A Missions Alert!

The Heartbeat of Northside
Northside has always been a church with a heart for missions. We began as a mission and have begun missions. We have started works in Victoria county and participated in mission efforts as close as the Valley and as far away as Greece. We have sent Northsiders to mission fields in Japan, Zimbabwe, and France. Mission work has always been a priority.

A Developing Need
The good news is that giving to International Missions is up! The bad news is that expenses in International Missions are up even more. For the last five years, the International Mission Board has had operating costs that exceed giving (by millions). Drastic measures are being taken to make our mission efforts around the world financially sustainable.

Missionaries to Come Home
To help alleviate the financial crunch, missionaries over age 50 with five years or more of service are being offered to participate in a “Voluntary Retirement Initiative”. Some 600-800 missionaries and staff will be affected this year. A friend of mine, retired seminary professor Dr. Dan Crawford, is in contact with many of these missionaries and has received the following messages from the field:

· “Just keep praying. The future seems very uncertain. Missionaries are dealing with a range of emotions, unfortunately at this point it does not include excitement.”

· “The biggest challenge for us is not to have several months to better prepare our national partners for the future. It is hard to think that we will be leaving after having the fantastic privilege to serve our Lord here for over 30 years.

· “I find myself today wondering if we will stay, where our ministry is only beginning to take off, or return to the States.”

· “I am thinking of staying at least one more year as self-funded.”

· “It is a very discouraging time for all of us and morale is at an all-time low.”

· “Pray specifically for those whose children could lose their missionary scholarship to college if their parents are no longer missionaries.”

· “God has not told me to leave my place of service. I am staying. I will lose my apartment, car, salary, and benefits, but I am staying until God tells me to go home.”

Back here at Northside, we will soon begin our third missions offering of the year, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Now, more than ever, we must be faithful in giving above and beyond our normal tithes and offerings to see that we keep our missionaries in the field. Pray. Be thinking of missionaries returning to the states needing basic housing and transportation. Be thinking of how Northside can continue to be the mission-minded church we have always been called to be.

In His service,
Bro. Mickey

The Great Blue Bell Famine 

of 2015

This summer, tragedy struck the great state of Texas.  Blue Bell Ice Cream announced it would be halting production of a staple of most Texan's diets.  Immediately Facebook, Twitter, and the internet were abuzz with photos of people weeping in the aisles of our local HEB, and savoring their last few bites of Blue Bell that they had stock piled in their refrigerator.  Just reading this probably brings back the pain of that moment for many. 

A few weeks ago Blue Bell announced that you would again be able to get your favorite treat in some towns throughout the state.  The next day traffic between Victoria and Hallettsville increased tenfold….. well maybe not that much, but many made the trip to get their beloved treat.

Why all this talk of Blue Bell you ask?  I wondered occasionally during that time how we might feel if some of our other things disappeared or where delayed.  How would people react if we had a Bible shortage or a shortage of church services?  How would people react if they simply misplaced their Bible?  Would Facebook be a buzz, or would it be the topic of conversation around the water cooler?  Sadly, I doubt this would be the case.  Often times we are guilty of taking for granted what we have, and our spiritual walk is of no exception. We should be filled with a strong desire to spend time with God.  Read the following scriptures to see what the Bible tells us about what our desire for the Lord should look like.

“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” Job 23:12

“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” 1 Peter 2:2

“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for You, O God.” Psalm 42:1

All of this is not to say we should not be sad about the loss of our favorite ice cream but it is to say that when we miss our quiet time, corporate worship, prayer time, etc. there should be a strong longing in our heart for that time.  Do you crave your time with the Lord?  Do you miss Him when you get busy and forget to make time for Him?  Do you miss church when you are unable to attend?The “Great Bluebell Famine of 2015” has caused me to take a look at my priorities and move a few things around on the list to make sure that my relationship with Christ is front and center.   Have you done that lately?

For the Journey,
Tom

Finding the right path and staying on it!

Finding the right path and staying on it!

This summer, while on vacation in Colorado, Grant and I had the privilege of going hiking with my 80 years old dad in the Colorado wilderness.  Almost every year, since before I was born, my father has gone to Colorado in October to elk hunt.  Every year trees fall across the trail due to storms and old age, and must be cut out of the path for the pack horses to get through.  So our job was walking up the trail and clearing the path – not an easy task.  As we walked and talked we came to a spot in the forest that the path we were on disappeared due to all of the under growth.  We all begin walking around looking for what we thought was the right path.  With some luck we found it, and were successful at reaching the elk camp.

                Take a look at Psalms 1: Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God.  But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.  They are like trees along a river bank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail.  Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.  But for sinners, what a different story!  They blow away like chaff before the wind.  They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly.  For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of Godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom.

                If you stop and looked at your life right now, what path would you discover? The right path or one that is leading you into destruction?  Who is on the path with you?  Are they like minded and leading you to Christ, or are you following evil men’s advice?  Slowly read through this passage once again, pausing and letting each verse sink in.   For those that seek to follow after God, great things are in their future.  But for those that choose to go on a different path – bad things are in store.  If you find yourself on the wrong path stop.  Begin walking/looking around for the right path.  Sometimes we have to place our trust in God and switch paths.  Later we look back and discover that was the best decision we could have made.   

                I was thankful that I had my 80 year old father on the trail with us that day.  Once we found the trail again, he knew we were on the right path that would lead us to elk camp.  Without his guidance I might still be in the mountains of Colorado looking for the right path.  Our journey is to be one that we find joy on.  Look around you this week.  Who do you see is going down the wrong path?  What can you do to help them?    See you on the path.

for the journey…

Mike

In Galatians 6:7, I'm reminded of a truth I try to keep before me..."Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." The Biblical principle of reaping what we sow is as true today as it was when Jesus walked the earth.

Sowing precedes reaping...and sowing matters.  Sowing is work; it takes time and effort.

If you eat three times a day, you'll have twenty-one meals in a week to nourish your physical well-being. Nourishment is required regularly for our physical well being.

We can think of our spiritual well-being in the same way. Some feel that attending a Worship Service once a week is enough bible study and worship to receive adequate spiritual nourishment. Physically, I'd not make it long on one meal a week. I'd become unhealthy in a short amount of time. While the illustration between the physical and spiritual has limits, there is truth to the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping.

I was privileged to serve as a Minister of Students for fifteen years. I can't count the number of times I heard a student say, "When I was at Youth Camp I felt so close to God...now that I'm back to my regular routine, why do I not feel as close to God?" The truth...at camp they were spending 3-4 hours a day in bible study and worship with other followers of Jesus.  Am I recommending you do this three times a day? Not necessarily, it just points to the fact that you reap what you sow.

Involvement in Northside GroupLife is a way you can take a step forward in sowing into your spiritual well-being. At Northside, we have Sunday School Groups, Small Groups, Discipleship Groups, Journey Groups and Support Groups. Each group has different purposes and strengths, but all have one goal...and that is to assist you on the journey of becoming all that God intends you to be.

If you are not involved in Northside GroupLife, now is a great time to jump in. We have new groups starting throughout September. Some require a short commitment; others are ongoing throughout the year.

What have you been sowing lately?  Look back at your schedule. Reflect. How much of an investment have you been making into your spiritual well being?

It's a privilege to serve as your Discipleship Pastor. If I can assist you in finding a group that's a fit for you, don't hesitate to contact the church office.

For the journey...Dean

A Post Pastor Post

It is with much gratitude that I thank all of you who have been faithful or even occasional readers of this blog as I have had a chance to write it.  I think it was Charles Dickens who said, "It is disquieting thought to do anything for the last time."  Disquieting - that is a good word for how this feels.  I am drawn to reminiscing at times like this but I think it better to say, "Thank you."

Thank you for taking a chance on a small town pastor back in 2003.  Thank you for your patience and your encouragement.  I appreciate you overcoming some of my mistakes and affirming, what can only be described as "stumbles forward."  I heard Paul Powell once say, "It is much more likely that a church will make a pastor than a pastor will make a church."  That has been true of you and me.

Northside is a church that has a firm grip on its spiritual heritage and the unchanging message of Jesus Christ.  But it has also been a church that embraced new ministries and undertook new challenges.  Keep doing that as God guides - and He will guide.

Will I do a blog at my new position?  That remains to be seen but if I do, I warn you that you may read things that you have seen before.  If I do blog and you re-read something, please, again, be patient, a new idea will come. 

The Northside Journey will continue in some form during the interim.  Stay in touch so that you can know what is happening as we "Journey Together" to new things.

for the journey...

Tim

"Why did you get so choked up?"

Some of my best memories of my time as pastor of Northside have been the baptisms.  I will never forget baptizing four young students from China.  They had come here to do graduate work and our Chinese Fellowship had befriended them and they had accepted Christ.  That was a big moment for me to see the world has come to us and that anyone in the world can come to Christ.

In some ways my most memorable baptism was one I had a hard time saying anything because I got choked up.  You can't imagine me doing that can you?   A few weeks before, a young African Muslim woman came to my office.  Her name was Maria.  She briefly told me of her treacherous and deadly journey leaving a war torn country in Africa.  She and her family, who are all still Muslims, somehow made it through a series of harrowing moments, through some refugee camps and finally to the United States. 

Maria was very much to the point of her coming to see me though.  She wanted to become a Christian.  She had seen the violence and brutality that had hidden behind a veil of religion in Africa.  She had heard about Jesus in the refugee camps.  She had attended our church, it was within walking distance of the apartment she had found to live in while she attended college here to become a nurse.  Maria was truly ready to give her heart and life to Christ knowing that it would be very costly to her.  Her decision led to her family disowning her and counting her as dead.

As we stood there in those waters for her baptism, I was overwhelmed by the thought that I have never in all my years baptized anyone who had to pay such a high price to follow Christ.  I usually baptize people with the blessing of their family or at least some sort of acceptance.  There was none of that for her.  Yet, there was a joy in her that brought us both to tears.  Several people asked afterwards,  "Why did you get so choked up?"  If you read this and still don't understand, I am not sure I can explain it to you.

Today, August 14, Maria graduates with her RN degree. She remains steadfast in her faith.  There has never been any family help but yet there has been help from her spiritual family at Northside.  Sometimes God brings a person with great needs into your life and you think it is so you can be a blessing to them.  But in reality it is so He can show you how that person can become a blessing to you.  Congratulations Maria, you are that blessing.  May there be many more like you that God brings into our lives and into the family at Northside.

for the journey...

Tim

A New Journey for All of Us

This morning I shared this announcement with our congregation. Knowing many of you are out of town at this time of year and many of you live away and read this blog, I wanted you all to know:

It is with greatly mixed emotions that I tell you today that my time as pastor here at Northside is drawing to a close.  For the past two months, Judith and I have been praying, discussing, consulting and at times struggling with the opportunity to join the staff of South Texas Children's Home Ministries.  That opportunity has turned into a calling from God to go there as strong, as clear and as consistent as His calling was to come here.  I will be serving as the Director of Church Relations working in the existing ministries of STCHM but also working directly with churches, pastors and their families to form new ministries.

I will be sharing with you in next Sunday's message how all this came about.  I will also walk you  through the process that Northside formed long ago to guide you through the selection process for a new pastor.  I will do my best over the next three Sundays to help us all in this journey.  I will be with you through Sunday, August 23, which is Round Up Sunday.

Let me say now, and very clearly, that my leaving does not come because of a problem, or a conflict or some underlying issue.  We simply sense the call of God on our lives to go be involved in something that He is preparing for us.  We love this church, we love the great staff we have here and we love you, that is much of what I mean when I say we have struggled.  God has given us so many blessings here and there are so many good things happening but this new call on our lives keeps coming and we must go. 

Something unusual about this is that we will not be moving from Victoria for the foreseeable future.  The plan is for me to work in this area and beyond it, but for the sake of your pastor search process and for the sake of the new pastor, we must step away from this church.  We do not intend to step away from the many friendships and relationships we have built here.

I know there are many questions and many emotions that we are all facing.  I wish we could have told you all one by one to address those things.  We regret that we were not able to do that but over the next three weeks we will attempt to help you in this journey you now embark upon.  I will have a few more blog posts before I am done.  We appreciate your prayers.

for the journey...

Tim