Jesus Christ is alive!

I mentioned this in the latest Western Word... Why don't we start baking a big birthday cake for our yearly Happy Birthday Jesus Celebration (aka Christmas) and have a big celebration at church. Be sure to make it a very good tasting cake, so that no one will gripe. Be sure to put 33 candles on it. Explain why. Everyone, who loves Jesus, will love celebrating His birthday.

You could do this as an evangelistic emphasis in church. You could add: "Jesus wants to invite you to not only His birthday party, but to put your faith in Him completely and follow Him. He died for you. He rose from the dead for you. Will you accept Him and His invitation today?" Be sure to explain just how upset the heavenly Father (Jesus' Daddy) is going to be, if they turn down His the invitation to His Son's party (see Matthew 22).

If no one in your church knows how to bake a good-tasting cake (some of our churches with younger memberships might have this problem), then go to Publix and order one. Make sure it says "Happy Birthday Jesus!" and make sure it has 33 candles. You can even explain it all to the folks working at Publix. (or Kroger, or Food Lion, or Wal-Mart, etc.)

Let's start this new tradition. Like I wrote in the Western Word, I'm sure that this would please our heavenly Father.

I pray that you and your family experience all the blessings of our Lord during this celebration of His birth. Happy Birthday, Jesus, Celebration to one and all!

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

UPCOMING EVENTS in the WBA...

• Dec. 21 No Ministers' Meeting
• Dec. 23-25 WBA office closed
  
• Dec. 25 Happy Birthday Jesus!
• Dec. 28 No Ministers' Meeting
• Dec. 30-31 WBA office closed
• Jan. 1 Happy New Year!
  

- 2010 -

• Jan. 4 Ministers' Meeting at 11:00 AM WBA building.
  

• Jan. 8-9 Disaster Relief Phase I Training. Royal BC. This is an official state-wide GBC training event. Register Online (Deadline in Jan. 1 !) at: www.gbcdisasterrelief.org
  

• Jan. 11 Ministers' Meeting at 11:00 AM WBA building.

• Jan. 12 (Tuesday) Western Baptist Bible Institute classes begin. Dr. Paul Dennis, professor. Rev. Ken Norton, dean. Course: Formation of Ministry. Cost: $190 (includes books).

• Jan. 18 Ministers' Meeting at 11:00 AM WBA building.
  

• Jan. 22-23 “Chainsaw School” Disaster Relief Training at Rockridge Baptist Assembly, Franklin, Ga. (Phase I Training required!). Register Online (Deadline is Jan. 15 !) at: www.gbcdisasterrelief.org
  

• Jan. 25 Ministers Meeting. 11:00 AM WBA building. Vicki Hale (Coweta County Pregnancy Services) will present program.
  

• Jan. 26 “How to have a winning Sunday School” area-wide conference at Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm.
  

• Feb. 8 Super Evangelism Conference at Northside BC. 7:00-8:30 pm (Same conference at each location)

• Feb. 9 Super Evangelism Conference at FBC Moreland 7:00-8:30 pm(Same conference at each location)
  

• Feb. 26 VBS “Early bird” Directors meeting. 7:00 pm TBA

• March 2 WMU Spring Inspiration. 6:30 pm First Baptist Church, Newnan
  

• March 20 WBA - VBS Team attends VBS Regional training clinic at FBC Cartersville, Ga.

• April 15 (Thursday Night!) Executive Committee meeting. WBA building. 7:00 pm

• April 20 Annual Spring Meeting. Living Proof Baptist Church 6:00 pm

• April 23 WBAssociational VBS clinic. Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm

Jesus Christ is our King!

We are going to celebrate our annual Ministers & Wives Christmas banquet tonight at Royal Baptist Church. Brother Paul Dennis is cooking the steaks and we are going to have a lot of fun.

This year we are going to try a new game (the old White Elephant - Steal each other's gift game took FOREVER!). This year we are going to play "Musical Gifts". It's kind of like musical chairs.

Here's how it works: Eight people are sitting at a round table. Then they all get up and go get a gift from the gift table (not the gift they brought!). Then they sit back down and open the gift. Now the music starts and they must pass their newly opened gift to the person on the right. The gifts keep getting passed around the table - all gifts at the same time. When the music stops, you have to keep the gift in your hands. I hope it works out.

I love our times of fellowship in the Western Baptist Association. I especially enjoy our Monday morning ministers meetings at 11:00 AM at the WBA building. Our ministers are a great bunch of folks.

I hope you can come to our meeting on Monday, December 14. We will be discussing in detail our WBA Evangelisitic Campaign 2010. We want to reach every family in our WBA with the Gospel in 2010. This is going to be fun.

See you Monday!
Bro. Wayne

Upcoming Events in the WBA!

• Dec. 10 Ministers & Wives Christmas Banquet at Royal BC 6:30pm - $15 for individual / $25 for couples. Please bring a gift ($10 or less) to play “MUSICAL GIFTS”
  

• Dec. 14 Ministers Meeting at 11:00 AM WBA building. We are going to discuss in detail our WBA Evangelism Campaign for 2010!! Please try to come.

- 2010 -

• Jan. 8-9 Disaster Relief Phase I Training. Royal BC. This is an official state-wide GBC training event.
  

• Jan. 12 (Tuesday) Western Baptist Bible Institute classes begin. Dr. Paul Dennis, professor. Rev. Ken Norton, dean.

• Jan. 22-23 “Chainsaw School” Disaster Relief Training at Rockridge Baptist Assembly, Franklin, Ga. (Phase I Training required!)
  

• Ministers Meeting. 11:00 AM WBA building. Vicki Hale (Coweta County Pregnancy Services) will present program.
  

• Jan. 26 “How to have a winning Sunday School” area-wide conference at Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm.
  

• Feb. 8 Super Evangelism Conference at Northside BC. 7:00-8:30 pm (Same conference at each location)

• Feb. 9 Super Evangelism Conference at FBC Moreland 7:00-8:30 pm(Same conference at each location)
  

• Feb. 26 VBS “Early bird” Directors meeting. 7:00 pm TBA

• March 2 WMU Spring Inspiration. 6:30 pm First Baptist Church, Newnan
  
• March 20 WBA - VBS Team attends VBS Regional training clinic at FBC Cartersville, Ga.
  

• April 15 Executive Committee meeting. WBA building. 7:00 pm

• April 20 Annual Spring Meeting. Living Proof Baptist Church 6:00 pm

• April 23 WBAssociational VBS clinic. Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm

Jesus Christ never fails!

For years, that was the way I ended all of my correspondence: "Jesus never fails!"

I love knowing that Jesus is always with me - no matter what! He has the authority and all the power.

He can do anything! His will is perfect and He never fails!

He knows me, better than I know myself. That's why I know that when I pray to Him, He is only going to give me what I really need, which is more of Him. We all need more of Lord Jesus in our thoughts, actions, reactions, plans, schedules, dreams and goals...just Jesus.

We not only stand with Jesus every day right now, but also some day we will stand before Him. He won't fail us on that day either!

It makes pretty simple sense to me...that if we live with, talk with, strive to obey, willingly follow and want to bring glory only to the name of our wonderful, risen Lord Jesus every day here and now, that then we won't have anything to be afraid of on THAT DAY when we stand before Him. What a day that will be!

Paul wanted the Christians of his day to live in the "power of the resurrection". I pray that you will live in the power of His resurrection today, too.

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

Upcoming Events in the WBA...
Nov. 16 Keith Hamilton (GBC) speaks on New IRS Tax Laws at
Ministers’ Meeting; WBA building 11 am
Nov. 16 Keith Hamilton speaks on Tax Laws for Churches;
WBA building 6:30-8:30 pm. For all church clerks,
treasurers, financial leaders, etc.
Dec. 7 Evangelism Committee meets 10 AM
Dec. 10 Ministers & Wives Christmas Banquet at Royal BC
6:30pm - $15 for individual / $25 for couples.
Please bring a gift ($10 or less) to play “MUSICAL GIFTS”.
Register deadline: Dec. 4!
- 2010 -
Jan. 8-9 Disaster Relief Phase I Training. Royal BC. This is an
official state-wide GBC training event.
Jan. 22-23 “Chainsaw School” Disaster Relief Training at Rockridge
Baptist Assembly, Franklin, Ga. (Phase I Training required!)
Jan. 26 “How to have a winning Sunday School” area-wide
conference at Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm.
Jan. 29-30 WBA Vacation Bible School leadership team to Nashville,
(TN). National VBS training.
Feb. 8 Super Evangelism Conference at Northside BC. 7:00-8:30 pm
Feb. 9 Super Evangelism Conference at FBC Moreland 7:00-8:30 pm
(Same conference at each location)
Feb. 26 VBS “Early bird” Directors meeting. 7:00 pm TBA
March 2 WMU Spring Inspiration. 6:30 pm TBA
April 15 Executive Committee meeting. WBA building. 7:00 pm
April 20 Annual Spring Meeting. Living Proof Baptist Church 6:00 pm
April 23 WBAssociational VBS clinic. Royal BC. 6:30-8:30 pm

Jesus Christ deserves our best

"I think this was the best annual meeting we've ever had!" Several called me on Wednesday after our annual meeting on Tuesday, Oct 20 at SouthCrest. Everyone was saying the same thing. I am so thankful for this feedback.

The food was really good! (Golden's Al Wise brought plenty).

I thought the music was exciting and inspiring (thanks to Joe Payton - WBA music director and Kevin Pledger and the SouthCrest praise team for really putting this together!). I sang as loud as my lungs and heart would allow - I think others were doing the same.

The preaching (Mike Barnes and Bob White) was both challenging and delivered with an intensity that was Christ-honoring. The program went smoothly (thanks to Ken Norton and Brian Carroll) and I am thankful that all the motions were well received. I think we hit every goal we set, except one....attendance. I'm still trying to figure out why we more didn't come. We are going to stay at it. Please let me know what you think we can do to make the annual meetings even better and raise attendance.

But all in all, it was a great night. I can't wait for the Spring Meeting, April 19, 2010 at Living Proof Southern Baptist Church in Tyrone, Ga.

Amen.

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

UPCOMING in the WBAssociation...

Nov. 16 (Monday) NEW TAX LAWS for Ministers (w/ Q&A) 11:00 AM with Tony Neal (GBC)! This will be the program for the meeting!

Nov. 16 (Monday) "How to keep your Church and Church Financial Secretary/Treasurer out of trouble!" 6:30 PM with Tony Neal (GBC). All church clerks and finanical folks are encourage to attend. WBA building.

Dec. 10 WBA Ministers & Wives Christmas Banquet at Royal BC 6:30 PM. A delicious steak dinner with all the fixin's will cost: $15.00 for individual / $25.00 per couple. We want to play a new game called "Musical Gifts" (kind of like musical chairs), so please bring a gift ($10 or less) and we'll have a great time. Please RSVP to the WBA office by Dec. 4 !

Jesus Christ is King AND He is coming soon!

When was the last time...you prayed or heard someone pray in a worship service or prayer meeting: "Come, Lord Jesus!" ?
That's what John prayed at the end of our Bible - Revelation 22:20.
He wanted Jesus to come back soon!
He was expecting Jesus to come back soon!
He needed Jesus to come back soon.

Do we?

We talk, preach and write a lot about His return...but do we pray for it?

"Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done!" Wow. If that happened, we wouldn't have to worry about restructuring the SBC and GBC, or figure out where the money needs to go, huh?

If Jesus came back, we wouldn't have to worry about being too calvinistic or too armenian, or worry what's going to happen with national healthcare, or the Muslims taking over, or have to worry about our schools and society going to the dogs, or the economy tanking, or Meth and marijuana robbing teenagers and adults of their brains & lives, or Hollywood constantly spewing all its vile and sodomy into our living rooms, or the growing problem with pornography on the Internet, or worry about all the churches that have stopped growing...(When the church cemetery is growing faster than the church...that's a problem!)

If Jesus would come back, and would take over and reign...
well, that would be okay with me!

Do we want Jesus to come back today, right now?
John did.
Do we need Jesus to come back? as King? as Lord? as Master?
John did.
Maybe the reason why Jesus is delaying His return, is because so few are praying for His return.
John did.

I pray that we will tell everyone (1) why Jesus came in the first place and (2) that Jesus is coming back.

It is a biblical prayer: "Come, Lord Jesus!"

What if He came today?

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

Upcoming Events in the WBA...

MEN'S PRAYER BREAKFAST, Sat. Oct 17 at Orchard Hills BC with DAVID BARTON, who appeared recently on "HUCKABEE" (FOX) and is an expert on the faith of the founding fathers of the USA! You DO NOT want to miss this. Begins at 8:00 AM!!

Check out the link below to watch the interview on HUCKABEE...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfvEe1PZ1kk


ANNUAL FALL MEETING, Tuesday, Oct 20 at Southcrest BC (Walt Sanders Blvd. off Hwy)meeting begins at 6:00 PM. Great music! Special speakers are Dr. J. Robert White (GBC) and Rev. Mike Barnes (Rehoboth BC). Each WBA church is encouraged to send their full slate of messengers!

WBA Executive Committee will meet Monday night, October 19 at 7:00 PM at the WBA building.




SCHOOL of EVANGELISM, Saturday, Oct 24, at FBC Villa Rica, Ga. 9:00 AM - 12:30 AM.

GEORGIA BAPTIST CONVENTION, Nov. 8-10, FBC Woodstock. LoveLoud. Light it UP missions experience.

Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

I spent a good part of today talking with different members of the GBC Evangelism team. They are really "fired up" about all the plans for reaching out to the lost of Georgia -- especially all the collective efforts planned for 2010!

That's where we come in!

We have the challenge of engaging each person of our area with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will be meeting soon with the Evangelism Committee and sharing with them several ideas for how we can achieve this goal in the Western Baptist Association. Please make this a matter of prayer. Pray that we will be ready to "do whatever it takes" to reach the lost.

Our Lord said to His disciples many years ago, "Look, the fields are white unto harvest!" (John 4:35) If we could hear the Lord speaking to us today, I believe He would say the exact same thing to us. People are looking for spiritual answers, they are looking for relief from the load of guilt under which they suffer each day, they are looking for stability, they are looking for significance, they really are looking for hope, they are looking for...Jesus!!

Jesus is the answer. We want to share Him with them!
When we do, we will really be...

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

Upcoming Events in the WBA...

(URGENT!!) MONDAY, OCTOBER 5... Markus Merritt, the new man on the GBC Evangelism team will speak to our Monday morning Minsters' Meeting at 11:00 AM about the "School of Evangelism that will take place on Saturday, Oct 24 at FBC Villa Rica. I hope you can come! Markus is from Alabama, but we won't hold that against him.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12... Stuart Lang from the GBC will speak to our Monday morning Minsters' Meeting at 11:00 AM about the "LIGHT it UP" Missions Experience that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10 during the GBC Annual Meeting at FBC Woodstock. Please come and bring your questions! Stuart will also be available to answer any questions about Disaster Relief!!

MEN'S PRAYER BREAKFAST, Sat. Oct 17 at Orchard Hills BC with DAVID BARTON, who appeared recently on "HUCKABEE" (FOX) and is an expert on the faith of the founding fathers of the USA! You DO NOT want to miss this. Begins at 8:00 AM!!


Check out the link below to watch the interview on HUCKABEE...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfvEe1PZ1kk

ANNUAL FALL MEETING, Tuesday, Oct 20 at Southcrest BC (Walt Sanders Blvd. off Hwy)meeting begins at 6:00 PM. Great music! Special speakers are Dr. J. Robert White (GBC) and Rev. Mike Barnes (Rehoboth BC). Each WBA church is encouraged to send their full slate of messengers!

WBA Executive Committee will meet Monday night, October 19 at 7:00 PM at the WBA building.

SCHOOL of EVANGELISM, Saturday, Oct 24, at FBC Villa Rica, Ga. 9:00 AM - 12:30 AM.

GEORGIA BAPTIST CONVENTION, Nov. 8-10, FBC Woodstock. LoveLoud. Light it UP missions experience.

Jesus is Lord and alive!

I shared this morning (Monday, Sept 28) "The Univeral Disciple" (Thomas Wolf) in Minsters' Meeting. It was encouraging to see such a good group present. I love the spirit of the meetings...a big thanks goes to Bro. Jimmy Evans (Bethlehem BC) and Bro. Chuck Novak (Arnco BC) for always setting a positive, light-hearted and inviting tone.

This morning our WBA Budget and Finance committee met and came up with the proposed budget for 2010 for the association. The committee moved some funds around, and decided to present basically the same total budget amount as last year.

THANK YOU to all the churches that faithfully support this cooperative effort each month...especially during these challenging economic times. God bless you.

Last Saturday, Sept 26 at the WBA building Marilynn Blackaby, (2nd from right) wife of Christian author, Henry Blackaby, spoke to a lively group of ladies about "Life as the wife of a minister". Several of the ministers' wives remarked, "I'm so glad I came! This was awesome!" I want to thank my wife, Pam Jenkins, for all the beautiful decorations, refreshments and planning this event for the ministers' wives of our WBA. I pray that our new Ministers' Wives Fellowship will continue...

Growing Together for His Glory!
Bro. Wayne

Upcoming Events in the WBA...

(change!!) MONDAY, OCTOBER 12... Stuart Lang from the GBC will speak to our Monday morning Minsters' Meeting at 11:00 AM about the "LIGHT it UP" Missions Experience that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 10 during the GBC Annual Meeting at FBC Woodstock. Please come and bring your questions! Stuart will also be available to answer any questions about Disaster Relief!!

MEN'S PRAYER BREAKFAST, Sat. Oct 17 at Orchard Hills BC with DAVID BARTON, who appeared recently on "HUCKABEE" (FOX) and is an expert on the faith of the founding fathers of the USA! You DO NOT want to miss this. Begins at 8:00 AM!!


Check out the link below to watch the interview on HUCKABEE...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfvEe1PZ1kk

ANNUAL FALL MEETING, Tuesday, Oct 20 at Southcrest BC (Walt Sanders Blvd. off Hyw 34 in Newnan). Begins at 4:45 PM with a great meal (catered by Golden's on the Square). The meeting begins at 6:00 PM. Great music! Special speakers are Dr. J. Robert White (GBC) and Rev. Mike Barnes (Rehoboth BC). Each WBA church is encouraged to send their full slate of messengers!

WBA Executive Committee will meet Monday night, October 19 at 7:00 PM at the WBA building.

SCHOOL of EVANGELISM, Saturday, Oct 24, at FBC Villa Rica, Ga. 9:00 AM - 12:30 AM.

GEORGIA BAPTIST CONVENTION, Nov. 8-10, FBC Woodstock. LoveLoud. Light it UP missions experience.