ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Epiphany
Holy Curiosity
This past Sunday, Josh pointed out that he and I have gone back and forth on whether or not Epiphany should be classified as a day or a season. There seems to be literature to suggest either, and we have encountered people practicing traditions that embrace both of them. The more I think about it, though, the more it seems that ubc would be well-served to consider it a season. With that in mind, here’s how the liturgical calendar breaks down: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent (Ash Wednesday-Holy Saturday), Easter (Easter-Pentecost), and Ordinary Time (1st Sunday after Pentecost-Christ the King Sunday). [I’m working on a graphic that integrates the seasons and ubc’s core values to highlight what this means for our liturgy thematically—stay tuned for that.]
Advent is a season of darkness. It’s important because it reminds us just how badly we need a Light. Christmas and Epiphany are seasons of Light. They are important because they acquaint us with the Light that comes into the darkness, and help us to understand what being caught up in that Light means for us and our discipleship. Furthermore, these seasons prepare us to enter the wilderness of Lent.
Epiphany is the coming-to-understand that comes along with the Light entering the darkness at Christmas. During Epiphany, we ask God to reveal to us what God wants us to know about who God is, and what God wants us to know about who we are. The Gospel texts during this season center on Jesus’ early life and ministry, which is great, because when we become reacquainted with Jesus, we are able to engage anew the question of what God would have us know about God and us.
It is fitting, then, that Josh’s sermons have carried the theme of meeting Jesus again (I think that’s actually his sermon title for this week). Being formed in the way of Christ often means meeting Jesus more than once. There is only one Jesus, but Jesus is a person we come to know through lenses that are made up of either the faith tradition in which we walk, the culture in which we are formed, the trajectories of our theological thought, or some combination of those things. And over time, as we are more fully formed in the way of Christ, these lenses can begin to cloud, and need recalibrating. This can be frustrating, but I think it is much less-so when we come to expect it—when we learn to consistently approach Jesus with a holy curiosity that assumes we have more to learn about the Word-made-flesh, never getting to a place where we fool ourselves into thinking that we know all there is to know about him. This curiosity impulse is what Epiphany helps us cultivate.
So, in the coming weeks, as we meet Jesus in our lectionary texts, do your best to assume you don’t already know who it is you are meeting. Assume that there is more that God wants to teach you about Godself through Jesus, and that in this reacquainting, God is forming you more fully into who you were made to be.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, or want to discuss it further, email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Sunday School
Sunday School begins this Sunday. Here is a list of the classes and a brief description of each.
Marginal Christianities (Led by Gerhard and Tylor in the Red Room)
Each week we will read a short text by a lesser known figure from early Christianity and discuss its implications for our own lives, work, and thought about God. Come if you want to learn from the neglected, the marginal, and the ancient voices of the Christian church.
The Rich Root of the Olive Tree//MINOR PROPHETS (Led by Jamey in the Rock n Roll Room)
Paul says in Romans 11 that we Gentiles--wild olive branches--have been "grafted in" to the people of Israel--God's cultivated olive tree. By grace and in Christ, Israel's spiritual heritage is our spiritual heritage. This semester, we will explore the Minor Prophets, or the "Book of the Twelve," to learn more about the Spirit that dwells in us and the God whom we have come to know in Jesus. We will move through the texts at about one prophet per lesson by discussing a major passage from his writings as well as the major themes of his work. The prophets are notoriously difficult texts, but studying them is deeply rewarding and offers us a glimpse into the heart of God.
Order of the Phoenix
Our middle school youth group will be meeting in the game room (room in back by bathrooms) to do a study on the scripture and the Hobbit. If you have a child (5-8 grade) who would like to come and follow Bilbo and the Bible to the Battle of Five Armies, then join them send them to this SS class.
Middle Ages Dinner
Please email jeff_walter@baylor.edu if you are a middle ager who would love to join this riveting adventure:
Enneagram Workshop
One of our ministry partners, Baylor Spiritual Life, is hosting and enneagram workshop. Interested persons should email kristen_richardson@baylor.edu for more information.
New Leadership Team Members
Giving Joy's wonderful blogpost, it should now be evident that we are looking for new leadership team members. If you were at our December town hall then you heard me announce that the leadership team decided in their October meeting to add two leadership team positions specifically for college students. It is a kind of quota. The only qualification or difference between the seven current seats for leadership team and these two additional student spots, is that the student spots will be one year commitments with the chance to renew for three years as opposed to the current three year commitment the other leadership team spots require.
So if you would like to be serve or nominate someone else to serve please fill out our nomination form.
Here are some things to consider from the bylaws:
(A) Purpose. The Leadership Team shall be the primary decision-making body of UBC. The Leadership Team will oversee all the business and property of the church, as well as make the final decisions regarding hiring and dismissal of staff and the acquisition and selling of assets that are beyond budgetary provisions.
(B) Composition. The Leadership Team shall consist of nine members, two which are university level students, of the UBC community that are not staff, finance team or human recourses and support team.
(C) Qualifications. Each member of Leadership Team shall have been a member of UBC for at least one year, exhibited an understanding and commitment to the mission and values of the church, and be willing to fulfill all responsibilities in the Leadership Team job description.
UBC’s Thailand Partnership
We have some exciting news: the missionaries we work with in Thailand our coming for a visit the weekend of January 29th. They will be sharing more about their work in Thailand during the service that Sunday, and we will also have a time for you to get to know them. On Sunday, January 29th, please join us in the Backside for coffee and fellowship. At 9:30am, during the Sunday School hour, we will be hanging out in the Backside with coffee and snacks, and this will be an opportunity for you to get to know our partners in Thailand better. If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org
Work is Worship
Greeters: Rachel, Carson, Christian
Coffee Makers: Karen Carney
Mug Cleaners: The Cooleys
Money Counter: Anna Tilson
Announcements
- Sunday Sermon: Meeting Jesus Again: Vocation Finder Matthew 4:12-25
- The Middle Ages January 21--Restaurant 1424 at 6:30pm
- Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting is January 29th
- February 3-- Parents Night Out -- More Info to Come
- February 12th - Love Lovefeast
- February 18--The Middle Ages -- TBA
- March 1st - Ash Wednesday
- March 18-- The Middle Ages--TBA
- April 2-- UBC Families @ Soccer Fields -- More Info to Come
- April 7th and 8th - Spring Retreat (Freshman/Sophomores)
- April 13th - Maundy Thursday
- April 14th - Good Friday
- April 16th - Easter
- April 22--The Middle Ages Baylor Theatre production of the comedy NOISES OFF—
- April 30th - Mr. Rogers Sund
- April 30th - Graduate Luncheon
- May 2nd - Study Hall
Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor?
254 413 2611
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair- Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com
Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com
Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu
Adam Winn: adamwinn68@yahoo.com
Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com
Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com
Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com
Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com
Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com
Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com
Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com
Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com
Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu
Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu
Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com