ITLOTC 9-2-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

The  Patience to Listen

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said,

“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to His word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His word, but also lends us His ear… Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they’re in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. He who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life.”

I will tell you a story about when I first began to listen.  I was in college and a friend had invited me to a debate.  The debate was between a Catholic priest and a Baptist pastor.  I wasn’t Baptist, but it was clear from the content that I was in his corner.  We understood the basics of salvation the same way.  We (the Baptist pastor and me) agreed that no one was getting saved with any kind of effort.  The experience was exhilarating.  Every time I felt like the Baptist pastor had made an indisputable point, which was about every time he spoke, I’d look up for nodding heads and nonverbal amens.  Tensions were mounting, and sides were forming.  It was a microcosm of religious war right there in Bethlehem Baptist Church in downtown St. Paul.  

We left that debate, my friend, his sister, his sister’s fiance and me.  On the way home, I made a startling discovery.  They were all Catholic.  I tried to remember all of the comments and body gestures I had made over the course of the debate.  Had I offended them?  I was sure I had.  

Despite what I did and said, my Catholic friends were generous.  Brendan was the name of the soon to be brother-in-law.  He gently and indirectly communicated that one of his favorite lines from Assisi’s instrument of peace prayer is, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  That was a powerful suggestion to me.  Even though I had not done that, I resolved to start.  I decided I was going to try my hardest to listen first.  

This week, I read a story about a person making a political statement.  I was annoyed.  “Theatrics,” I told myself.  I completely dismissed the content of his message.  In fact, I didn’t even read it.  I just judged.  Later this week, I was reading an article about this political statement and then I read the comments.  They were predictable.  Two sides with opposite and sometimes visceral opinions talking past each other.  No one used direct insults; they used condescension instead.  I was taking the bait even though I didn’t write a comment.  I was cheerleading the good ones in my head.  And then I saw that someone had written Assisi’s words.  “I don’t know a lot about this, I’m just trying to seek first to understand then to be understood.”  It was so refreshing, and it was so convicting.  His comment exposed the failure in my own discipleship.  

I think we often worry about getting the argument right.  And we should.  We live in a real world where real ideas have real consequences.  But there’s a wrong way to be right, and that is just as bad as being wrong.  Let us, then, commit to being a community that seeks first to understand.  Our listening matters.  It is a gift.  

Post-College Women's Group

Moms, grad students, and/or all the single ladies looking for sisterhood?  On Monday, September 19th 8:00 Lindsay Carney will be hosting  an evening to learn more about women's groups for the fall.  Please email her lindsay.r.carney@gmail.com for more information.   

Volunteer Training Day

1. CC Middle School 

School is back in full swing! If you are looking for a way to get involved in our community ministries this semester, our partnership with Cesar Chavez Middle School may be a good fit. 

We are looking for: 

People to mentor a student weekly during the lunch hour 

Or

Commit one afternoon a week to hang out on campus between 4:30-5:30

2. Children's Ministry 

It's that time again UBC!  Sunday, September 11th we will be holding our annual UBCKids Volunteer Training!  We have more need than ever for volunteers, so if you are at all interested in helping out with our kids ranging in ages of 0-10, please plan on attending on Sunday so that we can give you everything you need to get plugged in!  
It should take about an hour and a half and lunch will be provided!  Please contact Emily at emily@ubcwaco.org with any questions or concerns!

UBC Basketball

Do you like playing basketball? Do you like to slay the devil?  Good news, UBC is putting together it’s first ever basketball team.  If you are interested in playing, games will be on Thursday nights, starting on September 8th. There will be a sign-up sheet in the foyer after church.  The South Waco Community Center is putting on the league for churches, and all proceeds go to support the Halloween Carnival.  We call this a win win.  If you have any questions, and if you a wanna be balla shot calla, holla at toph@ubcwaco.org

Backside

We are hosting the first of two Backside open mic/open wall events on Friday, September 23rd, at 7pm.  If you are a musician, poet, storyteller, visual artist, etc., this is a night for you to share your gifts with the community.  If you aren't a creative type, this is a night for you to engage the beauty that our congregation is creating.  Also, there will be coffee and baked goods.  So if you roast coffee or bake things, feel free to showcase those arts as well!  If you have questions, or want to sign up, email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Common Grounds Show

Jamie is playing a show with a band called Tow'rs on Thursday, September 15th, at 8pm.  You can learn more here.

Work is Worship

Greeters: Evie & the Walters

Coffee Makers: Chad

Mug Cleaners:  Cooleys 

Money Counter: Justin Pond 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Revelation 13 "the call"  Please be in prayer for our special guest preacher, Dr. Adam Winn. 
• New Volunteer Training (CC Middle School and Children's Ministry): Sept. 11 
• Common Grounds Show: Jameson McGregor and Tow'rs: Sept 15
• Mi Casa Leader Training: Sept 18
• Family Weekend Breakfast: Sept 18
• Town Hall: Sept 18
• New UBCer Luncheon: Sept 25
• Backside Event: Sept 23rd 
• St. Francis Feast Day/Blessing of the Animals: Oct 4th 
• Fall Retreat for Juniors and Seniors: October 20-23
• Made in Waco: Nov 5th 
• Thanksgiving Love Feast: Nov 20th 
• Backside Event: Dec 2nd 
• Study Hall: Dec 7th 
• We are gearing up for another school year which means we will resume our work with Cesar Chavez middle school.  If you would like to mentor a student or serve the middle school in another capacity email marshall@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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- Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

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

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 8-28-2016

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the Most High God,

Whose image we bear;
in Whom we live, and move, and have our being.

seeking to be formed by the story of Jesus,

so that we might mirror Him
in our living, loving, rejoicing,
and mourning

through the power of the Holy Spirit,

that secret Pulse
Who is within and around us,
weaving our stories into One.

Amen.

Scripture

Jeremiah 2:4-13

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

They did not say, "Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?"

I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.

But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.

The priests did not say, "Where is the Lord?"
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal, 
and went after things that do not profit.

Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord,
and I accuse your children's children.

Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?

But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.

Luke 14:1, 7-14

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Mike Studer:

Dear God,

This morning, I ask for a special blessing on all the teachers and staff that work tirelessly to care for and educate our children and young adults. In times of frustration, bring them relief, in times of fatigue, bring them rest, in times of joy, give them celebration, in times of sadness, give them support, and in times of exasperation, give them hope. Please help them surrender fully to you and remember that as they serve their students, it is you they are really serving. 

Amen.

Setlist 8-28-2016

This was the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs around the theme of power from below.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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:

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons & Daughters

House of God Forever by Jon Foreman

God of the Dead by Seth Woods

Heart Won't Stop by John Mark McMillan

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. 

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy: We sang this song to begin our time together by thinking about the wideness of God's mercy and the breadth of God's love.  More specifically, in terms of the theme that unites this week's songs, the fact that our deficiencies are precisely what place us in the path of God's love.  Despite our tendency to attempt to construct boundaries around the love of God, the love of God transcends our limitations and reaches those who deserve it least by even the most generous human standards.

All the Poor and Powerless: This song continues the theme from There's A Wideness in God's Mercy, underscoring the fact that what we might consider as a hindrance in life--poverty, loneliness, heartbreak, etc, actually postures us to encounter and worship God in a way that is nearly impossible in the absence of adversity.  God is for the socially less-than when no one else is.  

House of God Forever: This song uses the language of Psalm 23 to think of God's provision for the people of God--a provision rooted in a power that is outside of any of us and is not determined by our own ability.  We sang it to practice locating our hope in God and not in ourselves.

God of the Dead: This is a song by Seth Woods, a guy who used to play music at ubc every now and then.  He has an album of songs that were recorded at ubc (by Jon Davis, who is still around) that I came across a few months ago.  It's $7 and it's great.  So buy it.  I'm drawn to this song for the assortment of images it associates with God that essentially amount to names for God (God of the dead, God of the breathing again, God of the earth, God of the grave, God of the rising and the raised......I would go on, but you can just click the lyric link).  These names aren't super familiar to us, and that's important.  Because they offer us fresh vantage points from which we might look at God.  And in contrast to verses that offer new names for God, the chorus is a petition that God would breath our new names.  That God would teach us who we are in a fresh way.  That we would hear names that were stripped away of all the things we build up for ourselves in the identities that we construct. 

Heart Won't Stop: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Heart Won't Stop then: We sang this song to begin with the confession that there aren't any barriers that God is unwilling to transgress to reconnect with God's children.  

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 8-26-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

Singular Pronouns

Let’s talk about pronouns.  Probably about half of the readers of this blog just scrolled down to the announcements section to get on with their day.  So it’s just us now.  

Anyway, you may have noticed that many of the songs we sing together in our liturgy on Sunday mornings use first-person singular pronouns. Has it ever struck you as odd that we have a bunch of people gathered together singing about their personal experiences with God?  

If it hasn’t, don’t beat yourself up.  But know that this is something that really gets under some people’s skin.  The concern is that this language pushes us further into a hyper-individualized engagement of faith, something that our culture already tips us toward.  And this is a problem because the Kingdom is about community.  We aren’t meant to do this alone.

I think this concern is legitimate.  And yet I embrace first-person singular pronouns in songs.  Why? Because they acknowledge our individuality (the healthy part of it), and have the potential to foster a more robust sense of community than first-person plural pronouns (but, to be clear, first-person plural pronouns are great too).

The first part of that statement (“they acknowledge our individuality…”) isn’t hard to grasp: singing “I” evokes a sense of self by which one can acknowledge and reflect upon one’s personal experience.  This connection to personal experience in our singing allows us to carry these songs with us to critique, encourage, reorient us in our daily lives.  

The second part (“potential to foster a more robust…”) is a little more abstract.  As a part of the Church, our community represents one body.  Like our own bodies, it is made up of many unique parts that have their own functions, stories, experiences, etc.  And yet they are one. This isn’t a new idea—it’s in the Bible. 

When a community of individuals sings “I,” the many “I’s” unite together into a single “I”—the voices of individuals join into the singular voice of the community.  This mirrors what it is for people being formed in the way of Christ to join together as a church community.  Each one brings his or her own “I” to the table, yet the individual “I’s” get so entangled, one does stand out from another.

So we make a double-statement when we sing with first person singular pronouns—we claim something about our individual experience with God and the world, while also adding our voice to those around us as a proclamation of the unity of our communal body.  This proclamation of unity carries with it a celebration of the particularity of the individuals who are gathered, knowing that this communal “I” would not be the same if any of the individual “I’s” were taken away.

Think about that the next time we sing a song with I’s or me’s (we’ll do that in about half of the songs we sing this Sunday).  And think about what it means for you to join your “I” to the people who are in the room around you.  People with whom you likely disagree deeply on any number of issues.  People who you may struggle deeply to understand.  People who, by the very virtue of being people, share your deepest existential fears and have been given the same kind of ruthless grace as you.  I have a feeling that if we make a point to do this, it will have a deep impact on the way we love God and love others.

JM

Welcome Back Lunch (Sunday)

This Sunday, after church, is our annual welcome back lunch.  We want you to stick around after the service for a free meal on us.  We are bringing in mexican food from the best hole in the wall place in town, and if you don’t agree with me, you get your money back.  This lunch is open to everyone (students, families, babies, grandparents, etc…)  If you are reading this, you are invited.  In fact, bring your friends, the more the merrier.  There is no need to bring anything, we have everything covered (including some vegan options).  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Jesus Said Love Help

One of our ministry partners here in Waco is Jesus Said Love.  This last year they were able to purchase a building to move their offices into and they are looking for help. 

Where: 1500 Columbus

When: Tomorrow, August 27th (9am-3pm)

Kindergarten Commissioning

Please be in prayer for our kindergartners who will be commissioned for their academic journey as part of the liturgy this Sunday.  If you have a child entering kindergarten and have not been in contact with pastor emily please email emily@ubcwaco.org.  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Emmy and Steveweiser 

Mug Cleaners:  KT & Yacob 

Money Counter: Josh M.

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Luke 14:1, 7-14 "power from below"
• New Volunteer Training: Sept. 11 
• Mi Casa Leader Training: Sept 18
• Family Weekend Breakfast: Sept 18
• Town Hall: Sept 18
• New UBCer Luncheon: Sept 25
• Backside Event: Sept 23rd 
• St. Francis Feast Day: Blessing of the Animals: Oct 4th 
• Fall Retreat for Juniors and Seniors: October 20-23
• Made in Waco: Nov 5th 
• Thanksgiving Love Feast: Nov 20th 
• Backside Event: Dec 2nd 
• Study Hall: Dec 7th 
• We are gearing up for another school year which means we will resume our work with Cesar Chavez middle school.  If you would like to mentor a student or serve the middle school in another capacity email marshall@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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- Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

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

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 8-21-2016

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

We have gathered to worship the Lord of everything

carrying our own everything with us:
the old and the new
the good and the bad
the exciting and the mundane
all of it.

seeking to be formed in the way of Christ

the Healer who takes
our wounds upon Himself

and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit

the Artist who paints hope
on torn canvases
and is making all things new

Amen

Scripture

Psalm 103:1-8

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless the Lord’s holy Name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all the Lord’s benefits.

The Lord forgives all your sins
and heals all your infirmities;
The Lord redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
The Lord satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

The Lord executes righteousness
and judgment for all who are oppressed.

The Lord made the Lord’s ways known to Moses
and the Lord’s works to the children of Israel.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and of great kindness.

Luke 13:10-17

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."

When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."

But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Sharyl Loeung:

Healing God,

Call us to stand upright
may we be bent no longer
May we not carry the worry of tomorrow

Reach down and deliver us from the depths
Look deep into our body, mind, our emotion
and call us to stand upright

Bring forth the good and beautiful because of your loving kindness
We long for your rest even while you work on this Sabbath day

Unbind us, call us to stand up right
that we may choose to walk in obedience

Amen.

Setlist 8-21-2016

This was the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with God's pursuit of reconciliation 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, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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

Be Thou My Vision

All Creatures of Our God and King

Wild One by Jameson McGregor

Future/Past by John Mark McMillan

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:  We sang this song to begin with the confession that there aren't any barriers that God is unwilling to transgress to reconnect with God's children.  

Be Thou My Vision: With this God of relentless love and grace in mind, we sang this song to ask that God would be our vision, wisdom, security, and hope, forming us into people who love relentlessly as well.

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to proclaim that God is Lord of all creation, and that God thus cares for all of creation intimately.  Keeping the petition from Be Thou My Vision in mind, this song also functions as a charge to ourselves to care intimately for all of creation.

Wild One: We sang this song to worship the Unbound God. These words serve as a pointed reminder to ourselves that we cannot control God and that God's love is not limited to the things or people that we love.  God is active and on the move in the world around us, telling a dynamic story that's better than the best kind of story we could think up.

Future/Past: This song is a further response to the theme ofWandering. Beyond God's faithfulness, it traces several layers of God's grandeur, and notes the surprising fact that God has called us friends.  The divine-human relationship is an unequal partnership.  It's the kind that leaves the lesser party (us) wholly caught up in the undeserved grace of God to allow us to enter into a project of which we are not worthy.  God stands before us and beyond us, and somehow still stands with us.

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 8-19-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

The Micro Nature of the Gospel

I once debated a staff member about the purpose of the gospel.  We agreed that the gospel demands change.  Our disagreement was about who it changes.  He was suggesting it intends to make systematic changes at a macro level.  I was advocating that Jesus changed individuals.  Both of us, if pressed, would have conceded a version of the other's argument.  

Yes Jesus did change the world and is still confronting systems of injustice.  My point was, he did it through relationships.  It's part of the purpose of the incarnation.  Jesus confronts me and my relationship to macro systems of injustice.  If I'm honest, one of the reasons I feel strongly about this argument is because of my pastoral experience.  

We are moving ever so closer to election day.  As we approach that day I anticipate the articles shared on Facebook will be more cutting,  the rhetoric from each candidate less charitable, and our shared sense of humanity will diminish.  

We all know now that tone can't be detected through text messages and emails and sometimes that can have a big impact on a social exchange.  We can interpret incorrectly.  Social media exchanges run that risk.  Sitting behind computer screens and on the other side of cell phones we find a courage to speak with greater cynicism than we would had we to converse in person.  This is why I think, Jesus would prefer relationships had he ministered in our day. 

There's something spiritual, something additional, that is present in our conversations with each other when we do so in the same space.  It's much more difficult for me to forget that you are human, loved by God and someone who I likely would enjoy if I permitted myself to do so in person to person exchange than in a social media exchange.  

So I'd like to include another image from the olympics.  North and South Korea have sat next to each other in political divisiveness since before the Cold War.  I'm sure both countries live in fear of the what the other might/could do.  The boarder between those two countries allows them to believe something about each other in same way social media screens between us do.  

But then I saw a Jesus' relationship-kind-of-moment at the Olympics. Artistic gymnasts Lee Eun-ju (R) of South Korea and Hong Un-jong of North Korea (L) would not allow a state of war on their divided peninsula prevent them from bonding in Rio.  Confronted with each others humanity, instincts of charity and friendship were allowed to flourish.  Go team world! 

New HR and Leadership Team Members

The leadership team met  Sunday night August 7th and at that meeting they selected a new member for their squad and also someone to serve on the HR team.  I'm excited to tell you that our new leadership team person is Emma Wood and that Jerad Gould has been selected to serve on HR.  This week and last week I've introduced them to you.  

Name: Emma Jane Wood

What brings you to Waco: Initially Baylor, my first job out of my doctoral program was as Staff Psychologist at Baylor’s Counseling Center. I was looking to bring Russ home to Texas (he’s a 6th generation Texan) and had applied for almost every open counseling center psychologist position in the state and Baylor was the only one I heard back from. It so happened that Russ had attended Baylor from 1999-2003, but never imagined that he would move back to Waco. Over the past 6 years we have fallen in love with Waco and more recently UBC. We have rooted our family here, Russ, Myself and our two daughters Sophie (3) and Winnie (1). I can’t imagine leaving and I can’t imagine loving a community more.

Movie and/or TV Show: I’m slightly (a lot) obsessed with documentaries, or movies “based on a true story,” I feel that real life is much more interesting than fantasy. With on exception, the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder. I do also love Hustle and Flow and Chris Rock’s Good Hair. I am enjoying introducing our older daughter to my favorite childhood movies like the Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal.

TV shows that I enjoy are typically hour long dramas that make you think. True Detectives, An American Crime, Ray Donovan, I must admit I like to be able to psychoanalyze characters so most of the shows that pull me in are a little intense.

Best Restaurant in Waco: The Mix cafe, avocado, feta and artichokes, oh my! Also I love a good sandwich, it is probably my favorite food genre. So Olive Brach is always good.

Favorite book/chapter/verse of the Bible: Book: Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott. If you haven’t read it, run to your amazon cart and add it now! Also Henri Nouwen’ The Wounded Healer, Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Viktor Frankl Man’s Search for Meaning. These books each changed my life and are probably the ones I ‘prescribe' most to my patients.  1 Corinthians 13:13

Something we might now know about you: I am a kiwi. Not the bird, or the fruit, but the nationality. New Zealander’s are called “Kiwis.” Also, I was on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire...It did not go well. I am an enneagram 4, who desperately wants to be a 9, but just cannot help myself in my 4ness. I am a cultural feminist and social justice advocate. I love hard and am passionate about people who hurt.

Meet Our Newest UBCer

Rowan Emmanuel Frise

birthday: 8/8/16

birth weight: 7 lbs 4 ounces

birth height: 19.5 inches

enneagram number: 6

Information From Pastor Emily

This Summer our Branch and Root classes have been learning how to Serve like the Savior!  We have learned a lot of valuable lessons by studying Philippians 2 and Christ’s example for us of having an ATTITUDE of humility, paying ATTENTION to the needs of others and taking ACTION to help!  In an effort to make sure that we are ready to take ACTION when we see someone in need, last week we assembled Care Kits to keep in our car so that when we see someone who is hungry or hurting, we can be ready to help!  The kids had SUCH a great time putting these together and were SO excited to be able to share them with someone in need, that we thought others might want to be ready for ACTION, too!

To make your own Care Kit, here is what was included in ours and some ideas of other things you might want to include:

1 Reusable Water Bottle (The Dollar Store has BPA free, wide-mouth bottles for $1!)

1 Soft Cereal Bar (Most resources suggest soft over hard or chewy bars, due to potential dental problems)

1 Pack of Peanut Butter Crackers

1 Washcloth (This is suggested over wipes because it can be used over and over)

1 Sheet of Bandaids

1 Gallon Ziplock Bag (To easily carry items so that they aren’t effected by weather)

1 Handmade Card (Ours had an encouraging message printed on it so that the kids could write a note or simply draw a picture)

1 Bottle of Water (We attached ours to the Reusable Bottle with rubber bands)

Other items that you might want to include:

A Soft Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Antibacterial Wipes (Alcohol-Free)

Socks

Gloves (Depending on Weather)

Tissues

Chapstick

Sunscreen

Lotion

Deodorant

Things NOT to include:

Hand Sanitizer (Contains Alcohol...)

Mouthwash (Same reason…)

Beef Jerky (too hard to chew…)

There are a lot of great resources out there with ideas and tips, but here are two websites that I found particularly helpful when planning our Care Kits!  This kind of need is something that most of us cannot even imagine, so reading these posts from people who have been homeless or who have worked closely with those who are before you get started will give you the insight you need to be sure that you are giving the BEST help you can!

http://blog.theveteranssite.com/homeless-care-package-tips/

http://www.morewithlessmom.com/index.php/2015/11/18/real-deal-care-packages-for-homeless/

I hope that this has been helpful and has perhaps inspired you to make a batch of Care Kits for your car!  This doesn’t have to just be for the kids of UBC, but could be a great way for anyone in our community to be ready care for others.  To steal a line from Josh...UBC, may we be a people who have an ATTITUDE of humility, pay ATTENTION to the needs of others, and take ACTION to serve others like our Savior!

Work is Worship

Greeters: Will 

Coffee Makers: Emmy 

Mug Cleaners: Emma 

Money Counter: Anna Tilson 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Luke 13:10-17 "Bent Under the Weight of Religion" 
• Kindergarten Commission August 28th.  If you have a child going into Kindergarten and would like to be part of our commissioning service, please email emily@ubcwaco.org 
• We are gearing up for another school year which means we will resume our work with Ceasar Chavez middle school.  If you would like to mentor a student or serve the middle school in another capacity email marshall@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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- Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

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

Emma Wood: Emma Wood <emmaj.wood@yahoo.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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 8-14-2016

This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies.  If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

We have gathered to worship the Creator

The One who made us
and sustains us

And to be formed in the Way of Christ

The One who holds us together
And shows us how to live
As we are meant to

By the power of the Holy Spirit

The One who is among us
and is making us new

Amen.

Scripture

Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me sing for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!

Luke 12:49-56

Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Josh Ritter:

All Vulnerable God of Mystery and Grace,

Thank you for the Divine Trinitarian Dance you invite us into each day.

Forgive us when we forget that this is your infinite gift of Beauty and Grace to us.

Forgive us for not recognizing our true self that is in you and in Christ, and forgive us for pretending to be who we think we are and for believing these masks are real.

We know that we are called by you to live as Christ and in Christ and to become the Divine Spark that is buried in each of our hearts. We are called, just as Jesus was, to let that spark – that divinity – burn as a wildfire and consume us. We know that we are called to open our hearts so that we may be healed and in turn offer healing to this world that has also forgotten the Divinity that resides within all of Creation, within all things, within all people.

You call us to More…You call us to embrace abundance, love, grace, beauty, forgiveness, hope, joy, and belonging. But, often, we doubt…our humanity doubts and overwhelms our calling to become one with Christ…and we believe lies as truth…and we turn those lies into idols and worship those idols as gods.

We believe scarcity rather than abundance,
We believe apathy and indifference rather than love,
We believe strength rather than vulnerability,
We believe fear rather than hope and belonging,
We believe perfection and control rather than acceptance and forgiveness,
We believe achievements and temporary distractions rather than true joy,
We believe uniqueness and individualism rather than friendship and community,
We believe consumerism and greed rather than charity and hospitality...

Forgive us for worshiping these idols…because when we do this our hearts close down, our ego self and small self become larger than life, brokenness grows, the potential to give and to receive healing stops, our connection to you as the Vine and Divine Source of love and grace is cut off and we wither…and then we project our fear, pain, hurt, and smallness out onto others…

So help us to stop being idol worshippers, because we become like the gods that we worship…and help us to remember the divine nature, our true self, that you have called us to be and to become…we recognize that Jesus never actually really had that many problems with sinners, but he did have much to say about those who offer cheap religion and arrogant judgment towards others.

Help us not to practice what culture teaches us, which is to love the sinner and hate the sin, and instead help us to remember the consistent biblical teaching to just love our neighbor…come what may…love our neighbor…

Help us to remember that you call us to More…to expansiveness, to abundance…to Love and Justice…to transform our hearts and lives and to become displaced from the norms of our culture…You call us to be refugees in this world because residents of the Kingdom of God claim no other citizenship than to Christ the Redeemer, the one who disrupts hierarchies of power and kingdoms of control and heals them through his redemption and Resurrection.

Help us this day to remember that we are created in and for You and that we are called to be witnesses for the Love and Grace that is the Divine miracle of the universe that we call Christ.

Amen.

Setlist 8-14-2016

This was the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with God's faithfulness to us despite our brokenness in mind.  Or, taken from the vantage point of Josh's sermon, God's making wine out of wild grapes.  Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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 atjamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Future/Past by John Mark McMillan

Holy, Holy, Holy

Breathe For Me  by Jameson McGregor

Pulse 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. 

Wandering: This song takes up the theme by noting our tendency to attempt to manipulate the movement of God for our own purposes.  Time and again, we go through life as though God is a tool that we can use.  We don't always do this on purpose, but it's a posture we slip into rather easily.  This posture presents itself so easily because God has partnered with humanity to tell a story.  God could no doubt tell this story by other means, so it's a baffling mystery that time and again God chooses to be faithful to us when we are not faithful to the calling of God.  Or maybe it's not mysterious at all.  Maybe that's just how God is.  

Future/Past: This song is a further response to the theme of Wandering. Beyond God's faithfulness, it traces several layers of God's grandeur, and notes the surprising fact that God has called us friends.  The divine-human relationship is an unequal partnership.  It's the kind that leaves the lesser party (us) wholly caught up in the undeserved grace of God to allow us to enter into a project of which we are not worthy.  God stands before us and beyond us, and somehow still stands with us.

Holy, Holy, Holy: We sang this song to step further into the train of thought to meditate upon and proclaim God's holiness.  God's faithfulness to us is baffling in light of God's holiness, but this surprising grace itself becomes a central point of what it means for us to say that God is holy.

Breathe For Me: This song was going to be an interpretation of Breathe on Me, Breath of God, but it ended up without a single line from that hymn.  So it is its own song.  It is in many ways a prayer that acknowledges the parts of the human experience that make us bad partners in God's project, and asks God to step in and do what we cannot--to transform us into vessels of Godself who carry out God's project faithfully.  It's an admission that we can't do this on our own--that we can't will ourselves into capable partners in God's redemption project.

Pulse: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Pulse then: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Pulse then: We sang this song to be reminded of the gift of life that God has given to all of creation, and to lament our tendency to ignore the dignity of this gift in people who are different than us.

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 8-12-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

The Olympics, of course!

I had a season of faith when I believed the thing God wanted most was for souls to be saved.  I had a season of faith when I believed that the thing God wanted most was social justice.  I had a season of faith when I believed the thing God wanted most was the Kingdom to come.   I’ve had enough seasons now to learn that God wants all those things and more.  At some point, though, I began to notice (among other things) how badly God wanted us all to get along.

That same Paul who was used to systemize theologies of salvation, creation, restoration, and all other “tions” had an awful lot to say about reconciliation.  Paul wants the church to get along.  The epistles that I grew up reading in search of  verses that made sense of my notions of how to get saved were couched in larger letters about answering the question, “What are we saved for?”  It turns out that we are saved, in part, for each other.  To be the body.  Romans 1-8 with all of its brilliance sets up 12-16, which is about the church getting along.  Ephesians 2 addresses Jew/Gentile strife.  Galatians talks about Jesus who overcomes the us/them problem.  

The more I began to pay attention to this theme of reconciliation, the more relevant Paul’s letters seemed to our contemporary situation.  As has been made poignantly clear by the racial sin that has bubbled up these last few years, we still need to hear about loving the other.   For some reason, one of the scariest things to a human being is another human being who is not like them.  Perhaps it’s instinctual, or perhaps we’ve been conditioned by our cultures to be this way, but either way, we have a problem that we need help with.  

I’ve been heavily influenced by theologian Stanley Hauerwas.  Hauerwas puts an inordinate amount of importance on the church.  He says that the job of the church is the tell the world what it is.   Maybe there’s a less preachy/dogmatic way to put that.  Bill Hybels says that the local church is the hope of the world.  There’s something about that sentiment that rings true for me.  

That being said, sometimes I think the world can be a mirror to the church.  Not always, perhaps even rarely, but sometimes.  

I have no doubt that I have a naive perception of the Olympics.  Hosting the Olympics.  Setting up for the Olympics.  Poor cities incurring debt to provide the needed infrastructure for the Olympics.  Deciding which athletes will compete in the Olympics.   Surely there’s an ugly underside to this, just like there is with other major institution.  Still, I can’t help but be taken in with the some of the images coming out of Rio.  

In Revelation 7, we are given an image of a worship scene.  People are dressed in white robes.  The text includes lyrics.  It’s an image of how things are going to be.  In the middle of it, we are reminded that God will finish the work of reversing Babel that was started at Pentecost.  Verse nine reports, “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”  When I watch the Olympics, I see glimpses of this.  

I’d like to tell you about two of them.  

In Hebrews 11, God’s people are described as strangers in a strange land.  Homeless.  Resident aliens.  It’s an identity marked with meaning.  We are those who belong to something more than what can marked with boundaries and GPS coordinates.  So there’s this moment in the parade of nations where Team Refugee  comes out, and they get a standing ovation from the world.  Something about that was just right.  Here as a symbol of what is to come, the world applauded the courage of the destitute.  It’s a foreshadow of the truth of the great reversal.  The least will be the greatest, and the kingdom will cheer humility, selflessness, and sacrifice.

The other powerful image for me was that of a female beach volleyball player from Egypt.  She played in long sleeves, leggings and a hijab.  For reasons that are obvious, the Olympics have strict rules for uniforms.  But concessions were made for the sake of inclusion.  And in a world full of strife and violence based on difference, here in the middle of sport was a demonstration of mutual acceptance and respect between cultures and religious suppositions.  This kind of anthropological patience is striking, and it is a symbol of the grace to come.  

So it’s rare, but I find myself confessing, “Go team world.”

New HR and Leadership Team Members

The leadership team met this last Sunday night and at that meeting they selected a new member for their squad and also someone to serve on the HR team.  I'm excited to tell you that our new leadership team person is Emma Wood and that Jerad Gould has been selected to serve on HR.  This week and next week I'd like to introduce them to you.  

Name: Jared Gould.  Family:  Wife Kelly and two rescued German Shepherds (Gordon and Lady)

What brings you to Waco: 
I moved here in 2009 to live closer to my friend's Hermann & Kristi Pereira and to work with Dr. Nancy Grayson at Rapoport Academy Public Schools. Where I worked for five years and was the a teacher, coach, Dean of Students/Campus Administrator for the high school in the early days. I stuck around for some reason (the plan was always to move back to Colorado Springs after a few years and teach in a mountain town or go back to school to become a counselor), stayed sane by running in Cameron Park (closest thing to Pike's Peak I could find) and eventually met my wife. I now work for the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor. 

Movie and/or TV Show: 
Movies: I only own a few, but lately it's a toss up between Back to the Future and Lonesome Dove. 
TV: I don't like TV other than sports.  Recently though, I really wanted to take a trip to Valles Caldera in New Mexico and had to cancel last minute due to work. So I settled for binge watching Longmire (filmed in part in the National Preserve) on Netflix the past two weeks. See photo:

Best Restaurant in Waco: 
Tony DeMaria's

Favorite book/chapter/verse of the Bible: 
BOOK: Recently completed Eugene Peterson's book, Run with Horses - I have a new appreciation and better understanding of Jeremiah which makes it what I am reflecting on most lately.

Verses : 
-Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12
-I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. - Phillipians 1:3-6

Something we might now know about you: I never thought I would do two things in life: 1) work in ministry proper 2)attend seminary. Prior to moving to Waco, I lived in Colorado Springs working for a spin-off of Young Life at a place called The Dale House Project, where I lived with homeless, transient, displaced and/or incarcerated youth prior to parole. The goal was to help them learn to live on their own prior to emancipation. As a part of the job, I also attended Fuller Seminary - Colorado. 

Discernment Team Update

As you may or may not remember we formed a discernment team in June to help us figure out possible solutions to the space problems created by the growing number of children in the children's ministry.  One step in that solution process is to create a survey to help us figure out what people know and think about the ministry.  The survey is open to everyone and we want everyone's feedback, but we are especially hoping that volunteers and parents will fill it out.  You can start the survey by clicking here. 

Uniforms for CC Middle School

It's been our commitment over nearly the last decade to find ways to support and love the folks that fill this campus from August to May. The care we show these young neighbors is a reflection of our community's belief in the importance that all lives be lived "to the fullest."

To that end:

    1) If you have some fashion sense, a child whose school clothes you'll be shopping for anyway, or a heart for youth, you can consider participating in our ongoing uniform drive.

    2) If you want to spend an hour a week building a relationship with a student who would benefit from a kind and wise voice in their life, please consider being a mentor to a Cesar Chavez MS student in the coming year. 

If you'd like more info about either of these opportunities to serve our young neighbors, please contact marshall@ubcwaco.org for more information.

Work is Worship

Greeters: Team Blaylock 

Coffee Makers: Fountains

Mug Cleaners: McNamees 

Money Counter: Doug McNamee 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: 
• UBC will be helping with student move in on campus the week of August 17th and 18th.  If you'd like to help our team email Toph@ubcwaco.org 
• Kindergarten Commission August 28th.  If you have a child going into Kindergarten and would like to be part of our commissioning service, please email emily@ubcwaco.org 
• We are gearing up for another school year which means we will resume our work with Ceasar Chavez middle school.  If you would like to mentor a student or serve the middle school in another capacity email marshall@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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- Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

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

Emma Wood: Emma Wood <emmaj.wood@yahoo.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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Setlist 8-7-2016

This was the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with anticipation of the Kingdom 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, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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:

Chariot by Page France

Amazing Grace by Citizens & Saints

Pulse by Jameson McGregor

Bonfire 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. 

Chariot: This song embodies the longing for God to break into history and deliver the distinctively untragic end to the story God is weaving.  The history of Christianity has been marked by a constant sense of waiting on this moment, and this waiting is significant in at least two ways.  The first is direct in that we await the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead.  The second is indirect in that this waiting for God's redemptive project to be completed colors the way we move about in the world--namely, we should allow the vision of the Kingdom in fullness to be the pattern that we live by.  We don't have to wait for the Kingdom to come in fullness to live as though it's already here.  Because it is here--or can be-- among those who have been shaped by the story of Jesus.

Amazing Grace: This song engages our anticipation of the fullness of the Kingdom of God by reflecting on the way that God's rule has already been present in our lives through God's grace, and it also looks ahead to the joyous abundance of the Kingdom (when we've been there ten thousand years...). 

Pulse: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Pulse then: We sang this song to be reminded of the gift of life that God has given to all of creation, and to lament our tendency to ignore the dignity of this gift in people who are different than us.

Bonfire:  This song traces the vast difference between what it is to be God and what it is to be us, and looks forward to the fullness of the Kingdom where the pain brought by this difference is mended.  It also notes the fact that the Kingdom breaks through even now and undermines the fears that we have called our refuge. 

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 8-5-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

Five Things I've Learned About Grief (so far) 

1. Everyone grieves differently, and my own grief expressions have taken a variety of forms.  When all was said and done, there were 25 of us piled into my oldest sister’s house: my mom, my uncle, my sister’s family (7), my brother’s family (4), my other sister’s family (6), and my family (6).  One day I calculated that that was 300 relationships in one house.  With that many different personalities, you will see different expressions of grief.  I cried a lot the day I found out that dad was going to die.  I cried a little less the day I saw him in the hospital.  Even less on the Friday he was moved to my sister’s house and put on hospice. I didn’t cry at all in the moments when he passed.  I cried less the next day and I cried the last time the day before we buried him.  Different moments touched me.  When the receptionist at the oncology center came to say goodbye, I was deeply moved.  Watching my mom grieve moved my own grief along.  The thousands of messages, phone calls, and Facebooks posts also helped me grieve.  Some of my family members grieved by talking.  Some of them grieved by doing and helping.  Some of them grieved quietly in silence.  All of those expressions were good and healthy.

2. People may not remember what you said, but reaching out matters.  I’ve gotten lost in the sea of grace that has come in the form of people’s compassion.  I’ve gotten messages of care and compassion from people I have not heard from in fifteen years.  The accumulation of that care is part of what carries people through these difficult moments.  If you are on the fence about sending a kind word, do it.  If your relationship with someone is unsettled or maybe even a little rocky, but you’d like to send words of care to them anyway, you should do it.  One of the messages that touched me most deeply was this: “I know we don't know each other well, but when my mom died every kind message or thought meant a lot to me. So I try to speak up now in other people's grief; to be present there with them, even though it's awkward. I am so sorry, Josh. And so glad you were there and able to be with him. Peace and light and love to you and your family during this hard time.”

3. Memories give life.  If you write something like, “I’m sorry for your loss,” or “Thinking of you,” or “Your family is in our prayers,” those are all wonderful and appropriate messages.  Again, what mattered most to me is that people did reach out.  I scroll back through my messages to remind myself of who did reach out, and it means the world.  That being said, the messages that stood out are those in which someone articulated a memory of my father (however big or small that memory may be) or shared how he impacted them (however big or small that impact was).  I think in the immediate aftermath, one’s instinct is to try and establish a narrative full of meaning.  One of the ways you can help the grieving do that is by adding bits of data to that meaningful narrative.  

4. I was surprised I laughed.  My dad was the first person I ever watched die.  He was the first person I ever rode in an ambulance with as he was moved from a hospital to a house for hospice care.  He was the first person I observed with organ systems shutting down.  And while that whole experience was cause for deep emotional cognitive dissonance, none of it was scary. I had and still do have a feeling that I describe as hollow, but I was surprised by how much my family was able to laugh as my dad was dying.   I imagine that the type of relationship you are losing makes a big difference.  Had I been losing a child, I don’t think I would have laughed at all.  But we reminisced and celebrated my dad’s life together as he lay in the living room dying beside us, and we laughed.  That surprised me.

5. Death is more subjective than I thought.  As we watched my dad die, my brother stopped his watch at 3:06 AM.  That is the time on my father’s death certificate.   My dad died on July 23rd.  And yet dying seemed to be happening in my dad for a while.  Last year, Lindsay and I watched the movie Still Alice.  Julianne Moore won best actress for her role as Alice, an Alzheimer's patient.  One thing that painfully emerges in that movie is the long and slow goodbye that Alzheimer’s disease creates.  We seem to be a people who can best make sense of the world when we can clearly see it.  The problem with death is that often, we are no longer sure what we see.  Over these last eleven years, my dad had a pretty remarkable life all things considered.  But death took its toll on him.  Chemo drugs altered his chemical makeup and emotional responses.   In these last few weeks, my mom noticed increased agitation.  Sometimes my dad would say things that seemed silly or out of character.  Sometimes he would get short with people.  On the Wednesday before he died, his blood pressure dropped to dangerously low levels.  It never came back up.  Because of that, his brain stopped getting the amount of oxygen it needed.  Sometimes he seemed lucid, and then he would follow up those moments with a nonsensical statement.  The last thing my dad said was directed at me.  He told me he loved me.  I have no doubt that he knew and meant what he was saying.  I’m not sure if he knew where he was or the circumstances in which he was saying it.  I’m not sure if he was aware that he was dying.   But the reason I know that his statement was true was because of the million moments over the course of my thirty-five year life that he did love me.  His words were vindicated by a lifetime of actions.  I have spent so many years talking to people about being formed and becoming something.  No one told me that death can undo all of that.  This brings me to my last point:  I did not have to wait for the finality of my father’s death to set in.  Truth be told, it still hasn’t.  My faith in Jesus Christ and the consequent worldview I have because of it have already made sense of all of this for me.  I have been given a narrative and a language to speak sensibly about my father’s death.  My father was baptized, got married, preached, and shared communion with the church.  He was never his own.  He was never even my family’s; we were just entrusted with his care.  My dad belonged to the church and is now held in Christ eagerly awaiting for the adoption and redemption of his body.  As my dad passed out of time and into eternity, he took with him all of the insecure moments in which I guessed might be my last.  Every attempt I made to see his face for the last time, to hear his last breath,  to see his coffin one last time.  The moment I shuffled down the driveway to extend my view of the hearse.  All of those goodbye moments are now held together in the life of God with every precious greeting and hello that my dad and I shared.  And God, who is now and always has been perfectly present in every moment we shared together, holds us together in an eternal hello.

Uniforms for CC Middle School

It's been our commitment over nearly the last decade to find ways to support and love the folks that fill this campus from August to May. The care we show these young neighbors is a reflection of our community's belief in the importance that all lives be lived "to the fullest."

To that end:

    1) If you have some fashion sense, a child whose school clothes you'll be shopping for anyway, or a heart for youth, you can consider participating in our ongoing uniform drive.

    2) If you want to spend an hour a week building a relationship with a student who would benefit from a kind and wise voice in their life, please consider being a mentor to a Cesar Chavez MS student in the coming year. 

If you'd like more info about either of these opportunities to serve our young neighbors, please contact marshall@ubcwaco.org for more information.

Leadership Team Meeting

We have a leadership team meeting this Sunday evening.  Please be in prayer for our team.  All of this was covered in the town hall last month, but as a reminder here is what will be covered. 

1. Finance Update.  We are one month into our new fiscal budget. 

2. OAR update.  Toph wrote a report before he left to be given at this meeting 

3. Discernment Team update. 

4. scholarship recipient verification 

5. youth group update 

6. new leadership team/hr team selection 

Random Cool Picture to be used as thumbnail to generate more Traffic

Ancient Road of Vindhellavegen

Work is Worship

Greeters: Evie & Walters  

Coffee Makers: Angel

Mug Cleaners: Leigh & Cooleys

Money Counter: Justin Pond 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon: "Waiting with Abram and the Saints" Gen 15/Luke 12
• MD Chains Location: Freddy's (by Baylor)  last one for the summer 
• Youth Group Meeting:  We are having a meeting after church this Sunday August 7th for UBCs youth group.  Our initial effort will focus on our group of middle school students.  If you have a child that this age and have not been contacted please email josh@ubcwaco.org. 
• Kindergarten Commission August 28th.  If you have a child going into Kindergarten and would like to be part of our commissioning service, please email emily@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 7-31-2016

This was the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with God's gift-giving 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, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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:

Death In His Grave by John Mark McMillan

Come Thou Fount

House of God Forever by Jon Foreman

Pulse 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. 

Death In His Grave: We sang this song to begin our time together by singing about the gift that God gave to humanity in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  In the Incarnation, God gave Godself to the world. In the Crucifixion, Jesus gave Himself for the world. In the Resurrection, God gave Hope to the world.  And through all of this, God gave us a story that we now carry that critiques the assumptions we have about love, life, sin, death, and the divine-human relationship as a whole.

Come Thou Fount: We sang this song as a petition that the Spirit would tune our hearts to embrace and be grateful for the many gifts that God gives us, knowing that it's difficult to get this right even on our best days, and knowing that we have wandering hearts that threaten to skew the way we think about where our gifts come from.  Also, we sang it to make a blanket statement of the "Here I raise my Ebenezer" line--an Ebenezer is a monument of sorts that signifies the gift of God's active presence that has carried us through every chapter of our lives.  (I am aware that I explain "Ebenezer" pretty much every time we sing this song, but let's not pretend that isn't an obscure concept.  If you already know what it means, that's great, but many people probably don't.)

House of God Forever: This song is more or less an arrangement of Psalm 23, and we sang it to voice the gift that God gives us in providing for our needs.  This makes it possible for us to let go of our anxieties.  I am personally not good at acknowledging this gift--worrying comes quite naturally to me and I do it all the time.  I have a feeling I'm not the only one.  We sang this song to put voice to the truth that God is our provider and comforter in hopes that we would embrace this idea a little more.

Pulse: We sang this song to be reminded of the gift of life that God has given to all of creation, and to lament our tendency to ignore the dignity of this gift in people who are different than us.  

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 7-29-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

Better That Some Words Be Lost

This is Malcolm Guite:

isn't he magnificent?

In the short bio on the back of his books, he’s described as “a poet, a priest, and a songwriter.”  I came across his work earlier this year, and it has been life-changing for me.

There is one poem in particular that dug its way into my mind and made a home there, and now it sort of haunts me.  It’s called “What If…”  Here is a video of Guite reading this piece (he sets it up first, so hang in there).  I’ve pasted the words to the poem below the video if you want to go back and look it over after you’ve watched it.  [Note: This whole video is excellent, and you should definitely start back at the beginning and watch the whole thing]

“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” – Mathew 12:36-37

What if every word we say
Never ends or fades away,
Gathers volume, gathers way,
Drums and dins us with dismay,
Surges on some dreadful day
When we cannot get away
Whelms us till we drown?

What if not a word is lost,
What if every word we cast;
Cruel, cunning, cold, accurst,
Every word we cut and paste,
Echoes to us from the past,
Fares and finds us first and last,
Haunts and hunts us down?

What if every murmuration,
Every otiose oration,
Every blogger’s obfuscation,
Every tweeted titivation,
Every oath and imprecation,
Insidious insinuation,
Every verbal aberration,
Unexamined asservation,
Idiotic iteration,
Every facile explanation,
Drags us to the ground?

What if each polite evasion
Every word of defamation,
Insults made by implication,
Querulous prevarication,
Compromise in convocation,
Propaganda for the nation
False or flattering persuasion,
Blackmail and manipulation
Simulated desperation
Grows to such reverberation
That it shakes our own foundation,
Shakes and brings us down?

Better that some words be lost,
Better that they should not last,
Tongues of fire and violence.
Word through whom the world is blessed,
Word in whom all words are graced,
Do not bring us to the test,
Give our clamant voices rest,
And the rest is silence.

I think the text in Matthew that inspired this poem is often neglected because we simply don’t know what to do with it.  It’s so harsh, so final, and presents a sort of scorekeeping that is at odds with the kind of grace Jesus usually talks about.  And yet, it’s there.  And we need it. 

The collection of our words and actions is more or less the representation of who we truly are to the world around us (we’re good at skewing that image, but that’s beside the point). Ideally, we would make the two of those paint similar pictures.  Here in the future, we have the opportunity to allow our words to have much greater reach than our actions, so the things we say (or type) account for a large portion of the mosaic that makes up the version of ourselves that the rest of humanity experiences.  Or perhaps, we might say our words impact the life experience of those we encounter.  That means our words matter.

Our words outlive the vibrations they make in the air or the illumination of the pixels they inhabit on a screen.  This is easy to lose sight of in a world where we talk through the internet.  We can simply rattle off, close our browser and go do anything else in the world.  But our words remain, doing what they do. Guite presents the image of a sea or a storm cloud for the mass of our words—specifically those used for harm.  They follow us, chase us down, overwhelm us. 

Guite highlights several kinds of speech in his poem, and there is not space to talk about each one here.  I think most of the categories he presents are difficult for us to weed out in our own speech (and I don’t think he wrote this poem to eradicate useless or harmful speech).  But I do think this poem should give us pause.  As a culture, we drum up so much noise.  I’ll go out on a limb and say that most of it is useless.  This poem is (slowly) changing the way I talk.  “Better that some words be lost,” flashes into my head on a daily basis, and I’m thankful for it, though it has made writing this post excruciating.  I wanted to highlight it here in the event it might be significant to any of you. 

JM  

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Chad

Mug Cleaners: Emma 

Money Counter: Hannah Kuhl 

Announcements:

• MD Chains Location: KFC (YES) 
• Next Leadership Team Meeting: August 7th 
• Youth Group Meeting:  We are having a meeting after church on August 7th for UBCs youth group.  Our initial effort will focus on our group of middle school students.  If you have a child that this age and have not been contacted please email josh@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 7-24-2016

This was the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with the intent of re-tuning ourselves to enter into the work 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, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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

Fall Afresh by Jeremy Riddle

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

Hope by Jameson McGregor

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

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 with a confession of God's greatness.  After another in a series of weeks marked by pain and uncertainty, it is easy to lose sight of all the glory in the world.  In voicing these words, we began to tune ourselves to regain whatever has been lost through navigating the complexity of the world this summer.

Fall Afresh: We sang this song to confess our need for the Spirit to transform us into people who are working together with God in God's reconciliation project.  We are prone to growing so familiar with our own ideas of who God is and what God is like that we functionally fall asleep to the movement of God.  Thus, we continually need a wake-up call from the Spirit, breathing new life into our dry bones.

Lord, I Need You:  We have had many reminders over the past few weeks that we are a part of several systems of violence.  Our complicity in these systems is at odds with our being formed in the way of Christ, and is thus sin.  This song speaks to personal struggles against sin, and allows us to rehearse turning to God for help rather than only attempting to self-regulate ourselves out of destructive behavior. 

Hope:  For the past several weeks, the offering song has been used to give voice to lament.  This week, it seemed fitting to give voice to hope.  Lament and hope are directly connected to one another, and may well be considered two sides of the same coin.  Lament is but noise without the hope of change, and hope is only a facade if it is not born from lamentable circumstances.  This song picks up on the image in John 1 of God setting a light in the darkness that the darkness did not overcome.  We might see this as a statement about the Incarnation in general, the Crucifixion in particular, or maybe the Story of God and creation as a whole.  This image gives us hope because it acknowledges darkness and almost axiomatically establishes that the darkness will not overcome the light.  

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what was said of There's a Wideness in God's Mercy then: We sang this song to meditate on God's mercy.  For the past  several weeks, we have been bombarded with news of various horrific kinds of violence.  Humans are particularly skilled at finding ways to reject the divine image in one another.  With what I know of God from Scripture, my assumption is that God is deeply grieved by our violence, and if we had one of the prophets writing today, God would most certainly talk at length about how God wanted to be rid of us.  And rightfully so.  But God's not going to rid Godself of us.  Because that's not who God is.  The Noah story shows us this quite clearly.  God wanted to start over, and started that process, then realized how terrible that was--how deeply painful that was--and resolved never to do that again.  Instead, God decided to fix things from the inside, entering into the story to suffer our violence and conquer it with love.  That conquering is accomplished, but still unfolding.  It's horribly slow for my taste, but it's there nonetheless.  

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 7-22-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

Praying With Form and Heart

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1

I’ve been trying to make sense of all the phases of my spiritual development.  As far as I can tell there are three major ones:  the eighteen years I spent in WI before I went to college, the four years I spent in Minnesota at college, and the twelve years I’ve spent down here in Waco since then.  I’ve had three pastors my whole life, one in each state, and now I am one.  

Of course each of these three stints comes with subsets and unique times of development.  I’d summarize my three experiences this way.  First I learned to use my heart.  Then I went to college and learned how to use my head.  Then when I attended seminary those two things went to war with each other, and I’ve spent the rest of my formative years trying to figure out what it means to put them back together again.  

Let me give you a concrete example.  I grew up in a charismatic church.  Charismatic churches produce believers who pray with vigor, passion, and spontaneity.  I remember being as moved by tone, earnesty, and fervor listening to those prayers as I was by the words that comprised them.

From that vantage point I judged liturgical worship settings.   Yes, every church has liturgy, but you know what I mean, high church liturgical.  The prayers seemed dry, lacking in passion, and canned.  They came out of a book for cripes sake.  The people didn’t even take time to write their own.  

Eventually I began reading theologians, deepening my theology, and noticing how much precise wording mattered.  Every once in awhile I’d follow a friend to an Episcopal Church or attend Catholic Mass with my wife’s family.  Slowly, subtly, I began to appreciate those other prayers.  They did lack emotion, but that assured me they weren’t performances.  Their prayers were also free from, “ums” and “justs” and probably for pretension reasons, that mattered to me.  You see what happened?  I began to judge the other prayers.  One had form and one had heart.  Neither seemed to have both.  

This issue i’ve just laid out for you in the example of prayer happened in a lot of my formational experiences.  Then in the spring of 2014, I read Richard Rohr’s Naked Now.  I don’t want to overplay the importance of this book because you might read it and think nothing of it, but this book set me free.  In Naked Now, Rohr talks about the Western tendency to see the world through dichotomies.  That is, as black and white, with clear right and wrong.  His thesis states that mystics see the world differently--meaning you might have two rights and no wrongs or a bunch of wrongs.  

It got me thinking.  What if both prayers were bad … or good?  Or what if they were both the best attempts at prayer in different phases of my life?  It was Thomas Merton who prayed, “It is my desire to please you that pleases you.”  I’ve always liked that.

I was listening to Rob Bell’s podcast a few weeks ago when he interviewed a friend.  This friend, a Jewish Rabbi, has a child the same age as one of Rob’s kids and so they’ve gotten to know each other.  The entire hour long podcast was about six words.  Rob asked Rabbi Joel to pick six of his favorite Hebrew words and tell everyone why he loved them.   Kavannah.  I’d not heard of it.  Rabbi Joel explains it comes from Keva and Kavanah.  Keva means something like structure.  You have to know what you are praying for, and you have to know how to pray for it.  Language offers us tools that make our pleas, petitions, praises, and thanksgiving more precise and beautiful.  But as Rabbi Joel explains, he prays over 100 blessings a day and so one must also have Kavanah, which is intention.  Structure must not be a crutch to take your emotional self out of prayer.  Prayer must also involve heart.  Form and heart is what I call it.  This is how Jesus teaches us to pray.  

 

Finance Update

If you were at the July town hall meeting you already saw these numbers, but here they are again.  We closed out the 2015/16 fiscal year ahead of budget.  UBC budget about 310K and brought in about 355K.  We had surprisingly large giving numbers in May and June (2 of our 4 biggest), which historically have been two of our lowest giving months.  We began the new fiscal year on July 1st.  As you can see below we have about 100K in checking and 90K in savings. 

Harry Potter Party

As you may or may not know, JK Rowling is spoiling the world yet again with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Sunday July, 31st at Midnight.   UBC will be anticipating the moment together on Saturday July 30th, with a little shindig at the church.  Festivities will begin at 6:00 PM.  Participants can expect a costume party, trivia game and other fun activities with fellow Potter nerds.   We are still looking for volunteers to help pull off the event, so if you'd like to help please email josh@ubcwaco.org. 

Random Cool Picture to be used as thumbnail to generate more Traffic

Under the Aurora 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Emmy 

Mug Cleaners: Leigh & the Cooleys 

Money Counter: Hannah Kuhl 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon Text: Gen 18/Luke 11: "Using Words to Pray" 
• MD Chains Location: Buffalo Wild Wings 
• Next Leadership Team Meeting: August 7th 
• Youth Group Meeting:  We are having a meeting after church on August 7th for UBCs youth group.  Our initial effort will focus on our group of middle school students.  If you have a child that this age and have not been contacted please email josh@ubcwaco.org 

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

254 413 2611

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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 7-17-2016

This was the ninth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with the weight of systemic violence 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, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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:

There by Jameson McGregor

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

Up On A Mountain by The Welcome Wagon

Burn It Down by Jameson McGregor

Be Thou My Vision

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. 

There: We sang this song to begin our time together proclaiming God's transcendence.  God was there before there was anything (including the kind of pain that we've been living in the midst of in a particularly acute way for the past several weeks), God is there now, and God will continue to be there after the last star burns out.  This song focuses on the fact that God stands above and beyond any source of pain or anxiety, and so there is always hope--God will not be toppled by even the most terrible evils we experience in the world.  This transcendence is a part of what we can say about God, but it is thankfully not the only thing we can say.  If it were, this transcendence would mean little to nothing for us in the midst of the world's chaos.  In truth, God has chosen to be involved in what God has made, interacting with creation with the most absolute of loves.  This love from-without is the source of our hope.

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy: We sang this song to meditate on God's mercy.  For the past  several weeks, we have been bombarded with news of various horrific kinds of violence.  Humans are particularly skilled at finding ways to reject the divine image in one another.  With what I know of God from Scripture, my assumption is that God is deeply grieved by our violence, and if we had one of the prophets writing today, God would most certainly talk at length about how God wanted to be rid of us.  And rightfully so.  But God's not going to rid Godself of us.  Because that's not who God is.  The Noah story shows us this quite clearly.  God wanted to start over, and started that process, then realized how terrible that was--how deeply painful that was--and resolved never to do that again.  Instead, God decided to fix things from the inside, entering into the story to suffer our violence and conquer it with love.  That conquering is accomplished, but still unfolding.  It's horribly slow for my taste, but it's there nonetheless.  

Up On A Mountain:  We sang this song to contrast There, and to proclaim the work of Jesus.  Up On A Mountain contrasts There because it focuses on God's immanence.  God is not just "out there," removed from the weight of the violence of the world.  Instead, God came down low and entered our mess, experiencing anxiety, fear, betrayal, suffering and death.  And so, we aren't alone.  Jesus has shared our experiences, and has sent the Spirit to carry us through the best and worst parts of life.

Burn It Down: This song is a plea for the Spirit to shape us into people who can tear down systems that impede the hope of Christ.  These systems are legion--we could think of the rampant racism and xenophobia that we encounter so often through our TV's, phones, and laptops, or perhaps the ways that culture elevates the voices of particular kinds of people, while silencing the voices that have not been endowed with the privilege of assumed legitimacy, on and on.  Yesterday, Amy preached an incredibly brave and prophetic sermon on sexual violence.  When we talked about sexual violence during Lent, one of the driving themes was that the Church's silence on that issue in some way authorized the prevalence of sexual violence that plagues our culture, and that this silence was sin because it did not mirror in any way the response of Jesus to affronts on the dignity of a human person.  So we sang this song in order to petition the Spirit to shape our lives and words into firebombs that target the system of sexual violence that we are living in. 

Be Thou My Vision: We sang this song to close every liturgy during Lent, which was also when we were first wrestling with our place within a culture of sexual violence.  We sang Be Thou My Vision today in response to Amy's sermon and the Litany of Commitment we read together as a way of acknowledging that we rely on God to shape our imaginations to enact change within systems of violence.

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 7-15-16

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

Martha Spirituality

“But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.” —Luke 10:40

If you’ve been at UBC for a while, you’ve likely heard me mention the enneagram.  I have friends—some of them my closest friends—who regularly make fun of the enneagram.  I get it.  It is, in a sense, another personality profile test, and, yet, for me, it has been more.  But my point in this post is not to convince you of its legitimacy; it’s to say that I do think all of these personality profile tests accentuate something that is biblically true: namely, the body of Christ is diverse, and it’s made up of different kinds of people.  

Some of us have the gift of wisdom.  You know when to say something and when to be silent. Others of you have knowledge. You’re the person we all call when we need to know. Some of you are prophets.  You tell the world what it is. Some of you can speak in other tongues. You know other people’s language, and you have an ability to make people feel like you just “get them.”  Some of you are healers. You know how to prescribe medicine or a home remedy.  You know a gentle word to speak that can soothe the soul.  

In Luke 10, Mary and Martha are juxtaposed with the specific purpose of showing that it’s better to appreciate the presence of Jesus while you have it than to get caught up in the pragmatic tasks of life that can weigh us down.  Confession: I hate this passage.  I’d much rather be doing what Martha is doing than what Mary is doing.  I am an enneagram Three.  I won’t presume that the enneagram can describe who you are, but it has me pegged.  Threes are achievers.  I initially thought that this meant I wanted to achieve something big.  But the truth is, it’s not even that grandiose.  I just have to achieve something.  That’s when and how I feel fulfilled: by doing something.  I love the sense of completing a task, whether it is the dishes, raking the yard, finishing a book, or changing.  There’s something in me that lights up when I make a mental goal and then a achieve it.  I love checking things off a list.  

A few years ago, Donald Miller wrote a controversial blog about why he doesn’t go to church much anymore.  It caused quite a stir.  Leaving the point of the blog aside, I’d like to share a quote with you that set me free:

How do I find intimacy with God if not through a traditional church model? 

The answer came to me recently and it was a freeing revelation. I connect with God by working. I literally feel an intimacy with God when I build my company. I know it sounds crazy, but I believe God gave me my mission and my team and I feel closest to him when I’ve got my hand on the plow. It’s thrilling and I couldn’t be more grateful he’s given me an outlet through which I can both serve and connect with him.

It should be obvious that I take issue with Miller.  I’m a pastor of a church for crying out loud, but I love what he says.  So what does a guy like me do with Martha and her predicament? 

I think a wonderful conversation partner for this text is Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God.  Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite monk who was tasked with the mundane work of doing dishes.  Through his work, he discovered something profound about enjoying the presence of Christ:

“[Brother Lawrence] thought it was a shame that some people pursued certain activities (which, he noted, they did rather imperfectly due to human shortcomings), mistaking the means for the end. He said that our sanctification does not depend as much on changing our activities as it does on doing them for God rather than for ourselves.

The most effective way Brother Lawrence had for communicating with God was to simply do his ordinary work. He did this obediently, out of a pure love of God, purifying it as much as was humanly possible. He believed it was a serious mistake to think of our prayer time as being different from any other. Our actions should unite us with God when we are involved in our daily activities, just as our prayers unite us with him in our quiet devotions.”

SummerSide (TONIGHT)

Painters, Poets, Singers and Beauty Lovers.  Calling all artists and art appreciators to the SummerSide is tonight @ 7:00 PM.  UBC will host a space to display art with either wall space or mic space.  So if you have a talent that you'd like to display or if you'd like to come and appreciate the work of others join us for SummerSide at UBC.  For more information about attending or performing email jamie@ubcwaco.org.  

Looking for a New L-Team Member

The time has come for the amazing Kristin Dodson to rotate off the leadership team.  We are grateful for the time energy and careful thought that Kristin has given our community.  If you would like to serve on the Leadership Team please discern by reading the following and sending an email to josh@ubcwcaco.org to let him know you are interested.  The new leadership team rep will be selected by leadership team at our August 7th meeting.   

(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.  

(C) 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.

(E) 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.

Looking for a New HR Team Member

The fearless Callie Schrank has served us well, but now her time is up.  We are grateful for Callie and her help in launching and refining the review process.  If you would like to serve on the HR Team please discern by reading the following and sending an email to josh@ubcwcaco.org to let him know you are interested.  The new HR rep will be selected by leadership team at our August 7th meeting.  

(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. 

(C) 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. 

(E) 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.

Random Cool Picture to be used as thumbnail to generate more Traffic

Renndolsetra

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Will 

Coffee Makers: Angel Snow

Mug Cleaners: McNamees 

Money Counter: McNamee 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon Text: John 4: Special Guest Preacher Amy Smith Carman 
• MD Chains Location: Jersey Mike's Subs (Hewitt) 
• Next Leadership Team Meeting: August 7th 
• Harry Potter Party @ UBC on July 30th @ 6:00 PM 

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

254 413 2611

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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Setlist 7-10-2016

This was the eighth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered around the themes of lament and hope. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. Below the songs, you can find recordings from Sunday morning of a few of them, and below the recordings, 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:

Rescue Is Coming by David Crowder* Band

Peace (Change Everything) by Jameson McGregor

Because He Lives by Bill and Gloria Gaither

For Those Tears I Died by Jameson McGregor (adapted from M. Stevens)

All Creatures of Our God and King

Doxology

Recordings:

From time to time, we'll post live recordings of the songs from Sunday morning.  These recordings aren't what you would call polished--sometimes guitars are out of tune, sometimes the vocals are off--but they are records of moments we've shared together.  Here's one from this week.

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. 

Rescue Is Coming: In the wake of a week full of pain, anger, and longing, we began our time together proclaiming that this present darkness is not the final word.  Now is a time when we need to address systemic issues of racism, police brutality (both racially motivated and not), cultural addictions to violence, and overall division, but we placed those conversation on hold as we entered worship to reorient ourselves toward our only Hope.

Peace (Change Everything):  As we have been moving through these difficult weeks, we have been singing Advent songs, because Advent is the time where we look around, see how dark the world is, and voice our longing for a Light.  We sang Change Everything again this week because it afforded us the chance to voice our longing for change, and to turn to God as the catalyst of this change.  

Because He Lives:  We sang this song with a couple of things in mind: First, the claims made in this song are true—Jesus is alive in a way that is more  than real.  And so, we as individuals can stake our hope in One who is outside of ourselves and be held there.  Second, Jesus is alive in another way in the people of Christ, those who have been and are being formed by His story and Spirit.  Because of this, the people of Christ are partnered with Jesus in actively reconciling the world to God.  But we need to know that sometimes that might mean doing things.

Furthermore,  we need to know that the true claims to hope that Because He Lives makes are quite difficult for some people to claim for themselves.  Namely, the “calm assurance” that our children can face uncertain days because He lives.  If we listen to the cries of the black community in America, there is a decided lack of this "calm assurance," because their life experience says otherwise.  And, yes, there is a way in which the "calm assurance" of Because He Lives is rooted in what Jesus' resurrection means broadly for the whole of human history, but if the church is the body of Christ, and this body is living and breathing in the present, that should bring some measure of hope to the present as well. 

So we sang this as a proclamation of something true, but also as a challenge to ourselves to take seriously the fact that being the people of Christ demands something about the way we move about in the world, and that when we see that life experience makes it difficult for someone to claim the same hope that we do, we should make it our purpose to do something about that.

For Those Tears I Died:  I came across this hymn text a couple of months ago, and started to reimagine it.  After a few weeks of this "reimagining," I had stripped the text down to about 4 lines, knowing that they contained an important truth, but not knowing how to structure the rest of the song.  In the wake of the attack on the LGBT community in Orlando, I started keeping track of things that I was praying as I expressed anger, confusion, and ultimately self-loathing for my own complicity in systems of hate by not being very vocal in combatting them.  The song continued to take shape this past week as I felt more of those same emotions.  This song isn't finished, and I don't know what it will look like when it is.  At the moment, it's part existential despair, part personal confession, and part proclamation of hope.  Probably the most personal side of it for me is the line in the second verse, "I've made an idol out of comfort, praised by keeping my mouth shut//but now it's found a thirst for blood."  I'm what you might call incredibly talented at not speaking out against something I know to be wrong when I feel I can slip by unscathed if I keep my head down.  This is fundamentally unchristian, and I am attempting to lean into repenting of it.

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to stand alongside creatures of all kinds in acknowledging God as our creator, sustainer, and the One who is  reconciling all things to Godself, knowing that the Story that God is weaving is far from over.

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

-JM

7-8-16 ITLOTC

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Pentecost

The New Standard

Then the Lord said, See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; Amos 7:8

The following was originally posted on Neotorama in September of 2013

Hidden in a vault outside Paris, vacuum-sealed under three bell jars, sits a palm-sized metal cylinder known as the International Prototype Kilogram, or “Le Grand K.” Forged in 1879 from an alloy of platinum and iridium, it was hailed as the “perfect” kilogram—the gold standard by which other kilograms would be judged.

Although it’s arguably the world’s most famous weight, Le Grand K doesn’t get out much. Since hydrocarbons on fingertips or moisture in the air could contaminate its pristine surface, it goes untouched for decades, under triple lock and key at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Every 40 years, however, it makes an appearance.

The weight is ushered from its chamber, washed with alcohol, polished, and weighed against 80 official replicas hand-delivered from laboratories around the world. Today, whenever scientists need to verify something is precisely one kilogram, they turn to one of these replicas, over which Le Grand K reigns supreme.

This system sounds absurd, but not too long ago, lots of units relied on similar methods. The kilogram was just one of seven standards of measurement established by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791, all based on physical prototypes. These benchmarks caught on worldwide because standardization was sorely needed. At the time, some 250,000 different units of weights and measures existed in France alone, which meant that the only constant was complete chaos.

While basing measurements on tangible benchmarks was an improvement, using physical standards wasn’t without its flaws. For one, they have a nasty habit of changing. In Le Grand K’s case, it’s been losing weight. At its most recent weigh-in in 1988, it was found to be 0.05 milligrams—about the weight of a grain of sand—lighter than its underling replicas. Experts aren’t sure where this weight went, but some theorize that the replicas have been handled more often, which could subtly add weight. Others postulate Le Grand K’s alloy is “outgassing,” which means air is gradually escaping the metal.

Whatever the reason for Le Grand K’s gradual wasting away, it’s got scientists scrambling for a more reliable standard. Some argue that this is long overdue, since all other units of measurement are already defined by fundamental constants of nature that can be reproduced anywhere anytime (provided you’ve got some sophisticated lab equipment). The meter, for example, used to be defined by a metal rod stored alongside Le Grand K. But in 1983, it was redefined as the distance light travels in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Standardizing the kilogram has been trickier, though. Australian scientists are polishing a one-kilogram sphere of silicon, hoping that they’ll be able to count the number of atoms it contains to create a more accurate standard. American physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are attempting to redefine a kilogram in terms of the amount of voltage required to levitate a weight. But so far, neither approach can match Le Grand K’s accuracy.

Why should we care whether a kilogram in a vault is “perfect” or not? Because it’s bad news when your standard is no longer standardized. While no one’s worried whether a single kilogram of apples is a hair lighter or heavier at the produce stand, a small discrepancy can become a gargantuan one if you’re dealing with, say, a whole tanker of wheat. The kilogram is also used as a building block in other measurements. The joule, for instance, is the amount of energy required to move a one-kilogram weight one meter. The candela, a measure of the brightness of light, is measured in joules per second.

These links mean that if the kilogram is flawed, so are the joule and candela, which could eventually cause problems in an array of industries, particularly in technology. As microchips process more information at higher speeds, even tiny deviations will lead to catastrophes. Le Grand K’s unreliability “will start to be noticeable in the next decade or two in the electronics industry,” warns NIST physicist Richard Steiner. If your next smartphone is buggy, you’ll know which hunk of metal to blame.

So scientists continue to chase the perfect kilogram. “Maybe we have all been looking for too high-tech an answer,” says Stuart Davidson of England’s National Physical Laboratory. “There could be something really obvious out there we’ve missed.” The NPL’s website encourages others to give it a shot: Any better ideas on a postcard please. Until then, Le Grand K will remain king—short of true perfection, but as perfect as it gets.

SummerSide

Painters, Poets, Singers and Beauty Lovers.  Calling all artists and art appreciators to the SummerSide July 15th @ 7:00 PM.  UBC will host a space to display art with either wall space or mic space.  So if you have a talent that you'd like to display or if you'd like to come and appreciate the work of others join us for SummerSide at UBC.  For more information about attending or performing email jamie@ubcwaco.org.  

Looking for a New L-Team Member

The time has come for the amazing Kristin Dodson to rotate off the leadership team.  We are grateful for the time energy and careful thought that Kristin has given our community.  If you would like to serve on the Leadership Team please discern by reading the following and sending an email to josh@ubcwcaco.org to let him know you are interested.  The new leadership team rep will be selected by leadership team at our August 7th meeting.   

(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.  

(C) 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.

(E) 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.

Looking for a New HR Team Member

The fearless Callie Schrank has served us well, but now her time is up.  We are grateful for Callie and her help in launching and refining the review process.  If you would like to serve on the HR Team please discern by reading the following and sending an email to josh@ubcwcaco.org to let him know you are interested.  The new HR rep will be selected by leadership team at our August 7th meeting.  

(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. 

(C) 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. 

(E) 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.

Random Cool Picture to be used as thumbnail to generate more Traffic

Brogan Stave Church 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Rick 

Coffee Makers: Emmy

Mug Cleaners: Leigh & the Cooleys 

Money Counter: Anna Tilson 

Announcements:

• Sunday Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 8: Special Guest Preacher Rev. Dr. Burt Burlesson 
• MD Chains Location: Pot Belly 
• Next Leadership Team Meeting: August 7th
• Harry Potter Party @ UBC on July 30th @ 6:00 PM 

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

254 413 2611

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.

Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com

Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu

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

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu