Because everyone should laugh sometime!

Ok...the "hokey pokey" has shown up on numerous blogs recently "out there" so I thought this was hilarious when I saw it....maybe a little "off" in some ways, but funny none the less - so no one get mad...just laugh! This was on a post on another blog for, believe it or not, another Chad Everson! There is a Chad "Grizzly" T.Everson out there that is a conservative, Republican grassroots political activist...check him out sometime! Anyway, this was on one of his blogs today and I just thought it was great given our recent rash of hokey pokey enthusiasts...


Just saw this on a blog of a "blogger friend" of ours! Who knew that there was another "Chad Everson" out there - but his name is Chad "Grizzly" T. Everson and he is a conservative, Republican, homeschooling blogger from up North! We have commented on each other's blogs now that we know about one another - check out his sites if you get a chance!

Anyway, this was on one of his blogs this morning as a comment from another poster - I thought it was hilarious! It was titled: "Dear Friends and Family"

"Dear friends and family,With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.
Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote ” The Hokie Pokey” died peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started….

“Shut up.” You know it’s funny.
Thats what its all about!

I thought it was important you all knew…"

Michele Everson
Proud wife of Pastor Chad Everson and
Proud Mama of two hokey pokey dancin little boys!

Pastor Chad and Michele Everson Love MSBC!

Just a post from us to say that we deeply love and appreciate our church family. Your support and encouragement, especially over the past week, has been a blessing to us in so many ways but unfortunately, makes it even harder to say goodbye! We love you MSBC and have been honored to serve here with you - we cherish the fact that our boys have grown up in Sunday School, children's church and in worship with you all. Thank you for everything and we look forward to hearing wonderful news of you in the days ahead. You will always been precious to us - you are by far "the sweetest church"...

Love,
Bro. Chad and Michele

Just Too Cute!

We just wanted to show off the little ones during the Choir special tonight! Too Cute!


We love you,
Pastor Chad and Michele Everson

Pastor Chad and Michele Everson wish you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours this Holiday Season!

Thankful for MSBC

The Everson family is thankful for Madison Street Baptist Church during this holiday season. Over the past several years God has worked in and through the people of MSBC to bless our family and we are grateful for you, especially during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

Michele Everson
Wife of Pastor Chad Everson
and Mom to two wonderful boys!

A trip with the Senior Adults!

We recently went on a trip our Senior Adult group to the Holy Land Experience in Orland - it was a great trip and they are a great group! What an incredible opportunity...to be this close to Orlando and to be able to see a small scale of the Holy Land. While every part of the place was wonderful and the theatrics were amazing, the "coolest" part of the whole trip was a place called the Scriptorium - a place where our boys were able to see actual Bibles preached by Spurgeon and artifacts from the first churches of the puritans and the reformers. How incredible to spend time talking about how great men of God defended the Gospel and our rights to have a Bible in our home! It was truly a wonderful trip with a great group of people!

Just Words

I came across the following on Steve Camp’s post in response to Sinclair Ferguson’s message at the DG Conference on James 3 and the tongue.

Here is Sinclair's resolutions on the taming of the tongue taken from the book of James. They are powerful, convicting, humbling and encouraging. May they stir your heart as they have mine this very hour.
James 1:5 To ask God for wisdom to speak and with a single mind
James 1:9-10 To boast only in exaltation in Christ, & humiliation in world
James 1:13 To set a watch over my mouth
James 1:19 To be constantly quick to hear, slow to speak
James 2:1-4 To learn the gospel way of speaking to poor and the rich
James 2:12 To speak always in the consciousness of the final judgment
James 2:16 To never stand on anyone’s face with my words
James 3:14 To never claim as reality something I do not experience
James 4:1 To resist quarrelsome words in order to mortify a quarrelsome heart
James 4:11 To never speak evil of another
James 4:13 To never boast in what I will accomplish
James 4:15 To always speak as one subject to the providences of God
James 5:9 To never grumble, knowing that the Judge is at the door
James 5:12 To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech
James 5:13 To speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer
James 5:14 To sing praises to God whenever I am cheerful
James 5:14 To ask for the prayers of others when I am sick
James 5:15 To confess it freely whenever I have failed
James 5:15 To pray with and for one another when I am together with others
James 5:19 To speak words of restoration when I see another wander

I have seen God work and have heard from others how He is working in our fellowship in many of these areas. It is humbling and a pleasure to be a part of such a people of God striving to live out what God lays out in His Word. Within the past year, Madison Street Baptist has experienced a growth spurt in His truth and in living out His truth. The tongue can be so destructive. We all have seen and experienced the conflagration resulting from rebelling against His Word. Words! So much potential for edification or for destruction. Words! Words of prayer; Words of confession; Words of restoration; Words of boasting in the Lord; Words of praise; and avoiding Words that create divisiveness and hurt. We must speak Words that ultimately bring glory to our Savior!
I encourage each of us to challenge ourselves to hold fast to these truths. I encourage each of us to watch our words with one another. I encourage each of us to look around our fellowship and appreciate when fellow brothers and sisters live out these truths, and be patient when we don't. Jesus told us that He will hold us accountable for every word uttered here in this life when we face Him at His judgment seat. Madison Street Baptist - I LOVE YOU, and THANK OUR LORD and SAVIOR for YOU. May the LORD our God shine His face upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

In Response

A comment was sent in response to a recent post that I made about Election….a Biblical Word. The post was from “billy bob” and it reads: “IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE ELECTION DOCTRINE, THEN THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE BIBLE – IT WAS A WASTE, AND SO WAS JESUS DYING ON THE CROSS, AND…”he drops off from there... and then he challenged me to post his comment….so, here it is, along with my response.

I believe this line of thinking is based in ignorance to the Biblical and true doctrine of election. You see, no one who understands the slightest bit of doctrine for a word mentioned 43 times in the New Testament alone (by the way, free will is mentioned 0 times) would ever take it so casually. The Bible refers to us as “believers” 2 times in the New Testament, as “Christians” 1 time in the New Testament and as “the elect” 16 times in the New Testament. I think it is obvious that this is a Biblical word and thus, if we believe in election, it is that we ARE believing the Bible – and I count it all joy that Jesus would die on the cross for me….as a matter of fact, it says in 2 Thess. 2:13, (Paul said) “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” and we know that there is no salvation apart from Jesus’ death on the cross. Now, believing that God does the amazing work of drawing us to Him through regeneration of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, does not negate our necessity to witness from a heart of love and pray fervently for the lost. John MacArthur writes “Those statements defining God's sovereign choice of believers are not in the Bible to cause controversy, as if God's election means sinners don't make decisions. Election does not exclude human responsibility or the necessity of each person to respond to the gospel by faith. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). While it may seem as though these are opposing viewpoints inside the same Bible, they are indeed two sides of the same coin….God creates within us a heart to desire Him and a consciousness of our sinful, doomed state. Only through this awakened/regenerated heart can we see our need for Him and His love for us…then we will come to Him in faith and repentance of who we are, to accept all of who He is and who He wants us to be. Hallelujah what a Savior!

What's a Puggle?

In many circles, “puggle” is a common term for a baby platypus. However, in children's ministry it is an Awana program for toddlers to learn Biblical concepts.

I have often wondered "at what point can a child start assimilating Biblical truths". As we are learning, children can start understanding the concept of God at a very young age. My youngest who is in the Puggle ministry just the other day told us how God created the moon and how He makes the moon and the sun 'go to sleep' so that we can have night and day. Of course this stems from his lessons that he has been learning each week in Puggles. (They have been studying creation)

This program is a very good barometer of the health of our church. Having our very young children understand that God is the One that created the moon, skies, and everything else shows spiritual growth in even our smallest members. Yes, MSBC is truly blessed to have a ministry for everyone!

Election....a Biblical Word

In a day in which there are so many misrepresentations and misunderstandings of this Biblical concept - a day in which many preachers and churches cower at the thought of dealing with this doctrine, I thank God that I am at a church that listens, studies and is guided by sound Biblical teaching. I thank God that MSBC has grown doctrinally over the past 18 months and that we are now able to grasp truth and not be fearful of what others may say, believe or criticize. Our staff is not scared to preach this doctrine. However, be it understood that they preach it Biblically - not the misrepresented junk out there that misguided individuals may believe about it. Election is a biblical word. You can't avoid it and you can't ignore it and hold to scripture. At MSBC, we have chosen to address it, study it and learn about it because it is SCRIPTURE. Thank you to our staff for keeping us on track!

Monster Trucks!

Monster Trucks at Madison Street make for a FUN Night for our kids/teens!
We had a ball watching the trucks run over cars in the parking lot and listening to the animal educator/trainer/creationist speak about the gibbon monkeys, the owls and the porcupine he brough with him! All of this was part of the Steadfast Student Ministry's Ignite '08 and I am thankful for Bro. Jeff Stockdale and the ministry he has at MSBC! I thank God for the staff that He has given us and for our student ministry leadership team!

Michele Everson
Wife of Pastor Chad Everson and Mom to two monster truck fans!

Renewing Your Mind Book Fellowship

Last night was the renewing your mind book fellowship at MSBC and, in addition to our Pastor, Chad Everson, being there, we had quite a few others involved. We had a great time discussing the book 10 ways to diagnose your spiritual health. I am thankful for this book club and for the leadership of our church taking us through such doctrinally sound and thought-provoking books rather than giving us a little talk on Sunday and sending us on our way. Want to have a better marriage? Want to be a better parent? Ok, step one - make sure your spiritually healthy and you have what you think you have.

Ladies Night Out!

I wanted to write and say Thank You to all those ladies who made our recent Ladies Night Out so much fun! I am talking about the 170 of you who were there!

We pulled this Ladies Night Out together on short notice, given that the opportunity presented itself late. And, in spite of this, 170 of you came and blessed all of us with a warm spirit and great fellowship. I love being with our ladies and enjoying the graciousness with which you welcome visitors. I know of at least 30 visitors there Thursday evening and, after speaking with many of them they each stated that they loved being welcomed as part of the family. That is YOU, ladies, being the Church!

Thank you also to the Women's Resource and Medical Clinic for being willing to work with us and for allowing our ladies to minister alongside you in Starke. We look forward to supporting your work and we appreciate the opportunity to share the Gospel! May God be honored and glorified in all that is done through that wonderful ministry - our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Where are the children?

Pulling into the parking lot last Wednesday night on the opening night of this year's Awana program I couldn't help but think that our attendance would be low. Facing a tropical storm was reason enough to have those thoughts. I have to admit that I thought it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so many children on the first night as it is usually chaotic. Forgive me for thinking such things because, to my surprise we saw numerous children last Wednesday night. In all we had 83 children and 59 Awana workers present. Praise God for that.

We also introduced a new Awana group. For the 2 year old's and 3 year old's that didn't make into the Cubbies this year we have a new club called Puggles. What a blessing it was to see our very young children coloring, singing, and learning about God.

The best thing about it all was that there was no chaos. Everyone seemed to know where to go and what to do. On top of that I saw kids and leaders alike laughing and having a good time.

Thank you to all you Awana workers for stepping up and serving this year. This is the most workers that we ever had in Awana. May God continue to bless us here.

Where are the children?

Pulling into the parking lot last Wednesday night on the opening night of this year's Awana program I couldn't help but think that our attendance would be low. Facing a tropical storm was reason enough to have those thoughts. I have to admit that I thought it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so many children on the first night as it is usually chaotic. Forgive me for thinking such things because, to my surprise we saw numerous children last Wednesday night. In all we had 83 children and 59 Awana workers present. Praise God for that.

We also introduced a new Awana group. For the 2 year olds and 3 year olds that didn't make into the Cubbies this year we have a new club called Puggles. What a blessing it was to see our very young children coloring, singing, and learning about God.

Thank you to all you Awana workers for stepping up and serving this year. This is the most workers that we ever had in Awana. May God continue to bless us here.

Homeschool group at MSBC

Did you know we have a Homeschool Ministry Group at MSBC now? We are up to 15 of our families that are homeschooling and we have several families that have joined us from other churches or the community. This group is getting active! We have co-op classes beginning September 4th and we currently have over 30 students signed up to take one or more of these classes. If you would like to help or are a homeschool family that needs to get involved, please see Michele Everson for more information.

Please pray for this group as we begin another school year and as we have the opportunity to reach children and families for Christ. (Pray specifically as well for traveling mercy as we will be heading to Kennedy Space Center next week for a field trip!)

Why the Church?

Ok...you know I love the Renewing Your Mind Book Club at MSBC...so we are now reading Donald S. Whitney's book, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. What an INCREDIBLE book! In chapter six, Mr. Whitney asks "Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?" and I have to ask - do you? If you look throughout Scripture you will see examples of how we are to treasure one another - to adore the Bride that we are a part of! King David's words in Psalm 16:3 should reflect our hearts "As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight." (taken from Whitney's book). Whitney goes further to challenge us by asking, when was the last time we thought of the person teaching our children in Sunday School as a "majestic one"?

While we should hold each other in this high regard and love each other enough to hold each other accountable, it is the Church that is the Bride - it is the collective whole of Christians, working together to serve and glorify Him, educating and edifying each other in sound doctrine and wholly committed to faithful following - that is a Church. We cannot be a Church when there is no expectation of membership, accountability for the body or love for one another...that is not even a social club (even they require more than that). We must know the doctrine we stand firm on as a foundation, we must hold together in love and unfalteringly protect our unity and we must keep our eyes focused on the purpose set before us, to glorify Him in all that we do! When you are a believer and plugged into a Church like that, then you understand what it means to "Love the Bride!" I love Madison Street Baptist Church!

Serving: Showing the Savior

I am in awe and tremble in humility at the work that our Lord chooses to do through faithful servants, though imperfect and only knowing a thimbles worth of God's glory! And amazingly even that tiny understanding will not only transform the life of one who seeks Him, but will transform the lives of so many others through that finite creature. I stand amazed...rather I lay prostrate before my Savior saying can it be? Can it be? Can it be that you died for me? Can it be that you wish to work in me? Can it be that you chose to work through me? Will you ask the same question? His answer is a thunderous yes! His answer is a fatherly affirmation to His children. Yes, I choose you!
Allow me... Allow our church, I pray, to shine your light through us into this darkened room of life. Please take the time to read the link below and allow God to use this servant's life to lead you and all of us to seek Him with all our hearts, and to make Him known, and to spur us all on to show people in the dark the light of God's grace and mercy. We see God's will worked out through the life of this dear servant of God. His will for people of all tribes, all languages, every people group, every nation...may it be with us too. One finite, imperfect man's life tranformed and passionate to glorify God. We see the evidence of its impact on so many people, even today. Yes, today, because his life challenges me. Let it challenge you today!

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1531_George_Muellers_Strategy_for_Showing_God/

On Mission

Our Lord's last words before his ascension was for us to make disciples and that we are to "BE" witnesses here in our community and to the ends of the earth. I am thankful for a church "On Mission" to declare God's glory wherever we go. Our youth and adults (100+) are in Orlando conducting backyard bible clubs, and ministering to those who must hear the gospel of Christ. Much of what they do will not be reported except for the highlights, and it is rare that the ministry they conduct will ever be caught on video.
Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25882560#25882560

The TODAY Show caught our youth and adults ministering, and giving God the glory!

Our church is beginning its mission giving emphasis beginning August 1 through October. The gifts of our money will go directly to foreign missions, home missions, the baptist children's home, and multi-ministry missions. Let us be ready and willing to go and to give!
Let your light shine through us!

I praise the Lord for allowing us the privilege of being witnessing by going and by giving! I thank God for those who were able to Go! And how the Lord is working through them to bring Him glory.

Renewing Your Mind

I thank God for Madison Street Baptist Church, our pastoral staff and our Pastor, Bro. Chad Everson. I thank God that they emphatically preach the Word of God to us and deliver the truths of the Word of God through every area of our Church. From our Sunday School lessons that teach us of the sovereignty of God, to our children's ministry summer reading program where the kids are studying heroes of the Christian faith. One such ministry at Madison Street that is a great blessing to me is the Renewing Your Mind book fellowship. Every other month, Bro. Chad and Bro. Jarrod highlight one book that we will read and study as a Church, in addition to our other Bible Studies/Sunday School materials.

If you are like most of us, your reading materials each day are probably limited to the newspaper, browsing a magazine or the TV Guide. If you are doing really well, it includes a quick perusal of the Word of God from whatever the My Utmost for His Highest lesson was from the day, right? (let's don't hurt ourselves patting ourselves on the back). Then some of us who really want to dig deep in the things of God will do things like reading the latest Power of a Praying... or Purpose Driven..., or even better yet - put our sacrifice on display by mortifying our flesh with a 30 minute a day commitment to a Beth Moore study. Now before anyone gets defensive (already felt it welling up didn't you?), notice I said "patting ourselves on the back" right? We have all been here!

Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with a Beth Moore study or a Power of a Praying -you name it book, but there is something wrong with the pride we take in our effort. Through the books we have been reading in the Renewing Your Mind fellowships, I have realized a different type of growth in my spiritual walk; a different kind of hunger for the Word of God. You see, I used to think that as long as I read my due chapter in whatever book of the Bible I was going through, did some time in a good study book and keep my leisure reading to Christian mystery novels, I was in good shape. I could accomplish all that and still have time for Survivor on the tube! But this challenge of reading deep doctrinal truths from the likes of John Bunyan and now evaluating my Spiritual health with D. Whitney, I am realizing how shallow some of what I call the "quick application" books really are - the secret to my spiritual growth and health is not found in a chapter a day of how-to's or even in a weeks of study on how someone else experienced God. My Spiritual health must be evaluated and diagnosed in light of the Word of God and how passionately I desire it - not books or studies - but how much to I desire Him and His Word. We get so caught up in feeling good about ourselves for finishing the latest study but when was the last time we read the Word of God and it deeply changed our perspective, the way we viewed our lives and who we are? Whitney states "many professing Christians bump along from Sunday to Sunday, year to year, with no recollection of changes in beliefs or practices as a result of new discoveries in the Word....they carry a Bible to church, but they couldn't tell you the last time their daily life was altered by it. They may even be daily Bible readers, and they have heard one or more sermons per week for years. Yet with all their exposure to the Bible, generally its inspired words leave no more imprint upon their minds than spoken words do upon the air. It could never be said of them that they deliberately govern their lives by God's Word." Don't let it be said of me!

After the studies in Daniel on Sunday mornings, the Great Words of the Faith and Doctrine we are being taught in services and reading doctrinally sound books as we are in Renewing Your Mind, I AM CHANGING - my perspective, my actions, my motives - everything has been impacted by the Word of God. How can we so blindly walk through our daily lives making decision after decision based on how we feel or what we think and then, when some crisis hits - then look in the back of our minds for that Scripture we memorized that day when we were on fire for God! God forgive our unfaithfulness! Let us passionately crave your Word and let us diligently train our appetites to feast on Your Truths! You see, I am realizing what Piper states is true "loving the truth [Word of God] is a matter of perishing or being saved. Indifference to truth is a mark of spiritual death." While we can train our appetites, if there is no deep down desire for the Word apart from a selfish "what can I get from it?" attitude, then we may not have what we think we have. I am fearful that so many who passively and casually peruse the Word of God as a notch of pride in accomplishing their daily quiet time, will find that 2 Thessalonians 2:10 "those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved" is indeed truth. The Bible shows throughout Psalm that a true believer does not just admire God's Word or revel in the knowledge and application they can gain from it for their benefit, but the true believer is one who LOVES it...

So, are you indifferent? When was the last time the Word of God changed who you are, what you believe or how you viewed a situation - or is that, in your mind a sign of immaturity that someone could change your perspective? When was the last time you read the Word, not because you were looking for the answer to some problem you were having or a quick fix to an emotional hurt, but because you truly wanted to know God more through His Word? When have we passionately wanted to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18) so much so that we turned off the TV, put down our Utmost books and picked up the Word of God and meditated on Scripture? Just asking....

MINISTRY

Merriam Webster defines ministry as "a person or thing through which something is accomplished". In the church there are a lot of areas in which we can minister. What's amazing about ministry is that it is God's goals that get accomplished through ordinary people. Why does God need us to accomplish His goals? Obviously He doesn't. Rather He chooses to use us. That in itself is nothing short of amazing.

In my time at Madison Street, I have witnessed many ministries. It's always been through Godly men and women that we've seen success. God is not through with doing amazing things in His church. We have a wonderful staff that stand on the Word of God and provide wisdom and guidance that allow us to serve God.

My question to you is one that hopefully doesn't sting. Are you serving God and accomplishing something within the church? If not, it's never too late. If however you are involved in a ministry, do it with gladness knowing that God has chosen you to accomplish His goals.

TEN

Ten that's right 10 people were baptized last night at our local church MSBC (Madison Street Baptist) in Starke, FL! What a blessing it was to see this group of people follow through in obedience with Believer's Baptism.

I think that we often overlook such things or get used to it and don't think much about it when someone gets baptized. But the amazing thing about all of this is that God chooses to move where and when He wants to. He just so happened to move over the past few weeks in 10 people's hearts. Hearts that have been changed forever.

God has used his men here in various ways. Some of the group were saved at youth camp, some were saved at VBS, and others were saved by the revealing of God's Word through solid preaching.

Yes people, God is still at work and choosing to use the Ministers at MSBC.

Stay tuned for more.

INTRO

For anyone who is just stopping by, this blog is intended to show the positive things that God has done in His church.

I am a member of Madison Street Baptist Church and have been there for 10 years now. I love my church as does my family. I can't imagine going anywhere else.

My intentions with this blog is not solely focused on the church that I attend but also to focus on other things that God does throughout the world. Although I will admit that the majority of my posts will be based upon my local church.

My pastor's name is Chad Everson and I for one am grateful in how he has lead our church over the past few years. Our church has grown much deeper than ever before because of the vision that God has given him. I've personally witnessed many lives changed for the better through his ministry. Yes, MSBC truly is a great place to minister and worship because of the leadership of the whole staff there. Thank you guys.