I am sure that most of
us are familiar with the
safety demonstration pro-
vided by flight attendants.
The demonstration typi-
cally includes the reminder
that airplane seat cushions
may serve as “floatation
devices” and that oxygen
masks will fall from the
overhead compartment in
the case of “a loss of cabin
pressure.”
It is this last bit of
safety instruction that has
always seemed to me to be
contrary to the logic of av-
erage parents, for I suspect
that most parents tend to
want to see that their chil-
dren are safe before they
worry about their own
safety. I know that’s the
way I typically function.
But the airline attendant
says that we need to put
our own oxygen mask on
first, and only after having
done this should we help
our children.
This bit of airline logic
is based on the notion that
we can’t help anyone else
if we are suffocating our-
selves. I thought about this
familiar experience when I
recently read a new article
on church health. The arti-
cle was written by two
people whose job it is to
help hurting congregations
deal with situations of cri-
The Kings Mountain Herald
Help ourselves in helping others
sis. In a sense, they pro-
vide the floatation devices
and the oxygen masks for
churches that are in danger
of dying.
Statistics suggest that
many congregations are
falling into this category
these days, for our so-
called “postmodern” world
won-
dering
just
how
many
more
years
we will
Meditation
; to
Dr. Jeff Hensley
has resulted in a number of “keep
changes in church life that Pastor the
have probably happened Kings Mountain church
without many of us even Baptist Church open.”
noticing them. Yet, here
we are living in days when Faced with this reality,
church attendance is the
cultural exception rather
than the rule, which has
caused many congrega-
tions and pastors to begin
we tend to look into the
community and wish that
more people would be-
come involved in our
churches. But when asked
be able’
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
why they feel this way,
church members will
sometimes say that the rea-
son they want more people
to come to their church is
so that they can keep their
programs running and their
doors open.
The sad thing about this
motive, though, is that it is
the same as putting a
child’s oxygen mask on be-
fore putting on our own.
When we want more peo-
ple to come to our church
just to keep the doors open,
we are allowing ourselves
to think of the people in
our community as the
means of salvation for our
churches, rather than think-
ing of our churches as the
means of providing God’s
salvation to our comniu-
nity.
Unfortunately, this per-
spective is backwards, for
the purpose of the church is
to bring people into loving,
life-transforming relation-
ships with God and others.
This is the “oxygen” that
churches should be provid-
ing to the children of our
community, but how can
we help others do this un-
less we are willing to do it
ourselves? If we ourselves
don‘t have loving, life-'
transforming relationships
with God and others, then
we are missing the point.
Laughlin
Furniture
400 N. Lafayette St.,
The Staff of
HARRIS
HOME
|. 108 S. Piedmont Ave.,
Kings Mountain
704-739-2591
Taking care of all i
ITE Hl Te
KEITH BRADLEY LUTCF
704.739.4182
avait
bradleyinsuranceservices@earthlink.net
We support our
local churches.
Compliments of
LORS
Kerns
Trucking, Inc.
You Call
We Haul
704-739-4747
Kenny Spangler
President
704-482-9896
2408 Kings Road
Shelby, NC
Locally Owned and Operated
w Ww w.shelbyalarm.com
Security & Surveillance Systems
Specialists for 32 Years
For All Furniture Needs |
il sreloy, North Carolina
704-484-3204 |
FUNERAL|
C&C Heating &
Cooling, LLC
Sales ~ Service
Instaltation
Bobby Childers - Owner
NC License #9507
704-739-1043
502 York Rd., Kings Mtn.
. ‘New Bynum Chapel Zion
Church
N. Cansler Street
To follow is a list of Spcoming Cha hosof
the Week 1f your church is listed here and
you have 4 special event that you would
like listed on your feature week
contact Lisa a T0478: 7456 or
2032 Bethlehem Road
n 704,730,
226 S. Washington St. ® Shelby #2
Church
863 New Camp Creek Ch. Road.
704-487-7128
704-739-0398
Mt Olive E Baptist Church
Compact School Road
704-739-4516
New Beginuing Chuxch of
~ Jesus Christ oo
541 Cr ) ker Road
704-739-2606
Mark Beach
Properties
306 W. King St.
Kings Mountain, NC
139-7276
Progressive Church of Our .
Resurrection Lutheran Church
600 Crescent Circle
: Shady Grove Baptist Church
339 Shady Grove Road
704-739-8920 Lo
.N. Cansler Street
. Temple Baptist Church
_ 612 N. Cansler Street
Christian Church
Bethany Baptist Church oo |
704-937-7541
Tu Proclaiming the Word Min-
| istries
7011 Cleveland Aven = AUTO BELL|
704-937-7390
YOUNG
RV SALES
Hwy 74.
@ Oak Grove Rd.
Kings Mountain,
North Carolina
704-734-0595
1908 Shelby Road ; :
704-739-4186 Christian G., Anderson, MD, PA
: 5 Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine and Primary Care
502 West King Street
Suite 100
Kings Mountain, NC 26086 |
‘Phone: 704-734-0576 |
Finance
(704)
739-1311
227 5. Chokes St.
Kings Mountain
701-739-0195
206 West 3rd Avenue
| Dilling
Heating Co.
LENNCE)
| HOME COMFORT SYSTEMS
423 Cleveland Avenue
Inogvation never feft $0 good
1250 Linwood Rd. + Kings Mountain
704-739-3446 he
Mobile: 704-297-0397
CAR WASH
704-481-0818
Q Shelby, NC |
Also in
Gastonia
704-739-1256
Griffin Notice
Drug Center in order to accommodate the
“Serving Kings Mountain Since 1919” Rumber of churches in our
Friendly Hometown Service communities, we will print two
*Free City-Wide Delivery® alternating lists of churches
704-739-4721 each week. if you don’t see the
129 Mountain St church you're Iooking for, he sure
Kings Mourtain o.chieck Next weeks paper:
First
National Bank LL
Shelby
106 S. Lafayette St.
704-484-0222
Bessomer City
1225 Gastonia Hwy.
704-629-3908
Kings Mountain fa
300 W. Mountain St. bee
704-739-4781
| Gastonia
520 S. New Mope Rd,
704-865-1111