“I am the vine; you are the branches.” John 15:5 Spring 2006

From Pastor Ken’s Study:

From Pastor Ken’s Study:

In the last few weeks, I have on several occasions come across a quote from a church historian about three characteristics of healthy churches. It stood out to me each time I read it, so I felt compelled to share it with you. The church historian is George Marsden and here are his three defining characteristics of healthy churches: “They are first of all confessional—they know what they believe. Second, they are conversional or transformational—their hearts are aflame with the reality of the Spirit of Jesus living within them. And third, they are missional—they keep their faces toward the world.”

One of the gifts of the controversy in our denomination is that it forced us to reaffirm who we are as a congregation. Those reaffirmations are included in the “Confessions Corner” section of this newsletter. Using Marsden’s characteristics, these reaffirmations would be an example of our congregation being confessional. The temptation is to simply stop at our confession and move on. I believe that our confession is a starting point that should give way to how we go about our ministries. My prayer is that our congregation would also be shown to follow Marsden’s other two characteristics. My prayer is that all that we do at Arbor Dale would point people to the transforming power of Jesus. This transforming power is not a one time event, but the very life blood of a Christian. My prayer is that all that we do at Arbor Dale will be missional so that we keep our faces to the world. To use a phrase that I think summarizes the Christian life, we need to seek to know Christ and make Him known. Our focus must be on Jesus as the Savior of the world and the ultimate solution to all the problems of the world.

When our focus slips from Jesus, our congregation can slip into being a clubhouse or a civic club. In order to prevent that from happening we each need to keep our focus on Jesus. Let’s keep reminding ourselves of the awesome grace of Jesus that pursues and heals sinners like you and me. We also need to keep reminding ourselves of the purpose of the church, which is to participate in God’s mission in the world. We are to be Christ’s instruments for spreading the gospel. This means we need to ask where God is leading us in the community and beyond. This means that each of us has a part to play, and that most of this work will be done outside the walls of the church building. This is an adventure that all Christ-followers get the privilege to participate in.

So I close with two important questions:
Do each of us personally know Jesus?
Is each of us making Jesus known to those around us?

To God alone be the glory as we participate in His mission in the world!

Confessions Corner

This section of the newsletter is where I like to share part of the rich confessional heritage of the Presbyterian Church by including sections of the PC(USA) Book of Confessions. This edition will be slightly different as I want to include the four reaffirmations that the session passed in response to the controversies of our denomination. One of these reaffirmations, the Apostles’ Creed, is a part of our PC(USA) Book of Confessions, but the others are not. All of the reaffirmations are meant to rally our congregation around our Christ-centered identity and mission. In Christ, Pastor Ken

First, we humbly reaffirm the fact that we are ALL sinners in need of Jesus Christ.

Second, we reaffirm the following Church Mission Statement that was written in 2000:

We believe that Jesus Christ is the way of salvation, in Him alone we receive eternal life. We believe the primary obligation of the church is to present Jesus as Lord and Savior to those who have never known or accepted him.  We see this as both our privilege and duty, as individual Christians, as a corporate body of believers, and as we join with others in the task of sharing the gospel with the world.  We believe the church is called to train and disciple believers to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness and to live out the salvation we have in Christ.  We believe the scriptures are the inspired word of God to guide us to everlasting life and everyday living. We believe the Holy Spirit gives to believers individually, gifts all for a common good. In summary, we see our mission to be:
To proclaim the good news that God is in Christ loving us, forgiving us and saving us
To help our members grow in following Jesus more closely and serving Him more faithfully
To demonstrate the love of God by ministering to those in need that Christ might be glorified

Third, we reaffirm the Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Fourth, we reaffirm our acceptance of the Presbyterian Church, USA’s mandatory standards for ordination contained in the Book of Church Order.  This means we will not make exceptions to those mandatory standards at Arbor Dale.

Our missions throughout god’s kingdom

Plans are underway for Arbor Dale’s next mission trip. We plan to return to Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Our team will again stay at the Grand Bay Presbyterian Church. This church is about 30-45 minutes from Moss Point, Mississippi where our adopted family, the Hucklebys live. Hopefully, the team will have time to visit and help them.
Our tentative plans are to leave during the first or second week of November. It should be a little cooler then; maybe there will be fewer mosquitoes. Please let Pastor Ken know if you are interested in going on this trip. I can assure you that it will fill your heart and broaden your spiritual growth. After each trip you have heard individual testimony from team members of their experiences. Their words alone should give you the desire to be involved in the next trip. Please pray about your part in this mission.
For those who cannot go because of scheduling, conflicts, health concerns or other responsibilities, you can help just as much by praying for our team. It is hard work and sometimes discouraging and disturbing. But God always finds a way to lift us up. If you can’t go, you can help in other ways: you can make some snacks for the team for their 11-12 hour trip to and from Alabama; send gift cards from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, etc.; send Bibles to be distributed; and/or provide gifts for our adopted family. Everyone in our congregation can make a difference in a community that is still devastated from Hurricane Katrina. Most of all pray for our team as they work and witness to others, and for their safe return. Remember also, how our gift cards helped to buy a new washing machine for the Hucklebys and put a lot of smiles on many sad faces.
Please pray for Grand Bay Presbyterian Church. They have only 19 members, but embraced our last team with their time, love, support and compassion.
Hope to see you on the next trip.

In Christ,

Dave Alexander

Fellowship Committee:

The July Independence Day parade and festival was another busy day for Arbor Dale.  Phil Shomaker and Barbara Cornett arranged for the float to assemble at Lees-McRae with several of our families riding and throwing candy.  Susan and Janette DeLoach sold Beanie Babies for the Youth Group, and Sondra Underwood gave out free iced tea to the hot spectators after the parade (thanks to all who donated several gallons of the refreshing tea).   A display of pictures of our Mission trips was also posted in the tent for folks to see. The Beanie Baby sale raised $110 to buy gas for the Youth’s trip to the Massanetta Middle School Conference. 
    The Arbor Dale 3rd Annual Roan Mountain Picnic was a huge success again this July.  Special thanks to Chris Lecka for donating the hot dogs.  We even had enough to pass on to the Youth Group for some of their dinners.  As with all Arbor Dale gatherings, the "side dishes" were outstanding.  Kennedy and Brock Bindlechner were the first to forge the river and didn't even mind the cold water.
       July was busy as was August with Rachel Crumley's ordination and then Homecoming, so we will probably slow down a bit in September--unless someone has something in mind that you would like to do.  However, October is a busy month with the Fall Festival and other activities.  Please think about volunteering to work on the Festival.  Call Sondra (898-7640) with your suggestions, ideas, and offer to help out!

The Elder Nominating Committee will begin meeting and praying soon for the next class of elders.  We will be looking for people who feel called to be a part of Arbor Dale's leadership team and who will be about the work of the church.  Elders are typically involved in some of the various aspects of the church and show Christian leadership qualities.  Nominations can be made to John Gossett, Tom Vann, Mary Bumgarner, Craig Bell, or Paul Smith.  Please be sure to talk with the potential nominee to ensure their willingness to serve!

Christian Education Committee:

Our new Sunday school year began in June, as the students were welcomed by newly decorated classrooms! A heartfelt thank you to Fabiana Lehmann, Helen Chivers and Mary Archer Vann for all of your hard work.
Vacation Bible School at Holston Camp this summer was a journey in exploring God’s promises. Our theme was “Adventure of the Treasure Seekers.” Through Bible stories and skits, music and crafts, the children discovered the joy in knowing they are treasures in God’s eyes and loved beyond measure. Thank you to all the willing volunteers that helped make this year’s VBS such a blessed success!