Scott's Thoughts

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Because I know well that good intentions to read things later often die a long, slow death, here are some things that perhaps you’ve missed that are worth a look-see from “(More Than) A Few Misc Items” in last Sunday’s Scott’s Thoughts:

• “Thanks for “Showing Up” for the All-Church Christmas Service at Tusculum University – Thanks is always worth saying, over and over again, because without sooo many people pitching in to “Serve on the Team” this doesn’t work.
• Catalyst Has An App! – Download link is fccgreene.org/catalystapp.
• Men’s Retreat, Longview Ranch, Fri-Sat, Jan 31-Feb 2 – Signed up yet?! I know of 10-12 staff and sons who are signed up. Come join us.
• “Prayparing” for Guests with Invite Cards – Be praying with us for opportunities to invite someone because Hebrews starts next Sun, Jan 26!
• Church Planting Vision Trip to Colombia, Sat, Jan 18–Fri, Jan 24 – Basics are given last week, with a little update and further detail below.
• Kids Min Family Experience, Sat, Feb 8, 10-11:30a – A cool new way we are coming alongside our kids and parents to create more Christ-centered family experiences.
• A Few Add’l Thoughts re the Recent GQA: “Is it Necessary for A Person to Be A Baptized Believer to Partake in Communion?” – Link to the original GQA (which is also always available under “Pulse” on the app) is in the link above to last week’s Scott’s Thoughts.

The Elders just sent out an update letter that will be arriving any day now, if not already. (Digital version’s on the app under “Stay Informed,” “Pulse,” and here.) has reminders of these aforementioned things, but I wanted to follow up on a few loose ends.

Re Giving Statements… In the transition between our old provider to our new one, a couple dozen checks didn’t get accounted for in our new system, so corrected statements have been already sent. If you have any questions, email Crista Larsen, our Financial Director, at crista@fccgreene.org.

Re 2024 Annual Report, 7 Habits Survey, and Membership Renewal… If you haven’t picked up a hardcopy, the digital version is available at fccgreene.org/annualreport2024. Friendly reminder that the 7 Habits Survey is for everyone, and on the bottom is the Membership Renewal. Elders and Staff use the survey to help us shepherd the flock so please know that we read and respond as needed. It’s helpful for both you to think about, and for us, to help us lead well.

Re 2025 Budget… Hardcopies available at end of today’s service, at The Hub. Digital version is available at fccgreene.org/budget2025. Basic gist worth noting: Read the notes to give you some context and help you understand where we’ve made decisions about how to cut our budget by ~4.5% (for the second straight year, i.e., by $50,000 each year.) Elders, Pastors, and Staff have endeavored prayerfully to pare down as much as possible. So things are tight and we are running a pretty lean ship, squeezing out a lot of results in a number of ministries that are underfunded. Granted, that’s obviously because we are Staff-heavy more than program-resources-heavy, but please know that we take seriously how to steward our financial resources wisely and carefully. Also, please see the recent Elders Letter re how many long-term “funds” we’ve had to cut for now. We hope to put them back in. That detail is on the budget itself, under the notes section at the bottom.

The crew, mostly comprised of Longview Ranch folks who happen to also be FCCers, as well as 2 outright FCCers, Mark Liebert (Elder, AFT) and Bob Radank (Campus Pastor, SGR), left yesterday morning (pics below). While there, the Longview crew is leading a kids camp while Mark, Bob, and Matthew Nasekos, Longview Exec Dir and SGR FCCer, are going to be teaching church planters. Please continue in prayer for them. Here they are on the way:

And here’s Bob chilling while dining in style with free food in the Big Wigs Lounge:

I’m trying to get back into a groove with GQA, and I’m technically two-for-two with every other Sunday posts, so I’ll try to keep ‘em coming because of the throngs of dozens. So this one’s available in hardcopy booklet in The Hub or online here.