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Dear Church Family, I hope to see you this weekend as we continue our "Real Life Ahead: Fully Alive in Christ" emphasis. In the weeks ahead, we'll explore concrete ways we can grow as disciples of Christ and thus experience more "real" and abundant life. Several of you have asked me about the news report this week announcing the discovery of a fragment of a papyrus (ancient paper) that suggests Jesus was married. Several brief comments about this subject are in order. First, a lot of scholars are questioning whether or not this small document is authentic. But even if it is, it was written at least two hundred years after the Gospels were recorded. During that same time, many documents were written purporting to have additional information about Jesus. All of them have dubious historical reliability. If Jesus were married (and there is no serious theological reason why he could not have been), that surely would have been mentioned in the letters of Paul, or in the Gospels, or in the writings of the early church fathers. So while all of this makes for a sensational news story, I would not put much stock in it. Four weeks ago I shared a silly video of me produced by the United Methodist Publishing House. I received enormous positive response to that video. So, just for fun, I'm sharing another video with you this week. About a year ago, our youth group produced a humorous rap video called "I Be Repping BUM-C." Look closely and you might see a staff member or two and even a Bishop. If you have not yet seen this hilarious BUMC youth video, you need to click here.
Speaking of youth, I want to congratulate Rev. Deech Kirk (Executive Director of the Center for Youth Ministry Training which BUMC sponsors) on his new book, Raising Teens in an Almost Christian World. This book is a parent's guide to Kenda Creasy Dean's best selling and award winning book, Almost Christian, which is based on the National Study on Youth and Religion. Raising Teenagers in an Almost Christian World is an excellent resource for small group studies, classes, or parents at home. You can order the book from Amazon or directly from CYMT by clicking here. Deech, we are proud of your significant work with CYMT, and for publishing this new book! I hope you will join me Thursday, September 27th at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary for an inspirational evening-A Heart Touched, A Life Transformed: The Amazing Story of H.K. Derryberry. H.K., who is from Brentwood, has faced many challenges in his life. He also has the amazing gift of perfect memory of everything that has ever happened to him. To learn more about this event and H.K., click here. Finally, it was good to receive Nina Tomasieski; Kristy, Glen and Ian Smail; Sean Comerford; and Sophie Grummon as new members. Welcome to our church family. In Christ's Love and Service,
Martin