1. Prayerfully

2. Physically

3. Financially

It is my prayer that we will increase our work in missions and evangelism. Soon initiatives in these areas will be introduced.

Make plans to come to our Executive Committee Meeting January 24 at 7:00p.m. We need you!

In Christ,

David Rhew

SAVE THE DATE!!! March 23-24, 2012 Every woman needs a Love Relationship, and every woman can have One.  Restore My Heart Isaiah 62:5b Antioch Baptist Church hosting Denise Glenn www.antiochwnc.org/wow

Come join us for a time of fellowship at Shoney’s on Monday, March 26^th at 6pm. Any questions call Beverly Holland at 648-8538. Hope to see you there!

Ramp Building Day – April 28. We are seeking names for two ramp projects. These names must be submitted no later than Friday, March 16^th. These persons will need to qualify with Mountain Projects for Financial Aid.  Please contact Joe Cassada 506-4184 or the HBA office 452-4746

National Sunday School Conference at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, NC. July 20-23. Register by phone: (800) 588-7222.

March 25 – HBA Missions Expo: The expo is from 4pm-5pm with praise and worship beginning at 5pm. To get information about setting up a book, contact Matt Ledbetter 508-9619.

Bluegrass Gospel Group – Mountain Faith – will be performing a free concert at High Street Baptist Church on March 25^th at 6pm. A love offering will be taken. For more information, please call Larry Caldwell 507-9097

Saturday April 7th the churches of the Haywood Baptist Association will embark on a journey, to cover Haywood County with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tracts will be available at the Haywood Baptist Association. Target your neighborhoods, high traffic areas like Walmart, Ingles, or any Shopping Center. Join us on April 7th as we get the Gospel into the hands of those that are lost and dying. Tell of the only salvation they have and that’s Jesus Christ. Please notify Russ McLamb at 506-7875 or email hrmclamb@gmail.com if your church is planning on participating.

Barbecue Festival at Broyhill Home in Clyde – May 12. The Barbecue Festival is a day of family fun and delicious food at Baptist Children’s Homes western North Carolina campus. For more information call 800-476-3669 ext. 1277.

May 19^th, 2012 Ride the Wave NCSBC Church Media library Workshop to be held at First Baptist Church Waynesville, NC Considering a church library?  Problems with an existing library?  Wondering about new technologies?

June 8-9 Training by Threads – Personalized Advice for Young Adult Ministry at Crosspointe Baptist Church, Concord, NC. Register by email: pcardwell@ncbaptist.org

June 1-3 Western Happiness Retreat at Truett Camp and Conference Center, Hayesville, NC. will be the 29^th annual Western Happiness Retreat at Truett Camp and Conference Center near Hayesville, NC and the 37^th year of Happiness in North Carolina. The event is for persons of all ages with developmental disabilities. The retreat will include small group Bible Study, music, crafts, vesper services, movies, and a Sunday Morning worship service. There will also be indoor and outdoor recreation activities, swimming, and lots more.  The cost for the retreat is $80 per person. For more information or registration forms, please contact: Donnie Wiltshire, Special Ministries Office, PO Box 1107, Cary, NC 27512-1107; 800-395-5102 ext. 5630; dwiltshire@ncbaptist.org or Lester Evans, Western Happiness Retreat Director, 114 Rocky Road, Otto, NC 28763; 877-224-5615; levans@ncbaptist.org

Summer Youth Weeks 2012 at Caswell, Oak Island, NC: Youth Weeks summer camps contain personal quiet times, small group studies, recreation, worship, large group celebrations and church group devotions. These weeks are for rising seventh through twelfth graders. The theme for 2012 is He’s got an app for that. Our theme verse is Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (NIV) We will be looking at ethics, choosing the right thing to do even when no one is around. The week is a time of fun, growth and spiritual renewal. To Register: Contact Caswell at 910-278-9501 to discover the camp weeks with open slots!

National Sunday School Conference at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, NC. July 20-23. Register by phone: (800) 588-7222.

Western Area Conference at Broyhill Home in Clyde – September 6. Hear songs and powerful testimonies from children living at Baptist Children’s Homes western area locations. A meal is provided. For more information call 800-476-3669 ext. 1277.

Calvary Road Baptist Church, a conservative Southern Baptist Church with a membership of 615 is seeking a fulltime Youth Minister/Associate Pastor. CRBC is located in Waynesville, NC. If led by God to pursue, please send resumé to 149 Red Swanger Road, Waynesville, NC 28786. Additional information concerning Clavary Road Baptist Church and its ministries can be found on our website www.crbcnc.org . Resumés and references will be accepted until February 1, 2012.

Canton First Baptist Church is seeking a part-time Church Office Assistant. 25 hours per week, Reception & Publishing. The qualified applicant should be Proficient in Publisher, Word & Excel, internet and computer skills. Knowledge of Photoshop, Bulk Direct Mail, Mail merge, good communication and written language skills. Email your resume with references by December 15 to cantonfirst@gmail.com

Rock Springs Baptist Church is seeking a paid piano player and a paid youth director. Contact Charlie Simpson 421-1339

March 19…Matt Ledbetter – Crabtree

March 26…Marty Dupree – State Convention

April 2…Lewis Smith – Baptist Children’s Home

April 9…Timmy Burnette – Woodland Youth

It’s 3:28 a.m. Restless night. Can’t sleep. Too much thinking. Wrapping one’s brain around something can be a hard thing. God knows I’ve got plenty of “something” to think about, just not enough brain for wrapping. My office secretary doesn’t help me sleep either, always saying, “Jack, you should read this or that!” Now she’s given me a “loaner” to read entitled—well, the subtitle is better, “God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People.” Reading it reminds me of the elderly lady my wife, Beverly, saw standing at an automatic opening door leading into a store. She was deep in thought, unsure of her own feeble steps and getting caught in that automatic door as she attempted to enter. When Beverly asked her if she was OK, she replied, “I hate to think. It gives me the headache!”

This book has given me a “thinking headache.” Ever notice how just when you think you’ve got it all-together, it all comes un-together? Discovering your imperfections can be harsh. Leaves you exposed, uncomfortable. Your basic game of pretensions is unmasked and you pray no one will notice.

I’ve spent the last forty-two years noticing what church people hoped I wouldn’t notice. And with all my own imperfections, preaching for them I felt like the skunk who said to the ‘possum, “your breath smells bad!” Such is imperfection.

So what did I notice? Let me give you my most recent “notice-ification.” We all came for the meeting. The early arrivers got the best parking and the choice seats. Tension filled the air as people filled the building. Very little was spoken, except common courtesies. I noticed eyes speaking as opposed to lips. Lines were drawn. Nods of group approval given. People stifled what they really felt. I noticed that the unspoken words spoke the loudest.

All were there to fix whatever it was that was broken. Everyone was sincere but no one seemed to be on the same page. So I looked the people over again. We were all Christians, yet different. Our eyes looked wild. My question was, “How can porcupines dance together when getting close to each other is so impossible?” Ever been quilled by a porcupine? Me neither! But, I notice Christian people that night quill each other until driven apart; and I listened as may said, “quite possibly never to be drawn together again.”

Sobering words. We all saw the dance. And we left the ballroom realizing the ever-imposing truth that dancing the undanceable might be more true for us Baptists than we dare to think.

As I sit at the table, I risk one final look at my brothers and sisters in Christ. I noticed how unfinished they all were. I thought of Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6, “He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It had been an imperfect meeting held by imperfect people.

I’m old school, still following the sage wisdom of my seventh grade teacher at Bethel Junior High School who told me I would “never amount to anything in life.” Shucks, I knew that! Even at that young age, I knew what she didn’t know. When I walked that aisle in Riverside Baptist Church to receive Christ long prior to standing before her, He told me I could be a “somebody.” He began a “good work” in me, not a “finished work.” The change had started, the finishing process would last a lifetime. I’m still under construction, finding myself ever “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of (my) faith…” Hebrews 12:2.

Just curious – “How’s that meeting worked out for you?” We’ll sit in the same ballroom come April. Shall we dance the undanceable?

Jack Holland

Interim DOM

Phone: (828) 452-4746

Email: haywoodbaptist @ bellsouth.net