What
is your narrative biblical story? Which stories or characters most closely
reflect something of your life experience and attitude? Is it David and Goliath,
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the Prodigal Son or the Ten Maidens? Many times
in our lives we find one or two of the biblical stories mirroring our own
experiences. It may not be the whole story in detail, but one or two
significant pieces of it that ring true and familiar. If we have those moments
when we feel we are experiencing some of the same situations or feelings that
the biblical characters have had, it provides wonderful opportunities to
explore with our intuition and imagination some parallels about ourselves and
our relationship with God.
Say, for example, you are facing
something you really don’t want to do and you can easily identify with Jonah,
who did not want to go to
Identifying with a story or character
in scripture provides an extra resource for our decision-making by stirring our
imaginations and sharpening our intuition. Gil Rendle, a senior consultant for
the Alban Institute on church growth, change, and leadership development, says
that we need to know our own biblical narratives in addition to the biblical
narratives of our churches. According to Gil, knowing our own chosen narrative
and our church’s chosen narrative gives us a place to begin dialogue about the
nature of who we are in light of a turbulent present and an uncertain future,
with a preview of God’s presence and desire built in. More importantly, our
place in the biblical narrative gives us a platform to engage in conversation
across generational lines about values and expectations. Congregations often
have at least four to six generations in worship together. Each generation has
different values and perspectives and expectations. Utilizing biblical narrative
conversations helps bridge many of the differences and provides context for
understanding that normal, logical conversation, cannot.
Because of the difficulty in trying to
pin down the church’s biblical narrative, it may be that the congregation
chooses and adopts a narrative that is felt collectively to describe the
current experience. The other way may be to select a narrative that the church
wants to direct its ministry into becoming. What would it mean for the church
to model its ministry on the Good Samaritan’s actions or on the parable of the
Lost Sheep? At this point in our ministry, what biblical story or character
would you say our congregation parallels or exemplifies the best? Which narrative
is ours? How was God present then in the biblical story and how is He with us
in our present situation?
In the risen Christ’s service together
wherever He leads,
David
Father’s Day Celebration
The
membership committee has planned a Father's Day celebration on Sunday, June 20. Join us for lunch
after worship in Fellowship Hall.
June Anniversaries
June 1 Kevin
& Christy Horn
June 3 Laban
& Kelly DeLay
June 15 Scott
& Priscilla Long
June Birthdays
June 3 Monica
Straw-Wallek
June 7 Bill
Whitley
June
20 Robin
Zerweck
June
24 Carol
Johns
Brown
Plummer
Paul
Wooten
June
28 Whitley
Alana Taylor
June
29 Janice
Stovall
Important Meetings
Save the dates:
Saturday, July 10, we will have a board retreat for all outgoing and
incoming general board members. The meeting will be held in Fellowship Hall—the
time to be determined soon. If you will be unable to attend, please notify
Also, for all outgoing
and incoming elders and their guests, we will have an informal gathering at the
Latham house on Friday, July 23. Then, the following morning we will
have an elders’ retreat for all current and new elders with the time and location
to be determined.
Disciples Women's Fellowship
6-26-10—Lunch at Ruby Latham's in
Ladies will meet at the church at 10:00
a.m. and travel to
Lu Sifferd, Chair
Habitat
Please let Mic Burnett or Carol Johns know if you'd be interested
in attending the dedication ceremony June
26 for the Babe family's new Habitat for Humanity home. Each RAIH church
presents the family with something for their new home. CCC typically presents
them with a nice loaf of bread, while one of our partner churches gives the
"wine" (usually a nice sparkling fruit juice). A Bible, toolbox,
flowers, certificate, and a photo album of the build are also presented. Each church also
brings items for the family's pantry, so that they start off with a stocked
pantry.
The ceremony takes place at
lunch time, where there's always a great pot-luck meal. It's almost as good as
our own CCC pot-lucks (but not quite)! The ceremony lasts about a half hour,
followed by the lunch social.
Unfortunately, this year
neither Carol nor I will be able attend. I'll be in Disney World and Carol will
be at her family's, celebrating her birthday! So if you and a friend would like
to go, please contact Carol or me and we'll make it easy and fun for you!
Mic
Lost and Found
There is a large
collection of plastic storage containers in the kitchen. The containers will be
on display at the Father’s Day luncheon.
Please
look at the collection and claim your personal property. Whatever is left will
be put into the garage sale items.
