Setlist 2-28-2016

This week was the third Sunday of Lent, and our songs were selected with this theme in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle (with an addition by Jameson McGregor)

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

All I Can Say by David Crowder* Band

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Be Thou My Vision

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Fall Afresh: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Fall Afresh then: We sang this song to confess our need of the Spirit's presence in Lent because the Spirit is the One who is able to transform us into people who are more like Jesus.  Also, as we continue our communal journey through Lent, reckoning with our place in a culture marred by sexual violence (this part of our Lenten journey is introduced here), we are seeking that the Spirit would shape our imaginations to find new ways of being the presence of Christ in our world.

Wandering: We sang this song to proclaim God's faithfulness to us despite our tendency to try to bend God to our own purposes.  As we continue in Lent, it is necessary for us to not misconstrue our fasting as spiritual clout by which we might contractually obligate God to do things for us.  We are instead hoping that God will change us.

All I Can Say: We sang this song because the middle of the Lenten journey can be taxing, and it is important to remember that God is with us in our struggles.  Furthermore, we sang this song because it voices the core sentiment of feeling worn out or harmed in general, and there are many among us who need to be able to voice these words--even if it is in singing a song with a room full of people.

In the Night: This song is a journey through the biblical narrative, cataloguing the process of struggle and victory, woundedness and healing, etc., strung together by the refrain "In the night, my hope lives on."  We'll add a verse each week during Lent as we move toward Easter, when Hope really takes root.

Be Thou My Vision: We will sing this song every week during Lent to close our time together.  As we go back into the wilderness of Lent, we will ask once again for God to be our vision, wisdom, security, and hope.

-JM

ITLOTC 2-26-16

Gerhard Stübben

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Lent

Lent 3

Over the next six weeks we will be hearing from voices in within our community.  The article will address the texts and themes from lent.  Today we'll hear from Gerhard Stübben.  Gerhard is working of his Master of Divinity from Truett.  

______________________________________________________________

Let everyone who thirsts come to the waters.

And whoever has no money: come, buy, and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk with no money and at no price.

Why do you weigh out your money for that which is not bread,

your toil for anything other than that which satisfies?

Listen, listen to me! Eat what is good and delight yourself with rich food.

Isaiah 55.1-2

“Delighting yourself with rich food” is not most people’s idea of Lent. Lent is a time when we give up, when we sacrifice (why? to whom?), when we emphatically do not “delight ourselves with rich food.” Lent is the fast, and Easter is the feast. Easter is the time for “rich food.” So why do we read this text during Lent? Why is this the text for the third Sunday in Lent? Because we don’t understand what “rich food” is.

Isaiah was writing to a community whose palettes were misadjusted. A community who thought that life, that joy, that rich food was found outside of their god. Outside of their god’s provision. They thought that they had to go around, even against, their god’s provision and instruction to find the rich food they craved. They thought that if they worshipped other gods then those other gods would give them the things they so desperately wanted. Things like safety and economic stability and large families. They thought that if they lived outside, even against, Yahweh’s commands that they would acquire for themselves the things that they so desperately wanted. Things like safety and economic stability and large families. Their instinct, their palette, told them that if they wanted rich food then they’d have to break some commands to get it. That idolatry, that oppression, that other gods tasted richer than their own. But they were wrong. And so are we.

We ourselves are tempted, tempted often, to go looking for rich food in off-limits places. We think that life will be sweeter, safer, with bigger bank accounts. And so we break Jesus’ command to give to the poor. We think that using violence will keep us safe from the violence of others, either verbal or physical violence, and so we break Jesus’ command not to resist evil persons. We smell the sweet scent of safety and economic stability and unity within our families, all good things in themselves, and we think the only way to get to that rich food is by breaking, or at least bending, Jesus’ commands. We ourselves, our literal selves, and not just other Christians around us, find ourselves in the position of the ancient Israelites, drinking from cisterns that do not hold water. And yet all the time Jesus is reminding us, is calling us: “Listen, listen to me! Eat what is good and delight yourself with rich food.” Now, in Lent, we train ourselves to listen.

Sunday School

There will be no Sunday School on the first and second Sundays of spring break.  March 6th and March 13th. 

Greeter Help

We really need help with more greeters.  if this is something you'd be willing to do, that would help us out.  interested people should email josh@ubcwaco.org. 

Booth Crew Orientation

if you signed up to help out in the booth crew, first we'd like to say that we are extremely grateful.  Secondly, we'd like to inform you that there will be a training on the computer this Sunday right after church.  You are the best.  

Ecumenical Lent Services

As you may have noticed i have included this announcement over the last couple weeks and will continue to do so until these services expire.  That being said I'd like to give a special plug to the service this coming Wednesday because it will be in our own backyard.  UBC will be host Austin Nickles and people from all churches as we worship together. 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers:  Joy & Ryan 

Mug Cleaners: The Cooleys 

Announcements:

Sunday Sermon: Lent Three: Luke 13:1-9 ... Please be in prayer for our very pastoral associate Liz Andrasi who will be preaching to help us celebrate Martha Sterns Marshall women in preaching month.  

Next Town Hall March 20th after church

Chris Tweedt will be leading a series of three talks about the intersection of faith and philosophy. Talks will run in the evening from 7:30-8:30 and will take place at UBC. for more information email Chris @ christweedt@gmail.com

Feb 24: Perceiving God or Arguing for God?

Mar 23: What Does God Think About Suffering?

April 20: Who, If Anyone, Should We Trust about Religion? 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

The Mirror in the Wilderness (Part 2)

Every Sunday during Lent, we will be taking time to wrestle with our place in the culture of sexual violence within our society.  While this is, unfortunately, one of many sub-cultures of a broader culture of violence in our society, we have chosen to name this one during Lent because it is not necessarily an evil that we have named before at ubc.  I’ll be the first to admit that this is difficult, but we will face this difficulty together.  

The litany included in this post is taken from a liturgy in protest of sexual violence that you can find here, and the women who put that together are putting out more material and resources here.  This group is also hosting a series of liturgies on Baylor’s campus over the next month.  The next service will be “A Space for Silence” on Tuesday, March 1st, at 8pm in Elliston Chapel.

Posted below is something I read during church on February 21.  It is the second of several pieces we will encounter in our liturgy over the next few weeks  You can read the first piece here.  If you have any questions or concerns about anything you see here, please email me at Jamie@ubcwaco.org. 

---

Today we are continuing our reckoning with our place in a culture marred by sexual violence.  Last week, we acknowledged that we have a problem, one facet of which is, for some of us, our tendency to distance ourselves from situations involving sexual violence if at all possible, and identified this impulse as unlike what we might expect from Jesus, and thus as sin.  

In the coming weeks, I want to encourage you to continue to pray that the Spirit would shape your imagination regarding how you yourself might be an instrument of change in our culture of violence.  The truth is, we all have some degree of influence in our immediate social surroundings, and while knowing exactly what we can do is often times a daunting task, we can at least seek wisdom from God—to refuse to do even this is its own kind of problem.

We are going to pray together now, using words that were composed by Kendall Rothaus, Lilly Ettinger Leman, Emma Wood, Rachel Toombs, Natalie Webb, Sharyl Loeung, and Heather Mooney, in their liturgy in protest of sexual violence.  This prayer is written for the voice of survivors of sexual violence, but if you are not a survivor yourself, I want to offer you two ways of looking at this: First, we do not gather to worship together only as a group of individuals, but as a body that is united in Christ.  Therefore, the fact that these words can have a direct meaning for some of us means that they can and should be voiced by all of us as we pray together. Second, there are petitions in this prayer for particular kinds of people—compassionate listeners, faithful advocates, etc—and in praying for these things, you might think of it as a petition that God would form you into a person like that, or to help you use gifts that God has already given you to be that person for someone who needs it. 

God. In a world that has little time for us,
we want to believe that you have time.
In a culture that too easily dismisses us,
we want to believe that you care.
Among institutions that are slow to come to our aid,
we want to believe that you are eager to help.

You are our first and last resort.

 Here is our petition:

We ask for comfort and peace.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for courage and strength.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for Your justice and healing.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for compassionate listeners.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for faithful advocates.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for bold truth-tellers.

God, hear our prayer.

We ask for personal and institutional transformation.

God, hear our prayer.

We’ll take a moment in silence now to allow the Spirit to minister to us and to continue to shape our thinking about these things.

Setlist 2-21-2016

This week was the second Sunday of Lent, and our songs were selected with this theme in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

House of God Forever by Jon Foreman

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle (with an addition by Jameson McGregor)

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Be Thou My Vision

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Lord, I Need You:  We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs. This is what we said about Lord, I Need You then: This song is a confession that we rely on the presence of God in order to acknowledge our sin, and for the strength to begin the hard work of repentance.  It ends with a petition to have God teach us to break the habit of self-sufficiency when trying to become people who are more like Jesus, and instead to turn to the One who can help when we struggle along the way.

House of God Forever: We sang this song to declare God's presence with us in the wilderness of Lent.  Though this is a time marked by struggle, we are not alone, and thus we do not rely solely on our own strength to make it through this time.

Fall Afresh: We sang this song to confess our need of the Spirit's presence in Lent because the Spirit is the One who is able to transform us into people who are more like Jesus.  Also, as we continue our communal journey through Lent, reckoning with our place in a culture marred by sexual violence (this part of our Lenten journey is introduced here), we are seeking that the Spirit would shape our imaginations to find new ways of being the presence of Christ in our world.

In the Night: This song is a journey through the biblical narrative, cataloguing the process of struggle and victory, woundedness and healing, etc., strung together by the refrain "In the night, my hope lives on."  We'll add a verse each week during Lent as we move toward Easter, when Hope really takes root.

Be Thou My Vision: We will sing this song every week during Lent to close our time together.  As we go back into the wilderness of Lent, we will ask once again for God to be our vision, wisdom, security, and hope.

-JM

2-19-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Lent

Lent 2

Over the next six weeks we will be hearing from voices in within our community.  The article will address the texts and themes from lent.  Today we'll hear from Val Fisk.  Val is working of her Master of Divinity from Truett.  

______________________________________________________________

As a kid, I was told that Protestants shouldn’t practice Lent because it sounded like something those legalistic Pharisees would do, and Jesus didn’t like the Pharisees. Since beginning to observe Lent as an undergrad, I’ve actually found it to be a significant period of spiritual formation in my life each year. The first year was difficult and felt almost pointless, but each successive year has become easier. This year, I realized that Lent is a season I look forward to, anticipating the spiritual formation that takes place through this tradition, preparing my spirit for the celebration of Easter.

In Psalm 27, the psalmist calls the LORD “the stronghold of my life.” During Lent, we fast and in some way physically or emotionally deprive ourselves of something that we typically enjoy – candy, dessert, Netflix, social media, red meat. Some of the really crazy people even give up coffee! Other people use Lent as a way to break a spiritually draining habit – complaining, gossiping, over-commitment to activity. When we choose to deprive ourselves from something, we are choosing to give up our dependency on that particular thing in order to better place our dependency upon God. We become more aware of our own weakness and our need for the LORD who is our stronghold.

The psalmist continues: “One thing I asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” As we live in the presence of God, fully dependent upon him as our stronghold, we are inevitably changed. As we begin to more fully live in that presence, we find that there is a host of believers alongside of us who are being formed through their weakness. We are formed as a community as each of us practices Lent. Who are you being formed alongside of? Who are you practicing your weakness with? And how does your experience of dependence allow you to experience formation through a tradition much larger than yourself? 

Empty Nester Hang Out

The Empty Nesters will be meeting for lunch after church on this Sunday @ Baris Restaurant in Waco.  For more information email kim @ tackhaines@msn.com

Faith and Philosophy

Chris Tweedt will be leading a series of three talks about the intersection of faith and philosophy. Talks will run in the evening from 7:30-8:30 and will take place at UBC. for more information email Chris @ christweedt@gmail.com

The first talk is coming up this Wednesday.  The topic will be Perceiving God or Arguing for God? 

Ecumenical Lent Services

For the past few years, UBC have been partnering with several downtown pastors to do a few ecumenical services during the lenten season.  This year we will have the privilege of hosting.  So if you'd like to join us for a brief worship service and lunch over the next few Wednesdays, we'd love to have you.  

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks

Coffee Makers:  Stephen & Emmy 

Mug Cleaners: Leigh & Stephen 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: Lent Two: Luke 13:31-35
• Next Town Hall March 20th after church
• Chris Tweedt will be leading a series of three talks about the intersection of faith and philosophy. Talks will run in the evening from 7:30-8:30 and will take place at UBC. for more information email Chris @ christweedt@gmail.com
  • Feb 24: Perceiving God or Arguing for God?
  • Mar 23: What Does God Think About Suffering?
  • April 20: Who, If Anyone, Should We Trust about Religion? 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

The Mirror in the Wilderness (Part 1)

Every Sunday during Lent, we will be taking time to wrestle with our place in the culture of sexual violence within our society.  While this is, unfortunately, one of many sub-cultures of a broader culture of violence in our society, we have chosen to name this one during Lent because it is not necessarily an evil that we have named before at ubc.  I’ll be the first to admit that this is difficult, but we will face this difficulty together. 

The litany included in this post is taken from a liturgy in protest of sexual violence that you can find here, and the women who put that together are putting out more material and resources here.  This group is also hosting a series of liturgies on Baylor’s campus over the next month.  The first will be “A Space for Lament” on Tuesday, February 23, at 8pm in Elliston Chapel.

Posted below is something I read during church on February 14.  It is the first of several pieces we will encounter in our liturgy over the next few weeks.  If you have any questions or concerns about anything you see here, please email me at Jamie@ubcwaco.org. 

---

If you were able to attend one of our Ash Wednesday services, you heard me read a selection from Barbara Brown Taylor in which she talks about Jesus as a Mirror in which, when we catch a glimpse of ourselves, we see just how profoundly flawed we are.  When we measure ourselves against Jesus, we see a great difference, and this difference serves to lay our sins bare before us. The knee-jerk response to seeing such a horror is to smash the Mirror—which is what the Romans and Jews did, what Judas and the other disciples did, and what each of us find a way to do.  In Lent, we are practicing resisting the urge to smash the Mirror, but instead to lock eyes with the Reflection—to let it sting, and to seek with God’s help to close the gap of the difference between us and Jesus in some way—to be transformed.

Much of what we see in the Mirror is likely different for each of us—we don’t necessarily share all of the same flaws, but we are cultured people.  By that I don’t mean that we are fancy, but rather that we are people who are the products of a particular time and place, and so we likely share many of the same problems.  Unfortunately, it’s the problems that we all share that are sometimes the most difficult to acknowledge.  It seems fitting in Lent to drag some of these into the Light together. The particulars of these problems are legion, but we likely catch many of them in confessing that violence has too ubiquitous of a place amongst us—and not just the violence that causes hearts to stop beating or leaves scars and bruises—it’s violence that causes hearts to go numb, that leaves scars and bruises we might never see, namely sexual violence.

If you’re a person who has not experienced violence like this up close, you might be tempted to feel as though you have the luxury of viewing a situation like this from afar without it being your problem, distancing yourself from any responsibility to minister to those affected, to see them, to listen to them, or to do whatever people who are truly appalled or horrified by an event do. But we would be hard pressed to find a single situation related to the dignity of a human person of which Jesus thought He had the luxury to say “it’s not my problem.”  And when we look at Him, and look at ourselves, we see a difference, and though we scramble to find a way to say that that is not so, it is, and this difference is sin.  This, this self-distancing, is the sin that tries to keep itself hidden in our culture of violence. And during Lent, we are going to look into the Mirror, let what we see sting, and say, “this is a problem, and we must change.”

So we are going to take several moments over the next few weeks to confess and pray together, grafting this into our liturgy over time rather than relegating it to a single week—because that somehow seems to be a more honest way to bring to light evils that extend beyond single events in the lives of those who are the receiving end of them.  We will carry this weight with us, praying for transformation in our systems of justice, but also praying for personal transformation so we can ourselves become instruments of change.  Today, we are going to read a litany together that was written by a group of women in town, four of whom are a part of ubc—Heather Mooney, Sharyl Loeung, Natalie Webb, and Emma Wood—and I’d like to thank them for gifting us with their words.   

We pause this day
to recognize there are
many among us who
have been wounded by violence,
exploitation, coercion, or manipulation.

There are many among
us who are suffering and grieving.

There are many who need
support and healing,
who need their voices heard,
and their stories acknowledged,
and their experiences validated.

The weight of oppression is heavy,

and the effects of trauma
are real and long-lasting.

We pause this day
to recognize
all of us are impacted
by the culture of violence.

All of us are impacted by the culture
of impatience and hostility
in which we live.

By listening to one another,
may we become instruments
of justice and peace.

We're going to take some time now in silence for this to sink in, and for the Spirit to minister to us, to reveal to us our complicity in our culture of violence, and to begin to shape our imaginations for enacting change.

---

JM

Setlist 2-14-2016

This week was the first Sunday of Lent, and our songs were selected with this theme in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

Deliver Me by David Crowder* Band

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Be Thou My Vision

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Wandering: We sang this song for two reasons.  First, to confess that God is faithful to us as we wander in the wilderness of Lent.  Though this time of self-examination is difficult, God is with us in the midst of it.  Second, in the spirit of examining our lives and being aware of our sin, to point out that our sin is sometimes located in the way we try to use God for our own purposes, and to praise God for finding ways to evade our grasp without evading God's love for us.

Lord, I Need You:  This song is a confession that we rely on the presence of God in order to acknowledge our sin, and for the strength to begin the hard work of repentance.  It ends with a petition to have God teach us to break the habit of self-sufficiency when trying to become people who are more like Jesus, and instead to turn to the One who can help when we struggle along the way.

Deliver Me: We sang this song to reiterate the basic spirit of the previous song--that we rely on God for any hope of transformation toward being people who are more like Jesus--but in a more direct, petitionary way, asking God to deliver us from our sin, and confessing that God is the one to pull us through.

In the Night: This song is a journey through the biblical narrative, cataloguing the process of struggle and victory, woundedness and healing, etc., strung together by the refrain "In the night, my hope lives on."  We'll add a verse each week during Lent as we move toward Easter, when Hope really takes root.

Be Thou My Vision: We will sing this song every week during Lent to close our time together.  As we go back into the wilderness of Lent, we will ask once again for God to be our vision, wisdom, security, and hope.

-JM

ITLOTC 2-12-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Lent

Lent 1

Over the next six weeks we will be hearing from voices in within our community.  The article will address the texts and themes from lent.  Today we'll hear from Kelly Doolittle.  Kelly is finishing his Master of Divinity from Truett.  

______________________________________________________________  

  The most shocking thing about the Temptation of Christ is the first line: “and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” (Luke 4:1).  It’s shocking because we know what happens next.  As Jesus fasted, the Devil approached with three temptations: one of hunger, one of power, one of safety.  We know that Jesus is able to deny Satan and the Spirit leads Jesus out of the wilderness.  This isn’t the end of the matter, however.

            “Was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”  It is God who leads Jesus into the desert.  Nothing good happens in the desert.  The desert’s hot, no water, no food, almost no life and the sun is unforgiving.  The sheer vastness of it drives minds mad.  Furthermore, people believed the desert was a haunt for demons (Luke 11:24; Matt 12:43).  Still, Jesus “was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”

            Do you ever feel like you have been led into the desert?  Maybe you have.  Maybe it was God who did the leading.  After all, if God led the Lord into the desert are we, as his followers, expected to do any less?

            Thank God for the Lord then.  If God is to lead us into the desert we have the Lord as our example.  He was in constant prayer before being led into the desert, once there he fasted, and because of these his mind and spirit were completely in tune with God.  There were no distractions for Christ.  This is why he could deny the Devil.

            The Lord said “If anyone would follow me, they must first deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).  The “follow” part is wherever Jesus leads, that most certainly includes deserts.  The hope then is this: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14).  Just as God led Jesus into the desert, he led Jesus out of the desert.  The key is, as always, to keep following. Amen.     

Meet Our Newest Leadership Team Rep

Bridget Heins

family: I have been married to my amazing husband, Michael, for 23 years. We have two children: Becca, a senior at Baylor and Mikey, a junior at Rapoport Academy.

tv show(s) i love: SURVIVOR, Sherlock, The Walking Dead, and Everybody Loves Raymond

hobby(ies): I am a teacher,so my hobbies are grading, lesson planning, and shopping at Hobby Lobby 😃

favorite bible verse, book chapter: Joel 2:25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten."

Ephesians and Philippians are my favorite books. Good stuff!

best restaurant in Waco: 

Mexican: El Conqistador
Italian: Baris
Burger: Double-R
Lunch: Schmaltz's
Food Truck: Xristo's
Barbecue: Tony Demaria's on Elm

something you might not know about me: I am an open book (my husband says that if you talk to me for 5 minutes, you'll know my life story). However, most people do not know that I have a fear of opening biscuit cans. It's a thing, I promise! In the grocery store, I walk by the refrigerated biscuit section a little faster 😬

UBC Financial Status Update

UBC Financial Status
as of: February 3, 2016

THE PLAN:  Our fiscal year runs from the first of July through the end of June.  This year’s budget is $309,412.  Fixed expenses (staff salaries, building and office expenses) are projected to be $253,373, or 82% of the total, and ministry expenses (the many things our church does for our community and for those who attend) are projected at $56,039 or 18%.

OUR EXPENSES AND INCOME:  Between July 1st and January 31st we have spent $155,812 or about 50% of our budget. Those items considered fixed accounted for about 89% of this spending.  Our income from tithes and offerings during this period totaled $206,910; we have also received about $1,865 in building rental and rental.

OUR STATUS:  UBC’s available cash (checking account) balance is currently about $63,400 and we have another $88,300 in savings; we continue to carry no debt.  Our financial status relies heavily on your weekly tithes and offerings.  Thank you for your generosity and your commitment to the work of UBC.

If you’d like to be a financial partner with UBC, you can sign up for monthly giving through EasyTithe.

Ecumenical Lent Services

For the past few years, UBC have been partnering with several downtown pastors to do a few ecumenical services during the lenten season.  This year we will have the privilege of hosting.  So if you'd like to join us for a brief worship service and lunch over the next few Wednesdays, we'd love to have you.  

Love, Love Feast

Black Hearts Sunday: the day when Lent 1 falls on Valentines Day. 

Friends, it is that time of year again, when we embrace love, and by love, I mean food!  Bring the dish you love the most, and bring enough to share.  The feast will begin at 6pm, on Sunday night, February 14th.  If you would like to bring a dessert, please sign-up in the foyer at church.  If you are bringing a main dish, a side, or an appetizer, there is no need to sign-up.  UBC will provide drinks, you bring your favorite food.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Rick & Marygayle 

Coffee Makers:  Sarah & Caroline 

Mug Cleaners: Team Haines

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: Lent One Luke 4:1-13
• Empty Nesters will be meeting for lunch after church on Sunday 2-21 @ Baris Restaurant in Waco.  For more information email kim @ tackhaines@msn.com
• Chris Tweedt will be leading a series of three talks about the intersection of faith and philosophy. Talks will run in the evening from 7:30-8:30 and will take place at UBC. for more information email Chris @ christweedt@gmail.com
  • Feb 24: Perceiving God or Arguing for God?
  • Mar 23: What Does God Think About Suffering?
  • April 20: Who, If Anyone, Should We Trust about Religion? 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 2-7-2016

This week was Transfiguration Sunday, which, fittingly, is the Sunday we read and reflect on the story of Jesus' Transfiguration in front of Peter, James, and John.  Our songs, in one way or another, focused on the glory of God.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

How Great Thou Art

This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons and Daughters

The Transfiguration by Sufjan Stevens

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

How Great Thou Art: We sang this song to begin our time together singing about the grandeur of God, which is precisely what is at the center of the Transfiguration story.

This is Amazing Grace: We sang this song to think of the glory of God in a different way.  While the Transfiguration points to a visually spectacular display of the glory of God in association with Jesus, we may find a much more accurate picture of God's glory in placing descriptions of God's cosmic power side-by-side with a description of God's grace in the sending of Jesus to set things right with us.  This is a Transfiguration all its own when the God whom we have every reason to fear is revealed as the God who loves fiercely and is in the habit of choosing grace over destruction.

All the Poor and Powerless: We sang this song to reiterate a primary theme from the previous song--that, while the Transfiguration shows Jesus infused with power and glory, He came to those who have neither of those things in life.  So, lest they assume that their lack of prestige or "good luck" is a reflection of God's opinion of them, they too witness a Transfiguration when Jesus snubs the social and religious elite and takes notice instead of the nobodies.

The Transfiguration: This song is a real jewel in that it essentially just narrates the Transfiguration without coming off as trite.  This is why we sang it, but I'd also like to point out the portion of the song that focuses on the cloud descending on the mountain.  Sufjan leans into the visceral side of this experience that includes the confusion and perhaps terror of being in the midst of this cloud that is talking, with this barrage of repetitive and mysterious phrases.  Also, if you haven't heard Sufjan Stevens play this song, please look it up.

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 2-5-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Women in Ministry

I’m not sure if you have slowed down to notice, but UBC has no full time pastors that are women.  Emily is a part time children’s pastor, which is not an atypical position for a woman to hold in church life, and Amy is our office manager.  With this information one might glean that UBC has a pretty standard view of woman in ministry for the Baptist south.

I think I sometimes feel defensive about this issue.  When it comes up I’m quick to point out that when we hired two community pastors in 2010 two of the final six (out of about 50 applicants) were women.  When we hired Emily, I intentionally advocated for her title to be changed from “minister” to “pastor” because I believe she is.  I want people to know that despite our lack of a full-time female pastor on staff we are very much for women in ministry.

A few months ago I submitted an article to the Christian Century.  The magazine called for submissions on the topic of mentoring.  My story was about Michelle, a hall director at Bethel College in St. Paul, MN.  In the article I shared about how I went to college with a complementarian view of women in the household and church.  Looking back I don’t think those position came from deep thoughtfulness, but rather merged out of few opinions I’d heard and no real study on the issue.

My flimsy perspective on this issue was called into question my junior year by Michelle.  Michelle is not a bra burning feminist nor did she ever bring up the issue of women in ministry.  She just led.  And she led me effectively.  Her witness smacked my suppositions in the face.  Let me be more specific because a few complementarians are already objecting that they do believe women can lead.  OK you’re right, but I wasn’t just led by Michelle, Michelle grew me as a disciple, and so that there’s really no question … exercised a spiritual authority (and not the sort of authority that needs to let you know it is authority, but rather Jesus picking up a towel sort of authority) over me that resulted in my being closer to Jesus.  I submitted to her spiritual leadership and was a better Christ follower as a result of it.

When my year as a resident assistant under Michelle was over, I realized that I had changed on this issue.  I decided that women belong in ministry.

You might have also gleaned from UBC that we allow space for diversity on issues.  If isn’t explicit in the way we talk about an issue, then it’s explicit in the way we don’t talk about that issue.  Part of that is simply diplomatic and a reflection of the ethos of the church, but part of that is that I just don’t think people’s opinions change via Facebook posts or through arguments.  I think change, real change, happens most often over the course of year when you spend time learning to love someone different than you.  Change happens in relationship when people take the time to love us through change.

That being said I should note that UBC does take a stand on one issue explicitly, namely, women in ministry.  February is Martha Sterns Marshall women in ministry month.  To join thousands of other Baptists in celebrating women who are or should be in ministry we will feature two female preachers.  If you agree with UBC on this issue I hope you’ll come and be blessed.  If you find yourself opposed to UBC on this issue, I hope you’ll come and be blessed.

Ash Wednesday

UBC will be observing Ash Wednesday with two worship gatherings on Wednesday February 10th @ 7:00 AM and again @ 5:30 PM.  Please come ready to worship God and acknowledge that you are a sinner.  

Love, Love (& one more Love because it's on Valentines Day this year) Love Feast

Black Hearts Sunday: the day when Lent 1 falls on Valentines Day. 

Friends, it is that time of year again, when we embrace love, and by love, I mean food!  Bring the dish you love the most, and bring enough to share.  The feast will begin at 6pm, on Sunday night, February 14th.  If you would like to bring a dessert, please sign-up in the foyer at church.  If you are bringing a main dish, a side, or an appetizer, there is no need to sign-up.  UBC will provide drinks, you bring your favorite food.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Empty Nesters Event! 

After church on 2-21-16 those UBCers who are celebrating the golden years will gather at Baris for Lunch.  For more information email kim @ tackhaines@msn.com

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Walters and Evie

Coffee Makers:  Chad & Joel 

Mug Cleaners:  Kaylin & Madi 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: This Sunday my friend Heather Mooney will be preaching.  Please be in prayer for her as she prepares. Luke 9:28-46
• Chris Tweedt will be leading a series of three talks about the intersection of faith and philosophy. Talks will run in the evening from 7:30-8:30 and will take place at UBC. for more information email Chris @ christweedt@gmail.com
  • Feb 24: Perceiving God or Arguing for God?
  • Mar 23: What Does God Think About Suffering?
  • April 20: Who, If Anyone, Should We Trust about Religion? 

Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor? 

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 1-31-2016

This week, our songs were gathered around the theme of prayer.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

All Creatures of Our God and King by David Crowder* Band

Your Love Is Strong by Jon Foreman

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle

Pain by Jameson McGregor

SMS (Shine) by David Crowder* Band

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to begin our time together conceiving of all of creation praising the Creator.  Interestingly, this song spends a great deal of time regarding the movements of planetary bodies as praise.  We may consider prayer broadly as a form of address to God, so, naturally, praise would fit the bill for some form of prayer.  Thinking this way, we might consider prayer the natural state of the cosmos--a fundamental part of what it is to be.

Your Love Is Strong: This song has Jesus' model prayer (the Lord's Prayer) embedded into its DNA, both broadly in the verses and explicitly in the bridge.  In using this prayer to frame the repeated "Your love is strong," we proclaim to both God and ourselves the driving assurance behind the Lord's Prayer.

Fall Afresh: This song is itself a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking for revitalization.  We sang it, in part, to practice addressing the Spirit in prayer together, and also specifically to practice voicing the desire for the Spirit's presence among us.

Pain: This song is about the fact that God can handle brutal honesty about our pain in prayer.  There is a strong (that almost feels like an understatement) tradition in Scripture of the people of God voicing their pain to God--both in crying out for help and in raising a charge against God--and God never seems to smite people for their honesty.  God can take it.  God can take it because, through Jesus, God understands our pain.  And more than just being willing to listen to us voice our pain, God is faithful in working to weave our most tragic stories into a story that is decidedly untragic.

SMS (Shine): We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about SMS (Shine) then: We sang this song to give voice to the longing that we all share at one time or another to be lifted out of dark places, or at the very least to be given some kind of glimpse of God when we feel abandoned.  We voice this longing confidently, knowing that God hears us when we call and does not cast us aside.  

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 1-29-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

The Idolatry Plaguing America

This week as I was preparing my sermon, which is on prayer, I reread some of Kyle’s book on prayer.  In the introduction he explores the idea that we’ve all been handed scripts.  Prayer, he suggests, is often one form of a script we’ve inherited.  In the spirit of self-deprecation Kyle offers three scripted prayers from previous expressions of his own discipleship.  The third he calls “death by cliché.”  It’s clever, picking on some of the sentiments you’ve likely heard over the course of your evangelical existence.  There in the middle of the prayer was this, “help me stand for something so I don’t fall for everything.” 

There are number of ways to parse “stand” and some of those understandings can be healthy.  My experience with this phrase usually occurred in heated discussion when an individual’s sense of security was being threatened.   In that environment, the confession “we must stand for something or we’ll fall for everything” was not healthy.  It was a defense mechanism aimed at stifling discussion. 

At first glance it seems that Christian faith should be about the business of certainty.  We must be certain about what we believe.  After all, some Christians have died pretty brutal deaths because of their beliefs.  Wouldn’t it be a tragic if at the end of the day they were uncertain about the beliefs for which they were dying?  And how about our creed?  For thousands of years the church has confessed “we believe … we believe … we believe …”

At this point I should acknowledge that there’s an entire philosophical discussion about the word 'certainty' that I’m aware of, but not familiar enough with to include here.  In that regard readers should understand that I’m talking the popular version of the same idea.  Let me put this out there, I think certainty has become the newest form of idolatry in Christian faith.  I define idolatry as anything that gives us the kind of life what we were designed to get exclusively from our relationship with God.  Lest readers are feeling appalled let me add this nuance.  I don’t think Christian faith is about certainty, but I do believe we are called to be a people of convictions. 

My definition of conviction would be this: a belief that you are passionate about.  I have deep convictions that Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.  Conviction allows me to move around the world with direction, but simultaneously lets me hold my belief humbly.  Conviction allows for the understanding that the Spirit works with me and through me despite my not having perfect belief.  Conviction allows for me to believe in Jesus as I continually see Him anew from fresh perspectives.  Certainty does not.  Certainty led the church to believe that the earth was at the center of the universe while they tortured people for disagreeing.  Certainty led Christians on crusades in which they murdered thousands of innocent people.  Certainty destroys faith when threatened with change.

So why am I taking the time to pick on certainty?  A few weeks ago when I preached on vulnerability I talked extensively about Brene Brown’s TED talk on vulnerability.  In it she shares that we are scared of vulnerability so we compensate for that fear by numbing ourselves.  As a result she points out that we are the most “medicated, obese, addicted, and in debt adult cohort in American history.”  If you numb the fearful stuff (shame, rejection, exposure) Brown argues you also numb the good parts of vulnerability (joy, happiness, acceptance). 

Brown suggests that there is another way of dealing with the fear of vulnerability.  I did not mention it in my sermon, but I do want to here.  In response to our fear of vulnerability we develop a need for certainty.  We take deep comfort from the notion that we can’t be wrong and that our suppositions can’t be upset by new experiences or information. 

My proposal is that in response the visceral world of politics, religion and public opinion we do away with certainty and celebrate our shared conviction that Jesus is Lord.   This is the faith of the Church. 

Special Thank You

We did it, we are officially 21 now!  We hope everyone had a good time at the party, and you were all safe getting home.  We say thanks to a couple of groups of people: First, let us thank Adair McGregor, Dilan Braddock, Kelsey Lawson, and Bridget Heins for being a part of the planning team.  This committee worked hard to help pull off the party, so give them a hug when you see them.  Second, we would like to thank Betsy Bracken for making the delicious cupcakes, Jacob Robinson for making videos, Katie Allison for putting together the slideshow, and Graham Dodd for taking pics.  Lastly, we want to thank everyone who helped with set-up, those who stayed to help clean, and those who gave of their time in so many ways.  Thank you to everyone who played a part in making Sunday special for this community.  We can’t wait to celebrate our 42nd! 

Renovation of the Heart SS Class

If you are in the Renovation of the Heart Sunday school class please email lukestehr@gmail.com for updates on the book and quotes for class. 

Meet Our Newest HR Member

Ross Van Dyke

family: Beautiful wife Hannah, 18 month old son Luke, & one baby on the way due in June, a.k.a “Clarence"

tv show(s) i love: Seinfeld, True Detective(Season 1), Homeland, House of Cards & Vanderpump Rules

hobby(ies): Hiking/Backpacking, BBQ & Water Volleyball

favorite bible verse, book chapter: Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever"

best restaurant in Waco: Taqueria El Crucero

something you might not know about me:  I was an Eagle Scout.

UBC Giving Statements

If you gave money to UBC in the 2015 calendar year a statement of your giving will be available to pick up after church in the foyer on Sunday January 24th and Sunday January 31st.  Statements not picked up on those two dates will be mailed the following Monday. 

Parents Night Out 

Are you ready to pull your hair out?  Would you love nothing more than to go to the bathroom without anyone else accompanying you?  Does the perfect Christmas sound like a two hour nap with no one screaming "mom!" We have great news for you.  Next Friday February 5th UBC will be hosting a parents night out from 6-9.  Interested participants should sign up by emailing josh@ubcwaco.org. 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Marygayle and the Blaylocks

Coffee Makers: Carson & Ryan 

Mug Cleaners:  Kaylee & Ashley 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: "Reclaiming A Previous Version of Yourself: Prayer" Matthew 6:5-15
• Love, Love, Love Feast, 2-14-16 @ 6:00
• Empty Nesters after church lunch at Baris on 2-21-16.  For more information email kim @ tackhaines@msn.com 

Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 1-24-2016

This week, we celebrated ubc's 21st birthday, and took time to look back over our history to observe God's faithfulness. All of the songs we sang came out of ubc through the ages, and gave voice to some of the core convictions of our community.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Here Is Our King by David Crowder* Band

SMS (Shine) by David Crowder* Band

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

All I Can Say by David Crowder* Band

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Here Is Our King: We sang this song to begin our time together embracing the joy of Christmas that shines through Epiphany, in declaring that the Love of God has come to us in Jesus, and to hold this love in our minds as we began thinking about God's faithfulness to our community over the years.

SMS (Shine): We sang this song to give voice to the longing that we all share at one time or another to be lifted out of dark places, or at the very least to be given some kind of glimpse of God when we feel abandoned.  We voice this longing confidently, knowing that God hears us when we call and does not cast us aside.  This song also has a special place in the history of ubc because the community worked together to assemble an absurd number of lite-brites to make this music video, which won a Dove Award:  

Wayward Ones: We sang this to confess that we are broken, unreliable people, and to worship God for extending self-sacrificial love to us nonetheless.  This song has been a great gift that Tye gave our community in his time as Worship & Arts pastor, and it is the title track of an album he released while on staff.  You can listen to it here.

All I Can Say: We sang this to confess that God is with us in our suffering.  One of the great things about this song is that it provides a way to engage God when we have little to nothing to say other than that we are hurting, yet allows us to confess that God is with us even when we feel abandoned.

Wild One:  We sang this song to confess that God is not bound by who we expect God to be, but is instead far greater than our most grandiose ideas of who God is.  

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 1-22-15

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

The Economy of the Kingdom

I have all and … am full.  Philippians 4:18

This last Sunday I preached on vulnerability.  It wasn’t in my manuscript, but I finished the sermon by sharing a story that I was/am in the middle of.  A story about my own vulnerability.  My children are currently between health insurance carriers and wouldn’t you know it, my son broke his leg on Friday.  When I got that phone call from my wife on last Friday, something in my soul died.  Forget the lack of diagnosis and potential crushing medical bills, I felt like I had failed my child.   That is a hard place to be. 

I wanted to follow up and tell you what has happened since then. On Monday we took my son to a local clinic where my friend serves as a doctor.  We weren’t on the schedule, but he got us on the schedule and saw us anyway.  I could tell that he was incredibly busy and that despite his busyness he was bending over backwards to get us the best care possible.  He handed us off to another doctor who is in charge of the sports medicine program for that clinic.  He looked at the x-ray and told my wife and I that if you are going to have a broken tibia, which Roy does, it was the best possible break.  All Roy needed was a cast and the next six weeks for his body to do what it will. 

After we were done seeing two of the clinics best doctors, my friend handed us the paperwork to check out.  I noticed the only two things on the whole chart were the pair of x-rays that were done.  I don’t understand health care or the medical world and Roy has a few more follow up appointments, but I’m pretty sure my doctor friend coded as much of what happened as he could to keep our cost to a minimum, included the work done by both doctors. 

In case you are beginning to see a thread in this story let me name it for you, it is the grace of God.  Now let me back up to Sunday after church.  The compassion that came pouring in was humbling.  One friend handed me what I knew was a few dollar bills..  He told me, “it’s not much but we’d like to help you.”  His not much was a huge blessing.  It was more than enough to buy us lunch that day.  I’ve fought people enough times in these moments to know when I’m robbing them of an opportunity to be a blessing.  Refusing the money would be an act of selfishness on my part.  I told him thank you. 

Then another friend came up to me.  A graduate student who is working part time at Pizza Hut to pay for school.  He told me I could use his information to get a discount on pizza and that he’d love to treat our family.  Because I hadn’t texted him by that evening he went ahead and sent me all his credit card information and instructions on how to get the pizza.  I was deeply touched.

Another friend came up to me and explained that he had grown up in similar circumstances that I had described in his sermon.  In case you weren’t there, that is circumstances that sometimes felt fiscally insecure.  He then proceeded to tell me that him and his family were in a very secure place and that they’d like to help me in whatever we needed. 

People brought Roy toys and treats and on Monday when Lindsay I took Roy the doctor we made one phone call and we had someone lined up to watch our kids.  I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in a position receive help, but I can tell you it is wonderful. 

On Monday another friend emailed to see how I was doing.  I gave a quick update and expressed my gratitude for God.  She wrote something that caught my eye.  “I've done the insurance gap before and it's humiliating. The whole system is quite something. One of the definitions of poverty has to do not with finances available but also outside support systems. You certainly have a wealth of people on your side.”

Having just come off of the Christmas season my mind immediately went to the concluding moments of It’s A Wonderful Life.  George Bailey is suspended above a pit of financial disaster that could land him jail.  But he is rescued--not by a formal loan or a bank or a wealthy benefactor, but by his friendships. 

When all is said and done I may end with expenses that are less than the value of the deductible I would have had to pay had Roy had insurance.  In that case I won’t need any of the generosity that has been extended to me, but that won’t discount the grace that I experienced in those offers.  I was saved by my friendships.  George Bailey’s angel leaves him a note that says, “no man is a failure who has many friends.”  That’s me, I’m George Bailey, the richest man in Bedford Falls.

When I was wrapping up my experience at Truett I read Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution.  In it he has a chapter on Kingdom economics that I was quite taken by.  It’s a dream really, of a different kind of world.  I’d like to include a paragraph here. 

A family very dear to our hearts owns the Jose-fina minimart across the street from our house.  Over the years, we have become inseparable.  Their kids come over for homework, to do our theatre camp, and to beat us at Uno (though they cheat sometimes).  We helped rehab their house, and they helped teach us Spanish.  Oftentimes they need transportation to restock the store or pick up the kids.  We found that we could insure them (and actually at no extra cost) under our policy.  So we share cares, and they never take our money for groceries.  We are not Good Samaritans, nor are we an efficient nonprofit provider.  We are family with them, and money has lost its relevance.  Not long ago, we had to take our car in to the mechanic, and after it was repaired, it was returned without a bill.  When I asked about it, our mechanic told me we were taking care of a family he cared deeply for, so the repairs were a gift to us, since we all have to take care of each other.  Funny how money loses its power.   As one of the early Christians said, “Starve Mammon with your love.”  I hope Mammon goes hungry around here.

I used this in the very first sermon I preached at UBC.  Now 9 years later, I find myself living in the middle of it.  What sticks out to these many years later is the suggestion that money can lose its power.  I experienced that.  Money had me held over a pit of fear, but the community around me loved that fear back to hell where it came from. 

What if we could all live like that? 

In Family News ... 

Meet Our Newest UBCer

Ellison Anna Ritter 

Birthday: 1/4/16

Birth weight: 7 lbs 

Birth height: 19 inches 

enneagram number: 8 

UBC Giving Statements

If you gave money to UBC in the 2015 calendar year a statement of your giving will be available to pick up after church in the foyer on Sunday January 24th and Sunday January 31st.  Statements not picked up on those two dates will be mailed the following Monday. 

join the ubc booth crew

If you have a knack for live production, our booth crew is looking for more volunteers!  The three areas we need volunteers for are lights, computer, and sound.  If you have experience running a light board, pro-presenter, or mixing live audio, OR if you are willing to learn to do any of those things, email jamie@ubcwaco.orgfor information on when our 2016 orientation sessions will be happening.

Work is Worship

Greeters:  The Haines & Will

Coffee Makers: Joy & Ryan

Mug Cleaners:  Madi

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: "A Celebration of God's Faithfulness In the Life of UBC"
• Love, Love, Love Feast, 2-14-16 @ 6:00
• Leadership Team Meetings Sunday Night.  Please be in prayer for our team as they continue to discern what God would do in our church.  

Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Byron Roldan: Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu 

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

ITLOTC 1-15-16

 

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Confession

This Sunday I will be preaching about confession and vulnerability.  In the spirit of the sermon I've decided to offer one here. 

I've been fighting the influenza for the couple of days and as a result and am about two days behind on my work.  I've decided that it is ok if I did not write a full length article for the newsletter this week. 

But good news remains.  I have a bunch of riveting information to pass along from myself and the rest of the staff and all of it can be found here.  So pour yourself a Dr. Pepper, sit down and get comfy while you update yourself on the happenings of the church. 

Also, please throw up a prayer for me so that I don't pass out on Sunday while preaching.  You are the best! 

In Family News

Meet Our Newest UBCer 

Madeline Camile Thornton 

Birthday: 12-17-16

Birth weight: 7 lb. 6 oz. 

Birth height: 19 inches

Enneagram Number: 1 with a 2 wing 

UBC 21st Birthday Party!!!!

Friends, you don’t want to miss UBC’s 21st Birthday Party coming up on January 24th.  During the service that morning we will reflect upon how God has worked in and through UBC over the first 21 years, and then, after the service, we will party likes its 1995!  We are catering food from El Crucero, we will have desserts of epic proportions, karaoke, inflatables of fun, and a few other surprises.  There will be lots, and I mean a whole lot, of balloons.  The party is for EVERYONE, so families bring your kids, and college students bring your friend.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org .   

UBC OAR Update

The UBC Ownership and Accountability Research team met again last Sunday, and we will be meeting the second Sunday of every month this Spring.  Our goal, as a team, is to think through two main questions: how do we help foster a greater sense of ownership/buy-in at UBC, and how do we help foster accountability to one another in being formed in the way of Christ?  If you have any questions about the conversations we are having, or would like to offer your own insight, you can email toph@ubcwaco.org and he will put you in touch with one of the team members.  We are currently in the process of discussing the importance of the language we use when describing things like accountability, discipleship, ownership, covenant, etc… and we are looking into what the “intangibles” are that make UBC a unique community of faith.  

Sunday School

Just a reminder that sunday starts THIS SUNDAY, be there at 9:30 AM!!!

Here are the locations for the classes: 

Renovation of the Heart - Red Room

Creation and Stewardship - Rock n Roll room

Encountering God - Brown room

Passion Narratives - White Room

Mi Casa Information

Howdy folks!  If you're interested in gathering once a week with a group to share food and life then Mi Casa might be for you! If you have been looking for a way to connect with UBC'ers between Sundays then I'd love to connect you with a Mi Casa. This semester we have a new group that will meet at 11:30 on Fridays for BYOLunch at UBC in the brown room. The hope is that this will offer a chance for some to slip away from work, home, or class for an hour or so. Email me at liz@ubcwaco.org if you're interested in jumping into community life here at UBC!

Children's Info from Pastor Emily

1.  UBCKids Sunday School begins this week!  We will be learning about he Kings of Israel, the good the bad and the ugly, as we continue through our series What’s In The Bible!  We hope that your kids, from 0-12 will join us, but just like Legos, the age ranges are just a suggestion!  We take all comers!  For more info, please contact Emily at emily@ubcwaco.org!

2.  We’re done with Advent and the Epiphany and we’re not quite to Lent yet…so what’s a Kid’s Ministry to do?  During this in-between time, UBCKids, ages 4-4th grade, will be learning about some amazing moments in Jesus’ life on Earth.  We will begin with the time He dropped some serious knowledge on the leaders of the Temple as a kid, and quite frankly, end with Him dropping some more serious knowledge on some other leaders of the Temple as an adult!  Through it all, we will reveal what made Jesus SO different and SO special so that Lent and Easter will be THAT much more meaningful!

UBCKids ages 2-4 will be diving back into our ABC’s of God’s love…after all, we’ve got to make it to Z before June!  All UBCKids who are tinier than these will be living it up in Christian love and fellowship, as usual!  We look forward to seeing you all!  

join the ubc booth crew

If you have a knack for live production, our booth crew is looking for more volunteers!  The three areas we need volunteers for are lights, computer, and sound.  If you have experience running a light board, pro-presenter, or mixing live audio, OR if you are willing to learn to do any of those things, email jamie@ubcwaco.orgfor information on when our 2016 orientation sessions will be happening.

New Leadership Team Member  

UBC will be selecting a new member to serve on the leadership team.  Our friend Byron Roldan has served faithfully for the last 2.5 years, but has taken his internship south to Houston.  We are grateful for Byron and his service to our community. 

Here are a few guidelines from the bylaws about leadership team selection:

(A) Purpose.  The Leadership Team shall be the primary decision-making body of UBC.  The Leadership Team will oversee all the business and property of the church, as well as make the final decisions regarding hiring and dismissal of staff and the acquisition and selling of assets that are beyond budgetary provisions. 

(B) Qualifications.  Each member of Leadership Team shall have been a member of UBC for at least one year, exhibited an understanding and commitment to the mission and values of the church, and be willing to fulfill all responsibilities in the Leadership Team job description.

(C) Term.  Members of Leadership Team may serve for a duration lasting up to three years.  While they are encouraged to remain the full three years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.

If you are would like to nominate someone for the leadership team, please email candidate information to josh@ubcwaco.org

New HR Team Member

Our friend Jeff Walter has served faithfully on the HR team for the last several years.  We are grateful for Jeff and his service.  We’d love for you to consider serving or nominating someone to serve that you think would be good in this role.  Here are a few details about HR from the bylaws:

(A) Purpose.  The Human Resources/Staff Support Team shall exist for the following purposes:

a.     To establish procedures for the hiring of ministerial and non-ministerial staff, and to enact those procedures when advised by Leadership Team to do so.

b.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on issues regarding long-term staff needs.

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

d.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on matters regarding staff compensation, benefits, grievances and termination.

e.    To be a liaison between the congregation and staff during times of conflict after all attempts at personal, one-on-one resolution has been made. 

(B) Qualifications.  HR/Staff Support Team members shall have been an active participant in the life of UBC for no less than one year, have received a bachelor’s degree (or roughly an equivalent amount of experience in personnel management, ministry, or other related field,) and have a demonstrable understanding of organizational management. 

(C) Term. HR/Staff Support Team members shall serve for a duration lasting up to five years.  All efforts shall be made by the HR/Staff Support Team to ensure that no more than two members in a given year rotate off of the team due to duration requirements. While they are encouraged to remain the full five years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.

If you are interested in nominating someone for the HR team, please send candidate information to josh@ubcwaco.org

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Marygale and Joel 

Coffee Makers: Stephen and Emmy 

Mug Cleaners:  Leigh and Stephen 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: Genesis 3:8-11 "Reclaiming a Previous Version of Yourself: Accountability" 
•  UBC 21st is happening on Sunday, January 24th
• Next Leadership Team Meeting January 24th 

Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Byron Roldan: Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu 

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

 

Setlist 1-10-2016

This week was the first Sunday after Epiphany.  Epiphany is an interesting season.  It begins with the Epiphany (the Star, wise men, etc.), which begins a journey through moments in Jesus' life that serve to reveal Jesus' divinity and mission (baptism, miracles, Transfiguration).  These moments are "epiphanies" in their own right, but the church calendar postures them as looking over their shoulder at Epiphany (that's why its the first Sunday after Epiphany, rather than the first Sunday of Epiphany/the epiphanies).  Anyway. Our songs were gathered around the theme of what the Incarnation reveals to us about who God is.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Heart Won't Stop by John Mark McMillan

Amazing Grace by Citizens & Saints

Because He Lives by Bill Gaither

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Holy, Holy, Holy

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Heart Won't Stop: The language of this song is taken from Psalm 139, and it proclaims the fact that we cannot outrun the love of God, and there is no hole that we can dig ourselves that is deep enough to convince God to finally leave us alone.  In the Word becoming flesh in Jesus, God sends a clear message about just how far God is willing to go to set things right with Creation.  And while this self-humbling of God is profound on its own, we know that this is not the part of the Christian story where we see God go the furthest for us.  We sang this song because it reminds us that God-with-us is a label that God took upon Godself on purpose, and God did not ask humanity what we thought first--we are loved, whether we think it is appropriate or not.

Amazing Grace: We sang this song to look at the significance of the Word becoming flesh from a different angle, where we think of the fact that God's choosing to be God-with-us has fundamentally changed the way that we exist in the world.  God-with-us means that we are not left to our own devices, but rather have a Fellow Traveler in the world Who knows our struggles and feels our pain, yet does not mirror our faults.  When this understanding meets the love of God, we find something we might call grace.

Because He Lives:  I normally think of the Resurrection when I hear this song, but I think it carries, at the very least, a double entendre.  We sang this song because the fact that the Word became flesh--the fact that God chose to be God-with-us--means that we can have a new kind of Hope.  The darkness of Advent has been pierced by a Fire in its midst, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  If nothing else, at this early part of the Christian story, we know that the Story is far from over, and this is the hope we carry with us, facing each new day with expectation.

Wild One: We sang this song because the Word becoming flesh reveals to us that God is not pinned down by who we expect God to be.  The people of God were not expecting a Messiah like Jesus.  Our most pristine theological categories struggle to make sense of why God would enter our mess of a world in vulnerability rather than destroying it and starting over.  The aim of this song is to refocus our minds on the fact that it is God--God-with-us-- who is worthy of our worship, not our most comfortable picture of God.  That is to say, we must constantly be looking for a God who is on the move, who is dynamic, rather than assuming that we figured God out long ago.  The God revealed in Jesus is a God who is full of surprises and is not easily categorized or mapped out.

Holy, Holy, Holy: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Holy, Holy, Holy then: We sang this song to specifically locate our worship of Jesus within the scope of the Triune God.  

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 1-8-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Town Hall Information 

Last January we had a town hall and one thing we decided coming out of that meeting was that we wanted to have more transparency between the staff, leadership team, and community.  As part of that effort we decided to have a town hall a month before each quarterly leadership team meeting.  This January marks a year since that decision and our first attempt at the January meeting under the new provisions.  Here's what I've learned.  Having a town hall a month before our January leadership team meeting is extremely difficult.  An early December town hall meeting translates into an early leadership team meeting and some of our folks are still not around.  A late January leadership team meeting translates into a late December town hall and I assure you, that few, if any, would come to that.  Hence our predicament.  In light of this we will have our town hall this coming Sunday January 10th, and our leadership team meeting will be Sunday January 24th.  Please be in prayer for our team as we approach that meeting.  The town hall/leadership team meeting agenda is below.  

Because I don't anticipate this meeting will be long we will go ahead and hold the meeting ten minutes after the conclusion of the service.  

Town Hall Agenda

1-10-24

Finance update

Because our next finance meeting is (Monday the 11th) the most up to day financial information we have is from the end of November.  That information was printed in the newsletter in mid December.  I've bolded the bottom line details.  Here is that summary:

**** Addendum ****

since sending the newsletter I checked my email and seen that amy sent documents for Monday's meeting.  i will present some of the updated financial information on Sunday.  

UBC Financial Statusas of: December 7, 2015

THE PLAN:  Our fiscal year runs from the first of July through the end of June.  This year’s budget is $309,412.  Fixed expenses (staff salaries, building and office expenses) are projected to be $253,373, or 82% of the total, and ministry expenses (the many things our church does for our community and for those who attend) are projected at $56,039 or 18%.

OUR EXPENSES AND INCOME:  Between July 1st and December 7th, we have spent $119,913 or about 39% of our budget. Those items considered fixed accounted for 88% of this spending.  Our income from tithes and offerings during this period totaled $145,156; we have also received a small amount (about $170) in interest and other income (e.g., building rental).

OUR STATUS:  UBC’s cash (checking account) balance is currently $49,419, with another $87,796 in savings.  We continue to carry no debt.  Quick math shows that we have the cash to meet about 66 days of expenses without having to dip into our savings.  This is an improvement from earlier in the year, but we continue to rely heavily on weekly tithes and offerings.

If you’d like to be a financial partner with UBC, you can sign up for monthly giving through EasyTithe.

New Leadership Team Member

UBC will be selecting a new member to serve on the leadership team.  Our friend Byron Roldan has served faithfully for the last 2.5 years, but has taken his internship south to Houston.  We are grateful for Byron and his service to our community. 

Here are a few guidelines from the bylaws about leadership team selection:

(A) Purpose.  The Leadership Team shall be the primary decision-making body of UBC.  The Leadership Team will oversee all the business and property of the church, as well as make the final decisions regarding hiring and dismissal of staff and the acquisition and selling of assets that are beyond budgetary provisions. 

(B) Qualifications.  Each member of Leadership Team shall have been a member of UBC for at least one year, exhibited an understanding and commitment to the mission and values of the church, and be willing to fulfill all responsibilities in the Leadership Team job description.

(C) Term.  Members of Leadership Team may serve for a duration lasting up to three years.  While they are encouraged to remain the full three years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.

New HR Team Member

Our friend Jeff Walter has served faithfully on the HR team for the last several years.  We are grateful for Jeff and his service.  We’d love for you to consider serving or nominating someone to serve that you think would be good in this role.  Here are a few details about HR from the bylaws:

(A) Purpose.  The Human Resources/Staff Support Team shall exist for the following purposes:

a.     To establish procedures for the hiring of ministerial and non-ministerial staff, and to enact those procedures when advised by Leadership Team to do so.

b.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on issues regarding long-term staff needs.

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

d.    To advise Leadership and Finance teams on matters regarding staff compensation, benefits, grievances and termination.

e.    To be a liaison between the congregation and staff during times of conflict after all attempts at personal, one-on-one resolution has been made. 

(B) Qualifications.  HR/Staff Support Team members shall have been an active participant in the life of UBC for no less than one year, have received a bachelor’s degree (or roughly an equivalent amount of experience in personnel management, ministry, or other related field,) and have a demonstrable understanding of organizational management. 

(C) Term. HR/Staff Support Team members shall serve for a duration lasting up to five years.  All efforts shall be made by the HR/Staff Support Team to ensure that no more than two members in a given year rotate off of the team due to duration requirements. While they are encouraged to remain the full five years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.

Open and Carry Policy:

As you have probably heard Texas recently became an open and carry state.  As a result we feel it is in the best interest of the church to address this policy change and its implications for our community.     In full discloser the staff talked about this and I/we are not in favor of letting people UBC having an open and carry policy.  I plan on sharing that input with the leadership team.  If you have an opinion that you care to share the leadership team will be discussing this issue on the 24th. Please come ready to share.  

Miscellaneous Items: 

Parking lot and roof repair:  both our parking lot and roof have problems.  I (josh) am in process of getting a few quotes on these facility problems.  Per the bylaws we leave most decisions like these (facility needs under $750) to the staff and finance team.  However, because these will be potentially larger items of cost, we would like the community to be aware of these choices. 

Mi Casa Information

Howdy folks! It's a new semester and just about time for Mi Casa's to start meeting again. If you're interested in gathering once a week with a group in a home to share food and life then Mi Casa might be for you! If you have been looking for a way to connect with UBC'ers between Sundays then I'd love to connect you with a Mi Casa. Email me at liz@ubcwaco.org

UBC 21st Birthday Party

Friends, make sure you have January 24th marked on your calendars, we are turning 21!!!!!  The service that day will be a chance for us to reflect on all God has done in and through UBC over the past 21 years, and we are going to throw a huge birthday party after church.  UBC will be providing the food, drink, and dessert; we just want you to show up and be ready to party!  Before church we will be showing a slideshow, and we need your help: if you have any pictures from your time at UBC (i.e. - UBC events, micasa, trips, etc…) please send them to toph@ubcwaco.org 

UBC OAR Team

We have a meeting this Sunday afternoon, be looking for an update in the next newsletter.

Spring Sunday School

Here is a list and description of our Spring Sunday School classes: 

Theology and Creation
Theology and Creation is a time for us to think together about the natural world, our place in it, and God’s plan for it. We will be attempting to think Christianly about ethics, the contemporary ecological crises, where we should buy groceries, and how we can be the image, not just of God, but of Christ in and to the world. Led by Kim Minnick and Gerhard Stuebben

Encountering God

How do we encounter God? This is a fundamental question humanity has pursued through the centuries and we all still yearn for answers today. In Christian Scripture, we find hope and truth for this question in Jesus Christ as "God with us." In this class, we will explore this beautiful aspect of our faith - the Incarnation -  by discussing various passages that point us to this wonderful encounter between God and man - the intersection of the human and the divine. Hopefully, in our journey together to encounter God, we will be surprised by how much God yearns to encounter us. Led by Mick Colananni

Renovation of the Heart

Join us as we read Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart and learn about what it means for us to grow into the pattern of Christ's life. In this class, we'll talk about what spiritual formation is, and how it happens. While reading the book is not required, it's strongly encouraged. Led by Haley Alloway and Luke Stehr

Passion Narratives

Led by Kelly Doolittle:  Description forth coming. 

In Family News

Meet Our Newest UBCer

Titus Shin-En Lee

Birthday: 12-16-15

Birth Weight: 7.12

Birth Height: 21

Enneagram Number: 1

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks, Kelsey, Rick 

Coffee Makers: 

Mug Cleaners:  

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: Genesis 16:1-13/Galatians 4:21-31 " "Reclaiming the previous version of yourself: Bible Reading" 
•  UBC 21st is happening on Sunday, January 24th
•  

Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:

254 498 2261

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members. 

Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net

Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu

Byron Roldan: Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu 

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com

Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com

Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Setlist 1-3-2016

This week was the second week of Christmas, so our songs were gathered around the theme of Incarnation.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Joy to the World

O Come All Ye Faithful

Holy, Holy, Holy

Hope by Jameson McGregor

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Joy to the World: We sang this song to celebrate together the coming of the Light of God into our present darkness.  One of the most important parts of this song comes quite early: let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.  It's important because it emphasizes the significance of the coming of Jesus not only for humans, but for the entire cosmos.  To say that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us is to say that the Word took on Time and Space as well.

O Come All Ye Faithful: Thinking about the Incarnation may result, on the one hand, with a sort of awe-inspired word vomit wherein on describes the theological significance of the Word becoming flesh (or something like that), and this certainly has its place.  On the other hand, it may result in a sort of speechless awe--sort of like when you meet a baby (!) for the first time and just keep saying things like "those cheeks" or "aw man" or "what a little person," (you get the idea, the words aren't really what you're trying to express).  Both of these results may well be called adoration, and both of these responses are represented in the lyrics of this song.  We sang it to spend some time living in those spaces together.

Holy, Holy, Holy: We sang this song to specifically locate our worship of Jesus within the scope of the Triune God.  

Hope: This song is about the relentless faithfulness of the God who is God-with-us.  It continually references God's having lit a fire in the darkness that the darkness did not overcome over/against some condition of darkness that we might now face.  Furthermore, it looks ahead in the hope that God is working to redeem every broken piece and to silence every twisted word.  In a very literal sense, this song is relevant for our theme of Incarnation because Jesus is this fire in the darkness.

Wayward Ones: We sing this song every time we take communion to remind ourselves of a couple of things.  First, we are a broken people--though we are seeking to become more like Jesus, we often fail at this.  Second, Christ has given Himself for us despite our brokenness.  We take communion to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, even though we did not, and do not, deserve it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

Setlist 12-20-2015

This week was the third week of Advent, and our songs were gathered around the theme of love. I guess it would also be true to say that the theme was simply "advent," but the candle-themes of advent are so intertwined when placed next to eachother, I have no problem saying that all of these songs were sung in light of love.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, there is an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs

Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic

Peace (Change Everything) by ubcmusic

Joy (Brightest) by ubcmusic

Love (Gladdening Light) by ubcmusic

Make This Go On Forever (Refrain) by Snow Patrol

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

This week's set doesn't seem to lend itself to the usual format I use to think about how the songs fit together.  These songs were all written as a unit to explore the themes of advent, which means they are pretty thoroughly interwoven with one another.  The hope was to create songs that voiced a longing hope that is never quite resolved or satiated, yet is so entrenched in the idea that God is faithful and is actively in the midst of telling a story that isn't over yet, that there is some sort of balance struck between pain and healing, joy and sorrow.  As I've said in the previous weeks, I think these songs carry broad enough images for them to take on a variety of layers of significance for different people, so I would encourage you to listen to them again and think about the words.  The links to the videos are below.  Also, a word about the piece of the Snow Patrol song we attached to the end of each song over the past few weeks: When we say "I don't know where to look//my words just break and melt//please just save me from this darkness," we confess that there are kinds of darkness that we encounter against which we feel helpless and struggle to imagine a way through, yet we know to Whom to take our pleas for salvation.  This seems to capture the advent spirit as we look back on the ways that God has been faithful to us as a way of fueling the hope that we carry forward.

Hope (There Will Come A Light)

Peace (Change Everything)

Joy (Brightest)

Love (Gladdening Light)

-JM

ubc advent songs: love (gladdening light)

Earlier this semester, I wrote a song for each week of Advent.  My friends at Canowan in Austin invited me to their church to record video sessions of them as a part of a series of Christmas song videos they're making.   We'll sing one of these each week during Advent, and I'll be posting the videos here.  If you want to check out some of the other songs my friends recorded for this project, they'll be posting four songs each week of this month here.

This song is called "Gladdening Light," and it was written for the Love week. If you have any questions, email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org