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

From Pastor Ken’s Study:

What do you think about the Bible?
How was it decided which books were included in the Bible?
What role does the Bible play in your life?
These are very important questions for all people, but especially for Christians. This spring and summer we are faced with these questions about the origins of the Bible and the authority of the Bible. The main discussions have come through the build-up to the May 19 release of The Da Vinci Code movie based on the fictional book by Dan Brown. Another book that is making some news is The Jesus Papers, which makes claims such as that Jesus did not actually die on the cross. In addition, National Geographic is doing a full media blitz of its archeological find of the “Gospel” of Judas. It is interesting that many of the claims of these books and movies are based on religious writings of a sect called the Gnostics. These writings use the names of New Testament characters like Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Peter and Judas even though they were not the authors of the books. The books were written many, many years after the first disciples lived. These writings represent false teachings even though they use Christian language just as the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses do today.

These books, movies, and media coverage are mixed blessings. While they may deceive people about the truth of the Bible, they also provide a wonderful chance for Christians to tell people about the inspiration of Scripture and more importantly about the Author of Scripture. This means that we need to be clear about the origins and inspiration of the Bible. Did you know that there are more ancient manuscripts for the Bible than for any other book? Did you know that many archeological discoveries have proven numerous historical figures and places mentioned in the Bible? Did you know that the books included in the New Testament were not decided by a meeting of men? Instead the books included in the New Testament were the ones that Jesus’ apostles wrote and / or validated. So even though the early Christians were very loosely organized, they were amazingly unified as to which books were authoritative and from God and which ones were not. They actually only debated about three or four books. It is amazing to see how God the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible.

The Bible is unlike any other writing since it is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Even though it has some forty human authors and sixty-six books it tells one unified story of how God has acted within history to save a people for Himself. The Bible includes hundreds of prophecies about the coming Messiah that were all fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Scripture is meant to point us to Jesus and meant to have ultimate authority in our lives and in the Church. The Bible is meant to be interpreted literally, meaning that it is to be understood according to what is written. For example, we are to interpret poems and parables differently than we do historical accounts. When we give our lives to Jesus as our Lord and Savior that means we promise to follow His will for our lives. The best way to know His will is through the Bible. It is okay to struggle with the tough teachings of Scripture, but it is not okay to simply disregard Scripture in order to go our own way. It is okay for science, personal experience, and tradition to help us understand Scripture, but it is not okay for those things to have equal authority as the Bible. So with the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to wrestle with Scripture, pray through Scripture, study Scripture, and most importantly we are to live it out.
I pray that our lives and our congregation will be grounded in the Bible and point people to the eternal Word of God, Jesus Christ. To God alone be the glory!

PC(USA) News:

Our denomination has an important meeting this June 14-22 in Birmingham, AL. It is the meeting of our highest governing body, the General Assembly. The meeting is important since they will take a vote on a report that has far reaching consequences for our denomination. This vote will no doubt make national press. The report is written by the PC(USA) Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church. The Task Force was formed in 2001 and given the task of coming up with a way to discern how God would lead us forward through the many conflicts in our denomination. We at Arbor Dale have been relatively unaffected by the thirty years or so of denominational conflict over the identity of Jesus, the authority of Scripture, the standards for ordination, and the standards for purity and sexuality. Unfortunately this report will affect all congregations in the denomination.

While this report has many good parts, the most controversial is a recommendation concerning our ordination standards for elders, deacons, and ministers. The report proposes to keep our Biblical standards intact while allowing sessions and presbyteries to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to disregard any of the ordination standards to which a candidate disagrees. These Biblical standards for ordination include agreement with theological doctrines such as the Trinity, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and salvation in Christ alone. They also include Biblical standards for living such as the standard to live in fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman and in chastity in singleness. If this report passes, each of the 11,000+ sessions and 173 presbyteries will be able to pick and choose which standards they want to uphold. I am very concerned about the affect on us and on our denomination. So I have had the elders study this report and have had two special adult Sunday school classes on May 7 and 14 to study it as a congregation. I ask that you join me in praying for our congregation and our denomination. We all know that life is full of tests and this is a test for us as a congregation. What will be the affect on our congregation from these tough discussions? I believe that we will continue to grow and flourish as a congregation if we continue to stay focused on Jesus and His Word. Let’s heed Christ’s call to not be anxious or fearful and heed His call to love one another as He has loved us.

Please let me know what questions you have about this and about ways that we as a congregation can best discuss this.

Our missions throughout god’s kingdom

GOD’S MISSION FIELD - - AT HOME...
Hebron Colony Visits Arbor Dale

On April 10th, Hebron Colony visited Arbor Dale for a special meal in the fellowship hall. A delicious spaghetti meal was prepared by Boyd Ramsey, Susan DeLoach, Dave and Nancy Alexander, Helen Chivers, and Mimi Gossett.  Tea and rolls were provided by several members of the congregation and mouth-watering desserts were provided by the ladies of the church.  Others volunteered to serve and cleanup.

One of the highlights of the evening followed the meal with the Arbor Dale Band playing and singing some gospel music for our Hebron friends.  A big thanks to Steve Sneed, Kathy Burton, and Craig Bell for the great music.

The evening closed with some of the Hebron men testifying about their personal battles with alcohol and/or drugs.  They expressed their sincere desires to overcome their addictions with therapy and God's help. It was an inspiring evening for everyone that helped make this local mission possible.
Local mission opportunities such as this one is just as important as going to other places.  A special thanks to everyone who helped make this evening such a blessing.  Praise God for the opportunity to serve those in need!

Dave Alexander

Arbor Dale's Third Mission Trip To The Gulf Coast

On April 17, Pastor Ken Chivers, Eddie Greene, Barbara Cornett, Betty Erhart, Carter Blair, Sandy Cooper, Sondra Underwood, Larry Hayes and Nancy Alexander left for Grand Bay, Alabama to work in the hurricane damaged area of Bayou La Batre (locally pronounced ByeLaBatree).  We were hosted by the First Presbyterian Church of Grand Bay, a church of only 19 members. The whole week we ate well, worked hard, sweated harder, but laughed hardest.

When we arrived, we were greeted by one of the elders and shown around our new "home" for the week.  The ladies stayed in the nursery while the men separated into the other classrooms.  Carter had the prettiest room, all decorated with flowers of every color.  We think he chose that room because it matched his pillow.  He became known as “the flower child”.  The ladies checked out the kitchen and the outdoor showers; both met our needs very well.

Larry was our driver and "fearless leader" for the week.  He and Pastor Ken went each day to the Lutheran Disaster Assistance Center to get our work orders.  The first day and a half we helped Earl and Leland, a father and son, whose home had taken on 7 feet of water.  The men replaced the sub-flooring and the ladies replaced the insulation, in 90 degree temperatures.   Earl had open heart surgery following Katrina and Leland is legally blind, so we were very happy that God had placed us in their lives.  After prayers and goodbyes, we made our way back to the church to shower and take off for Pascagoula and  Moss Point, Mississippi.

Students at Grandfather Academy and teacher, Renee Rogers, sent four boxes of new books to the school system in Pascagoula.  We delivered the books to a grateful staff then made our way to Moss Point to visit our adopted family, the Hucklebys.  After watching the family delve into the Easter baskets you provided for them, we took Joshua and Jermaine to Wal-Mart to shop for things they will need when they come to Holston Camp this summer.  We took dinner back to their home, played some basketball, and got lots of hugs from the babies while Larry and Carter repaired some holes in their walls.  Sandy was loving on  1 year old Carlton, but he was a little shy after she accidentally tried to "tackle" him.  He made his escape back to Donna's lap as we were saying prayers and goodbyes.

Thursday morning brought us to a Vietnamese family's home where Larry assessed what we needed to do.  Carter was in his element - mud and drywall.  Sondra's wish was fulfilled - painting.  Mud, sanding, dusting, and painting kept most of us busy while Larry put a bathroom back together.  Later in the day we met the Tran family who were very grateful for our help.  Their three little girls (one more on the way) were delightful to talk with.  They showed us where each other's room would be when they were able to move back in, and told us all about how Jesus had died on the cross to save us. And we thought we were there to be witnesses! We returned on Friday to finish what we could for them.  Mrs. Tran surprised us with a delicious Asian lunch that we all enjoyed.  We were humbled - they have so little, yet they were sharing with us.  (Mark 12:44)

Friday evening we were blessed to be able to share some time with 11 of the members of the Grand Bay church.  We all went out to dinner, then returned to the church for dessert.  We thanked them for their generous hospitality, shared a few songs, and invited them to visit us in Banner Elk.  Recently, one of their members sent us an e-mail that included a newspaper article he had written for their local paper about volunteers.  It wonderfully expresses appreciation to the many volunteers who have helped their fellow man since the hurricanes, but I know that we have been the ones most blessed. 

Nancy Alexander
(see email below)

************

Here is the e-mail and  some of the article:

Rev. Ken Chivers,

Just a quick note to thank you all for the wonderful evening of fellowship that we were blessed to enjoy with you at this end of your journey to Alabama.  It was a genuine pleasure to meet you all and share some of your memories of your activities in our area.  It goes without saying that your efforts to help those of us who have suffered material damage is very much appreciated.  The spiritual message that you bring however has been far more rewarding and has been more beneficial to the inhabitants of this area than the restoration to our damaged homes and buildings.  The spiritual nails that you drove and the spiritual paint that you spread is far more enduring than the metal and chemical ones that you applied.  They do not rust or fade in our memory.  Thanks to you all! My wife Mary Lou tells me that some of your group requested that I send a copy of the article that I wrote for the local paper after the group from Pennsylvania was here.  It is attached.

In Christ,  Roland Harper - 1st Presbyterian Church of Grand Bay
              
Our church has become a haven to those volunteers who spend their own time and money to come to the area and lend whatever assistance they are capable of to those still in need. The Church at Grand Bay has already hosted groups from Alabama, Minnesota, Kansas, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina and some of them have scheduled a 2nd trip to the area.  These individuals accept the meager furnishings and accommodations that our church can provide, and gladly do their good works with grace and charm.  They do not complain that the shower is an outdoor affair that has been rigged by the church members.  The water is warm if they get there early, but they usually work until dusk and do not make it in time for the hot shower.  They sleep on inflatable cots that are sometimes on the bare floor.  They prepare most of their own meals with only limited assistance from our small congregation.  They come quietly and they leave quietly without fanfare and sometimes without even a farewell wave from locals.  But their memory is in our hearts.  They expect no thanks and they seldom get any from the storm weary individuals whom they have helped.  Please know that we are all grateful to them for everything that they do and are doing for this community and this area of our nation.

Our prayer is that they will never need the type assistance that they have given so freely during our time of need, but if they ever should, we pray that the rest of the nation will be as generous of their time and talents as these folks have been during this most devastating period in our history.  I feel confident that the people of this area would answer the call if needed just as have those devoted individuals from Deland, Florida who suffered through 4 hurricanes during 2004, but who found the time to come to our assistance not once, but they are coming again this week for their second trip since Katrina and will join a group from Pennsylvania in a continuing effort to restore comfort to those who have suffered and are suffering in our community.

We should all be forever grateful to these volunteers and others like them who have come.  May God Bless them all!

From Roland Harper on May 2, 2006:

The beauty of God's creation is sometimes approached by those who labor in His love.  This beautiful flower arrangement adorned the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church of Grand Bay on Sunday April 30.  It was presented by The Arbor Dale Church Mission Team and was symbolic of the beautiful people from Banner Elk whose physical presence had adorned our sanctuary a week earlier and whose memory still fills a corner of our hearts.  We thank you for the flowers, but we realize that the real blossoms were in Banner Elk, North Carolina today.  You are beautiful people who are appreciated by those of us whose lives have been touched by your unselfishness.

May God Bless You

A Day in The Life Of Our Pastor

Monday:

6:00 am – Alarm sounds; I am ready to begin a new week as God’s servant!

6:05 am – Spend time in prayer, asking for His direction as I tackle my ever-increasing work load.

6:15 am – My darling children run into the room, and ask why I like spending so much time with the Lord. (I always love answering that question!)

7:00 am – Begin heading downstairs for breakfast, but stopped to answer the ringing telephone. Discover that Mr. B’s surgery scheduled for Wednesday was changed to this morning due to complications during the night. I assured his wife that I am on my way, and called my 8:00 and

10:30 appointments for this morning to reschedule. Grab a granola bar, kiss my wife and kids, and fly out the door for the 30 minute drive to the hospital, praying for Mr. B and his family, and wisdom for his surgeons.

12:30 pm – Arrive in my office after a morning of ministering to the B family, and thanking God for a successful surgery. Begin the process of retrieving voice mail messages and checking e-mail messages from members of the congregation.

1:00 pm – Started responding to numerous messages, but was surprised by a visit from Mr. Z and his fiancée, Miss S. As I ask them to have a seat, I glance at my calendar reconfirming that their premarital counseling appointment was not scheduled until next Monday. Thankfully, they had completed their homework from our previous session, so we accomplished a great deal in spite of this unexpected change in schedule.

2:00 pm – Called my wife to apologize for missing lunch. She understood. I praise God for our blessed union.

2:10 pm – After eating cheese crackers, continued with returning this morning’s messages.

3:00 pm – Begin taking notes and doing research for Wednesday evening’s Bible study.

3:15 pm – Received phone call from fellow pastor, requesting funds for a local mission project. After assuring him that our church would do what we can, I called the chairperson of our Missions Committee. Unable to reach him at his office or at home, I left a third message on his cell phone.

3:35 pm – Continue with Bible study research.

3:55 pm – Mr. H calls to say that his wife is still in the hospital and is fretting because she missed Communion yesterday. Can I please come to administer the elements to her today? After assuring him that I would try my best to round up an elder to accompany me, I hung up and began calling the members of session.

4:35 pm – Finally found an available elder, and arranged to meet him at the hospital at 5:30. Located Mr. H at the hospital and informed him of our plans. Called my very patient wife and told her not to hold dinner. She suggested I run home and pick up some dinner that she will prepare so I can eat in the car on the way to the hospital. Have I thanked God for her today? Ran down to the fellowship hall hoping that what was left from yesterday’s Communion celebration was still in the refrigerator. I said a prayer of thanks that it was.

5:10 pm – Eating my dinner as I drive to the hospital; cell phone rings - Mission committee chairperson returned my calls and agreed to allocation of funds for our neighboring church’s mission project. Called my fellow pastor with the good news; left a message with his secretary, because he was still in meetings.

5:25 pm – We arrived in time for communion with Mrs. H, with 5 minutes to spare! The gratitude she expressed afterward was indeed a blessing.

6:15 pm – After saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. H, I hopped in the elevator to check on Mr. B. I spent some time with his daughter who just arrived from Houston. She was shaken, but relieved that his surgery this morning was so successful. I assured her that I would come by to see them again in the morning.

7:45 pm – Arrived home just in time to hear my children’s prayers, and tuck them in.

8:20 pm – Finally, some overdue time with my wife! Hearing about the events of her day helped with this disconnected feeling I have been experiencing. Surely the Lord has not blessed me with this wonderful family, so I could merely spend a few minutes a day with them.

8:50 pm – Telephone call from a member of the congregation. Her relatives plan to arrive in town this weekend, and would like to schedule the memorial service for her husband this Saturday, instead of next. After consulting my calendar, remembering my promise to be at the hospital in the morning, and mentally rearranging my scheduled time to prepare for Bible study and begin my sermon for Sunday, I suggested she come into the office at 11:00 am tomorrow so we can finalize the plans.

9:10 pm – Spent much needed time with my wife reading today’s devotions and praying together.

10:00 pm – As I tried to fall asleep, I chuckled when I recalled what Ms. P said as she was departing from Worship service yesterday. She quite seriously asked me, “So, what DO you do during the other six days of the week?” Ah, if she only knew!