The

Oc t ober 2014 Vol. 7 Issue 10

Highlights
Current Highlights p. 1
Note from the Pastor p. 1
Note from Landon p. 2
Upcoming Events

October Calendar
p. 3

p. 4
Financials p. 5
Extended Session p. 5
Birthdays p. 5
Anniversaries p. 5
Continuing Gods Vision p. 6

Our Church Staf


Gary Burden
Senior Pastor
919-631-6789


Landon Orr
Assoc. Pastor of
Discipleship & Evangelism
919-229-9379


Chastty Comeau
Admin. AssistantFinances


Pat Baucom
Admin. Assistant - Publicatons
Bethesda Baptst Church
Trunk or Treat
Wednesday, October 29th, 68 PM
(See details on page 3)

Womens Ministry Christmas
Craf Fellowship
Saturday, October 25th
(See details on page 3)
Continued on pg. 2
Many within our church family have recently been faced with a
variety of trials and testngsand in varying degrees of severity -
serious illnesses, job layofs, family/marriage struggles, vehicle
accidents, and the list goes on. And certainly as a church family,
when any part of the body sufers, we walk with them and try to
embrace the pain and struggle together. A recent pastoral artcle by
our own son Timothy seemed ftng.
Patence for Patents

For I consider that the suferings of this present tme are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

Timothy Richard was an infuental Welsh missionary to China during the end of the
19th century. Richard later wrote a book recountng the story of Gods work among
the Chinese people, along with some of the oppositon he and the other missionaries
had encountered. One partcular incident is instructve. A Chinese cult leader had
been trying to discredit the missionaries. This man had goten hold of a surgical text-
book used by the missionary doctors, and he started showing its illustratons to the
townspeople in order to frighten them. These foreigners were clearly barbaric
torturers, he claimed, intent on cutng and mutlatng anyone who came to them. As
Richard later wrote, Ignorant of the humane objectve of surgery, he regarded
operatons as proof of the cruelty of Christans.
Page 2 The L ampl i ght er
Pray for grace to endure, faith to grow. Avoid the impulse
to numb the discomfort with mindless distractons or
worse. How is He strengthening you to be of greater ser-
vice to others? How is He teaching you to lean harder on
Him alone? And through it all, know that He is with you,
your Surgeon and your Friend.
Of course, we laugh. But then we stop and think. Dont
we fnd ourselves flled with the very same irratonal
fears? When heartache comes our way, we charge God
with cruelty and run from His operatng table as fast as
we can. Now, pain and sufering are not good in and of
themselves. But usually the Lord, our heavenly surgeon,
is using these trials to make us more and more into the
image of His Son. Its reconstructve surgery, if you will.
This theme of God as our surgeon is actually prety
common throughout the Scriptures.

He wounds, but He binds up; He shaters, but His hands
heal. Job 5:18

Come, let us return to the Lord; for He has torn us, that He
may heal us; He has struck us down, and He will bind us
up. Hosea 6:1

Its intriguing to me that both uses of the English
work patent - as an adjectve and as a noun (as in
the patent patent is the doctors waitng room) -
come from the same root, meaning to sufer, to
endure. We are called to be good patents under
Gods scalpel. And we are called to do so with
patence. But heres some good news: the same
God who operates on us provides the strength and
the faith we need to endure. When we respond to
sufering with the faith He provides, it leads to our
healing. We can remind ourselves that this trouble,
this broken relatonship, or this disappointment
comes to us from the hands of an all-wise and
always-good Soul-Surgeon. And more than that, He
is not just an expert healer; He is also our faithful
friend. As Proverbs 27:6 reminds us, Faithful are
the wounds of a friend.

Like a good friend, the Lord will tell it to you like it is.
He will confront you when necessary. But He always
walks with you through the pain.

When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when
you walk through fre you shall not be burned, and the
fame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3

So resist the temptaton to run. Dont immediately look
for the quickest fx, the easiest path back to pain-free
comfort. The Lord is up to something. Hes revealing
your idols to you. He has your atenton, so ask Him (and
other wise brothers and sisters) what He is teaching you.
In a recent artcle from Thom Rainer,
the President of Lifeway, he laid out
nine changes we have seen across
churches in the last 10 years. The
following is an excerpt from that artcle,
which I have narrowed down to the most interestng fve.
I especially appreciate number three:

Dress is more casual. In many churches, a man
wearing a te in a worship service is now among the
few rather than the majority. While the degree of
casual dress is contextual, the trend is crossing all
geographic and demographic lines.

Screens are pervasive. Some of you remember the
days when putng a projecton screen in a worship
center was considered a sacrilege. Now most
churches have screens. And if they have hymnals,
the hymnals are largely ignored and the congre-
gants follow along on the screens.

Preaching is longer. I will soon be in the process of
gathering this data to make certain the objectve
research confrms the anecdotal informaton.

Confict is not increasing. In a recent post, I noted
the decreasing frequency of worship wars. The
Duke study noted that overall church confict has
not increased over a 20-year period.

Sunday evening services are disappearing. This
issue has strred quite a bit of discussion the past
few years. I plan to expand upon it in my post this
coming Saturday. Stay tuned.

This artcle was originally published at
ThomRainer.com on May 7, 2014.
The Lamplighter Page 3
A Crafy Start
to Christmas
Join us as we kickof our
Christmas celebratons with the
Bethesda Womens Ministry

We will share the focus of our ministry, match men-
tors/mentees, eat Christmas goodies and learn new
crafs. You do not have to be a crafer to have fun at this
event! There will be something for everyone.

What: A Crafy Start to Christmas
Lets make this a great outreach event
invitng our friends and neighbors.
Who: All women 18 and over are invited to atend
Where: Bethesda Baptst Fellowship Hall
When: October 25, 2014 1 p.m. 4 p.m.
Childcare will be provided

Bethesda Baptst
Church
Trunk or Treat
Wednesday, October 29th, 68 PM

Come prepared to have a great Harvest Festval.
There will be candy, infatables, popcorn, door
prizes, and a hayride. Invite your friends and
neighbors to join you and enjoy this evening of
fun and treats.
Awana is of to another excit
ing start this year! God is
entrustng us with many
opportunites to minister to new families in our com-
munity. He has also been so faithful to provide the
dedicated leaders and listeners our ministry needs.

It is amazing to see these classrooms fll up each
Wednesday night with beautful children that demon-
strate to us the humble heart and sincere faith of those
to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs. But I must
admit to you, it can be a litle overwhelming at tmes,
and Satan will do all he can to plant seeds of doubt or
discouragement in God's people.

So this month I ask you, no, I even challenge you,
encourage an Awana leader! Lif them up in your
prayers, build them up with a note or encouraging
words, ask them how their group is doing or if there's
anything you can do to help...

Who are these awesome superheroes?
Puggles: Jane and Johnnie Gatlin
Cubbies: Julie Brueggen, Tobi and Brandi Sauer,
Britany Arant
Sparks: Kirk and Christy Richardson, Andrew Arant,
Cherilyn Murphy
T&T: Brian and Jennifer Harrison, (you???)
Trek: Landon and Sara Orr, Nicole Langdon
Games: Larkin Creech, Chris Gatewood, Jesse Burford
Special thank you to Ginger Starling, Shannon Burford,
and Dianne Whitman for taking care of our litlest
angels, and Brian Murphy for taking care of all things
audio/visual.
SENIOR ADULTS
Lets Warm Up For Christmas
with
A Pre-Christmas Brunch
Saturday, November 8th
10:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Fellowship Hall

Operaton
Christmas Child
Shoe Box Packing Party

November 2, 2014

Hey Kids, come join us for an afernoon of fun as
we pack shoe boxes for Operaton Christmas Child.
Party will be immediately following morning
worship on November 2
nd
; lunch will be provided.
All items will be supplied to pack a shoe box. Cost
$7.00 for each child (cost of shipping shoe box)
Ages 4-12
More details on this event can be found

6:30 pm .......................................................... Awana, Youth Bible Study
7:00 pm ..................................................... Adult Prayer and Bible Study
Choir Rehearsal
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday



1 2 3 4

5
Breakfast
Fellowship
Weekly
Sunday Service


6

7

Deacons
Meetng
7:00 PM
8

AWANA
and
Weekly Wed.
Service
9

10

11

12


Weekly
Sunday Service

13

14 15

AWANA
and
Weekly Wed.
Service
16

17

18

19
Weekly
Sunday Service
Church Council
Mtg. 4:30 PM

20

Board of Directors
Meetng
6:30 PM
21

22
AWANA
and
Weekly Wed.
Service
23

24

25




Womens
Christmas
Craf Event
26
Weekly
Sunday Service
Contnuing Gods
Vision
Commitment-Day

27


28 29 30 31









The Lamplighter Page 4

9:15 am ................................................................... Bible Study Fellowship
10:30 am .........................................................Morning Worship Celebraton
6:00 pm.. Evening Gathering

Sunday Schedule Wednesday Night Schedule
The L ampl i ght er
Page 5
OCTOBER EXTENDED SESSION
AND KIDS CHURCH
Sunday, Oct. 5 - AM
Babies: Kathleen McLamb,
Shanon Buford
& Cathy Johnson

2s: Heather Henry &
Ashley Fannin

3s/4s: Julie Brueggen &
Tara Baker

K-3rd Kids Church
Frances Burden &
Robin Hotakey

Sunday, Oct. 5 - PM
Sharon Johnson &
Sharon Levin

Wednesday, Oct. 8
Ginger Starling &
Shannon Burford

Sunday, Oct. 12 - AM
Babies: Brandi Sauer,
Brandon & Hannah Beasley

2s: Mandy Roop &
Brianna Windham

3s/4s: Shay & Erin
Nuckols

K-3rd Kids Church
Ginger Starling &
Angel Duncan

Sunday, Oct. 12 PM
Jane & Johnnie Gatlin

Wednesday, Oct. 15
Ginger Starling &
Shannon Burford
Sunday, Oct. 19 - AM
Babies: Sondra Gatewood,
Jane Gatlin

2s: Britany &
Andrew Arant

3s/4 s: Wendy &
Chris Gatewood

K-3rd Kids Church
Tyler Henry &
David Duncan

Sunday, Oct. 19 - PM
Nicole & Seth Langdon


Wednesday, Oct. 22
Ginger Starling &
Shannon Burford

Sunday, Oct. 26 - AM
Babies: Faye Wells,
Wendy Beasley & Sara Orr

2s: Ryan & Miranda
Godsell

3s/4s: Kirk & Christy
Richardson

K-3rd Kids Church
Terry Gatewood &
Josh Murphy

Sunday, Oct. 26 - PM
Sarah Jay & Cherilyn
Murphy

Wednesday, Oct. 29
Trunk or Treat



Preschool Regis. Desk
Diane Duncan
Date S.S.
AM
Worship
Budget
Ofering
His Vision
Our Mission
Aug. 31 95 132 6,084.50 1,076.00
Sept. 7 121 180 4,742.11 1,210.00
Sept. 14 115 173 6,827.25 900.00
Sept. 21 107 164 3,329.04 550.50
Total 438 649 20,982.90 3,736.50
Avg. 110 162 5,245.73 924.13
Average Atendance & Oferings for September 2013
Avg. 96 154 5,544.50 1,149.00
Facts & Figures for September2014

BIRTHDAYS
Michael Ritchie 10/3
Larry Harper 10/5
Faye Wells 10/5
Conner Starling 10/6
Kirk Richardson 10/10
Jackie Mathews 10/11
Gary Burden 10/12
Phyllis Godwin 10/14
Frances Croom 10/15
Kate Robbs 10/17
David Duncan 10/24
Larkin Creech 10/25

ANNIVERSARIES
Andrew & Britany Arant 10/13
Junior & Heather Henry 10/17
Steve & Sharon Levin 10/18
David & Diane Duncan 10/26
















God is goodall the tme! and All the tmeGod is good! are declaratons we ofen joyfully proclaim as
a church family. Such words of praise refect our trust in His never-changing nature, regardless of changing
tmes. The Lords goodness to us at Bethesda is a testmony to His greatness.

One among many ways the Lord has shown His goodness and greatness is by providing the wonderful new
building we have been enjoying now for fve years. As stewards of this blessing, our folks have rejoiced in
and trusted Gods goodness and greatness by faithfully giving above and beyond our regular tthes and gifs
toward the building loan. To a world that is caught up only in the uncertainty of the changing tmes, our
faithful obedience to the Lord has been an atractvely bright testmony.

Now is our tme to step up to the plate once againfor many to contnue, and for our newer folks to begin
this excitng journey of faith. Contnuing Gods Vision is the name of the third phase of our building loan
payof campaign. And the launch date was Homecoming Sunday, September 28. What a great day to refect
on Gods goodness over the years as we faithfully pursue His vision for the future. The morning celebraton
worship service and the mealtme presentaton on Homecoming Sunday set the stage for our new
challenge.

Another declaraton we encourage us all to adopt is simply this: Our God Is Able! Regarding our new
campaign, our theme verses are: Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through-
out all ages, world without end. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21). Our God is more than able to meet our fnan-
cial obligatons through a people who are fully devoted to Him. Lets be those people! Not only will our
faith grow, but our precious watching children will learn wonderful lessons, and a watching world will take
notce. And most of all, our great and good God will be praised!

Will you commit to pray now? We know you will.

Commitment Day
Sunday, October 26
We return our commitment cards