Newsletters

August 25-31, 2010 Volume 3 – Issue 25
A word from our Family Pastor:

Nicaragua, Evangelism, and Repentance

There are many stories I could tell you about Nicaragua that would encourage you—stories that may

even impress you—stories of how our team members got to share the gospel with hundreds of children

in the local schools and stories of the many difficult questions that I was asked at the Pastor’s

Conference or stories from our door-to-door evangelism and how the Lord was working to convict

people of their sin. However, perhaps the most memorable experience I had while in Nicaragua

happened at a small Baptist Church in the rural area of Los Cedros—it was an invaluable lesson

learned from Pastor Adonis.

When we went out into the communities of the churches we were serving at in Nicaragua, the pastors

of the churches went with us and even brought members of their churches along so that they might

learn to do evangelism and so that he might be used of the Lord to disciple them. Pastor Adonis has a

passion for evangelism and for discipleship. He understands that the only hope the lost people in his

community have is Christ and he understands that the members of his church must be the ones that tell

their lost neighbors about Jesus. There can be no evangelism without discipleship—if people are not

trained to reap the harvest, they will not go out into it. There can be no discipleship without

evangelism first preceding it. You cannot disciple the lost, you must share the gospel with them first,

then the process of teaching them everything that Christ commanded can begin (Matt. 28:18-20).

Pastor Adonis was doing both—teaching the members of his church to do evangelism and doing

evangelism himself, going out into the community and delivering the good news to the lost.

While I was greatly encouraged to see a pastor leading by example and seeking to disciple men in his

church, this is not what stuck out to me most about Pastor Adonis. What stuck out most was what

Pastor Adonis said to the members of his church who were not doing evangelism. Thursday night was

the last night that we would spend at Los Cedros Baptist Church and Eric Hixon preached a revival

there that night. At the end of the service, Pastor Adonis opened up the altar for people to come and

pray and he challenged those in his church who were not doing evangelism in the community to come

to the altar and repent for their sin. About 15-20 adult members of the church came forward and knelt

at the altar in prayer.

If evangelism is a command, then it follows that neglect of evangelism is sin. This really convicted me

because far too often I fall to the temptation to think of evangelism as an optional practice. I felt like I

should be at the altar praying—I wasn’t invited though, Pastor Adonis only invited the members of his

church as they were the ones who had covenanted together as a body to hold each other accountable to

seek the Lord. Perhaps Pastor Adonis’ encouragement to his people to repent for not evangelizing

seems harsh and perhaps it was, but it was sweet moment for me. It did not feel bitter, it felt

redemptive and loving—I got the feeling that Pastor Adonis was calling his flock to repentance

because he loved them. I hope that is the case—I am praying that God would develop such

relationships in our body at NCBC—ones were we can lovingly call each other to account and ones in

which we take the gospel and evangelism seriously.

Despite the fact that I got to spend three days teaching Pastor Adonis and several other Nicaraguan

pastors, it goes without saying that I feel I gained much more from Pastor Adonis’ example and care

for his flock.

Announcements:
• Women's Summer Book Club August Meeting is TONIGHT: Our August book is Feminine Appeal

by Carolyn Mahaney. We will meet Thursday, August 26 at 6pm at Amy Williams home. Bring

food to share.

• Tracts and Trade Day - One Saturday, September 4 we will be going to Collinsville Trade Day to

pass out tracts. We will meet at the church at 8am. See Ron Champion for more information.

Praise/Prayer Requests:
• Pray for David and Brianna Marshall. Their little boy, Elijah, was born weighing a little over a

pound and is struggling for his life. Pray for them to have strength during this time.

• Pray for Susan Crane who has breast cancer.

• Pray for Daniel, Ernie and Bernice Seckel’s grandson who was in a car accident. Pray for him as he

is still recovering.

• Pray for the Pastor Edwin of the Primera Iglesia Bautista Church in Albertville. He has a blood

infection.

• Pray for the Hixon’s as they have been approved to adopt a baby from China. His name is Josiah

Nolen Junhay Hixon. There is still some paperwork and such to finish, but the main hurdles have

been cleared. Pray for baby Josiah and the Hixons. Josiah has a few physical challenges that he will

have to overcome, so pray for him!

• Pray for Phyllis Patterson and her family. She has stomach cancer and it has already spread to most

of the stomach cavity.

• Pray for Penny Roney, Steve Hellums’ sister. Penny has a Craniopharyngioma. That's a benign

tumor that affects the pituitary gland causing hormone imbalance and headaches. It can also put

pressure on the optic nerve, causing vision problems. The good news is that it isn't cancerous. The

bad news is that she may have to deal with the affects of the tumor for life. Please pray for the

doctors that the Lord will lead them to the best treatment.

• Pray for the Seckel’s grandson, Ethan, who has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

• Pray for Gloria Childress’ brother, James Pierce, who is in kidney failure and not doing well.

• Pray for Ruth Thompson, Wanda Parker’s mother. Pray for her husband, Dalton, as he cares for

her.

Missions:
M.U.D. Ministries:

If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Teague Family: Chris, Emily, Eden, Canaan, Bethany and Nile -

If you would like to get in touch with the Teague’s, you can contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

They are working United World Missions. The website is www.unitedworldmission.org.

This Week's Birthdays:

Wednesday, August 25 - Holden Gregg

Volunteers for this week:
Sunday Morning Childcare:
1’s and 2’s – Jim Parker and Chris Knight
3’s and 4’s – Janice Gray and Haley Coy
Sunday Morning Food:

Amy Williams

New Covenant Baptist Church – www.DiscoverNewCovenant.com
104 W. Alabama Avenue, Suite A - Albertville, AL 35950
256-849-2454
Sunday:
9:30am – Sunday School
10:30am - Worship Service
6:00pm – Community Groups
Wednesday:
11:30am – Men’s Bible Study
6:00pm - Children’s Activities
6:00pm – Student Activities
6:00pm – Adult Bible Study
Pastor – Brad Williams Family Pastor – Drew Dixon
Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that
fosters the love of God with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ
Jesus has loved us. The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ
our Lord, who is Himself the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge
of His greatness to the ends of the earth.

August 4-10, 2010 Volume 3 – Issue 22
A word from our Pastor:

The Trial that Didn’t Happen

You may not have ever heard of Julea Ward, but I hope that you soon become familiar with what has

happened to her. Julea was a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University in pursuit of her

Master’s in school counseling. That is, until Julea was recently expelled. She was expelled, not

because of her conduct but because of her conviction that homosexuality is morally wrong. She refused

to counsel homosexual clients, doing so was a breach of school policy and of the American Counseling

Association’s code of ethics.

Julea sued the university on the basis that she had been discriminated against due to her religious

beliefs. The judge refused to hear the case. She never got her day in court. Here is Judge Steeh’s

statement as to why:

The university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing

their personal values…In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never

change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she

was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.

The only way that Ms. Ward would be re-admitted into the program was if she went into a remediation

program in order to see the error of her ways and change her belief system about homosexuality. The

remifications of this decision are dizzying, and the logic used to reach this decision is patently absurd.

In this decision, the University of Eastern Michigan has done precisely what they have warned Ms.

Ward not to do: that is, they have imposed their beliefs onto her. They believe that homosexuality is

morally fine. They believe that to counsel otherwise is a breach of ethics. Their “Bible”, if you will, is

the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics. Ms. Ward’s code of ethics is the Bible itself,

the University has declared that the ACA’s code is a higher and more correct authority than the Bible,

and this deviation from their faith in the ACA is met with expulsion from the program. So much for

academic freedom of thought.

Should Ms. Ward have refused to counsel homosexuals? The details are vague as to what is meant by

that. If she outright refused to counsel them, I believe she erred. I believe she should definitely have

given them counsel, but she should have pointed out that homosexual behavior is sin, and that

abandoning the counsel of God’s Word in pursuit of illicit pleasure will always result in misery. That

counsel would have gotten her expelled also, it seems, but it would have been a better way to get

kicked out.

So what does the future hold for Bible believing Christians? Will we see believers being systematically

rooted out of programs for religious beliefs? This case is not an aberration. Recently, couselling

student Jennifer Keeton was allegedly told that she had to stop sharing her Christian faith with other

students in order to graduate. She was also told that she needed to undergo “diversity sensitivity

training.”

How should we react to these things? Prayer is the most appropriate response. We should speak the

truth to the public, and we should not be ashamed of the gospel. But we should not expect that we will

have peace with the world forever, and we should be prepared for the suffering that comes with being a

follower of Jesus Christ. Unless the world repents, it will perish. That message will never go down

easy with the world. Be prepared, who knows what is in store for us in the future?

Bro. Brad

Announcements:

• Lord's Supper - We are having the Lord's Supper this Sunday morning, August 8.

• Family Game Night - We are having a game night this Friday night, August 6 at the church. The

church will be open around 4:30pm. Bring games and snacks.

• Trade Day Outreach - We will be going to Collinsville Trade Day this Saturday, August 7. Meet at

the church at 7am. See Ron Champion for more information.

• Community Groups – It’s not too late to sign up for a Community Groups. The four options are

1) Sharing the Gospel - Matt Colvin 2) God, Money, and Possessions - Randy Spence 3) Biblical

Hermeneutics: How to Study the Bible - Brad Williams 4) 1 Thessalonians - Drew Dixon

Women’s Announcements:
• Back to School Celebration/Commiseration Breakfast - Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 8:00am at The

Food Basket. All Ladies are invited to attend.

• Ladies' Fellowship - Monday, Aug. 9 at 6 pm at Jennifer Dixon's home. Bring Salads

• Summer Book Club August Meeting: Our August book is Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney.

If you would like to sign up to host the August meeting, please see Lisa Spence.

Praise/Prayer Requests: