News

, , ,

Next Gen Summer Events

, , ,

MAY
15th - Next Gen Summer Kickoff
23rd to 25th - Camp Perfect Wings (Special Friends)
29th - Crosstimbers Parent Meeting

JUNE
3rd to 7th - Super Summer
11th to 14th - Crosstimbers Kids Camp
12th - Falls Creek Parent Meeting
16th - Family Dedication
19th - Movie Night
24th to 29th - Falls Creek
30th - Freedom Celebration Student Missions Dessert Auction

JULY
8th to 11th - VBS
11th - VBS Family Night (6-8pm)
13th to 20th - Student Mission Trip
24th - Next Gen Water Night

AUGUST
10th - 7th Grade Welcome Event
11th - Promotion Sunday & Next Gen Skate Night
14th - Fall Kickoff

,

New Director of Kids Ministry

,

Welcome, Rachel Coleman!

We are excited to introduce Rachel Coleman as our new Director of Kids Ministry position. Rachel and her husband, Chad, currently reside in Edmond with their two daughters, Brynlee and Brooklyn.

Rachel grew up in a godly home, as her father served as a campus missionary through Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM). At eight, she put her faith in Jesus and began following Him. Her faith has been important to her throughout her life.

Rachel has much experience working with children and in the church. After graduating with an Elementary Education degree, she served as an elementary classroom teacher in the Tulsa area for ten years. Upon moving to Edmond, she began working in the weekday program at Quail Springs Baptist Church. She has served there for nearly 12 years, including as Director of Weekday Education for the past four years.

We believe that Rachel brings many great skills that will make her a great asset to our Next Gen Team and leader of our Kids Ministry. Her creativity, leadership, and organizational skills will help us as we continue to build a Kids Ministry that assists parents in the discipleship of their children.

Rachel will begin her ministry at First Moore on June 2. Please join us in praying for her and her family as they make the transition from Edmond to Moore.

,

LESSONS FROM TAYLOR SWIFT

,

In all honesty, I would consider myself a bit of a Swiftie. Over the years, I have found her songs clever, thoughtful, and catchy. More than a few times, my daughters and I have turned up the radio and sung her hits in the car together. Recently, she has once again been the topic of discussion with her latest album release, “The Tortured Poets Department.” This album continues the trend of a darker side to her music and, sadly, has been in the news due to the darker content, the more frequent use of profanity, and even anti-Christian/blasphemous themes. As Christians who live in the world but are not to be part of the world, we often struggle to know what to do with things like this. Let me interject some thoughts about lessons we can learn from situations like this.

DON’T EVER BE SURPRISED WHEN THE WORLD ACTS LIKE THE WORLD

First, we must always remember that the world will always act like the world. This shouldn’t surprise us. Before our regeneration, we, too, were lost and lived accordingly. Sin manifests itself in different ways in individuals' lives, and we should never be caught off guard when an unbeliever is okay with things God says are wrong. There is a difference between the standards of believers and unbelievers, and we should never be surprised when Taylor Swift or any other unregenerate person is okay with things that we know to be counter to what God says. Remember, though, that as Christians, we are indeed called to different standards, and we are no longer to live according to the world. Therefore, we should not be okay with these practices.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR INFLUENCES

This leads us to make sure that we are careful about who and what we allow to influence our lives. If you have been to a Taylor Swift concert (or any concert for that matter) or watched her Era’s Tour film, you can tell how much influence she holds, especially over ladies and young girls. We all must be careful with who we allow to hold influence over our lives, and music and media are some of the things that can influence us most greatly. Words have power; what we listen to and allow to speak into our hearts and minds holds power in our lives. All of us, especially parents, need to be mindful about what we and our children are allowing to have sway over their thoughts and beliefs. Let me encourage you to evaluate regularly what and who you are allowing to influence you and your family. Is it pointing you to Christ or away from him?

One of the things I have been concerned about with many of Taylor Swift’s lyrics, beyond her more frequent use of profanity, is her seemingly constant internal problems and struggles. The name of this album speaks of being internally tortured.  We already have an epidemic of mental health issues, especially among our young people, and I am concerned that things like this might make it worse, normalize these feelings, and possibly even glamorize them. Her tone is that of unforgiveness and revenge, while her identity sadly seems to be wrapped up in relationships, what others say about her, and her fame. As Christians, we know that these are empty cisterns and should only let our identity be found in Christ.

TAYLOR SWIFT REINFORCES WHAT THE BIBLE WARNS ABOUT IN ECCLESIASTES

Taylor Swift is a billionaire who has everything the world can offer. Wealth, fame, beauty, prestige…you name it. However, she refers to herself as tortured and often sings from a point of dissatisfaction and emptiness. How can this be? Because the Bible tells us there is nothing in this world that can satisfy. Solomon learned this lesson as well. Full of wealth, wisdom, and women, he realized how empty this world was. He records this in the book of Ecclesiastes. Sadly, we have a hard time learning from the failures of others. There is only one thing that can satisfy us, and He is not of this world. Taylor’s own words reinforce what the Bible warns us about.

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

So, where do we draw the line in this world? We clearly cannot throw out everything that is secular. What about when it comes to entertainment? Should we have a good old-fashioned record burning in the church parking lot? We each have to decide where we draw the line. However, here is my biggest concern with some of the newest lyrics from Taylor Swift’s newest album. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, her words mock and belittle the very thing that Jesus did to earn our salvation. There is a lot that Christians can tolerate from a lost world, but when things belittle our God and the gift of his Son, that is a line that we should feel is unacceptably crossed.

For His glory and your joy,
Pastor Charlie