The Executive Council of NWBC approved stage 1 of a massive renovation of the church. Phase one includes a new parking lot, new outside lighting and landscaping. The cost would be around $290,000.00. The next step is to bring this to the church for a vote.

 At present our parking lot is over 14 years old, in very poor condition and deteriorating rapidly.

 The E.C. will also be putting before the church a 5-year plan for upgrading electronics as well as infrastructure. Our first and second building have had very little renovation over the years. The present youth building was built in 1968; the education building in 1983.

At present we will borrow the money needed [upon church approval ]  and then pay it back with a Capital Stewardship Program over 3 years. The amount projected for the cost of everything will be around $500,000.00. On a 15 year mortgage the payment would be about $4585.00 a month.

 We also want to focus on missions in a big way, possibly partnering with a church in another country for a long-term commitment. This could include sending teams every 6 -8 weeks  out of the year.

 Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NWBC!!!!

Donna Repp is in Carroll County Hosp for knee replacement  and should go home tomorrow the 5^th

Ann Hintenach  is in Carroll County Hosp and is still undergoing tests.

There is lots happening at the church and I hope to see all of you married couples at the marriage retreat this weekend here at the church.

Teresa Murphy is doing well at Carroll Hosp. after knee replacement. She said her pain level is at a 3. She will come home tomorrow.

Shirley Cole is recovering from knee replacement at St Agnes.  Destiny may go home today from Carroll County from having the flu. Let’s keep them in prayer.

God on Marriage Retreat
November 6th and 7th
Northwest Baptist Church
Call 410-833-7220 for more information

Akin: SBC future hinges on change

Posted on Oct 12, 2009 | by Keith Hinson

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–Southern Baptists’ future rests on redirecting resources from the Deep South, abandoning racism and remaining committed to biblical orthodoxy, expository preaching, the Lordship of Christ and sound doctrine, declared Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, during an Oct. 8 address at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Speaking during the school’s Oct. 6-9 conference on “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism,” Akin told conferees that $12 billion was given through the denomination’s local churches in 2008 but “only 2.75 percent ever left the borders of the United States.”

Church planting in “unreached and unserved areas of our nation is little more than a trickle,” Akin said. “Why we plant more churches in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee than we do in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington and California is absolutely incomprehensible to me.”

Every Southern Baptist congregation should be “a church-planting church and every church a Great Commission church,” Akin added. “This must be more than a slogan. It must be a reality.”

Akin called for a church planting strategy “that assaults the major population centers of North America.”

“This will inspire and energize a younger generation because of the excitement entailed in new works. For too long we have neglected the great urban centers such as New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle, cities that are almost completely bereft of evangelical influence,” Akin said. “This cannot continue or we will face a future of irrelevance and insignificance.”

Noting the book “Simple Church,” written by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, Akin called for Southern Baptists to do “simple convention.”

“We must streamline our structure, clarify our identity and maximize our resources,” Akin said. “A younger generation wants a leaner, quicker and more missional convention that pursues the unreached and under-served in our nation and around the world.

“That is where they are going and our leadership at every level will either get on board or be left behind,” Akin added. “In other words, we will change the way we operate, whether we like it or not.”

Akin warned against nostalgia for the status quo of past decades, which could be an obstacle to revitalization.

“Many Southern Baptists are trapped in a time warp,” Akin stated. “They are aiming at a culture that went out of existence years ago. They use mid-20th century methods and pine for a nostalgic golden age. They are convinced if we would just go back to the way things were, we would experience a spiritual renaissance that would restore the good old days. … We are not going back. We will move forward into the future, whether we like it or not.”

Akin also said the name “Southern Baptist Convention” needs to be changed, because it isn’t “best for identifying who we are and want to be in the future.”

One key to a positive future for the SBC would be the abandonment of racism and an increasing diversity among the membership of local churches, Akin said.

“Southern Baptists were born, in part, out of a racist context and have a racist heritage,” Akin observed. “That will forever be to our shame. To deny or ignore this is foolish. Actually it is dishonest.”

Akin commended the 1995 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta that adopted a “Resolution on Racial Reconciliation,” in which messengers repudiated slavery and apologized for racism.

“To my utter dismay, some still refuse to own up to our past transgression, perhaps because the seeds of this sin are still scattered across too much of our denomination, especially in the South where most of our people still live,” Akin said. “We must confront the sobering reality that the Southern Baptist Convention remains a mostly middle-class, mostly white network of mostly declining churches in the South.”

The proof of the SBC’s inadequate diversity can be observed by attending worship services or denominational meetings, Akin indicated.

“If you doubt what I am saying look around today, visit most state conventions, attend an annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting or drop in on 99 percent of our churches on any given Sunday,” Akin said. “We can integrate the military, athletics and the workplace, but we can’t integrate the body of Christ. The lack of urgency and concern in this area is mind-boggling. It is spiritually inexcusable.”

Continued racial sin will thwart the yearning of some Southern Baptists for revival or for a Great Commission Resurgence, Akin cautioned.

“Until we get right about race, I am convinced God will not visit us with revival,” Akin said. “The plea for a Great Commission resurgence will not move heaven, and it will be scoffed at by the world as a sham. Starting at home, we must pursue a vision for our churches that looks like heaven.”

Akin told conferees that his remarks at Union represented the fourth time in five years he had “addressed some aspect of the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

He expressed dismay that more attention had not been paid to the first axiom of a chapel message delivered in April at Southeastern Seminary in which Akin had called for churches to “be committed to the lordship of Jesus Christ in every area.”

The axiom, Akin said, “has been passed over and quickly dismissed with the wave of a hand and words like, ‘We all believe that.’”

But, Akin countered, “I fear we do not and as a result we too often devolve into petty quarrels, territorialism, turfism, defensiveness and personal agendas that find the Savior nowhere in sight.”

Southern Baptists must continue to make clear their commitment to the Bible as inerrant, infallible and sufficient in all matters, Akin added.

Preaching must be “Word-based, … theological in content and on fire in delivery,” he said. “Nothing is more exciting than theology. Nothing is more relevant than doctrine. No one is more beautiful than Christ. To proclaim these glorious truths in a dispassionate or boring manner is inexcusable. It is, I believe, sinful.”

Akin also affirmed the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 “as a healthy and sufficient guide for building theological consensus.”

He noted several points of doctrine and theology on which Southern Baptists agree, such as the triune God, rejection of evolution, the full deity and perfect humanity of Jesus, penal substitutionary atonement, the need for regenerate church membership, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the reality of an eternal heaven and an eternal hell and the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.

Southern Baptists also agree on the “sanctity of heterosexual marriage, the goodness of sex in marriage and the gift of children, lots of them,” Akin added.

Akin also emphasized that some doctrines are not “first-order doctrines … basic and essential to the Christian faith.” Southern Baptists, he said, may not necessarily agree with each other on such matters as Calvinism, elders, whether certain spiritual gifts are still active, the time of the rapture and the nature of the millennium.
–30–
Keith Hinson is an associate in communications services for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Last week was a great and active week. 18 of our seniors went to ocean City for a fun retreat; below are some pictures from their trip.

We also welcomed to our church family Amanda Rister who joined at the 9:30 service. God moved among His people Sunday and it was an amazing day.

Meanwhile two weeks ago our Sunday School plus small groups totaled 483 in attendance numbers. We have a five year goal to be at 650 in small groups and Bible Study and we will surely get there. Lately God continues to bring so many new guests to our church on Sundays. I hope I get to meet all of them and spend time with each one. I’m excited as to what God is up to here at Northwest.

Last Saturday I went to my 40th high School reunion. I saw many friends who told me they were now followers of Jesus. What a blessing for me. For the most part, I could tell who folks were but there were some I didn’t recognize. When I stood up to give the memorial service for those who went on and the grace I said these words, “For all who knew me back then, if you’re in shock I understand”. Sunday was a great day and we had more in Sunday School and small groups than in worship. That’s not a bad thing at all. Let’s get involved in all that God is doing at NWBC. The best is ahead.

Today was a busy day at NWBC and I am ready for that ham supper with all the trimmings. Today my job was to sit down with each staff member and do an annual evaluation. This went on  from 9 am to 2:30 pm. I’m done – PTL. And what a staff we have. Our 3 ladies who do the administrative work have all been here over 10 years. Shannon and Sabrina hit 10 years in the spring and Patti 13. Les and Barb have been full-time for almost 10 years, Grant about 17 years full time and 11 years before that part-time, and I been here 30 years this Dec. Pastor Jamie  has been with us a little over a year and the baby in the family is Shelba. Add up the time and we have 113 years of experience. Do you realize that very few organizations have employees with such longevity? To God be the glory.

The weekend kicked off Friday night with about 40 or so youth learning more about life with Jesus., Downstairs the Life Group captains were meeting with some new prospects. Snacks were served and we have enough to do at least 3 new LifeGroups so far and we hope to do more. Pastor Jamie will begin a group for young couples on Monday nights and then Dave and Shelba Uhrin will come along to take the group into the next study. The Myers and Desrosiers will being doing a LifeGroup as will the Dells.  Deb and I will do a new Life Group on Thursday evenings in our home. We still have two other teams ready to go and lead a LifeGroup.

Sunday was a great day and we welcome Larry and Teena Friend into our fellowship along with their children. God is great. Hopefully I’ll see you soon on Facebook.

Pastor Gary

 Enjoy some pictures taken at the Reisterstown Festival. It was raining when these were taken; still we persevered and God was with us.

On another note Shannon has put me on Facebook after two attempts at doing it myself failed. Now everyone is asking can they be my friend. Yes you all can once Shannon tells me what to do next.  Please be patient, this stuff makes me feel like I’m from the Dark Ages.