Christmas Happens

Tony Campolo tells the story about the late Mike Yaconelli, who told the story about a deacon in his church who wasn’t deaking. He just didn’t do what he was supposed to do as a deacon.

One day he said to the deacon, “I have a group of young people who go to the old folks home and put on a worship service once a month. Would you drive them to the old folks home and at least do that?” The deacon agreed.

The first Sunday the deacon was at the old folks home, he was in the back with his arms folded as the kids were doing their thing up front. All of a sudden, someone was tugging at his arm. He looked down, and here was this old man in a wheelchair. He took hold of the old man’s hand and the old man held his hand all during the service. The next month that was repeated. The man in the wheelchair came and held the hand of the deacon.

The next month, the next month, and the next month.

Then the old man wasn’t there. The deacon inquired and he was told, “Oh, he’s down the hall, right hand side, third door. He’s dying. He’s unconscious, but if you want to go down and pray over his body that’s all right.”

The deacon went and there were tubes and wires hanging out all over the place. The deacon took the man’s hand and prayed that God would receive the man, that God would bring this man from this life into the next and give him eternal blessings.

As soon as he finished the prayer, the old man squeezed the deacon’s hand and the deacon knew that he had been heard. He was so moved by this that tears began to run down his cheeks.

He stumbled out of the room and as he did so he bumped into a woman. She said, “He’s been waiting for you. He said that he didn’t want to die until he had the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time.”

The deacon was amazed at this. He said, “What do you mean?”

She said, “Well, my father would say that once a month Jesus came to this place. ‘He would take my hand and he would hold my hand for a whole hour. I don’t want to die until I have the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time.’”

Christmas works when we let Jesus take us into unfamiliar territory — a nursing home, a neighbor’s home, or into something even more bizarre, like an attitude adjustment, a generous spirit, a helping hand. Whatever.

The point is that whenever and wherever we go, we are the hand of Jesus to others, and when that happens — Christmas happens.

The Countdown Has Begun

Have you registered yet to attend our New Year's Retreat at Caswell? If not contact Richard today.
Here's The Edge's Website

NC State Football

It’s no secret that I like college football. No, really. I consider myself fortunate to have been watching televison and was privileged to witness one of the greatest college football moments that I have seen in years. No, it wasn’t Carolina's defeat of Dook. It was actually a penalty committed during the NC State and Maryland game. Or, should I say, the EXPLANATION of the penalty. God bless Ron Cherry! Online video was created for moments like these.

Germany 2008

Are you planning on going to Germany with the youth in July of 2008? We will be attending the Baptist World Alliance’s youth conference in Leipzig (near Berlin). We also plan on doing some hands-on mission work and some educational touring. I know that you cannot commit until you know the price. I cannot get a price until I know approximately how many plan on going. (It’s a vicious circle). If you think that you would like to go (if the price is right) then give Dr. Seagle a call or drop him an e-mail this week. This event will be open to all youth and chaperones who are 13 or older (rising high school) as of time of the conference. For more information click on this link. http://www.dive-deeper.org

Check out photos

Click on the link below and to the right to see the new photos posted of the middle school retreat. High school students, send me your photos and I will put them up as well.

High School Fall Retreat

High School Retreat
Our high school students will be returning to Myrtle Beach for their Fall Retreat on November 16th. We will leave church at 4:00 PM to make our way to the Sweet Caroline Cottage in Cherry Grove, SC.

Here’s your packing list:
Bible
toiletries
one snack food for sharing
money for shopping in Myrtle Beach
sheets
games (cards, Monopoly, etc.)
towels
personal medicines and directions for taking
money for 3 meals out (2 Fast Food, 1 Hard Rock Cafe)
your own breakfast for Saturday and Sunday (Pop Tarts, cereal, etc.)
we will provide juice and milk

Congratulations to Claire A

Claire and her team won the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association’s Presidents State Cup for the under 16 division. They now have the opportunity to represent North Carolina in the regional state cup in Georgia in June. Claire played a great tournament and we all are very proud of her!!! Claire, just make sure you're not in Georgia during any youth trips!!!

Pet Peeves

Do you have a pet peeve? You know what I'm talking about, right? Things that people do or say that might annoy or frustrate us. Things that we will probably never stop from occurring, but that we wish we could stop for our own sanity. Here is a list of my personal pet peeves in no particular order. I would love to hear your list.

1. 43 check out lanes at Wal-Mart but only 2 open.


2. Duke University


3. News reports on Brittany Spears or Paris Hilton (unless they spontaneously combust).


4. Moore Boys Car commercials on the radio


5. Cell phones ringing during worship


6. The Trent River Draw Bridge being closed.


7. People who pull out in front of me in traffic, slow me down and then take the next turn.


8. Grocery carts with one bad wheel or any other non-working parts


9. Installing a toilet paper roll so that the tissue unwraps from the under side of the roll


10. Having a drawer full of unknown cords, re-chargers, adapters at my house.


11. Clothes hangers... how they get all tangled with each other.


12. Radio advertisements with the sounds of sirens, horns or screeching tires.


13. Sand


14. Getting the wrong order after waiting in a long drive-thru line


15. Getting behind someone in line who needs a "price check"


16. The thought that Albert Einstein would probably have a hard time getting a job if he were alive now, because he had messy hair and wore ratty sweaters.


17. The fact that the worst pro baseball and football players will make more each year than the best teachers and nurses.


18. How the nutritional value of any given food is usually inversely proportional to how good it tastes.


19. "Air dry" machines, instead of paper towels in public bathrooms


20. Tennis, golf, bowling or racing on TV


21. Having to balance a plate of food on your lap at a picnic or reception


22. Teachers who misspell words and/or use incorrect grammar in homework assignments and letters to parents. (I love H. J. MacDonald's "weakly calendar" that they gave to all the students this year. I prefer a strong calendar.)


23. Hearing a song you hate and it mentally replaying in your head all day long (We're soaring...flying, there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach)


24. When no one will decide where and what we are going to eat


25. Christmas tree lights that fail to burn.

Thank you, God, that we can bring our burdens, our failures, our anxieties and our frustrations to You, no matter how small or large they may be. Amen.

Middle School Retreat Info

Middle School Retreat
Those registered for the Fall Middle School retreat will leave the church at 4:00 PM on Friday, November 2nd. We will return at approximately 1:00 PM on Sunday.

Here is your packing list:
Bible
money for 2 fast food meals out
one snack food for sharing
personal medicines and directions for taking
sheets for single bed or sleeping bag games (cards, Monopoly, etc.)
pillow
toiletries
towels
money for snack bar or P/X souvenirs

Appalachian Outreach Part 3

Here's the final movie in our trilogy. Enjoy.

Mum Fest Success

Thanks to all who helped to park cars during the Mum Fest. We raised $1,485 plus one IOU for $5.00. Check out the photos. The photo link is on the right side of this page. Sorry that there are no photos at Robinson Stith lot.

Appalachian Outreach Video Part 2

Enjoy part 2 of Todd Price's video. What's your favorite part? Tell us all in the comment section and tell us what time it occurs on the counter.

Appalachian Outreach

Check out Part 1 of our Appalachian Outreach Video made by Todd Price. This is a fun look at our week of missionary service in Jefferson City, Tennessee. There will be 2 more parts added to our blog in future days, so keep checking back.

Questions that Haunt Me

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?


What disease did cured ham actually have?


How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?


Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?


Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?


Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?


Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?


Why did you just try singing the two songs above?


Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Answers to the above questions would help me to sleep better at night.

Just wondering...How do you use your cell phone?

I’m curious…for everyone that has a mobile/cell phone, how have you used your phone in the last 30 days? (phone calls, texting, email, web browsing, games, instant messaging, listening to music, watching videos, or something else?) What do you use it for the most?

And the bonus question…How many hours a day would you guess that you use it?

Click on comment and let me know. Remember, no last names.

Video of FBC Youth

A local reporter from WCTI-12 caught this video of high school students from First Baptist Church on their way to school. It seems that the students had just left a morning devotional at Bojangles. Check out Matthew 25:31-46 to see what the devotion was all about.

Help Needed CROP Walk 2007

August marked the 60th anniversary of CROP--the community hunger appeal of Church World Service--and the beginning of the fall CROP Hunger Walks season, in which tens of thousands of people in communities across the U.S. will sacrifice a few hours (and a blister or two) to raise money and show solidarity with impoverished people struggling to become self-sufficient. The CROP Walkers' motto: We walk because they walk!

This Sunday, October 7th, New Bern will be holding its annual walk. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds raised will go to help Religious Community Services soup kitchen and emergency food pantry. Our youth have been asked to prepare and operate a water station in front of our church. We need several of you to help give out water. You need to be on the front steps of the church at 3:00 PM. I hope that you can come and support this wonderful mission project.

FBC Mission Story

I received a great story in my e-mail yesterday from Arnie and Mary Lou Harrell and a recent mission project that they have been doing with some refugees from our church. I thought that you may be interested in reading. Please be in prayer for the family mentioned in this story. Also be in prayer seeking ways for God to use you today.

"It's been a wonderful day. The clock alarmed at 6:30am. We were up and dressed at 8am. The Chin people were ready to go when we arrived and we left New Bern at 8:30am. The baby, 12 months, and his mom and dad sat on the back seat. Sang and Sai sat in the second seats and Arnie and I in front, I drove. We stopped in Kinston at McDonalds and they had breakfast.

Then we drove straight to Durham, arriving there at 11:30am. We parked in the parking building and when we started into the hospital we met two nurses in the elevator. We asked how to find the sick baby nursery, and they gave us directions. Before we left the area, one of the nurses came back to us, said she worked there, and would take us to the nursery. She came in and showed us what we had to do to check in. I told her the Lord sent her to us. I think she was getting off work and on her way home...

When they went to the window, and Arnie told them who they were, the lady said "thank the Lord that you are here". They had not been able to get in touch with the family at all. None of the phone numbers that they had were correct. A nurse came in and said that she was the baby's nurse. This little boy was born on August 16th, three months too early. He had a rupture in his bowl and had to have surgery, had respritory difficulty, among a lot of other problems. He weighs 2 pounds, 7 ounces. His mother is using a breast pump and was saving her milk. It should have been frozen, but she didn't know. He is now being fed with an IV.

After we had been there a while, they connected with an interpreter on the phone, and they were able to ask questions of the parents. Arnie and Sang were in the room with them. They were in there for over an hour. Sai was tending to the older baby and he had two naps in the waiting room. I was amazed at how many people were coming and going to see their baby. It was about 5:30pm when we were ready to go. It broke my heart to have to take his parents away.

Arnie drove us to Selma where we saw a Chinese Restaurant and we stopped. Arnie and I had only eaten a piece of toast, so we were hungry. They had a nice buffet and we all ate plenty. As we were leaving, our cell phone rang. I thought it was Lauren, but it was the Chaplain at Duke Hospital. Arnie had tried to get in touch, but she was not in her office. So, he left a message with the nurse about the baby. When she talked to Arnie, she had already been to the nursery and prayed for the little boy. She said he was beautiful, and that she would go every day and say a prayer for him. They talked for a while and we got in the van. Soon we were on our way home.

It was 8;30pm when we got to New Bern, and dropped off the families. The baby was sleeping, and I know he was exhausted. Everyone was, but it had been a wonderful day. We came home, fed our animals, and now Arnie is putting the finishing touches on the Sunday School lesson. Mary Lyn has found a Bible online and thinks it is in their dialect. She is printing our lesson, The Rich Young Ruler, and tomorrow we will see if they can read it.

It's time for bed, tomorrow is another busy day."

Mary Lou

David Crowder's Band Remedy

If you are a David Crowder Band fan, like I know that you are, it's time to hop over to iTunes or a local store and pick up their new album. It is hard to imagine anyone matching the energy, creativity, versatility, and depth of DCB. Nowhere are these qualities more evident than Remedy, the new album in stores today. I was on iTunes this morning at 7:00 AM downloading and then listening while I completed some work at home.
Again and again, Remedy’s 10 tracks affirm and explore important truths: God is good, God is glorious, God is ever-present, and God is our Redeemer
The album’s title track celebrates Christ as the remedy for the world. “Such perfect love come for the broken and beat, for the wounded and weak,” Crowder sings. The track is a perfect example of DCB’s writing heartfelt and uplifting tunes about God. But the song’s most revealing lyric comes four and a half minutes in, when Crowder suggests that the Church is charged not only with sharing the remedy, but with being the remedy in our world. Here you find out why the album is called Remedy. Because we’ve been redeemed by a great God, Crowder seems to say, we should share the gospel of hope and love with our culture in both word and deed. The final track, “Surely We Can Change,” offers something of a prescription:

Where there is pain

Let us bring grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Let us be brave

Where there is misery

Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change

…Something

What else does DCB sing? Here are a few songs on my playlist not from Remedy. Maybe you will recognize them:

Here Is Our King

Wholly Yours

Our Love Is Loud

Everything Glorious (Remedy Album Version)

Undignified

O Praise Him (All This for a King)

No One Like You

For David Crowder Band, professional success, personal salvation, and a great new album aren’t enough. They want to change the world. Here's their website. DavidCrowderBand.com.

A Fun Game for Steady Hand

I can't get past level three on this. I get right to the end but keep messing up. Let me know if you make it to the end.

http://www.winterrowd.com/maze/

Once you get to the website, press the triangle/arrow in middle of screen to begin. Simply keep your cursor on the green trail until you get to the red colored base. Believe me, it gets harder as you go.

Good luck!!!!

Don't forget to tell me how far you get in the comment section below.

Memories of Caswell 2007

Here are the bloopers of "The Caswell Guys"

Check It Out!!!

You have found it, the new blog dedicated to all things related to FBC Youth!!! This your your blog!!! Make comments, start discussions, check out all of the cool stuff. If you want to have some control over the site, talk to Richard about becoming an administrator.


For those of you who may not know how to use a blog, there are a few simple steps to follow:

1. Read!

2. Click on "comments" at the end of the article that you are interested in.

3. Post a comment!...and that's it!!

Simple to use!!


A few things to remember:

1. We value YOUR opinions and please respect the opinions of OTHERS.
2. If you use someone else’s work, please be sure to credit it. Check out this MLA citation maker.
3. Please be reminded that others can see what you post. Please be responsible in your posting.
First names only (and last initial if necessary) please!
4. Be creative! If this is your first time blogging, don’t be intimidated!! If you like to comment on what other people wrote… go ahead with your bad self!!

Thanks Leslie Green for the reminders.

Have fun and come back often!

Don't Miss the Photos

To the right of the screen you will find a constantly changing set of links. I'll be on the lookout for websites that you may want to explore because they challenge you to grow, because they inform you, or because they are just plain fun. Three of the links that will always be there are to our church's website, to youth schedule information, and to photos. If you miss the photo link, you might miss out on more great photos like the one above. Go ahead and click on it...I dare you!!!

What Does This Commercial Have to do with Chocolate?

I don't know, but I love it...

How to Set the World on Fire

Phil Cooke points us to the micro-site for the new Sarah McLachlan music video, “World On Fire.” The video is a brilliant testament to justice, charity, compassion, and the power of visual media to communicate. The basic premise of the video is that a typical music video costs about $150,000 to produce—but how might that money be better used in our world? McLachlan opted to make a video that cost $15 and illustrates how the remaining $149,985 was spent. Watch the video for yourself here.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there are a lot of implications and applications for churches here. First of all, creativity can be a magnificent substitute for resources. Think about it—$15 vs. $150,000. Second, flashy gets attention, but depth wins in the end. Whether or not McLachlan’s single tops the charts, it’s a success because lives have been changed. Finally, churches have some serious decisions to make. Church leaders need wisdom and guidance from God on how to walk the line between paying for their facilities and meeting needs around the world. Frankly, it isn't easy making financial decisions for a church. It's time for our church to plan the 2008 budget. What's your advice? Feel free to comment.