Pastor’s Blog for December – Pastor John Chowning

The month of December is a busy time for most all people and especially for those of us who are believers in Christ and participants in the life of a local church. Here at Saloma Baptist Church, we have a very busy schedule of special services, cantata practices, outreach ministries, and special emphasis on the central message of Christmas – which is the Advent of Jesus Christ into the world. He is the Incarnation – the God in the flesh; Emmanuel – God with us; the Lord of Lords and King of Kings; the Son of Man and the Son of God; and our Savior and Lord.

We invite you to join us in our 2017 celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and as we seek to share the Good News of His birth and its profound meaning for us more than 2,000 years later! We have several ministry, mission, and outreach opportunities which have at their core, the goal of sharing the Christ of Christ with our community and world and ministering to others in the name of the Babe of Bethlehem. We will be glad to share more information on these opportunities – just contact us at salomabaptistchurch@windstream.net or call us at 270-789-0082. And you are encouraged to attend our special services that are listed on our website home page and in the website’s monthly calendar.

We also encourage you and your family to take time, during this season of the year, to observe your own Christmas celebration in such a manner to help you to better understand the true meaning and the spirit of the season. We lose sight of the true message of Christmas with our hurried schedules and excessive commercialization of the season. As has been said, and allow me the freedom to paraphrase: “We buy too many gifts with money we really don’t have for people who don’t always appreciate what we give them and who don’t need what they receive…” Take time to read the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus with your family. Spend time as a family in basic family activities centered on the Christmas season.

You are encouraged to join a growing number of individuals who are choosing to minimize such gift giving and taking that amount of money and giving to a “good cause that serves other…” As believers in the Christ of Christmas, the Babe of Bethlehem, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to take those funds and direct them to Christian nonprofit organizations who are serving others in the name of Jesus Christ. There are any number of outstanding organizations, in our community and globally, that are in need of more resources and who provide different ways of sharing meaningful information of where your donations will go. One practice that our family has adopted is the giving of a monetary gift to such a mission or ministry organization in the name of each family member – and then including in a card a description of where the funds are going. For example with the Baptist Global Response group that we support in our church mission budget, you can donate a certain amount of money to provide animals, or other items, for families in other countries – to help sustain those individuals and families who receive the gift. Let us know if you are interested in further details on BGR or other such gifting opportunities.

Finally, please support our Christmas mission projects at Saloma Baptist Church – Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for global missions, Toys for Kids, Prison Fellowship Angel Tree that provides gifts of toys and clothes to local children whose parents are incarcerated, fruit baskets for shutins, etc. And reach out to those in your own family and neighborhoods who are alone and in need. And do it in the name of Jesus! Let’s give to others this Christmas season in the name of Jesus just as God gave us the greatest gift of history as expressed in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Pastor’s Blog for October-November - Pastor John Chowning

The months of October and November are an important time for us at Saloma Baptist Church. During October, our Brotherhood coordinates our annual Global Hunger Fund Focus beginning with Global Hunger Sunday which is Sunday October 8. 

The recent series of natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and 500-1,000 year floods in our own country and nearby countries, as well as other disasters around the world, remind us how truly vulnerable many people are relative to food issues and hunger. In some areas, food shortages are a way of life and in other areas, the people are simply one drought or sudden natural disaster away from starvation. 

Undernourishment is particularly acute in many areas of the world including our own country. Around the globe in the course of a year, millions of children and others of our most vulnerable people, die as a result of hunger - malnutrition and outright starvation. 

The Baptist Global Hunger Fund is one way that we can be part of solutions. Every penny donated goes directly to hunger relief ministries. In our case, we forward our donations to our friends at Baptist Global Response (BGR). BGR then directs funds to various ministry and mission points around the world where food relief is provided for the neediest and most vulnerable of people. The Good News of Jesus Christ is also shared with the recipients, and we receive reports annually of several thousand people who come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord as a result of Baptist-sponsored Global Hunger Mission’s Work. 

We will provide Global Hunger Fund offering envelopes. Many of our members collect change during the year and bring in donations during October and November. Donations of all amounts are encouraged and appreciated. 

As Jesus taught in Matthew 25, one of the tests of our faith is how we treat “the least of these...” As we attend to the needs of the least of these, so do we minister to and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This period culminates with the annual observance of Thanksgiving on November 23 as we gather with family and friends. Most of us will enjoy bountiful meals and fellowship with family and friends. We need to make it a time of truly giving thanks to God for all He has done for us. An important expression of Thanksgiving is by our sharing with those who are less fortunate - donations to Global Hunger Fund, donations to our local Food Pantry (which our church supports through quarterly missions find donations as well as periodic collection of canned food), support of disaster relief efforts as we have done recently for the Hurricane impact areas, sharing with those in our own community who are less fortunate and hungry, etc. 

Reach out and touch others in the name of Jesus during this season of the year! You will be blessed and you are fulfilling the teaching of Jesus. 

Pastor's Blog for August-September - Pastor John Chowning

The months of August and September are an interesting and time of transition for most people. We generally witness the end of summer vacation with our children and young people returning to regular school schedules. Our weather patterns, over the course of the two months, will run from likely hot, humid weather during the "dog days of August" with cooler temperatures in September more associated with the fall season. Most families will have already taken their vacations and will be settling into more regular schedules and routines.

During this season, we will enjoy the early days of marching band seasons - for those of who have family members involved in marching band. The baseball season is still in full play, and those league rankings are beginning to take shape heading into the league playoffs and ultimately the World Series in October. And high school and college football begin in late August and pick up support and interest into September. How many of us have spent cool September evenings watching our favorite high school football team play?

What does all of this have to do with the church? It means that our families will, as usual, be very busy with school, sports, and such activities. But it also presents an opportunity for the church to be more responsive and more involved in the lives of our children, youth, and families. It's a time in which we can take an interest in the activities of our families outside the "four walls" of the church, to better understand the many activities in which families in 2017 are involved, and to prayerfully search for ways to make our ministry and mission more relevant and more engaged in the lives of our church family and the larger community.

Sometimes, those of us involved in the leadership of the church fail to do what we encourage our members to do - that is to avoid compartmentalizing our Christian walk and to have a line of separation between the Christian and spiritual elements of our lives and the more secular and material areas. But perhaps part of this is due to the fact that those of us in leadership in the church don't show enough interest in the lives outside the church of our people of all ages and that we don't display ourselves how to integrate our faith into all areas of life - beyond the "four walls" and into the highways and bi-ways of life. We seem to only consider as important those things going on inside the walls and programs of the church.

During the next two months, let's take our Christian faith into the community and beyond. Let's show up where other people are; let's ask our children and youth about their school and activities; and let's show our Christian values and concerns are applicable and meaningful to life in general and in the lives of our people specifically.

We are challenged to live our faith daily and to live it beyond the four walls of the church building and the confines of our home. Jesus went into the community - I speculate that if he were around today, he would probably attend the football games and marching band competitions of His people and that of those people who are not a part of His church. Let's get out in the community and beyond and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and in deed!

Pastor's Blog for June and July - John Chowning

The summer of 2017 is in full swing with area schools closed until early August. Many families are going on vacation during the summer months and will spend a good bit of time with the children and youth playing baseball, softball, and other summer activities. Warmer temperatures are likely during June and July, and many young people will enjoy spending time at the local swimming pools or at Green River Lake. Summer is always a special time for the children and youth as well as the entire family.

One constant remains in play during the summer months. The church remains open and involved in a lot of different missions and ministries. Vacation Bible Schools are a traditional and important ministry of many churches - our Vacation Bible School 2017 is scheduled for July 7-9, and we certainly invite children in the community to attend and participate. VBS remains a primary summer ministry for churches like Saloma Baptist Church, and during 35 years or so of pastoral ministry, it has been a joy to see children to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord during VBS. We have witnessed unchurched families to come into the church during VBS. So, we take our VBS mission and ministry very seriously at Saloma Baptist Church.

There are increased number of activities and "opportunities" competing for the attention of the families of all churches. Many of these are very positive activities, but they sometimes compete with the church for the attention and dedication of otherwise dedicated church members.

Vacations are great - trips to the lake and pool are fun - sports teams and athletic competition are important - but do we place more emphasis on these and other things than we do on our relationship with Jesus? That's something to ponder during the summer 2017.

Yes, God doesn't take a vacation. He's available 24/7/365. 

Pastor's Blog for May - John Chowning, Pastor

The month of May is one of my favorite months. Perhaps it's because, in part I was born on my mother's birthday - May 3! So, May always begins with some sense of celebration for me - giving God praise for life and another year of abundant life in Jesus Christ. 

For those of us growing in Kentucky, May brings, on the first Saturday, one of the world's premiere sporting events - the Kentucky Derby. Even for those of us who have no involvement in, or knowledge of, thoroughbred racing, we take time to read about and watch the actual "Run for the Roses." There's a sense of pride, as Kentuckian, in our state being at the center of the nation's attention. 

On the second Sunday of May, May 14 this year, we celebrate Mother's Day. We should give thanks to God for our mothers and grandmothers and for Godly women in our lives. Cathy and I are both blessed by having had Godly mothers. 

And there's graduation or commencement time. Most students, who have reached certain milestones in their educational paths, graduate during the month of May. This year is no exception. Our church will honor our graduates on Sunday morning, May 21. 

This year is the 48th anniversary of my high school graduation- same for Cathy - we were both members of the class of 1969. On one hand, it seems like along time ago. But in many ways, it also seems just yesterday. Time passes quickly. 

Then on Memorial Day - which is May 29 - we give honor to those men and women who have given their lives in service in the defense of our nation. And we honor the memory of those loved ones who have gone home to be with the Lord. 

May is a month of transitions in many ways. It's a month of consequential observances and acknowledgement of milestones in the course of our lives. We should enter each day of May - as well as throughout the year - with faith, hope, and anticipation. Each day should be a day we live to the fullest and a day to consider with thanks and praise of how blessed we are. Every day is a day of consequence and is a gift from God.