God's Light in First John:
A Sermon Series Based on Notes
of Dr. Roy Honeycutt

Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Death sets a thing significant/ The eye had hurried by.” Such was the case when I came across some notes in the margins of Dr. Roy Honeycutt’s Greek New Testament, which was kindly passed along to me by his wife, June, after his death. I discovered that he had worked carefully through the Greek of First John, and had many many notes in the margins. So, January 15 - February 5, I’ll be preaching a sermon series based on those notes.

For those of you who might not be aware, Dr. Honeycutt was the longtime president of Southern Seminary here in Louisville. He was my seminary president, and profoundly influenced Baptist life in our city, our nation, and our world. He was also a friend to Broadway down the years, and Broadway is now home to members of his family.

~Chris Caldwell 

his note comes to you from your Personnel Committee, and has been approved by your deacons.

The Personnel Committee and Deacons wish to thank the congregation for the excellent conversation we are having about Broadway’s mission, Broadway’s future, and Broadway’s needs. We have asked you to engage with us in considering where God is leading us, and you have done so enthusiastically!

A strong majority of the church stands ready to pivot toward the future, even as we honor the strengths of our past. We believe Broadway will form a strong consensus behind a staffing model designed to achieve these goals, once we have incorporated your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions fully, and once we have further conversations about what such a model would look like. 

But we do not want to rush this process. We want the congregation to be able to embrace more fully than it can right now a new ministry alignment model for our church. We have, therefore, elected not to call for a vote on a model prematurely.  Instead, the deacons have appointed an ad hoc team to complete the process of incorporating your thoughts into a revised ministry alignment plan before submitting it to the congregation. This process will begin immediately and continue into the first part of 2017. The members of the committee will be appointed by the Deacon Chair in consultation with the Personnel Committee.

As a result of this change of plans, the Town Hall meeting on October 5 will be different than what was originally announced. Bill Wilson will not be present but will join us again after the first of the year. During the October 5 meeting, we will summarize feedback we have received thus far, and outline the process going forward, but the primary purpose of the meeting now will be sharing information and updating you, rather than having a “Town Hall” style discussion.

Thank you again for your active engagement in this conversation, and please remain in prayer for the process and for Broadway’s future!

On Wednesday, October 5, there will be a church-wide town hall meeting in Friendship Hall at 6 p.m. This meeting will be led by Bill Wilson, the Director of the Center for Healthy Churches. Bill will lead a time of presentation and discussion about the ministerial staffing model proposal. If you plan to attend dinner at 5:15 p.m., please make a reservation with the church office by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4.

Service in September will be held Sunday, September 11 at 12 p.m.
Service in September is a church-wide time of service in our community to commemorate the tragedy of 9/11 with a positive spirit of serving those around us.  Meet in Friendship Hall for a light lunch following worship.  We will then split up to do various service projects in the church and around Louisville. Projects will be 1-3 hours in length.  You may sign up for specific service projects at the Ministry Fair on August 21 or with Susan Reed at susanr@broadwaybaptist.org.  A complete list of projects will be available in August. All ages and skill sets are welcome!

Finding Hope In Grief

All Saint’s Sunday in November is a time when our church remembers those members and family members that have passed away during the previous year. For me, it is also within a few days of the anniversary date of my husband’s death. I had signed up to attend that afternoon a small group session on grief, led by Leslie Townsend, PhD.  

I have had several years now to work through my grief, though at times it does not feel like it. I have wondered about this and knew I wanted to attend this group. Our numbers were small with all of us at various stages of our grief but the conversations and sharing were meaningful, thoughtful and inspirational.  

Dr. Townsend is an excellent facilitator for small groups. She recommended readings including Kubler-Ross’ Stages of Grief, Wayne Oates’ Phases of Grief and “It Hurts So Bad Lord.” If this small group led by Dr. Townsend is offered again, I would highly recommend it for anyone experiencing grief. 

~Donna Williams     

New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton, published in 1961 by the Abby of Gethsemani, Inc.

A small group met for approximately eight weeks this past fall beginning in September at 5 p.m., for a little over one hour each night. Each week we would read two or three chapters and then meet to discuss how those readings had an effect on our Christian walk. 

One of the first evenings, we viewed a video on Thomas Merton’s life which was revealing and I believed helped us understand his writings. He was a life long learner, searcher, and spokesman for Christian love and understanding. It was my pleasure to facilitate the group which on some evenings was as large as 15 members. 

~Ron Newcomer