First Presbyterian Church of Orlando

March/April 2012

Seeking, Sharing, Serving...All to the Glory of God

Carry On!
ServeDay | March 10
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ON THE WAY
1 Thessalonians 1:3

WITH DR. DAVID D. SWANSON

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

During the first quarter of this year, our church has been through a time of tremendous spiritual focus as we have prayerfully considered the significance of our commitment to Jesus Christ and to His Church. As I preached during my first sermon in The Church Alive series, the primary question we all have to answer is, Who do we say Jesus is? In all my years of ministry, I have never seen a church come to such a sharp focus as we did during our denominational discernment process, primarily because we were wrestling with that question. While it was a challenging quarter, what I did not anticipate was the avalanche of Gods blessings and the unique manifestations of the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that God has renewed and revitalized our church as we have sought to honor and glorify Him through the witness of this body. He has, time and again, reinforced His presence among us, and while challenges remain, I pray that we will be all the more emboldened and encouraged about His work among us. It is for that reason that I draw your attention to Pauls letter quoted above. As he wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he encouraged them because of their faithful labor and their endurance. Without question, we have labored long and well in these past months. However, we must guard against a sense of spiritual malaise or let down because we may feel as if we have finished the task. No! Our task has only begun as God has ushered us forth into a new season of ministry. We need the endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this time, our church has been brought to a point of faithful declaration of Christ as Lord, and now, we take that message we engage in our spiritual labor with an endurance that comes from our hope that Jesus is our Savior and He alone is the hope of the world. Yes, we have completed a particular season in our churchs life and history, but a new chapter awaits, and I pray that we will sense a fresh call to engage in this new future to which He has called us. It will require our time, our energy, our prayer, our investment, and the wisdom of Gods Holy Spirit, but these are all things we have as they are supplied by our living God. In some small way, I think I know how Paul might have felt when he wrote those first words. As your pastor, I am so deeply thankful for you and for the witness you have born in these past months. I continually remember you before the Lord, humbled by your faithfulness and eager to embrace with you this new future, all for Gods glory and honor. With fond affection and love, I remain Yours in the service of Christ, our Lord,

Dr. David D. Swanson

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ON THE COVER:
Carry On!
A look back at a past ServeDay as we carry on to our next ServeDay on March 10. Join us!

CONTACT US
407. 4 2 3 . 3 4 4 1
To arrange a baptism Contact Worship x1451 To arrange a wedding Contact Weddings x1453 To arrange a funeral or memorial service Contact Pastoral Care x1455 To donate flowers for worship services Contact Worship x1451 With questions about your pledge, donation, or budget Contact Finance x1479

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With a change of address Contact Membership x1471 To purchase a sermon CD or DVD Contact x1438 To join the Chancel Choir Contact x1273 For child care reservations Early Childhood Contact x2250 To reach the Security Office Contact 407.415.9793 For Weekday School Contact 407.996.5864

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FaithServes: Year Two

Take a look forward to what is in store for FPCO and FaithServes.

To find out about Sunday School classes Contact Spiritual Formation x1463 With questions about the FPCO website or its Columns publication Contact Communications x1467 To reserve a meeting space Contact Special Services x1469 HOSPITAL CALLS: Hospitals are no longer able to notify us when our members are hospitalized. If you know someone who is in the hospital, please notify the Pastoral Care office at x1455. PASTORAL EMERGENCIES: For pastoral emergencies outside of the 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. church office hours, please leave a voicemail message at the main church number. The message center will page the minister on call, who will reply as soon as possible. NEED HELP? Dependency assistance, cancer support group, grief support, divorce care, infertility group, please contact Congregational Life x1159

Exploring Our New Home: Evangelical Presbyterian Church The Most Precious Years Amy Powell shares how Weekday School has impacted her family.

IN THIS ISSUE:
6 7 10 12 13 14 18 19 Living in Community: A Shift in My Spiritual Journey The Gifted to Serve Spiritual Workshop Moving to Mondays Prayer Ministry Perseveres Thank You! from Haven of Hope Two Are Better Than One: Building Mercy Together Update An Excerpt from Already Compromised One of Their Favorite Things News & Notices

www.twitter.com/fpcorlando

Group: First Presbyterian Church of Orlando

FaithServes :
YEAR TWO
By Scott Lee, Elder and FaithServes Chairman

A Look Back - Vision Forward

A MESSAGE TO OUR BUSINESS PEOPLE
We also sense God placing a special call on the business people of FPCO through the Biblical Entrepreneurship program and other similar efforts. It seems like God is saying to the people at FPCO that it is time to tear down the divide between sacred and secular; between work and worship. He wants every business person to find where they fit in bringing His Kingdom to earth, through their business. FaithServes wants to be a part of bringing that message.

ecently the FaithServes team took some time to look back over the last year and celebrate what God has done through this effort. We kicked off with the FaithServes Conference, a church-wide gathering, Joel and Isaac Hunter encouraged us to have an even greater impact on the world. Through FaithServes, we have focused our efforts on the work of ten ministry partners; ministries both inside and outside the church that offer us the best opportunities to have that impact. Our first ServeDay was a watershed day as more than six hundred First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (FPCO) members flooded into the community to serve together in ways that changed both those who were being served and those who were serving. We were most excited about the small ways in which service is becoming part of the DNA of this church in every area. Womens Circles are serving on Mercy Drive at Heart of Mercy Church; a LIFE Community Group in the Conway area has created Conway Cares, a food pantry for hungry elementary school children; the Womens Ministry has raised over $15,000 for the women of Madagascar. The missional spirit is growing, and the great news is that no one asked for permission or was begged to do it. Faith is serving in capacities we cant even count or keep up with: that is the Holy Spirit on the move.

SERVICE THROUGH LIFE COMMUNITY GROUPS

We are so excited to see God knitting FPCO together through the LIFE Community Groups; groups that want to serve this community. God is definitely at work in these groups and we, on the FaithServes team, want to join Him. We are doing all we can to make it easier for groups to serve together, both inside this church and in the community. We believe that we can help these groups build unity and intimacy through service.

SERVEDAY V2
ServeDay is one of the best new facets of FPCO and we believe that we have just scratched the surface of its potential. God has laid a vision on our hearts to see ServeDay become a very effective evangelism tool for FPCO. We envision members inviting their non-Christian neighbors, friends, and co-workers to come serve in an easily accessible, friendly setting. Through this invitation, we want to expose people to the Gospel at work and as we lift Jesus up through our service, He promises to draw them to Himself. Please continue to pray for the FaithServes Team. God is certainly challenging us to serve this church in new ways this year. Those He calls, He also empowers. We are so excited to see what He does this year.

TELLING HIS STORY WELL

As we look forward to this year, where do we sense God leading this church through the FaithServes effort? Well, first we want to put in a set of measurements to help us know the extent of what God is doing. Measurements? you ask, That doesnt sound very exciting. Proper metrics are critical to telling Gods story. How much less exciting would the story of Pentecost be if Luke had said, What seemed like a lot of people were added to the church that day. By saying, that 3,000 people were added to the church that day, Luke adds so much power to the story. We are committed to telling our part of His redemptive story well.

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SERVING IN COMMUNITY:
A Shift in My Spiritual Journey
By Andy Ashler, Member

ver since I can remember, the church has been a very important aspect of my life and my faith often influenced the decisions I made while I was growing up. When I began my professional adult life in Orlando twelve years ago, I had a desire to get involved in the local church community. For years, I regularly attended a downtown church and participated in their Bible studies and outreach ministries, but eventually, I felt God calling me to move in another direction. I learned about the young adult program, now called Kalo, at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (FPCO), and felt like it was the right fit for me at that time in my life. So, on faith, I started attending Sunday school and worship services at FPCO. Immediately, I felt at home and welcomed by church members who were my own age. My initial impression of FPCO was that it was not a Sunday only church. I sensed that this church and its members were truly involved with many different local ministries in the community throughout the week, as well as being dedicated to supporting international outreach ministries. Within the last two years, I have participated in a couple of on-campus courses; completing the Crown Ministry course and Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover class. Stewardship of time, talent, and treasure has always been a part of my spiritual experience, and since it is something that I find most personally satisfying, I greatly appreciated FPCOs focus and commitment to assist individuals in learning about their opportunities for stewardship. In May of 2011, I was invited by two friends of mine, John and Janine Anderson, to join them for our first ServeDay. Cleaning the yard of a local womens mission was my first introduction to a LIFE Community Group (LCG). While we toiled in the dirt, I met some other members of the Andersons LCG and other people from different groups. Being invited to ServeDay was a great opportunity, one that opened the door for me to meet a wide variety of Christians in a large church setting. The impact of this experience also reminded me of just how important it was to be part of a Christian community outside of just Sunday morning or outside of doing service projects every once in a while. We are that much stronger in our ability to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this world when we serve together. Soon after ServeDay, I was invited to dinner with the Andersons LIFE Community Group; it was at this point that I began to feel truly welcomed into the church community. One invitation to serve evolved into one invitation to dinner, which then became one invitation to enter into a Christ-centered community every week! I am now a part of that LIFE Community Group. We meet on Wednesday nights to study Scripture, spend time in fellowship, and focus on praying for others. We have followed The Church Alive sermon-based study over the past couple of months, and have grown in our walk with God and one another. I am finding that my LIFE Community experience has allowed me to find new Christian friends as I continue traveling my spiritual journey.

Photo by Hailey Domeck

Being invited to ServeDay was a great opportunity.

Photo by Ed Ubels

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Gifted to Serve
Spiritual Workshop
Moving to Sunday Mornings!
By Lori Needham, Prayer & Spiritual Formation Ministry

The

ave you ever wondered what is so special about yourself that you could be used by God to further His kingdom? Wondering what

God wants you to do in your life? You want to be of service, but not sure what kind of service would be enjoyable and meaningful? These are lots of good questions and we have lots of good answers! We are pleased to announce that the Gifted to Serve spiritual gift workshop will be hosted on Sunday mornings beginning this spring. If the busyness of the your weekday schedule did not permit you to join us for an evening workshop or if child care was an issue, we are bringing the workshop to Sunday mornings and we hope this will offer more convenience for you to attend! One way to identify how and where you can serve is to learn how God has gifted you with spiritual gifts. This three week workshop begins Sunday, April 15 and concludes on April 29. Because each session builds from the previous, it is important that you attend all three days. Hopefully taking three days away from your Sunday school class will not create difficulties for you. If you havent found a class to attend, join us in this workshop and well make some recommendations at the conclusion of the workshop! Each hour-and-a-half session will occur from 9:15am to 10:45am just in time to attend a late worship service of your choice. Minimum class participation requires that six people register; the cost of this workshop is $10.00, covering the material costs. Online registration is available at www.fpco.org/register or you can pick up a hard copy registration form in the lobby of the Edington Ministry Center. Questions? Contact Lori Needham at lneedham@fpco.org or x1463

Artwork by Karen Mills

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EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Recently we caught up with the head of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Dr. Jeffrey J. Jeremiah
TODD MCLENNAN What is your official capacity with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC)? DR. JEREMIAH I am the chief executive officer of the EPC. Stated Clerk is the title of my position. The Lord called me to this ministry in 2006. Before taking this role I was a pastor of local churches in Washington, DC and Seattle, WA for a total of 26 years. A distinctive feature about my ministry is that I do it in a non-resident capacity. Our administrative offices are in Livonia, MI, which is between Ann Arbor and Detroit, but I still live in Seattle. I am on the road about half the year. A major portion of my travel time is spent visiting our churches and Presbytery meetings. TM - What would you say to our congregation about First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (FPCO) joining the Evangelical Presbyterian Church? DR. JEREMIAH I am very pleased and excited at the prospect of FPCO coming into the EPC. I believe we have much to offer to encourage and support and (I hope) inspire you as you pursue the mission God has given to you as a church. Im pretty sure that there is much you can bring to energize and strengthen the EPC. Im convinced that we are in an historic time of transition in American Christianity. God is working to realign churches and reform denominations and connectional ties. In American Presbyterianism the Lord has the EPC right in the middle of that. In 2007, we had 182 churches in the EPC. Today we have 325 churches. Were excited about the churches that are coming to us, believing that God has called them to be a part of what He is doing in the EPC. This growth in the number of our churches has been a big change for us. From the outset, weve trusted that our Lord Jesus would lead us, provide for us, and bless us in this change as Hes enlarged us. Hes been incredibly faithful and good! At the same time, as were intentionally pursuing becoming a denomination of missional churches, the Lord has energized us to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth and to our community and country. TM Do you have any summarizing thoughts about new churches joining the EPC? DR. JEREMIAH As we have brought new churches into the EPC, they have come to our presbytery and General Assembly meetings, and gotten to know us and what were committed to and passionate about: Christ, the Great Commission and the biblical and Reformed faith. Those new churches have enthusiastically embraced their new denomination. I invite you to visit our website at www.epc. org. Ive been told repeatedly that it is very user-friendly, very accessible. Materials are easily downloaded and printed for your review. As you see how were focused on honoring Jesus Christ, adhering to reformed and biblical orthodoxy, and proclaiming the Good News to our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth, you will be pleased.

Exploring Our Future Home:

Dr. Donald Sweeting, President of the Orlando Campus of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), shares his experience in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
TODD MCLENNAN How did you decide to attend First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (FPCO)? DR. SWEETING - My wife was the one that suggested we attend church here at FPCO. I had spent the past 12 years as Senior Pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church (EPC) in Denver. My last act as a pastor was to host the General Assembly in Denver about two years ago. The last Sunday, which was the last day that I got to preach. Then all of the sudden Im in Florida in RTS World without an EPC church down here. TM - Help us understand the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) with some brackground. DR. SWEETING The EPC is part of the larger Presbyterian Church, we call it one of the split Ps:
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ARP: Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church OPC - Orthodox Presbyterian Church EPC Evangelical Presbyterian Church OCA Orthodox Church in America ECO Evangelical Covenant Order In over 300 years of history, and primarily in the 20th century, the splits of the Presbyterian Church in the United States have been over theology and what we are going to believe. In the 1920s, John Gresham Machen, wrote a book titled, Christianity and Liberalism. Machen believed that theological liberalism would ultimately lead to another religion; so he left Princeton and founded Westminster Theological Seminary. In the 1960s, RTS was founded (looked at Southern Seminaries and saw that the church was changing due to a decline in following scripture) 1970s PCA (Southern Presbyterian churches saw that the church was changing; going in a very different direction)

1980 (Northern Presbyterian churches EPC) I feel that Machen was right and that the church was having trouble with the decline in following scripture and their commitment to follow the gospel. When you decrease your commitment to scripture, you open yourself up to theological changes; this is what has been happening in the commitment to the gospel, and the authority of the scripture is at risk. The predominant churches that have been coming into the EPC have been PC(USA) churches, but there have been PCA and independent churches as well. The reason I feel denominations are so important is because of the biblical principle

that we call Connectionalism. In the New Testament, the churches were connected together; Acts 15 is clear testimony to that. In other words, its just not good to be alone; you cant be alone and thrive as a Christian. Solo Christianity doesnt work; therefore you cant be alone and thrive as a church. This Connectionalism is a biblical principle. Thats one reason I am in the EPC. My first church was a non-denominational church and there are great non-denominational churches; I was pastor of one of them. One of the things that I experienced was always having to explain yourself: We are not a cult. We were within orthodox Christianity and there was a real sense of aloneness, so out of frustration with that, I eventually thought I wanted to be connected. I then ended up in the EPC and have been in for 12 years its a great group to be a part of. Why? Because its committed to the essentials of historic Christianity. It has a document called the Essentials of the Faith, from which you cannot waiver if you are being ordained in any position. It has a confessional commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Its connectional, its confessional, it has been focused on missions and evangelism; and thats the predominant thing that we talk about at our General Assemblies. First Pres is a lot like Cherry Creek Presbyterian. I told David that in so many ways we had two styles of worship and had an underlying unity that held them both together: thats very hard to do. Its a church that looks outward and thats what I grew up in. My father was pastor of an inner city church in Chicago and then he became president of Moody Bible Institute for many years. We grew up going to Moody Church in downtown Chicago and all of my churches have been suburban churches. I told my wife that I liked being in the city and going to church in the city. We feel that First Pres embodies that. The other thing about the EPC, theres a nice balance between grace and truth. The New Testament says the glory of Jesus is that He was full of grace and truth and thats a balance that none of us gets right; either we are grace people and we let go of the truth in some way or we are all truth people and we just forget being gracious. The EPC has modeled holding those ideals together for the church, which is healthy for churches and for denominations. Another thing that really impressed me is that they are confessional. They do have their own confession, but the relationship between the essentials of the faith and the confessions is a wonderful balance. That essential gives a certain proportionality to being a confessional church. If it were just the confession, then all of a sudden everything would be of equal value and it would be easy to lose your bearings. There are always people who will have quibbles with one or two things in the confession and as long as

its not major things, thats been ok. That is a healthy balance. Right now, Evangelicalism is adrift, in my opinion, because we have watered things down to six key doctrines and that is all that we believe. We used to have historic Protestantism to give us some framework, but thats gone; so now culture redefines everything else. But in a confessional church, of course you have your six, seven, or ten points and it is like the frame around the picture that provides a necessary context for healthy Christianity. Now for the EPC, Ill tell you how that works. Of course we use the Apostles Creed all the time. We affirm our faith with the Nicene Creed all the time. We recognize that those are the sort of ber creeds of Christianity, so its not that we dont pay any attention to those. Sometimes, we will teach the Heidelberg Catechism. As far as the confession of our church, it has been the Westminster Confession and theres a lot of great stuff there. TM There was some thought that we were changing as a church, and essentially what I hear you saying is that we were only changing in order to stay true to our core beliefs. It is actually our culture around us that is changing. DR. SWEETING The question is, Who moved? You look at the campus here, its just the physical campus, the Reformation Chapel and the things that it celebrates. I would argue that the EPC is more true to the heritage than where the PC(USA) is going. Its not just a Presbyterian problem, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists are dealing with this. Its just a strange time to be alive, because we can find that we have more in common with Greek Orthodox believers. A good example is that down the street from my

previous church we had a Greek Orthodox Church and also another Presbyterian church. The Presbyterian Church would not talk to us because we were a part of the EPC. The Greek Orthodox priest asked, Can we pray together? He said that he wanted to be around someone who loves Jesus. Now who would have figured that could happen, forty to fifty years ago? These are interesting times regarding denominational labels: you have to check out what they really mean, because things are changing. TM You are excited about where the EPC has been, so are you excited about where they are headed? DR. SWEETING Yes, I am, because they aspire to be faithful and missional at the same time. I will tell you this, theres no perfect denomination; no perfect church. You know the old quip; if you ever find the perfect church, dont join it, cause youll ruin it. The EPC is young, but its a great place to be! For more information, visit www.epc.org.

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PRAYER MINISTRY PERSEVERES

By Lisa Shaw, Prayer Ministry

DID YOU KNOW

That the Prayer Ministry has a group that PRAYS over every seat in the Sanctuary and over the Fellowship Hall every Monday afternoon at 1:45? They PRAY for each person who will be in worship, that the Holy Spirit will prepare their hearts to hear from Him, and that they will be touched by God? Wont you join us in the Sanctuary on Mondays as we ask the Holy Spirit to come?

DID YOU KNOW

That the Prayer Team covers each worship service in PRAYER? That during the hour you are in worship, one or more of the Prayer Team members are in the Prayer Room praying for you; asking that God would come and speak to your heart, and that He would be present as we worship Him? Would you like to support our Prayer Ministry and help us cover our worship services in prayer?

DID YOU KNOW

That the Prayer Ministry has quarterly functions to provide opportunities for all of us to join together in prayer? We organized a Prayer Walk in the fall that brought church members together to walk around our church property and pray for our church and then we met in small groups on site to cover each of our ministries in prayer. We held two Advent Services in December to celebrate the Advent season. And on March 7, we will be holding a Prayer Walk to learn about the Stations of the Cross and to spend time in prayer as we prepare for Easter.

DID YOU KNOW

That our Prayer Room has been redecorated and is available for anyone to meet and spend time there in prayer? And that in the Prayer Room we have posted FPCOs Ministry Prayer Requests for this semester? Please stop by the Prayer Room and see what is on the hearts of the leaders of your church and spend some time praying for them.

DID YOU KNOW

That the Prayer Team has finished reading the book, The Prayer Saturated Church, by Cheryl Sacks and is now reading Fifty-Seven Words that Change the World, by Darrell Johnson; a book about the Lords Prayer? And that the Prayer Team is now leading a Sunday school class focusing on Prayer which began on February 12, at 11am.

DO YOU KNOW who your Prayer Team is?

They are: Vesna Allison, Myrtle Amundson, Alene Baker, Jessica Burden, Julie Burkett, Jan Cox, Nancy Czesnakovicz, Barbara Francis, Sarah Holbrook, Bill Lawton, Donna McClellan, Rebecca Mitchell, Robin Parkhouse, Sarah Parkhouse, Kim Penney, Betty Rice, Ken Scearce, Lisa Shaw and Michelle Sterchi.

For more information on how to get involved with our Prayer Ministry and join us in these activities, please contact Donna McClellan at dmcclellan@fpco.org or Lisa Shaw at shawdlwd@aol.com.

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Two Are Better Than One

By Carol Hafer, Director of Mission

From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:16 The FPCO Mercy Corridor Initiative is our partnership with Heart of Mercy Church (HOM). Together, we are developing relationships, and coming alongside our brothers and sisters at HOM church as they impact the Mercy Corridor community for Jesus Christ. We do this, primarily through two programs; one focused on educating children, the Mercy Drive Achievers program; the other, one helping equip individuals with the skills needed to give them opportunities for employment through The Jobs Partnership. skills to a part of this project. For more information, please contact Chuck Clark at chuckclark2@gmail.com.

MERCY DRIVE ACHIEVERS CLUB AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

BUILDING MERCY TOGETHER UPDATE

Thanks to your generosity and a gift from Heart of the City Foundation, we are able to help provide the much needed ministry space at Heart of Mercy Community Church. By the time this article is published, we hope to have the permit allowing us to move forward with the portable building project. Many have used their professional skills in order to modify the plans, and respond to the citys questions and requests. Come out and be a hands-on part of Building Mercy Together. Its not too late to donate your professional

Nearly 70 Ivey Lane Elementary School children that live on Mercy Drive, continue to be taken to and from school in a big white Heart of Mercy School Bus. They spend each weekday afternoon at the church learning to read, getting assistance with their homework, enjoying a snack, and working on their site words or math flashcards. Miss Eyma Charles continues to love and lead this ministry. Thank you to the many who have come alongside this vital ministry. One of our womens Bible Study Circles threw a birthday party for Jesus in December and a Valentines party in February. Our FOUR12 high school students are mentoring Tuesday afternoons, some former school teachers are helping with the curriculum, and several FPCO members and families tutor at the Mercy Achievers Club weekly. There is opportunity for more mentors at the Mercy Drive Achievers Club each weekday from 3:305:00pm. There is no better way to invest ninety minutes of your time, than giving time and focus to one of these elementary school students, who are desperate for attention and a bit of basic homework help. For more information, please contact Cleat Simmons at cleat116@gmail.com.

to bring a light meal for the class at FPCO on Thursday nights. On-going donations to help clothe the men and women for their interviews are other opportunities to serve this ministry. For more information, visit www.fpco.org/ jobspartnership or contact Tad Smith at tad.smith@hds.com.

GROWING TOGETHER

Our partnership with Heart of Mercy Community Church continues to grow and there are many ways that our two congregations have started to be the church together. For example, several women from Heart of Mercy Church are valued members in our Womens Amazing Collection Bible Study; The Christ School served HOM Community Church by planting new hedges, picking up leaves, weeding, and more. Our Kalo Sunday School class hosted several Heart of Mercy Young Adult groups at their Christmas Party, and Heart of Mercy middle school students are joining our FOUR12 ministry on Wednesday afternoons for their Straight Talk Bible study. Perhaps the most special part of this growing partnership is the Christian friendships that are developing. We have so much to learn from each other.

JOBS PARTNERSHIP

In January, we began our eighth joint Jobs Partnership class. We are excited about having some of the parents of children in the Mercy Drive Achievers Club join us in this Jobs Partnership class. There are many ways to be involved. Two ways would be to help with resume preparation or mock interview practice. There are also hospitality opportunities for families, LIFE Community Groups, and other small groups

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Photos by Todd McLennan

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ALREADY COMPROMISED
Introduction by Dr. Case Thorp, Associate Pastor for Mission & Evangelism

An Excerpt from

FPCO member, Britt Beemer, is founder and president of Americas Research Group. Besides research on trends in a variety of fields, Britt has worked with several authors to explore deeper trends within American Christianity. His latest study, Already Compromised, written by Ken Ham and Greg Hall, has just been released. The book explores the state of Americas Christian colleges and its students. Below is an excerpt laying the foundation for the study. This excerpt from the book Already Compromised, has been used with permission of authors, Ken Ham and Greg Hall with Britt Beemer and publisher Master Books.

The goal of the survey conducted by Americas Research Group and Britt Beemer was to survey 200 different Christian institutions of higher learning through interviews with people in four different positions: the president of the university the academic dean/vice president the head of the science department the head of the theology/religion department Not every school used the same titles to describe these positions; however, we are able to easily categorize them appropriately by their function. In a perfect world, we would have interviewed 800 people. Virtually everyone that we could reach wanted to answer the questions. The problem was getting to them some were on sabbatical and some of their staffers filtered us. But once we actually got through to them, we had less than 40 people turn down the opportunity to be interviewed. In the end, we were able to interview 312 people. Of these, 223 were from schools associated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a group of over 90 colleges that require all of their professors to sign a personal statement of faith. The other 89 respondents were from schools that were religiously affiliated through an association with a religious denomination. (These two groups responded in very similar ways to survey questions, by the way.) The only real difference in their demo graphics is that Catholics labeled themselves as being religiously affiliated and Baptist colleges tended to be members of the CCCU. Other than that, these two distinctions simply confirm that we have a good cross section here of a number of different denominations from different backgrounds more than plenty to make generalized considerations according to the data. So out of a potential of 800 people, we had a sample size right at 40 percent. That was much higher than
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anyone expected we would be able to get. This response rate gives us an error factor of about +/- 2.5 percent. (Statistically, that means that if we say 50 percent, the actual number across the whole country is somewhere between 47.5 percent and 52.5 percent. Because of this small error factor, we will be rounding all of our results to a 10th of a percent.) Many of our questions required simple yes or no responses. Others were more open-ended and each person was allowed to give one response to the question, their number-one answer. So the data you see on the open-ended questions is not word-for-word, but rather grouped together with other similar responses. The survey went very well. We were allowed to get not only a big picture view of whats happening on the Christian college campus, but also insights into specific issues that should be of concern for everyone involved. Lets take a quick look at the big picture responses. In upcoming chapters, we will dissect them in much more detail. New Testament Agreement/Old Testament Dividing Lines We were pleased to find nearly 100 percent agreement on some important New Testament issues: Do you believe in the virgin birth of Christ? Yes: 99.0% Do you believe in Christs substitutionary death on the Cross? Yes: 99.0% Do you believe in a literal heaven and hell? Yes: 96.5% Do you believe in Christs Second Coming? Yes: 99.0% Do you believe in the bodily Resurrection of Christ? Yes: 99.0%

But the minute we stepped into the Old Testament, division began to arise. The more detailed the question, the clearer it became that there were serious problems. Immediately we see a rift forming over the historical account of Noah and the Flood, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. When we started to look at issues regarding creation and evolution, the issues became more pronounced. Once more, the more detailed our questions became, the deeper the division became. Do you believe the Genesis 12 account of creation is literally true? Yes: 83.0% No: 14.7% Dont know: 2.2% Do you believe in the Flood of Noahs day? Yes - 91.0% No 7.7% Dont Know - 1.3% Do you believe the Flood was worldwide, local, or nonliteral? Worldwide - 57.7% Local - 35.6% Nonliteral - 6.7% Do you believe the Genesis account of creation as written? Yes - 89.7% No - 8.0% Dont know - 2.2% Do you believe in God creating the earth in six literal 24-hour days? Yes - 59.6% No - 38.5% Do you believe in God creating the earth, but not in six literal days? Yes - 47.1% No - 50.6% Dont know - 2.2% Its clear that we have some confusion here. We are beginning to see a trend that concerned us throughout the entire survey: people didnt always mean what they said. For example, 83 percent said that they believe Genesis 1 and 2 are literally true. But when we asked whether they believe God created in six literal days, only 59.6 percent answered yes. That means about 23 percent are either confused, wrong, or just havent thought this through. Or it could also be how people in a postmodern culture determine the meaning of words. I have realized over the years that many professors will sound like they believe in a literal Genesis, but what they mean by the words is not what I (and many others) understand them to mean. This is a major issue we will deal with in this study.

For more information, visit www.argconsumer.com. Already Compromised can be obtained at Amazon.com. This excerpt has been reproduced with permission.

COLUMNS | 15

MOST PRECIOUS YEARS

By Amy Powell, Member

THE

n December 14, 2002, our first daughter Caroline was born. Soon after, I began to talk about when she would be old enough to attend Weekday School. Not long after, Jason and I began giving much thought to our childs education. After many conversations and prayers, Caroline skipped off to her first day of Weekday School, in the fall of 2005. Weekday Schools philosophy for children is Learning Through Play and Growing in Gods Love. As I complete my seventh and final year as a mommy in this precious place, I believe this same philosophy holds true for the Mothers. Caroline was attending school two mornings a week, and by now was big sister to Elizabeth. As with many schools, Weekday School provides opportunities for parents to become involved both in and out of a childs classroom. Weekday School is different in that it fosters real relationships, rooted in Gods word. Children and parents are valued and Weekday School recognizes the importance of maintaining a Christian home. It was on Monday mornings that I, and so many of my dearest friends, grew as young Christian women through the weekly Bible Studies offered by Weekday School. I was surrounded by women who served as mentors and women who were partners in raising our children. I spent my mornings with ladies who understood the joys and trials of parenting young children. Through prayer, study, and conversations, I grew to a deeper understanding of who God created me to be.

Photo by Gary Powell

One of my favorite Weekday School events is the Mothers Brunch. Each spring, Lee Fellowship Hall is transformed; our childrens artwork is displayed and the tables are beautifully set for a morning of food, fellowship, and nourishment for our hearts. The speaker is always someone with great wisdom. We sit, listening to every word she shares, writing feverishly, laughing, and crying. The keepsake, each mother takes home, quickly becomes our most treasured thing. By the fall of 2009 Caroline was an alumnus of Weekday School, Elizabeth was attending four mornings a week, and our youngest, Mary Virginia, had begun the two-day class. I will never forget how proud she was to finally get to go to school. Her teacher had first taught both of her sisters and now it was her turn. By then this woman was practically family; she has known my two youngest from the moment they were born, caring for each of the girls when they had a skinned knee or upset tummy, and all three of them have curled up in her lap when they need a little extra love. The comfort those realities brought me was tremendous. I knew that she, and all of our teachers after her, were partnering with Jason and me; showing our daughters the love of Jesus and shaping their tender hearts. Now in the spring of 2012, I have suddenly become the Veteran Mother; the mother who has seen seven, beautiful Thanksgiving Worships, and cried; the mother who has watched nine, Christmas pageants, and cried; the mother who has made playdough in colors I never knew possible, and yes, sometimes cried. You see, I now realize that Weekday School is a memory that I will never forget. For seven years Jason and I have entrusted them with our most precious gifts from God. The reality is, Caroline, Elizabeth, and Mary Virginia will probably not remember many things they were taught. But every time I look at my childrens handprint tiles, I will remember the most precious years our family spent at Weekday School.

16 | COLUMNS

ONE OF THEIR

Favorite

THINGS

Supporting Joni and Friends Wheels for the World Ministry

By Frances Johnson, Member

bout three years ago now, Cyndy Hetrick and I wanted to do a new, creative project to continue helping Joni and Friends ministry, Wheels for the World, as they have been doing through family events, The Big Wheel Deal and the sale of various homemade items. Wheels for the World provides a free wheelchair, along with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to children and adults affected by disability worldwide. Since 1994, our Wheels for the World ministry has presented the Gospel by delivering wheelchairs and Bibles in developing countries. But Wheels for the World is not simply about dropping off a wheelchair. Its about changing the hearts, minds, and lives of people. Its about transforming societies, village by village, person by person. Wheels for the World shares the love of Jesus Christ; extended through the gift of mobility, bringing hope, joy, and salvation to children and adults with disabilities around the world. The group decided to put together a celebrity recipe book to benefit this important ministry. However, the book was not only to include recipes from First Presbyterian Church of Orlando (FPCO) and Heart of Mercy churches, but also local and national celebrities such as Mike Huckabee, Paula Deen, Laura Bush, and Roger Staubach, as well as leaders in ministry such as Beth Moore, R.C. Sproul, and Luci Swindoll. What makes this book unusual is the inclusion of scriptures and quotes, chefs hints and tips, lots of fun food facts, a delightful childrens category, and a fabulous bonus section which includes unbelievable recipes and suggestions from various outstanding restaurants, the Queen Mary, holiday menus, sports food ideas, and the list goes on. The original artwork adds color to the mix and the books format is designed for easy usage. And-oh-yes, every contributor has included their five favorite things, thus the title of the bookMy Favorite Things. As Dean Johnson of the Orlando Sentinel said, This is not your Grandmas cookbookits 300 pages are bursting with everything interesting and full of fun. An awesome read! The final sales on our FPCO campus for the My Favorite Things cookbook will be May 6 and May 13. What a great gift for wives, daughters, aunts, Moms and Grandmomsin fact, anyone in your life, male or female, would love it!

JONI EARECKSON TADA Founder, CEO

18 | COLUMNS

News & Notices

Give an Easter Dedication by March 19 Your generous donations make it possible for our Flower Ministry to fill the Sanctuary on Easter morning with magnificent floral arrangements. With each $10 donation you provide, you may make a dedication in memory or in honor of someone. Dedications will appear in our Easter Sunday bulletin. Forms are available online at www.fpco.org/easterdedications or in the EMC lobby. You may also make a payment online at www. fpco/register.com. The deadline for all dedications is March 19. Contact: Glenda Morgan at gmorgan@fpco.org or x1272 Register by April 2 for ICCC Tournament for the Tots Join us on April 11 for an afternoon of golf, refreshments, fun, and fellowship at Dubsdread Golf Course to benefit FPCOs William E. Alexander Infant Child Care Centers Scholarship Fund. Pick up a registration form in the ICCC office on the first floor of the Clayton Life Center. Registration deadline is April 1. Contact: Sue Fulford at 407.859.0198 Easter Egg Hunt & Butterfly Release to be Held on April 6 at Cypress Grove Park All are invited! Bring your Easter baskets, picnic lunches, and blankets to join us for our Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Butterfly Release (for toddlers through 5 years of age) on Friday, April 6! Eggs will be provided. For admission, please bring one canned food item for our local food bank! Location: Cypress Grove Park, 290 Holden Avenue, Orlando, Florida (near Discovery Church) Time: 10:00am Butterfly release 10:20am Easter Egg Hunt Bring a picnic lunch and stay afterwards to enjoy the park! Contact: Kathy Mangascle at kmangascle@fpco.org or 407.956.5835

SYMPATHY TO:

Karen Hanson, on the death of her mother, Gloria Creeden, on December 23, 2011. Bill and Shari Elmer, on the death of her father, Chet Wright, on December 24, 2011. Mr. Wright was the grandfather of Steve (Sarah Fox) Elmer. Cheryl Bement and Debbie (Doug) Palmer, on the death of their father, Ward Bennett, on December 25, 2011. David Collier, on the death of his mother, Mary Collier, on December 26, 2011. Dr. Ben Abberger, on the death of his wife, Nancy Abberger, on December 31, 2011. Mike and Linda Bailey, on the death of her father, Donald Braswell, on December 31, 2011. Skip and Carol Rue, on the death of his mother, Sue Rue, on January 3, 2012. The friends and family of Charlie Fortney, who died January 5, 2012. Dan and Sue Fulford, on the death of his mother, Mary Fulford, on January 8, 2012. Scott and Mary Johnson, on the death of her mother, Lucille Bertram, on January 10, 2012. The family and friends of Henry Swanson, who died January 10, 2012. Patsy Pittman, on the death of her sister, Georgia La Rosa, on January 10, 2012. Laura Sumner, on the death of her brother, Wayne Garnett, on January 12, 2012. Robby and Margie Ball, on the death of his mother, Dot Ball, on January 14, 2012. Mrs. Ball was the grandmother of Clint (Maribeth) Ball, Kevin (Mari) Ball and Ashley Ball and great grandmother of Cooper Ball. Ellen Arnold, on the death of her mother, Georgia Hayes, on January 15, 2012. Mrs. Hayes was the grandmother of Carly, Christie, and Kathleen Arnold. Cris Heceta, on the death of her father, Wilmer Heceta, on January 23, 2012, Charles McCanless, on the death of his wife, Dot McCanless, on January 24, 2012. Mrs. McCanless was the mother of Carolyn (John) Caplan and grandmother of Wesley and Chris Caplan. Cary (Andy) Burchak and Cindy Conner, on the death of their father, Coffee Conner, on January 29, 2012. Mr. Conner was the grandfather of Conner and Kelsey Burchak. Amanda (Charles) Gufford and Alison (Patrick) Brackins, on the death of their father, Bill Chastain, on January 30, 2012. Mr. Chastain was the grandfather of Courtney Gufford.

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Scott and Erin Baker, on the birth of their daughter, Kaitlyn Faith Baker, born August 12, 2011. Dr. Case and Jodi Thorp, on the birth of their son, Brooks Jeffrey Thorp, born August 12, 2011. Lars and Erin Lindblad, on the birth of their son, Logan Lindblad, born January 7, 2012. Ryan and Olivia Jones, on the birth of their daughter, Victoria Winter Jones, born January 13, 2012. The proud grandmother is Martha Jones. Todd and Erika Sickles, on the birth of their daughter, Marika Noel Sickles, born February 10, 2012. The proud grandparents are Rick and Rebecca Sickles. Steve and Amber Eastwood, on the birth of their daughter, June Olive Eastwood, born February 13, 2012. Scott and Caroline Miller, on the birth of their daughter, Lucie Rose Miller, born February 13, 2012. The proud grandparents are Mike and Trice Abufaris and Tom and Kathryn Miller. Joshua Ray Coffman and Rebekah Carolyn Hood, who were married on December 17, 2011 in the Smith Family Chapel, at Riverbend Church, in Austin, TX. Joshua is the son of Michael and Nancy Coffman.

COLUMNS | 19

First Presbyterian Church of Orlando 106 E. Church St., Orlando, FL 32801

The First Presbyterian Columns (USPS 604-040) is published bimonthly by the First Presbyterian Church. Circulation: 2,800. (2,500 by US Mail, 300 by on-campus distribution). Periodicals postage paid at Orlando, Florida. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COLUMNS, 106 E. Church St. Orlando, FL 32801-3390. 2012 First Presbyterian Church of Orlando COLUMNS.

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106 East Church Street 407.423.3441

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TRADITIONAL SERVICES: Sundays, 8:30 & 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary GENESIS (CONTEMPORARY) SERVICES: Sundays, 8:30, 9:45, & 11:00 a.m. in Lee Fellowship Hall ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL: Sundays, 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

POSTMASTER: Time Sensitive Material Please Deliver by March 5, 2012