Southside Family News (March, 2015)

In this issue:

Page 2 - AnnouncementsPage 3 - Family UpdatesPage 4 - Reading Plan - Community GardenPage 5 - New Life Groups!

Page 6 - Breakthrough - Easter SchedulePage 7 - Events CalendarPg. 8 - General Info.

We are going to capitalize on a wonderful opportunity to do some music training and singing with our Journeyland crew.

All 2nd -6th grade young people are invited to join us on Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:30 to learn how to read music and practice new music. The kids who have already joined will be singing with the adult praise team on Wednesday night, March 4th during the second week of the Slavery of Death series. We would love for you to join us for that class and listen to our kids sing.

If you have questions, please email me, kristin@familyatsouthside.org or you can call/text me 479-903-4799.

-Kristin Page

Bibles and Basketball

Tuesdays 6:30 - 8:30 In the FLC

We Need Your Family Photo!!!

We have begun collecting family pictures! And, chances are, we still need your’s! Please send us both a digital AND a physical copy of a photo of your choice.

1. We are going to make a family photo gallery in the hallways in the adult bible class wing.2. And, We are going to create an online pictorial church directory.

Here are the details of what you need to send us:If you already have a family photo you would like for us to use, please email a copy of it to Alex Farris at alex@familyatsouthside.org. We also need a framed print brought to the office that is a 5x7, 8x10, or 11x14 in size.

If you don’t have a photo that you want us to use, please begin signing up in the Coffee Connections Hallway for a time slot. We will continue taking pictures on Sunday mornings through March 29th. If you have any questions, please ask Shane Sturdivant or Kristin Page.

Thank you in advance for your help inthis endeavor.

Sincerely,Southside Staff

-2015-Save the dates

May 17th - Senior Sunday

May 31st - Compassion Sunday, “Feed My Sheep”

July 12th-18th- Green Valley

July 26th -29th - F/X

Oct. 28th - Trunk-R-Treat

Dec. 20th - “A Very South-side Christmas”

Dec. 24th - “Here With Us”

(TREK, TBD)

Journeyland 2015 - The Big Picture

As many of you know, we used to print in our newsletter a montly calendar of home activities to do with your kids. Instead, for the year 2015 we have elected to provide binders (ones that say “Big Picture” in large letters on the front) to keep weekly “home discipleship” print-outs with teaching opportunities for you to do with your children.

We try and provide a learning environment for your children here at Southside, but the most lasting lessons will be those taught by you! Please feel free to take home one of the binders located in the Journ-eyland hallway underneath the “Big Picture” poster. This is our gift to you to help equip and assist you in the your child’s spiritual growth.

Grace and Peace, Joe James

Found:1957 class ringgold ring guard

To claim, conTacT The church oFFice

Check the Bulletin Board for a special Thank You card

from Brenda Moss.

Check Page 6 for our special Easter Plans!

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020

BaptismsRaeanna Weber (also placed membership)

Craig Weber (also placed membership)Tristin Pickle

Tanisha Quallate

Identified with SouthsideBlake & Whitney jackson Family

Dennis & Lacey ThurmanMike & Julia Holland

William Taylor

PrayersSonya Sluik, for herself and for

her son, DanielSterling Dawn Wappler, Carol Little’s

Great-Granddaughter

Continued PrayersTravis SnyderBetty Ruble

Darlene Jenkins

i am souThside

Condolences - David & Sharon Koch family in the loss of David’s son, James - Melvin & JoAnn Jones & family in the loss of their grandson, Justin - Lawrence & Myrtis Waggoner in the loss of Lawrence’s brother, David - Jimmy & Breanda Moss in the loss of Brenda’s sister, Myra Sivori. - Michael & Clarita Crabtree in the loss of Michael’s father, Ray Crabtree.

I don’t make a lot of money. I’m not sad or happy about it, it’s just a fact. To be honest, money makes me un-comfortable. In my hands, $20 feels like the weight of 20 gold bullion. What do I do with this? Spend it? Save it? Give it? Bury it! I especially strug-gle with investing my money. It feels risky. It feels...like...socially acceptable gambling. It could also be that it just scares me and so I judge it harshly. I don’t know. It’s hard to know what in-vestments will pay off in the long run. Which is scary in relationships, jobs, and definitely money.

Truth is, I don’t want the responsibility of it. Jesus warns time and time again about the clever, sneaky way rationali-zation takes hold when it comes to all sin, but especially money. We can talk our way into spending or obsessive saving or OUT OF more giving.

And I’ll confess: I judge. I judge the car, the clothes, the house. It helps me feel superior that I don’t have it or want it. Where society looks down at

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! :)

the poor, I take it upon myself to look down at the wealthy. Especially Chris-tians! I easily lump a whole extra truck load of expectations on affluent Chris-tians about what I think you should be doing! I don’t know why, but I realize I do it.

That’s my struggle and I own it. But I also believe that churches as a whole struggle with the conversation of giv-ing. At times, it feels oppressive and demanding, as if to shame you into writing that check. Others just avoid the topic altogether. Neither of these seem to bear much fruit and neither seem to fit the Jesus’ model of dealing with the tough, awkward stuff.

I don’t know what the answer is. The average American Christian gives 2% to 3% to their local church. The aver-age unchurched American gives 2% to 3% to non-profits. I don’t know what this means. I won’t try to argue any points here.

But maybe... perhaps... it begs the question, “what are we willing to give up for the kingdom of heaven?” And I say “we” because I think, for far too

long, we’ve made the act of giving a totally individual thing. I’m not so sure it is. What would it look like if we searched our collective heart when it comes to generosity? What if, within small communities of our brothers and sisters, we trusted enough to be open and to be challenged. To share our fears and doubts? To help each other get rid of our selfishness?

I don’t know where your heart is. Most of the time I don’t even know where mine is. But I know that Southside is a place that is growing and making an incredible Kingdom impact. I see the new faces of those recently baptized. I see the smiles of the kids coming from JourneyLand. I see the deep, life-long relationships being built in Life Groups. I see a place where God is present and moving.

I see an investment. With no risk. The return? A world set right. I can’t think of a greater investment than that. Can you? ... I AM SOUTHSIDE.

Congratulations!- Paul and Samantha Wappler on their baby girl Sterling Dawn Wappler. - Harold and Jana Clark on their baby boy, Hunter Ethan Clark.

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020Something New with Something Old

I absolutely cherish my heritage - the Churches of Christ. I love our devotion to local churches, our tradition of congregational singing and participation in worship, and I am so proud of our “low-church” model of worship (where everyone’s contribution matters). But the thing I love most about my faith tradition is our passion for scripture.

As a supplement to our weekly gatherings, here are a couple of things that I think would help us:

Let’s read scripture TOGETHER. While we have been devoted to scripture in the past, I think it was basically understood that each individual, or perhaps each family unit, was left to their own devices when reading scripture. But lets do this thing together as ONE family - ONE body. Here is how. In each monthly newsletter, I will be providing a monthly reading list (see right!). The texts given will be relevant to whatever theme the congregation is on in worship.

Let’s allow scripture to master us. Often our goal for reading scripture has been to master the text, but what if we let the text master us? Too often we get bogged down in the details of word studies, or proof-texting (saying, “Ha! I found my one verse! I am right and you/they are wrong!”). But much of the Bible is written in narrative form and, if we allow ourselves to get swept up in the Story of God, who knows what will hap-pen to us? It will only be good!

Grace and Peace,Joe James

The week leading up to Sunday March 8, 2015 - James 1 - 5

The week leading up to Sunday March 15, 2015 - James 1- 5

The week leading up to Sunday March 22, 2015 - James 1 - 5

The week leading up to Sunday March 29, 2015 - James 1 - 5

The week leading up to Sunday April 5, 2015 (Easter Sunday) - Luke 24 & John 20 - 21

Hey Southsiders! This year we would like to do something differ-ent with our garden! What we want is to have people or families volunteer to be responsible for a crop (or maybe two) and for

them to be in charge of that crop for its duration. On the next page is a rough calendar of what crops require work during what

times.

If you think “well, I’d like to help, but I don’t know anything about gardening so I don’t want to be responsible because I’d mess something up” STOP IT :) Even people who ‘know about gar-dening’ mess things up, and it doesn’t matter. This is a grow-

ing experience and there are lots of people available for advice and help (me, for example!).

This commitment doesn’t have to be every day. If you come to the garden and take care of your crop, you might need to be there every other day or every 3rd day to weed, water, and

harvest during the season. Planting will take longer but we will do that all together.

The harvest can be used by your family, or donated to area food banks (or given away to your neighbors!).

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020

Keith and Becky Brown Life Group

contact Keith Brown(479)531-2761

brownkeithhome@att.net

Snyder/Carmical Life Group

contact Doug and lori - carmicals@cox.net(479)366-6938

contact Kevin and Laura - klsnyder123@yahoo.com(479)200-0332

Young Professionals Group

contact Tyler and Hannah Carmical(479)366-2504

contact Andrea Hullett(870)656-2302

email: alex@familyatsouthside.org

Meet Our Newest Life Groups!

TenTaTive Schedule

March-May: lettuce, carrots, peas, spinach, onions, radishes, cucumbers, potatoes (but these are dug in July--little longer)

Mid-April through summer: squash, tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, sweet potatoes, melons, corn, pumpkins. These will be planted through April and May, and then harvested during the summer months of June, July, August and maybe September depending on which crop and how it does.

August-November: fall crops like potatoes again, lettuce, carrots, turnips, etc.

Fruit trees/strawberries: It would be great if someone was responsible for watering, weeding and mulching these baby plants!

The biggest lack we had last year was weeding. This will be really important in late May, June and July and if we stay ahead of it, it doesn’t have to get that bad.

If there’s a crop that someone wants to put in the garden that isn’t on this list--no problem!

We are hoping to have a board up in the garden that will list all the things that need to be done, so if people just want to drop by and see what they can do anytime, that’s fine too!

Any Questions? Contact me, Megan Brazle, at (479)530-2464

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020

Easter Weekend- 2015

We are planning an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4th at 11:00 AM on the Southside lawns at the corner of Oak and Dixieland. Bring a basket and a heart ready for madness! If you have questions, or need me for anything, please feel free to contact me!

Our Sunday lesson will take place during normal service hours. During which, we will offer our children in Journeyland a special gift from the Southside family during the worship hour on Easter Sunday.

Grace and Peace,Joe James

We need Candy-Filled Plastic Eggs!Like, lots of the them (1,000 or more!!!)

Donate as many as you want between now and April 4th by bringing them by the

church office.

“So... I Drank the Koolaid” - Shane SturdivantI’m sure this comes as no surprise: I’m not much of a bandwagon person. Growing up, I don’t think my parents ever got to ask me, “If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?” In fact, any time the masses start heading in one direction, my instinct is to take off sprinting in the opposite. I would say this cogni-tive bias has reaped both good and ill in my life. So, now that I’ve established that, let’s move on.

Last week, a few Southsiders began their own Breakthrough journey. I got to visit briefly with each of them afterward, and let me tell you, it’s a delightful moment to witness. Being so recently connected to my own experience, it was a beautiful blessing to share in theirs. And they’ve got a lot more journey ahead of them, as do I. Watching them this past weekend, knowing how they’ve struggled and stretched, made me wish for all of those in my community to experience it. So, I thought I’d share a few insights with you and debunk a couple of myths about Breathrough.

When I first came here, Breakthrough, (or BT), it seemed, was talked about ad nauseum. Within a couple of months, I simply began to avoid people that talked about it so much and kept telling me I should do it. Here were my honest reactions, most of which I have managed to keep to myself...until now:

1. You’re crazy and I got no vacancies in the crazy motel. 2. If it’s so awesome and transformative, why are you such a mess?3. If you tell me I “should” do something one...more...time...4. Why? So I can be unreliable and flaky like all of you?5. Oh yes, I’d LOVE to replace authenticity for passive-aggressive manipulation.

I only bring these harshest of examples up because, over the past two and a half years, many of you have shared similar reactions with me. And I want to tell you that it is absolutely okay. In fact, I want to urge you to share those reactions with the actual people with whom you had them! I wish now that I would have done so. That’s a lot of venom to carry around, is it not? In allowing my reactions in these surface-level conversations to navigate my thought processes regarding BT and its participants, it not only made my perspective of BT biased and unjust, but also made relationships with “those” people a lot more dif-ficult. I talk a lot about grace, but I’m not always the first one to generously give it.

SYDNEY NEWSLETTER vol 1. 2020So, I get it. I understand your apprehension. But, may I ask you to put aside your precon-ceived notions? Just for a minute? I believe in Breakthrough. I say to you with confidence that there isn’t a person alive who couldn’t ben-efit from it. I will also say to you that no two people end up in the same place at the end of Breakthrough. It is a unique experience for each and every individual. Also, everyone’s post-Breakthrough journey is different. Some will soar to new heights, others will struggle to avoid the predators of life, and still others will never leave the nest. It is not a cure-all. No one comes out of BT “fixed.” It isn’t a self-help book, a twelve-step program, a cult, or even a fully-tangible community. It’s not designed to be any of those things. It’s also not designed to give you all the answers, but it certainly doesn’t back down from asking the questions. The questions, I believe, is why BT is so powerful. The questions. About you. About who you think you are. About who you want to be. The questions that Death doesn’t want you asking.

We exist in a world where we attempt to live without showing any signs of death. Not just physical death, but the soul-killing toxins of shame, guilt, hatred, vengeance, no self-esteem, sexual brokenness, grief...the list goes on and on. We shove all of this down and we not only hide it from every one around us, we shove it down so far within ourselves that we never realize how much it is impacting our world. It is infecting every choice we make. Every. Single. Choice. And, as Christians, we can fool ourselves into thinking that all that “junk” doesn’t matter, or to dwell on it is selfish. Well, my dear friends, let me tell you as gently as I can: the “junk” is indwelling us all and overflowing around us whether we realize it or not. We are, each of us, just trying not to drown and this is not what your Father wants for you. Just tread-ing water isn’t His grand design for our lives.

So why not do something about it?

You see all those awful, cynical reactions I listed above? Each of those had a whole lot more to do with me than with the people at which they were aimed. And it all came out of fear. Fear that I’m not as “spir-itually healthy” as I’d like to think I am. Fear that my own signs of death were escaping their prison and becoming visible. Fear that, if any of my walls came down, you would destroy me. Fear that if I were to explore “me” and become “fully me,” “fully alive,” that it would shake the earth.

Well... the earth is shaking, and I’m still standing...and jumping, running, dancing.

Soaring.

The greatest gift you can give those you love is a healthy you. And you can’t achieve that alone.

The greatest worship you can give God is a fully alive YOU. Guess what? Can’t do that one on your own either.

Take it from this guy. The “cynical, alarmist, assuming the worst” guy. Breakthrough has incredible value for your life and you will not regret taking that chance. Whether your life is humming along nicely, has come to a dead end, veered way off path, or just imploded; whether your life feels rich and full or empty and broken, Breakthrough is an opportunity to do something rare: to spend some time with the real, au-thentic, beautiful mess that is YOU.

And that is worth something, is it not?

for more information and upcoming activities, check out our website at....

www.familyatsouthside.org

Wednesday Night Schedule

March 4th is the LAST Early Bird Class!

4:30- Early Bird Class5:30- Fellowship Meal in the Wild’s

($2/person, $5/family suggested donation)6:30-7:30 - Class Time

2/1 2/8 2/15 2/22 Bible Class 244 288 251 280 Worship 476 542 505 555 Giving $15,715.54 $20,686.96 $12,695.20 $15,000.14 2015 Giving: $128,458.20 2015 Budget: $120,488.00

Southside Church of Christ919 S. Dixieland Road • Rogers, AR • 72758

(479) 636-1156www.familyatsouthside.org

Golden Age Group

- Meets March 20th at 6 PM in the Wilds’ Fellowship Hall

Teen Events- March 7th, Flagstone and

Southside Joint Event- March 8th, NWA Area Wide Youth

Worship at Bentonville Church

March Events List Tuesday Ladies’ Class (TLC) continues; 10 AM; Wild’s Fellowship Hall Bibles & Basketball; Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30 in the FLC

● 1st: NO Widows and Widowers Noon Luncheon● 4th: Last Early Bird Class!● 7th: Daylight Savings Time begins- set your clocks forwards one hour.● 8th: NWA Area Wide Youth Worship at Bentonville● 18th-21st: Tulsa Workshop● 20: Golden Age Group meets; 6 PM in the Wilds’