Volunteer Spotlight – Dave Shattuck
Posted October 1, 2024 by Dave Shattuck in Discipleship, Missions
Consistent, honest, thoughtful, cool-headed, and dependable; these are rarities in the life of someone experiencing homelessness. In fact they may be nonexistent. That’s where people like Dave Shattuck step in. Show up at South Main early on a Sunday morning, rain or shine, cold or hot, Dave will be here—because he cares. He knows our Manna participants, if they have a specific need, be it socks…
Monday Over Coffee: "The Unseen World"
Posted September 30, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
I recall, as a kid on a family trip to Disneyland, wandering into Tomorrowland with my brother David and finding ourselves at the entrance to an attraction called Adventure Thru Inner Space (sponsored by Monsanto). A colorful, space-age mural was on one side, and a wall sculpted with some sort of ultra-modern, metallic material was on the other. We were immediately drawn inside to join a winding…
Hoping of Being a Steady Source
Posted September 25, 2024 by Kathy Bernal in Discipleship
Church and why it is so impactful. I recently had the privilege of attending a celebration of life for one of our most beloved deacons. As I listened to the stories and defining moments of her life told by family and friends, I realized that she was the living embodiment of what I sometimes find hard to define. I would like to share just a few of the words used to describe this incredible woman:…
Monday Over Coffee: "Inexplicably Real"
Posted September 23, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
The reports come from many sources. Imperiled mountain climbers. Marooned polar explorers. Lost mariners at sea. Beleaguered prisoners of war. Solo aviators. Endangered astronauts. Cave divers deep under the ocean. Disaster victims fighting to survive. And then there’s Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the Bible. All facing nearly insurmountable odds. All at the very limits of their human…
Tough Conversations
Posted September 18, 2024 by Dolores Rader in All Articles
Parenting has always been challenging, but the ubiquitous presence of smartphones, social media, and video games for children and adults has contributed to a tidal wave of mental illness that began in the early 2010s.
Monday Over Coffee: "Suddenly I See"
Posted September 16, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Whoever makes out the schedule for what’s on cable tv these days must have some data that says viewers can’t get enough of the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada. One of those rewatchable shows, the movie tells the story of an aspiring journalist, just out of college, trying to land her first job. Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) soon finds employment as a personal assistant to Miranda Priestly…
Glorious Windows
Posted September 10, 2024 by Steve Wells in Worship, Pastor
Do you remember the first time you encountered our Sanctuary? I routinely talk to people who are coming in for the first time and say something like, “I have been past this building for years, but I had no idea how beautiful it is inside.” Or more simply, “Wow.” We are stewards of almost embarrassing beauty. That is true for the Gospel of our Lord, and it is true for His house here at 4100 Main…
Monday Over Coffee: "Anywhere & Everything"
Posted September 9, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
A couple of weekends ago, my wife Kelly and I took a quick end-of-the-summer trip to Las Vegas to see a show. It remains true that the city’s many sparkling hotels and bustling casinos wouldn’t be there without a host of ordinary folks losing a ton of money there at all hours of the day and night. Having said this, it should also be noted that for folks like us who aren’t gamblers, the range of…
Why I Love Choir
Posted September 5, 2024 by Melinda Villaseñor in Music
People…You!! I love having a community of friends who are all so different, and yet we all love music and singing. We sustain each other through prayers. You all have also sustained me through a pat on the back, a hug or by singing while I cried through a verse I couldn’t sing.
Monday Over Coffee: "Odyssey"
Posted September 2, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
A little girl. Eight years old. Her school puts on a play. She’s given a featured role, the bright-eyed Athena, a Greek goddess. The production fires her imagination. The play is a tale of a far-away world, one full of magic and adventure involving a strange cast of compelling characters: marvelous men, magnificent women, incredible beasts, and an assortment of grand deities and curious demi-gods…
Volunteer Spotlight on Wally Kronzer, Broadcast Ministry
Posted August 29, 2024 by SMBC in Discipleship
When and why did you begin volunteering with the Broadcast Ministry?I know it dates back to the 1990s, but I do not recall the exact year. I had been ushering for a number of years, but I was looking for a different way to participate in the services. I asked to help out with the broadcasts, and it all started with me on a floor camera.
Monday Over Coffee: "Audacity"
Posted August 26, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
In New York a couple of weeks ago, our family attended a Tony Award winning play on Broadway called Stereophonic. The show is set entirely in a mid-70’s California recording studio where, over the period of a year, two studio engineers labor with an almost-famous band—lead guitarist, drummer, bass player, keyboardist, and singer—to complete their second, hopefully breakout album. As the four-act…
Monday Over Coffee: "Antifragile"
Posted August 19, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
When I was in elementary school, I played football. I was small but pretty fast so the coaches put me at running back. My first few plays at the position went poorly, though, because I had a problem—I tended to get my right and left mixed up. The quarterback would call a play in the huddle—say, power left, second man through, on two. It meant on “Hut 2,” I’d receive the handoff from the QB,…
Rhythm of Worship
Posted August 15, 2024 by Steve Wells in Worship, Pastor
I take July each year as a study leave. Let me begin by saying, thank you for that gift of time. I think I am a better pastor and South Main is a better church because I get time away to rest, think, read, pray, and plan. And while the reading, thinking, resting, and praying changes from year to year, the planning has at least one deliverable in common each year: the sermon plan of the next…
Monday Over Coffee: "Agency"
Posted August 12, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
What do you do when you’re facing an intractable problem? A real-life scenario over which you have little control? A situation that seems impossible to change? I don’t want to over-promise—not every problem has a solution—but rather offer a story that suggests a way to approach such a challenge.
Monday Over Coffee: "Inspiration"
Posted August 5, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Pierre de Coubertin, considered the father of the modern Olympic movement, listened in as Henri Didion, a Dominican priest, offered some prayerful words in Latin to open a school sporting event, which de Coubertin attended in 1881. Striking de Coubertin as profound, the priest’s inspirational phrase became the motto for the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896.
Transformative
Posted July 31, 2024 by Amy Brown in Family Ministry, Missions
As a whole, this trip was a transformative experience for our youth. They returned with a deeper understanding of service, a greater appreciation for different cultures, and a renewed sense of community. We are thankful for the opportunity to be part of the beautiful tapestry of Appalachian life. The lessons we learned and the friendships we made will continue to inspire us in our daily lives and…
Monday Over Coffee: "Renewal"
Posted July 29, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Like St. Stephen’s Basilica and St. Matthias in Budapest, like St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague’s Castle District, like the church called Our Lady Before Tyn in Prague’s Old Town Square, many of the oldest and most impressive churches in Europe are now mainly historical sites rather than places of worship—museums in effect—telling the story of an era past when the faith of a nation was linked much…
Learning More and More
Posted July 24, 2024 by Alyssa Carter in Family Ministry
During the week of June 17, 2024, 38 of our Kinder – 4th graders attended WDS camp. Each morning started in Little Church where we not only worshiped, we also learned the importance of worship. The kids learned about the liturgical calendar and the significance of Holy Week, Advent, Christ the King Sunday, and other important dates within the Church. During Little Church, we had different SMBC…
Monday Over Coffee: "Charming"
Posted July 22, 2024 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
While most overseas trips to the European continent involve touring a number of old and impressive churches, magnificent national galleries, and historic castles, dipping into a little pop culture of the countries you visit is a good idea. It was this notion that led our family to include the ABBA Museum on our agenda during our recent summer vacation in Stockholm.
