THE HEIGHTENER                                  

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you."  -James 4:10

NICE — An Acronym You Can Use!

  Dr. Mac Lynn did a great deal of research on the composition of churches in our fellowship.  He once commented that congregation after congregation claims to be friendly and loving, only to have guests tell a different story.  Guests at these congregations’ assemblies often feel they are not friendly at all.  What accounts for the discrepancy?  According to Mac Lynn, frequently it is that the members are being friendly only with themselves!  There is great fellowship among members who have known each other for some time, but they are so busy talking to each other that they hardly notice or welcome new people.

What is the remedy? Be NICE!  The word NICE is an acrostic we can use to help everyone remember to welcome guests and newcomers who come to our worship assemblies.

Notice People. First, we need to develop the skill and habit of simply noticing the new people around us.  If we believe people are coming to seek God among us, then by all means we need to notice them and take care of them.  We should pray often that He will find us faithful enough to entrust us with the care of sincere searchers.  The first step in caring for them is to notice them.

Introduce Yourself.  Following our Father’s example, we need to be the ones to initiate a relationship by reaching out to people.  Smiling, approaching someone with an unfamiliar face, and extending your hand are ways of extending a little bit of the love and kindness of God.  Meeting members is great, but we especially want to get to any guests who are present at our assemblies. To do so, we must remember that guests will often feel uncomfortable, since they don’t know the ropes and may not know any of the people.  Because of their discomfort they often leave quickly.  We must deliberately focus on introducing ourselves to guests before we engage our friends, who are much more likely to stay around a while.

Connect with People.  Sincerity demands that we offer people more than a token introduction and handshake.  By talking to them and showing interest in them, we are offering them a more substantial taste of the love of God.  What’s more, the relationships and rapport we develop will be vital to our credibility for more direct evangelistic opportunities that may lie ahead.  I usually talk about whatever they happen to mention or ask questions to permit them to talk.

Extend an Invitation.  The primary message we want to leave with people initially is that they are welcome at Cedar Grove.  We might extend an invitation for them to come back next week, attend our Bible class, or come to our church cookout.  The emphasis is that we want them not only to return to church, but to become part of our family. 

EGG HUNT

Everyone is invited to join us for an egg hunt and cookout on Saturday, March 22 at 11:30 a.m. at the church building.  We will need each family to donate at least one dozen plastic eggs filled with candy.  Please bring the eggs to church no later than Sunday, March 16.  There is a sign-up list for food that will be needed for the cookout on the Involvement Team Bulletin Board.  Please sign up also to let us know if you will be attending and how many people will be in your group.  If you sign up to bring hamburgers or hot dogs, please bring these to the church by Friday, March 21.  We will need volunteers to cook and to hide the eggs.

If you have any questions, please contact Jeri Maddox. 

CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beginning on March 23, you will notice a program change in the way we make announcements in the assembly.  Our shepherds want to take a more active role in this part of the service.  If you have an announcement for this week, please see Phil Hamby.

SYMPATHY

The sympathy of the congregation is extended to Rodney and Jodi Melton in the death of his father, Roy Melton, n Monday, March 17.  Rodney’s mother’s address is available in the church office.

Sympathy is also extended to Sara Lynn Shaw (former member at Cedar Grove) in the death of her father, Clarence Johnson.  Funeral services were on Tuesday. 

OUR SICK

Jim Warren’s brother-in-law, Ned Waters, is scheduled for surgery on Thursday, March 27

Lynn Pulliam’s father, Jimmy Wellborn, is scheduled for cataract surgery on Tuesday, March 18. 

Jim Morrow was sick Sunday. 

Continue to remember Susan Carson, Nell Peters, J. W. Raines, Richard Smith, and Geneva White.