Great News on Many Fronts!

In the following update, I’ve copied the information sheet that we provided for the Connect Groups on Wednesday, May 23rd.

Introducing A New Direction For The Collegiate/Young Adult Ministry:

From Brent Roycroft: Worship Pastor and Collegiate Coordinator: For sometime now our college ministry has needed some additional leadership. Simultaneously God has seen fit to provide some funds through donations during the past 3 years, specifically for college ministry.  Enough has been accumulated for us at this point to secure a college/young adult leader on a part-time basis.  Through much prayer and conversation with the pastor and leadership team, we are excited to bring on board Jason McCormick and we are thankful to provide a small stipend for him as he commits to leadership in this area. Jason, his wife, Lori, and two sons, will be joining us in ministry beginning this next week. Please join us in welcoming Jason and his family.

From the Leadership Team: We have sensed a strong stirring in the vision for the collegiate and young adult ministry. Knowing the spiritual needs of those who are at that point in their lives, we felt it was time to pursue this vision and take a step of faith. We are thrilled that the Lord brought Jason to our attention and we are confident that he will provide excellent leadership in this area. We will provide more detailed personal information soon, but wanted to give you the basic information as soon as possible. We will more formally introduce Jason on June 3^rd at the conclusion of the worship service. He will start immediately in order to be in sync with the high school graduating seniors who are transitioning into the collegiate ministry. Regarding his salary, there is no impact on the budget since the funds are being allocated from a designated account. At this point, there are sufficient funds for a stipend for one year, and we hope that the ministry will grow and allow us to push the position forward.

Other News:

In other news, the Calvary Preschool that has been in development for a launch in August, now has over 120 students and has been staffed with over twenty teachers. With the excellent response and strong programming, it is self-supporting as anticipated. We expect the impact on Sunday School classes and Wednesday evening programming to be minimal. The teachers will begin setting up their classrooms later this summer, and some rooms may be painted as we roll out the program and make the rooms ready for preschool instruction. A few of our adult class rooms are being used, and while the classes will remain in place, we appreciate their willingness to share space!

The Leadership Team has been working steadily to consider the possibility of refinancing our church loan. We’ve received bids and are pleased to announce that we have secured a new loan agreement with Pinnacle Bank. When the loan is closed, we’ll see a rate reduction of 1.23% less than our current rate, which will save us close to $30,000 in interest just for this next year alone. We are currently a little more than a year away from our note becoming due, and it made great sense to capture the rates at a lower percentage and benefit from it.

Calvary’s Got Talent

As you roll back into town from Spring Break, be sure and plan on worship at Calvary on Sunday morning, and don’t forget Calvary’s Got Talent on Sunday evening at 5:30 pm.  It’s always a huge event, lots of fun, and a great showcase for some of our member’s talent.

New Leadership Team Members

The publications this week will begin announcing the two nominations for the Leadership Team.  Here’s more information about them.

David East – he and his wife, Pam, are charter members of Calvary and have been involved and serving on many levels.  Currently David is teaching the “Not A Fan” study in the McDonald Connect Group on Wednesday evenings.  He is retired and does carpentry and contracting as time allows. He brings to the leadership team a broad perspective of business from the corporate world; and he has a servant’s heart and a deep spiritual maturity.

Joe Whitefield – Joe and his wife, Ann Lee, have been at Calvary for many years now.  He currently teaches an adult Sunday School class – one of our classes that meet at Providence on Sunday mornings.  He is employed at MTSU as the Executive Director of the Facilities Services Department. Joe is a previous Leadership Team member and brings again to the team strong analytical skills and an intense spiritual sensitivity.

These two will be presented for approval at the March Anniversary Meeting which will be held on March 4, 2012.

Getting Involved at Calvary through Servant Teams

We are strengthening our Servant Teams to prepare for the growth that God has already begun this year.  The list below includes broad areas of service opportunities from physical labor, to relations, to creativity.  There is an opportunity for everyone with many new places to plug in. 

The teams we are beginning, reintroducing or recruiting new members include: CBC Front Sign Team, Pregnancy Support Center Liaison, Reach (visitation) Team, Visual Arts Team (this is a non-performing group to help with visuals enhancement for worship and special events at CBC), Food preparation for “Meet the Staff” (a monthly luncheon for prospects), Media Library, Calvary First Impression Team (parking lot, door greeters, and bread bakers), Security, Maintenance, Landscape/Grounds, Set Up, Decorations, Way of Hope Team, Community Cafe, and the Calvary Minute Men Team ( a group to help with small repairs and minor construction around the church.)

Please pray about how the Lord is leading you to volunteer in 2012. If you are not sure about what opportunities are good for you, please see Mike Dugan to receive a spiritual gift assessment to help you find your fit.

Financial Update from Leadership Team

As we transition from November into December, we reach that point in the year where the Leadership Team begins working on the budget for next year, 2012.  Truly, the economy has had an impact on us.  We know it’s been a tough year financially for our families – and that has been reflected in our giving trends this year.  The cycle of contributions at Calvary is usually fairly consistent, with normal giving in the first five months, then weaker through the summer followed by a slight pick up in the Fall.  December is typically our best month, as people catch up or make year end donations.

This year, as sometimes happens, receipts are lagging behind expenses. We’re approximately $100,000 behind, which represents approximately %10 of our budget. In previous years, a strong December has caught us up and we’ve broken even, or come close. We need to do the same this year. This will help us plan for next year.

We’ve been good stewards with budget planning and with expenses. For the last two years, we’ve basically frozen the budget and made only the necessary adjustments while keeping the total amount steady. The danger is that as fixed costs such as utilities go up, we have to cut other areas to keep the budget in line. This inhibits growth and future planning for ministries.

Prayerfully consider your contributions in December, and let’s make this a December that not only allows us to catch up but to plan ahead.

Living Nativity Information

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.  As I think about the next few weeks I know we’re looking forward to an incredibly fruitful Christmas season at Calvary.  One change is that Calvary is not conducting the Living Nativity this year.   There were a number of factors that led to this decision and I thought it might be helpful for you to know of them.

We’ve conducted the nativity for at least six straight years and have been so blessed by your serving and  participating. It’s a huge effort by many behind the scenes as well as those who stand in the cold and display the stations of the nativity.  Even though the brutally cold weather last year led to calling it off each night, we still had to have all preparations in place and were ready to go until the weather prohibited us from presenting it each night.  This has also happened on another occasion or two such as when rain or storms leading to partial showings or nightly cancelling.

From this and other observations, we’ve learned a thing or two: One, we need to have  weather provisions, such as constructed shelters or blinds that shield the actors and scenes from wind, rain, or the cold.  The beauty of the nativity is that people can drive through – but the actors must stand in the weather, and some years that’s a tough thing to do.  As we move forward and consider next year, we’ll think about how that might be done.

Also, since it’s so intensive a production, it’s a good idea to give our people a breather this year and consider the possibility of doing the nativity every other year, or resuming it on a yearly basis in 2012.  In particular this year, the choir is conducting a major drama and musical production.  We know how hectic the Christmas season can be, and to give proper emphasis of resources and effort to the musical, it seems best to not have two weekends back to back where our people were stretched so thin.

We’ve also noticed that the attendance at the Living Nativity has been slowly trickling downward, this due possibly to having conducted it so many years straight in a row.  It seems clear that the future uniqueness and interest in the event could be enhanced by a break this year.

These thoughts give you a snapshot into the decision making process and hopefully helps you understand the reasoning for not conducting it this year.

Clearly we have a full month of opportunities for ministry and fellowship at Calvary and I’m confident the Lord will bless us as we honor Him.  In addition, I hope that you will support Christmas House and the Adult Choir in prayer and by your presence. 

Dr. Mark

Rebuilding Your Broken Marriage

I’m posting here the sermon points from yesterday.  For the full length video and the broader context of the sermon, go to our church website, www.cbcol.net and click the “watch sermons” category.

Rebuilding Your Broken Marriage: Ephesians 5:21-33

Three Assumptions:

1. A Recommitment to a relationship with Christ (or the establishment of a new)
2. Reaffirm desire for reconciliation with spouse
3. Re-consecration of the marriage to the Lord

I.  Seek help and Intervention – agree together to get help

• Diffuse the immediate crisis
• Seek Godly help and counsel
• Keep intensity level down by having a referee

II. Rework the Communication System

• Make your communication Honest but not Hostile
• Identify the core issues – what’s underneath the surface?
• Resolve issues, do not regurgitate them
• Receive coaching and clarification

III. Create a Process for Restoring Trust

• Eliminate distractions
• Define acceptable behavior
• Create and environment of openness and vulnerability
• Expect accountability as a necessity – accountable to spouse and to others
• Set markers to celebrate

IV. Draft a Plan for Personal Health

• Immerse in a healthy Christian culture/environment
• Immerse the mind and heart in the transforming power of scripture and prayer
• Eradicate unhealthy and unholy behaviors
• Conduct periodic evaluation and have consistent accountability