200 S. Church St.
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Church Office Hours: Monday—Thursday 8:00 am—5:00 pm Friday 8:00 am—2:30 pm
Church Office (252) 446-9113
Fax (252) 446-5025
Website www.fbcrm.org
Prayer Room (252) 446-5993
First Baptist Child Care Center (252) 446-7416
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Pastor’s
Article
2
Church
Staff
2
Operation
Christmas Child
3
Thanksgiving
Schedule
4
Family Fun Night 4
Budget Planning 4
Time Change 4
Calendar 5
First Baptist News N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 R O C K Y M O U N T , N C
Knowing God, Making God Known, and Becoming like His Son, Jesus Christ, through Worship, Bible Study, and Ministry
First
Baptist
Church
Combined Worship November 23—December 28
Join us as we worship together for the Thanksgiving & Christmas Seasons
Sunday School—9:00 am Worship—10:30 am
You are invited to join
Rocky Mount Seniors
in a WORSHIP EXPERIENCE
Sunday, November 16
6:30 p.m. FBC Sanctuary
P A G E 2
Second only to Billy Graham . . .
For most of us, it takes only a nudge to
cause us to remember certain commercials
long out of circulation. Years ago, E.F. Hut-
ton, a revered investment house, had a
television campaign built around a simple
but time-honored tradition—listening. The
tag line went like this, “when E.F. Hutton
talks, people listen.” A few years later,
Nike ran a campaign that was itself simple.
I guess when you are given thirty seconds,
you better keep it simple and, of course,
memorable. Their campaign was built
around the then iconic basketball player,
Michael Jordan. That particular commer-
cial—peddling basketball shoes—simply
echoed what every kid in the driveway
dreamt of becoming: “I want to be like
Mike.”
It is quite normal to look up to those who
have accomplished great things in various
fields. It was entirely appropriate for us to
recognize the basketball prowess of “MJ.”
For a young cellist, it would be entirely
understandable to aspire to play like Itzhak
Perlman. If you are an aspiring soccer play-
er, clearly you would want to “bend it like
Beckham,” right?
I have my heroes too. One of which we’ve
been looking at for more than a few
months. His name is Francis Schaeffer. He
died in 1984, leaving an enormous legacy of
books, men and women who came to
Christ under his ministry (both directly and
indirectly), and his beloved L’Abri (French
for shelter) in the Swiss Alps. L’Abri has
been the destination of thousands of young
men and women from all over the world
looking for meaning in life from the sixties
to the present day.
Of all the things that stand out to me
about his life—and we’ve looked at a num-
ber of characteristics over the past many
months—this final recognition is one that
resonates deeply in my heart. J.I. Packer,
commenting on his life, said, “…he cele-
brated the wholeness of created reality
under God and stressed that the Christian
life must be a corresponding whole….”
What is it that Packer is calling our attention
to in this observation? It is this—Schaeffer
understood, rightly, that all of Creation is
the object of Christ’s redemptive efforts. It
is not, according to Schaeffer, that Christ
only redeems the soul and ignores the other
dimension of humanity. Redemption, for
Schaeffer, must be as far and wide as Crea-
tion. Or as one scholar put it, “redemption
must be as ‘far as the curse is found.’ ”
Francis knew his Bible. He certainly knew
how to lead
someone to
Christ. But he
also, for instance,
knew how to
enjoy the opera.
He would spend
hours studying
and enjoying clas-
sical music or
observing the
finest paintings at
the Louvre. In
short, for Francis,
Christ came to
redeem all of
humanity and the entirety of Creation; not
merely to recreate our hearts and get us to
heaven. For Schaeffer, art was at the center
of this redemptive initiative.
Of the many lasting contributions that he
and his wife, Edith, bequeathed to us, none is
more important than his compelling vision
to see Christ’s redemptive power heal the
brokenness of our creativity. He wanted us
to paint to the glory of God. He, rightly,
encouraged us to write fiction and non-
fiction to the glory of God. He was insistent
that the Church take the lead in the arts.
His life was one long and compelling case
that Christ should be rightly and excellently
represented in all the arts. May we be a part
of a glorious, world-wide movement that
once again engages the world in all its won-
der and majesty with expression of Christ
through the manifold witness of the arts.
F I R S T B A P T I S T N E W S
Church Staff
Dennis Darville
Lead Pastor
Larry Curtis
Pastor of Education & Admin.
Jim Alley
Pastor of Music & Worship
Mike Avery
Pastor of Families with Students
Tim Griffin
Pastor of Families with Children
Stephen Weeks
Pastor of College Students
Bob Britt
Homebound Visitation
Mary Helen Batten
Receptionist/ Admin. Assistant
Nina Daughtridge
Music Assistant
Kayla Dozier
Admin. Assistant
Jewell Pullen
Financial Secretary
Faye Strickland
Facilities Director
Beth Thompson
Office Manager
“His life was one
long compelling
case that Christ
should be rightly
and excellently
represented
in all the arts.
Francis Schaeffer Rev. Dennis Darville
P A G E 3
FBC Goal: 500 boxes!
FBC Collection Deadline
November 16
Packing Party Saturday, November 2
2:00-5:00 pm. We have all
the basics covered, just
bring a special item for
the boxes you pack. More info
fbcrm.org
P A G E 4
Wednesday, November 12
2015 Proposed Budget Presented
Wednesday, November 19
Quarterly Church Conference
2015 Proposed Budget Discussion
Sunday, December 7
Vote on 2015 Budget during AM Service
Sunday, November 30
Combined Worship Schedule No PM Activities
Wednesday, November 19
Thanksgiving Meal Quarterly Church Conference (Budget Discussion)
Sunday, November 23
Combined Worship Schedule Family Fun Night at 5:00 pm
Wednesday, November 26
No meal or other evening activities
Thursday & Friday, November 27-28
Church office closed
THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE
Food, Fun & Games 5:00 pm In the FMC
w w w . f b c r m . o r g
Sundays 8:00 am Televised Morning Worship
(WHIG Channel 17)
8:15 am Contemporary Worship Service
9:00 am Church Library open until 10:00 am
9:30 am Bible Study
11:00 am Worship Service
6:00 pm (Nov. 2, 9) Creation & Evolution Series
TeamKID & KOGS (FMC)
Mondays 10:45 am Inspiration Singers (Choir suite)
7:00 pm Praise Team Rehearsal
Tuesdays 6:30 am Women’s Prayer Groups
9:00 am Staff meeting
Women’s Bible Study
10:00 am Women’s Prayer Group
1:00 pm Stephen Ministry (1st & 3rd Wks M103)
6:00 pm Handbell Rehearsal
6:30 pm Trail Life USA & Am. Heritage Girls (FMC)
Wednesdays 10:00 am EQUIP for Interns (E200)
3:00 pm Church Library open until 6:00 pm
COOL Kids (FMC)
5:00 pm Fellowship Meal
6:00 pm Nursery for Birth—1 yr. (M105 & M101)
Mission Friends for 2 yrs.—3 yrs.
Cherub Choir for 4 yrs.—K (E202)
Sonshine Choir for Grades 1 &2 (E201a)
Music Makers for Grade 3 (E300)
Young Musicians for Grades 4-5 (E307)
Crossroads for Grades 6-12 (M301)
Prayer Meeting for adults (Fell. Hall)
7:10 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal
Women’s Bible Study (M203)
Thursdays 6:30 am Men’s Prayer Group (Choir room)
12:30 pm Prison Ministry
3:00 pm COOL Kids (FMC)
7:30 pm The Bridge (Wesleyan College)
REGULAR WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Operation Faithful Men—Camp Willow Run
P A G E 5
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
Operation Christmas Child Packing Party (2-5 pm—Fell. Hall)
2 Daylight Saving Time
Ends Creation & Evolution
(6 pm—Sanctuary)
3 4
5 6 7 8
9 Deacons’ Meeting
(4 pm—M201a) Creation & Evolution (6 pm—Sanctuary)
10 Forever Young
Lunch. (11:30 am—Fell. Hall)
Chaplaincy Plan. Mtg. (6 pm—AT Rocm)
11Veteran’s Day
Sr. Adult Council (2 pm—AT Room)
MOPS (7 pm—Fell. Hall)
12
Budget Presentation No Discussion (6 pm—Fell. Hall)
13 14 15
16 Operation Christmas
Child Collection Ends Alleluia—A Praise Gathering (6:30 pm—Sanctuary)
17 18 19 Quarterly Church
Conference - Budget Dis.
(6 pm—Fell. Hall) Thanksgiving Meal
20 21 22
23 Combined
Worship Schedule Family Fun Night (5 pm—FMC)
24 25
MOPS (7 pm—Fell. Hall)
26
Meals on Wheels No Meal or Regular PM Activities
27 Thanksgiving
Church office closed
28
Church office closed
29
30 1st Sunday of
Advent Combined Worship Schedule No PM Activities
November 2014
Ecuador Mission Trip November 4-11