Southside Oracle Archive

Vol. 47, No.33                         SOUTHSIDE ORACLE                      October 29, 2004

The Bulletin Board

      Annual Give-Away – The Give-Away last Saturday was once again a great success with the items being given away in the thousands and the people taking advantage in the hundreds.  Attendance was better than in the last few years.  Our thanks to all who helped, especially those who spent hours sorting and getting ready for the annual event.  Denise Eppler directed the program.   

      Elder Forum – Every fifth Sunday evening we have an elder forum in which the elders respond to written questions that have been submitted.  The issues to be discussed this Sunday relate to how the Holy Spirit works in our daily lives and if the modern state of Israel was biblically foretold.  Plan to join us at 6:00 o’clock.

      Blood Drive – Southside will sponsor a blood drive on Saturday, November 6th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This is short notice, but we will appreciate your signing up to donate on the sheets posted in the hallway outside the fellowship area.

ATTENDANCE RECORD

                                                 Two years ago       Last year        Last week         Goal

Bible classes                                          141                   167                  158            170

Morning worship                                     231                  248                *244            250

Evening worship                                        57                    70                    55              80

Contribution                                   $3218.01         $3404.18         $4630.06   $4500.00

                                                        (*) first service, 125; second service, 119

      Elder Selection – The members of the congregation have been asked to submit nominations of men who they feel are Biblically qualified to be added to the present eldership.  We currently have four elders.  Fill out a questionnaire from the table in the foyer and deposit in the box provided for that purpose or mail to the church or give to one of the present elders.  Please take the time to share your thinking with the elders.  It is important to know the views of the membership.

      At the congregational meeting last week questionnaires were passed out regarding our midweek study groups.  We are interested in starting more groups and we need the input of our members.  If you have one of the questionnaires, deposit it in the box provide in the foyer, and if you do not, pick one up and turn it in.  For additional information talk with Rocky Slaughter who is the deacon in charge of the program.

      Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday.  Come to worship an hour later.

“I Approve This Message”

      Our television screens are being overwhelmed with political commercials that end with the statement, “I approve this message.”  The four-word caveat is inserted because Congress enacted a law that calls for political accountability on the part of aspirants for public office who must now stand behind their political charges.  I applaud the law, though I confess I am tired of hearing the same affirmation over and over.

      Most people I talk with can’t wait until the presidential election is over.  They are reacting with disgust against the crescendo of negative commercials directed against the other side. It isn’t just that shortcomings of the opposition are exposed (which is legitimate), but that in the process facts are badly distorted and the opposition misrepresented. Those who “approve this message” are in effect approving falsehood.   In attacking the other side, they engender a lack of public confidence in themselves.  The justification for this search and destroy rhetoric is usually, “That’s politics!” with the implication that the candidates “don’t really mean all they say.”

      My thought in these observations is not just political.  Let’s change the focus to religion.  We live in a deeply divided religious society.  Thousands of hurting people are searching for spiritual guidance.  How can we address their concerns?  One approach is to focus on the doctrinal errors or moral shortcomings of others, suggesting that somehow we are better than they are.  In so doing, however, we convey a negative message and lessen our credibility, even if everything we say is the truth.  There is a time to respond to error, but we must realize that those who seek the way of Christ are looking for positive answers to their deep spiritual needs.  They need to see Jesus, and we can help them see Him if our personal lives and attitudes reflect what Jesus is all about.  By our actions we declare that “we approve this message.”

--Monroe E. Hawley

Calendar of Events

October 31 – Elder forum, 6:00 p.m.

November 6 – Southside blood drive, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

November 13 – Senior dinner sponsored by our youth, 12:00 noon

November 14 – Elders/deacons meeting, 4:30 p.m.

November 14 – Praise and Palate, 6:00 p.m.

November 16 – Christian Workers’ Meeting, 9:15 a.m.

Bumper Sticker Theology

            If it is possible to overcomplicate the Christian faith, then it is possible also – or so it would seem - to oversimplify it.  The objections to “bumper sticker theology” are much the same as those to “bumper sticker statesmanship.”  Namely, life and faith are too complex to be resolved with a single sentence.  The church needs to be delivered from the one-cause man, the purveyor of the simple solution, the dispenser of the bromide and the quick cure.  Life in Christ is too basic, too meaningful, too close to one’s soul, to be captured in a solitary phrase.  Those to whom we turn in moment of spiritual crisis – physicians of the soul – should be valued, not for their glib and confident answers, but because they are in touch with eternal truth, however hard and uncomfortable the truth might be.                     __Larry Henninger

To Top