On Sunday, January 29th at 9:45am I will be giving the State of the Church Address. I believe this is important because it lets the people of St. James know where we are as it relates to finances, facilities, and ministry. This is also an opportunity to learn about where we are going as a community called St. James. I hope to see and we move together in our goal of connecting people with God in practical ways.

Dr. 3

I’ve been on YouTube looking at some of the creative ways congregations worship God. It reminded my that there isn’t one way to praise God except in “Spirit and truth.” If the Church of the 21st Century is going to reach new people for Jesus Christ we will have to really examine what we do and how we do it. It really comes down to ministry outside of the box.

Dr. 3

2011 was the year of the breakthrough at St. James and in 2012 are focus will be on “Striving 4 Excellence” The areaes of focus are:
1. Stewardship
2. Worship
3. Outreach
4. Faith development

I believe that God wants us to give our best in everything we do. The goal of what we do should never be mediocrity, after all, we don’t serve a mediocre God. Our goal should be excellence or stated another way- Perfection. Jesus told his followers, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.” Let 2012 be the year that you put your best foot forward in everything you do.  Strive 4 excellence!

Dr. 3

This is truly one of the most wonderful times of the year. This is when we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever received. God cared (and still cares) so much about humanity that God gave the very best, Jesus. John 3:16 emphasizes that point, “For God so love the world that He gave is only son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have life eternal.”

As we spend time with family eating and opening gifts please don’t forget what the season is all about. Please remember to celebrate the birth of our King-JESUS!

Dr. 3

We are less tan 10 days away from Christmas and things are starting to feel strange for me. For the first time in my life I am finally accepting that Christmas really has become a non-religious holiday and I am a part of the problem. For many the most important thing about Christmas is spending time with family. This is different from the other major Christian holiday of Easter. On resurrection day churches have more people in the sanctuary than on any other day. However, on Christmas a lot of congregations are reducing the number of worship experiences for that day because they anticipate low turnout. This is really crazy considering that Christ is Christmas and how can we celebrate it on the Lord’s Day without going to the Lord’s House. We are too busy celebrating Christmas with family, food, and gifts that there isn’t any room for Christ in our schedules on His Birthday. Sad!

Dr. 3