Vol. XXXVIII • No.

20 • October 10, 2008

 Family Night Supper—5:15-6:30

Wednesdays at 6:30 PM
2nd Floor Education Building (Rms. E212-E220)

unplugged
Stewardship and Spiritual Formation
by Beth Neal Smith worshipforyouth•
worshipforyouth•wednesdaysat6:30
wednesdaysat6:30
chapel
chapel
Sharyn Dowd’s Wednesday night lesson was Stewardship and
Spiritual Formation. Were you there? If so, were you moved –
Music on Wednesday Nights
moved to prayer, moved to action, moved by Jesus’ desire for us to
Handbell Ensemble—6:30-7:25 (Sanctuary Balcony)
turn our hearts and minds toward Him? I was. In fact, the lesson
Avé-Adult Vocal Ensemble—6:45-7:25 (Music Suite, S226)
was so compelling that I asked to share some highlights.
Sanctuary Choir—7:30-8:45 (Music Suite, S226)
Fresh Start Band—7:45-9:00 (Fellowship Hall)
Through scripture (mainly Mark 10:17-31, Luke 19:1-10, 1 Cor.
16:1-4, 2 Cor. 8-9, and Gal 2:10), Sharyn connected the gifts – both
God’s through Christ and ours in response – to the posture of the
giver’s heart. Questions for Meditation reflecting these scriptures
followed.

•What percentage of my income do I give?

•Do I give off the top, or what’s left over?
•What motivates my giving?
•Do I trust God enough to let go of my money?
•Should the size of my gift affect the influence I have?
•Do I give in such a way that I make sure I control how the gift
is used?
•Do I give to glorify God?

We ended with this prayer, which we read aloud: God, you created
me. All that I am and all that I have comes from your hands.
Transform my fear into faith, my caution into abandon, my hoarding
into openhanded generosity, for the sake of your Son, who gave up
everything for me. Amen.

May we each echo this prayer today as we thank God for giving us
His first, His best, His Son.

Beth Smith Jenny McCurdy

Stewardship Co-chair Stewardship Co-chair
Congregational Life Prayer Concerns as of
Fresh Start Baptism Service—October 19 October 8, 2008
On Sunday, October 19, there will be a special Fresh Start worship service
Sympathy To:
in which we baptize new believers. Anyone who wants to join them in
▪Harriet Holland on the death of her
baptism and begin a brand new life with Christ, come and speak with one of
father, Murray Tate.
the pastors of FBC. All FBC folks who want to encourage these brothers
▪The family of Margaret Bowden.
and sisters by witnessing their baptism, come to the sanctuary at about 9:30
▪George Hooten on the death of his
on October 19—even if you don’t regularly attend the Fresh Start worship
sister, Dorothy Tribble.
service.
Congratulations To:
▪Justin and Lee Ann Anand on the
New Adult Class: The Life of Christ—Beginning Oct. 19
birth of Graham Allen Anand! Roy
Beginning on October 19, Margie Williamson will offer a new adult Sunday School class on the life
and Jean Sparks—grandparents.
of Christ. The class will meet in the first floor conference room next to the Alert Class. The group
Thank You Note Received From:
will be intergenerational and open to both men and women, married and single.
▪Carol Fulkerson
HymnSing Coming Up!
Plan now to attend the HymnSing Celebration on Sunday evening, Oct. 26
beginning at 6:15PM. It will be a time of singing the old familiar hymns from Tithes & Offerings
years past.
A Generous People
Women’s Ministry Fall Luncheon—November 1 2008 Ministry Action Plan
On Saturday, November 1, 2008, the New FBC Women's Ministry is hosting Weekly Need: .....................$ 27,361
its first big event. Join us for a luncheon with well-known Christian author, Received on Sep. 28 ...........$ 20,305
Ginger Garrett, from Noon till 2:00p. Tickets ($5) are on sale now. Free Received on Oct. 5..............$ 34,038
child care and transportation available upon request. Y-T-D Need:..................$ 1,094,452
Y-T-D Received: ..............$ 926,193
Election Week Canned Food Drive Surplus/(shortfall):............ (168,259)
On Sunday, November 2, we will participate with six other congregations in collecting canned
food . On Election Day, those who come to vote at our building will be invited to bring canned food “Years of Opportunity 2007-09”
with them. All the food collected at First Baptist Decatur will be donated to DEAM. Campaign
Given to Date:...................$ 327,662
“Spirituality for Real Life” - Led by Sharyn Dowd Bank Loan Balance:..........$ 252,074
Owed to FBC Fdn.:...........$ 180,000
Wednesday Night Bible Study Series
October 15 Radical Forgiveness Missions Offering YTD ....$ 15,899
October 22 Praying Politically (not nationalistically)
October 29 Fall Festival Wednesday Dinner Menus
November 5 What’s with this “Ask and you will receive” and
“Your Father knows before you ask”? October 15
November 12 “In all things give thanks.” (Who is God kidding?) Pick one of the following menus:
November 19 Walking with God (through a prayer labyrinth). Traditional Menu
Country Fried Steak, Mashed
Go…Be…Do! Missions Corner Potatoes, Steamed Vegetables, Salad
Bar, Buttermilk Biscuits, Pineapple
October Missions Emphasis – Upside Down Cake
Thailand Scholarships “Lighter Side” Menu
Every other year, First Decatur sends a team to Broccoli and Cheese Soup, Baked
provide free medical treatment for the tribes Potato/Salad Bar, Grilled Cheese
people in the hills of Thailand, a group served by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Sandwiches, Pepperoni Pizza
Ellen and Rick Burnette. In October we will be taking a special offering to provide scholarships for
three members of the staff of the Upland Holistic Development Project, which is working with the October 22
tribes people to develop sustainable food production and economic stability. Pick one of the following menus:
The staff members who need scholarships are: Traditional Menu
•Wichunee (Maew) Pawkham (pink dress) coordinates UHDP’s women and gender work. She Grilled Chicken Stir Fry, White
needs to further her education in Political Science. Rice, Salad Bar, Yeast Rolls, Lemon
•Keut Lapan (brown tee shirt) needs to study Agricultural Technology in connection with her Icebox Pie
supervision of the UHDP’s organic vegetable garden. “Lighter Side” Menu
▪Bancha Isan (striped shirt) is a member of UHDP’s agricultural extension staff with emphasis Vegetable Soup, Baked Potato/Salad
on sustainable upland farming and agroforestry. His education will be in Agricultural Science. Bar, Sliced Turkey Breast,
Please mark your check or offering envelope for “Thailand Scholarships.” Vegetable Pizza
Youth Sp•t
The youth will have two Halloween parties this year. One party
for the middle school group at the home of Caroline Owen on
Saturday, October 25th, and one for the high school group on
Saturday, November 1, at the church. These are great events to
bring a friend along and introduce them to the youth group. The
youth will also help run games and cleanup after our Community
Fall Festival on Wednesday, October 29, from 5:30 to 8:00. The
cleanup should be over by 9:00 and at that time the prizes for best
youth costumes will be awarded.
The youth will be involved in two mission endeavors this fall. In
November we will be saving our change to help provide
Thanksgiving meals for families who are in need, and in December
we will be saving our change to provide a fun day of Christmas
activities for children from the Hagar House in Decatur.
Kid’s Zone
Fall Festival
Don’t miss our annual fall festival held on Wednesday, October
29 from 5:30-8:00pm on the front lawn. There will be games,
pony rides, food and much more! Don’t forget to wear your
costume!
Candy for Fall Festival
Individually wrapped candy is needed for Fall Festival. Please
bring your donations to the main office
New Christian’s Class
There will be a 4-week new Christian’s class for children on
beginning on Sunday Nov.2 from12:00-2:00pm. Please contact
Pastor Debbie for more information or to register for the class.

The annual youth ski retreat will Upcoming Extended Session Volunteers:
take place over the Christmas
break. We will be heading to Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2
Snowshoe Mountain in West Castleberry Stanford Eargle Herndon
Virginia. We will leave on Clay Hayes Perry Williams
Ski Retreat ‘08 Thursday, January 1, and return on Warshauer Duke R. Leeth Minor
Sunday, Januar y 4, 2009. Jones Fewell Henderson Visser
Snowshoe is the premier ski resort on the east coast, and we will
have incredible accommodations in the heart of the resort. Please
mark this date on your calendar and keep your eyes open for more
details in the next week.
Deacon Election Young at Heart
Fall Apple Trip
The Weekly Fall Schedule for Youth is…
Sunday Thursday, October 16
Breakfast and Bible Study at 10 am Sunday Nov. 9 9am—6pm
Ensemble at 6:00 pm
Rotisserie at 6:30 pm Cost: $37
Wednesday Everyone Welcome!
Dinner from 5:15 pm Both Worship Services
Call Bob, 404-373-1653, to sign up.
Unplugged Worship 6:30 pm

The Outlook, a publication of the First Baptist Church of Decatur,

Georgia, is mailed to members and friends of the First Baptist family.

Main Office......................................404-373-1653
Finance.............................................404-370-7694
First School ......................................404-370-7688
Activities ..........................................404-373-2442
FAX ..................................................404-370-7692
Debbie Britt .....................................404-373-1653
Sharyn Dowd....................................404-373-1653
Ryan Forbes.....................................404-370-7690
Julie Pennington-Russell.................404-370-7684
Kurt Varney......................................404-373-1653
Bob Williamson ...............................404-370-7687
Computer Connections:
Website—www.fbcdecatur.com
E-Mail—fbcd@fbcdecatur.com

The Outlook, USPS 600-320, is published bi-weekly, except

Christmas week, by First Baptist Church Decatur, GA

Postmaster: Please send address changes to First Baptist Church,

308 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030