The Boy Turns Two

Next Monday Hutch will officially celebrate his 2nd birthday. However the real celebration will be this Saturday afternoon. My mom and dad are coming up from Louisiana for the party. Joy and a couple of her good friends will drive in from Fayetteville. Stephen's family will be coming in from L.A. (that's Lynn, Arkansas). Needless to say, it's a big deal.

For most of my life I have heard "old" people talk about how much fun it is to have grandchildren. I brushed it off as the simple ramblings of those who had nothing else to talk about. Now I know better. I could talk about the economy, the war against terror, the presidential race or the football games this weekend. But most of all I want to talk about "the boy." It was worth having kids just to get to have grandkids.

Now I know that you young people will brush this off as the simple ramblings of an old man who has nothing else to talk about it. Honestly, it doesn't matter. And by the way I am not reallly that old. Grandparents are a lot younger than they used to be!

Happy Birthday Hutch! Your Papa J loves you.

Johnny

Monday Morning

It's Monday morning, and I'm in the process of clearing the desk so that I can really dive into the week. Yesterday was a busy day; four meetings, three worship services, small groups, and a Sunday afternoon nap. Thank goodness for the nap. It was a tiring day, but a good one. I sensed the presence of the Lord throughout the day and was delighted with the spirit of our church family. I'm already looking forward to the next time we will be together.

I'm reminded that even when we are not together on Sundays, we are still the church. We are still the body of Christ and have the joy of serving Him in our community. I am looking forward each day to ways in which I can invest my life in the life of other people. I know God has some divine appointments for me this week. I'm sure the same is true for you. So keep your eyes open and see what God has in store for you.

Remember, the local church is the hope of the world.

Johnny

Love . . . Connect . . . Serve . . .

Love . . . Connect . . . Serve . . . Three small words, but three big steps. That is the heart of our mission at Highland Drive Baptist. We want to assist people as they move through a process of loving God, connecting to others and serving the world. That is our mission. That is our process. That is our goal. That is the expectation we have for our HD family.

We ask our members to do three things each week; show their love for God by faithfully attending a Sunday morning worship celebration, connect to other believers by being actively involved in one of our small groups, and serve the world by being involved in a ministry, evangelism process, or mission project.

Would you like to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself? Something that will reach beyond this life? Something that will make a difference for all eternity? Check us out at Highland Drive Baptist Church. Join us in the journey.

Johnny

Skipping Church

Boy, what a strange day yesterday was. Several times a year we will cancel Sunday night worship in order to allow our members and attenders to have more time with family. But seldom do we cancel Sunday morning activities. So it was odd. Honestly, I missed you guys.

Sunday morning is not just about worship and small groups, although those are the two key things we do at that time each week. Sunday mornings are also about fellowship and interaction with other believers. I missed it all yesterday as I'm sure you did. Maybe we should all take a little extra time to seek out a few minutes or a few hours of fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ this week.

Remember to do three things this week: Love God, Connnect to Others, Serve the World.

Have fun doing all three this week.

Johnny

The Power

Power is a hot topic today. It is a critical issue that is helping to shape the political campaigns of both presidential candidates. And it is something that we often take for granted. As long as we have it coming, we forget that it is even there. But let the power fail for a short period, especially during that key football game on TV and we immediately take notice.

That happened a couple of Saturdays ago and boy was I frustrated. After waiting months for the start of football season and then to have the power fail only minutes before the first game of the year was almost more than I could handle. Thankfully CWL was on the spot and restored the power quickly.

I wish I were that quick to notice when the spiritual power in and around my life was weakened or depleted. I confess that I am often more sensitive to the loss of electrical power than spiritual power. The good news is that unlike an electrical power failure which requires the utility company's help, I can immediately restore the source of spiritual power simply by praying.

Prayer is the true source of spiritual power. So stay connected and keep the power flowing.

New Directions

Last night my heart was thrilled as I saw and sensed the response of our church as I shared how the Lord is leading us in a slightly new direction. We have redefined our mission in a way that help us do a better job of leading people to become committed maturing followers of Jesus Christ. Our new mission statement will be easy to remember, easy to understand, and will provide us with a better way of measuring success.

Loving God, Connecting to Others, Serving the World. That is what HDBC is all about. We want to lead people to do those three things; love God through worship, connect to others through small groups, and serve the world through ministry, evangelism and missions. This will now become the focus of everything we do in every area of ministry.

If you were not able to be with us last night, I want to encourage you to listen online. The link should be on our website later today (Monday).

Johnny

Sabbatical Sharing

As many of you know I spent July 1 - August 10 on a sabbatical from everything related to my ministry as pastor of Highland Drive Baptist Church. During that time I not only got some much-needed rest, but also received some very clear direction from the Lord concerning our church. This coming Sunday night, September 7, I will be sharing that with the church. So, if you are a part of the HDBC family, please make it a priority to be here.

We have had some great days in the past, but I believe the best is yet to come.

See you on Sunday.
Johnny