Hello Folks,
Last night I met about a dozen men here at the church building and we began moving all the material for the drama set into the building. We finished by about 7:15 p.m. and over the next few nights the set will be assembled and our sanctuary will be transformed into a set that has a 1st century A.D. feel to it. I cannot express the joy I have when I watch the people of this congregation get together to accomplish something for the Kingdom. It is a pleasure for me to get to fellowship with our men as we labor together. I want to thank all of them for their willingness to be here and help.
This pastor Sunday we had a baby dedication service and saw 7 children dedicated to the Lords use and had those parents give themselves to raise their chidlren in a godly fashion. On top of that there were numerous family members who sat in our pews who would not have been here if it were not for that speical service. They participated in our worship and who knows what will happen in their lives for Christ.
I also preached on making disciples. As part of the altar service I asked people who wanted to be discipled or who wanted to learn how to make disciples to meet me on the platform. I had a total of 15 people tell me that they wanted to be involved in this process. Now I need yoru prayers so I can make sure I follow up on these individauls in an appropriate manner.
We also had a wonderful orchestra play for our worship. Pastor Dale and Pastor Anita have worked very hard to make this possible. Who knows what the future holds for us where this orchestra is concerned. I look forward to the day when this will be part of our worship every Sunday for the glory of God.
Have a great day,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Hello Folks,
I just received a summary for the total number of books checked out of our library for the month of January of 2011 and it was 614. That included all ages and all types of books. It appears that many of those who attend here are utilizing our library for various nees. I would like to thank Heidi Deyton for all her good work in obtaining books and making them available for the use of any who want to use it.
I have been reading the book "The Essential Church" by Thom and Sam Rainer. This book deals with the question of why so many young people leave the congregation between ages 18-22. The title of the book gives us a basic idea for this and it is that the church is not an essential part of their lives. I wonder if that is also true for those of all ages? I watch as some people slowly allow their spiritual lives to evaporate--it disappears and sometimes no one even knows it. If you have any ideas as to what can be done to help address those issues please feel free to write them down and get them to me. I would like to be able to help make a difference in the lives of our young adults as well as people of all ages.
Jerlee Ottinger is currently in Haiti helping to lead a work camp of 25 people from South Carolina. What a joy it is to watch our folks from our congregation pour their lives into missions work. We also have Raymond and Dereda Shelton who pour so much into the work in Nicaragua and have led numerous work camps there. We are very blessed to be allowed to share in ministry with them. Pray for them as they give of themselves for the Kingdom of God.
May He bless you all.
Pastor H. G. Rudd
I just received a summary for the total number of books checked out of our library for the month of January of 2011 and it was 614. That included all ages and all types of books. It appears that many of those who attend here are utilizing our library for various nees. I would like to thank Heidi Deyton for all her good work in obtaining books and making them available for the use of any who want to use it.
I have been reading the book "The Essential Church" by Thom and Sam Rainer. This book deals with the question of why so many young people leave the congregation between ages 18-22. The title of the book gives us a basic idea for this and it is that the church is not an essential part of their lives. I wonder if that is also true for those of all ages? I watch as some people slowly allow their spiritual lives to evaporate--it disappears and sometimes no one even knows it. If you have any ideas as to what can be done to help address those issues please feel free to write them down and get them to me. I would like to be able to help make a difference in the lives of our young adults as well as people of all ages.
Jerlee Ottinger is currently in Haiti helping to lead a work camp of 25 people from South Carolina. What a joy it is to watch our folks from our congregation pour their lives into missions work. We also have Raymond and Dereda Shelton who pour so much into the work in Nicaragua and have led numerous work camps there. We are very blessed to be allowed to share in ministry with them. Pray for them as they give of themselves for the Kingdom of God.
May He bless you all.
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Hello Folks,
As I write this blog we have had two nights of our winter campmeeting already go by. The preaching has been o the subject of revival with Darryl Allen being used by God to present the truths that surround revival to us. He has been preaching out of 2 Chron 7:14 and Rev 2:1-7. One point that he has concentrated on is that revival is for the church! That means you and I may need to have our hearts renewed so God can do what He desires in us and among us! I ask you to pray that God would continue to speak through our brother so we can become more like Jesus.
Mick Gilliam from Anderson, In has been our worship leader and he has done a wonderful job. In the Sunday p.m. worship he led the choir in an arrangement of Victory in Jesus that was absolutely amazing. The song spoke to my heart and, I believe, to the hearts of others who were there. The speical singing has been very good and the overall spirit of things has been very good.
If you are in the area there are two more nights of worship and I would encourage you to be there! Our area congregations get together twice a year in camp meeting and I hope that you will live out the message of unity by being with us. It is really hard to tell folks that we are One Church when we do not want to be together.
On Feb. 20 we will be having a baby dedication and we have about 7 families signed up to participate. If you want to participate in this please be in my office on Feb. 13 so I can over some issues with you. If you cannot be there then please let me know and we will work something out. This is a marvelous time when families are making commitments to dedicate themselves to raise their children in the manner that is God pleasing and will help their children grow up knowing about the Savior so that as some point they will turn to the Savior.
I pray that your week is filled with the wonders of Jesus. May He bless you all.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
As I write this blog we have had two nights of our winter campmeeting already go by. The preaching has been o the subject of revival with Darryl Allen being used by God to present the truths that surround revival to us. He has been preaching out of 2 Chron 7:14 and Rev 2:1-7. One point that he has concentrated on is that revival is for the church! That means you and I may need to have our hearts renewed so God can do what He desires in us and among us! I ask you to pray that God would continue to speak through our brother so we can become more like Jesus.
Mick Gilliam from Anderson, In has been our worship leader and he has done a wonderful job. In the Sunday p.m. worship he led the choir in an arrangement of Victory in Jesus that was absolutely amazing. The song spoke to my heart and, I believe, to the hearts of others who were there. The speical singing has been very good and the overall spirit of things has been very good.
If you are in the area there are two more nights of worship and I would encourage you to be there! Our area congregations get together twice a year in camp meeting and I hope that you will live out the message of unity by being with us. It is really hard to tell folks that we are One Church when we do not want to be together.
On Feb. 20 we will be having a baby dedication and we have about 7 families signed up to participate. If you want to participate in this please be in my office on Feb. 13 so I can over some issues with you. If you cannot be there then please let me know and we will work something out. This is a marvelous time when families are making commitments to dedicate themselves to raise their children in the manner that is God pleasing and will help their children grow up knowing about the Savior so that as some point they will turn to the Savior.
I pray that your week is filled with the wonders of Jesus. May He bless you all.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Hello Folks,
The weather has been really nice here in East Tennessee and I for one have been enjoying it. Of course, I would be happy if the tempature never got below 60 degrees. The cold tempatures here have effected everyone by doubling and, in some cases, tripling our heat bills. That has been difficult for many folks and this warm weather has been a big help.
Our worship in both the a.m. and p.m. this past Sunday was really good, at least from my perspective. We had a number of new folks here and the Spirit moved in hearts. I wonder sometimes how to measure whether we were "successful" with what takes place. Most of the time it is a matter of whether anyone comes to the altar and how I "feel" about what happened. Could it be that much more takes place in the pew without anyone ever moving out of their seat? Could it be that I "feel" good but that no one else does? Those are some of the questions that I have. Maybe it is more an age issue for me. I am 59 and getting older so could it be that I am wondering if I have invested my life correctly? Let me simply say that spending over 30 years a pastor has been something I would not change even though I have had times when I did not get it done right. It has been my privilege to see people have life changing encounters with the Savior and that has been amazing.
This past Sunday I had a man come to me and say that he wanted to grow in Jesus and wanted his family to do better at it than he had done. This had a profound impact upon me! How do I help people like that to grow in Jesus. I told him that I would contact him about working together to learn what it meant to grow in Christ. I have that to do this week. Others came to me for other issues Sunday but that man's desire moved my heart! Pray that God use me to help that individual to grow in Christ.
H. G. Rudd
The weather has been really nice here in East Tennessee and I for one have been enjoying it. Of course, I would be happy if the tempature never got below 60 degrees. The cold tempatures here have effected everyone by doubling and, in some cases, tripling our heat bills. That has been difficult for many folks and this warm weather has been a big help.
Our worship in both the a.m. and p.m. this past Sunday was really good, at least from my perspective. We had a number of new folks here and the Spirit moved in hearts. I wonder sometimes how to measure whether we were "successful" with what takes place. Most of the time it is a matter of whether anyone comes to the altar and how I "feel" about what happened. Could it be that much more takes place in the pew without anyone ever moving out of their seat? Could it be that I "feel" good but that no one else does? Those are some of the questions that I have. Maybe it is more an age issue for me. I am 59 and getting older so could it be that I am wondering if I have invested my life correctly? Let me simply say that spending over 30 years a pastor has been something I would not change even though I have had times when I did not get it done right. It has been my privilege to see people have life changing encounters with the Savior and that has been amazing.
This past Sunday I had a man come to me and say that he wanted to grow in Jesus and wanted his family to do better at it than he had done. This had a profound impact upon me! How do I help people like that to grow in Jesus. I told him that I would contact him about working together to learn what it meant to grow in Christ. I have that to do this week. Others came to me for other issues Sunday but that man's desire moved my heart! Pray that God use me to help that individual to grow in Christ.
H. G. Rudd
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