Want a free 8×10 of your family? Want to help keep our church family united? Make an appointment for your church directory photo as soon as you can! We will be taking pictures on Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28th.

Here’s what you should know:

• Every family gets a free 8×10 just for showing up!
• If you make your appointment online, you’ll be emailed a $10 off coupon if you decide to order pictures.
• This is open to your friends, family, and the public. The more families that are photographed, the more directories will be available and the better quality directory we’ll have. Your friends and family are welcome to make an appointment using this online scheduler anytime.

Thanks for your participation! Let Matthew or Brenda know if you have any questions!

Our kids’ curriculum is moving on great. We’ve got classes for all ages on Sunday mornings at 9 and Wednesday evenings at 7.

Here’s what’s new for our adults:

On Sunday mornings in the auditorium, Matthew and James will be teaching the Parables of Jesus in Luke.

On Wednesday nights, the auditorium class will be taught by Jerry Hall, Randy Fuqua, and Charlie Dauphin. Their topic is “The Story of God’s People” — a quick overview of what God is doing between Genesis and Revelation.

The ladies will restart their Wednesday night class downstairs in the Media Room, coordinated by Kathy Gabriel. Several of the ladies will be bringing biographical lessons of different women in scripture using the book “Bad Girls of the Bible” as a guide.

It promises to be a great quarter. Hope to see you here!

Here’s a recap video of what our kids did:

Take a look at the Bible Bowl Newsletter that explains how our kids did.

Want to try your hand at the questions the kids answered?

• Round 1 handout
• Round 2 handout
• Round 3 handout
• Round 4 handout
• Sweet 16 handout
• Final Four handout

Now here’s to next year!

Enjoy this “teaser” from Pearl Johnson’s interview:

It’s that time again — a New Sunday School quarter beginning on Sunday, September 11, 2011! Here’s our new class line-up. If you haven’t been a part of the Sunday School program, now’s a great time to jump back in!

Sunday Morning (9am):

“Encounters with Jesus in Mark” by James Hinkle. This class meets upstairs in the auditorium.

“The Sermon on the Mount” by Matthew Hiatt. This class meets downstairs in the media room.

Our young people are back to their school-year quarterly materials:

6-18 months: Kathy G in Room #6
18-36 months: Donna H in Room #0
3-5 years: Myra H in Room #5
K-2nd Grade: Pam K in Room #2
3rd-5th Grade: Harriett H & David J in Room #3
6-12th Grade: Marshall & Tammy S in Room #4

Wednesday Evenings (7pm)

1 and 2 Thessalonians will be taught by Glenn Buffington in the Auditorium

Spiritual Development 101 will be taught by Matthew Hiatt in the Media Room

John G will be coordinating the children’s classes on Wednesday nights

This fellowship meal will be a little different: in our Sunday morning service, we’re going to pay special attention to our young people as it is the last Sunday of the quarter — meaning it is promotion time! We’ve got a great line-up of teachers for the next quarter, and we want Sunday School to get off to a great start.

We’re going to recognize and pray for ALL of our young people, recognize our Sunday School teachers, award our perfect attenders, and get our kids ready to go to Bible Bowl the following Saturday.

To help make this day more special for our kids, we’re asking that you help us theme the fellowship meal for kids. Instead of fancy food, could you bring something that a 10 year old would be excited about? (That doesn’t mean grown-ups don’t get to eat, don’t worry!)

We’d love for you to plan to bring sandwiches, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, jello, simple apples and carrots and that sort of thing. If you’re not sure what to bring — ask a kid! :)

I really hope we can use this Sunday to make sure our young people know how important they are to the future of the church. Bring your kids, grandkids, cousins, neighbors….and yourself. We’ll make it a GREAT Sunday!

We’ve got a special treat coming up on Easter weekend, April 22-24th. We are hosting our first-ever “Spiritual Growth Workshop.” Never been to one? That’s okay–we haven’t either! Our goal is pretty simple: we want to grow spiritually. So here’s the plan:

Friday, April 22
Good Friday)

6pm in our Fellowship Hall

For all of you who work until 5, especially those of you who commute to Nashville, we know it’s tough to get to an evening activity and have time to grab a bite to eat. We’ll be serving a simple dinner beginning at 6pm, and everyone is invited. We’ll have a few things for the kids to do, since they eat fast.

7pm in the Auditorium

Our first session is called “Igniting the Spark of Spiritual Growth.” We’ll sing for a few minutes to focus our minds and let our stomachs settle, and then we’ll begin this class-style session on getting the fire of spiritual growth lit. Sometimes the first step is the most difficult.

Saturday, April 23rd

During the Day

Spiritual growth isn’t just talk. It is action. So during the day on Saturday, we’ve lined up a few service projects and opportunities for you to walk the talk. We’ll have more details about these on Friday night.

7pm in the Auditorium

Our second class-style session is “Tending the Fire of Spiritual Passion.” We have to keep the fire kindled, or we risk burning out. How do we maintain passion? Why would we even want to? This will be the focus of our study on Saturday night.

Easter Sunday, April 24th: “Friends and Family Day”

Easter Sunday will be a “Friends and Family Day.” Invite your friends who only come a few times a year, and invite your family, near or far away. This will be a great day to recharge our spiritual batteries from the power that rolled the stone from the tomb of Jesus.

9am Sunday School

Sunday School classes are available for all ages. The adult class in the auditorium will discuss “Overcoming the Past” — a lesson from the life of the Old Testament hero, Joseph.

10-11:30am Worship

We are planning on an extended period of worship on this special Sunday morning. Our theme is “Refueling, Refilling, and Reviving.” This lesson will be the closing charge of our spiritual growth workshop.

3pm Easter Egg Hunt at Montgomery Bell Park

We’re planning a special Easter Egg Hunt at Montgomery Bell Park’s Woodhaven Shelter. Kids of all ages are invited!

4pm Family Picnic at Montgomery Bell Park

Bring your family and your friends for a great picnic at the park. We’ll enjoy beautiful spring weather — but if Tennessee’s weather should throw us a curveball, we’ll move the activities to our fellowship hall.

This is going to be a great weekend for all of us. Everyone needs spiritual growth, and we hope this weekend will foster true growth and revival in our community. If you have any questions, email us or contact the church office at (615) 441-3984.

Here is our schedule for classes in March, April, and May 2011:

Sunday Morning (9am):

“A Study of Joseph” by Matthew Hiatt. We are combining our adults and teenagers this quarter for an in-depth study of the life of Joseph. This class meets upstairs in the auditorium.

Here are our downstairs kids’ classes:

6months – 18 months taught by Kim D.

18 months – 3 year olds taught by Gayle W. “We are Glad for God’s Good Gifts.” Room #0.
3 – 5 year olds taught by Alicia D. and Nicole H. “We Learn to Follow Jesus”

1st and 2nd Graders taught by Kathy G. “Our Place in God’s Plan.”
3rd – 5th Graders taught by Brenda W. “In the Footsteps of Jesus.”

Wednesday Evenings (7pm)

Adults: Wisdom from Proverbs (Keith O. and Randy F.) meets in the Auditorium

Women: Wisdom for Ladies (Leslie H.) meets in the media room downstairs.

Children 2-3 years old taught by Leighann J in Room #0 downstairs.

General Children’s class taught by Botch & Lori in Room #3 downstairs.

We hope that you’ll come and take advantage of these classes!

Our pantomime entertainment for the evening!

If you’d like to see the rest of the pictures, head on over to our facebook page. (You don’t have to have an account to see them!)

It’s good for the church to enjoy the company of one another, and a beautiful afternoon in the park is a great way to accomplish that goal. We even beat (most of) the rain home. Enjoy some blurry pictures and we’ll look forward to next year!

Click “Read More” below to see the rest of the pictures…

This year, our Senior Saints took a quick trip to Nashville to enjoy a nice train ride with a little ol’ robbery on the way to Water Town. Enjoy the pictures!

Click the “read more” button below to see the rest of the pictures.

The New Testament describes a special role for men of proven reputation, character, and quality. These men are called by different names in scripture: elders, overseers, shepherds, and pastors.

Their job description is difficult: they are responsible for leading and guiding the congregation. They keep an eye out for the sheep, to make sure they’re fed and safe. Their job is tough, and they covet your prayers.

Burns is blessed to have six elders as of September 12, 2010. These men (as pictured from left to right) are Jeff Kuhns, Glenn Buffington, Stan Whitfield, Butch Jack, Charlie Dauphin, and James Hinkle. They would be glad to answer any questions you might have, and they’d love to visit with you or have a Bible study.

Here is a video from the service in which these men were installed:

If you have a specific question for these men, you can send the entire group an email addressed to ELDERS (at) BurnsChurchofChrist.org.

Our students did a great job this year, and we’re really proud of how hard they worked studying Exodus. Our students were David, Leighann, Destiny, Kaiya, Syvanna, Emmy, Bridgett, Lexa, Myka, Raegan, and Tucker.

If you’re interested, check out the Bible Bowl questions these young people answered so well!

Thanks for all your hard work! You are an example to all of us. Mark you calendar for Bible Bowl 2011 — a New Testament year — for Saturday, September 10, 2011.

Our new eldership will consist of Jeff Kuhns, Glenn Buffington, Charlie Dauphin, Butch Jack, Stan Whitfield, and James Hinkle.

We look forward to continuing under their leadership!

We are pleased to announce that six men have announced their willingness to serve this congregation as her elders. The men are Glenn Buffington, Charlie Dauphin, James Hinkle, Butch Jack, Jeff Kuhns, and Stan Whitfield.

Since two of these men are members of the resource committee, we have added additional members to the committee. Originally we planned to add to the committee by selecting former deacons, but all of our former deacons are either on the committee or are elder candidates. The committee was in agreement about selecting three well-known and respected men: Randy Fuqua, Jerry Hall, and Keith Oliver.

This group is now accepting your written and signed feedback about our elder candidates. Verbal comments or anonymous notes will be immediately dismissed. We are looking for both positive and negative comments about the qualification of these men to serve this congregation as elders in light of what scripture teaches in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. (Those passages are reprinted for your convenience on the back of this letter.) The deadline for your comments is Sunday evening, August 29^th.

Your comments may be personally delivered to a member of this committee, placed in the locked box in the foyer, mailed to the attention of the “Eldership Resource Committee” at the church address, or emailed to comments@burnschurchofchrist.org.

After receiving your comment, we will follow up with you to clarify your comment. Then we will bring it to the attention of the candidate for his response. Your name will not initially be given to the candidate, but will be made known if necessary. “Minor” issues will be dealt with between the candidates and the commenters within the committee, but anything more difficult will be brought to the attention of the congregation for further comment.

It is our hope and prayer that the comments will quickly guide us to the will of God and the will of the church at Burns, and by Sunday, September 12, 2010, we will be ready to install these men as our elders.

Please continue to pray diligently for the church and for these men. They are to be commended for volunteering for service in this special capacity. Regardless of whether or not each man is selected, they all deserve honor for their willingness to serve.

Please be open and honest with us during the commenting phase. A positive or negative note about a man’s qualification is one of the most beneficial things you can do during this time.

If you have any questions about this process or about the qualifications, feel free to contact any member of the resource committee. We can provide more detailed notes or information for your consideration.

For Christ and His Church,

The Resource Committee

John Gabriel
Matthew Hiatt
Randy Fuqua
Jerry Hall
Keith Oliver

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7 ESV)

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:5-9 ESV)

PS> You can listen to our recent sermon on elder qualifications below.

If you’re visiting our area (we’re near the Montgomery Bell State Park near Dickson, Tennessee), check out our “Visitors” section. You’ll find service times, driving directions, and a little more about what makes us tick.

If you’re looking for a Bible study or religious answers, so are we! Check out our “resources” section where you can find Bible study tools, sermons, and articles to make you think.

Thanks again for visiting, and come back soon! We hope you’ll join us for worship as soon as you can!

Enjoy a few pictures and videos from the highlights of church camp!

2010 Camp Skits from Matthew Hiatt on Vimeo.

As you are aware, we are at the beginning of a process to select and appoint elders for the congregation. An open meeting was held at the building on Sunday, July 11 at 4:30 to determine the best process to identify and appoint elders. At the meeting, those attending reached a consensus regarding this process. This letter contains a description of this process and instructions for your participation. A group of four men, our current ministers (James Hinkle and Matthew Hiatt) and deacons (John Gabriel and Charlie Dauphin), will serve as a “resource committee” for this process.

If you are interested in becoming an elder, please present a signed note stating your intentions to one of these men, or place it in the locked box available in the foyer. This letter is due by the evening of Sunday, August 1.

If you would like to nominate someone, we request that you encourage him individually to submit his name. The resource committee will not be accepting nominations, only personal intentions to serve.

The committee will compile a list of the men who have identified themselves. They will verify to make sure that no one is “obviously” unqualified to serve, prior to announcing the candidates’ names on Sunday, August 8. We will then send a letter to all members to make sure everyone is aware of the candidates who have come forward.

The committee will then accept written and signed feedback regarding these candidates, both positive and negative, until the evening of August 29. You can personally deliver your thoughts to any member of this committee, place your note in the box in the foyer, or send a letter to the attention of the “Eldership Resource Committee” to the church address. After the period for comments is over, the committee will review the comments made, follow up with the candidates to resolve any potential issues, and God willing, they will submit the men for installation on Sunday, September 12, 2010.
Should one of the committee members decide to pursue the eldership, he will excuse himself from discussions about himself, and if necessary, the committee will add additional members, likely former deacons and ministry leaders, to help work through the members’ comments.

We are asking every member to pray diligently for the church right now. Pray for wisdom and guidance during this process. We are asking every qualified man to consider his responsibility to the church and to step up to assume the role of an elder. We are asking for your honest and helpful positive and negative feedback each step of the way. We are a family, and if we all work together, we will soon be a better, more biblically functioning family.

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to contact any member of the resource committee. We can provide more detailed notes or a recording from the July 11 meeting. We look forward to seeing this process to completion!

For Christ and His Church,

The Resource Committee

John Gabriel, Deacon

Charlie Dauphin, Deacon

James Hinkle, Minister

Matthew Hiatt, Associate Minister

You can click on a photograph to go to Picasa Web Albums and email it to a friend, download it to your computer, download the entire album, or order prints online.

Watch our men show their expressions of love…

…and our parody of a classic love song….er, song about love! ;)

…and finally, check out the slideshow from all of the Sweethearts’ Banquets of yesteryear. We have pictures from almost every year, along with some video of the “entertainment.”

Sweetheart’s Banquet Slideshow from Matthew Hiatt on Vimeo.

If you’d like a taste of what they learned, check out Zipped PDF’s of Bible Bowl Questions, and the Newsletter. Way to go teams!!

Enjoy this slideshow of our pictures!

Here’s what we did…

• Summer Revival: It is a revival because we want to bring new life back to the Burns community. It’s obvious that even in this economy, our town is continuing to grow. We want to make sure the town’s numerical and fiscal growth is outpaced by it’s spiritual growth. Join us for five special preaching sessions
  • “But what does Jesus say?” Wednesday, June 17th at 7:00pm
  • “The Gospel by Grace through Faith” Thursday, June 18th at 7:00pm
  • “Born Again of Water and the Spirit” Friday, June 19th at 7:00pm
  • “Almost Persuaded” Saturday, June 20th at 7:00pm
  • “The Power, the Pain, and the Price of the Cross” Sunday, June 21st at 10:00am
• Here’s a postcard invitation to our revival

Look below for all of Eddie’s sermons from the revival:

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The Power, the Pain, and the Price of the Cross (Eddie Lawson): (Revival 2009) by Guest Speakers on June 21, 2009.

• Download audio file (?show&file_name=SAM-2009-6-21.mp3)
  

God's Amazing Grace (Eddie Lawson): (Revival 2009) by Guest Speakers on June 20, 2009.

• Download audio file (?show&file_name=Sat-2009-6-20.mp3)
  

Born Again of Water and the Spirit (Eddie Lawson): John 3:1-17 (Revival 2009) by Guest Speakers on June 19, 2009.

• Download audio file (?show&file_name=Fri-2009-6-19.mp3)
  

The Gospel by Grace through Faith (Eddie Lawson): (Revival 2009) by Guest Speakers on June 18, 2009.

• Download audio file (?show&file_name=Thurs-2009-6-18.mp3)
  

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This guide is meant as a tool to aid as you pray for our campaign. Don’t feel bound to it-explore the possibilities of prayer as you take this special effort to the Father’s throne.

1.      Pray for ourselves

a.      …that God will give us a burden for the lost.

b.      …that God will help us do our best to prepare.

c.       …that God’s will may direct our planning in wisdom.

d.      …that we will learn and be transformed by this experience.

e.      …that we will have pure hearts and right attitudes.

f.        …that we will have the energy, health, and resources to complete our task.

g.      …that we will have confidence in God.

h.      …that our lives will exemplify Christ.

i.        …that we will be forgiven for the times we’ve hidden our lights.

2.      Pray for our visiting campaigners

a.      …that they will travel safely.

b.      …that they will be effective.

c.       …that God will use them to teach and inspire us.

d.      …that their training will be remembered and utilized well.

e.      …that Eddie’s preaching of the gospel will lead souls towards Christ.

3.      Pray for our community

a.      …that we will find those who want to know God.

b.      …that those who don’t yet want to know God will learn to seek Him.

c.       …that nothing happens to hinder our effectiveness.

d.      …that Satan may not interfere with our efforts.

e.      …that God will prepare the hearts of those we meet.

f.        …that through God’s providence every person may have an opportunity to hear the gospel.

4.      Pray for our congregation

a.      …that our leaders will lead well, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

b.      …that we will grow spiritually-more sure of our faith in Christ, more dedicated to his cause.

c.       …that we will be what God wants us to be and the world needs us to be.

5.      Pray!

a.      Thank God for his love, grace, and mercy.

b.      Thank God for the ones who have taught us faith.

c.       Thank God for the gift of Jesus.

d.      Thank God for his eternal wisdom.

e.      Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise him, all creatures here below! Praise him above ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Is faith compatible with science? Does God exist–and if He does, why all the suffering? Can we trust the Bible?

Lee Strobel asked these tough questions more than once in his life. As a young professional, the legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, he knew for a fact that religion was a crutch–something made up to help the weak. When his wife became interested in faith, he thought it was going to be more of an annoyance than anything! With his reporter’s notebook in hand, he decided to examine the evidence. The atheist is now a world-renowned apologist helping others step through the same evidence he looked at–in an investigation of a lifetime!

We invite you to join us for a special three-month series on Sunday nights at Burns: Examine the Evidence. We want to look at tough questions like these and see what answers we can find from experts and the word of God. Strobel has produced three video sets, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, and The Case for Christ. These videos are full of great information for anyone!

If you’re a beliver–come, and learn more about your faith. If you’re a seeker–come, and see what it is that means so much to us. If you’re convinced that we’re crazy–come and see for yourself!

We’ll show these interactive videos on Sunday nights at 6pm along with supplementary lecture materials and group discussion. In addition, we’ve planned four special nights of guest speakers. We have sought out experts who know their materials to help us examine the evidence.

We have invited Dr. Steve Cantrell, a surgeon who is involved in cancer research, to present evidence examining the resurrection of Jesus. Dr. Cantrell was recently published in Think magazine on this topic and has served for several years at the Crieve Hall congregation in Nashville.

Dr. Joe Deweese from Walnut Street will make two presentations examining the evidence for God from the perspective of a scientist and biochemist. Dr. Deweese has presented material at Walnut Street and will teach at Lipscomb as well. He is now finishing his work at Vanderbilt.

Our third guest is Dr. Dale Manor from Harding University. Dr. Manor is an archaeologist and professor of Old Testament Studies. He is the field director of Tel Beth-Shemesh excavations in Israel. You may have recently heard him present at the Fairview Church of Christ or at Freed-Hardeman University’s lectureship.

These men will guide our study and answer questions as we work to examine the evidence! Please join us for this investigation of a lifetime!

• March 1 Faith in a World of Reason?
• March 8 The Gospels: Eyewitness Testimony
• March 15 Friends and Foes: Extra-Biblical Testimony
• March 22 Who Is the Real Jesus?
• April 5 The Resurrection: It Happened.
• April 12 A Doctor’s Look at the Resurrection Dr. Steve Cantrell, MD, DDS
• April 19 Science and God: Incompatible?
• April 26 A Scientist’s Look at the Universe Dr. Joe Deweese, PhD Biochemistry
• May 3 A Biochemist’s Look at Intelligent Design Dr. Joe Deweese, PhD Biochemistry
• May 10 An Archaeologist’s Look at the Bible Dr. Dale Manor, PhD Archaeology 
• May 17 How Did It All Start?
• May 24 Design? Intelligent?
• May 31 Philosophical Evidence for God 

Download a printable flier with schedule of speakers and topics.

Enjoy a “then and now” slideshow:

Enjoy pictures from our special night

.

In addition, here’s are our pictures from the Christ Tomb Tour at Woodlawn. Thanks to the folks at the Funeral Home for the great tour!

Arnold Garcon, our missionary who works in Haiti and elsewhere in central/south America, came this past Wednesday night to make a presentation about his work. As you may be aware, there have been several storms and hurricanes hit in the past year–which is a problem in the hemisphere’s poorest nation. On top of that, inflation and rising prices combined with a weak dollar have hurt the church’s buying power.

With that in mind, we’re having a special contribution this Sunday for relief work in Haiti. This contribution will be used to support Arnold’s work and help those who are in desperate need of physical aid — and in need of Good News.

If you didn’t get to join us Wednesday night, take a look at one of Arnold’s presentations to get a feel for what has been going on:

Arnold’s Mission Report Audio:

Download audio file (Wed-2008-11-19.mp3)

Here’s a little slideshow of the night:

Each student was assigned a mentor, memorized scripture, participated in service projects, and had opportunities to grow in leadeship. 

In addition, we recognized our Bible Bowl students as you have already read in previous posts.

Enjoy the pictures from our awards day!

Congratulations to our Bible Bowlers this year! Our students did great learning the book of 2 Samuel, and we’re really proud of their hard work and accomplishments. Every student set a personal best score this year, four of our seven were above 90%, and our junior team made it into the semi-finals (the Sweet 16) for the first time in our history!

Check the Bible Bowl page for pictures of the big day in Cookeville! ]]> http://www.burnschurchofchrist.org/2008/09/bible-bowl-2008-congratulations/feed/ 0 http://www.burnschurchofchrist.org/2008/08/shepherds-notes/ http://www.burnschurchofchrist.org/2008/08/shepherds-notes/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:58:29 +0000 Matthew http://www.burnschurchofchrist.org/?p=219 he elders have several pieces of information they’d like to share with the Burns family at this time, so we’ve prepared a “Shepherds’ Notes.” We hope to do this more often in the future, so that we can keep each other informed and encouraged about the work going on at the Burns Church of Christ.

You can download a PDF of their notes here, or read the full text below:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Aug 31 – Cookout after Evening Services
Sept 6 – Bible Bowl @ Cookeville
Sept 7 – Special Collection: Goal $8,550
Sept 13 – Building Clean-up and Work Day
Sept 27 – Burns Fish Fry
Nov 1 – Costume Party at the Olivers’

Small Group Bible Study

It is our prayer and hope that the small group Bible study format we’ve used on Sunday nights has been helpful to you. We have been encouraged to see how many people have actively participated and worked through some familiar (and not-so-familiar!) lessons from 2 Samuel. We want to hear your feedback—so let us know what has worked, so we can continue to provide the best learning and growth opportunities possible.

We will continue our small group format through the month of November. Beginning on the first Sunday of September, we’ll launch into new study topics. Let your group leader know what topics and texts would be helpful.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 31. Instead of our usual 5th-Sunday Singing, we’ll have our final study session of 2 Samuel followed by a cookout on the grounds. Be listening in your group for more information.

New Faces

We’ve had three baptisms in the past year. Make sure you’re continuing to encourage Marcia Dauphin, Chazz Jackson, and Ashton Long.

Be sure to encourage them as well as all of our other new members!

Less Hot Air!

Some of you have already noticed that the auditorium is much more comfortable lately. That’s thanks in part to the work of Kenneth Caldwell who has repaired several components of the HVAC system.

We’ve worked with several heating and air folks to continue to make the auditorium as comfortable (and efficient) as possible. We’ll soon be replacing our current mis-matched thermostats with ―smart thermostats that will keep the temperature more consistent and save on our energy bills. During summer months, the air conditioning will be set at 76 degrees. During winter months, the heat will be set to 68 degrees. You’ll want to dress accordingly!

You may also have noticed in Keith Oliver’s financial reports that our last two months’ energy bills have been astronomical! We’re still working on this, but it appears that the power company is fining us for when we use a lot of power, suddenly. (Like at Fellowship meals: we turn on the air conditioners, the lights, the heating table, the warmer, etc. all simultaneously!)

Please help us conserve by noticing the instructions on several light switches and thermostats – and turn lights off when they’re not in use.

We still have several more repairs and upgrades to make to help our systems work more efficiently, and these won’t be free. Kenneth has been gracious to donate his expertise—which would cost us thousands—but we will need help for parts and other expenses. We will have a special collection to help with building upkeep and maintenance on Sunday, September 7. Our goal is to raise $6,000 above the budget (a total of $8,550) so that we can fix our facilities problems before they get worse.

We really appreciate your help! We’re blessed with a comfortable place to worship and study, and we want to take care of it so it can be used for years to come.

The Church Mortgage

Several months ago, the church mortgage balloon payment came due. The church’s note is a 5 year loan with a balloon payment due at the end. Thanks to the help of Becky Gaskins at Pinnacle Bank, we have refinanced the note for the next 5 years at a 15 year amortization schedule (instead of 10).

If you have any questions about the church’s finances, please talk to us or Keith Oliver, our treasurer.

House to House/Heart to Heart

We recently expanded our mailing of the House to House/Heart to Heart newsletter to include every mail route in the town of Burns. Several have responded to the Bible quizzes and we’ve had some interest in Bible studies as well.

If you don’t live on a Burns route, you can pick up a copy for yourself or for a friend in the foyer. They’re available every two months.

Fish Fry 2008

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 27, 2008 for our annual Burns Appreciation Day. This year, we’ve decided to focus on the fish—it’s going to be great! In lieu of barbeque, we’ll be serving hot dogs and hamburgers as well.

If you have a deep fryer, please let John Gabriel know. We’ll plan on having a grounds clean-up day on September 13 from 9:00 to 12:00 to help get ready. Don’t forget to start inviting friends!

Charlie Dauphin

We’re also glad to announce that effective Sunday, August 17, Charlie Dauphin is resuming his role as a deacon. You all know Charlie to be a hard worker in everything he does, and we look forward to his continued service in this role.

We now have four deacons: John Gabriel, Butch Jack, Stan Whitfield, and Charlie Dauphin. These men are responsible for a lot of the day-to-day work at Burns, coordinating everything from gift baskets to cleaning the baptistery. We’re working on defining their roles more clearly—and once that’s done, we’ll post that information so you’ll know who to contact when you have questions. You can read more about the nature and work of deacons in 1 Timothy 3.

The Burns Website

Be sure to check out the church website. It’s online at http://burnschurchofchrist.org. On it, you can find recordings of recent sermons, our bulletin articles, useful Bible study links, congregational news, and pictures from recent activities.

In the past two months, there have been more than 160 people who have visited the site from 6 different countries and 19 different states. We’ve already had a couple of questions from folks asking for Bible study materials and questions about the church. It’s a great resource for a friend.

Coming soon will be access to an online directory. We’ll announce a username and password in the next few weeks.

Outreach: 2009

The church exists to bring glory to God by encouraging the faithful and reaching the lost. We believe that the church at Burns can and should do more to help reach those who don’t know the goodness of God.
We’re currently working on plans for a campaign in the spring of 2009. We will likely be assisted by the God’s Family Evangelistic Ministries group. Lori Jack’s father is a part of this group, and they’ve worked with other congregations with great success.

They will come for a weekend training session for us early next year and assist us with a Gospel Meeting and door-knocking campaign after a couple of months.
The details of this work are still very much up in the air, but now is the time to begin praying for this effort. Pray that God will use us to do His will, that He will soften hearts in our community, and that He will give us wisdom and grace for the task.

Fellowship Meals

We’re planning a slight change in our schedule this year: we will not conduct our standard fellowship meals in the months of September (due to the Fish Fry) or December (due to the Christmas holiday). All other fellowship meals will continue as usual.

Thank You

Thank you for the encouragement that you are—and we pray that together, we will grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus.

Bible Bowl 2008 Test 1: 2 Samuel 1-3

A change is coming on Sunday nights at Burns.  Beginning the first Sunday night in July we will move to a new format for our gathering.  We will move to more emphasis on individual Bible study within small groups.

We will begin our group Bible study at 6:00 and continue until 6:40.  At this time we will assemble in the auditorium and group leaders will share a few things his group had learned in the group study. We will serve the Lord’s Supper for those who haven’t had the opportunity to partake in the morning.  We will close by extending the invitation and conclude with prayer.

All those who are regular attendees on Sunday night will be assigned a group.  These groups will meet in various places in our building. Others who wish to be part of this new format can let one of the elders know and you will be in a group.  Any visitors will be assigned a group as well.

We will try this format for July and August and will evaluate it as the summer ends.  We believe that this will be better use of our time spent together on Sunday nights.  We hope that this will encourage others to be present on Sunday nights.

We believe this format will better meet the needs of our Burns family.

• The need for spiritual growth
• The need for friendship, support and encouragement
• The need for strength in the face of temptation and trial
• The need to give and receive love
• The need to serve others

We look forward to the study of II Samuel as we begin this new Sunday night group Bible study.  We pray that you will see that this format can be special for you and your family.