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‘April 20, 2006 Page 5A En MEDITATION No one’s perfect, so we must be thankful for grace What does the perfect husband look like? After being mar- ried for nearly 22 years, I have to admit that I doubt I look much at all like the “perfect husband.” Yet, it’s never easy to identify the “perfect” anything, and this is why something I read recently struck me as both funny and ironic. It was an ad about the “perfect pastor,” and it went something like this. After years of research, the profile of the “perfect pastor” has finally been devel- oped. The perfect pastor preaches exactly 15 minutes each Sunday morning. He condemns sin, but never embarrasses anyone. His sermons are filled with spir- itual fire, but they also represent profound learning and grace. He works from 8:00 a.m. until midnight and also mows the church grass. He makes $60 a week, wears stylish and attractive clothes, drives a new car that looks good in funeral processions, and tithes $30 a week to the church. He is 28 years old and has been preaching for 25 years, is handsome and gentle, loves to work with teenagers, and spends countless hours with sen- ior citizens. He makes 15 calls each day on parish families, shut-ins, and hospital patients, and he is always available when needed. Whew! Before I read this ad I was sure I wasn’t the perfect husband, but after I read it I was convinced that I wasn’t either the perfect husband or the perfect pastor. I may have some colleagues in this community who can fit in this cate- gory, but I can’t be numbered among them. Unfortunately, very few of us can ever really measure up to the expectations that people have of us. This is true of hus- bands and wives, even as it is true of pastors and churches. This is one reason why I am so thankful for grace, and the truly amazing thing about grace is that it reminds us that the abundant spiritual life is not something we achieve but something that God gives us freely, through faith. Jeff Hensley Meditation C. S. Lewis once wrote that he had never had the experi- ence of looking for God. “It was the other way round,” said Lewis, “God was the hunter and I was the deer.” With the recent challenges to Christian faith that have come from things like the “Da Vinci Code” and the “Gospel of Judas,” it often seems hard to maintain our spiritual momentum. But then, on the other hand, we read about someone like Abdul Rahman, who faced the possibility of death in Afghanistan because he had become a Christian, and we realize that there is a power within us that clearly comes from beyond us, and it is this power that gives us spiritual momentum. I believe this power is the presence of God. It's a power that is available to us by grace, but to have it we have to make a “leap of faith.” God makes God's self available to us and all we have to do is accept the gift. Dr. Jeff Hensley is pastor of Kings Mountain Baptist Church. The Kings Mountain Herald 2 WORSHIP EMT team holding special event April 27-29 at KMHS . EMILY WEAVER i eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com Not all emergencies are medical. Some emergencies are of the soul. The Evangelistic Ministry Team (EMT) will be holding an event entitled, “Answering the Call” at Kings Mountain High School's Barnes Auditorium, 7 pm on April 27th-29th. There is no charge for the event but individuals may give a “love offering.” Toby Sims, the organizer for this pro- gram and church-wide group, decided on the term “EMT” because as he puts it, “distress calls are answered by EMTs and the church should be that way too.” His vision for this ministry started in October of last year. “As I sat down at the computer to type late one night, I just allowed God to do His thing. I knew in my heart we weren't doing what we should do as Christians and as a whole, to reach the community. As a result people are still suffering,” Sims said adding, “God needs some first responders that will be there when someone needs help.” He's hoping this first event will spark an interest in local churches to get out and evangelize. “The devil uses denom- inations to divide and conquer,” he said. “Answering the Call” will not just be for Baptists, Methodists or Pentecostals but for every person who seeks worship and spiritual healing. He wants to “bring the walls of denomina- tion down that separate us from our Christian brothers.” One of the speakers for the event will be James Dufrene, Jr. who is studying to be a preacher at Liberty University in Virginia. He is a member of Flint Grove Baptist Church. Music will be performed by Jonathon Laughter, Kyle Shepherd, Kent Goodson, Jennifer Parker, and others from various churches. A dance will be performed by the Christian Freedom 412 Youth. EMT believes that once a person is saved, they need to have the proper tools and a connection to help them continue on the right path. A local church directory will be given out at the event. Sims is a man who has overcome his own spiritual battles. His testimony is Central United } Activities Sunday Morning 8:45 Praise and Worship Service 9:30 Sunday Morning Fellowship 9:45 Sunday School 10:50 Traditional Services Sunday Evening Children’s Activities: Ages 4 to High School Snack supper and Bible Related Activities 5:00 to 5:30 Children’s Choir- Preschool to 5" gr. 5:30 to 7:15 Kids for Christ- 5t" gr. and younger 5:30 to 7:15 United Methodist Youth- 6" to 12" gr. Tuesday Evening 6:30 Youth Bible Study - 6" gr. to 12" gr. 6:30 Boy scouts www.kmcumc.org 113 S. Piedmont Ave. Kings Mountain, NC 28086 704-739-2471 Is your life a blur? Lost Your way? This is a personal invitation for you to come and visit and let the Peace of God help you find your way! ethodist Church Kings Mountain, NC Wednesday Evening 5:15 to 5:45 Children’s Choir Practice- 7:00 Adult Choir Practice Thursday Evening 7:00 Over 40’s Basketball . Community Kitchen Serving our 11,000 meals in 2005 Monday- 11:30AM to 1:00PM Thursday- 5:00PM to 6:00PM Preschool Ages 2 to 4 years Monday - Friday 8:30AM to 12:30PM not recommended for the faint of heart, but may be medicine to the faint of spir- it. “I was an only child until my parents had my brother when Iwas 14. They split up when I was 15,” he recalled. “I struggled with alcohol at a very young age. From the time I began working at 15 until Igraduated high school, I drank every chance I got. We did the partying after football games. I did the pot. I did the acid. I didn’t have an ounce of respect for anyone or any- thing. “I tried to get with all the girls. I used every curse word plus some. We (Sims and friends) always found a place to hang out and do all the stuff that I used to think all teenagers are going to do,” Sims said, with a hint of shame in his eyes. “My senior year (of high school) some of my friends and I thought it would be a great idea to make our own money on a computer with a scanner, which, by the way, is the last known time that I made The Herald. The two counterfeit 20s that I ever possessed cost my grand- dad $1,000 for a lawyer. My vehicle was taken for four months. Someone else had to pay the impound fee and I had to pay (a fee) to do 100 hours of communi- ty service. “I left high school without a plan or any direction. I began straightening out shortly after Dylan was born on March 31, 1998.” His senior year in high school he learned that his girlfriend, the daughter of a preacher, was pregnant with their child. His first main turning points were the birth of his first son and mercy from a heartbroken father-in-law. “I remember the night I met him after he found out that Christie was preg- nant. He opened that Bible and with love, but hurt in his heart, ministered to me about what true love was. I am sure if it would have been any other dad in the world, he would've killed me. . . he didn’t. The verses he read will never compare to the life of faith, love and hope that he lived before me. He showed me Christ,” Sims said. He went to his father-in-law’s church and tried to turn his life around. But this loyal servant who Sims admired and aspired to be like, was called home at the age of 49 from a brain aneurism. They had a guest speaker at church that morning. Sims said that it was just like any other Sunday afternoon. After they had finished their lunch and were getting ready to leave, Sims remem- bered that his son, Dylan, did not want - to leave. He had stayed on his grandfa- ther’s lap the entire time and, as if sens- ing what would happen next, Dylan refused to leave his side. Sims’ father- in-law had complained about a headache around the back of his head, earlier that day and as he laid with his wife he told her that he was being called home. When Sims reached the house his father-in-law was speaking in tongues, the language of the Holy Spirit. He died on the way to the hospital. Around 1,000 people came to pay tribute to this wonderful man who had managed to touch so many lives in such a short time of ministry. : A little over a year later, Sims started going downhill again. He, his wife and son moved to Greensboro in April of 2001. “We began going to clubs and bars. I found myself back on a down- ward spiral. I was fighting the alcohol, adultery, drugs, a lifestyle that began to look and become worse than before. During this time I really hurt my wife and kids. It is only through God's good- ness and their patience that I have them today. I was blind to the effects of my actions. I lied and cheated to get almost every dollar I earned those four years. It was a time that God used to wake me up. He removed his hand for just a moment and the life and world I knew was shaken,” Sims said. He knows how tempting a life of par- tying can seem. He also knows how ugly it can become. He held another man as he died and he could have lost his life a time or two. But now he is reformed and transformed through his Savior. He desperately wants to spread the message and let others know that they are not alone. “I have done so many things wrong. I have hurt so many people. I have caused so much trouble to others, and yet God has always had a purpose for me,” Sims said. Contact Toby Sims through Christian Freedom Baptist Church for more infor- mation on “Answering the Call” or for donations. Preschool to 5" gr. Town Meeting What do you want for Downtown Kings Mountain? Thursday, April 20, 2006 Patrick Senior Center 4:00 — 9:00 PM Come share your dream of an improved downtown All ideas are welcomed Call: 704-730-0283 for additional information The Mountaineer Partnership, Ine. Invites you to a Kings Mountain Town Meeting
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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April 20, 2006, edition 1
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