Life is Short ...

Here's a quick reality check. Stevens Creek is known as being a very young congregation and as a result of that we do not have the number of funerals as many traditional churches our size.  Recently, however, things have changed.  In the last six weeks, since December 1, 2010 we have had five deaths connected to the Stevens Creek Road campus.  


Here's the shocker. Look at the ages of the people who have passed away in the last six weeks: 47, 52, 57, 56 and a newborn.


The Bible teaches us to number our days.  Please make it a point to be present, to live in the moment, to connect with your loved ones. Life is precious. Life is short.

The Creek .... A Volunteer-Intensive Ministry

Several years ago I attended a conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago.  When I walked onto the campus I was overwhelmed by the number of volunteers that served the Lord at that local church.  They were everywhere. I talked to a person in the tech department. He said that he traveled during the week and worked for a major telephone company, but he lived for the weekend so that he could use his natural talents for the Lord.  He was pulling cable and doing what some would consider grunt work, but he saw the spiritual importance of that task.  He knew that without adequate audio that the message of hope could not be given to seekers who walked through the door.  He was not the only volunteer investing their energies in the services that weekend.  The property was filled with passionate people using their gifts.


Stevens Creek Church is no different. We are a volunteer-intensive ministry. We rely on the faithful service of hundreds of people to pull-off a weekend. Some of you would say, "Marty, that's an overstatement."  No, it really is not.  Do you realize that it takes 85 volunteers serving in the children's ministry every Sunday? Then add to that the needs of the middle school ministry, the parking attendants, greeters, ushers, the tech team, the musicians, the vocalists, the drama members and then add to that the needs of our Grovetown campus.


We are a volunteer-intensive organization and we need your help. The Bible teaches us to "pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send workers into the field." Join with me and pray that God would speak to people in our congregation and encourage them to serve.  Right now, we need 20 new coaches / groups leaders in our children's ministry. If you want joy, if you want to impact a person's entire life, then serve in the children's ministry. If Sunday does not work in your schedule, we have opportunities in our Wednesday program.


Take a moment today, as we continue our 21 Days of Prayer, and ask the Lord where you can serve.

Admiring versus Owning

In the late 1990s, Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian came to our church and spoke on the power of community. Many of you may not know "Dr. B." but he was the college professor that the Lord used to inspire Bill Hybels to start Willow Creek Community Church. God used Dr. B to inspire a movement that changed the world. 

Dr. B taught at Wheaton College and while teaching there, he used to walk from his house to work. One day while he was on his way to Wheaton, he noticed a neighbor had put a sign out in front of his door. It's a beautiful, very artistic, very creative sign that had the street name and address and so marked on it. And Dr. B loves beauty. He is from France, and he is a keen lover of beauty. And he said just walking past that sign gave him great pleasure. He just found himself thinking about it.

And the next day when he left his house, he thought to himself, I'm actually kind of looking forward to seeing that sign. And there was this sign out in front. Dr. B had that same surge of admiration. "This is beautiful work of art!" This happened every day. He just would find himself looking forward to seeing that little sign, until one day the strangest thing happened. He was walking past that house, saw that little piece of art, only this time his mind didn't say, Boy, that's cool! This time, his mind said, Why should your neighbor have one of those and not you? Think of how much joy it would give you to possess something of such beauty and have the whole neighborhood see it and know it belongs to you. You ought to have that. You must have that.

And it was the strangest thing, now walking past his neighbor's house did not bring him joy anymore. Now it just troubled him. Now every time he saw that sign it was a reminder of what he did not have, and he knew it would be expensive. He was working as a teacher, did not make very much money. He and his wife were putting their children through school. He knew his wife would not want to go for spending that much money on a sign.

And then eventually one day he was walking past the sign again, and a little voice whispered to him, "Dr. B…" because even God calls him "Dr. B." "Dr. B, couldn't you enjoy that sign without owning it? Couldn't you be happy for the guy who has it? Couldn't you be happy that people get to see it? Couldn't you admire it yourself without torturing yourself over how to possess it? You can admire without having to acquire." And that is what he did. He just agreed with that thought, and he would walk past the sign, and say to himself, I'll just admire without the need to acquire.

This is a lesson that I need to learn. Lord, help me to appreciate the beauty of things without having to possess them.  Hmmm. This lesson would keep most of us out of debt, wouldn't it? So, this week make it a point to appreciate the beauty of that LED Wide Screen Television without having to go buy one. Ooops...now I am meddling.

Is this The Change We Need ???

It's election time and once again Americas are blessed with an opportunity to cast our vote. Most candidates are crying out for change. We have all heard it before.  Many folks cast their vote without really understanding what they are voting for. 

In the previous election cycle, we heard speeches about change. Read the article that I have attached below and ask yourself, is it the change we need?   

Six Months to Go Until

The Largest Tax Hikes in History

July 1, 2010
Contact: Ryan Ellis, ATR Tax Policy Director: rellis@atr.org


In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:
First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:
Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care tax credit will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.
Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.


Second Wave: Health Care Reform
There are over twenty new or higher taxes that are connected to the Health Care Reform. Several will first go into effect on
January 1, 2011. They include:
The Tanning Tax. This went into effect on July 1st of this year. It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon. There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.
The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pretax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Brand Name Drug Tax. Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers. This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.
Economic Substance Doctrine. The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks “economic substance.” This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.
Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2. This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year. While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer provided healthcare benefits later.


Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there.

Steve Spurrier called it fate; I call it the new reality!

This past Saturday the University of South Carolina did what only one other team in America has ever done, and that is, to defeat a number one ranked team in basketball, baseball and football in the same season.


If you remember, the South Carolina basketball team defeated number one ranked Kentucky in February 2010;  the South Carolina baseball team defeated number one ranked Arizona State in June 2010; and the South Carolina football team defeated number one ranked Alabama in October 2010.


After the football game, Steve Spurrier called it fate ... I call it the new reality.  I am not here proclaiming that South Carolina will will a national championship this year, nor am I guaranteeing an SEC crown, but no one will enter into Williams Brice Stadium thinking that South Carolina is a push over. The addition of Lattimore, Jeffery, and Sanders along with the brilliant coaching of legendary Steve Spurrier causes the moon over the state of South Carolina to shine even brighter, it causes the bomp bomp bomp in Sweet Caroline to be even sweeter, it causes the Croomers boiled peanuts to be even worse, and it causes the mustard in our barbecue sauce to be even saucier. 


Oh, it's great to be a Gamecock!  


-- Marty

Life is just too short

This past week I walked along side of two separate families as they said "good-bye" to their loved ones. Seeing a loved one pass away is never easy whether it is expected or unexpected.


I started the week with the Little family.  They gathered at The Creek on Monday morning to celebrate the life of Lynette Little.  Lynette was 45 years old and died after a long battle with brain cancer.  Lynette was blessed with two kids, Matthew and Elliot.  My heart sank as I looked down from the stage to see these boys grieving the loss of their mom. Matthew is ten years old and I cannot imagine his sense of loss.  Lynn's husband Brian spoke at the service and did a wonderful job honoring his wife. There was a one-word from  Lynette concerning the funeral and that was, celebrate.  She wanted her friends and family to celebrate her healing and her new life in heaven.  I had the privilege of baptizing Lynn at church several weeks ago.  We did not realize at the time that her days on this earth were so close to the end.


Two days after Lynn's service, I received the tragic news that John-Clark Huffman had passed.  JC was only twenty-one years old. He played on The Creek softball team this past season and Patty and I sat with his parents, Perry and Jeanie, every game.  He was an avid baseball player and a MCG student.  His death was a total shock.


John-Clark was a seeker in the truest sense of the word.  JC loved people and love to hang out with his friends and family.  John-Clark lived on the edge at times.  He loved to fish and he loved most any sport. As I walked with the family through his untimely death, I found out that JC had a deep desire for God.  This desire sparked spiritual conversations and extended prayer times with his Mom that started three weeks before his death.  JC's dad opened his Bible and found notes that he had taken on July 18, 2010 tucked away.  When I saw his detailed notes of my sermon on Pursing Wisdom, I was blessed.  I did not have to prepare a sermon for his funeral.  I took the notes that were in his Bible and allowed JC's own words to be shared at his funeral.


John-Clark was twenty-one and Lynn Little was forty-five.  Both of them reminded me this week that sometimes "life is just too short."

American IDOL finalist, Lacey Brown, to sing at Stevens Creek Augusta

It's no secret that Patty and I have been huge American Idol fans through the years.  We love to see young talent take the stage and watch them develop as the weeks pass. I am not like so many Americans that love watch American Idol's opening weeks where they showcase all of the horrendous singers.  I cringe as I watch knowing that those awful singers have been lied too by their parents or their friends.  


My excitement develops as the show transitions to Hollywood. It is in Holly wood that you start to see the potential.  It is also at this time that I like to read blogs and bios to see if there are any passionate Christ followers in the mix. The 2009 season featured several worship leaders with the winner, Kris Allen, being the worship leader at Rick Bezet's church, New Life Church, in Little Rock Arkansas.


As the 2010 season developed, I knew that there were a few potential worship leaders in the mix. In fact, I was with one of them two days before he flew to Hollywood.  Jermaine Purifory, a Lee University student, was a groomsman and soloist in J T and Brittany Black's wedding. After the wedding, Jermaine boarded a plane for California.  He made it through several cuts and was highly touted in the trio with Casey James.  He has been seen several times on the Ellen Degeneres Show.  In the end, Jermaine did not become a finalist but was encouraged by Randy Jackson to try again in 2011.

When the finalist were revealed, a Pastor's Daughter from Amarillo, Texas, Lacey Brown made the Top Twelve.  I was thrilled for Lacey.  She did a great job on the Idol stage. When her time there was over, she made the media circuit appearing on The Ellen Show, Wendy Williams and David Letterman and so forth.  A few weeks before she sang on the American Idol Finale, I attended the All Access 2010 Conference at Healing Place Church in Baton Rogue, LA.  As I walked through the atrium at Healing Place, I ran into Lacey.  She was there attending the conference. I asked her if she would come to Stevens Creek.  She was very kind and told me to contact her with some potential dates.  We eventually landed on Sunday, July 18th.


So, make sure to invite your friends to come and enjoy one of our services at the Augusta campus on July 18th: 8:30, 10:00 or 11:30.  Now, if you do not have a friend coming with you, would you please consider attending the 8:30 AM.   Let's start the day off with enthusiastic worship and open hearts so that we can hear what the Lord is saying to us. 


This Sunday I will be starting a new series call DECIDE. This series will feature messages that will help you determine God's will for your life. This will be a great series to invite your friends.


As you go through the week, begin praying that God will be present with us this Sunday and that people will take their next step spiritually.


~ Marty

Update on Courtney Claxton

On December 8th, one of our Stevens Creek families had the phone call that no parent wants to hear and that is, their only daughter had a very serious accident. Courtney Claxton was a student at the Medical College of Georgia and was returning home from studying with some classmates when she lost control of her SUV on a rain slicked Stevens Creek Road.  They rushed her to the hospital to discover that she had severed her spine and was paralyzed from the neck down.  Her parents,  Charles and Gail Claxton, called me and Pastor Dave and I made our to the trauma center.  We prayed and asked the Lord to heal her.

At times God heals instantly and at other times healing is a process.  We see an example of the process healing when Jesus touched a man that was blind.  After the inital prayer, Jesus asked him if he could he. His reply was, "I see men as trees walking around."  In others words, I can see but everything is blurry.  So, Jesus prayed a second time and he was healed.

We prayed for Courtney and God started a healing process.  This process has been very long and it is very difficult.  A few weeks after her accident, Courtney was transferred to the Shepherd Spine Center in Atlanta. This is a wonderful facility that helps people learn how to live with spinal cord injuries.  Over the next four months, they worked with Courtney.  At times, it seemed like she was getting worse instead of better. In fact, she "coded" and was revived on more than one occassion.  Throughout those trying moment, Charles and Gail, through their tears continued to pray and believe.

Patty and I visited Courtney five times while she at Shepherd. At times, she looked like progress was being made and at other times things looked bleak.  Each time, however, whether good reports or bad, Charles and Gail, stood in faith praying and beleive the best for their daughter.

Courtney moved home on April 7th. When she arrived she found that friends and family members had taken the initiative to renovate her bedroom and make it wheelchair accessible. Since coming home, she has been in the care of Walton Rehabilitation Hospital and has received great care.

Last night, we stopped by to say hello and found that Courtney has made so much progress. We were surprised. She is breathing on her own. She can turn her head and has some flexibility in her shoulders and the biggest surprise was that she can now move her arms.  The arm movement has come as a result of aquatic theapy.  Practically speaking, if a strand of hair falls in her face, she can move it. That's a huge blessing.

Like I said, she can move her arms, but still does not have control movement in her hands.  That's the specific prayers that I am asking you to pray.  If hand movement is restored, then her possibilities are multiplied. Courtney looked so good last night. Patty and I left so encouraged at her progress.

Charles and Gail are still believing that miracles will continue.  They realized that in Courtney's case that healing will be a process and they are taking it day by day. In the coming weeks, Courtney will be cruising into The Creek....hmmm...I guess that means that we have another "holy roller".

Keep praying.

~Marty

Easter 2010 ... a great service with a new attendance record!

The Easter Services at The Creek were wonderful! I want to say "thanks" to all of our volunteers who worked extra to make the weekend memorable. I also deeply appreciate all of the people that attended the 8:30 AM service.  As you know, we asked for 500 people to sign up and attend 8:30AM ... you responded and exceeded our expectations.  Yes, we had over 600 people at 8:30 AM!!! This may seem trivial to some, but it's not. Moving that many people to the earlier time slot opened up more seats for our guests in the other services. In other words, more people were able to hear that God does not care what they have done; He does not care what they have become; He just wants them to come home.

From start to finish the service communicated grace and forgivness. Scores of people checked that they were ready for a relationship with Jesus Christ and that makes Easter even more special. I am so pleased to be a part of a life-giving, generous and let me say again nice church.

When you add our Grovetown Campus to the mix, we had four services on Sunday morning. Our combined attendance was ..... drum roll.... 2,330.  That's a new record.  Thanks for what you do to make The Creek what it is. We are a blessed congregation.

Sincerely,

Marty

Management Policies at the EVANS, GA Target Store ... Cannot believe it!

Patty and I love shopping at Target in Evans, GA. It's a clean store with a lot of style.  They have great products, but policies that are opposite of their advertised image.  Yes, I am shocked at what they have done.

Let me explain.  A few weeks ago, we challenged the folks at Stevens Creek Church to random acts of kindness. Like always, the people at The Creek responded.  One of our members went to Target and gave the cashier a card and a twenty dollar bill and told her to put it on the tab of the next person in line.  The Creeker left the store.

Today, we received a call from the mother of the person that received the card.  She explained that her daughter was having a very rough time and this random act of kindness greatly encouraged her. It encouraged her, but she did not benefit from the twenty dollar gift because the TARGET cashier said that this had never been done before and questioned the daughter if she knew the stranger that had given the money. Well, she did not know the person.  She turned it over to the Team Leader and they filled out an incident report and treated this discouraged recipient of the act of kindness as a criminal.

Then, they took the twenty dollar bill and supposedly put it in their safe and if it goes without being claimed for six months, then the cashier will get the money.  What's up with that? 

Target...what are you thinking?  I thought that you were working for our community.  This policy must be changed. I can't say it any stronger.

How did the church find out about it?  The recipient who was supposed to receive this blessing was so shocked that she told her mother what happened. Her mother called the church and told us the details of how she was treated in this case.

TARGET needs a serious review of their policies.

One more thing: We contacted the Manager at the Evans, GA TARGET and his response was: We are not use to people being nice.


We, at Stevens Creek Church, have a passion to be nice to people and we will continue to be nice even when corporate policies work against us.

Marty Baker, D.Min.
Lead Pastor
Stevens Creek Church
600 Stevens Creek Road
Augusta, GA 30907

martybaker@stevenscreekchurch.com
706-863-7002