Crooked Creek Baptist Church

World Mission Conference returning to Greenlake, WI

2012-01-24T10:29:00.000-08:00

Starting this year, American Baptist International Ministries (IM) will begin celebrating 200 years of global mission. “This is a remarkable occasion for IM. Not many mission agencies have been able to reach this milestone. We are indeed grateful for God’s leading and guidance during our 200-year history,” commented Reid Trulson, executive director. “We are honoring the past while moving forward into the future.”

IM’s overarching theme for the next three years is Mission to the Third Power or Mission3. U.S. and Puerto Rico churches, friends, missionaries, donors, ABC regional staff, volunteers and missionary partnership network members will begin seeing this theme on all IM materials starting in 2012. “We’re excited about Mission to the Third Power because it recognizes our missiology rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” commented Trulson.

IM’s 3-year bicentennial theme, Mission3, is a short hand way of expressing the following core ideas:

1. IM’s entrance into its third century of mission

2. The mission of our triune God

3. IM’s three-fold understanding of making disciples: helping people come to Christ, grow in Christ and change their worlds with Christ.

4. Three years of bicentennial celebrations, starting in 2012

5. Three mission foci: evangelism; health & healing; and anti-human trafficking

IM will kick off the three-year anniversary with a huge 7-day World Mission Conference (WMC) May 18 -25, 2012. After a six-year hiatus, the weeklong WMC is coming back to the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, WI. The 2012 conference, which will include a 3-day call retreat, focuses on discerning God’s call to Christian service and how to make that call a reality. The theme for 2012 is Mission3: Hear the Call. (For more information go to http://www.internationalministries.org/read/38513-may-2012-hear-the-call.)

The “Call Retreat” portion of the WMC will be an experience designed to help individuals consider and discern God’s call to ministry in an international and cross-cultural setting or right here in the U.S. in pastoral leadership of a local church or missional engagement in local church communities. “International Ministries is moving into an era of renewed, proactive efforts to cultivate missionary candidates and match them with the invitations and opportunities from our international partners,” notes IM Director of Recruitment Jim Bell. “We are looking forward to meeting and interacting with persons whom God might be calling to step out into faith into new ventures of service.”

Moving forward into 2013, IM will be providing information about significant celebrations in Myanmar (Burma). Baptists in Myanmar are inviting American Baptists to their country to share in bicentennial celebrations. 200 years ago in 1813, American Baptist missionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson arrived in Burma as the first Protestant missionaries from North America. They translated scripture, led people to faith and helped establish churches, schools and medical work in Burma. The Judson’s mission and work inspired many Americans to hear the call to support mission and to become missionaries. Their ministry 200 years ago was an early part of the remarkable movement of people throughout S.E. Asia becoming followers of Jesus.

In June 21-23, 2013, American Baptists in the U.S. and Puerto Rico will gather in Overland Park, KS for the ABC Biennial meeting. IM will bring its global missionary focus to the Biennial, celebrating the missionary service of Adoniram and Ann Judson under the theme of Mission3: Embrace the Cause!

The year 2014 will include a grand finale: all the American Baptist missionaries will be brought back to the U.S. for a national bicentennial World Mission Conference to celebrate IM’s founding 200 years earlier in 1814 as the “General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America, for Foreign Missions” and to launch us into our “third century” of global mission. The conference will be held July 19-26 at the Green Lake Conference Center in WI. The theme for 2014 will be: Mission3: Rise to the Challenge!

For more information, or to use your financial resources to contribute the bicentennial events, please email david.worth@abc-usa.org.

Covenant Sunday

2012-01-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, January 29, we will be talking about what it means to be a covenant people. Based on the life of Abraham in Genesis 17 we will explore God's plan for Abraham and his family in our regular worship service at 10:45 a.m.

Immediately following worship we will head downstairs for a Crooked creek community pitch in luncheon. Please bring a covered dish to share as part of this meal. Special guest visitors from our Regional office will be with us to help us discuss our understanding of God's covenant with Crooked Creek Baptist and our purpose for ministry together.

We hope you will make every effort to attend this important meeting as much the future work of our church family will be developed in this meeting!

January 16- MLK, Jr Day of Service

2012-01-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

We all know that the third Monday of every January is now a federal holiday! But don't use this as a day to take time off-- use it to take a day to serve! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

Why not turn this into a day of service in your local community or neighborhood? Want some ideas? Check out these tools at: http://mlkday.gov/plan/actionguides/foundation.php

At Crooked Creek Baptist we will be celebrating on January 15 the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the legacy of non-violent service he offered to this country!

January 29 Pitch In and Vision Casting

2012-01-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Remember that on Sunday, January 29 Crooked Creek Baptist will be focusing on its vision for our ministry into the future. Worship this day (and all month) will focus on this topic as we seek to discern God's call for our church family. Following worship on January 29 we will meet in the Fellowship Hall for a pitch in dinner, followed by a visioning meeting with some help from our Area Church Leaders to discuss how we might define and carry out God's vision for our community! We hope you will make every effort to attend this important day in the life of Crooked Creek Baptist!

Christmas Weekend

2011-12-20T07:15:00.001-08:00

Crooked Creek Baptist will offer 2 worship services this weekend.

Christmas Eve Service 7:00 p.m.

Christmas Day Worship 10:45 a.m.

Please note that regular Sunday School classes will not meet this Sunday, December 25.

Manna

2011-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Our monthly Manna breakfast will be served this Saturday morning, December 17 from 9:30-11 a.m. The meal will be eggs, English muffins, sausage or bacon, hash browns, fruit, -- dry cereal is always available too!This meal is free and open to the public. Additionally, visitors will be able to shop through a small food pantry.

Hope to see you this Saturday!

Christmas Dinner Theater

2011-11-29T07:35:00.001-08:00

In a collaboration with Lynhurst Baptist and the Journey Church Crooked Creek Baptist will be hosting a special dinner theater on Saturday, December 10 at 6:00 p.m. Chefs Darrell and Amanda Berry will be serving Beef Stroganoff, veggies, and dinner rolls at this time. Following dinner three brief skits, one from each church will be shared. Dessert will be served, followed by "The Journal" a play designed to help us think about this Christmas season, and the arrival of Jesus in our hearts.

Donations will be accepted for the cost of the meal, and any additional proceeds will be used to support the Edna Martin Christian Center.

This is a great event to include a friend or neighbor, as it promises to be an evening of great food and great entertainment.

A Star is Born Children's Musical

2011-11-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

This Sunday, December 18 our children will be presenting the musical, "A Star is Born" during our regular 10:45 a.m. worship service. We hope not only that you will attend this event, but that you also might invite a friend or family member to join you!

Breakfast will be served at 9:30 a.m. There will be no charge for this meal, but a donation basket will be available. Proceeds will be used to help with current and future youth events. Breakfast will be served from 9:30-10:30

At 10:45 in our regular worship service our children will present "A Star is Born"

A Star is Born follows a group of children preparing for a big Christmas television production. When Sophia the actress comes to play the role of Mary, the director and the other actors try to help her understand that the "star" of any Christmas production is Jesus Christ. The main lesson is to be humble and allow God to use you for His glory.

Awakening

2011-11-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

http://abc-indiana.org/awakening/

Check out this website for an exciting opportunity for area American Baptist Churches. The requirements are not too daunting and the benefits appear great! Anyone interested in participating in this endeavor should speak with pastor Tom soon!

A link is now up on this site on the right side of your page to go directly to this page.

Volunteer Opportunity

2011-11-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

Just a note to remind you that this Sunday immediately following worship will be an opportunity to decorate the church building for Advent/Christmas. Lunch will be provided. Please contact the church at 251-7804 and let us know if you are planning on joining us!

Edna Martin Christian Center Volunteer Opportunity

2011-10-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

On Monday November 14th, CCBC volunteers will be hosting an after-school LOAVES meal at 6:30 PM for approximately40 children at the Edna Martin Christian Center. Six volunteers are needed to assist with preparing and serving food at the center. Monetary donations and prepared food donations are also needed. A sign-up sheet is available in Rainbow Hall, and transportation will be available starting around 5 PM on the 14th for those wishing to car pool.

2011-10-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Elementary School

2011-09-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Recently we met with the principal from the elementary school located around the corner from the church about supporting the school as part of our ministry. Together we developed a list of needs/opportunities that interested people could fill at the school:

Volunteer Opportunities at Crooked Creek Elementary

Thank you for looking into the opportunity to volunteer at Crooked Creek. There are many different jobs that can be done to assist our students and staff.

During the School Day:
• Helping in the office
• Assisting in classrooms with clerical jobs (cutting, copying)
• Meeting with small groups of students
• Working on math facts with students
• Reading with students
• Having lunch with students who may need a mentor
• Helping to shelve books in the library
• Help with lunch duty

Supplies to Donate for Community Closet:
• Non perishable food items for meals in a bag
• Hats, mittens, gloves
• Alarm clocks
• School supplies
• New underwear and socks
• New or gently used children’s books
• Children’s shoes for clinic
• Wal-Mart gift cards ($15-$20) for emergency situations

Evening Activities to Assist:
• Chinese New Year Celebration – Feb. 23
• Market Day distribution – monthly
• Math and Science Night – once a year, math and science games and experiments
• Open House dinner in April

If you would like to volunteer/contribute, please contact the church office!

October Sermon Series: Jesus and the Undead

2011-08-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

In the month of October we will feature a special series of sermons that will focus on the undead. Americans fascination with the undead is well documented with the popularity of the Twilight series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a series of spinoffs from classical literature such as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Not to mention classical movies such as Zombieland, and Night of the Living Dead.

While some of these stories seek to redeem the walking undead, others detail the need to overcome and defeat these beings as inherently evil. While these monsters are creations of fiction, each one of them has a source that lies deep within the heart of our own humanity. It is this source that we will focus on in this series. What does the creation of such evil beings tell us about ourselves as individuals? As a community? What does the quest for redemption reveal about our own fragile human ego? These questions and more will be examined through this series.

We hope you will join us for topics such as Spiritual Vampirism, The Walking (Un)Dead, and Jesus the Friendly Ghost.

The Well for Fall 2011

2011-08-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Well Fall 2011- 7 weeks of courses
Wednesday evenings
Dinner: 5:45-6:30
Class: 6:30-7:30

Dates: September 7, 14, 21, 28 and October 5, 12, 26

Courses available:

Adults:

1. Walk Through the Old Testament- with John Amick

2. Knitting/Crocheting- to be led by Cathy Brinkman and Missy Adams

Youth and Adults:

1. Dramatic Worship- with Tom Bartley and Nancy King

Children:

1. Christmas Musical- A Star is Born- these rehearsals will run through the performance on Sunday, December 18

The Well- Wednesday evening Well meetings will begin on Wednesday, September 7 and run through October (no meeting October 19) for children, youth, and adults. Dinner will run from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. with the recommended donation being $2.50 for adults and $1.00 for children with a family maximum of $6. Children will be preparing for our Christmas musical, “A Star is Born”, Youth will be involved in a workshop for dramatic worship, and adults will have a choice of a Bible study (to be announced) or a class on knitting/crocheting with Cathy Brinkman and Missy Adams.

Children's Musical Rehearsal

2011-08-04T07:30:00.001-07:00

Rehearsals for our Children Christmas Musical will begin on Wednesday, September 7 at :30 p.m. "A Star is Born" will be presented on Sunday, December 18 at the 10:45 a.m. worship service.

There are lots of speaking parts, solos, and even room for one young adult/youth (either male of female) in this show as well. Children from preschool to 5th grade are welcome to join us for rehearsals every Wednesday evening! Please contact Chris Finley, and Tom or Jessica Bartley if you are interested.

A Star is Born follows a group of children preparing for a big Christmas television production. When Sophia the actress comes to play the role of Mary, the director and the other actors try to help her understand that the "star" of any Christmas production is Jesus Christ. The main lesson is to be humble and allow God to use you for His glory

Continuing Sermon Series

2011-07-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, July 31, we move into the second triad of plagues that affect Egypt. Specifically, an invasion of flies come and destroy parts of Egypt that are not directly under God's protection. This means that the land of Goshen, occupied by the Israelites, is spared the invading hordes of pesky and destructive insects. Pharoah temporarily relents but tries to control the exiting Israelites, but to no avail as Moses carefully and artfully outmaneuvers the Egyptian monarch. This is a great series that details extensively God's passion for the Chosen People and the length God will go to to rescue and release these people from the bonds of slavery.

James McGrath's Israel Trip

2011-07-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a round-up of the posts on his blog, Exploring Our Matrix, which Dr. James McGrath shared during his recent trip to Israel.

New Sermon series

2011-07-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Starting this Sunday we will be studying and thinking about the Exodus story with a specific focus on the plagues that God brought to Egypt as part of the Divine plan to free the descendants of Israel from bondage. From the first plague when the life giving waters of the Nile turn against the Egyptians to the final plague of the death of the firstborns males we will review these plagues as part of God's plans to fulfill a promise made to the patriarchs.

Baptism this Sunday

2011-05-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

This Sunday in our regular worship service we will be baptizing Isaiah Appleget who came forward on Palm Sunday to publicly declare his decision for Jesus Christ. Isaiah is the son of Jennifer Appleget and the nephew of Tom and Jessica Bartley. Congratulations Isaiah, and welcome to the family!

Welcome New Member

2011-04-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Palm Sunday Isaiah Appleget came forward to make a public decision for Christ and to request baptism. Isaiah is the son of Jennifer Applget and the nephew of Tom and Jessica Bartley. Welcome to the family Isaiah! The ordinance of believers baptism is now scheduled for Sunday, May 15.

Welcome New Member

2011-04-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist rejoices with Shaun Whitlow at his decision to come forward and accept Christ as his personal Savior and request baptism at this past Sundays service (April 10). Shaun is the son of Amanda (Eilert) Berry and will be baptized on Resurrection Sunday, April 24 int he regular worship service! Welcome to the Kingdom!

Spring Break

2011-03-28T08:13:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that with most of the schools in our area being on Spring Break there will be no weekly meetings of the Well, Worship Team, or Children's musical rehearsal. We are still meeting on Sunday mornings with education starting at 9:30 and worship at 10:45!

Celebrate?

2011-03-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

What if our church was more about celebrating people than it was about helping, reaching out, or feeding people's needs?

What if we took the time to sit down and talk to the people that live in the community around our church and listened to them as they shared their desires, hopes, and passions as well as the challenges they face?

What would happen to them if we encouraged them to act on those passions? If we could be a place where people could share their gifts and allow us to celebrate in that sharing?

I believe that we can be this kind of a church. Not a church that passes judgment, looks down upon, or condescends to help the "less fortunate." But a community where grace is freely shared and practiced. Where everyone has value as a part of God's created order and a function in this world. Where the gifts, talents, and resources of EVERYONE would be lifted up and celebrated as they are shared.

What are those gifts you possess right now? What makes you feel so alive that when you do it, you don't want to stop?

What are you good at? Prove it! Share it! Let others celebrate it with you!

Church is OPEN!!

2011-02-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our snow removal crew we are able to open the office this week with clear parking lots! Beginning, Tuesday, February 8 the office will resume its normal schedule (future weather permitting). Thanks for your patience!

Childrens Resurrection Musical

2011-01-25T10:55:00.001-08:00

Rehearsals for our Spring Children's Musical will begin on Wednesday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m and run on Wednesday evenings through April 13. There will be an additional Saturday practice on March 19 from 10 a.m. til 12 noon and one MANDATORY dress rehearsal on Saturday April 16 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. Showtime will be in our regular worship service on Sunday, April 17 at 10:45 a.m. (We ask that the children be here this S...unday at 9:30 a.m. for warm ups)

This musical relates the events from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday in the very setting where the resurrection occurred - a graveyard! For their "Saturday Service," kids are helping the caretaker at Good News Gardens prepare for the annual Easter sunrise service. As they rake, sweep, scrub and clip, the children recall the highlights of the Passion Week with joyous, high-energy songs, ranging from Broadway to hip hop to salsa and thoughtful compositions detailing Jesus' suffering and sacrifice for our sins. This highly evangelistic musical details Jesus' last days and will help children fully appreciate the gospel, the Good News from a Grave!

Baptismal Sundays

2011-01-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

This Sunday Crooked Creek Baptist will be celebrating the baptismal of David Peacock in our regular worship service! David came to accept Christ right before Christmas this year and this Sunday we will immerse him in the baptismal waters. On January 30 we will baptize Colin Webler, who also recently came forward to accept Christ as his personal Savior. Colin is in our youth group and made this decision after attending the Youth Winter Blast in Greenlake, WI. Welcome new members!

Ministry Marches On

2010-12-13T09:56:00.001-08:00

Last week I sent out a brief message asking for help for a couple of youth who were wanting to go to Winter Blast in Greenlake, WI. One of those particular youth come from a home with parents who are professed atheists. In less than an hour, we received enough responses to cover the necessary expenses for those youth, and have received further donations to cover other incidental expenses for this trip.

On Sunday, we had our third young man come forward to accept Christ as his personal Savior and request baptism. Other children are also asking more questions and I believe more decisions will be forthcoming...

This Sunday we will present our Christmas S.O.C.C.E.R. Team musical which is a collaboration of the children and adults choruses. I can not say enough about all of the hard work put into this musical by the kids and adults and their leaders, Chris Finley, Vicky Thompson, Cindy Gandy, Jessica Bartley, and Missy Adams, as well as our adult choir leader, Lois Roberts.

The church is also hard at work preparing for our Manna program which will feature Morning Manna, a hot breakfast free of charge to our local community, and Manna on the Move, which is a grocery kit each visitor will receive that will provide them with enough food for the rest of the day. Lots of volunteer hours are already being poured into this ministry and it is exciting to see the opportunities that are developing with this outreach.

The church building looks beautiful thanks to the hard work of so many people who have decorated for Christmas. I am grateful to all of the hard work that has gone into, and continues to be made for our Christmas season.

I feel blessed to be a part of a church such as this and to be able to participate alongside such wonderful servants of Jesus Christ. There is so much to be thankful for around here and I praise God for these people who make up our church!

Tom Bartley
Pastor

Inclement Weather Cancellations

2010-12-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

In the event that services at Crooked Creek Baptist become suspended due to weather, this information will be made available to our church family on the local NBC (Channel 13) and FOX TV stations. The decision to cancel services will be made by the pastor in consultation with the Stewardship Team of Crooked Creek Baptist and will be communicated at least 2 hours in advance of services when possible.

Morning Manna

2010-11-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, November 23, 2010 several members of Crooked Creek Baptist met to discuss the increasing requests for food assistance from our local community. During this discussion, the member developed the following proposal:

Morning Manna- Crooked Creek Baptist would begin in January of 2010 a three month exercise offering brunch on January 15, February 19, and March 19 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. These meals would be free of charge and open to the general public, with specific emphases being shared with the local elementary school and apartment housing in our immediate area.

Manna on the Move- in addition to being served a brunch every person would also be able to bring home a take home bag filled with enough food to feed one person for the rest of the day. This offering would also be at no cost to recipients.

Those in attendance immediately volunteered to work together, and accept anyone else, who wished to help serve our community in this meal service. It is our hope that through this offering, we might be able to demonstrate God's love to those who might visit us for this meal and help them stretch their already tightened budget.

Pitch In Dinner and Chrismon Service

2010-11-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

Crooked Creek Baptist will be hosting a family pitch in dinner on Sunday, November 28 at 5:00 p.m. The church will be providing the main course, table service, and drinks. We ask our church family to bring a side dish or dessert to share. During this time the Chrismons created by the ladies of Crooked Creek will be on display in the Fellowship Hall.

At 6:00 p.m. we will move upstairs to decorate the Chrismon Tree in a special worship service. Information about the Chrismons will be shared and we will sing some of our favorite Christmas hymns as part of the service! This service should end by 7:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Believer's Baptism

2010-11-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

This Sunday Crooked Creek Baptist will be celebrating the ordinance of believer's baptism. Mason Corlette will be baptized as part of the 10:45 service. Hope you will be able to join us for this event!

Cloud of Witnesses Insert

2010-10-18T10:18:00.001-07:00

Be prepared to answer this question Sunday, October 24 at church:

A Cloud of Witnesses

Next Sunday, October 31 we will be speaking about the cloud of witnesses who have shared the gospel with us. And we would like to hear about those witnesses that have contributed to the worshipers at Crooked Creek Baptist. Would you take a moment before the offering and share a thought or memory of a saint who has helped you reach this point in your faith? We would like to share these memories in celebration next week with our entire church family!

Name of this person:

Relation to this person (friend, family member, co-worker, etc..)

How did this person witness to you?

Edna Martin Christian Center Volunteer Opportunity

2010-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday November 8th, CCBC volunteers will be hosting an after-school meal at 6 PM for 60-65 children at the Edna Martin Christian Center. Approximately 6 volunteers are needed to assist with preparing and serving food at the center. Monetary donations and prepared food donations are also needed. A volunteer sign-up sheet is now available in Rainbow Hall. Transportation will be available starting at 4:45 for those wishing to car pool.

Lunch Bunch Meeting Sunday, October 17

2010-10-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

This Sunday the Lunch Bunch will be meeting immediately following worship. Children up to grade 5 are welcome to head downstairs where Mary Dickerson will be helping to provide a meal for the kids and adult helpers. Following lunch this group will be planting some flowers around the building to help prepare for next spring!

Crooked Creek Elementary Help

2010-10-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

After School Achievers is a program at Crooked Creek Elementary School that takes place from 2:30-6 every Monday through Thursday at the school. Students who stay for this time get help with homework, tutoring, or just have someone read books with them. From 5-6 p.m. the children have an activity time. The principal, Kim Piper, has asked if there are volunteers from Crooked Creek Baptist who might be willing to help out with some of these children. Volunteers would have a lot of flexibility as to the day, time, and duration of the assistance.
Reading is a great way to bond with children and helping kids to read, and introducing them to the love of reading is a gift that can help children throughout their lives. By volunteering to help these children, we could make a difference in their life that will affect them for a very long time. We hope you will consider how God might be calling you to make a positive difference in a young child's life!

Volunteers will need to go through a background check before they can begin working with the children. If you are interested in participating in this activity, please contact Pastor Tom Bartley.

Special Mission Giving

2010-09-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

At the Leadersip Council Meeting the Outreach Team presented their recommendations on how to distribute the first 10% of the funds received from the Ted Leslie Estate. The groups and organizations listed below are recipients of these gifts:

International Ministries- To support the Bolick family in Chile and the Bonilla-Giovanetti family in Spain

Cvelich Family- Missionaries serving in North Carolina who have a direct relationship with Crooked Creek Baptist

Crooked Creek Elementary School- to help out with specific needs of children/teachers in financial difficulties

Cetola Family- Missionaries with direct church ties preparing for a ministry in Italy

American Baptist Camps in Indiana- we support two Indiana camps: Indian Creek and Tippecanoe

United Mission- United Mission is the foundation of our denomination and we are presenting 20% of the total distributed.

Edna Martin Christian Center- The EMCC ministers to families in a downtown location and is in the process of relocating to a new site. United Way will match our gift during EMCC's fundraising drive and will be given in honor of retiring Executive Minister, Larry Mason.

Lunch Bunch Reflection

2010-09-27T06:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with many of the children who attend services here at Crooked Creek Baptist. The occasion was a trip to a local pottery place where the kids selected and painted their own piece, which will be fired this week and returned to the children this coming Sunday. The plan is to bring their artwork forward so that the church can see the result of their efforts before allowing the children to bring their creations to their own homes.

But what really hit me as we were deep in the process of selecting first each child's individual piece and then color schemes was the investment that each child was making in their respective masterpiece. They were well behaved, respectful, helpful, calm, mannered, and supportive of one another. As I was watching them work together and comment on what each other was doing I was overwhelmed by just what a great group of children we had present.

And that great group of children did not happen by accident. It is obvious that a strong group of adults has invested a lot of time, care, love, and energy into the development of this group of children. And as I sat here and type this I remain overwhelmed at just how "nice" the day was. These good kids are a reflection of very good parents, who also remind me that we have a lot of great people here at Crooked Creek Baptist.

Now this is not to say that we do not have our share of challenges here at our church, but it does make me proud to be a part of such a great group of adults and children who demonstrate faith in more than just lip service. I am encouraged that the pathway we are discovering is one that seems to balance the desire to model good Christian behaviors while being a part of the world.

I do not say this often enough, but I am proud to be the pastor of Crooked Creek Baptist Church and see many reasons why this church should be proud of what God is doing in them and through them.

World Mission Offering 2010

2010-09-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Throughout the month of October, Crooked Creek will be receiving the World Mission Offering (WMO). This year’s theme, In Haiti and in the World, celebrates the American Baptist churches’ inspired and heartfelt response to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The WMO is giving special attention to Haiti this year because it mirrors the ministries IM missionaries and partners are also doing elsewhere. This offering is more crucial than ever to sustain those ministries “in Haiti and in the World.” Our contributions will help to support global projects, Christian partners (including churches, schools and hospitals), and missionaries in Haiti as well as in more than 70 other countries around the world. To learn more, go to www.internationalministries.org.

Church Picnic

2010-09-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

I would like to express my thanks for all of the people who worked so hard to make our Church Picnic happen this past Sunday. It truly was a blessed event. Here are some of the thoughts I have taken from this event:

1. It was a chance to catch up with some lapsed members: I had an opportunity to talk with one couple who were long time members but had been uninvolved in church life for some time. It was a chance to connect personally and I saw that I was not the only one to take advantage of this opportunity. It is my hope that with these connections we can find ways to continue to serve families and couples like this.

2. It was great outreach to our community: There were several visitors to our picnic that came from the nearby community. I have had heard some conversations about possibly offering a community meal on Saturday mornings or for lunch and the response from the community seems to add fuel to this movement. There is work we can do right in our own back yard.

3. It was a wonderful time for Fellowship: One of the results from the listening conference was a request for more events such as this. It was wonderful to see people eating together, talking and laughing, and visiting to re-affirm some important connections in our church family.

4. It was a time to practice service: We had so many people show up that we had to set up extra tables and chairs. I noticed this and began to set up a table or two. Before I could finish, so many people joined in I soon found myself without any work to do...

5. It was a great time to experience the Holy Spirit: At one point I stopped and just listened to the general hubbub of the room. There were people talking, laughing, visiting, and caring for one another and it made me think of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Sure, we skipped the tongues of fire, but I believe that God's Spirit was present in this event.

I know I missed tome other great moments that took place. Feel free to share those as well. I am proud to serve as the Pastor of Crooked Creek Baptist Church, alongside so many other ministers of Jesus Christ.

Tom

Exciting Sunday

2010-09-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

This Sunday leadership for worship will be provided by the women of Crooked Creek Baptist. This is American Baptist Womens' Sunday and we will use it to celebrate the contributions to ministry from the women inside and outside of our church family.

Following the service is a special event in the life of our church: Our annual church picnic. Grilled food will be provided, there will be games (and a bounce house) for kids of all ages, and entertainment will be by Joshua's Vision! The fun will begin immediately following worship. We will look for you this Sunday!

Qu'ran burning and the Ground Zero Mosque

2010-09-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

I was living in Evansville when the original 9/11 attack took place in New York and Washington. I remember being horrified as I watched the smoke pour out of the Towers and the fear as both buildings fell, killing thousands of people. I was outraged that terrorists would commit such an atrocious act, giving up their own lives to cause so many people harm. Regardless of their religious pretense, these men did not operate out of anything remotely resembling God's love.

Even more disturbing to me was the next day, when local media announced that some Evansville resident tried to to drive his pick up truck into a mosque in the city. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to reach the mosque, but did some damage to the grounds around the building. At our church we reached out to the Muslim community and offered a public forum for the community to help them understand the difference between the Islamic faith and the radical version of those terrorists who carried out these acts. At that meeting, I remember one of those leaders translating the word, "Islam" explaining that it means "peace."

Recently there has been a lot of coverage over a proposed Islamic interfaith center that would be a few blocks from the Ground Zero. It has been billed as the Ground Zero Mosque (which is incorrect, as its not at Ground Zero nor is it a mosque) and Americans have called its proposal insensitive. I do not understand how a proposal for understanding is insensitive.

And then there is the pastor who wants to burn copies of the Qu'ran. I am beginning to wonder if this is not some media ploy, as he seems to received responses from the Roman Catholic Church and the President of the United States. What does this man hope to accomplish by this event? Is this an act of love?

The good news about God's intervention in the world was a message of pure unbounded love. At a point in human history where creation stood condemned by sin, God provided a solution to the issue of sin through Jesus. In his earthly life, Jesus carried out miraculous healing, reached out to the lost and the dispossessed, turned the social order upside down by talking to prostitutes, lepers, and other sinners, and called people to a radical form of love (Love your neighbor as yourself). His death on the cross was a sacrifice that allowed for an ultimate restoration between God and creation.

Regardless of how we feel about the Islamic faith: whether it challenges the Christian faith and Bible, or whether our roots speak of serving the same God, I find it deplorable that Christians on both sides of this issue would evoke such hatred, fear, and suspicion. It runs contrary to the example that Jesus set for us. In our worship services we have been studying the 10 Commandments to discover that these words from God are not so much about rigid obedience as they are gifts from God on how to live as God's Holy Chosen people. These commandments are a gift from God, a pathway and invitation to live righteously. To be a zealous follower of Jesus Christ is to practice radical love.

It is my hope that as a people of God, those who worship at Crooked Creek (and those who might read this) would use these events as a focus to re-affirm our commitment to Christ Jesus and the love expressed through his life, death, and resurrection. We have been given a new, transformed life inundated with the power of God's love through the Holy Spirit. May we live this new life that we have been given!

Women's Sunday- September 19

2010-09-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN BAPTIST WOMEN’S SUNDAY
September 19, 2010
We are planning a very special program for you on September 19 involving a number of women from the church. Our special guest this Sunday will be Debbie Kelsey, a missionary from Padua, Italy who works in the field of Human Trafficking along with her husband, Jim. Debbie will share her experiences with us via DVD, as she cannot be with us in person due to other commitments in Ohio that Sunday. Debbie came into the field rather reluctantly, after meeting with Lauran Bethell, a pioneer in the field of Human Trafficking. When God continued to open doors for Debbie to talk to women in red light districts, Debbie realized God was calling her and preparing her for a new ministry focus to provide training and encouragement to prostituted women in Italy. Debbie and Jim minister to women, many of who are Africans whom have been trafficked or prostituted.
The International Labour Organization reports that at least 12.3 million adults and children worldwide are in forced labor, bounded labor, and commercial sexual servitude at any given time and that 56% of all forced labor victims are women and girls.
After drug trafficking, human trafficking is tied with illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and the U.S. Department of State estimates that in this year it will become the number one crime worldwide.

If you are a woman attending Crooked Creek, you are an American Baptist Woman, part of a proud heritage of women around the state, the country, and Puerto Rico. Besides programs for women, there are programs for AB-GIRLS and Young Adults.
The national American Baptist Women's Ministries mission is to provide vision, training, and resources to women and girls in American Baptist churches.
Every American Baptist church shall have a vital women's ministry program that empowers women and girls to become and develop as God's person, build God's faith community, and serve God's world.
As servant leaders, we serve American Baptist churches by encouraging existing vital ministries with women and girls and empowering churches to build such ministries.
Our ministry is based on certain non-negotiable values that form a foundation and criteria for all that we do.
• We provide Christ-centered ministries.
• We strive for excellence in all we do.
• We practice faithful stewardship.
• We are relevant for women today.
• We assure that our diversity (clergy/lay, age, geographic, and racial/ethnic representation) as a denomination is represented in our ministries.
• We affirm and encourage the use of spiritual gifts.
• We recognize the worth of all women and girls.
• We value our American Baptist family relationships.
•
AB GIRLS Covenant
Remembering the words of Christ, who said,
"I am the light of the world," and also
"You are the light of the world"
I promise
to grow in Christ
to share my gifts of time and money, talents and prayer, and
to serve with others in God's world,
So that the Light of Life may shine through me.

Organizational History
American Baptist Women's Ministries became a national organization 1951, with the formation of the National Council of American Baptist women. But women's ministries in our denomination began long before 1951. For well over a century, women have been strong partners in the American Baptist family-raising money for missions at home and abroad, sending missionaries, and ministering in local churches and communities.

Through the years, women have shaped their ministries to meet emerging needs. The Woman's Baptist Society, organized in 1871 (the forerunner of the Woman's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society), focused on women in other lands. The Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society, formed in 1909, centered on evangelism in the United States. The World Wide Guild was established in 1915 to train, inspire, and empower girls for Christian ministry and leadership; it became a program of Educational Ministries. In 1992, AB Women's Ministries affirmed and accepted all responsibility for the girls' ministry and organized it as AB GIRLS.
The Meaning Behind Our Logo
The logo symbol for American Baptist Women’s Ministries is biblical. The woman depicted in the logo embodies the New Testament women who were among the first to know and believe that Jesus Christ is God’s son. They encountered the cross; their commitment deepened. Commitment leads to the waters of baptism. The woman steps from her baptismal waters confident in her belief in Christ and in her God-given talents and abilities. She carries the lighted lamp, serving the Christ of the empty cross, the light of the world.
The symbol portrays unity. The cross resembles the cross in the American Baptist Churches logo. AB Women’s Ministries is part of the larger church body. The water, symbolizing baptism, unites Christians. The water also symbolizes the oceans and rivers of the earth that connect us with sisters and brothers around the world and reminds us of our global interdependence.
The symbol is filled with life. In the cross there is new life in Jesus Christ. Water sustains physical life. The living water in the person of Jesus Christ is life. The woman, a life-giver herself, carries the light and lift of Jesus into the world.

United Mission Giving

2010-08-31T06:20:00.000-07:00

American Baptist United Mission
“Risk Taking and United Mission”

Rev. Dr. Ron Vallet, Ambassador for United Mission from ABC/NYS
September 2010

When we are united in God’s mission,
our United Mission will grow.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-45)

If we are to carry out God's mission as stewards of the gospel, it is necessary to take risks in using the resources entrusted to us. The parables of the treasure and the pearls tell us that we are called to give everything to possess the treasure of the kingdom. “ …he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Willingness to Risk

When the reality of what God has done for you and me sinks in, we are motivated to respond to God. Individually, we can “strive first for the Kingdom of God” only after we have known and experienced the reality that God loved us, sought us out, and bought us at a great price. Then it is love responding to love.

Churches also are called to take risks. Charlie W. Shedd (The Exciting Church Where They Give Their Money Away, Word Books) described a risk-taking church business meeting in which the charter members voted to be a dollar-for-dollar mission church. This would mean that for every dollar they spent on the local program, a matching dollar would be sent elsewhere. As a consequence, purchase of any item meant double payments.

But that was not the end of the story. In their denomination, such a dollar-for-dollar commitment did not include building funds. Capital improvements did not need to be matched. When the people gathered to vote on whether to build a million-dollar sanctuary, they heard a challenge from a young officer, new on the church board. No one there, including the pastor, was expecting strong leadership from him. He stood to sound this call: “When I was elected, the church treasurer told me, 'Man, don't ever forget there's one reason this church gets money. That's because it's giving so much.' I'm on the committee to raise this million dollars. If we vote to build our sanctuary, here's my proposition: I move we go after two million, and give the extra million to build new churches where they're needed. Like on the mission field. Or places in our own country where they could use a hand from us.”

Heated discussion followed. When the ballots were counted, 93 percent had affirmed the young officer's vision. They followed through with the matching of dollars. Often they were not sure where the money would come from. At the end of one year, the officers borrowed ten thousand dollars to give away because they had faith in the basic principle that when the outgo meets with God's approval, God will provide the income needed.

In two of the churches I served as pastor, each congregation voted to move toward 50-50 giving, increasing the amount going to wider mission by one percentage point a year. Both churches followed through. In the latter pastorate, the giving to wider mission increased from 10 ½ percent to 22 percent of total church income over the span of my 11-year pastorate there. There was risk in adopting such a budget each year. A risky budget makes a theological statement.

Vision to Risk

In the Old Testament, the year of Jubilee came every fiftieth year. The Jubilee ideal called for letting the land lie fallow, the remission of all debts, the liberation of slaves, and the return of family property to its original owner. Jubilee represented the kind of daring vision called for on the part of God's people. Risky? Yes.

The fourth chapter of Luke describes Jesus' inauguration of his public ministry when he returned to his home synagogue in Nazareth and rose to read from Scripture. The text he chose was a combination of Isaiah 61:1-2a and part of Isaiah 58:6:

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
(Luke 4:18-19)

This is the first extensive act of Jesus' public ministry in Luke's Gospel. Jesus' words give a description of the work that he would do, defining him as one empowered by the Spirit of the Lord. The hostile response of the crowd foreshadowed the rejection that he would face. After reading, Jesus announced, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). That was risky. The crowd grew angry and tried to kill him. Jesus had identified himself and his ministry with the whole Old Testament tradition of God's deliverance of those forced into the margins of human existence. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” was to announce the Jubilee year. The placement of this statement at the beginning of Jesus' ministry strongly implies that we are to read his whole life and work in this manner.

Jesus' life and ministry made these words real. Jesus associated with and ministered to the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. He befriended outcasts, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, lunatics, and poor people. In short, he took risks and he was criticized. Three years later, he was crucified!

Yet we tend to be bound by the restrictive mold of the age in which we live. William Keucher (An Exodus for the Church: From Yesterday to Tomorrow, Judson Press) illustrated this concern in his words about a man who had the task of blowing the noon whistle at the factory where he worked:

[The man] made it a point to check his watch every morning with the most accurate chronometer in a certain jeweler's window. One day out of curiosity he stepped inside the jewelry store and asked the owner if his chronometer was set by Western Union, Arlington Time Signal, or Naval Observatory Time. Surprised at the question, the jeweler replied that he did not use any of those sources; he simply set his chronometer by the factory whistle that blew every day at noon!

The great need of our time is for men and women individually, and the church collectively, to envision themselves as stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to take the risks necessary to break out of restrictive molds and to live out the implications of the Reign of God.

When Jesus told his disciples that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, he did not mean that the church is safely protected behind its walls so that the gates of hell cannot destroy the church as it stands in isolation, retreating from attacking forces. The text tells us that the gates of hell represent the stationary aspects of the picture, and it is the church, which is to be the moving, mobile force. The church can only attack; the gates of hell are on the defensive.

When the church goes on the offensive, people will have a vision of the ministry of the church as part of God’s mission, not simply the ministry of an institution and they will provide the funds needed. People will support God’s mission, and with more than money alone.

“What I have to do,” said Paul Tournier, “is to put my signature at the foot of a blank page on which I will accept whatever God wishes to write. I cannot predict what he will put on this blank contract as my life proceeds--but I give my signature today.” When we realize that we are the treasure for whom Jesus died, we will treasure doing God's will, at whatever risk. Are we willing to take the risk of increasing our support of American Baptist United Mission, even when as now the economy is in difficulty?

Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

United Mission giving supports our region—ABC of New York State—which makes it possible for the region to provide more effective support for your church and others. In fact, most of the income for ABC/NYS comes from gifts to United Mission. Our giving to UM pays the major parts of the salaries of our region’s staff who provide:

* staff service for search committees;
* assistance resolving church conflicts;
* field ministers to maintain contact with individual pastors and with associations and small groups of churches;
* camping ministry;
* resources to assist your church in growth and spiritual health; and
* education and training of pastors, youth, and lay leaders in congregational empowerment.

UM giving also supports:

* The Office of the General Secretary
* American Baptist Men
* American Baptist Women’s Ministries (through the Love Gift)
* ABC Information Services
* National Ministries (now American Baptist Home Mission Societies)
* International Ministries
* Colleges, Seminaries, Homes, Hospitals, etc.
* Career Centers
* Mission Resource Development
* American Baptist Historical Society
* American Baptist Personnel Services
* Orientation to ABC Life

Reminder: If you need a customized remittance form with your church’s name, address, and PIN number, please contact Mary Schwarz, Administrative Assistant of American Baptist Churches of NYS. Her phone number is 315-469-4326, extension 10.

A special note

The news for giving to United Mission Basics is encouraging this month. The latest data I received from Valley Forge show that total giving from ABC/NYS congregations to United Mission Basics for January-July 2010 increased by $15,641, or 6.1%, compared to the same period in 2009! This is a strong improvement from a month earlier.

As you know, almost 65% of our United Mission giving comes back to ABC/NYS.

The news is not as good for total United Mission Basics giving of ABC/USA in the same period: the giving decreased by $447,639, or 7.3%.

THANK YOU for your support of American Baptist United Mission!

Ron

P.S. You are encouraged to share this letter by e-mail or in print with other leaders in your church.

Student Pastor

2010-08-18T09:42:00.001-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist is pleased to announce the addition of student pastor, Tanya
Douglas Cain. Tanya is currently involved in a Masters of Divinity program at Christian Theological Seminary. Her educational background includes a Masters of Social Work from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Indianapolis. Tanya is retired from the Indianapolis Public School system where she served as a Police Lieutenant. She is a member of Light of the World Christian Church and has previously served as a student associate pastor in another church in the Indianapolis area.

Tanya officially begins her responsibility with Crooked Creek Baptist on September 1, 2010.

Childrens Christmas Musical

2010-08-10T06:29:00.001-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist is pleased to announce plans for a Childrens Christmas Musical this season! We will start rehearsing on Wednesday nights of the Well (beginning September 15) and will continue through to December 15 (taking off the Wednesday nights of Fall Break October 20 and Thanksgiving Week of November 24)! More information will be forthcoming as this musical will involve both the children and the adult choir!

Lunch Bunch State Fair Trip

2010-08-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

This Sunday the Lunch Bunch will be headed to the State Fair. Crooked Creek has discounted admission tickets for a price of $6. We will leave immediately following worship for the State Fair. Kids participating should bring enough money for lunch at the Fair. We will return to the church by 5:00 p.m. Permission forms are available in Rainbow Hall.

Quarterly Business Meeting

2010-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist will be having a quarterly business meeting this Sunday, immediately following worship.

Night at the Indianapolis Indians

2010-07-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Its a great American tradition! Baseball under the lights at Victory Field! Crooked Creek Baptist is going to the Friday, August 27 Indianapolis Indians game! We will be purchasing group box seats at a discounted price of $12 per person (we need 25 tickets to get this price) for this night as the Indians play the Toledo Mud Hens. Following the game, a special fireworks show will be displayed for those fans remaining. This would be a great event to invite a friend or neighbor! Your family can sign up for tickets in Rainbow Hall of the church, by calling the church office, or by sending an email to the church with the number of tickets requested by Sunday, August 15.

Hope you will join us for this event!

Holiday World Permission Form

2010-07-27T07:00:00.001-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist Church Permission Form
Holiday World trip, Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Starting time: 7:30 a.m.
Ending time 11:00 p.m.

I, _____________________________ am the parent or legal guardian of __________________________
born on ________________, 19___. I warrant that I possess all the rights, powers, and privileges of a
parent or legal guardian necessary to execute this document with binding legal effect.
As the parent or legal guardian of ____________________________, I certify and affirm that I have been
completely and thoroughly informed that as a child attending Holiday World, my child
will participate in certain activities which carry with them a degree of risk and danger. I acknowledge and
understand that Holiday World may offer other activities not listed above that present
similar risks or dangers to my child. I consent to my child’s participation in these activities. I acknowledge
and understand that this PARENTAL AUTHORIZATION, CONSENT AND RELEASE has the same
force and effect regardless of whether the activities engaged in are free or if a fee is charged. Further, I
personally assume, on my child’s behalf, all risk in connection with said activities for any harm, injury or
damages that may befall my child as a result of my child’s participation in the activities, whether foreseen
or unforeseen, and I still wish to allow my child to proceed with the activities.

In consideration of my child being allowed to participate in these activities and to use
Holiday World equipment and facilities, on behalf of my child, I hereby voluntarily
release, forever discharge, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Crooked Creek Baptist Church,
from any and all claims, demands, or causes of action, which are in any way connected with my child’s
participation in these activities or use of Holiday World, equipment and facilities.
I understand that it is my obligation to inform the church of any and all health considerations or medical
conditions that would restrict my child’s participation in any and all activities while in the care of
Pastor Tom Bartley. Should the need for medical attention arise the church will attempt to
contact me as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

In cases of emergency, I further consent to the examination or treatment of my child by a physician duly
licensed to practice medicine in the United States of America or any health care professional duly licensed
to provide heath care serviced in the United States of America for medical care and services deemed
necessary by the doctor, its agents, servants, and employees. I give permission to the doctor or health care
professional to provide any and all medical care they deem, in their professional opinion, to be necessary. I
agree to pay for any and all medical expenses incurred as a result of the use of this consent.
I acknowledge by signing this document, that if anyone is hurt or property is damaged during my child’s
participation in these activities, I may be found by a court of law to have waived my right to maintain a
lawsuit against the church on the basis of any claim form which I have released them herein. I agree that if
any portion of this agreement is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions remain in full
force and effect. I have fully informed myself to the contents of this PARENTAL AURTHORIZATION,
CONSENT AND RELEASE by reading it before I signed it.

______________________________________ ____________________________ _______________

Signature Printed Name Date

Contact Number in case of an emergency ______________________________________

Special Guest Speaker this Sunday!

2010-07-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, Crooked Creek Baptist welcomes the Rev. Don Scott, Area Minister and Associate Executive Minister to the pulpit. Don has spent many years working with local and regional churches in areas of missions and stewardship and will be sharing with us during our regular morning worship service. Additionally, Don will be wrapping up the final week of his Sunday School leadership with us preceding the service at 9:30 a.m. in fellowship hall!

Holiday World Trip

2010-07-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Youth Holiday World Trip

On Tuesday, August 3 youth in grades 5-12 are welcome to join us for a day at Holiday World-Splashing Safari in Santa Claus Land, IN. Youth will need to meet at the church at 7:30 a.m. this Tuesday morning as we will all ride together for this event. We plan to return to the church at 11:00 p.m. the same day. Cost for this event is $35 per youth (this includes a lunch of sandwiches, chips, and fruit) but a special $5 discount can be earned for each youth who brings a non-Crooked Creek Baptist friend to join them. To make it easier, we will also offer the friend the same price of only $30! To register for this event, youth will need a signed parental permission form and the fee paid to the church turned in by Sunday, August 1! Permission forms will be available through the church office or online at our website.

Worship Concert

2010-07-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, July 18 the Worship Team from Crooked Creek Baptist will be at the First Baptist Church of Plainfield, Indiana for an evening of praise and worship. The concert will start at 7:00 p.m. with Crooked Creek's Team starting of the evening. Plainfield's Worship Team will take over from there and close the night out for us. There is no admission fee for this event. Come an add to the blessings of this event!

Building Open

2010-07-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Professionals continue to work on the building to restore it for regular use. At this time there is no danger from leaking gas lines, however water and gas are currently not available. These technicians hope to have everything back on line and working properly either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning...

Church Building Closed

2010-07-13T07:57:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, July 13 the church building will be closed due to leftover fumes from a gas leak. There is currently no danger of an ignition or explosion, but the leftover fumes can lead to other health issues. By Wednesday, July 14, professionals will be in the building to trace the gas leak and provide for the safety of the building. We will keep our church family updated as events continue.

Welcome New Member

2010-07-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist welcomes our newest member of the year, Darrell Berry. Darrell stepped forward yesterday to unite in Christian fellowship with us as a fellow believer in Christ. Darrell is the husband of Amanda (Eilert) Berry and father of Shawn. Welcome Darrel!

Thirsting for God

2010-07-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

With the help of a team of volunteers a special worship service will take place on Sunday morning, July 11. Focusing on the them, "Thirsting for God" from John 4:4-15 the service will explore the passionate longing and yearning for the presence of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. As part of the service, we might be able to experience the power of thirsting ourselves. During our regular fellowship time between our education hour and worship, we will continue to serve our regular offerings of a meal, but will not be serving any juice or coffee. The intent of this is to allow our church family to experience in a very real way this "thirsting for God." Of course we are not going to prohibit drinks from being brought in and would not recommend this for people who have health issues related to this, but we do hope that this one time practice might help people arrive at a better understanding of what it means to thirst for God.

Stewardship Emphasis in July

2010-06-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Associate Executive Minister of ABC IN-KY, Don Scott, will be present with us during our education time on July 11,18, and 25 to share some thoughts on Stewardship. He writes:

While we often think of "stewardship" as being connected to money, the truth is that stewardship is much broader. In fact, stewardship is often equated with discipleship since it pertains to all of life. Please join us in Sunday School for a three week emphasis, starting July 11, as we focus on the stewardship of relationships, the Gospel, and, yes, money.

All adults and youth (grades 6-12) are welcome to come and join us for this thought provoking and life changing series during this time as we meet in the Fellowship Hall.

Vacation Bible School

2010-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Vacation Bible School for Crooked Creek Baptist will be from Monday June 28 and run through Thursday, July 1 from 9 a.m. til 12 noon! We will be using curriculum from Gospel Light called SonQuest Rainforest and it will have a rainforest motif. The mission project for this week will be connected with the Penny Project, a mission designed to help raise awareness of poverty in America by American Baptist Churches. The Penny Project seeks to raise awareness of the extent of child poverty throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, and support for programs and ministries responding to the needs of children in poverty. Inspired by the example of the youth of First Baptist Church in New London, N.H.—who raised 60,000 pennies to represent the number of children living in poverty in their state—National Ministries is encouraging the youth of American Baptist Churches USA to raise 14 million pennies to represent the number of children living in poverty in the United States and Puerto Rico. The link to the site is: http://www.nationalministries.org/penny_project/

In the city of Indianapolis, the 2008 population is given as 798,382. Of that number, 16.5% live at or below poverty. 24% of these unfortunate are under the age of 18. This means that in the city of Indianapolis, 31,616 children live at or below poverty. And so our goal at Vacation Bible School this year is to collect one penny for each of these children. Our goal then is collect 31,616 pennies. We will track this collection and let you know as we reach toward our goal of raising awareness of poverty in Indianapolis, and of our attempt to take action to change these statistics.

Rev. Joy Amick Bio

2010-06-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Rev. Joy Witek Amick was born in Wayne, NJ and attended the Preakness Baptist Church. She attended Presbyterian-related Muskingum College (now University), New Concord, OH, earning a BA degree in elementary education with a minor in sociology. She spent 13 years teaching elementary school in OH and NJ, part of that with the Dept. of Corrections, teaching GED and life skills to high school students.
When she felt God calling her to the ministry, she attended Drew Theological Seminary - a Methodist school in Madison, NJ, graduating with an MDiv (Master of Divinity), and pastoring the Upper Freehold Baptist Church in Imlaystown, NJ for almost 10 years before moving to Kirklin, IN to be with her newly married husband, John. (John and Joy met at a singles conference for pastors at Green Lake, Wisconsin, our American Baptist Assembly grounds.) For several years, John and Joy resided in the Hudson Valley area of New York state, where Joy was the interim pastor of First Baptist Church of Middletown, NY.
Recently, they moved to Noblesville, IN to be closer to family (Cathy Lynn and Alan Peacock) and grandchildren (David and Evan Peacock). John’s son and daughter-in-law, David and Amber Amick, live in Nebraska, with Dylan, 7, and Dawson, 3, and our newest addition, our first granddaughter, born 5/25, Abigail Renee.
Joy is enjoying decorating her first “home” with turtles, garden flags, flowers, and family pictures, and making the house a comfortable and inviting home.
She continues to search for God’s guidance in pastoral placement, and is also working toward an MLIS (library science) degree online at Rutgers University, expecting to become a theological or academic librarian upon graduation in 2012.

Rev Joy Amick will be our featured guest speaker on Sunday, June 13. Joy has recently begun a ladies Bible study that meets every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. here at Crooked Creek Baptist

An Inviting Church Community

2010-05-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

At our last Leadership Council meeting I spoke to the Council about our activity as an inviting church. Since becoming the pastor here at Crooked Creek I have been involved in several local community theater productions around the city. Aside from absorbing a lot of my free evenings it has presented an opportunity to minister to a community of people who I believe are being overlooked by too many faith communities. Listening to my fellow cast-mates I have been overwhelmed as the stories they have shared of neglect, abuse, racism, intolerance, and out right dismissal. They have been treated harshly, ridiculed, threatened, and ignored.
And they have been very wary of local churches. Afraid of being judged, condemned, or rejected most of these people would never consider that part of the answer to their life struggles could be found in a loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I have been amazed at how quickly they have responded to a simple showing of love, care, or affection and believe that these simple offerings have led to positive changes and adjustments in their life.
It is truly a humbling experience to attempt to share this Love of God for another person to discover how quickly and thoroughly some can cling to this small hope of grace and acceptance. I am excited to see how this acceptance is leading these same people to take great strides in their own personal lives and in their relationship with Christ.
And it leads me to wonder what others are doing to help establish God's Kingdom...what are doing to share this love and acceptance. To whom are we reaching out? And are we reaching out with the desire to communicate God's love or with a desire to fill the pews at our church?

LOST and the Church

2010-05-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

The television show LOST has captured the interest of many viewers over the past six years. The series finale, which aired on May 23rd, has polarized fans. The Sunday school class I teach at Crooked Creek Baptist Church hasn't focused specifically on LOST (yet!). But we certainly have focused on issues which have polarized Christians every bit as much as the LOST finale has polarized fans. And some of those topics are ones that LOST itself has explored: the meaning of existence, the nature of good and evil, the relationship of Christianity to other religions, and the afterlife.

I thus thought it appropriate to post on this topic, both to invite LOST fans in the Indianapolis area to a church that makes room for those sorts of conversations, and to share with friends at church (as well as anyone else who is interested) links to things I have written and interviews in which I am quoted commenting about LOST.

USA Today: "God, the Devil and TV's 'Lost'"
MTV News: "'Lost' Finale: Experts Talk Impact Of Religion On The Island."
E! Online: "Can the Lost Finale Satisfy the Fans?"
Journal Sentinel: "To The End, Fans Lost in TV's 'Lost'" and "Lost Theories Revealed"

I have also blogged extensively about LOST for the past several years on my own personal blog, Exploring Our Matrix.

Whether you are a LOST fan or not, Crooked Creek Baptist Church welcomes you to join us for worship, and for conversation about interesting and important topics!

Special Guest Speaker for June 6 service

2010-05-26T04:45:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist Church welcomes special guest speaker, Rev. John R Amick. A graduate of Western Carolina University, NC, in 1969, John earned his Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Seminary, KY, in 1973. Active in American Baptist Churches USA ministry since 1972 in Indiana and New York, John has served as Area minister in NY 2003-2009. John has been married to Joy Witek Amick since 1997.
John is the father of 2 children, Cathy and David, grandfather of four healthy little boys and a new baby grand daughter as of May 25. John and his wife Joy, are both members of Crooked Creek Baptist.

Sunday School Discussion Starters on Immigration

2010-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday May 30th, Rev. John Amick will be leading Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class. The topic will be immigration, and to provide a starting point for discussion, Rev. Amick has provided links to relevant documents which may provide a starting point for conversation on this topic.

Letter Addressing Immigration and Immigration Reform (American Baptist Churches USA)

Immigration 2009 (National Association of Evangelicals)

A Bipartisan Call for Immigration Reform (Evangelicals for Social Action)

Immigration Reform (Church World Service)

Immigration Reform Agenda (America's Voice)

Christians For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Articles on Immigration at Ethics Daily (Baptist Center for Ethics)

Handbells

2010-05-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful addition to the service the handbells were yesterday at church! While I love to listen to John Logan's organ prelude, it was so wonderful to hear the bells ring through the same time. It certainly set the tone for worship yesterday. I wonder if anyone realizes the ministry that these bells serve? Besides being beautiful to listen to two of our ringers are not members of our church. This means that every time these two visitors join us its an opportunity for us to minister to them, and not just in music. It does not mean that we are recruiting them for church membership (I know at least one of them already has a church home) but we are doing what we can for their Kingdom participation.
And this is important for us and for our ministry. If our primary goal is to build Christ's kingdom then church membership has to be secondary at best. And when we provide opportunities for people to serve through handbells, Vacation Bible School, or other ministries, we boost participation in God's Kingdom.
I am grateful to the leadership of Sylvia Gormley and the rest of the handbell choir for their ministry to our church family and for their ministry that reaches others as well!

Joshua's Vision Gospel Group for May 30

2010-05-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist welcomes special performing artist Joshua's Vision to worship Sunday morning, May 30.

In the Bible Joshua used music to tear down the walls of Jericho. Joshua's Vision from Alexandria, Indiana wants to continue that idea by encouraging a life-long commitment to Christ.

Joshua’s Vision is Andrea Hughes, Bryan Hughes, and Coy Hutcherson. With a commitment to God’s word first and close vocal harmony second, Joshua's Vision has been thrust in to the core of the gospel music world. heir goal is to help tear down the walls of personal struggle, sadness, and resistance to God’s healing hand. Joshua's Vision believes that a relationship with Christ is the only way to live eternally with our God in heaven. They pray their music reinforces the joy and grace that His Word can bring.

In their short time together, they have been blessed to perform with Gaither Music Friends Woody Wright and Stephen Hill as part of Woody and Friends concerts. They have appeared on stage with such notables as Jim Hill, Triumphant Quartet, and The Blackwoods. Joshua's Vision was also honored to be invited by Gloria Gaither to be a part of the Gaither Fall Festival as a featured performing group in 2009. We continue to be humbled by the doors God has opened as our ministry grows.

Joshua’s Vision performs Christian favorites AND original selections. Their uplifting music is a combination of accompanied and a cappella music. The music of Joshua’s Vision also breaks down the walls of generation gaps. In addition to touching all age groups, this trio has gained a positive reputation for the genuine delivery of God’s message through them.

For more on Joshua's Vision, please visit their website at:
joshuasvision.com

Fireside Club Outing

2010-05-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

The next luncheon gathering for the Fireside Club will be on Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 p.m. at the Grindstone Charley's in Speedway, IN. Interested participants can sign up in Rainbow Hall. Those requesting a ride can indicate on this form and will need to meet at the church at 12:30 on this date.

Vacation Bible School

2010-05-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

SonQuest Rainforest, the Vacation Bible School program at Crooked Creek Baptist will run from Monday, June 28 through Thursday, July 1 from 9:00 a.m until 12 noon. Registrations for children kindergarten through 5th grade can be made by contacting the church.

Stewardship Offering from Don Scott, Area Resource Minister

2010-05-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

June 1 and 8 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Please register by Thursday, May 27 at the church or via email at crookedcreekchurch@att.net

Freed up from Debt...Getting Out and Staying Out of Debt

The greatest challenge and the fiercest enemy of personal financial freedom is not a recession or a declining stock market. Both are cyclical, expected, normal periodic financial events. Instead, an individual's biggest problem or the proverbial "elephant in the room" is personal consumer debt. "Freed-Up from Debt" is a biblically based two session workshop that provides the basic tools necessary to get out and stay out of debt. More than "how to's" this resource helps you examine your heart and motivations around money, while giving you the steps you need to take to get free from the emotional and spiritual bondage debt produces.

Please bring to the workshop the details of your debts (these will not be shared) such as you most recent credit card statements, student loans, vehicle loans, etc.

Because our church believes that money and its use is a spiritual issue, we offer this workshop free of charge (except for a nominal workbook fee) to persons who may be struggling with debt and its accompanying issues.

Don Scott
Associate Executive Minister
American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky
1350 North Delaware Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
Telephone: 317-635-3552, Ext. 228
FAX: 317-635-3554
www.abc-indiana.org

New Ladies Sunday School Class

2010-05-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

Would you like to learn more about the women in the Bible? Are you fascinated by the relationship of Ruth and Naomi? What do you know about Deborah, Lydia, or Priscilla? Have you heard of the Shiprah and Puah, the Witch of Endor, or Jepthah's daughter? What lessons can these women teach us today about ministry, business, care giving, matriarchs, sacrificial giving, etc...? Come with your different versions of the Bible and let us look at these often untold stories of the Women of the Bible. Join Rev. Joy Witek Amick each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. for this exciting and interesting study (meet in the former Keys Classroom)

The Blue Parakeet

2009-12-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

Dr. McGrath's class will be reading Scot McKnight's book The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible together.

We'll be reading chapter 1 for next time.

Copies of the book have been purchased on behalf of several people who asked for them, but if you weren't among them, it isn't too late to join in!

Thursday Nights "The Well"

2009-08-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Well
“Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” John 4:14

Thursday evening classes for families of all ages will begin meeting on the following Thursdays: September 10, 17, 24 and October 1, 8, 15, 29. Dinner is available for the recommended donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children with a family maximum of $5. All classes will meet at Crooked Creek Baptist Church on this schedule:

5:45-6:30 p.m. Dinner
6:30-7:30 p.m. Education

To register for meals and/or classes please contact the church office.

Adult Choices:

A Deepening Spiritual Life- facilitated by Susan Matthews. This course will focus on different practices and techniques to strengthen and deepen the individual and corporate connection to God’s Holy Spirit.

Family Building- Licensed clinical psychologists Ann & Ken Lovko will lead this discussion based class with adults to help them develop a stronger sense of spiritual and familial leadership. Specific concerns of families will be addressed as well as concepts such as communication, modeling, etc...

Youth:

Connections- facilitated by Mary Dickerson, Youth from Middle and High school will focus on understanding and developing the spiritual bonds that unite all Christians.

Children:

Children from kindergarten to grade 5 are encouraged to come join us for more time celebrating God’s love for us in music, story, and games.

Schedule Change

2009-07-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Beginning September 6th (the first Sunday in September) 2009, Crooked Creek Baptist Church will be moving to a new schedule. Sunday school will begin at 9:30 am on Sunday mornings, followed by a brief fellowship time. The Sunday worship service will then begin at 10:45 am on Sunday mornings.

New Sunday School Series

2009-05-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Beginning next Sunday, May 31st, Pastor Tom Bartley will be offering a new Sunday school class, which will continue for much of the summer, on "Being Baptist". Regular attendees of Dr. McGrath's class are encouraged to attend Rev. Bartley's class, and Dr. McGrath's own class will cease meeting for the duration of this new class in order to facilitate attendance.

Introduction to Islam

2009-05-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

To facilitate our discussion of how Christians might/should view other religions, we realized that many need or would benefit from an introduction to some other major religious traditions. Today we began with Islam, and just barely scratched the surface.

We will continue next time, and those who will be attending and who have specific questions and/or topics of interest they would like to be covered/addressed are encouraged to let Dr. McGrath know ahead of time. One easy way to do so is simply to leave a comment here!

Christianity and Other Religions (continued)

2009-05-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class we continued to discuss how we as Christians might, and should, view other religious traditions. To facilitate this, Dr. McGrath and Rev. Bartley will provide an overview about some major world religions in next week's class.

Dr. McGrath began today's class by presenting some Biblical reasons for Christians to expect to find they can learn from other religions. He began with John 1, which emphasizes that the Word "enlightens every human being coming into the world". That itself should lead us to expect that God is revealed not only in Jesus, or in the Bible, but elsewhere. More than that, the concept of the Word (Logos) is itself an example of something from another religious tradition (Stoic pantheism) that Jews and then Christians found they could utilize in expressing their own faith. Also mentioned was the fact that, when the Bible was translated into Chinese, the translators rendered John 1:1 as "In the beginning was the Way (Tao)".

Acts 17 is another key text in thinking about this subject. There we see Paul disagreeing with Greek idol-worship, but we also find him depicted in terms echoing the story of Socrates. In Acts 17:28 two Greek sources are quoted: "'For in him we live and move and have our being'. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"

Epimenides' poem Cretica is quoted twice in the New Testament. In the poem, Minos addresses Zeus thus:

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one—
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

The other text quoted in Acts 17 is "We are his offspring" from the Cilician poet Aratus (c. 315-240 BC) in his "Hymn to Zeus". And so clearly the author of Acts did not think that what was said about Zeus could not be applied to God as understood by Christians.

We also touched on Romans 2 and the parable of the sheep and the goats, both of which suggest that it may be more important what we do than the doctrines that we hold. Paul's choice of Abraham as an example of saving faith points in this direction too, since Abraham probably didn't assent to anything in the Nicene Creed beyond "We believe in one God".

So can Christians learn from other religions? Yes, we already have, and there is no reason in principle why Christians today ought to take a more negative view of other religious traditions than the New Testament authors themselves.

Dr. McGrath shared an example of something from another religious tradition that he found positively challenging, namely the famous prayer of the Sufi mystic Rabi'a:

O my Lord, if I worship you from fear of hell, burn me in hell. If I worship you from hope of Paradise, bar me from its gates. But if I worship you for yourself alone, grant me then the beauty of your Face.

He also mentioned the experience of meeting a Muslim autorickshaw driver in India who spoke of how much he loves Jesus. Whatever one's views on this subject, cases like this need to be part of the discussion, since they raise the question whether it is our knowledge and beliefs about Jesus, or our love for him and obedience to his teaching, that is most important.

As was already mentioned, next time there will be presentations about some of the major world religions.

Christianity and Other Religions

2009-05-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

A thought that has come up in the series about "When Christians Disagree" time and again is that most of would agree that it is OK to agree to disagree about non-essentials. What we really disagree about is what those essentials are, and on what basis they are to be identified. And so, after asking about that and how we figure out what is essential, in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class today we found ourselves talking about Christian identity and other religions.

Among the subjects we discussed was whether Christian identity is a matter of doctrine, practice or both. It was pointed pointed out that conservative Christians and Muslims would agree over against many liberal Christians in believing in the virgin birth. We also discussed whether it makes sense for Christians to think of Muslims as "worshipping a different God", or whether it makes more sense to acknowledge that the belief in one supreme deity is something held in common, while we may disagree about certain details of our doctrine about God. Over the coming weeks we'll be thinking more about the subject of the relationship between Christianity and other religions, and how Christians might/should view those religious traditions. In the mean time, Dr. McGrath shared what he calls the flaming meteorite test, as well as introducing the notions of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism.

At the end of May, Dr. McGrath's class will take a hiatus so that all its participants can attend the Sunday school class Pastor Bartley will be teaching about "Being Baptist".

Stages of Faith

2009-04-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Dr. McGrath has posted some thoughts on today's Sunday school class, as well as some links with further information about James Fowler's idea of "stages of faith", over at Exploring Our Matrix.

Easter Sunday School

2009-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's sermon focused on the ending (or lack thereof) of Mark's Gospel. The pastor compared Mark to a "choose your own adventure" story, particularly when it comes to the ending.

In Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class, we discussed this as well as another possibility, namely that the original ending of Mark's Gospel could have been lost. Papyrus manuscripts are easily damaged, and most of our ancient manuscripts from this period are significantly damaged. Although we have a great many relatively early manuscripts of the New Testament writings, including some on more durable types of "paper", it is not impossible that the earliest Gospel could have been damaged in some way.

The likelihood that the original ending was lost is increased when we consider that two different scribal traditions, as well as Matthew and Luke who used Mark as a source, felt it necessary to "improve" Mark's ending.

If one considers the different geographical locations for the resurrection appearance stories in Matthew and Luke, it seems impossible to argue for "inerrancy" in any meaningful sense of the term. But if one is asking not about inerrancy but about historicity, then a historian's approach can help us make sense of why Matthew and Luke diverge, with one having the disciples told to go to Galilee while the other has them told to remain in Jerusalem.

In 1 Corinthians 15 we find an example of the sort of tradition about resurrection appearances circulating a decade or more before the Gospel of Mark is thought to have been written. Dr. McGrath pointed out that no geographical setting is provided. And thus a plausible explanation for the divergence between Matthew and Luke is that neither had information on the setting of such appearances, and each independently turned the tradition into a narrative, locating it where it seemed to fit, with the resulting tensions when one has copies of both these Gospels.

Towards the end of the class, the Rev. Bartley brought up the question of whether a rationalistic, post-Enlightenment reading of the text is not alien to the worldview in which these writings were penned. Dr. McGrath replied that, on the one hand, he appreciates what reason and science have given to us. On the other hand, the attempt to require the text to provide certainty, or reject it if it fails to do so, is indeed at odds with these stories. Matthew's Gospel has the apostles doubting even after their "encounter" with Jesus. And so the desire for certainty is the desire for something that even the earliest Christians may not have had.

Palm Sunday Q&A

2009-04-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Today's installment of Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class took the format of an informal conversation/Q&A on matters related to the passion week. Some of the subjects touched on include:

The nature of historical study of the Bible and the burial of Jesus (including why I wrote my book on the subject, the Talpiot tomb, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher).
What the historical context (and precedent) might have been for the "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem. Among other things, the size of the temple and the resulting "Where's Waldo?" effect, and the lack of immediate Roman intervention, both seem to suggest that Jesus' actions around this time were symbolic and relatively small.
The story of Jesus sending disciples to take someone else's donkey.

Next week we'll continue the conversation!

Romans 1-3 and Homosexuality

2009-03-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class it was emphasized that those who use the material in Romans 1 about homosexuality as a weapon with which to condemn and "clobber" others have clearly made the error of stopping reading at the end of chapter 1 - which, like all the chapter and verse divisions in the New Testament, was not in the letter Paul wrote. If we continue reading, we discover that Paul engaged in a stereotypical Jewish condemnation of Gentiles (compare for instance Wisdom of Solomon 13-15) not as an end in itself, but in order to get Jewish readers who joined in the condemnation to understand that they themselves were in the same situation.

It was also noted that the dominant form of homosexual act in the Greek world in Paul's time was between a teacher and his male student. It is thus worth considering that Paul may have been more interested in condemning pederasty/paedophilia rather than addressing committed same-sex relationships. We also discussed whether an appropriate Christian outlook today is to condemn homosexuality in general, or to expect gay and lesbian Christians to hold themselves to a higher standard (monogamy) than prevails in our society, whether among homosexuals or heterosexuals. Also worth noting is that no one today practices "Biblical marriage", and to the extent that our view of the "nature" of men and women has changed (considered in Paul's time to be inherently active and passive respectively), is there any reason in our time to continue to view it as inherently demeaning for a man to take on a passive (i.e. female) role?

It is worth noting that in Romans 1, Paul apparently views homosexual practices as a punishment for Gentile turning away from God, rather than as something that itself is a cause of the divine wrath. Time prevented us from looking at the ways in which objects of wrath are turned into objects of mercy on numerous occasions in the Bible. Also left for consideration on another occasion is whether, should we wish to welcome homosexuals in a Christian community, we cannot find at least as much justification for doing so in the Scriptures as we have for other groups that might, on Scriptural grounds, be excluded (e.g. for instance the divorced).

The aim is to conclude the series on homosexuality next time, after which will follow some Easter-related topics.

Leviticus 17-20 and Homosexuality

2009-03-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class, we continued our discussion of homosexuality. Today's class began by focusing on the section of Leviticus that includes its two mentions of the prohibition against "lying with men the lyings of women", usually understood to prohibit same-sex male intercourse.

It was crucial to begin by pointing out that some of the things in this part of Leviticus we do not consider necessary. And in spite of slogans that affirm belief in the whole Bible, it should be clear to those who have actually read the whole Bible that those who claim to do so in fact don't. We need to be honest that we not only are not doing everything the Bible says, but deep down we don't think that we should. And so a key question becomes was whether there is any underlying rationale for why some things continue to be practiced while others do not.

One route that is sometimes followed is to defer the matter to the New Testament: those things that are reaffirmed there remain in force, those things that are set aside there do not. But apart from the question of whether all the New Testament authors agreed about what did and did not remain in force, it must be asked whether there is an underlying rationale for what is and isn't maintained in the New Testament. We will, at any rate, discussion Romans 1-3 next time.

Whether we are dealing with homosexuality, shaving, tattoos or other subjects mentioned in this part of Leviticus, we are not given a clear rationale explaining why these things are prohibited. Sometimes attempts have been made to give a rationale - e.g. pork was prohibited to prevent disease, tattoos were prohibited because infection as a result was far more likely back then. But it must be asked whether such concerns are likely to have been in the minds of the Biblical authors.

A number of issues were touched on but set aside until we can consider them in their own right in a well-informed way. These included whether homosexuality's acceptance in society threatens traditional marriage, whether this is an issue about which Christians ought to agree to disagree, and whether, even if Christians agreed in viewing homosexuality as a sin, that would necessarily translate naturally into an attempt to impose Christians' views on others through legislation. The historic Baptist committment to the separation of church and state seems to point in a particular direction on this last point.

Perhaps the most important point to note, however, is how those who claim to be "defending traditional marriage" or "defending Biblical morality" in fact are picking and choosing in ways that suggest ulterior motives on their part. This part of Leviticus includes laws about honesty in business, payment of workers' wages, and treatment of foreigners living in one's territory. Why are such topics ignored by some in favor of a focus on homosexuality? Clearly it is not a desire to be faithful to the Bible that is at the heart of this, since the other matters mentioned are scarcely less pressing issues today. Why do those claiming to "defend marriage" not focus more on divorce, which is the subject of much clearer Biblical teaching and is more obviously a threat to heterosexual marriages? It seems obvious that there must be other motivating factors than those claims. Indeed, one possibility is that this simply reflects an instinct we all have, if we are honest, namely the tendency to focus on that which others are doing, to shift blame, find scapegoats, and see the shortcomings of others more clearly than our own. But on this matter the teaching of Jesus is clear: our focus ought to be on the beams in our own eyes, not on the splinters in others'.

Homosexuality and the Bible: Genesis 19, Judges 19

2009-03-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today we began a new topic in our series "When Christians Disagree": homosexuality. We're beginning with those passages that have often been singled out as relevant to the issue, although in the present instance, Dr. McGrath suggested that Genesis 19 might not be about homosexuality so much as about hospitality, rape, violence and a number of other issues. Also noted was Ezekiel 16, which condemns Sodom in particular for lack of concern for the poor. The question of what rabbinic tradition had to say about this story was also posed, and there are some interesting web sites that address that question.

It is important to read Judges 19, one of the most horrific stories in the Bible, when considering this subject. There a rape does actually take place, and the victim dies, yet even though the originally-intended victim was a man, because the actual victim ends up being a woman, few would say that this is a story about homosexuality, i.e. about sexual orientation. In neither story are we given the impression that the men of the city who surrounded the house wanted to take the male visitors to the city to a local bar, get them drunk, and then be promiscuous with them. Whatever else the people of Sodom or of Gibeah may have been up to at other times, in both these stories we appear to be dealing with acts of violence intended to humiliate and victimize strangers who came into these cities.

Over the next few weeks we'll look at some other passages from the Bible that may be relevant to our topic. For next time we'll read Leviticus 17-20, then Romans 1-3, and after that 1 Corinthians 6-8.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Evolved

2009-02-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class, we had our "evolution weekend" conversation that was postponed from last Sunday, when he was away at the Midwest SBL meeting.

Dr. McGrath emphasized that there is nothing specifically limited to evolution that singles it out for a greater degree of conflict with a literal reading of the Bible than other scientific fields. Some examples offered include:

(1) Genetics and embryology: Psalm 139:13 says that God knit the psalmist (and presumably humans in general) together in the mother's womb. Literalists ought to be up in arms about this and opposed to the contemporary scientific understanding, since it is not merely about the origin of our species but the status of each individual as a divine creation. Yet not only is there apparently no Christian antiembryological movements, but many Christians find it comforting to believe that God does not directly cause congenital birth defects.

(2) Meteorology: Leviticus 26:4 attributes the rain directly to God, and so how can meteorologists dare to attribute it to natural phenomena such as barometric pressure and who knows what else?

(3) Astronomy and Australians: We had an entertaining discussion about the plausibility of the existence of Australians. But not only does Joshua 10:12-14 suggest a different view of the solar system than that accepted today, but it seems to involve Joshua addressing the sun and moon, which is a whole other discussion. When it comes to the movement of the earth, here we do find people who reject mainstream science on the basis of an appeal to the Bible. Passages like Psalm 104:5, Psalm 93:1 and 1 Chronicles 16:30 are pretty clear.

And so, on the one hand, a genuinely and consistently literalistic approach to the Bible would put one at odds with all science and many other fields of knowledge, and not just evolution. On the other hand, the evidence for evolution is every bit as solid as for other scientific fields. That doesn't mean that our knowledge is not growing. At times new discoveries do cause us to revise or supplement our earlier thinking. But what is striking is that, while scientists love making new discoveries that show where other great minds have been wrong, propelling the discoverer/pioneer to the front cover of science magazines, we've yet to see a young-earth creationist or proponent of intelligent design accomplish that, because they are not offering research that improves our understanding, but mere empty criticism that neither correctly identifies problems with current theory or offers genuinely helpful improvements or alternatives.

We concluded with me pointing out that those who claim that science, or more specifically evolutionary biologists, reduce human beings to a mere pile of chemicals of little value, simply misunderstand the nature of scientific analysis. Genesis 2 says humans are dirt, if one wants to talk about physical make-up. Neither religion nor science claims humans are more or less valuable because of our composition. If there is anything that makes us valuable, it is the complex arrangement of the matter that makes us up, and our capacity to relate to one another and to God, to compose and appreciate works of beauty, and in other ways transcend what might be expected of the atoms that make up our physical composition.

To use another analogy, one can accurately analyse a symphony in terms of the chemical composition of the instruments or the physical vibrations in the air. Such analyses are not scientifically incorrect. They are just different perspectives, and ones that we may well deem insufficient on their own, since it is also appropriate (perhaps necessary) to do justice to our appreciation of the symphony as beautiful. The problem, in other words, is in no way with scientific analysis, but with reductionism, that is to say, the attempt to say that humans are "nothing but" the chemicals of which we are made, or a symphony is "nothing but" vibrations. But the natural sciences claim that the analysis they offer are part of the story, not that there is nothing more to be said at other levels and from other perspectives.

Next week we'll connect up the current series with our previous topic by looking at Romans 5.

Sunday School: Genesis 1:1-2:3

2009-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class we started a series on the creation stories. Before trying to ask how the natural sciences might cause us to reflect in new and different ways about God and our place in the universe, it is usually helpful for Christians to look first at the creation stories, and consider what they do and do not tell us. Today our focus was on the story of creation in 7 days found in Genesis 1:1-2:3. Many of the subjects we touched on are ones Dr. McGrath regularly covers in his course on the Bible, such as the similarities and differences between Genesis 1 and the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish being a key to understanding the text.

A key point Dr. McGrath made is that no one (even if they call themselves literalists) takes the dome literally. To single out evolutionary biology as though it were more at odds with Christian faith than other realms of scientific explanation is likewise unjustified. Also mentioned was the fact that the text of Genesis 1 depicts God commanding the earth to bring forth life, rather than creating in some more direct manner.

The question of authorship came up briefly. Next time we'll discuss whether there is more than one creation story in these early chapters of Genesis.

What Do You Say That I Did?

2009-01-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

In Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class this past Sunday, we moved on from discussing who Jesus was to discussing what he did, and how it relates to the Christian experience usually placed under the heading of "salvation".

We began with the story of a child who, in church on Good Friday, asked her parents why anyone would crucify a 3-month-old baby. Apparently the church's year, celebrating Easter a few months after Christmas, was being taken somewhat too literally. The reason for telling this story is that, for some Christians, if Jesus had died at 3 months old it would apparently not have much of an impact on their understanding of what Jesus had come to accomplish. He had come to die, and between birth and death Jesus was simply "killing time" waiting to die. Any view of the cross that ignores the life that preceded it is going to be problematic.

It is not surprising that some Christians view Jesus in this way. On the one hand, since Paul had not followed Jesus in the pre-Easter period (although he may have become aware of the movement centered on him as soon as it reached Jerusalem, whether before or after Easter), and because he was writing to individuals who could be presumed to have had Christian tradition passed on to them, Paul never fills his letters with stories about Jesus' life. The cross was also the part of the story of Jesus that was potentially the most troubling, and thus the early Christians had had to make it central, and come up with an explanation that would regard the cross as a necessary and intelligible part of God's plan, and so they had found a way of interpreting it as salvific.

Another key focus in the Sunday school class was on what theologians call the "penal substitution" view of atonement. It is problematic for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it is based on a view of justice that no one would otherwise accept. If the U.S., failing to apprehend Osama bin Laden, claimed that it had nonetheless accomplished its mission because they executed some other innocent individual in his place, I doubt if anyone would be happy with this as a resolution of the matter.

It is also a view of the cross that is not found in the Bible. Sure, it can be read into it, but it cannot be found there unless one is already looking for it. For Paul, the key meaning of Jesus' death is summed up well in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: "one died for all, and therefore all died". That's almost the exact opposite of the popular Evangelical message, "one died instead of all, so that they might not have to die". Even if we conclude that Paul's language of "dying with Christ" is just another way of talking metaphorically about denying ourselves and self-sacrifice, it nevertheless makes clear that the Christian view of "salvation" expressed here is not about Jesus doing something instead of us, but of something that involves us and happens to us and in us. Ironically, while some feel they are glorifying God by making atonement something that involves no action or effort on our part, they've also radically departed from a central component of early Christian belief.

There has never been a single creed defining for all Christians what the cross means. Many have agreed that no one image or metaphor will do justice to its significance. But it certainly is important to ensure that the element of challenge and its transformational effect on our lives is not relegated to the margins or neglected altogether.

Next week we'll begin a new topic, spending some time in the creation stories in Genesis 1-3 and discussing matters of creation, cosmology, evolution and science.

Different Views of Jesus

2009-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday School class, we moved beyond our discussion of the varied portraits of Jesus found in the Gospels to begin to answer the question posed in Mark's Gospel, "Who do you say that I am?" Dr. McGrath's own personal answer was to focus on Jesus as crucified Messiah. Historians may debate (as illustrated by the book by Tom Wright and Marcus Borg mentioned in class, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions) how Jesus viewed himself and how various Christian understandings of Jesus developed. But one thing seems clear. Christianity continued, while other messianic movements disappeared after the individual who was their focus was killed, because instead of concluding that Jesus was not the Messiah because he had been crucified, instead they reinterpreted what was meant by Messiah, leaving us with the challenge of following a path that does not lead to our own personal gain. It is the power of that message that has changed countless lives, and it does not ultimately depend on historical reconstruction in detail of all that Jesus said and did.

Other subjects came up which will be the focus of our discussion next time. It is common in a Christian context to speak about Jesus as "God". But what does that mean? When Jesus behaves humanly, is that "just his humanity at work" at that moment? Did God accept human limitations in the incarnation (the term for that being kenotic Christology)? Was Jesus striding the earth getting the answer to every question right?

That last question led to an interesting side debate about whether Superman could get a haircut.

O Holy Night

2009-01-11T17:20:00.000-08:00

From our Christmas Eve service:

From John's Gospel to the Creeds

2009-01-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday School class we arrived at the last of our classes on the ways Jesus is presented in the canonical Gospels, focusing on the Gospel of John with its unique features such as the notion of Jesus as the Word-become-flesh and the pre-existence of the Son of Man. Dr. McGrath gave a brief overview of his book and his conclusion that the developments in the Gospel of John result from an attempt to defend Christian beliefs, during which process developments and expansions to Christian though take place.

We discussed whether the aim of Christians ought to be to combine the Gospels or to pick one that resonates with us; whether our aim should be to repeat what the Gospel authors said or to follow their example in using language of our time to address questions and issues of our time, just as they did in relation to their own historical setting.

The subject of the creeds came up, and as one might expect in an American Baptist context, voices soon were heard that said, in essence, "Whoa, wait a minute, what are these creeds you're talking about exactly?" The classic creeds of Christian orthodoxy have no precise or official authority for Baptists, and yet they are part of our heritage, ignored and unknown but there as historical influences nonetheless.

Those interested can find the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds here.

Our next subject will be sharing our own answers to the question in Mark's Gospel: Who do we, each of us, say that Jesus is?

Evolution Weekend 2009

2008-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class will touch on the topic of evolution in February 2009, in conjunction with Evolution Weekend. More information will be posted as the time gets closer.

Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

2008-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class we began our series on the person of Jesus. We began by briefly discussing what historical study can and cannot do, and our tendency to project our interests and values onto Jesus.

Rather than follow that with a survey of the New Testament writings relevant to the subject, or the creeds, we began by simply bringing up questions that we hope to look at and to which we are seeking answers. Some of the topics that came up include how Jesus understood himself, whether Jesus shared concepts from his time (such as demons), what Jesus was like growing up and formative influences on his life, Jesus' sense of humor (including the question of whether he ever nailed Peter's sandal to the floor).

In talking about the childhood of Jesus, I mentioned the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. I think everyone interested in this topic ought to read it, not because it will give the "inside scoop" about Jesus' childhood, but because as we react (most likely with horror) to the story it tells, it prods us to ask ourselves, "If this isn't how we imagine Jesus' childhood, then how would we imagine it?"

Next week there will be a business meeting during the Sunday school hour, and so we'll resume our study the week after that with an overview of Mark's Gospel.

Praise Team

2008-11-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

New Sunday School Topic: The Person of Jesus

2008-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

After considering a number of other possible topics, we've decided to make the next topic for Dr. McGrath's Sunday School class "Who Is Jesus?" It seems a particularly appropriate topic for the season leading up to Christmas.

This topic will begin on November 30th. We'll begin with the information in the New Testament, but it will be useful to read the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds in order to have a sense of how historic Christian orthodoxy was defined.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
He came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day He rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.*
With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

The Chalcedonian Definition

So, following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days the same for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer as regards his humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation; at no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent being; he is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it down to us.

Wonderful Cross

2008-11-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a video clip of the praise team with guest violinist performing a modern version of "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" this past Sunday:

Church and State

2008-10-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Today in Dr. McGrath's class we finished our introductory topic on the Bible in the "When Christians Disagree" series. We looked at the example of circumcision, which in Genesis 17 is quite plainly said to be a permanent and absolute condition of membership in the covenant people, even for those not actually descended from Abraham. We then turned to Acts 15 and looked at how the church (or at least part of the church) decided that it was going to do something different than what a plain reading of Genesis 17 would require. Reading Acts and Paul's letters as Scripture, it can be hard for Christians to put themselves in the situation of the time in which they were written, when these texts were not yet Scripture, and were making the case for something that seemed to many to represent a departure from Scripture.

In Acts 15, as also in Galatians, the argument seems to allow experience to trump Scripture. God had shown acceptance of Gentiles by pouring out the Holy Spirit on them while uncircumcised. If God had accepted them in this way, who are we to impose other requirements upon them? To get a sense of how this argument seemed to many Jewish Christians in the first century, one may usefully compare the topic of homosexuality, in connection with which many today might make a similar argument...

As we turn to various topics on which Christians disagree, there are other factors beside the Bible that we'll need to consider, such as reason, tradition, and experience. The Bible can of course be thought of in different ways: as a source of writings which are authoritative on Christian doctrine and practice, or as a source or writings which allow us to see examples of how the earliest Church worked through issues, themselves making use of Scripture, reason, tradition and experience.

The biggest news is perhaps that we have chosen our next major topic: "Church and State". It was on our list and seems particularly timely (we'll probably finish with the topic in early November). We will begin next week. We did not have a chance to discuss what we'd read to prepare, but I'd suggest that, in addition to the Ten Commandments and some of the places where Paul and Revelation mention those in authority, we should also read the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, since that is a key component in the distinctive form that debates on this topic take in an American context. Here it is:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

My Church and Facebook

2008-10-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Crooked Creek Baptist Church is now on MyChurch.org. Click on the link and sign up!

In addition to the features offered on this site, this will also allow members who are on Facebook to list their connection with the church on their profile.

Crooked Creek Baptist Church does have a presence on Facebook, by the way, so do pay us a visit there too!

Fulfillment of Prophecy

2008-10-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

In Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class today, we discussed what Matthew's Gospel means by "fulfillment of prophecy". A number of passages are quoted and said to be fulfilled in the first couple of chapters of Matthew's Gospel. Yet if we read the texts which are quoted in their original context, we'll see that they are not predictions about a future Messiah. In fact, a common theme seems to be that they relate to key events in the life of the people of Israel - the Exodus and the Exile, for instance. In Matthew chapter 4, we see another great instance of this sort of typology, as the story of the temptation in the wilderness takes on more meaning as we understand it to be intentionally echoing the story of Israel in the wilderness, presenting Jesus in comparison and contrast with that story.

We also paid a quick visit to the Book of Jonah, and considered the fact that Jonah's prediction that Nineveh would fall within 40 days did not come true. This shouldn't lead us to conclude that Jonah was a false prophet, but rather that prophecy in ancient Israel was not about the inevitability of things that were predicted, but precisely about averting disasters that the nation was heading towards. This is important, since some who understand prophecy as about predictions that inevitably come true may not grasp the Bible's teaching about second chances, repentance, and new beginnings (a key theme in today's sermon).

Next time, we'll look at an instance when it seems that the early church discerned that something that appeared to be God's commandment for all time was no longer applicable! If you want a head start, take a look at Genesis 17:9-14; Acts 15; Galatians 5:6 and 1 Corinthians 7:19. (Scot McKnight's latest book, The Blue Parakeet, has an interesting section on this topic, if you want to dig deeper still). Hope you can make it!

The Word(s) of God

2008-10-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

In Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class today, there was an interesting discussion of some of the ways that Christians at times refer to the Bible, such as "the Word of God" and "the words of God". A good example of the difference between those two expressions can be seen in the Book of Job. In the book, there are many words attributed to Job's friends. Yet at the end of the book, God is depicted as saying he wasn't pleased with what Job's friends said about him. So, when one considers the book as a whole, are the words of Job's friends the "words of God"? Or is the "Word of God" one encounters in and through the Book of Job something that requires that one read the whole story?

We also talked about textual criticism (i.e. the fact that we do not have the original manuscripts of the Biblical writings, and the need for scholars to make their best judgment about the most likely original form, at the very least the earliest form), and touched on many other topics.

Biblical Literalism

2008-09-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

I've posted a clip on YouTube that recaps a key point that came up in our Sunday school class this past weekend, namely that no one simply "believes the whole Bible" and "takes it all literally".

Divergent Birth?

2008-09-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the pun in the title, but it seemed the best way to sum up the theme of today's installment in Dr. McGrath's Sunday school class. After a brief introduction of how historical study works, we compared the geographical movements and time frames in the infancy narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

In Matthew, unless one knew otherwise before reading the text, one would assume that the hometown of Jesus' family was Bethlehem, the first geographical setting mentioned. It is hinted that Jesus may be up to 2 years old, since Herod, after inquiring when the star appeared, gave orders for all males two years old and under to be killed. At the very least, Jesus does not seem to have been a newborn. The family is found in a house.

They flee to Egypt, and particularly striking is what happens after that. After Herod's death, they want to return to Judea, and only head for Nazareth in Galilee because they are afraid of Archelaus, Herod's son who ruled over Judea after his death. Going home for Joseph in this Gospel thus meant returning to Bethlehem.

In Luke, the impression given is very different. The family lives in Nazareth, and only go up to Bethlehem for the census. If we ask how long they stayed there, we have a firm basis to draw a conclusion about that. They go up to Jerusalem to take care of Mary's purification, as specified in Leviticus 12. They were thus in Bethlehem for little more than a month after Jesus was born. We're told that once they completed everything required by the Law, after making a very public appearance in the capital of Judea (which it would be hard to imagine them doing in Matthew's Gospel) they return to Nazareth.

The impression given and the historical details seem irreconcilable to someone approaching the text asking historical questions (even without bringing in outside considerations about the census under Quirinius). But while this may raise problems for those arguing to inerrancy as popularly understood, such situations can be good news for historians, since they suggest that the two authors did not collude with one another. It certainly makes clear that the later church did not conspire to assemble a canon that spoke with a single unified voice, reflecting the aims of Constantine or some other authority.

A discussion ensued of how one might make sense of these aspects of the Biblical writings. Next week we'll look at some of the theological content of the stories, including themes and motifs such as the genealogies and the fulfillment of Scripture in Matthew.