April 6, 2006
Sa
MEDITATION
The Kings Mountain Herald
by working it out in
worship and service
People sometimes ask me if my father was a “preacher,”
and from the context of the question it seems that they
assume that, since many televangelists pass on their min-
istries to their sons, the average pastor
does the same. The truth is that my father
was an insurance salesman for over thirty
years, and I have to admit that he was
very good at it, too.
Now when 1 tell folks that my father
sold “life insurance,” some automatically
make the connection between ordinary
life insurance and a spiritual form of life
insurance that Christians describe as “sal-
vation.”
“You both sell life insurance,” they will
say to me. When I hear this analogy, I typ-
ically accept it - at least up to a point - for there is truth in the
notion that Christian salvation is like life insurance because
it “insures” us that we will live an eternal life with God in
heaven.
Of course there are other similarities between selling life
insurance and being a Christian minister. For example, both
have to sell people on some idea, whether it is the idea of
preparing for what may come by purchasing insurance poli-
cies or preparing for an eternal destiny through faith in Jesus
Christ. Yet, there are also some important differences
between the two. For example, life insurance is about this
world, whereas salvation is about the world to come, and
there is also a sense in which buying insurance is like invest-
ing in the stock market. After all, that’s one way insurance
companies make money, and I have to admit that this seems
very different from Christian salvation.
“Why is it different?” you ask. We can answer that ques-
tion with just one word - grace. Christian salvation is about
grace. Itisn’t about saving money, or talent, or acts of chari-
ty; it’s about the love of God given freely to those who will
accept it. Nothing is wrong with investing, of course, but
everything is right with the grace of God. At least, that’s
how I feel about it.
There is also one other quality about life insurance and
Christian salvation that comes to my mind as I think about
the grace of God, and this quality has to do with something
that is called, “proof of insurance.” Many people carry with
them a number of insurance cards that offer proof of their
medical, auto, or other kinds of insurance, and if something
happens, all they have to do is whip out the right card.
When a person becomes a believer, however, there is no
card we can carry or policy we can file away to prove that we
have a relationship with God. Yet, we can show proof by act-
ing on our salvation. In his letter to the Philippians, the apos-
tle Paul wrote: “Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling.” It seems to me that this is where the proof of our
salvation is found - in the way we work it out in worship and
service.
Jeff Hensley
Meditation
“Jeff Hensley is pastor of Kings Mountain Baptist Church.
SR
CHURCH BRIEFS
8th Street Church of God, Bessemer City, will host an
indoor yard sale Saturday, April 8 beginning at 7 a.m.
Biscuits will be sold at breakfast and hot dogs at lunch. For
more information call 629-9202.
Springfield Baptist Church, 109 Fields St., Dallas, will be
in revival April 9-11. Services are at 6 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday. The speaker will be Eric Sellers.
Central United Methodist Church Scout Troop 93 will
hold a yard sale and car wash Sat., April 8 in the church park-
ing lot. The yard sale will be from 7-11 a.m. and the car wash
will begin at 9 a.m. Items be sold include a riding lawn
mower, computer, toys, miscellaneous household goods and
clothing. Proceeds help fund the Scouts’ trip to summer
camp.
The weekly lenten series at Word of Faith Church, 1417
Stoney Point Rd., Shelby, will be Friday, April 7. Speaker will
be Rev. John Houze of People’s Church, Kings Mountain. For
more information call 482-2249 or 435-5560.
East Gold Street Wesleyan Adult Choir will present the
Easter musical “He’s Alive,” Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m. and
Sunday, April 16 at 11 a.m. The public is invited.
Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church, 618 Chestnut Ridge
Church Road, Kings Mountain, will host an Easter play
Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 16 at 10 a.m.
For more information call 739-4015.
Dixon Presbyterian Church, 602 Dixon School Rd., Kings
Mountain, will hold a Maundy Thursday communion serv-
ice at 7:30 p.m. Thurs., April 13. The church will hold a
Tenebrae service at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 14, an Easter
egg hunt for children on Saturday, April 15 at 2 p.m., and an
Easter sunrise service at 7 a.m. Sunday, April 16. The public
is invited.
First Presbyterian Church, Kings Mountain, will have its
Maundy Thursday communion service Thursday, April 13 at
7 p.m. Its Tenebrae service will be held Friday, April 14 at
7:30 p.m.
Page 5A
Prove your salvation Turning point of the universe
CrossWalk brings Christ’s passion to streets of KM
EMILY WEAVER
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Embedded in the history of Kings
Mountain is one of the South’s main
turning points of the Revolutionary
War. But every year about this time, one
can witness what Reg Alexander calls
“the turning point of the universe” in the
downtown streets of this city . . . at a
play called Cross Walk.
Alexander, one of the original organ-
izers with Regal Ventures Creative
Ministries, is very pleased of the out-
come of the sixth annual play.
“We did very little promotions and
many people were from out of town,”
Alexander said. Three quarters of the
1500 people that came to Cross Walk
were from outside of Kings Mountain,
including some from Florida,
Massachusetts, Indiana and Virginia.
“There is a touring company in
Pennsylvania that has put this on their
tour for next year,” he said.
One of the volunteers of the play
overhead a spectator on his cell phone
explaining to a friend that he was
“standing in the market place where
Jesus was. We've got to bring a group to
this next year!” he said.
“It’s really nice to see the camaraderie
of the ones involved,” Alexander said.
Over 200 volunteers come out to help
and ended up having a great time in the
process.
Jim Belt has played the Centurion for
the entire life of Cross Walk. “I like the
community involvement, the people
coming out and telling the story. It's
very emotional for many of us that are
involved and we take it seriously,” Belt
said. Proud to be a part of this event, he
felt that the response was great and that
the show will get better as time goes on.
“This is something that is really going
toward the vision of the destination for
this event which is to bring people in to
Kings Mountain,” Alexander said. “The
response from people has been tremen-
dous.” He is very thankful of the other
people in the community who also
share this vision.
“On past shows we've pumped
$10,000 into the city and businesses
from people that come in to see this
EMILY WEAVER / HERALD
The men, after carrying Jesus to his tomb, bowed to pray during this outdoor
Easter play which allowed the audience to witness this important story first-
a he said, knowing that even more
revenue has been generated from this
years attraction.
“Iam thankful that we have the
opportunity to get outside the box and
do something very creative and I hope
that more and more of our citizens will
see the benefits and impact of this
event,” Alexander said.
“We could have had far more people
come to Cross Walk had we promoted it
more widely. But we are trying to grow
cautiously and carefully due to the
magnitude of this play and what it can
mean to the city.”
Cross Walk let each spectator follow
the last steps of Jesus acted out on
stages among the downtown streets
and parking lots. Each audience mem-
ber was able to witness his healings in
the market place, the last supper with
his disciples, his prayers and arrest in
the Garden of Gethsemane, his appear-
ance before Pontius Pilate, crucifixion,
burial and resurrection.
The final message was given by Jim
Belt, who played the Centurion. “Has
the world forgotten that there are no
more wages for sin? It’s all because of a
man who payed a debt he did not owe.”
He encouraged people to acknowl-
edge God tugging at their hearts and let
each witness know that spiritual coun-
seling was available.
“The most important thing to me is
that we're communicating a message
that is timeless and when I get beyond
that I'm very proud of our city ‘and the
story that we're telling ‘out on our
streets,” Alexander said.
Belt ended the event with the words,
“God loves you and we do too,” and the
song, “Amazing Grace,” followed by
the applause of a grateful crowd.
The newspaper Jerusalem Herald was
handed out to viewers after the pro-
gram and serves as a continual
reminder of this important story. It
gives the idea of what this event would
have been like if it had appeared in
papers during that time. The Jerusalem
Herald is a free publication provided by
Regal Ventures and will be available in
the Herald's weekly edition during
Easter week.
All proceeds go to the expenses and
production of Cross Walk. For more
information visit
www.kmcrosswalk.com.
Mosquito alert! Fight the bite
is
EMILY WEAVER
and EEE. Both vaccinations
eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com
Beware of the blood-suck-
ing insects this summer!
Mild winter weather will
bring an increased number of
mosquitoes to our region,
warns the Cleveland County
Health Department.
The freezing temperatures.
during winter typically help
reduce the summertime mos-
quito’s endeavors. But
warmer winters indicate
more of these pests will be
active, increasing the risk of
mosquito-borne diseases.
The most common dis-
eases carried by mosquitoes
in North Carolina are West
Nile Virus (WNV), Eastern
Equine Encephalitis (EEE),
and La Crosse Encephalitis.
These illnesses, also known
as arboviruses, are transmit-
ted to humans and animals
through the bite from an
infected blood-feeding
insect. Most cases occur from
June to September when
these biting bugs are most
active.
“The best way to protect
both humans and animals is
to plan now to reduce the
CLARK TIRE
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breeding grounds for mos-
quitoes and reduce expo-
sure,” said Cleveland
County Health Director
Denese Stallings in a press
release.
The two main ways to pre-
vent these potentially harm-
ful bites are through person-
al protection and risk reduc-
tion.
DON'T BE A MOSQUI-
TO MAGNET:
>These pesky insects are at
their most active during
dusk and dawn. Limit the
amount of time spent out-
doors during these periods.
>If you can take the heat,
wear protective clothing,
such as long pants and long-
sleeve shirts. Remember to
wear bright-colored clothing.
Mosquitoes aren’t the only
ones attracted to dark colors
- 50 are bees.
>Apply a repellent contain-
ing DEET to your skin and
clothing before going out-
side. The higher the concen-
tration of DEET, the longer
amount of time you will be
protected. For instance,
repellents with 10% DEET
provide about 2 hours of pro-
tection, 24% provide about 5
hours. The maximum con-
centration of DEET currently
recommended for children
and infants is 30%. Do not
apply to skin underneath
clothing.
>If a repellent containing
DEET can not be found, look
for one containing perme-
thrin. Do not use permethrin
directly on skin, only apply
to clothing.
>Use screens on doors and
windows to keep bugs out.
>Drain all containers that
may have standing water
and refresh your pets” water
bowls weekly. Even the
smallest puddle can serve as
a breeding ground for mos-
quitoes.
Owners should have all
horses vaccinated for WNV
initially require two shots
and it is important to start
early in first-time cases. The
horse will not be fully pro-
tected until several weeks
after the second shot. The
number of WNV and EEE
cases in horses has dropped
significantly in the last two
years since its outbreak of a
combined 240 cases in 2003.
State Veterinarian Dr.
David Marshall . cautions
equine owners not to let their
guards down because of a
decline in ‘cases. “The best
way to prevent these possi-
bly fatal diseases is to vacci-
nate horses against them.
The cost of prevention easily
outweighs the cost of treat-
ing a sick animal,” Marshall
said. “I encourage horse
owners to continue to take
measures to protect their ani-
mals despite the perception
that the threat may have less-
ened.” Fat iy
DEVE IACI The Diner
1-85 and Dixon Rd.
104-730-1882
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