DeSoto Hills Baptist Church

The DeSoto Hills family is cordially invited to attend our second annual church-wide Valentine Fellowship on Sunday night, February 15 at 5pm in the MPC. It will be a great night to: MEET some new folks…We all stay busy. Even at church we tend to run in the same circles, if not sit in the same seats. The format and seating arrangements will be different, which I pray will afford us the opportunity to break from our routine and discover some new friends. GREET some old friends…The tables are round and I trust the fellowship will be lively as we not only make some new friends, but renew our relationships with others. I am not saying we need to ignore our circle, just broaden it. EAT some delicious food…Eating well is a give n with DeSoto Hills. We have some great cooks who volunteer their services and provide us with some outstanding meals. TREAT yourself to some fun…The group “Generations” will be singing for us this year. They are from the delta and sing a mix of 50’s and 60’s music that will be sure to set our toes to tapping. Who knows, they may even throw in some of your favorite gospel songs. The members of our youth choir will be serving us and the extra proceeds from the banquet will go toward their spring choir tour. If you were at the Christmas banquet, you will know what an outstanding job they did waiting tables. Tickets are on sale now, so get yours while the supply lasts. They are $10 each or $30 max for a family. For more information call the church office at 662-890-2452. See ya at the party

On Wednesdays I “meet and eat” with a bunch of guys from church plus one. The plus one is Brandon Ullrich, whom we still consider one of our own even though he has left our fold to shepherd another flock. It’s a time I look forward to each week. We rotate going to several local eateries. In selecting our location, we have discovered that the menu is not as important as the setting. We need a place that can accommodate our group, which is sometimes large and always loud. I prefer that we not be thrown out, so we try to choose our site wisely. Last week we returned to one of our spots. As is so often the case, our arrival times were staggered. We were just getting settled in with our hungry appetites when suddenly, we were bombarded with a loud noise and strobing lights. The fire alarm was going off. Now you would think a table full of grown, fairly educated men would respond rather quickly to a fire alarm. However, you would be wrong. We just kept talking. We were enjoying the conversations and were looking forward to the meal, so we just kept right on sitting there. We did not smell smoke or see a fire, so it must just be a false alarm. The sound made it a little hard to talk, but that did not deter us. I was still looking over the menu when our server came over to our table and herded us out the door. I suppose there’s something about a fire code that if the alarm goes off, you must exit the building. Who would have thought? Anyway, we got outside and stood around in the cold, hoping to go back in soon. A few other patrons gave up and decided to go somewhere else, but our group held our ground. Sure enough, it was a false alarm and after about 15 minutes, we were ushered back in. We were given no explanation, no apology, and no discount for our troubles, but all that did little to dampen our spirits. It was only later that I realized how foolish we were for not responding to the fire alarm that had obviously been put there for our safety. For whatever reason, we chose to ignore the warning. True, it was a false alarm, but we had no way of knowing that at the time. What alarms are you ignoring today? Maybe you are preoccupied with other things or maybe you think that if you just ignore them they will eventually go away. You might consider responding to God’s warnings today. They are never false. Better safe than sorry, Bro. James

During my thirty plus years in ministry I have attended many deacon’s meetings. Perhaps the best way to describe those gatherings would be to borrow a title from a classic Clint Eastwood western – I have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Don’t get me wrong. In all the churches I have served there have been godly men who have sought to support me, but I have also had my share of those who thought it was their duty to keep me in my place. In their mind “my place” was somewhere underneath them. Ministry was not about me working with them, but rather me working for them. However, all that changed several years ago when I came to Southaven. I found a group of men at Carriage Hills who understood their biblical role and sought to serve instead of supervise. That spirit of cooperation and support was instrumental in helping us make a smooth transition from one to two churches back in 2006. Today that legacy continues as our deacon body increases. Something happened at last week’s meeting that you need to be aware of and if the Lord so leads, of which you can be a part. Starting this Sunday, prior to each service, the deacons are going to meet at the altar to pray for the upcoming service and me. One thing that makes this so special is that it was not a suggestion I made, but rather it was a suggestion the deacons made. It is something they wanted to do. Wow, you talk about encouraging a pastor’s heart! Although it will be deacon driven, everyone is welcome to join us at the front as seek the Lord’s guidance and grace so that we can: …Build on the right foundation – EVANGELISM …Build with the right materials – DISCIPLESHIP …Build for the right reason – WORSHIP. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 3:10-11 Deacon blessed, Bro. James

The Four “Full Timers” at DeSoto Hills have taken a challenge from our Minister of Discipleship to collectively read the Bible through in 09. We are using the little devotional guide LifeWalk to help keep us on task and in tune with what we are reading each day. Another feature that I believe will be helpful is a bookmark found in each month’s issue. It is designed to help us keep our place and our pace. The date and passage of each day’s reading is listed beside a small box that is to be checked off after completion. It is called ACCOUNTABILITY. All our lovely and lofty goals for 09 will be for naught unless we find some way to check on our progress or the lack thereof. While we ultimately answer to the Lord, it is also helpful to answer to others. Maybe, like the staff, you need to find some folks to share a common goal and walk toward it together. One chapter at a time, Bro. James