Thursday Thoughts

Summer has once again come to an end. While it was much quicker than any of us would like, we had an absolute blast!

Within the Youth Ministry, Emily and I do our best to fill our summer calendar with activities that can hopefully reach all our students regardless of jobs, sports, or other summer responsibilities. We’ve had events ranging from a 10 am start to a 7 pm start. Early lunches to late dinners. Team building games in the park to an afternoon in the arcade. A pop-up evening pool party to an all-day lake day. Not to mention our children and youth spending a week at Passport Kids and Unidiversity! The summer has been so full, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Every laugh, every moment of excitement, and even every tear. We have been lucky enough to share all these things with them over the last few months!

Now we want you to share in them, too. Sunday, July 26, during our 11 o’clock hour will be our annual Youth and Children’s Summer Share. I hope you will join us as we close out our summer with this very meaningful worship service! This is a special Sunday all about our young people. This is a wonderful morning celebrating our children and youth and their involvement in this church. This service allows them to participate in worship leadership, as well as share stories from their summer. We have always called this a spiritual year in review because it’s an opportunity for you as our congregation to not only hear what the children and youth have been up to, but for them to stand in front of their church and share what has been meaningful to them in their recent faith walk. This is also a special day for our new friends joining the Children’s and Youth Ministry! Rising first and sixth graders will receive their new Bibles, and we will share in a litany of blessing for them at the end of the service.

Please come and support the young people of this church. I know they have some really great things to share with you about their experiences this summer! All children and youth parents, as well as volunteers, are encouraged to wear your favorite youth or children’s ministry T-shirt, and don’t miss this special day dedicated to our amazing students!

Grace and Peace,

Sarah Laurence

With individuals and families continuing to visit and join our church, we need to make sure we are being attentive to creating opportunities for them to connect with community and grow spiritually.  This is why we are launching two new small group opportunities in the coming couple of months, and I am excited to tell you about their initial gatherings.  These initial gatherings will be an opportunity to meet folks, to have fun, and to begin a conversation about future gathering, support, and study opportunities.

Young Families

On Saturday, July 25, at 6 pm, all young families are encouraged to gather at Good Girl for dinner and a fun time of fellowship.  Mike and Milly Ann Epps and Kelly and Gordon Eiseman will look forward to connecting with you there and beginning discussions about how to continue gathering and supporting one another moving forward.

Empty Nesters

On Friday, August 21, at 6 pm, all folks who find themselves in or approaching an empty-nester or a not-yet-retired phase of life are encouraged to gather at Good Girl for dinner and fellowship.  Christian and Dana Burton and Tim and Jodia Lintner will look forward to connecting with you there and having conversations about what a regular gathering could look like.

Of course, we continue to have plenty of other wonderful opportunities to connect with community and grow spiritually.  We have wonderful Sunday School classes each and every Sunday morning at 9:45 am.  We have a young adult small group on Thursday nights, a women’s Bible study on Wednesday mornings, and a men’s group on Friday mornings.  If you are interested in connecting with any of these new or existing groups, please contact Pastor John or the church office to get more details!

Last week, our church had the incredible opportunity to minister to over 100 children (and their families) during Vacation Bible School. It was only because of your generosity and the faithfulness of our volunteers that we were able to do this. I can confidently say that God’s love was made known in a big way, not only to the little ones, but to the adults as well. This year’s theme, “Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God,” focused on five main truths about God: God is our Creator, God sees and knows us, God is our safe place, God is love, and God is forever. I am proud of the way that our volunteers not only taught these truths last week, but more importantly, embodied them to those in their care.

I am proud of and humbled by the individuals who helped to make V.B.S. a success this year. We genuinely wouldn’t have been able to do it without each and every one of the following people:

Stage Construction and Design: Marie Berry, Megan Dozier, Jim McCullough, and Vicky McCullough

Crew Leaders: Emily Berry, Dana Burton, Randy Duckett, Nancy Holmes, Patrick LeGrand, Brannon McComb, Lindsey McCullough, Mary McQuinn, Melanie Pniewski, Kami Rice, Nicole Rodrigues, Lynn Sampson, Gigi Talbert, Haley Waltz, and Karen Wilson

Station Leaders and Support Staff: Francine Alsbrooks, Christa Berry, Cathey Braziel, Tom Braziel, Christian Burton, Zach Derr, Christine Hoffman, Nick Huffman, Sarah Laurence, Marshall Looper, Betty McNorrill, Bob McQuinn, Susan Myers, Marcy Reid, Tom Reid, and Marilyn Winn

AFBC Youth: Violet Bohman, William Fishpaw, Hayden McAlister, Caden Pniewski, Ali Rice, Kingsley Rice, and Maggie Tice

And all those who showed support in other ways (decorating, cleaning up, praying, encouraging, advising, and/or donating snacks, supplies, and monetary gifts)

Please continue to be in prayer for the lasting impacts (seen and unseen) that V.B.S. will have on the lives of those in our care last week. Whether we ever see them again or they are prompted to continue engaging with our church further, may we continue to be examples of God’s deep love for them. Just as we encouraged those last week to look out for “God sightings,” may we be a people whose hearts and eyes are always attentive to seeing God in both the ordinary as well as the not-so-ordinary. May we also never grow tired of giving thanks and praise to God for the many ways we have been blessed!

If you didn’t get a chance to serve during V.B.S. this year, I have great news for you! We will need your help next year! We actually had to cap registration early in order not to exceed what our current number of volunteers could handle. So, I would love to get you plugged in next year! Don’t be afraid to reach out to me or others who have served in order to get an accurate idea of what it’s like. Again, thank you all for your continued investment in the children’s ministry here at AFBC! It is vital for the continued vitality of our church!

In truth and love,

Matt Waller

In the fall of 2024, we embarked on a spiritual journey of discerning God’s call upon us as a congregation.  The resulting big-picture clarity of being called to be a church that radically pursues loving like Jesus has served as the core impetus for what we have been and continue to strive to do in the world.  If you need a refresher on that whole journey, you can check out more here:  https://fbcaiken.org/about/bold-faithfulness/. 

We did not just leave things at one big-picture statement, however.  We dug down and tried to discern who God was calling us to be in a variety of specific places in our church life.  There were many things that we named in that process, but one that has been on my mind these past couple of weeks has been the following statement: 

In telling the story of who we are as a different kind of Baptist church, we will not be consumed with naming who we are not, but will become better at claiming who we are as a church that affirms women in ministry, that honors diverse theological and political perspectives, that sees questions as beneficial to growing in faith, and that affirms the human dignity and image of God within all people. 

I am certain this statement has been on my mind because a certain denominational entity that we are no longer a part of has once again been litigating the place of women in ministry.  However, in line with our sense of call, I’m not going to waste a bunch of energy there.  Rather, I want to take a moment to celebrate some of our history of affirming women in ministry and in all areas of church leadership. 

Our church has called women to serve in key roles since 1960, when Sara Posey began twenty years of service in professional support for Christian Education.  She was followed ably by Vicky McCullough and Ellen Looper as consecutive Directors of Children’s Programs.  Women were hired as Ministers (or Pastors) beginning in 2000 when Rev. Sheree Jones was hired as Associate Minister (2000-2006), and then Rev. Mary Carol Anderson (Associate Minister for Student Programs 2008-15), Rev. Amy Sterz (Associate Minister in Christian Education, 2008-15), Rev. Megan Doud (Minister of Students and Missions, 2016-21), and Rev. Sarah Laurence (Minister of Youth and Pastoral Care, 2021-Present).   

Since 1995, our church has affirmed the right of women to serve as Deacons, with a change in the By Laws to that effect in September, and the election of Jane Talbert as the first woman in December of that year.  A number of women have ably served in that role in the ensuing years and have long served on all committees and as committee chairs.  Our church also joyfully ordains women who are called to and equipped for ministry, most recently ordaining Rev. Holly Strother to gospel ministry.  Additionally, we have offered Bible studies on the topic of women’s leadership along the way to remind ourselves that this is not simply a social issue but is a calling we can trace in scripture together. 

As I said in a sermon recently, “we do not prize men over women or women over men, all are equal in God’s kingdom and called to live out the gifts that God has given them, whatever those gifts may be.”  I am grateful to be the pastor of a church that not only believes this but seeks to live it out as we do our best to love like Jesus! 

We are so very excited about all of the progress being made in our More Than Sunday renovations and repairs!  There is much going on at the church!  With Preschool ending their school year last Friday, we are now entering the next phase of our project, in which the office area will be incorporated into the preschool area to consolidate all Preschool classrooms into one area.  That work has already begun!  Unfortunately, the initial phase of renovation, creating office spaces on the second floor of the Education Building and refreshing our children’s spaces, has not yet been completed.  All of this means that there are a number of things being juggled around our campus right now, and I want to make sure you are up to date on those items.

Staff Office Temporary Relocation:

The church office has been temporarily relocated to the first floor of the Trinity Building.  The easiest ways to access the office will be by parking on Chesterfield Street and using the main blue doors that enter the Family Life Center.  Alternatively, you may park in the circle at the front of the sanctuary off of York Street, walk past the columbarium and prayer garden and gain entry to the Trinity Building under the covered walkway.  If you ever have trouble finding where the office is while on campus, simply call (803) 648-5476 and someone will assist you in finding your way or come find you.

The initial phase of construction should be finished by June 8, allowing staff to begin moving into their new offices on the second floor that week. Once this transition has taken place, you will be able to gain entry by using an intercom system at the door between the sanctuary and parlor area of the church.  Eventually, after the elevator is constructed, there will be a secondary entry off of Chesterfield immediately next to the elevator.  However, as the elevator will not be completed until September, all staff members are prepared to meet anyone who cannot climb the stairs on the first floor.  Simply let us know of that need via the intercom system that will be in place at that time.

Sunday Morning Location Changes beginning Sunday, May 31:

Given that the Preschool hallway is closed for the summer, a few of our Sunday morning children’s activities will need to be relocated.  Preschool Sunday School and Children’s Church will take place in the church parlor.  Nursery during both Sunday School and Worship will be provided in the Bridal Room next to the church parlor.  All other Sunday School classes for children will continue to take place on the second floor of the Trinity Building until the newly renovated children’s area is ready for programming to start.

A couple of our adult Sunday School classes will also being shifting around.  The Faith Explorers Class, which previously met in the church parlor, will now meet on the first floor of the Trinity Building in the room that has served as our conference room.  This will be the new home for this class for the foreseeable future.  The Lost and Found Class, which had previously met in the conference room, will meet on the Second Floor of the Trinity Building in the “Girls on Mission” room on May 31 and June 7.  Beginning June 14, this class will meet in the new conference room on the second floor of the Education Building (the old Handbell Room next to the Choir Room).

Getting Around the Campus During Disruption:

Members of our safety team and facilities team will also be seeking to secure a couple of parking spots along Chesterfield Street on Sunday morning that can be utilized to drop-off individuals who may have difficulty walking from the church parking lot to the Trinity Building.  Further, we have had a couple of church members offer their golf carts to the church, so you will begin seeing those around campus on Sunday mornings in the near future to help individuals who may need a lift from one place to another.  Both of these forms of assistance will become even more vital when we begin worshipping in the Fellowship Hall in August due to renovations on the sanctuary.

Also, please be advised that the Preschool and former office spaces will not be accessible for the next couple of months due to renovations in those areas.  You will, however, still be able to utilize the hallway outside of the parlor to traverse across that building and head toward the Trinity Building.  The restrooms across from the parlor also continue to be available for use.

Donation and Mail Center Location:

The donation cabinets that you are accustomed to using for ACTS food items and other missional donations have been relocated from outside of the offices to the hallway off of the sanctuary that leads to the bridal room, which is adjacent to the parlor.  Also, the mail center, which is used for communicating with various committees and teams, has been relocated to this same area.  Finally, the drop box, used to securely submit envelopes or checks to Gail outside of regular office hours has been attached to the mail center.

Thank You!

We have all known that this year was going to bring many changes and times of transition.  That is not always easy as we have to shift routines and find new pathways.  Thank you, however, for the gracious ways in which you are navigating all of these transitions holding in view the More Than Sunday vision we are working toward.

Grace and Peace,
John

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…”

We are rapidly approaching that time that George Gershwin was talking about in those lyrics! Along with longer days, warmer temps, and cool drinks, we are also entering a season of Summer Choir! As you can see in the schedule below, our meetings in the summer are a little more spaced apart, to allow for more flexibility for those singing. Trips can be more easily planned, and the pressure is low. This is such a wonderful group of humans, and we’d be honored to welcome you in for the season, or longer. I hope any and all will feel invited and welcome!

If you’ve ever thought about singing with us but worried you didn’t have the time or the right experience, this is the perfect opportunity to give it a try. You don’t need to be able to sight read complicated sheet music, and there are no auditions to join. Just show up, grab a folder, and add your voice to the mix. We will learn the music together, and I can guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun doing it. Rehearsals during the summer start at 7:00 pm. Check out the schedule below, and come fellowship, worship, and lead with us! Reach out to me at zderr@fbcaiken.org with any questions!

Soli Deo gloria,

Zach Derr

It seems as though spring is finally here! With that, the baseball season is in full swing (pun intended). Growing up in Baltimore, I was a fan of the Orioles, and we hated the New York Yankees. However, I was more occupied with Johns Hopkins, because Maryland, at the time, was the lacrosse capital of the country. (I was not a crab guy, because I do not like to work for my food, but my mother made delicious Maryland fried chicken.)  

Most professional athletes believe that hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sports. This makes baseball a unique team sport. Each individual batter steps into the batter’s box for a battle with the opposing pitcher. The strike zone runs from the armpit to the knee but is only 17 inches wide. In professional baseball the team’s pitching coach has a “book” on each batter. Most coaches know exactly where each batter’s weaknesses are. From the batter’s perspective, the ideal pitch would be right down the middle of the plate, the sweet spot. The pitcher’s objective is not to throw the ball in that sweet spot. They do throw the ball up to 100 miles per hour, thinking the batter cannot hit it.  

I have learned over the years that playing baseball is like the discipline of following Jesus. Let me explain. Baseball players develop through a system of levels, from Low A to AAA. AAA means you are one phone call away from “the Show,” professional baseball. At every level, minor league players will say they have so much to learn. When they reach the “pros,” they will tell you they have so much to learn.  

When it comes to our Christian lives, Jesus is a Rabbi, and we are students– with much to learn. My question is, why does God throw so many pitches that I can’t hit? It’s as if He’s deliberately trying to strike me out. Why all the curve balls? Perhaps he needs us to learn more. He does know our weaknesses, so maybe He’s trying to strengthen us. I have been following Jesus for sixty-six years and have learned that those curve balls, sliders, screwballs, and knuckle balls are trying to tell me something, usually something I need to face about myself. He wants me not to do better, but to be better. He wants me to be a real follower of His Son, looking more like Him every day. 

Here’s the real kicker: the opposing pitcher is on my team. The game has already been won, so “batter up”! 

In peace and love, 

Ray Barrow

Is it just me, or do certain times in your life prompt you to think about ways you wish you had been better? We have a funny way as humans of putting things on the back burner and not thinking about them again until they start bubbling over. Over the past year(s), the Spirit has convinced me that I do this with selfcare. I realize that while I have a passion for understanding what makes others tick and figuring out how to help them, I neglect doing the same for myself. I think we have an idea that this is admirable in some way, but it lessens our impact. At first, I thought the remedy to this might be to take control of the situation by making more time for myself. I was right, but not in the way I originally thought. You see, I acted as though making more time for myself meant minimizing time with others. In a way, I thought that if I could just get enough alone time to “fix” myself, then I could get back in the game and be better. Spoiler alert: it rarely works that way.

Why do I share this with you? Well, to put it simply, God is showing me that we figure out how to be the best version of ourselves with people, and that means we need each other. It’s easy to think things like, “They won’t like me,” “They don’t need me,” or even, “I don’t have anything to offer,” but being better requires vulnerability. Whereas my original solution to make time for myself by being alone didn’t work, it has started to work by intentionally seeking others, sometimes in big ways, but most of the time, in small ones. Whether it’s a spontaneous round of disc golf with the young adult group, an unplanned trip out to eat, or intentional conversation with the Vanguard men’s group, my life has been made better by plugging in rather than trying to be as unplugged as possible.

As our Wednesday night programs wind down and we head towards summer, it can be easy to unplug, to put community on the backburner for a while in the interest of “selfcare.” While that 100% can (and probably even should) look like rest, vacations, and solitude, I hope you’ll also look for opportunities to call on and include others around you, both in this community of faith and outside of it. Here at AFBC, we have continued to be intentional about leaning into more opportunities for community and relationship-building, especially in an intergenerational way. I hope you’ll continue to join us in that work by plugging into events on a large scale, but also by creating meaningful opportunities on a personal scale. Only you know how you can do the second, but let me tell you of some ways you can be involved in the first. We will be having a Churchwide Picnic on May 13th at the Gem Lakes Pavillion from 5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.! We will provide the hotdogs & drinks, and we invite you to bring any kind of fixing, side, or dessert. Please dress comfortably and bring whatever kind of outdoor game or activity you like. Bathrooms are close by as well as a playground, pickleball/basketball courts, etc.

We hope you’ll join us for this fun event for all ages! If you’d like to grill hotdogs or assist in any specific way, let me know. Even if you can’t attend this event, there are many other opportunities I’d love to tell you about whether it’s volunteering for VBS, praying with those going to our annual summer camps, or tutoring at Brothers and Sisters! One thing I know and am thankful for is that you make us better, and we need you!

In truth and love,

Matt Waller

n just over a month, each of our high schools will be handing our seniors a diploma and sending them out into the world. They are doing this because these students have worked hard, they’ve made it through some of the toughest times, and they have grown and been shaped into the people they are meant to be. Don’t get me wrong, they still have a lot of growing to do. I can say that because as I sit here, I remember how I felt as I prepared for my high school graduation.  

I remember the last few weeks of school and all they held. I remember how excited I was to play in the senior powderpuff football game. I remember the way I crossed my fingers praying my grades were good enough to skip a few final exams. I remember standing with my best friends in line for what felt like hours in the Convocation Center for graduation practice. I also remember being so scared. I was scared of change, scared of the unknown, scared of the pain I would feel when my friends and I parted ways for different schools. I carried so much excitement and so much sadness all at once; and that’s okay.

On Sunday, May 24, at 11:00 am we will have our Graduate Recognition service. Graduates, I cannot wait to celebrate you and all you’ve done! You’ve completed something wonderful, and while we celebrate your accomplishments now, this is just the beginning for you. You’re on to something brand new, and new can be scary. But it’s also so very exciting! Whatever you are feeling, whatever emotions you may be carrying all at once, that’s okay. You do not carry them alone.

Congregation, I hope you will be present for our Graduate Recognition service. The church family who has raised, taught, nurtured, and loved these graduates. Continuing to walk alongside them and their families as they close this chapter and prepare to begin the next.

Grace and Peace,

Sarah

I am easily distracted. I have always been that way. My extroverted nature means that I am always looking outside of myself. That means if a person walks by, I will notice and probably try to start a conversation. I keep a guitar beside my desk. Sometimes it will catch my eye, and I will stop and play and sing for a bit. If I hear any noise, I will stop what I am doing and check it out. 

Speaking of noises, we have more than usual around here lately. I am sure you are well aware that we have begun our renovation process. Currently our construction team is on the second floor, directly above the office area. There is banging and cutting and dragging and hammering and, well just all sorts of sounds coming from up there. I did not realize we had a boulder up there, but I am pretty sure they dropped one yesterday. 

You probably inferred from my earlier comments, but sometimes concentration is not easy for me. Well, you try to concentrate listening to a robust demolition team working above you and see how it works for you. For me it is rather distracting. 

And it is wonderful!  

The sound of progress is often loud. All that noise upstairs means that we are closer to seeing the finished product of refreshed facilities. It also means that we closer to being able to flex our bold faithfulness muscles with facilities that are better geared for ministry. 

The noise also reminds me of Paul. The Apostle Paul, who wrote letters to churches, and those letters became a part of our New Testament. In one of those letters Paul makes a confession to the church in Corinth. He confessed that he was distracted sometimes, too. He calls his distraction a “thorn.” He does not articulate exactly what this distraction was. And that is for the best. Paul allows us to see that our own distractions can be seen in a better light. 

Paul says that rather than focusing on doing away with the distraction it is possible to learn from it. He says that through this thorn, he learned that God’s grace is sufficient all the time, even when one feels like they are not at their best. Especially when we feel like we are not at our best. He indicates that it is only when we feel weak can we know how powerful God is. You can read all about in 2 Corinthians 12.

So, from now on, whenever I am startled by a boulder being dropped upstairs, I am going to take a moment and thank God for the distraction. And I might play and sing for a bit, too.

Peace be with you.

Christian 

Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NRSUE) 

The echoes of Sunday’s joyous music, strings, congregational hymns, and choir paired with our hallelujahs have begun to settle. The Easter lilies, which stood so vibrantly on the platform, might already be softening at their edges. The pastel dresses and pressed suits have been returned to the closet, and the rush of family gatherings has yielded once again to the quiet, steady rhythm of ordinary time. As we sit just a few days removed from Resurrection Sunday, I find myself pondering what happens after that stone is rolled away. It is wonderfully easy to feel the triumphant spirit of Easter when we are surrounded by a sanctuary full of brothers and sisters in Christ, bathed in the bright morning light, singing of an empty tomb. But the true power of the resurrection is not meant to be confined to a single Sunday morning on the calendar. It is meant to be the lens through which we view every ordinary, and sometimes painful, day that follows.

When Mary went to the tomb, she carried spices to anoint a body, weighed down by the grief of a shattered hope. We, too, carry with us our own spices. The anxieties about the future, our sorrow over broken relationships, our lingering fears for our health or the health of our children. We walk through a world that often feels more and more intimately acquainted with Good Friday than Easter Sunday. Yet, the promise of the empty tomb is that darkness does not have the final word. Christ’s victory over the grave meets us exactly where we are, in the midst of our struggles.

To be an “Easter people” means that we are called to live with a defiant, enduring hope. It means that when we encounter despair, we do not surrender to it, because we know the end of the story. The resurrection assures us that God is perpetually in the business of making all things new. Every act of forgiveness we extend, every moment of unexpected grace we offer to a neighbor, and every choice we make to love when it is difficult. These are all echoes of the resurrection resonating through our daily lives. We are invited to be the hands and feet of that same resurrecting power, bringing light to the forgotten corners of our communities.

As we journey further into this season, my prayer for you is that the joy of this past Sunday does not fade with the blooms of those Easter lilies. May you carry the life changing truth of the risen Christ into your workplaces, your homes, your neighborhoods. When the shadows grow long and the path seems uncertain, remember the empty tomb. The Lord is risen. He is risen, indeed. And because He lives, we can face whatever tomorrow may bring with peace. Grace and peace to you all as we continue to walk in Christ’s light.

Zach Derr