Scott's Thoughts

Click title to jump to a section and ^ TOP ^ to return. Or just scroll like a normal person. And apologies for links that make getting back here annoying. We’re annoyed, too, but it’s an app limitation. And yes, Scott once had hair that could be combed.

We’re asking everyone to take a sign today and put it in your yard. And while you’re at it, grab an Invite Card (and pray for an opportunity this week) and an orange “FCC” sticker (and put it on the back window of your car.) For years we have had an All-Church Easter and Christmas service and have promoted them with a “shock and awe” yard sign campaign for the preceding couple/few weeks. Of all the few promo-type things we do, we consistently see the most impact in terms of new guests from suddenly blanketing the nooks and crannies of Greene County with hundreds of yard signs! (Now, for the curmudgeons: I get it. I’m not a personal fan of yard signs, bumper stickers, being a walking billboard, etc. I don’t even really like wearing my “Lead Pastor” lanyard because I don’t wanna be thought of as any different than anyone else or draw attention to myself. But… (well, Tommy bought the lanyard for me, which was cool/thoughtful) and I make a personal promo exception for church stuff. And I suspect that—if you are like me and you detest advertising anything—you can join me in get over yourself for 2-3 weeks in order to do the same. ‘Wait, did you pretty much just call me prideful for not being willing to put out a yard sign?!’ Yeah, kinda. It’s for y/our good. And someone might just come to worship the Risen Christ because of it, so there’s that.)

Since last September, we’ve raised $50,000 for flood relief, $25,000 of which has already been disbursed as reported in this Scott’s Thoughts. As I previously mentioned, in unique circumstances like flooding, with so many factors involved like FEMA, insurance companies, contractors, etc., disbursing all the funds given with due diligence and integrity took a while. So thank you for your patience as we waited for some details to settle and clarity to emerge before we finalized our decisions. For the record, we looked into other ways to give and organizations to support, but in the end, what became clear to us was that help that was the best combination of well-known-to-us and of local and direct benefit was the wisest option.

But I’m happy to report that we have now given almost all $50,000 away to front-lines and in-the-trenches needs! There are a couple further small disbursements of a few thousand dollars yet to be made, but it has all been committed. Here’s where it all went:

• $5,000 to an FCCer’s elderly mother who lost her home. Went directly to the building company.
• $15,000 to an FCCer who lost her home, in two payments of $5,000 and $10,000. Is going directly to pay for work on the house.
• $20,000, in three payments of $5,000, $10,000, and $10,000, to Reliable Building Services, which is owned by a well-trusted FCCer who led extensive emergency cleanup, repair, and rebuilding efforts at a personal loss.
• $9,500 to Longview Ranch, in two payments of $2,000 and $7,500, to help recoup costs incurred with executing, leading, housing, warehousing, and occasionally even feeding cleanup efforts from day one and that are ongoing. The LVR Staff (and quite a few FCCers) led over 1000 people in cleanup and LVR housed 500 people from 16 states who came to help relief efforts in Greene County: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Thank you to all who gave—from FCCers present and past, to friends and churches from all over the country, and or gifts relatively small like my wife and I gave to those like ThatOneChurchFromOuttaStateWhoGaveABigGiftButICan’tRemember. They all helped. (But… just so ya know, we’re turning off the online Flood Relief giving portal.)

Just a quick heads up that we’ve just added a good 20-something chairs at Greeneville (GVL) and it’s now pretty much as tight as we can go. (Some would likely say too tight?!) So, yes, our GVL campus is a problem. And it’s been a problem for about the last 14-15 years because it keeps consistently growing. Yay—good problem. But nonetheless a problem for which we need to continue to offer good solutions.

So, here’s one of the best solutions we have, in part because it’s the cheapest one, in economic terms: If you’re a regular GVL’ian, please prayerfully consider going to one of our other campuses. We love you and all, but please leave and go to another campus!

As we’ve mentioned a few times when the need arises, we get easily 4 times more first-time guests at GVL than we do at AFT and SGR, where there is plenty of space. This means that, as has happened easily 5-6 times over the years, we end up at capacity and need to do something. As it happens, we have already done something to accommodate this dynamic—it’s called having multiple campuses, (two of which, (have I mentioned?), currently have space.)

So, please know that every once in a while, when the need arises, we will be saying this same thing… again… because being a church that is all about Helping people find and follow Jesus just might mean helping them have your seat by going to another campus. There’s more to be said about other occasional moments—like when we launch a 4th campus—when GVL becomes a “sending campus” from which we ask 50-75 to leave as part of the core team of the new campus, but I digress… We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, if you will prayerfully consider going to AFT or SGR,

Just to keep y’all updated on the ins-and-outs and whats-and-whens of sermon series plans:

• Apr 6 & 13 – New City Catechism – We’ve already done … couple weeks of … For more explanation of the whats and whys, see fccgreene.org/ncc and this brief Scott’s Thought blurb.
• Apr 20 – Easter Service at Tusc Univ: “I Will Give You A New Heart” (Ezekiel 36:25–27; Romans 6:3-11) – Btw, don’t forget to join us Fri, Apr 18, 6-7:15p, at our Greeneville campus, for our Good Friday service. Led by our FCC Residents, it includes prayers, Scripture Readings, monologues, and a sermonette all focused around Jesus’ Passion Week.
• Apr 27-Jun 15 – Part 6 of Exodus: “Israel’s Rebellion and God’s Restoration” (Exodus 32:1-40:18), Wks 55-62 (of 62 total), ending with a couple summary sermons: “A Detailed Look at the Symbolisms and Typologies of Christ in the Tabernacle Elements” and “Summary and Reflection on the Entire Journey from Egypt to God’s Dwelling Among His People”
• Jun 22-Sep – Part 2 of Hebrews: The Supremacy of Christ, “Our Great High Priest and His Ministry” (Hebrews 4:14-10:31), Wks 11-25 (of 35 total)

If you have already read the H7 Story about Chuck on the app (fccgreene.org/app), this is just my little part of that larger story, (i.e., skip the guilt free.) But in case you haven’t read that, you can read that here, and FWIW, here’s my little blurb:

One year after Chuck Bowlin’s untimely and difficult passing, having now read, talked about, listened to, prayed and thought about memories and thoughts of him for many hours, a few key patterns of faithful Christian leadership emerge that are worth recognizing:

Humility, Warmth, and Wisdom
Chuck had a quiet strength and reassuring presence, and embodied a Philippians 2:3-4 humility that valued others. With our people, he was quick to listen and communicated care for the flock. In Elders meetings he was calm and unfazed by drama, often waiting for the situation to develop and data to emerge before choosing to speak. And when he did, as I saw over and over, it was with Bible-saturated strength and wisdom.

Servant Leadership in Action
We should never mistake quiet strength for lack of action, and Chuck was first in line to pick up a broom and get to work. Though Elders are overseers who shepherd the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3), the example of Christ is no less our model for actively serving by sacrificing first (Mark 10:45). In our throw-away plastic world, many knew Chuck as a servant who got up early and showed up on time—with truck, tools, hands, and old school smarts—ready to build, fix, and finagle a way to make things work.

Commitment to Family and Building the Community
As part of being an example to the flock, Elders are expected to be an established witness in the community that is “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6). Chuck’s deep dedication to nurturing his family, leading well at work, and investing in Greene County was a Joshua 24:15 commitment to “serve the Lord” by building households that make our community strong because they are centered on faith, unity, and love (Joshua 24:13).

Way before most who call First Christian Church their church home were around, about 2006-2007, when Jonathan was a baby and the Bowlin family first joined us, I remember thinking, “Yes! A young couple who loves the Lord, has their heads on straight, and has kids!” To me, it felt like hope. Little did I know then that this precious family would become a key long-term linchpin in the work the Lord was doing to strengthen this church and help us reach the lost. During some difficult years in our church’s past, he was a defender of our mission of making disciplemakers and he helped protect me in my role as Lead Pastor. For hundreds in our congregation and in the larger community, he was a winsome example of Godliness because he was genuine instead of flashy.

Through his example, Chuck leaves an enduring legacy that challenges us all to follow Christ by leading with humility, warmth, and wisdom, serving others with our gifts, and living out our faith in front of, and for, others—but most importantly—for the sake of God’s glory and the advance of His Kingdom. I am grateful to have known and served alongside my friend Chuck Bowlin for many years.

Leading Others Always Means Leading Oneself First – Leading is not just doing something first; it is considering oneself responsible for others’ growth in ways they may not be for themselves. And it only works if you’re responsible for yourself in the ways you expect of others. Otherwise they won’t come along, and they probably shouldn’t.

Seriously, Did You Even Read What I Sent You?! – Granted, l am aware that I am cut from an insanely unique and perfectionistic cloth of grammar and logic tightwads, but… I’d say that about half the messages I send come back with answers to questions I didn’t ask or a shoulder shrug of feigned ignorance. I get it—accidents happen and normal miscommunication foibles are… normal—but I think a consequence of infowhelm is that people are so scared of accountability and expectations so they give non-answers and skirt the issue. C’mon, at least be careful enough to try to understand what the person is saying and communicate that in your response. Sheesh.

Online is Not Real Life – Believe me, I am a big fan of the amazing things the internet provides. And yes, it can communicate real information. Yes, it can achieve some communication between persons. I’m well aware the internet is real and does real things. But online is not real life. We are now all drowning in information (see my previous blurb re “infowhelm”) that is anxiety-producing and wantonly damages interpersonal relationships. While the immediacy of online discourse in any form—with its realistic audio and visual feedback—may snooker us into feeling that it can reliably communicate, it isn’t reliable for interpersonal relationships. The internet is not actually personal and we shouldn’t treat it as such. In fact, I wholeheartedly believe we shouldn’t hardly believe a thing we see or hear without doing more than a little homework. I’m increasingly convinced it cannot communicate in a fully trustworthy manner between persons. It lacks the real-time nuance and emotional depth necessary. So… not only am I never doing the “socials” again, as much as I can, I am basically refusing to act or respond to anything other than my personal interactions with people.