Still Worshiping With Our Lives...

• Give up the gossip (Proverbs 18:8)

Sure, it seems fun at first. There's laughter involved and you feel better about yourself when you magnify someone else's failures; right?

Wrong! What goes down smooth and tasty will later only promote dissension and do your heart and mind no good. The next time you encounter a gossip circle or situation, try saying something nice about the person in question. Or, you may just have to walk away.

Rick Painter
Worship Arts Pastor

Mid-Year Checkup...

Well, it’s that time again – time for a mid-year health check. The first half of 2008 has been a time of great spiritual growth in our fellowship. We have been baptizing, Children’s and Student Ministries are busy shaping young lives, and adults are growing and serving in many places.

Let’s see how our financial health stacks up. Our 2008 budget anticipated receiving just over $309,000 through June; we actually received a little less than $270,000. The income shortfall is just over $40,000.

We know that our country is in difficult economic times; we know that some of our Argyle families are feeling a pinch. Even with this challenge, God has work for us to do in our fellowship and in the community and world around us. Every week we see lives being changed forever by God working in the ministries your giving supports.

We have a vision of where God wants us as a church. If you missed the message on July 13th, we encourage you to listen to it online (click here to listen online). It will help you understand our vision and some of the financial obstacles we face getting there.

We encourage every family to prayerfully consider our giving, and decide if we are being faithful in managing all that God has entrusted to us. We are not asking more from those who can answer that they are being faithful, but we do challenge those who are not yet trusting God to do exactly what He promised in Malachi 3:10.

Hal Hunter
Ministry Pastor & Administrator

Yet another way to worship with your life...

• Say "please" and "thank you" (1 Peter 2:17)

When you're polite to whom you're talking, people will notice and hopefully they will be changed. Plus, since we are created in God's image, we are ultimately showing respect to God. Remember that the next time you think a cashier is rude.

Rick Painter
Worship Arts Pastor

YMCA...

With apology in advance to Reggie McNeal and his book, The Present Future.

My wife and I are thinking about joining the local YMCA. It's a wonderful modern, clean, family-friendly place not far from our house. They have a pool, exercise equipment, and trained staff that can help us learn how to use all that great stuff to exercise and maybe lose a few unwanted pounds, tone up, and be healthier. Great idea- right?

How about if we went once a week and hung out in the equipment room for an hour or so. What if we watched the people using the equipment and maybe clapped a little when they finished a set with the Nautilus machine? What if we never got wet, but became great critics of the swimming styles of the people in the water? What if we never broke a sweat? Would we benefit?

That's the approach some people take to church. They spend a little time once a week hanging out with people who are exercising spiritual muscles and hope something rubs off on them. They watch from the sidelines and never actually get engaged. They never break a spiritual sweat and wonder why their spiritual muscles are flabby.

Hal Hunter
Ministry Pastor & Administrator

Welcome...

During the past few weeks, Pastor Ken's messages have been about The Little "c", the local church. One of the goals for this series has been to call people's attention to the importance of being associated with a local church.

People in our post-modern society seem to have little desire for association, commitment and accountability, but Scripture seems to tell us that is not the way God intends us to live. The Bible indicates humans function best in close community, with a high level of mutual commitment and accountability.

Joining a local church shows commitment, makes close community available, and provides accountability. This past Sunday, 44 people joined our fellowship, and we have at least a dozen more in the process of counseling and baptism preparation.

This is exciting! These people are all showing they want to be a part of what is happening at Argyle, and want to do it in a way that shows their identification with Jesus as the head of the Church. After all, it really is Jesus the Church is all about- not the pastor, staff, or members. But we do get to work side-by-side with God in doing His work.

Hal Hunter