Tag Archives: giving

by Anthony Baker | November 26, 2018 · 12:50 pm

Remember the “Least of These” this Cyber Monday

A few years ago I made a lot more “Monday Monkey” videos than I do now. Sadly, as I look back, I can see how much my girls have grown up!

The following video is a good example.

In the video below you will see my youngest, Haley, doing her part to help the “least of these,” a freezing puppet next to a tree…and I wasn’t exactly warm, either.

Remember, Christmas is not about getting; it’s about giving. God gave Jesus Christ unto a world who didn’t deserve Him, and that supreme act of love (both on the Giver and the Gift’s part) should be reflected in our giving.

This Christmas, why not give something of value to someone in need, someone who won’t expect it. Then, take the time to talk about the Greatest Gift ever given to mankind.

Seriously, ask the Lord to give you the opportunity to share Jesus with someone; He will make it happen.

This is Katie and Haley, now. Both are seniors: Katie, 22, in college (5th year), Haley, 18, in high school!

5 Comments

Filed under Christmas, Love of God, ministry, Witnessing

Tagged as charity, Christmas, giving, Monday Monkey, witnessing

by Anthony Baker | October 8, 2018 · 12:12 pm

To Whom Do You Give?

There are a lot of scams out there, believe me. As a matter of fact, a lot of those trying to steal your money are people claiming to work for God.

Some will tell you to send in a “seed” in order to reap a “harvest.” I once saw a preacher tell his television audience that someone should send in a “thousand dollar seed,” even though they were afraid the bills couldn’t be paid! He literally told them that God would take care of the bills if they would just sow that $1,000 seed to that ministry.

Sickening.

Other ministries have asked for millions of dollars to buy private jets, while still more try to sell a never-ending stream of books and videos meant to fund who knows what.

Unbelievable.

However, there are smaller, local, nothing-fancy ministries out there that are just trying to make a difference in their own communities. Those ministries don’t exist for the purpose of getting; they exist in order to give.

South Soddy Baptist Church is one of those smaller, nothing-fancy ministries.

Christians are a giving people, but many times they are taken advantage of. Very often groups will come along and make grand claims of helping the poor and needy, or sharing the gospel with people in far-off lands, but their claims are hard to verify.

Not here at South Soddy Baptist.

South Soddy Baptist is a small church in a small town that desperately wants to fulfill their calling to make disciples, love their community, and take the gospel to the world, but starting right in their back yard. And nowadays, even getting the word out to people down the road costs money (street-of-the-week signs, gas, flyers, website expenses, door hangers, cookies to homes, etc.).

Then there are the normal operating expenses associated with just keeping the electricity on in our meeting facilities where we worship, teach, hold free bluegrass events, provide free food, etc.

If South Soddy Baptist Church was a place where millionaires attended, there would not be the need for a “Give online” tab at the top of our website. However, none of those who attend South Soddy are rich. What’s more, the people we want to reach aren’t rich, either. That’s why your help would be so much appreciated.

You may already attend a church and give there. If that is the case, then wonderful! On the other hand, maybe you’d like to have a real part in impacting the work of a legitimate, down-home ministry to real people living through real life.

If so, why not pray about giving to South Soddy Baptist Church in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee? We make no promises about how God may bless you, but we will promise every dollar you give will be used to minister to our community for the glory of Jesus Christ.

And every very-appreciated gift is tax-deductible.

Click on our logo below, then click on the red “D0nate Online” tab at the top of the website.

And, while you’re there on the church website, read my blog posts and leave any prayer request – I promise we pray for every one.

Blessings!

Remember the “Least of These”

A few years ago I made a lot more “Monday Monkey” videos than I do now. Sadly, as I look back, I can see how much my girls have grown up. The following video is a good example.

In the following video you will see my youngest, Haley, doing her part to help the “least of these,” a freezing puppet next to a tree…and I wasn’t exactly warm, either.

This Christmas, why not give something of value to someone in need, someone who won’t expect it. Then, take the time to talk about the Greatest Gift ever given to mankind.

Seriously, ask the Lord to give you the opportunity to share Jesus with someone; He will make it happen.

Could I Appeal for Your Temporary Support?

Please take a moment to read and then share the following appeal. Thanks!

Hey everybody!

First, let me just say that God is good, and I put my full faith and trust in Him to provide for me. He is the One who loves me more than the flowers He clothes in the field (Matt. 6:30; Luke 12:28), so why be anxious? He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, including the hills; He will take care of my family and me.

However, one of the ways God takes care of His children is through the other children in His family. We don’t have to read very far into the book of Acts and the Apostle Paul’s writings to see where it was the churches (including individuals) who sent gifts to keep the first missionaries in the field and to relieve the burdens of hurting congregations. It is not beyond the ability of God to make manna fall from heaven, but more often I’ve seen Him use the abilities and gifts of His children to sustain those traveling through a modern wilderness.

On this December 19th (Tuesday) I will be having rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder. A couple of years ago I fell on the side of a hill while mowing a friend’s grass, and now the problem has grown to the point where surgery is the only option. I have two partial tears and one full through-and-through tear of tendons in my shoulder. I am also being advised to have a release of the bicep tendon which is tracking wrong and causing damage to another tendon. This surgery will result in many weeks (up to 4 to 6 months) of recovery.

Now, if you didn’t know already, my main source of income is driving a school bus and training new drivers. I put in up to 10 hours a day either driving or instructing. My only other income is a small housing allowance from the little church I pastor ($150 a week). Having this surgery will mean that I will not be able to drive at all for a good while, and neither will I be able to instruct (I have to be back to full capability before returning to drive or work – there is no office work available). Therefore, I will have no income coming in for possibly up to 6 months!

What I am asking is simple: Would you consider supporting my family and me as temporary “Pastoral Missionaries”? Yeah, I sorta made up that title, but it fits the bill, don’t you think?

You see, South Soddy Baptist is a small church, but it cannot afford a full-time (fully funded) pastor. I believe this church has potential and value in this community, but what it really needs is to be worked in a full-time-pastor fashion. Being gone so much during the weekdays prohibits me from doing a lot of visitation (especially in these darker winter months), and doing personal outreach is critical to growing a new church, but especially in a context of revitalization. Believe it or not, I can see this surgery becoming a blessing this church needs. However, my family still needs to have electricity, gas money, and food, of course.

Oh, but why doesn’t my wife work? In case you didn’t know, my wife would work if she could. However, my wife became disabled a couple of years ago, so now the only money she can bring in is from her disability and what little she is allowed to make for doing taxes and books. Both of our younger two daughters still live at home, but one is in college and the other is duel-enrolled; they can’t work enough to pay our bills.

So, what I’m praying for is enough people to take us on as temporary “missionaries” and therefore provide tax-deductible support on a weekly or monthly basis. If enough of you could give $10, $20, or $50 monthly or weekly, my bus-driving income could be replaced while I recover, and in the meantime more ministry could take place here at South Soddy Baptist.

It this something you could do? Would you pray about it?

IF you would like to help, then you could contact either myself or our Director of Missions for the Hamilton County Baptist Association, Dr. Dennis Culbreth.

IF you would like to donate with a credit card, you could simply click on the “Donate” tab in the sidebar on this blog.

Thank you so much for giving this some thought and a lot of prayer. Please pray that the surgery will be a success and that full recovery will be quick. But remember, those of you who pray and give will not just be helping my family for a short time, you will be contributing toward the ministry of a small, local church as it seeks to minister to the people in this community.

God bless you,

Anthony Baker (The Recovering Legalist)

Contact Information:

Dr. Dennis Culbreth, c/o Hamilton County Baptist Association, 6625 Lee Hwy, Chattanooga, TN 37421 (423-267-3794) Website: www.BaptistAssociation.com/contact-us/

Anthony C. Baker, c/o South Soddy Baptist Church, 11055 Dayton Pike, Soddy Daisy, TN 37379 (423-645-8884) PastorACBaker@yahoo.com

http://southsoddybaptist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SouthSoddyBaptist.mp4?_=1

9 Comments

Filed under baptist, Christian Unity, Church, community, ministry, Struggles and Trials

Tagged as donations, giving, Ministry, Missions

by Anthony Baker | November 25, 2017 · 3:00 pm

Please Don’t Ask This Question

It’s Inevitable

Every year I get asked the same question from the same people, and then a few extra (I’m always meeting new people). It is a question that is usually, if not always, asked with only good intentions. However, it’s a question I hate to hear, much less answer.

As a matter of fact, last week our oldest daughter sent the question to me via a text message. I did not reply.

What was the question? What did she ask me with a text? What did she ask that others have also begun to ask?

“What do you want for Christmas?”

I hate that question.

What Is a Gift

I guess what really bothers me about the whole question is the fact that I’m being asked. You see, if you want to give me a gift, give me a gift. If, however, you don’t know me very well, and you have no idea what I would like to receive, don’t ask me – that’s cheating.

Folks, I am at the age where most of the things on my “wish list” are beyond my budget or I’ve already deemed them an unwise purchase. Otherwise, I’d already have them. For example, I can’t afford a Rolex, but I’d love to have one. On the other hand, I’d hate to know I was wearing a timepiece that cost the equivalent of a mission trip that I could have taken.

Just last week my wife suggested, “Why don’t you just ask for something you need?” Well, then, would it be a gift? No, it would be asking for charity wrapped in shiny paper.

If you want to give me a gift, seriously, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. If it does, and it was from your heart, then fine. However, the gifts that mean the most to me are those that imply you’ve made the connection between the gift, the giver, and me. The gift I want is one which tells me, “This gift is because I care; I thought of you when I got this.”

What is a gift? Actually, a gift is something special. If it’s not special, then what is it, exactly?

Why the Gift?

Stop and think about it, my friends. Why do we give gifts during this time of year, anyway? It’s because God “gave his only begotten Son” to those He loved, who needed Him, who couldn’t afford Him, and in most cases didn’t even know how or what to ask for.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. – 1 John 4:9

Thanks [be] unto God for his unspeakable gift. – 2 Corinthians 9:15

So, don’t ask me what I want – it might not be what I need. Don’t ask me what I need, because needs change, and sometimes I don’t know what I need more.

Just think of me, think of what might put a smile on my face, and let it be from your heart – that’s what matters. The best gifts I’ve ever received were the hand-made little trinkets my kids have created, so money shouldn’t be a concern – unless you’ve got it to burn, of course 😉

Whatever you do, do it with love. That’s all that matters. After all, isn’t that Who the first Christmas Gift was?

1 Comment

Filed under Christmas, Love of God

Tagged as Christmas, gifts, giving, Jesus

by Anthony Baker | September 6, 2017 · 1:23 pm

Thinking Out of the Box? Or Out of My Mind?

The Facts

It should be common knowledge for most of you, at least those of you who regularly read my blog – because you are the more intelligent of all readers – that not all pastors are “fully funded.” In other words, over half of church pastors are what we call bi-vocational (i.e., they work at least a second job).

Well, it might come as a surprise to learn that many pastors, such as myself, receive no compensation from a denomination, either. At best, most bi-vocational pastors receive a small or modest salary and possibly an expense account, even more rare a parsonage (house). In other words, we are not getting wealthy from what we are called to do.

You see, the fact is that mega-churches make up only a small percentage of all churches. The vast majority of congregations in America have regular attendances of less than 400, and a good 30+% have less than 100 regular members. Why, then, would one choose to enter the ministry (accept the call), spend tens of thousands of dollars on years of education (4-10), only to expect a career that pays, on average, less than a 1st-year school teacher? Believe me, it’s not about the money.

We do it because we are called. We go because we are sent. And, in whatever way we can, if we have to, we will make tents (Acts 18:3). That’s why we work more than one job, if we have to, so that we can do what pastors do – shepherd the flock of God.

The Thought

But here is where I feel I was thinking out of the box yesterday afternoon: What if bi-vocational pastors could be supported like missionaries?

Stop and think about it. There are some areas where churches are few, and the ones that are there cannot afford to pay a pastor any kind of living wage (and, by the way, it’s biblical to pay a pastor). These little churches would love to have a seminary-educated minister teach and preach the Word of God, but most of the time end up searching for years until they wind up accepting whomever they can get. Not a good situation.

What if pastors of smaller congregations could raise support, much like what many missionaries do before going into the field? You do realize that the small, bible-teaching church down the road – the one which still serves a purpose and meets a specific demographic need – is still as important to the Body as the large church on the hill, don’t you? Whenever a small church closes its doors because of a lack of available leadership, the whole Kingdom suffers. Would it not be reasonable, therefore, to suggest supporting at least in some small ways, the pastors of these churches? Granted, there must be some considerations, but is it not a reasonable thought?

Pastoring a church takes time, and there are only so many hours in the day. When one has a family (if only a wife), puts 20-30 hours a week into church-related work and activity, and then has to maintain a “secular” career on top of that, something will suffer. When you add to the mix a pastor who is primarily trained and educated in ministry, not a technical skill-related field, the types of employment available – including the hours and days one must work – become more and more limited.

Am I thinking out of the box, or am I out of my mind? Are there ways this could be developed? Would it be something you would consider? Are there other options worth exploring?

What are your thoughts?

12 Comments

Filed under Christian Unity, Church, Preaching

Tagged as bi-vocational, Church, giving, Ministry, Missions, Pastor, preaching

by Keith Haney | August 29, 2017 · 8:37 pm

Do You Trust God With His Money?

cross

Guest Post by: Keith Haney

An old writer tells of two brothers who went out to take a walk in the night, and one of them looked up to the sky and said, “I wish I had a pasture-field as large as the night heavens.” And the other brother looked up into the sky, and said, “I wish I had as many oxen as there are stars in the sky.”

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article. Let Keith know you found him here 🙂

http://revheadpin.org/2017/08/08/do-you-trust-god/

5 Comments

Filed under Guest Posts, Uncategorized

Tagged as giving, money

by J David Peever (Dave) | July 20, 2017 · 11:00 am

Giving God’s Way (Not What You Think)

A Guest Post by: J. David Peever

I know the first thing that comes to mind with a title like Giving God’s Way is, “here we go again.” If you have attended church for any length of time you have heard, “giving God’s way” used as code for “we can’t make budget so we need to make people give more.” Take a deep breath, this is not going to be one of those times. This isn’t about money, it’s about the way we follow Christ.

Giving Up

If something is not going to work, giving up is the most likely choice. Consequences are unavoidable and outcome is out of our control and there is no way to accomplish what we want.

Giving In

If something meets with continuous resistance, giving in will eventually happen. Unlike giving up, the consequences are carefully considered and the outcome weighed leading us to conclude that what we want can be achieved because what we want has now become very similar to what the one who resists, wants.

Giving Over

In some things God meets our standard of trustworthiness so we give over these things, especially the ones that are too hard or meet with continual resistance. If our trust becomes stronger we become more confident in God, if we become more confident in God, we will give over more and more of our lives.

Which type of giving does God do?

God does not give up. Jesus’ death is proof of that. God does not give up on saving us even though He knows not everyone will accept salvation.

God does not give in. You can beg, you can plead and you can even try to present a logical argument but God cannot be persuaded to give into the continuous resistance we put up when we think He should see things our way.

God does give over. If we continually refuse His offers of salvation while pleading our case for Him to agree with our human way of living, God will give us over to our evil desires and the consequences of a life separated from Him.

Which type of giving do Christ followers do?

I don’t know about you but I do all three! Maybe you have this Christ following thing down pat but I am still in the not so perfect stage of my faith.

There are times I give up. I just can’t see it working out so I figure God will have to do something.

There are times I give in because my way meets with continuous resistance from God and finally I conclude that what I want can be achieved because what I want has now become very similar to what He wants.

What I really need to do is give over. As I learn to trust God, I learn to give over the things that are too hard or meet with continual resistance long before I give up or give in. This is only the beginning. I want to get to the point where I trust Him and have so much confidence in Him that I am willing to give over every part of my life.

God’s plan – God’s way – God’s timing – God’s chosen resources

3 Comments

Filed under Christian Maturity, Christianity, Faith, Guest Posts, Struggles and Trials, worship

Tagged as Christian, giving, surrender, trust

by Anthony Baker | August 2, 2016 · 7:00 am

Going to Africa!

Thanks!

zimbabwe map I give praise to the Lord for all of your prayers and financial support! As of last week all the needed funds for my mission trip to Zimbabwe had come in. What a blessing! What an answer to prayer!

Yes, I needed between $2,500-$2,700 in a relatively short amount of time – right during the time when I my income was greatly reduced – and you folks stepped up to the bat and hit a home run!

I can’t wait to send out “thank you” notes to all that I can.

Stress

Now, I have to admit that all is not fun and games, however. Even though I have received all the need funds to make the trip, I am still having to pinch pennies as I purchase the necessary items to take with me – and the luggage in which to carry it.

It has been a long time since I’ve flown, and back then things weren’t so strict. Also, back then I didn’t worry about taking all the stuff I’m having to take this time. Even more stressful has been the challenge of determining what size of suitcase and carry-on to buy. Believe it or not, I had to borrow a measuring tape from a store clerk so that I could make sure what I bought was under 62 inches, and still I was so confused I didn’t even get anything.

Buying luggage is worse than shoe shopping!

And there’s more… It’s less than a week from my departure and I’ve still got to find enough clothes, change the starter on my daughter’s car, paint, clean house (and garage), try to get registered for my next round of seminary (pursuing an M.Div.), prepare for Sunday’s sermons, do some visiting, drive a bus for a field trip, schedule guest posts on this blog, and do a LOT of praying!

It’ll Be OK

You know, the Lord has brought me thus far, why should I worry? I could really use a few more dollars to finish up getting a few supplies, but God will provide. I don’t yet understand all the luggage stuff, but I’ll get it sooner or later. Somehow I’ll get a good portion of my to-do list done before I leave – I hope.

I believe God has something great in store for me. I don’t know what it is, but it will be what’s needed and what’s best. My prayer is that it will include a safe trip to Zimbabwe and back to the States, back home. I also pray it will include personal revival, along with stories of many in Chinhoyi coming to Christ.

But whatever happens, God is in control, and it’ll be OK. Just keep praying for me, would you? And prayers for my family would be appreciated, too!

Thanks!

11 Comments

Filed under ministry, places, Thanksgiving

Tagged as giving, Missions, prayer, Stress, travel, zimbabwe

by Anthony Baker | March 9, 2016 · 5:51 pm

The IMB: How Did We Get Here?

The following was written and posted today (March 9) by Dr. Randy Davis, Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. It was so heartbreaking that I not only had to share it here, but I will be sharing it in our prayer meeting tonight.

It was a dark day two weeks ago when International Mission Board President David Platt stepped to the microphone to inform Southern Baptists that 983 missionaries and 149 IMB staffers were stepping…