May, 2016 - Benson Baptist Church

BBC
onnections
May,
2016
Music life’s'high'note
I wouldn’t say that I hear voices
in my head, but every once in a
while, I can pick up on a chorus.
one sang between my
The last
ears on the evening of Wednesday,
April 27, immediately after our
church unanimously decided to
bring Todd Johnson aboard our BBC
staff as our new Music Director. It
was a triumphant, punching lyric
from Handel’s Messiah:
“HAAAAAA-LLELUJAH!”
Several things provoked such a reaction from my mental choir. First,
Todd’s a slam dunk. I’ve had the blessing of working with him before when I was
the interim pastor at Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield; we planned worship
and ministered together for eight months. I learned through that experience that
Todd is truly a gifted individual called by God, so when he shared with me that
he felt led to apply for our vacancy, my cerebral singers started tuning up.
g
n
i
p
kee sic
mu
in
d
n
i
m
Secondly, of course, I’m excited for our Music Committee. They’ve done so much over
the last few months—lining up special music, ensuring the choir stays strong, reading
résumés and conducting interviews—it’s great to see all of their hard work rewarded.
But perhaps the most theological reason for the Hallelujahs in my head relates to a conversation I had with
the Music Committee after Todd’s interview. Gathered around the conference table, we began discussing why
music is such a vital ministry for our church (or for any church, really). We spoke of the power music has to
impact our worship and stay with us long after the benediction is offered. One member said, “No offense, Paul,
but I’m 10 times more likely to remember a beautiful solo or choral anthem than I am any sermon.”
I appreciated the honesty, and even if I wanted to be upset, I couldn’t, because my response was, “So am I!”
It’s hard for me to recall what I preached on last week, but I still remember William Massengill singing “Via
Dolorosa” on Palm Sunday, or Stephen Church’s beautiful rendition of “People, Get Ready” from nearly two
years ago.
I think that’s just natural. Visit the Alzheimer’s unit in any nursing home and you’ll see it, too. Long after the
patients there have lost their ability to remember names, dates, even language itself, cue up “Amazing Grace”
on the piano and they’ll sing along just like it was 11:00am on Sunday. Much to my chagrin, they won’t recite a
sermon they heard 50 years ago, no matter how good it was. But you better believe that they’ll remember
music.
That’s the power music has. There’s something special about it. It communicates to a place deep inside us, a
place monotonous prose simply can’t touch.
Think about your favorite movie. What would it be like without a soundtrack? All the words, all the action
would still be there, but how good would it be? Probably not very. It’d be incomplete. There’d be no
punctuation, no adornment to build emotions on those foundations, to construct moods like elation, suspense,
levity, or dread. That’s because music is the one language that isn’t just heard—it’s felt. It’s the language God
uses to touch not only our intellects, but our hearts, as well.
Therefore, as we welcome a new staff minister in the next few weeks who can help feel the voice of God
speaking to our hearts, I encourage you to reflect on how music affects you. What songs awaken your spirit?
When has music moved you? What will you be singing when you can remember nothing else? I wish it’d be
one of my sermons, but honestly, I know it’ll never happen; nothing I’ll ever say could hold a candle to music—
it’s the high note of life.
2
In This Issue…
Keeping Music In Mind
by Paul Burgess…………………………………….2
Dawnings Update
Music Mondays
by Eliza Burgess……….……………..……………6
Table of Contents
Seven Deadly Sins Study……….…….…………..3
DIRECT from Todd
by Todd Johnson
INTERNal Thoughts
JUNITY…………..…………………………….……..7
The View from Debbie’s Desk
by Debbie Champagne……………………………4
“The Young’uns” Children and Youth Page……8
Wood’s Word to the Wise
by Tyler Wood…..……………………….…………….5
April Photos.……..…………………………….10-11
by Muriel Lasater
May Events and Birthdays……………….……….9
3
All STAFF articles this month
are on the topic
of MUSIC…
be sure to take NOTE of them!
Join us on Wednesday nights in May
as we dive into the seven deadly sins!
Or, I suppose a better way of saying it
is, “Join us as we dive into a study on
the seven deadly sins!”
There, that’s a little better. Here are
the topics we’ll be studying:
May 4……..Sins of Desire: Greed and Envy
May 11….Sins of Excess: Lust and Gluttony
May 18…..Sins of Passion: Sloth and Anger
May 25……………The Original Sin: Pride
3
INTERNal
Thoughts
I love music. It has always been a huge part of my life. When I was younger I played violin for three
years, took piano lessons for four years, and I played the flute all throughout middle and high school in
concert band. I even played the saxophone for one year in middle school when I was part of the jazz band.
I’ve been singing pretty much my entire life, and so music has always been important to me in some shape
or form. My brother and I get our musical talents from our mom (Sorry, dad!), and listening to my mom or
brother play a song on the piano or practicing a duet with my brother are some of the ways that music has
created space for our family to grow closer to one another. with Muriel
Music is powerful in so many ways. So many important life events and special memories that I have are
connected to certain songs. Often times when I hear a certain song it will trigger a memory. When I was
about six, I was walking around a Belk store singing “Say A Little Prayer For You” from the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding starring Julia
Roberts. Every time I hear the song that was played at my high school graduation I reminisce on all of those fun memories with life-long
friends. Sometimes when I hear a song I think of a mission trip or a fun weekend at the beach with my best friends. I hear a song on the
radio and I remember the fun times I’ve had at the concerts of some of my favorite artists. Music has the ability to tug on our heart strings
in such a powerful way, and it allows us to connect with others in special ways. Growing up my mom would always encourage my brother and me to keep pursuing our musical interests and talents. She would say, “Music
is something you will always have. One day you won’t be able to play sports anymore, but music is something that will always be with you.”
I’ll never forget that, and it’s one of the reasons why I love music so much. It stays with you forever and is always there to comfort and
uplift you whenever you need it. But probably my favorite is: “Found a Peanut”
Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut just
now, just now I found a peanut, found a peanut just
now. Cracked it open, cracked it open, cracked it
open just now, just now I cracked it open, cracked it
open just now. Found it rotten, found it rotten,
found it rotten just now, just now I found it rotten,
found it rotten just now. Ate it anyway, ate it anyway,
ate it anyway just now, just now I ate it anyway, ate
it anyway just now.
When my parents, brothers and I would take a vacation
my mom would sing and teach us songs to keep us
occupied on the trips:
The lyrics to the last song go on and on. Singing on
those road trips was great! We saw a side of mom that
we normally didn’t see. I’ve started singing them to the
boys when we’re in the van going somewhere. They
don’t appreciate my singing the way I did my mom’s.
Lol!!
“Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the
bedpost overnight?” Does your chewing gum lose
its flavor on the bedpost overnight? If your mother
says don’t chew it, do you swallow it in spite? And it
catches on your tonsils and you heave it left and
right. Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the
bedpost overnight?”
How about: “The Erie Canal Song” I’ve got a
mule her name is Sal. Fifteen years on the Erie
Canal. She’s a good old worker and a good old pal,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal. We’ve hauled
some barges in our day full of lumber, coal and hay
and we know every inch of the way from Albany to
Buffalo.
4
Music is good for you. When the boys first came to live
with us I never wanted to listen to music. If I had a few
minutes I just wanted peace and quiet but I’ve gotten
back into listening to the radio. It peps me up, makes
me happy, and less stressed. We’ve visited a lot of
churches since we moved to Smithfield. One of the first
things we check out is the music. We want our bodies
and spirits filled with God’s love and we feel it starts
with the music. Music for me puts me in the right
frame of mind to worship. To me the music is a vital
part of worship, so I can’t wait to meet and find out
more about our new music guy, Todd. I’m excited about
what he will bring to our worship.
Wood ’s
to the wise.
Tyler’s Random Mix
Throughout my life, music has been a vital part of how I experience the world around me. I associate certain songs with memories or
seasons, people or places. I remember songs from my childhood, themes from nostalgic TV shows, songs played at weddings and
funerals, songs that served as the soundtrack to weird and restless teenager years, songs that inspire or strengthen me in faith. There is
no doubt that music is powerful and transformative. It has certainly shaped me and continues to.
I’d like to share a few lyrics and songs with you. Many of them are quite meaningful to me. A few of them are still unfolding truths
and meaning as I listen and reflect on them. And some of them are just really good songs you need to check out! I’d encourage you to
look them up with an open mind and a receptive heart. Some of them will undoubtedly sound different (to put it lightly) and perhaps even
a bit overwhelming. They once were to me, too. But give it time – they’ll grow on you and soon enough, you may just be sharing them
with your friends as well…
“If ever You come near, I’ll hold up high a mirror. Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You.”
-mewithoutYou, Messes of Men
“Well the rain came down without a sound, and flowers sprouted from the ground. How can I not speak of God when all I see is this
mirage? We pick up guns and we kill our own. Oh, this road leads so far from home. I pray to the angel of fire to burn this mess until it
dies. At the top of the hill, at the feet of the tree, I found the truth in an apple seed. Who would’ve known that when it had grown I could
see all the stars and all the cosmos? Some say I’m sick and some call me mad. They say I’ve lost all that I had. True, I am mad for the
Light, for the Spark, that resides in the deepest depths of my heart.” -Trevor Hall, Liquor Store
“See the Conqueror mounts in triumph. See the King in royal state, riding on the clouds His chariot to His heavenly palace gate. Hark the
choirs of angel voices! Joyful alleluias sing! And the portals high are lifted to receive their heavenly King!”
-Jenny & Tyler, See the Conqueror
“The horse’s hay beneath His head, our Lord was born to a manger bed, that all whose wells run dry could drink of His supply. To keep
him warm the sheep drew near, so grateful for His coming here: ‘You come with news of grace. You come to take our place!’ The donkey
whispered in His ear, ‘Child, in thirty-some-odd years you’ll ride someone who looks like me…untriumphantly.’ While the Cardinals
warbled a joyful song: ‘He’ll make right what man made wrong, bringing low the hills, that the valleys might be filled!”
-mewithoutYou, A Stick, A Carrot, & String
-The Avett Brothers – (Any song! They’re all good!)
-Johnny Cash – Ain’t No Grave
-Peter, Paul, & Mary – All My Trials, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, And When I Die
-The Civil Wars – From This Valley
-Trevor Hall – To Zion, Bowl of Light, Kabir II, Still Water, Te Amo, House
-The Rocket Summer – So In This Hour, The High Life
-Counting Crows – Raining in Baltimore, Round Here
-The Killers – When You Were Young, Runaways, All These Things that I’ve Done
-mewithoutYou – Four Word Letter (Pt. 2), Carousels, In A Market Dimly Lit
-Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue, Gifts & Curses
-Bowerbirds – Overcome with Light, In the Yard, Tuck the Darkness In, Northern Lights
-Eddie Vedder – Society
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Anytime you want to talk music, I can give you dozens more! I’d love to know if you look up any of
these and like a particular song or band!
5
Coming this Summer:
MUSICBy MONDAYS!
Eliza Burgess
UPDATE
Because Dawnings is a process that involves
the entire congregation, we want to keep
you updated on what our team’s been up
to!
Every Monday morning for the last few months it’s
been my pleasure to hear the sounds of singing, stomping,
laughing, and clapping from a group of curious, engaged
and excited 3 and 4 year olds (plus Parrish, who gets in on
his cute factor). These children and their caregivers are
hosted each week in a little Sunday School classroom in the
children’s wing of First Presbyterian Church in Smithfield
and are led by their joyful and welcoming leader, Ms. Camille
Boone.
As a mom who’s fairly new to staying at home, I
found myself eager to learn about fun (and free) things I
could do with my boys during the week days. When I
learned about Ms. Camille’s Music Class, I knew I wanted to
try it out; we were not disappointed! Each Monday is filled
with opportunities to play little drums, tambourines, rhythm
sticks, march to the beat of silly tunes, listen to fun song
books, and sing classic songs like “If You’re Happy and You
Know It” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.
After just a visit or two, I just knew our church
could provide a similar ministry to those who live in our
community! Muriel and I started talking and realized that
the excitement God had placed in my heart for this idea
matched up perfectly with an opportunity she has to
develop a new ministry as a part of a class she’s taking
called Childhood Ministry in the Church. We knew God was
confirming this call we’d both experienced separately.
And, so, on Monday, June 13, we’re planning to
launch Benson Baptist’s Music Monday for preschoolaged children in our community. We’ve prayed and felt the
energy and support of others and know that God can do
great things with our willingness to serve others. Our hope
is that we can extend hospitality and encourage parents to
engage with their little ones in a Christian environment that
promotes love and fun!
• Our team, which meets every other
Saturday morning, has completed the
first phase of the Dawnings process,
which is a three-session focus on the
guiding principles of Visioning, Forming,
and Engaging
• We begin our second phase of the
process at our next meeting on May 14.
During this phase, we begin to focus our
discussion on some concrete ministry
initiatives God might be presenting to our
church. One question we’ll be asking is,
“What is God ‘up to’ in Benson and at
BBC?”
• Our Sunday school lessons during JUNITY
will be based on the Dawnings model—it
will be a way for everyone to participate
in the process of discerning what God is
“up to” around us!
If you have questions about how Dawnings
is going, please don’t hesitate to ask a
member of the team—we’d love to share with
you!
6
M
Music in Worship
A little over a year ago, I had the privilege of joining a small group on a pilgrimage to Israel
and Jordan. Our Jewish guide told the heart-rending story about his grandparents who were
exterminated in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. As they and others were marched
into the gas chambers they often recited the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is
One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
True love for God finds expression in worship, even when—especially when—facing death.
Music is an important part of our worship. The psalmists repeatedly tell us to sing to the Lord a new
song, to play instruments for the Lord, even to dance before the Lord. When we do all this because of
gratitude we can have some wonderful, amazing experiences. When we do it simply because it’s part
of our habitual ritual…well, it’s much less wonderful and amazing, even if performed with technical
and artistic perfection. Music is a special gift from God that we are supposed to enjoy and share with
others. My heart’s desire is for everyone who
walks through the doors of this church to have an
encounter with the Holy Spirit and to leave a little
more spiritual, a little more grateful, a little more
hopeful, and a little more joyful. I consider it an
awesome privilege to lead in worship and am
looking forward to many beautiful, meaningful
musical experiences here.
Get ready for…
One adult Sunday School class, all month long.
Starting June 5
Topic: DAWNINGS - Discerning God’s mission for Benson Baptist today!
7
“The Youngins”
A Children & Youth Song (Key of BBC)
Youth Sunday - May 15 - Join us for worship as our teenagers lead us in worship for
both services. May 15 is also Pentecost Sunday so we’ll be centering worship around
the coming of God’s Holy Spirit upon the disciples and on us as well!
Youth Mentorship Program - Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far to be a
mentor for one of our awesome youth! We are still in need of a few ladies and men in
order to make sure every teenager has a mentor. Remember, mentors can be any age
from any background or experience. Tyler will be helping train and equip mentors
with everything they need as they pray for, talk with, and support our youth!
(The Curtain Call…)
Children’s Sunday - Our BBC kids did an amazing job leading us in worship during Children’s Sunday! A special thanks to all of our wonderful children, to Steve Fox for coordinating puppetry, and to Dennis Jernigan for organizing and leading the Children’s
Choir! This service was a blessing to everyone in attendance and truly reminded us to
worship God with joy!
Zoo Trip - We had a blast on our family zoo trip to Camp Caraway and the NC Zoo in
Asheboro! Stay tuned for pictures on our children’s ministry Facebook page!
T. Wood (2016)
Children & Youth Productions
8
What’s happening
THIS Month…
BIRTHDAYS
Lily Johnson
Steven Pate
MAY HAPPENINGS
Andy King
Chase Hall
Sun.., 5/1 - Children’s Sunday!
Thurs.., 5/5 - National Day of Prayer Breakfast (7:30am)
Fri., 5/6 - Sat., 5/7 - Family Zoo Trip
Sun., 5/8- Mother’s Day (Baby Dedications in 11:00am Service)
Tues., 5/10 - Second Act Lunch and a Movie
Sat., 5/14 - Dawnings Team Meeting (8:00am)
Tues., 5/17 - Deacons Meeting (7:00pm)
5-2
5-4
5-4
Nora Bowman
5-7
Reese Taylor Honeycutt 5-6
Gary Warren
5-7
Miriam Rose
5-10
Watson Lucas
5-13
Timothy 'Graham' Naig 5-10
Haley Zapp
Wed., 5/18 - Missions Council (8:00pm)
5-1
Abigail Johnson
June Dunn
Sun., 5/15 - Youth Sunday!
5-1
Bobby Bryant
5-11
5-13
5-14
Wed., 5/25 - Last PEAK for the School Year
Elaine Massengill
5-14
Sat., 5/28 - Dawnings Team Meeting (8:00am)
Michael Adams
5-21
George Hernandez
Fri., 5/27 - BBC Hosts Friday Night Hoops
Dennis Jernigan
5-22
Eddie Guin
5-27
Annalean Johnson
Worth Bowman
Cheryl Johnson
Aimee Newman
Betty Wheeler
9
5-21
Daniel Brewington
Randy Stephenson
A: a MAY bee!
5-17
Chess Royal
5-23
5-27
5-28
5-28
5-30
5-30
5-31
and what we did LAST MONTH!
!
y
a
d
n
u
s
s
’
n
e
r
d
l
Chi
FOR FULL COLOR PICTURES, DOWNLOAD THE NEWSLETTER AT WWW.BENSONBAPTIST.ORG
(from the homepage, go to the “News” tab and click on “Newsletters”)
10
(Above) Campbellites from the WOVEN Sunday School class
enjoy one last hoorah at the Zapp house before summer!
(Right) Jarah Newton, Amanda Spears,
Reagan Hall, and Christy Hinnefeld
share about the importance of youth
having mentors at BBC
(Left) While we talk about serving
one another during worship, Muriel
leads the nursery children in a footwashing (Joshua Naig had to rub
Steven Burgess’ extra hard)
(Below) A full and beautiful choir helps us prepare for
worship with an introit
11
2016
May,
Benson Baptist Church
P.O. Box 323
Benson, NC 27504
BBC
onnections
words
“
“
in
your
own
Notable quotes from
Benson Baptists
“Um, I hope the youth are doing ok back there and that nobody’s
gettin’ burnt.”
- Chase Hall, to God, while saying the blessing before the youth pancake fundraiser.
“I never thought I’d have such a good time in a Baptist church!”
- GriefShare participant (and member of First Presbyterian Church of Smithfield) Sandy Perkinson, reflecting
upon the impact of GriefShare during the last session of our Spring unit.
“Has anyone seen my sheep?!”
- Amateur shepherd Paul Stafford, interrupting a sermon to solicit help locating a wayward member of his
flock.
“Dear God: If you let The dinasor not exstinct we would not have a country. You
did the right thing.”
- A young boy named Jonathan, whose letter to God was found on the internet and referenced by Tyler
during his message on Children’s Sunday.