are from

the same economic, political, social and educational backgroundbecause then they’ll stick together. The man stacked the bricks, alljust alike, but the bricks fell down.

Around the corner there was a man with a pile of rocks. What amess! No two rocks were alike—there were round ones, dark ones,small ones, big ones and little ones. He said, “I’m building a church

that’s going to stand.” He went over to a wooden tray, took something like a hoe, and began to stir something back and forth. Itlooked like cement but that’s not what he called it. He slatheredgenerous amounts of the mixture in-between the stones. That churchis still standing. The stuff between held it together. He called it “theSpirit of God.”

First Baptist Decatur is built with all kinds of wonderful,oddly-shaped stones. The Spirit of God is doing a beautiful thing inour midst. What a privilege to be part of it!

See you under the Big Tent…

“Ministry Support”By: Aubray Abrams and Bob Williamson

Thanks to all for your support of the ministry needs of our cThis support is shown by staff and finance team working togetcontrol spending, it is demonstrated by your serving on ministryand giving of your money to make these ministry activities poWe are behind year-to-date in meeting the 2008 Budget nee

$37,682, but by the time all of our ministry costs and revenaccounted for we have $205 on the positive side of the ledgehave been able to send the team to Thailand, help with another HHouse, and collect a truck load of items for DEAM. We provided items for our clothing room, some of the items needthe Moncrief Center’s mission work, and a ton of donationscome in for the Yard Sale. Thank you for your generosity anheart for missions and ministry.

Finishing the year with the 2008 Budget met will put us in a position to accomplish even more for God in 2009. This yyear-to-date giving numbers indicate we are not far from that goal. Julie made a statement in the sermon last Sunday thattrain is ready to leave the station. We believe that to be truencourage all to help us get the cars lined up, support the eneeded by giving our resources to run the train and then get on for an exciting journey with God.

Celebrating 15 years of Service!

Gene Ealey started working at FBC Din March of 1993. Gene works omaintenance staff and does a variecleaning and maintenance tasks arounchurch. You will often see him in thafternoons and early evenings cleanin

first school classrooms and making su buildings are locked up each night. Gevery dependable member of our staff team and he is always quica smile and a warm greeting. Gene loves sports and followiAtlanta Braves. He has seen so much happen around our churche might be able to write a column for the Outlook each monthwant to take this opportunity to thank Gene for his service church and support of our ministry. Thank You Gene!



Tithes & Offerings

A Generous People2008 Ministry Action PlanWeekly Need: .....................$ 27,Received on Mar. 16:..........$ 14,0Received on Mar. 23:..........$ 29,5Y-T-D Need:.....................$ 328,3

Y-T-D Received: ..............$ 290,Surplus/(shortfall):.............. (37,5

“Years of Opportunity 2007-09

Campaign

Given to Date:...................$ 291,Bank Loan Balance:..........$ 271,2Owed to FBC Fdn.:...........$ 180,0

Congregational Life

Current Wednesday Night Series—

“The Six Hottest Moral Issues of Our Time”

Dr. David Gushee, the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics atMcAfee School of Theology, will be leading our Wednesday Night discussions throughApril 9. The schedule of issues to be discussed:

Mar. 26 – euthanasia Apr. 2 – reproductive technology Apr. 9 – terrorism & torture

March is DEAM Collection MonthEven though March is almost over we are still collecting canned goods and non-perishable fooditems for the Decatur Emergency Assistance Ministry (DEAM). Boxes are through-out the churchto collect your donations.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia General Assembly held at FBC Decatur!

Save the date for the CBF/GA General Assembly on April 4-5 here at FBC Decatur. DianaGarland, Dean, School of Social Work, Baylor University will be the speaker for this event and thetheme is “Loving God, Loving Neighbor.” Go to cbfga.org for more information or to sign up.

Women on Mission—April 8

Our next meeting of the Women on Mission will be Tuesday, April 8 with the leadership meeting at10:00, group meetings at 10:30 and the program at 11:00. Karen Dobson, the Executive Director of

Mountain View Personal Care Home, will be our speaker.

Atlanta Metro Baptist Association Celebrates 100 years!

The Atlanta Metro Baptist Association will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sunday, April 20 at6:00pm at Smoke Rise Baptist Church. The cost of the event is $25/person or $175 for a table of 8.For more information about reservations, call Bob Williamson in the church office, 404-373-1653.

Sunday School Workers’ Appreciation Luncheon

Sunday, April 27 following our 11:00 worship time, we will celebrate all that our Sunday SchoolWorkers’ have done for the FBC Decatur family. There will be lunch provided and entertainmentprovided by the band “Old Enough to Know Better.” They are local Decatur folks with a greatsound and a “classical repertoire” - Beach Boys, Ink Spots, Episcopal Hymnal and doo-wop (thatkind of classical). There is no cost for this event and all Sunday School Workers and their families

are invited to attend. We do need you to RSVP so we can prepare the right amount of meals. Callthe church office, 404-373-1653 and let us know if you can join us for this fun event.

Chastain Experience Comes to Decatur!

Chastain Park is known for its outdoor summer concerts where people enjoyelaborate picnic suppers while listening to great music. The same thing happenseach Spring on the lawn of First Baptist Church when Young at Heart sponsorsits annual big band concert. Music will be provided by Atlanta 17, with all thegreat sounds of the Big Band Era. Everyone is invited to bring their own picnicsupper and it can be as fancy or as simple as you want it to be. There is nocharge for the concert, but there is a $10 per table reservation fee if you want the

church to set up a table and eight chairs reserved in your name. You bring your own food,tablecloths, decorations, etc. The church will furnish bottled water and soft drinks. The event issponsored by Young at Heart but it is open to the entire church family and Decatur community. Thedate is Friday, May 2, the time is 6:30 P.M., the dress is casual, and we have ordered perfectweather! Tables can be reserved until April 30 or until we run out of tables.

Let’s Go To the Coast!—YAH to Savannah

Young at Heart will be sponsoring a Spring Trip to Savannah, May 12-16. We leave on Mondayand return on Friday of that week. We will stay four nights at the same hotel in Savannah butwe will be making day trips to Jekyll Island, St. Simons, and Beaufort, S.C., as well as historicSavannah. The cost per person for double occupancy is $399, and that includes transportation,hotel, all breakfasts and dinners. A deposit of $75 is due to hold your reservation. For further information, pick up a flyer in the church office. We need 30 people minimum for the trip, so signup today for a really fun week together with fellow church members.

Prayer Concerns as of March 25, 2008

Congratulations to:

▪ Marsha and Neal Britt on the birof Mallery Britt.▪ Tim and Kristen Dalton on the birth of Tyler Graham Dalton.▪ Scott and Michelle Morris on th

birth of Matthew Morris.▪ Galen and Melissa Swint on the birth of Hannah Claire Swint.Sympathy To:

▪ Nancy Peralta on the death of hesister, Joy Courtney.▪ The family of Ada Pruitt.▪ The family of Elizabeth Sells.▪ Frances Smith on the death of hsister, Helen Stinson.▪ Ann Murphy on the death of hermother, Willamette Graham.Thank You Notes Received from

▪ The Armando Family▪ Elaine Sakas▪ Evelyn Jackson▪ Genie Massingale

Wednesday Dinner Menus

April 2

Glazed Ham Steak, Potato Salad,

Steamed Carrots, Salad Bar, YeasRolls, Apple Pie

Kid’s Menu

Cheese Pizza, Salad w/ RanchDressing, CupcakesApril 9

Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes,Steamed Cabbage, Salad Bar,Buttermilk Biscuits, Vanilla PouncakeKid’s Menu

Hot Dogs, French Fries, Sweet PeCookies



Kid’s Zone

Parents’ Night Out Coming Soon!

Our next Parents’ Night Out is coming up soon. Wsponsor this event to give parents’ of our community chance to get out for an evening while their childreare taken care of in a safe and fun environment. Thevent is free for all who participate but we need at lea

75 volunteers to help us make this event success. The Spring Parents’ Night Out is April 22008 from 6:00-9:00. This is offered to children fro3 months-5th grade. If you are able to volunteer fothis event please contact Debbie [email protected] or 404-373-1653.

Just a ReminderSpring Break is April 7-11 so we will not be havingChildren’s Choir and Missions on that Wednesday,April 9.

Thank You to all our Extended Session

Volunteers!

April Extended Session Volunteers:

April 6 April 13

Hinkle CastleberryCarter ClaySalcedo Warshauer Hamrick Jones

April 20 April 27

Stanford EargleHayes PerryFewell R. LeethDuke Henderson

The Outlook , a publication of the First Baptist Church of Decatur,Georgia, is mailed to members and friends of the First Baptist family.

Main Office......................................404-373-1653

Finance.............................................404-370-7694

First School ......................................404-370-7688

Activities ..........................................404-373-2442

FAX ..................................................404-370-7692

Debbie Britt .....................................404-373-1653

Ryan Forbes.....................................404-370-7690

Julie Pennington-Russell.................404-370-7684

Kurt Varney......................................404-373-1653

Bob Williamson ...............................404-370-7687

Computer Connections:

Website—http://www.fbcdecatur.com

E-Mail—[email protected]

The Outlook , USPS 600-320, is published bi-weekly, exceptChristmas week, by First Baptist Church Decatur, GA

Postmaster: Please send address changes to First Baptist Church,308 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030

Youth Sp•t

The youth ministry is gearing up for a summer of great ministry and we needyour help! First of all we ask that you familiarize yourself with our summer chedule and keep us in your prayers throughout the summer as we travel to

and from our mission experiences and retreats. Secondly, we ask for your upport with our annual yard sale. The yard sale is our primary fund raiser ach year and we need your donations and the donations of everyone that you

know. You can help us by encouraging your family, friends, neighbors, ando-workers to donate their unwanted items to the yard sale. We will take just

about anything from cars and boats to cookware and televisions. Donations canbe brought to the church or you can call 404-219-3920 or email

[email protected] to schedule a pickup.

Big Summer Youth Dates

Yard SaleMay 29-May 31)

Junior/Senior Retreat

June 6-June 14)

Intown Mission Week

June 22-June 28)Out of Town Mission Week

July 12-July 19)

Beach Retreat August 3-August 8)

One of our newest

“Easter People,”

Kimberly Laing.

Kimberly was

baptized Easter

Sunday.

galen and melissa swint

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