The Connection Love God. Love others. 1124 N. Webster
Fall 2015
Sunday Worship Services: 8:00 and 9:20 a.m. (Blended); 10:45 a.m. (Contemporary)
Disqualified
Taylorville IL 62568 217.824.6621
by James Jones
TaylorvilleChristian.com
One of the board games that our family likes to play involves a lot of table talk and attempts to persuade other players to come over to your side. Our youngest daughter Lillie really gets into all of this, but she does not like it when someone tries to talk over her. Sometimes she will say to our oldest daughter, “Be quiet, young lady, or you will be dis-ka-wal-ified!”
tcchurch@ctitech.com Ministry Staff: James C. Jones Lead Minister james.jones@ctitech.com
Ken Manning Worship/Seniors Minister kwmanning@ctitech.com
Zach Crowley Youth Minister zcrowley@ctitech.com
Support Staff: Steve Basham Ministry Assistant sbasham@ctitech.com
Debbie Frye Administrative Assistant
Disqualified. No longer worthy to be included. Players are disqualified because of some infraction of the set rules of a game. Only a flagrant violation leads to being disqualified. If you are disqualified, you are no longer eligible to play the game. Some people look back on their lives and think that they should be disqualified from life. The angry words. The secret addiction. The public disgrace. All of these things make people feel like they are not good enough to be included in what the rest of the world is doing. They think they have flagrantly violated too many rules. The good news that Jesus came to share with the world is that God created us all, and he loves us all. He values us so much that he wants us to know him. He wants us to share our lives with him. Though we deserve to be disqualified, God has made a way to restore us; we can be whole again. No one has done something so bad that God no longer loves them. Whatever you have done, God still calls you back. Unlike the people that we hurt who may turn their backs on us forever, God continues to reach out to us, and he makes this same offer over and over. Paul wrote these words that have become well-known: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Many people know too much about the wages of sin. They feel like death on the inside because of what they have done. Paul wants us to remember that death does not have to be the end of our stories. God offers more in Jesus. God offers a relationship that lasts forever.
tcchurch@ctitech.com Mike Profeta
In This Issue:
Upcoming Dates:
Aug. 14 Back to School Bash
Jr. High Youth mprofeta@ctitech.com
Beth Piatt Early Childhood bepiatt11@gmail.com
Susan Boyd Custodian
The Connection has changed! Current and upcoming sermon series Getting involved in ministry at TCC A missions story A.C.T.I.V.E. prayers Fall small groups Questions of evangelism and lots of photos from CIY, VBS, and more!
(Kind-5th Grade) 6 pm
Aug. 16 Promotion Sunday Aug. 23 Fall KickOff (Jr. and Sr. High), 6 pm
Aug. 30 All-Church Fish Fry
The Connection has changed! With this issue of The Connection, you will probably notice some changes. The most obvious difference is the format. The Connection looks different. You’ll see a fresh design and more photos as you look through the pages. But you may have also received The Connection in a different way. To save dollars and paper, we are working toward a more digital edition. Anyone who would like to receive a print copy is welcome to pick one up from the church office or at the welcome center, but many more will receive a copy through email or by clicking a link on Facebook or the website. Along with these changes, we have adopted a new purpose for the newsletter. In the past, we have focused primarily on upcoming or recent events, but we do similar things with Facebook, the bulletin, announcements, and the weekly email news. The Connection would serve little purpose if we just repeat all of those announcements. We are now focusing on equipping the church spiritually and celebrating the good things happening in the life of the church. Through The Connection, we would like to help you develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, and we would like to share together in how we are doing that.
The changes are not over. You will probably see us moving to a better design for electronic media in the future, but this is a start. Enjoy this first issue in the new format as The Connection continues to grow and change.
Current Sermon Series
Upcoming Sermon Series Pure Joy (September) Grow (October/November) The Best Christmas Gifts (December)
August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30
Baptism Small Groups Giving Serving
Listen to sermons online at taylorvillechristian.com
Connect and stay updated on Facebook at facebook.com/taylorvillechristianchurch
Love God. Love others.
How can you help? Getting Involved in Ministry at TCC During the month of May, James preached about the changes in ministry at TCC. It’s an exciting time as we make intentional changes to be sure we minister well to others. Now is the time for each of us to consider how to get involved, whether that’s serving for the first time, stepping into leadership, exploring new possibilities and making changes, and more. We each have the opportunity to ask ourselves how God has equipped us and how he’s leading us. Only when we each commit to following him will we come together and serve well together. If you missed any of James’ four sermons or want a review, you can listen to past messages at TaylorvilleChristian.com. He shared four basic categories of ministry: Equip, Connect, Serve, and Reach. (See the sidebar for a complete list of the ministry teams that fall under each of these categories.)
EQUIP
includes ministry teams that provide support all the other ministry teams need. They give infrastructure for the rest of us to build upon, like the foundation and framework of a house. They help answer our questions of “How?” as we plan and pursue ministry.
CONNECT ministry teams focus on relationships. If Equip ministries are the framework of the house, Connect ministries are the doorways. They invite us into each other’s lives, reminding us that even though open doors can invite messes, noise, and distractions, they allow essential conversations and interactions that provide company and accountability along our faith journeys.
SERVE ministry teams help us consider others. They are the kitchen and workshop, full of preparations to provide for people both inside and outside the house. They pay attention to others’ needs and jump in to do whatever they can to help.
Communication Finance House & Grounds Intentional Design Prayer Technology
Children Creative Worship Involvement Small Groups Young at Heart Youth
Care Community Involvement Hospitality
Evangelism Missions Special Events Welcome
REACH ministries extend a hand to welcome others. They stand at the front door and move about the home to make sure everyone feels welcome. They meet others on the front porch who aren’t quite ready to step inside. They help others pack their bags to travel to do mission work. All these ministries work together to fulfill the work God has given TCC. We plan together, build together, and follow together. We equip, connect, serve, and reach together. How is God leading you right now? How can you help?
Let’s Celebrate!
CIY Lake of the Ozarks, MO
Young at Heart Trip to the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly House
Summer 2015
VBS!
Discovering God’s Plan 4 U = Jesus
Welcome! Joyce Mills Wilbur Mills Ben Wamsley* Kristen Eisenbarth* Tom Chi Justin Wood* John Johnson* Ken Ogle* Nikki Ogle* Justin Nevins Travis Chance Stacy Chance Carl Niemann* Beth Niemann Janet Roach Jeremy Becker* Desiree Becker Lauren Jones* Tori Eckert* Kraig Ryan Lori Ryan Sara Davis* *denotes baptism
A Missions Story: When Someone Chooses a Happy Day
Les and Sarah Evans, missionaries in Mustard Seed Christian Church in Nagoya, Japan, recently shared wonderful news about their new friend Yochan: “She first came to Mustard Seed when her Gospel choir came to sing for our church service about a year ago. Ironically, gospel choirs are very popular in Japan because of the movie Sister Act, but the sad thing is even though people are singing about God, they still don’t know who he is. In Yochan’s choir, there was not even one Christian. When the choir visited our lead pastor, Andy preached a sermon about the song Happy Day, which most people know. The choir even sang it for us that day! Our pastor told everyone the reason it is a happy day is because Jesus loves us and saved us. Yo-chan heard this message and got interested in learning more. Ever since that day, she has been coming to church and studying the Bible with other Christians. We were overjoyed to see her make the decision to follow Jesus for the rest of her life, and she was recently baptized!” Stories like these are happening on a regular basis around the world. Please continue to get to know, support, and pray for the missionaries TCC support. A list is available at taylorvillechristian.com.
How A.C.T.I.V.E. Are Your Prayers? In the past few months, several groups have read and discussed Extreme Prayer: The Impossible Prayers God Promises to Answer by Greg Pruett. It was first recommended by Mike Nichols during a message at TCC in March. The elders, staff, and Prayer Team all chose to read it, as well as the Monday morning women’s study group. Perhaps you’ve seen green postcard-size cards placed around the church with the word A.C.T.I.V.E. on it. What does it mean? Pruett uses the acronym as help with prayer.
Please continue to pray for and keep in touch with… Kendra Manning Sattelbach 16
Heigligenkreuz, A-2532 N.O. Austria, Europe
Adoration: worshiping God for who he is Confession: admitting and repenting of our sin Thanksgiving: lifting up our gratitude for what God has done Intercession: praying for ourselves and others Vanquishing Satan: practicing regular spiritual warfare Extreme Prayer: maximizing all the prayer promises of Jesus Pruett warns, “Don’t read this book to get your own wishes out of prayer. God wants something so much bigger than that. He longs to draw you to his side and to show you his dreams for your life and the lives of the people around you. Do you have the courage to let him?” Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:2)
Don and Kelsey (Coker) Daniels
Commit to growing your prayer life by attending a prayer conference
klsydnls@gmail.com
Prayer Ministries will lead.
at TCC the weekend of November 13-15. Dave Butts of Harvest
Get Connected at TCC This Fall through Small Groups Do you feel as if you “belong” at TCC? Do you feel connected? If you do, are there still people you haven’t met? Do you wonder who attends other services and how you can possibly get to know them? Do you know some of the people around your age/lifestage but feel as if you’re missing out on knowing others? Do you hesitate walking up to people on Sunday mornings to introduce yourself and welcome them, because they might have been attending TCC longer than you, and you don’t want to offend them? Do you love your small group and appreciate being a part of it so much you’d like to extend that same experience to others? This fall, everyone at TCC is invited and encouraged to get involved in a 7-week small group. For those already involved in a small group, it’s a great opportunity to press pause and get to know a few others for a short time period. For those who aren’t involved in a group and might even be hesitant, it’s an opportunity to try a small group experience without a long-term commitment. For all of us, it’s a challenge to reach out to each other and build relationships that can encourage us and help us grow. You’ll soon get an opportunity to sign up for a small group. Simply fill out a card at church to indicate what evenings of the week work best for you. We’ll then organize groups based on availability and location, as well as try to combine people who attend different services.
Dates: We’ll begin the week of September 13 and end the last week of October. Time: Groups will meet for an hour. Theme: We’ll discuss I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes a Difference by Thom Rainer. Books will be available for $5.
I Am a Church Member discusses the attitudes and responsibilities of church members, addressing what will help congregations if they’re willing to focus on: praying for church leaders, being a functioning member, setting aside personal preferences, and more. Sign up, get involved, and reach out!
Questions of Evangelism For Jesus, answering a question with a question was the norm. A clear, concise answer was a rarity. On the other hand, we often get territorial, demanding, and defensive when people ask faith and issue questions. When we are defensive, we don’t invite people into conversation so that they wrestle with issues. Responding to a question with a question paves the way for a concept that the questioner might not otherwise consider. Perhaps these questions will ready you to invite good conversations. What convinces you of that? What is the strongest case for that? Isn’t it possible…? Can you explain that to me? Positive, uplifting words are healing and unifying whereas sarcasm and insult are divisive and painful. Listening might be the most useful tool we have to build relationships in which to share the gospel. It might also be the most neglected. The very skill that could prime the pump of thoughtful dialogue, open hearts to accept conviction of sin, establish common ground for further dialogue, or give insight to felt needs remains, for a lot of Christians, an untapped resource. Somewhere between total silence and nonstop talk lies wisdom. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) adapted from Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman