Meet Doug Hamer~ It has been a very busy few months in the personnel arena collecting resumes, scheduling interviews and hiring my replacement. Under Dr. Tom’s (Hakes) leadership, the task has been accomplished. Doug Hamer of Carthage has been hired effective October 30th. I’ll allow Doug to tell you all about himself in his first…
No one is exactly the same in this world; even identical twins have different finger prints and different hairs on their heads. If God had made us all the same, what a boring world it would be! Not only our looks are different, but the Bible tells us that we are all born with distinct…
On July 22, 2009, I joined the staff of First Christian Church. At that time I did not dream that the time would ever come for me to announce my retirement. But I do feel that the time has now come in my personal life to do just that. It is bittersweet; I will be…
Even though summer doesn’t officially arrive until June, Memorial weekend kicks off the summer season for most of us! With that comes well-earned vacations, lots of ball games or maybe time at the pool. In the church world that generally also means more people are physically absent from church. In order to keep your spiritual…
Did you ever think you’d see the day that offering would come via your smartphone? Did you ever think you’d see the day where cash or check was not considered “hip?” Well, folks, the day have come! We now use our smartphones to “check in” for worship letting our friends in the web world know…
It must almost be Easter! We go from beautiful spring days to snow and back to the 60’s again. Yes, that’s spring in Iowa. And with spring comes Easter! Easter lilies will beautify the sanctuary Easter weekend. The lily symbolizes life, purity, hope and the spiritual meaning of Easter; while the cross reminds us of…
As we journey into the New Year I’m reminded of a scripture near and dear to me. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to…
As you saw on the front page of this week’s Spirit, First Christian Church was very blessed to have received a substantial bequest from the Estate of Bessie Casey. Per Bessie’s request, the first 10% of the bequest will be tithed to Week of Compassion: Haiti. The balance of the funds will be transferred to…
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve asked someone to keep your secret only to find out that the “world” now knows your situation? The heartbreak of losing trust is overwhelming. Trust isn’t a tool from the toolbox, it is a character. It is built on integrity, and integrity is a trait that…
The Response at the end of worship this month, “Is it I, Lord,” brings so many memories to mind that I can barely sing the words to the song as tears flood my eyes with those beautiful memories. Several years ago adults from FCC took a mission trip to Honduras. At our commissioning, the congregation…