Frank and to the Point

Thanks for your enthusiasm in embracing the Building Bridges Mission Challenge! During our Awareness Phase, we looked at the biblical foundation for our mission statement through a series of sermons. Testimonies from members helped us see the relevance of the mission statement as it is put into practice. A Sunday School lesson gave us a chance to dig even deeper into the challenge. Now, as we prayerfully consider our part, the Commitment Phase begins this Sunday.

Sunday, October 15, is our Building Bridges Commitment Day. I hope you will be present to worship, travel to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge, pray for our city, and celebrate with your church family during our fellowship lunch at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (lunch is free to all church members and guests). You will want to be present for the special announcement that will be made during our luncheon.

Our goal during the Commitment Phase is to have every member of First Baptist Nashville participate in a tangible expression of support for the Building Bridges Mission Challenge. The Commitment Card has been carefully prepared to help members express their personal support—spiritually, physically, and financially—as we prepare for the Implementation Phase of Building Bridges which begins January 2007.

These are great days for our congregation. Let’s do everything we can to be positive, to strengthen the fellowship, and most importantly, to build bridges of hope to those around us.

I’ll see you at the Bridge!

See You at the Bridge!

Sunday, October 15 October 15 is a day you will not want to miss as we celebrate our commitments to the Building Bridges campaign. The entire church family will participate in a symbolic journey to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge to express our commitment to embrace the downtown community for Christ. Take note of the following adjustments to our regular Sunday morning schedule and plan to be present for this special day in the history of First Baptist Nashville! 9:00 Bible Study 10:15 Worship in the Sanctuary 10:40 Journey to Shelby Street Bridge 11:15 Program on the Bridge 11:30 Celebration Luncheon at the GEC

Annual Children's Fall Festival

The weather is getting cooler, leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, and we’re all starting to unpack our sweater boxes for the fall. Fall is a great time of year, and we like to celebrate the season at First Baptist Nashville with our annual children’s Fall Festival.

This year’s Fall Festival will take place on Sunday, October 29, from 5:00 – 7:00 P.M. in our Rec Center. This fun event is for our families and for children (of all ages).

There will be lots of exciting games where children can receive candy treats, crafts, piñatas, face painting, caramel apples, inflatables and much more. A meal will be served, provided by Jim & Nick’s, at a cost of $5 for adults and $2 for children (grade 6 and under).

Even if you don’t have a little one to bring to this event, you can still contribute by donating candy and/or volunteering for a 30-minute shift at one of the Fall Festival booths. Candy donation tubs will be located outside Connie’s office, in the foyer area, and in the McGavock entrance. We will collect candy through the morning of October 29. There will be sign-up sheets in Sunday School boxes over the next few weeks if you would like to volunteer to work one of the booths. You can also call 664-6023 or e-mail pam.nail@firstbaptistnashville.org to let us know you’d like to help.

Where Will You Be in 2007?

LifeWay Christian Resources invites First Baptist members to participate in their scheduled mission trips for 2007. A free banquet will be held January 18 to explain the various trips. For banquet reservations or more information, contact Ann Cretin, 277-8415. Upcoming scheduled trips include:

Note: LifeWay employees and retirees get a discount on the cost of the trips. Many of the trips will fill up by the end of the banquet.

Check Us Out ... in the Library!

Lizzy’s Dos and Don’ts
Lizzy’s mother was always saying “Don’t do this” and “Don’t do that.” Lizzy got frustrated and asked her to say “Do” instead. Parents often focus on the negatives and fail to offer encouragement and express pleasure when children do well. Children will enjoy Lizzy’s plea for positive reactions, and parents may learn a new way of dealing with everyday situations.

Loving Your Parents When They No Longer Love You
Adult children are faced with many issues when they become caregivers for older parents. The book covers the parent-child role reversal; legal and financial decisions; when and how much care is needed; depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease; and accepting and planning for death. Hargrave writes from a Christian perspective, and the book is easy to read as well as practical.

Have You Ever Packed a Shoebox?

It’s only October, but it’s not too early to think about how you can make a difference in the life of a child this Christmas. By participating in Operation Christmas Child, you can share the love of Jesus with a child in a troubled country. Bring a shoe box filled with small toys and gifts to church with you on or before November 12. Complete details and instructions on packing a box are outlined in the brochures available in the church foyer.

On Sunday, November 12, children will bring their boxes with them to the Children’s Feature. Pastor Frank will lead our children in praying for the children who will receive the boxes. Samaritan’s Purse will deliver the boxes to needy children all over the world and share the gospel with the children receiving the shoebox gifts.

Who are the Friendshippers?

Friendshippers are a group of senior adults who meet each Monday morning to fellowship, play games, have interesting programs and go on field trips. Programs start at 11 A.M. followed by lunch for $3 a person. Come at 10 if you want to play board games before the program starts. This group is open to anyone who is interested. Mary Allen is the coordinator.

Got Air?

It’s time to start getting ready for basketball! Our church will have two teams playing in the Nashville Baptist Association leagues—a Men’s Team playing on Thursday nights and a Pop’s Team (35 and over) playing on Monday nights. All games will be in our gym and the season begins the first week of December. If you are in-terested in playing, please contact Sam Sanders at 664-6051 or e-mail sam.sanders@firstbaptistnashville.org. The cost for playing is $20.

Lending a Helping Hand Together

Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2:3-4 (The Message)

The values expressed in this scripture are challenging to live out, even as adults. For those of us who parent, it can be especially difficult to instill these values of selflessness in our children.

Recently, our family planned its first out of town mission project together. Although we struggle to create a family environment that daily encourages reaching beyond ourselves to help others in Christ’s name, we knew that taking a trip outside of Nashville would provide an extra measure of excitement that would help engage our kids, especially our eight-year-old. As we began our planning, we asked ourselves several questions. What organization would allow our 8-, 13-, and 15-year-old children to work alongside us? How could we foster a spirit of excitement, unity, and purpose as we faced the work? What amount of time should we commit?

Appalachian Outreach in Jefferson City, TN, provided us with lots of work options in their food pantry, clothing ministry, and Bible study time. We planned two 3-hour work sessions per day with a fun break activity in between to help our youngest stick with us. We’ll always remember the joy of giving each other high fives in the middle of clothing aisles as we raced around hanging hundreds of items to be enjoyed by folks we knew needed them most and packing grocery bags for hungry families. And the names of the people we worked with—Alice, Jean-Ann, and Jim, who work long hours each day with the work we only briefly supported—will be on our prayer list for a long time to come.

Editor’s Note: October is Heart of a Servant Month at First Baptist Church Nashville. Our church offers many opportu-nities this month and throughout the year to introduce our children to missions by helping them help others.

The Reluctant Volunteer

Wait a minute! I didn’t know that was part of the job description. I had been teaching a class of married young adults about six weeks when the department director announced the month our department would be responsible for Room in the Inn. Huh? This couldn’t be leading anywhere I wanted to go. I started to squirm. Then he announced the Sunday the Latham Class would be responsible. My stomach turned a flip. This was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I didn’t dare spring to my feet and protest that I felt like I had been blindsided. I cannot describe the inner struggle I felt in organizing and leading my class members to do something I really did not want to do. I was awed and shamed by their in-creasing enthusiasm and anticipation as our Sunday approached. I matched them with my increasing dread and trepidation! How could it be that they were actually looking forward to this? Go figure!

Then the fateful day arrived, and it truly was a “fate-filled” day. As I interacted with the guests, God stripped away all the old prejudices. He showed me the error of my stereotypes. The fear and reservations I had felt were washed away in the warmth of interaction with other human beings whom God loves and died for. I was blessed to discover that some were believers who shared their testimonies with me. Others were experiencing emotional pain and living in the shadow of perceived worthlessness. What a blessing to tell them about Somebody who loves them, who stands in the rain with them, who feels their hunger and their loneliness. I wish I could explain how or why I felt it such a privilege to talk and pray with them; to give them good food to satisfy their hunger; to give them a safe, warm, comfortable place to sleep; and to wash their dirty, smelly clothes for them so they would have clean garments to wear out into the world the next day. That night was the first night of many years of my involvement in our Room in the Inn ministry. I thank God that He found a way to break through my reluctance in order to lead me into the most rewarding and fulfilling experience of my Christian life.