Setlist 8-6-2017

This was the ninth Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind, and heavily influenced by the lectionary texts.  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 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:

Crown Him With Many Crowns

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

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

Wearing Thin 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. 

Crown Him With Many Crowns: A central focus of Ordinary Time is on seeking to be the presence of Christ in our particular time and place--that means to seek to be formed in the way of Christ in such a way that our lives are outposts of the Kingdom.  This song praises Christ as Lord, and speaks of the fact that his Kingdom is marked by peace and self-sacrificial love, thus helping us recenter on our minds on who we are called to be.

SMS [Shine]: This song is a petition for God to be present where God feels absent, and to make Godself known in love.  This presence applies to us personally in the midst of our own pain and doubt, and also asks that we ourselves be made into torches that spread the Light all around us.

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 we said about There's A Wideness In God's Mercy then: This song serves as a reminder of two things: 1) God's mercy extends to us far more generously than we think we deserve; and 2) God's mercy extends to other people far more generously than we think they deserve.  

Wearing Thin: This song is about anxiety, specifically the anxiety that arises when the brokenness of the world seems far too great for us to push back against, but it ultimately serves as a petition for God to draw us in to the work of redemption that God is already doing.

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 8-4-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Psalm 145

The lectionary Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 145:8-9,14-21. It says:

8 God is all mercy and grace—
    not quick to anger, is rich in love.

9 God is good to one and all;
    everything he does is suffused with grace.

14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
    gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

15 All eyes are on you, expectant;
    you give them their meals on time.

16 Generous to a fault,
    you lavish your favor on all creatures.

17 Everything God does is right—
    the trademark on all his works is love.

18 God’s there, listening for all who pray,
    for all who pray and mean it.

19 He does what’s best for those who fear him—
    hears them call out, and saves them.

20 God sticks by all who love him,
    but it’s all over for those who don’t.

21 My mouth is filled with God’s praise.
    Let everything living bless him,
    bless his holy name from now to eternity!

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

My favorite movie for the past 17 years has been Remember the Titans. I was in the 7th grade the first time I saw Remember the Titans and I watched (at least a part of) it every night from 7th grade until my senior year of high school. That’s ridiculous – but also true.

I loved Remember the Titans for a myriad of reasons – probably some reasons that at 13 I wasn’t really able to vocalize – but one of the reasons I loved it was because Denzel Washington gives a KILLER motivational speech that brings everybody together as teammates and friends. (Obviously.) And I have always been a fan of motivational speeches and catch-phrases – short, quick phrases that sound like things you could call out during an intramural volleyball game. Things like, “Team work makes the dream work!” or “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit!” Tiny motivational speeches.

Psalm 145:8 is kind of like the motivational catch-phrase of the Old Testament. It (or something very similar to it) is found 8 different times throughout Scripture – attesting to the mercy, grace, patience, and love of God. And the rest of Psalm 145 goes on to illustrate God’s mercy, grace, longsuffering, patient nature.

Psalm 145 tells us that God is good to one and all, and that everything God does is suffused with grace. That God gives a hand to those down on their luck and a fresh start to those ready to quit. That God provides food for the hungry on their hungriest of days. God is generous to a fault, (that’s the one that gets me – my imagination falters when I try to imagine being generous to a fault), and that God lavishes favor on all creatures. God is always right. The way that you know God has done something is because there is love infused throughout it.

Psalm 145 reminds us that God is always with us, always listening to our prayers, and to the prayers of all of those who call for God. That God does what is best for us and for everyone – and saves us in our hour of need. That God will never leave us.

I don’t know about you – but that’ll motivate me. It fires me up, calls me out, inspires me to be better. I mean – it’s no Denzel Washington-Remember the Titans-Gettysburg Battle Field-Motivational Speech. But it’ll do in a pinch.

- Taylor

taylor@ubcwaco.org

 

Meet Our Newest HR Team Member

Rebekah Powell

what you do in Waco: I am a Staff Trainer at Methodist Children's Home

best Waco restaurant: ummm...do I have to pick one? Cafe Homestead, Baris, Alpha Omega, Captain Billy Whizbangs

book, chapter, and/or verse of the bible that has been meaningful for you: Psalm 40. This passage kept popping up during a pretty tough time filled with a lot of doubt and pain. I would read this passage and hope that it was true and I am slowly starting to believe that it is.

favorite movie/show: Parks and Rec is one of my favorite shows and Inside Out is one of my favorite movies

a book that you’ve really enjoyed: Simply Jesus by N.T. Wright

UBC Summer Party Dos

The summer is coming to a close, and we are throwing a party!  Join us at 6pm, on August 13th, for a grand finale to summer.  We will be eating dinner and hanging out at the Wood’s casa.  UBC will provide the main dish, as well as drinks, you need to bring a side to share with everyone.  Please sign-up after church this Sunday or next, or you can email toph@ubcwaco.org . 

UBC Kids - Branch/Root End of Summer Pool Party

Our Branch/Root Class (Pre-K -4th Grade) is ending the summer with a bang! We're having an End of Summer Pool Party this Sunday August 6th from 3:30pm-5:30pm at the McNamee's house. There will be snacks and drinks provided as well as a certified lifeguard present. Please sign-up after church this Sunday or you can email taylor@ubcwaco.org  

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Walters 

Coffee Makers:  Lees 

Mug Cleaners: Winns 

Money Counter: Justin Pond 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon:  Matthew 14:13-21 "what, how and … why did God do this miracle?” 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  Tuesday Dives have come to a conclusion for the 2017 season.  
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-20 Kindergarten Commission 
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC
• 8-27 Welcome Back Lunch after church served by Crucero 

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- Emma Wood:  emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Liturgy 7-30-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the Creator

to offer our attention and thanks
to the One in whom we live
and move and have our being

and to be formed in the way of Christ

to learn how to love,
how to live,
and how to die.

in these things, we seek
the wisdom of the Spirit

Who is present in our weakness,
active in our brokenness,
and calling us into the work of God in the world.

Amen.

Scripture

Genesis 29:15-28

Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.)

When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

 

Prayer

This week's prayer was from An Iona Prayer Book, and is based on a traditional Gaelic prayer:

Thanks be to you, O Christ our Lord,
for the many gifts you have given us:
each day and night, each sea and land,
each weather fair, each calm, each wild.

Today may we remember your mercy
given so gently and generously:
each thing we have received, from you it came;
each thing for which we hope, from your love it will come;
each thing we enjoy, it is of your bounty;
each thing we ask, comes of your disposing.

O Lord, from whom each thing that is freely flows,
grant that no tie over-strict, no tie over-dear,
may separate us from your constant love,
or from the needs of our neighbours
in whom your face shines
each day and night.

Amen.

Setlist 7-30-2017

This was the eighth Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind, and heavily influenced by the lectionary texts.  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 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:

Amazing Grace by Citizens & Saints

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

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Ascend the Hill)

Hope 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. 

Amazing Grace: This song moves from a general sense of God's grace in our lives to a more particular consideration of what effect the grace of God has on the way we live.  This is gathered into an implicit challenge to live as stories of grace and agents of reconciliation.

There's A Wideness In God's Mercy: This song serves as a reminder of two things: 1) God's mercy extends to us far more generously than we think we deserve; and 2) God's mercy extends to other people far more generously than we think they deserve.  

Mystery: This song champions the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as a song of hope for all of creation.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go: This is a hymn to God's enduring presence with us.  Rather than speaking of the difficulty to hold on to God in the midst of suffering, it proclaims God's presence with those who suffer.  

Hope: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Hope then: This song clings to the hope that the work of redemption made visible in the Resurrection will spread to the entirety of the cosmos.  This hope is characterized as such because, at the moment, things are still not as they should be--the weeds are growing up with the wheat, so to speak.

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 7-28-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Prayer and Psalms

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I find myself talking about prayer a lot.  When prayer has come up in conversations I’ve had with ubcer’s over the past couple of years, it has usually been in the context of either a frustration about what the point of prayer is or how one is supposed to pray in the first place—the why and the how of prayer.  It’s common enough that it seems newsletter-worthy, but it’s going to take several newsletters to begin to flesh this out.  

I’d like to start with the “why" of prayer, but I’m going to start with the "how" instead.  Because I think that there is an impulse in us--consciously or not, reasoned or otherwise--that brings prayer into our lives before we even care why we are doing it. 

At the moment, the way I’ve been thinking about the “how” of prayer is as a dance between specific structure and honest vulnerability; between form and feeling.

In his book Under the Unpredictable Plant, Eugene Peterson talks about the prayer that Jonah offers from the belly of the fish.  He points out, fascinatingly, that this prayer is entirely composed of language from the Psalms.  Peterson says, “Jonah had been to school to learn to pray, and he prayed as he had been taught.  His school was the Psalms.” 

Why would you look to the Psalms as a school of prayer?  There are probably a few ways to answer that.  

First, praying language that is established in the Psalms allows one to tie oneself to a long tradition of humanity grasping for words with which to address God.  It is an implicit reminder that the Divine-human relationship is not summed up best in the Divine-me relationship.  

And that’s important because 1) we might otherwise fool ourselves into thinking that we experience special kinds of doubt, pain, joy, thanks, etc. (we don’t); and 2) if we tie ourselves to the history of the people of God, we are able to remind ourselves that, though we might be experiencing something in life for the first time, we have a vantage point in this Story from which we are able to look back on who God has been, in order to suspect who God will continue to be.

Second, using the Psalms as a “school” of prayer helps us address the near-universal concern of not knowing what or how to pray.  It’s a starting place—a training ground.  And we need this not so that we can pray hyper religious things, but just the opposite—so we see how to be our actual selves in our prayers.  

This is sort of what Jesus is getting at when he criticizes the way that the Pharisees pray.  It doesn’t take an especially righteous person to catch on to flashy lingo in a religious system that will send out the vibe that you are particularly adept at talking to God.  Creating a mask to wear before God and people comes pretty naturally. 

In the Psalms, alongside various kinds of thanks, we find deep lament, expressing feelings of abandonment, pain, and longing.  We find a history of not putting on a mask when addressing God, but instead bringing vulnerability. 

Most of the time I speak with someone who says they don’t know how to pray, what they really mean is they are angry or feel abandoned and they can’t think of anything nice to say to God. Which in fact means they have plenty to say, and are fully capable of praying, but they don’t think what they would pray is allowed.  

But when we look at the Bible (and not even just the Psalms), I think we can rest assured that God can take it.  We need not withhold any part of who we are.

So, if we have words of lament and are looking for permission to speak them to God, the Psalms offer it.  But also, if we are in pain, yet don’t have the words to express it, the Psalms can offer us language to do so. 

Take the opening of Psalm 13, for example:

How long, O Lord?  
Will you forget me forever?  
How long will you hide your face from me?  
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?  

The first time I needed words like this, I had never read this Psalm, so I sat and said nothing. [For the record, I think that was prayer too, and Paul talks about the Spirit interceding for us when our pain is too deep for words (Rom. 8:26, if you want to explore that further), but we’re talking about praying with words right now].  Had I been familiar with this Psalm, I likely would have taken up these words, or some version of them.    

Since coming into contact with this Psalm, I’ve gotten much better at expressing the abandonment of those verses, but what Psalm 13 has been teaching me lately is how to take up the final two verses:

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  
I will sing to the Lord,
because the Lord has dealt bountifully with me.

Sometimes moving to the twilight of darkness is hard for me.  And sometimes it feels like I don’t mean it.  But I’d like to.  So I say it anyway.  Because there is a way to take on a tunnel-vision that confuses the weight of a particular moment with the full truth about life and God.

The Psalms have a way of revealing when our prayers are too one-dimensional, and they challenge us to bring a balance to our prayers that is ultimately more honest.  They teach us to represent the whole of ourselves.

This is the dance of form and feeling that I mentioned earlier: we bring our experiences into conversation with the legacy of prayer in the Bible, seeking out forms, themes, and language, to offer prayers that say more than we might think we are capable of, and ultimately to speak more truthfully about who we are and who God is.

There’s so much more to say about this, but that’s going to have to wait for another week.  As always, if you have any feedback, questions, or concerns about any of this, feel free to email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Meet Our Newest UBCer

Khoury Lev Ezekiel Loeung

Birthday: June 14

Birth Weight: 5 lb. 11 oz. 

Birth Height: 19 inches 

Enneagram Number: 2

UBC Summer Party Dos

The summer is coming to a close, and we are throwing a party!  Join us at 6pm, on August 13th, for a grand finale to summer.  We will be eating dinner and hanging out at the Wood’s casa.  UBC will provide the main dish, as well as drinks, you need to bring a side to share with everyone.  Please sign-up after church this Sunday or next, or you can email toph@ubcwaco.org . 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Burns 

Mug Cleaners: Woods 

Money Counter:  Hannah K. 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Matthew 13:31-33, 46-52
• Please be in prayer for our next leadership team meeting which will be on Sunday July 30th. 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  Fridays  
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 7-23-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the One who is the first and the last

the One who is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth

the One who is present when we don’t know it

and who knows us completely

seeking undivided hearts
and a hope that can’t be tamed

so that we can join in God’s work of redemption
and cast Light into Light-starved places

Amen.

 

Scripture

Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.

And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.

Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.

And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Prayer

For this week's prayer, we offered the excerpt from Psalm 139 that was a part of the lectionary set:

Lord, you have searched me out and known me;
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

You trace my journeys and my resting-places
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips,
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

You press upon me behind and before
and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go then from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand will lead me
and your right hand hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,"
Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;
darkness and light to you are both alike.

Search me out, O God, and know my heart;
try me and know my restless thoughts.
Look well whether there be any wickedness in me
and lead me in the way that is everlasting.

Amen.

Setlist 7-23-2017

This was the seventh Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind, and heavily influenced by the lectionary texts (particularly, the weeds & wheat passage that Josh preached from).  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 an example of one way you might think of these songs in light of this week's theme. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Hope by Jameson McGregor

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

There by Jameson McGregor

For Those Tears I Died by Jameson McGregor

Wandering 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. 

Hope: This song clings to the hope that the work of redemption made visible in the Resurrection will spread to the entirety of the cosmos.  This hope is characterized as such because, at the moment, things are still not as they should be--the weeds are growing up with the wheat, so to speak.

Lord, I Need You: This song is a confession of our need for the transformation of the Spirit in our own lives to form us into people who are like Christ, and for the Spirit to hold us together as we face any number of struggles in living in a world that is still broken.

There: This song proclaims that the same God who is imminent with us in our suffering also stands over and above every kind of brokenness as an Anchor that is holding us in place in the midst of the turbulence of history.

For Those Tears I Died: This song holds in tension both the solidarity of Christ with human suffering, and the cry of "how long?" from the worn-thin world.

Wandering: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Wandering then: This song allows us to confess our tendency to, knowingly or not, attempt to use God for our own ends, while also praising God for being consistently faithful.

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 7-21-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Town Hall Recap

At our town hall this last Sunday we focused on two things.  The first was a report on our current fiscal situation. 

UBC currently has $168,188.14 in checking and $97,464.87 in savings bring our total liquid assets to $270,164.75.  

We just concluded our 2K16-7 fiscal year which runs from July 1st-June 30th and during that period our total giving was $400,259.07. Our budget for the 2016-17 years was about 330K, but we added the children's pastor position which added another 30K in benefits and salary bringing out actual total closer to 360K.  

Our budget for the 2017-18 year is right at 400K.  

The other portion of the town hall was given to discussing our space situation.  I have a few updates to give from that.  After our April town hall and leadership team meeting, i was given a few actionable steps.  I was asked to bring in architect to answer a few questions including: 

1. can we utilize the space we already have better to solve our problems?

2. can we shut down Flint between 17th and 18th? 

3. What is the best way to do a and how much would a renovation cost. 

I met with architect Sterling Thompson and he was able to help me with a few things. To the first question the answer is no, we cannot solve our current space needs with our existing building.  2. The second question he is investigating.  3. The third question he answered by asking how much space we would need.  Off the cuff I guessed 8,000 sq. ft.  To give you an idea, our current building is 16,000 sq. ft.  I talked with him about building off of the 18th st. side of the building (the orange arrow below) and the Flint side of the building (the red arrow below) and he was able to immediately determine that it would be much more cost effective to build towards 18th.  If you can see the picture below, Sterling said that 8,000 sq. ft. would be roughly the length of our building out to the yellow line that divides the parking space (near the tip of the orange arrow below).  If this were the plan pursue, we'd investigate shutting down flint and turning that and the lot we own across the st. (Flint) into additional parking.  

A few months ago I told my friend, UBCer, and commercial real estate super champion Lisa Monroe that if anyone ever wanted to offer us big money and another in town location came up for sale that we could move to, UBC might be interested.  That comment was half-hearted, but not untrue.  Low, on one fine Wednesday Lissa called me and asked, "hey, have you seen the Brazos Electric Company property?"  

Turns out the BEC property is 11 acres with several buildings on LaSalle, right by the circle.  Lisa sent me a flyer, I shared it with the staff and we decided to go take a look with Jon Davis and Stan Denman from the leadership team and Melissa Whisnant who I asked to get some aesthetics feedback.  

So we looked at the property, dreamed dreams and asked questions.  The most obvious being how much?  The BEC property is listed for 1.85 million.  However, Lisa told us that several hotels and other commercially interested buyers have already inquired about purchases some of the acreage for development.  The BEC won't sell the property without the building.  So Lisa thinks that if we can sell our current space and sell off ... say half of the 11 acres, we might be able to get into the building nearly debt free.  

The question then becomes, could we renovate the property at an affordable rate?  Back to Sterling Thompson.  So after showing Sterling our building, I told him about the BEC and asked if we got him the plans for the BEC if he could tell us what would be feasible.  Low and behold, Sterling did addition to the BEC so he already has the plans. 

So this is where we are at.  Sterling is looking for the BEC property, investigating shutting down Flint and working on ideas for an expansion to our current building.  

What I would like from you if you consider yourself a UBCer is: 

1. prayers for myself, the staff, and the leadership team as we discern how to move forward 

2. advice.  please contact us with your own thoughts.  

grateful,

carney 

Sunday School Reminder

Friends, just a friendly reminder that tour weekly Sunday School summer class meets in the backside at 9:30 AM.  Kolachies provided.  

UBCYP Extravaganza

A UBCYP Extravaganza is happening ... TONIGHT at the McGregor household.  This is the sort of deal where you bring a side.  You can sign up for that here. For more information, email jamie@ubcwaco.org. 

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers:  Burns 

Mug Cleaners: Pereiras

Money Counter: Anna T. 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon:
• Please be in prayer for our next leadership team meeting which will be on Sunday July 30th. 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  Rufis Cocina 
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 7-16-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One who speaks Life
in the midst of chaos,

each of us carrying chaos of our own

we have come seeking rest from our wandering

and peace for our scattered minds

Spirit of Life, who raised Christ from the dead

raise us from every kind of death
and guide us into abundant life

Amen

 

 

Scripture

Genesis 25:19-34

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, 

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided; 
the one shall be stronger than the other, 
the elder shall serve the younger.” 

When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”

Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.

And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!”

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Prayer

This week's prayer is from An Iona Prayer Book (p. 130):

Loving God, open our hearts
so that we may feel the breath and play of your Spirit.
Unclench our hands
so that we may reach out to one another,
and touch and be healed.
Open our lips
that we may drink in the delight and wonder of life.
Open our eyes
so that we may see Christ in friend and stranger.
Breathe your Spirit into us,
and touch our lives with the life of Christ.

Amen.

Setlist 7-16-2017

This was the sixth Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind, and heavily influenced by the selection from Psalm 145 in this week's lectionary set.  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 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

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Up On A Mountain by The Welcome Wagon

Anthem by Leonard Cohen

Lifted/Lifting 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. 

How Great Thou Art: We sang this song to begin our time together with a word of gratitude to the breadth of God's work of creation and redemption.

Wandering: This song allows us to confess our tendency to, knowingly or not, attempt to use God for our own ends, while also praising God for being consistently faithful.

Up On A Mountain: We sang this song as a reminder that Christ has entered into our afflictions, knows the depth of our pain, and that the Spirit is present with us, drawing creation toward redemption.

Anthem: This song acknowledges the depth of the brokenness of the world, and imagines the wounds of existence as the points through which the Light enters our stories.

Lifted/Lifting: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Lifted/Lifting last week: This song is a plea for God to continue to develop the things we think we already know about who God is, and also to continue to form who we are more fully in the way of Christ.

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 7-14-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Further Up and Further In by Brad Rettler

Over the course of the summer, UBC will say goodbye to four families that have been part of our community for some time.  I've asked each of them to write something for the newsletter about their experience at UBC and something they learned.  This third entry is by Brad Rettler.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we got married, Lindsay had been living in Columbus and I had been living in South Bend. We were both content with our lives, our lodgings, our friends, and our churches. Lindsay was at an Acts 29 church in Columbus that sang hymns with updated instrumentation and was really involved in their community, and her small group was kind and intelligent and supportive. I was at a Southern Baptist church in South Bend whose pastor was an avid reader despite never going to college, and where I played drums and helped in the nursery. Lindsay moved to South Bend and joined my church after we got married, and came to love it as well.

When it came time to move to Waco, we were certain that we wouldn’t ever find another church that we loved as much as our former churches. But that was okay, we thought, because you can’t always get what you want. Sometimes God gives you good things, and other times you have to learn to be content with lesser things. 

But then we visited Waco in April to look for an apartment, and the Tweedts brought us to UBC. It was Palm Sunday, and Josh preached on Jesus’ triumphal entry. He suggested that we are supposed to see ourselves as accompanying Jesus into Jerusalem, because the story invokes a number of pairs – two apostles, a donkey and a colt, two cloaks… (I may be getting the details wrong.) We learned something, and we liked the atmosphere. When we discovered that Josh is a Green Bay Packers fan, we were sold. We stayed, and we’ve never regretted it.

When I was an undergraduate, I assumed I’d meet my wife during college. There were hundreds of women who were my age, I had a lot in common with most of them, we were hanging out every day… it just made sense. When graduation came and went and I wasn’t married, I was certain that I wouldn’t ever be in as good a position to find the right person as I was. Five years later I met Lindsay. She was brilliant, kind, godly, funny, and beautiful, and I was sold. We’ve been together five years, and I’ve never once regretted it.

Sometimes we’re at a point in life from which we can’t wait to move on. We work long hours at a job we hate, or we live in a dirty and cramped apartment, or we don’t have any friends. Anywhere seems like a step up.

But sometimes we’re at a point in life from which we don’t want to move on. Life seems perfect – as if nowhere we could go from there could compare. Every possibility seems like a step down. And sometimes this is worse than having a bad life, because it seems like there’s nowhere to go but down.

There’s a Sara Groves song that captures some of this nicely. She says, “I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt, leaving out what it lacks. And the future feels so hard and I want to go back.” Of course, Egypt was terrible was the Israelites. But it was familiar, unlike the desert. I am sure some Israelites walked out of Egypt in faith and confidence. But I’m equally sure that some were longing for their beds and huts. If they could do that with Egypt, how much easier is it, I’m sure, for us to do it wherever we are.

It’s easy to look forward when things are bad. Maybe it’s even easier to trust God when things are bad, because it just seems more likely they’ll get better anyway. But it’s much harder to look forward when things are good. When things are good, I look backward. I dwell on what I think of as the good life I used to live, and I don’t want to plan ahead for the life I’m sure won’t be as good.

UBC, may we be a people (I’ve always wanted to say that) who take each step forward in our lives trusting that we’re moving further up and further in the good that God has for us.

Town Hall

Our quarterly town hall meeting will take place after church on July 16th.  

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Will & the Richardsons 

Coffee Makers:  Jobson 

Mug Cleaners: McNamees 

Money Counter: Doug M. 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 "The Generous Sower" 
• Please be in prayer for our next leadership team meeting which will be on Sunday July 30th. 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  The Eatery 
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 7-21: UBCYP cookout at McGregor's House
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 7-9-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the One whose love is abundant

and whose mercy extends to all of creation

hoping to be shaped into people
who mirror this love and mercy

and who regard all of creation as God does

Spirit of Life, who is active among us,

resurrect what is dead in us
and teach us how to live

amen.

Scripture

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

The servant said to Laban, “I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.

My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ 

“I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also” —let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’ 

“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’

She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’

So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.

Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.” 

And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.” Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30:

Jesus said to the crowd, “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Prayer

This week's prayer is from An Iona Prayer Book, and is attributed to the Egyptian Coptic Church:

O God, who sends the light to shine upon this earth;
God who makes the sun to shine upon those who are good
and those who do wrong
God who created the light that lights the whole world,
shine your light into our minds and hearts.
Guard us from all that is harmful to ourselves and others.

Amen.

Setlist 7-9-2017

This was the fifth Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this in mind, and heavily influenced by the selection from Psalm 145 in this week's lectionary set.  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 live recordings of a few of them from Sunday morning , 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:

All Creatures of Our God and King

Crown Him With Many Crowns by Jameson McGregor

Be Thou My Vision

Lifted/Lifting by Jameson McGregor

Future/Past by John Mark McMillan

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 are the songs 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. 

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to begin our time by praising God as our Creator and Lord both with our words and with an attempt at grasping for a view of other creatures as equally created and loved by God.

Crown Him With Many Crowns: We sang this song to remind ourselves of the lordship of the Suffering God who has drawn us to Godself by drawing near to us in Christ.

Be Thou My Vision: This song is a petition for God to be our vision, wisdom, security, and hope, and we sang it because this is the sort of divine-human relationship that drives the people of God out into the world to join in God's redemption project in creation.

Lifted/Lifting: This song is a plea for God to continue to develop the things we think we already know about who God is, and also to continue to form who we are more fully in the way of Christ.

Future/Past: This song was a look over our shoulder at last week's songs (I was out of town, so there aren't any thoughts from last week's post to place here).

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 7-7-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

This week’s Psalm in the Lectionary is Psalm 145:8-15. It reads as follows:

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,
    and his compassion is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
    and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
    and gracious in all his deeds.

The Lord upholds all who are falling,
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food in due season.

            The reminder in v. 8 that God is gracious and merciful reminds me of a song that Jaime uses frequently in our times of congregational singing – “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” It has been a convicting reminder for me since Jaime began incorporating it into our worship a few years ago, that God’s mercy, grace, and love are far wider than I could ever imagine, and if I think that I have found their ends it is not because of a lack of God’s mercy, grace, and love – but it is because of a lack of those things within myself and an unwillingness to depend on God to provide them.

The next verse goes on to affirm that God’s compassion is larger than I could probably imagine it to be by insisting that God’s compassion extends to everything that God has every made – which we know…is everything. God’s compassion extends to everything. At all times because verses 13 and 14 remind us that God’s mercy, grace, love, compassion, and faithfulness do not just exist now and for us – but that the kingdom of God is everlasting and eternal. That God’s compassion, faithfulness, love, grace, and mercy have always and will always exist to cover everything that God has created.

And just when we might be getting crazy v.15 pops up to remind us that oftentimes none of this looks the way that we might assume that it would. That God gives in God’s own perfect timing and we can’t always anticipate what the gift will be or how it will fit into our own plans. We can only trust that all good things come from the God of heaven and earth who is just, kind, merciful, and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. May we all look to the God of grace for guidance in the days to come and may we all depend on God to extend to us grace, mercy, and love that we can then extend to those around as we give thanks and bless the name of the Lord.

- Taylor

If you'd like to talk more about this you can email me at: taylor@ubcwaco.org

Town Hall

Our quarterly town hall meeting will take place after church on July 16th.  

HR Team Member Needed

We are proud and grateful for the work of Mathew Crawford and Maxcey Blaylock who both rotated off the UBC HR team.  That means we are looking for two new members of our community to serve on that team.  If you have HR or related experience or know someone who does, you can nominate them or yourself to work on the HR Team.  Nominations should be sent to josh@ubcwaco.org.  Selections will be made at our July leadership team meeting.  Below you will find some information on the HR team from our bylaws.

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

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

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

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

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

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

(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. 

Princes Fundraiser for Mission Waco

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Ricky and Juliet 

Coffee Makers:  Hand

Mug Cleaners: Meehans 

Money Counter: Justin P. 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67.
• Please be in prayer for our special guest preacher Dr. David Wilhite 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  The Eatery 
• 7-10 OOTP Go Bowling 5:30-7:30  @ Baylor SUB
• 7-16 Town Hall After Church 
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 7-21: UBCYP cookout at McGregor's House
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

ITLOTC 6-30-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Ancient-Future

At the beginning of the fall semester, the ubc staff packs up a few odds and ends that seem to paint a picture of our church, and head over to Baylor for Church Fair.   Meeting new people is great, but the part where you’re supposed to do a “marketing pitch” is probably the worst thing we do as a staff every year.  The marketing part usually comes in response to questions students ask us—and there are a handful that always come up.  Some students will ask Josh what his preaching style is like (which is always a fun moment).  Toph will invariably be fielding a lot of questions about our mission efforts.  And I answer about 50 different phrasings of “So is your worship, like, traditional or contemporary?”

I’m going to shoot you straight.  I don’t like this question.  For a few reasons, but mostly because I don’t know how to answer it.

To begin with, the question always uses “worship” to mean “music,” and I think that’s highly problematic.  But I get that that's a thing people do.  And, yes, technically I could answer the question behind the question (choir/orchestra or rock band?) by telling them we play some kind of rock music.  But the liturgical elements of our service don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with the broad-strokes category of “contemporary.”  

So anyway, on my first trip to Church Fair, after about an hour of trying to find an accurate descriptor for our “worship style,” I answered this question with, “Uh—ancient-future?” 

I’ll be honest—at the time, I didn’t really know what I meant by that, and, unsurprisingly, the students asking the question didn’t know what I meant by that either.  But it felt right, so I kept doing it.

That phrase had been in my head for some time.  I think the first time I became aware of it was when I saw a copy of Robert Webber’s Ancient-Future Faith, which i have since read (He also has one that is a bit more on the nose—Ancient-Future Worship—that I plan on reading soon.  I don’t know that what he means by that term is exactly the same as what we mean by it, but it’s close.)  To offer a vast oversimplification of what he’s doing in that book, he is saying that the way forward for Christianity is in a reclaiming of the traditions of the past.  I had also seen this phrase on our website as one of many that people had used to describe our liturgy, so it wasn’t completely innovative or random that I pulled it out to answer the traditional v. contemporary question.  

At the moment, I’m trying to pull together some more comprehensive thoughts on what it means for us to have an Ancient-Future liturgical life, and the rest of this post will be what I have so far.  To do that, I’ll speak about our liturgy in general and our music in particular.

As you have likely noticed, our liturgy is crafted around the church calendar.  Following this calendar allows us to live through the Christian story year after year.  When we engage this story, we challenge ourselves to be sort of unstuck in time.  By that I mean, we attempt to imaginatively enter into the world of the story and experience it apart from our 21st century vantage point.  So, for example, at Advent, we place ourselves in the darkness of exile, waiting for the Light of Christmas, taking on the role of the people of God clinging to who God has been for them in order to shape a hope that things will change.  This is the ancient part of our framework.  

But as we do this, we also engage this story as people in a particular time and place (Waco, TX, 2017).  These people are asking their own sorts of questions and reckoning with their own struggles, and these people go through the story year after year knowing what’s coming, while also calling into question their assumptions about each part of the story.  So, during Advent, we look around to see the present darkness of the world so we can have in mind exactly what it is that needs a Light.  And with this, we do two things: we identify and reacquaint ourselves with the things that God is actively working to redeem, challenging ourselves to be a part of this work, and we attempt to foster a hope that looks forward to the coming of the Kingdom in fullness.  This is the future part of our framework.

This is framework is reflected in the music at ubc.  Best I can tell, our ubc songbook is about 40% hymns, 20% “contemporary” worship songs, and 40% original material.  We seek out songs that are quite old so that we can participate in the worship of God with the church of a different time, we seek out contemporary songs so that we can participate in the worship of God with the church of a different place, and we write our own songs to grasp for expression and content particular to the concerns of the church within our time and place.  These songs from across time become a part of our vocabulary, part of our communal DNA, and we take them all equally seriously.  This has a significant impact on the songs that we write.  The theological freight of hymnody and the emotional particularity of newer songs enter into a conversation with the concerns of our community, and something different than any one of those things emerges. 

To say all of this at once: our liturgy invites us into a story of dynamic implications, and encourages us to look at who God has been for the people of God as a way of sustaining the hope of who God will continue to be for us.  It also invites us to continue to look for answers to questions that we think we have already answered, and helps us combat our tendency to make our ideas about God into idols.

The ancient-future concept is both descriptive of and prescriptive for our liturgical approach—some aspects of this are already present in our worship together, and we are continuing to lean into this identity and allowing it to draw us forward.  I suppose on some level the idea of having a sense of both history/tradition and present culture is universal in churches, so one might wonder what the point is in having a particular label to place on it.  For me, this label is a shorthand way to refocus us on what we are trying to do liturgically.  Although some labels are for people on the “outside” of a community to understand something about the group before they experience it up close, this label really just stands as a challenge to those within the community to remember who they are.  

So, like I said, I’m still fleshing this idea out, but if you hadn’t heard the “ancient-future” phrase thrown around, you have now.  I hope you’ll carry this lens into our liturgies and try to explore the various questions that the Christian story poses to you.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or just want to talk more about this, feel free to email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Town Hall

Our quarterly town hall meeting will take place after church on July 16th.  

UBC Offices are closed Tuesday

In the event you were planning on stopping by on Tuesday, don't! July 4th is one of the days we shut everything down and stay home.

HR Team Member Needed

We are proud and grateful for the work of Mathew Crawford and Maxcey Blaylock who both rotated off the UBC HR team.  That means we are looking for two new members of our community to serve on that team.  If you have HR or related experience or know someone who does, you can nominate them or yourself to work on the HR Team.  Nominations should be sent to josh@ubcwaco.org.  Selections will be made at our July leadership team meeting.  Below you will find some information on the HR team from our bylaws.

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

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

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

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

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

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

(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. 

Princes Fundraiser for Mission Waco

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Walters 

Coffee Makers:  Jobson

Mug Cleaners: Woods

Money Counter: Anna T. 

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Genesis 22:1-14
• Please be in prayer for our special guest preacher Taylor Post 
• Tuesday Dives Location:  No Dives on Tuesday, enjoy the 4th of July. 
• 7-10 OOTP Go Bowling 5:30-7:30  @ Baylor SUB
• 7-16 Town Hall After Church 
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 7-21: UBCYP cookout at McGregor's House
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 6-25-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

Living God, we have come hoping
to learn how to love you

and how to love
one another as you do

as we devote our attention
to you in this hour

form us more fully in the way of Christ

that we may learn to be
the presence of Christ in the world

and hold up our ordinary
lives like torches in the dark

amen.

Scripture

Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.”

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Prayer

This week's prayer is from An Iona Prayer Book, and is attributed to an anonymous guest at the abbey. (p. 28)

Lord of the excluded,
Open our ears to those we would prefer not to hear,
Open our lives to those we would prefer not to know,
Open our hearts to those we would prefer not to love,
and so open our eyes to see
where we exclude You.

Setlist 6-25-2017

This was the third Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this 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 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:

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

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

Inbreaking by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

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. 

Just A Closer Walk With Thee: We began with this song to give voice to one of the primary reasons we gather together every week--to be more fully formed in the way of Christ.  We might think about two outcomes of this.  First, to be more fully formed in the way of Christ results in living a life that is itself an act of worship.  Second, to be more fully formed in the way of Christ pushes us toward our calling of being the presence of Christ in the world.

SMS [Shine]: One way to think of this song is as a petition for God to revive the hope of Christ in our lives so that we can hold this light up like torches in the world.  This is by some measure what we are focusing on during ordinary time as we take up ubc's core value of missional living more deliberately for the next few months.  

There's A Wideness in God's Mercy: This song is a reminder to ourselves that God's mercy toward us is greater than we might deem reasonable.  And it is also a reminder to ourselves that God's mercy toward those we would rather not have it is just as unreasonably wide.

Inbreaking: This song is a petition for the Slaughtered Lamb to teach us how to be Kingdom people and for the Spirit to resurrect what is dead in us.

Rise Up: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Rise Up then: This song is both a plea for God to rise to the defense of the trampled people in the world and a challenge to ourselves as the Body of Christ to be active in defending those whom God defends.

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 6-23-17

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

"Why We Will Miss UBC. You Won't Believe #5!" by Melinda Tweedt

Over the course of the summer, UBC will say goodbye to four families that have been part of our community for some time.  I've asked each of them to write something for the newsletter about their experience at UBC and something they learned.  This second entry is by Melinda Tweedt.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

We moved here in August 2010 when we had only 2 girls; we will leave in August with 2 girls and 2 boys. On our first Sunday in Waco, Chris said we should go to UBC, because David Crowder was playing that week. I reluctantly agreed, explaining that I was NOT going to pick a church because of the band. I can't even remember what Josh preached about, but I remember being impressed and looking forward to the next Sunday. Chris's favorite thing to say about UBC is, "We came for Crowder, but we stayed for Carney." We never even visited other churches; we never needed to.

Chris is graduating from Baylor with his Ph.D. in Philosophy, and we're moving to Virginia so he can teach there. I was honestly more excited to see him on the stage at UBC for the Mr. Rodgers Sunday/Commissioning Sunday than I was to see him walk across the graduation stage at Baylor. But as it turns out, he was out of town on Commissioning Sunday, and I never got to see him up on stage. I had waited for 7 years for something that simple to happen, and I'm surprised to see how sad I am that it never did. Nonetheless, Chris got a job, we have to move, and there's a lot I'm going to miss.

I'm going to miss things like the Love Feasts and the fact that our potlucks are called "Love Feasts." I'm going to miss seeing Josh greet my kids, each by name, with great big hugs. I'll miss people who volunteer in the children's ministry who make my kids feel like UBC is for them, too. I'll miss my Mi Casa, which feels like an extension of my family. I'll miss going to and helping out with the Community Center Easter Egg Hunt and Halloween Festival. And I'll miss the few Sundays where it's pretty quiet and empty because so many people have gone back to their homes. But we were still there because UBC is our home. My family has gotten to see the seasons change literally and figuratively and here it feels like home. Is UBC perfect? No, but we grow together, learn from each other's mistakes, and are there for each other along the way. I can't describe my time in Waco without including UBC. I'm jealous of the people who get to stay. UBC has introduced me to some of the best friends I've ever had, friends I wouldn't otherwise have found. 

I want to give some advice to those staying at UBC. Being a care-receiver is a normal part of life, but at some point, you have to be a caregiver, too. You don't have to do this by joining committees or being on stage. You can do it by caring for others and by being a part of their lives. Go to the Love Feasts not only because you need to get something out of it, but because you can give to someone else who needs something, too. Take a meal to someone even if you don't know them. It might be a little uncomfortable, but you're helping to bring together the community as a whole and not just for yourself. (Trust me, new parents seriously feel the love when you bring them some food.) Share life together. Have meals together or watch a movie, watch other people's kids for them, and help with community events. Community doesn't happen just because you show up. Help your community to happen by offering whatever it is you have to give: your time, your friendship, your money, your talents, your listening ear, your presence. 

Change is good. Change keeps us moving forward and allows us to better our lives and the lives of people around us. Unfortunately, knowing that doesn't make me feel better about the changes my family is now facing. It's amazing how deeply community can form after only a few years. I will miss you a lot, UBC.

-Melinda

Meet Outer (Other) Pastoral Associate

Name: Dilan Braddock

Why are you in Waco:  I saw RG3 play in the Texas Bowl down in Houston my Junior year of high school. Baylor Lost the game pretty badly, but they won me. Came to Baylor back in 2012, and stayed for Truett in 2016. Lived in Waco for 5 years now, and I am currently loving it more than ever. I am working on my Masters of Divinity while making Ice cream at Heritage creamery, and leading UBC’s The Order. 

Verse, Chapter or Book of the Bible that is meaningful to you: Personal top 3 are Psalm 19, Romans 8:38-39, 1 Corinthians 10:31. The Corinthians verse was specifically formative for me coming into college and tying to navigate what my own personal faith would look like. 

Best Waco Restaurant: Clay Pot, but Torchy’s also gets me going. 

Movie or Show: This is a real tough one show would probably be Lost, Game of Thrones, or Friday night Lights (seasons 1,3,4,5). Fav movies Drive, LaLa Land, or Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Books You Love: The Road by Cormack McCarthy,  Garden City by John Mark Comer, and all of the Chronicles of Narnia series.

UBC Will Start On Time 

Below is a gif from Dumbo.  Dumbo sits wrapped tightly in these swaddling clothes as he awaits delivery to his mother.  This gif turned metaphor represents UBC's long history with church starting time.  It repeatedly drifts later and we then realize this and pull it back.  As a fair warning, we are implementing the motion of the stork pulling the Dumbo package and setting it on the cloud ... aka starting on time .. this Sunday.  Wink Wink.  

HR Team Member Needed

We are proud and grateful for the work of Mathew Crawford and Maxcey Blaylock who both rotated off the UBC HR team.  That means we are looking for two new members of our community to serve on that team.  If you have HR or related experience or know someone who does, you can nominate them or yourself to work on the HR Team.  Nominations should be sent to josh@ubcwaco.org.  Selections will be made at our July leadership team meeting.  Below you will find some information on the HR team from our bylaws.

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

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

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

c.     To create and implement staff review procedures.

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

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

(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. 

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers:  Pereiras 

Mug Cleaners: Noel C

Money Counter: Josh M

Announcements

• Sunday Sermon: Genesis 21:8-21
• Tuesday Dives Location: Portofino's 
• 6-25 OOTP Picnic (BYOLunch) After Church Redwood Shelter 
• 7-1 OOTP Girls/Boys Night 5-9 P.M. Meet @ UBC
• 7-10 OOTP Go Bowling 5:30-7:30  @ Baylor SUB
• 7-16 Town Hall After Church 
• 7-?? Summer Event Dos ... more info to come 
• 7-21: Summerside (Open Mic)
• 8-6 OOTP Pool Party After Church @ Baylor SLC 
• 8-13 OOTP Parent Meeting After Church @ UBC
• 8-23 OOTP First Meeting!!! (Welcome 5th graders!) 6-8 P.M. @ UBC

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

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu

Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com

Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

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.

Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Liturgy 6-18-2017

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, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship
the Living God

with our words
our thoughts
our attention

in the hope that our words,
our thoughts, and our attention,

would be shaped to mirror
those of Jesus

by the Spirit who dwells among us

who is making us a part
of God’s work in the world

Amen

Scripture

Exodus 19:2-8a

The Israelites had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Romans 5:1-8:

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Prayer

This week's Father's Day Prayer was adapted from a prayer on a blog called Ordinary Time, which I believe was adapted from a Father's Day mediation that was written by Kirk Loadman-Copeland

Holy God, whom we call Father, we give you thanks for the people who have been fathers to us, and we pray for all sorts and conditions of fathers.

For fathers who have striven to balance the demands of work, marriage, and children.

For fathers who, lacking a good model, have worked to become a good father.

For fathers who by their own account were not always there for their children, but who continue to offer those children, now grown, their love and support.

For fathers who have been wounded by the neglect and hostility of their children.

For fathers who, despite divorce, have remained in their children's lives.

For fathers who, as stepfathers, freely chose the obligation of fatherhood and earned their stepchildren's love and respect.

For fathers who have lost a child to death, and continue to hold the child in their heart.

For those who are about to become fathers for the first time.

For those men who have no children, but offer fatherhood to whomever might need it.

For those men who have "fathered" us in their role as mentors and guides.

And for those fathers who have died, but live on in our memory and in the communion of your Saints, whose love continues to nurture us.

For all of these, we give you thanks.

In the midst of the complexity of emotions that surround days like this, we ask that you would hold our joy and pain together and use us to care for one another.

We ask this of You who are both father and mother to us all, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Setlist 6-18-2017

This was the second Sunday after Pentecost.  Our songs were gathered with this 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:

Come Thou Fount

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Breathe for Me by Jameson McGregor

Holy, Holy, Holy

Doxology

How They Fit In:

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

Come Thou Fount:  We began with this song to confess that we gathered to worship with the hope that the Spirit would form our community more fully into the way of Christ, and to remind ourselves that looking back on who God has been for us is an excellent indicator of who God will be for us in the future.

Wandering: This song is a confession that we have a tendency to make our ideas about God into an idol that can be harnessed and manipulated for our own purposes, and a proclamation that God is somehow able to work in the midst of that.

Rise Up: This song is both a plea for God to rise to the defense of the trampled people in the world and a challenge to ourselves as the Body of Christ to be active in defending those whom God defends.

Breathe for Me: This song is about transformation in the midst of despair.  For any number of reasons, we might find ourselves worn thin by life, and this song offers language for petitioning the Spirit to breathe life into what is dead in us.

Holy, Holy, Holy:  We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Holy, Holy, Holy then: Since it was Trinity Sunday, this seemed like a good song to begin our time together.  It's a confession of, and implicit surrender to, God's Otherness--a way of saying that God is beyond our comprehension.

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

-JM