THE COMMUNICATOR M o

THE COMMUNICATOR
University
Baptist Church
January 2014
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Guest Teacher: Dr. W. Dennis Tucker, Jr., Associate Dean and
Associate Professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett
Theological Seminary, Baylor University.
Learn more about our guest teacher, Dr. Dennis Tucker, on page 4
Saturday, January 25
Sunday, January 26
5:00 pm: Session 1
6:00 pm: Dinner
6:45 pm: Session 2
9:15 am: Breakfast
9:45 am: Session 3
11:00 am: Session 4
Sessions 1-3 are in Kelley Hall, Session 4 will be in the sanctuary.
More Details On Page 4
Malachi: Preserving Faith
in Challenging Times
Winter Bible Study 2014
January 25-26
“Come and see.” That is the invitation we hear repeated throughout the
introduction to the Gospel of John in John 1:35-51. It is an invitation Jesus
issues to Andrew and an unnamed disciple. It is the invitation Philip issues to
his friend, Nathanael. And we can imagine hearing a similar invitation as
Andrew invites his brother, Simon Peter, to join him in following Jesus.
I believe that as we read John’s introduction, we hear that same invitation repeated over our own
lives: ”Come and see.” As you read the account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, come and
see who Jesus is and experience the life he is bringing into our world.
I am looking forward to the next many weeks of Sunday worship services (between now and
Easter Sunday). Throughout these coming weeks, we will have the opportunity to open up the
Gospel of John as I preach the text and as we all open our ears, eyes, minds, and hearts to see and
experience Jesus. I know this will be a season of growth in my own faith walk as I learn more
about Jesus, and I hope it will be for you as well. The Gospel of John is a rich text that can teach
us year after year, decade after decade.
And as we prepare to experience the Gospel story, I hope that you will consider who you might
issue this same invitation to: ”Come and see.” Who among your family or friends, your coworkers or neighbors might you invite to come and see and learn more about who Jesus is?
In 2013, we accomplished good work. We updated our website and now have an informative and
beautiful web presence. We developed a new UBC logo. We remodeled spaces in our building,
especially those spaces where our children come to learn and grow. We launched a fantastic
program of Christian nurture and biblical education for our children. All of these were important
and worthy efforts.
Even so, a great website and updated spaces are not enough to ensure that UBC will remain a
vibrant and growing congregation for generations to come. If we want to remain a place where
people can come to discover the good news of Jesus, a place where they can come with as little or
as much faith as they have, with as many questions as they have answers, then we are going to
have to commit to being a people, each of us, willing to issue the invitation, “Come and see.”
We all know we have a wonderful church family in UBC. We all also know, I hope, that we have
much work to do to invite new generations of Jesus followers into our fellowship. So please, join
me in making a commitment to be more like Andrew and Philip in John 1, to be people willing to
go out into the community with an invitation on our lips: “Come and see.”
Journeying Together,
Rusty
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 2
UBC in Brief
UBC Committee Nights are taking place on Wednesday nights, January 8th and 15th. All committee members should have received a letter with their meeting date. If you are not sure what
committee(s) you serve on and when you meet, please call the church office.
Please note: the monthly Finance Committee meeting has been postponed
until Sunday, January 12.
The Deacons’ annual supper meeting will be held at the home of John and Gloria Green at 6:00
pm, Saturday, January 11. Deacon officers for 2014 will be elected at this meeting.
Children’s game night is Saturday, January 18. Children in grades 1-6 are invited to join us
from 5-8 pm for game night at UBC.
The Ordination of Adam Rigney will take place on Sunday morning, January 19. Please be in
prayer for Adam as he prepares to serve as a UBC Deacon for the first time.
Join us March 8-12 as we travel to see how God is at work
in the world around us. We will make our way through
Alabama to join in dialogue with CBF’s Together for Hope,
and see the work that is being done by our neighbors and
partners in ministry. From there we will continue on to
Georgia, stopping at Maranatha Baptist Church where
Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School—we may even get to
see him in action! Continuing on our journey, we will visit
and stay at Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village where
we will see the homes their organization builds all over the
world, learn about the construction of these homes in Habitat’s demonstration center, and experience how people around the globe live and join in volunteer opportunities. We will even
visit Koinonia Farms (the birthplace of Habitat), tour the farm and eat a meal with the community there. Sign up now to be a part of this formative experience. Sign-up sheets can be found
on the church bulletin boards or you can call the church office to get your name on the list!
Koinonia is a Christian farm community founded in 1942 by
Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England.
Home of the Cotton Patch Gospel, birthplace of Habitat for
Humanity, Jubilee Partners, Prison Jail Project, Fuller Center
for Housing and other ministries. Still growing pecans and
peanuts, welcoming visitors, and living the “demonstration
plot for the Kingdom of God.”
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 3
Meet Dennis Tucker:
Dr. Dennis Tucker is Associate Professor of Christian Scriptures and has been at Truett since
2002. He has served as Associate Dean since 2007. Prior to coming to Truett, Dr. Tucker taught
at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, where he served as Assistant Professor of
Biblical Studies and Theology, and also as Director of External Programs. He received his Master
of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In
addition, Dr. Tucker received a Specialist in Education degree in Educational Administration from
the University of Louisville. He has completed additional studies at Eden Theological Seminary in
St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Tucker is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the National Association of Baptist
Professors of Religion, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew. He serves as
series editor for The Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible published by Baylor University Press,
and wrote the first volume in the series on the book of Jonah (2006). Other publications include
Diachronic and Synchronic: Reading the Psalms in Real Time (London: T & T Clark, 2007),
co-edited with two of his colleagues in the Baylor University Department of Religion, Drs. Joel
Burnett and William Bellinger. In addition, Dr. Tucker co-authored The Story of Israel: A Biblical
Theology published by InterVarsity Press (2004) and co-edited Introduction to Wisdom Literature
and the Psalms, published by Mercer University Press. Other publications include articles in
Biblica, Vetus Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Horizons in Biblical
Theology, and Perspectives in Religious Studies. In addition, Dr. Tucker presents papers regularly at the national and regional meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature. His current
research projects focus on the final book of the Psalter (Psalms 107-150) and the reception
history of Daniel.
Dr. Tucker continues to preach and work with churches. He has served as an interim or on staff in
churches in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, and Arkansas. He and his wife, Tish, have
three daughters: Hannah, Sarah, and Hope. Dr. Tucker enjoys running, taking care of the family
horses, and coaching girl's basketball.
While not his greatest claim to fame, Dr. Tucker served as Rusty’s Faculty Advisor for his Doctor
of Ministry project.
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 4
Library Spotlight
Submitted by Billie Hogan
Books Are Here to Stay!
When you set foot in a bookstore you will see a display of
e-readers of all types, but the rest of the store is covered with
hardcover and paperback books. People still cozy themselves
in a corner of a bookstore, coffee shop or their own home and
read a book. A real book! It’s the feel of the book, holding it in
your hands, the sound of the page turning, the smell of it, and
being able to see the title on its spine when you place it on the
bookshelf. Of course you cannot taste a book, but have you
ever hungered for the new release of a John Grisham or
Nicholas Sparks’ book?
Technology has provided all sorts of reading devices for us to carry with us, but it has not changed the
habit of getting a real book from a shelf and reading it! For those of us who are readers, why would we
want to change the habit of a book in one hand and a coffee or fruit shake in the other handCa sense
of relaxation...a sense of peaceCGrab a book and read!
UBC Dinner Groups 2014
If you are interested in getting together with UBC members and friends about once a quarter for
good food, fellowship and fun, then sign up for a UBC dinner group.
UBC dinner groups provide a wonderful way to get to know other UBC members and friends in a
different and casual setting. Sign-up sheets are in the church office. For more information, contact
Sherry Laughlin at 601-582-1276 or slaughlin@gmail.com.
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 5
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
DEACON OF THE WEEK
5
12
19
26
1 Bryant Myatt
2 John Alcorn
2 Lela Alcorn
2 Pat Hicks
4 Betty Mitchell
7 Sarah Etheridge
10 Jan Davis
13 Tom Estes
13 Sherry Laughlin
15 Hayward Anderson
18 Blake Smith
19 Graham Hales
19 Grace Hightower
23 David Holley
23 Pat Robertson
26 Myra Rachal
26 Sarah Fowler
27 Mary Simmons
28 Foye Kelly
29 Lynda Thoms
30 Leah Henderson
LAY READERS
5
12
19
26
Eric Leatherwood
Jim and Dee Bishop
Martha Ginn
TBA
Jan Davis
Jan Davis
Eric Leatherwood
Lida McDowell
OFFERING COUNTERS
1st Sun
2nd Sun
3rd Sun
4th Sun
5th Sun
Peggy and Bryant Myatt
Ruth Barton, Shirley McCraw
Al Butler, Bill Hughes
Sam Clinton, John Alcorn
Lida McDowell, Marion Poirier
EXTENDED SESSION WORKERS
5 Allison Leatherwood, (Nursery), Christy Thornton (Toddlers), David Walker
(Preschool),
12 Myra Myrick (Nursery), Beverly Williams (Preschool), Jenny Edwards
(Sunday School Nursery)
19 Lynda Thoms (Nursery), Mary Simmons (Toddlers), Tom Thoms
(Preschool),
26 Rosanne Crockett (Nursery), Caroline Nurkin (Preschool)
Please check in on your assigned Sunday in the Preschool area so we know you’re here!
Have been received in
memory of
Lorene Estes
R. J. Nation
Carolyn Snell
Doug Rouse
Christmas Mission Offerings
Alternative Gift Fair:
ARC
Job Corp
Heifer
R3SM
CBF Global
Margaret Lackey
Lottie Moon
Total
$125
480
560
20
2,700
500
565
Sunday Sermon Texts
Wednesday Nights
12 John 2:1-11
8 Committee Night I
19 John 3:1-21
15 Committee Night II
26 Malachi with Dennis Tucker
22 Business Meeting
29 The Other 3:16s - Ezra
$4,950
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 6
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JANUARY 2014 PAGE 7
3200 Arlington Loop
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
Phone: (601) 264-6908
Internet: www.ubchm.org
Rusty Edwards, M.Div., Th.M., D.Min. Senior Pastor
Kathryn Spangler, M.Div., Associate Minister
Taylor Hightower, DM, Minister of Music
Russell Lott, MBA, Church Administrator
Cade Jarrell, BA, Youth Director
Susan Fairchild, MM, Organist
Kerrin Hightower, MM, Children’s Music Coordinator
Cindy Hinton, Church Secretary
Connie Benedict, BS, Financial Secretary
Chuck Stewart, Custodian
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Hattiesburg, MS
39401-7299
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