YEC 2010 – REAL PEOPLE – REAL GOD

On March 5, 2010, twenty Youth and six Adults headed to Nashville for YEC 2010. After checking into our hotel, we preceded on to the conference. We were able to get good seats on the floor. The band Unhindered was awesome. Joe Castillo the Sandstory Artist did a sandstory on the Passion of Christ that left the whole place spellbound. Tommy Woodward and Eddie James of The Skit Guys did a skit on Adam and Eve. Later they spoke at the main session on Friday night using Mark 10, (The Rich Young Ruler), as the Biblical text. Tommy and Eddie each took a part in the text. They presented a pre-recorded modern day skit on the subject.

After the conference we went to CiCi’s Pizza to eat the buffet then we went to our hotel for a prayer, praise, and share time.

Saturday we went to the 9:30 am conference. We were able to get good seats on the floor. The band Unhindered woke us up praising the Lord. Joe Castillo the SandStory Artist amazed us with a sandstory of The Prodigal Son. The Skit Guys did a skit on “Zacchaeus, a wee little man.” Ed Newton was the main speaker. He referred to the story of Peter and John healing the man at the temple.

At the end of the conference, the group of 55 students and adults that are going to Naples, Italy, in June were asked to come up front to be commissioned as summer missionaries. Savannah Warren from our group was part of that group and will receive a portion of the missions offering that was taken up Sat. morning at YEC.

After the conference had ended, we went to “Micky Dees” for lunch. After lunch we went to Opry Mills to window shop before heading back down I-40 for home.

All the youth and adult counselors were challenged to “let your light shine” to all the world and to be REAL Christians. It was an awesome experience to be a part of the 9,782 who attended YEC 2010 and to witness 314 spiritual decisions—some for salvation, some for full-time Christian ministry and others for a renewed walk with the Lord.

Mission Wood Duck

Members of Unity Baptist Church are serious about saving souls AND about saving the wood duck population.
Despite brisk, near- freezing February temperatures, Pastor James Huggins along with several deacons, youth and other members of the church located near Jacks Creek, TN, braved chilly water to erect hafl a dozen wood duck nesting boxes.

Danny Goodwin volunteered his carpentry skills to make the nesting boxes out of donated cypress wood. Sportsmen Bobby Lee Coady and Ranny Joe Morris provided the poles needed to raise the nesting boxes to the proper height and a flat-bottom boat to ferry workers and nesting boxes to their destination. Youth Director Bob Wadley enlisted the assistance of Unity youth department members Taylor Ross, Savannah Warren, Katie Warren, and Dustin Warren on an early Saturday morning despite the threat of snow to complete the project. Brad Brower, Gleeman Rhodes, and Scott Warren supervised to ensure that the youth project went smoothly, from driving posts, and taking pictures, to paddling around beaver dams in order to navigate the Jacks Creek Slough.

Dr. Huggins, a bi-vocational pastor who also teaches biology at Union University, keeps his congregation involved in convservation efforts and stewardship of God’s creation as part of his ministry. The 163-year-old Southern Baptist church located in Chester County annually holds a wild game supper, inviting neighbors from the community for fun, food, and fellowship.

Souper Sunday at Unity Baptist Church

Souper Sunday at Unity Baptist Church
February 7, 2010

Every Sunday is a SUPER day to attend worship services at Unity Baptist Church, but once a year we designate one Sunday evening for our SOUPER SUNDAY services. This annual event coincides with the NFL Championships, better known as the Super Bowl, which this year featured Peyton Manning, a former UT-Knoxville football star and current quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, against his boyhood hometown and the underdog New Orleans Saints. The odds were on Manning to win his second NFL championship, so Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and Jabari Greer (a Jackson,TN native) had nothing to lose; they left it all on the field. In the end, they defeated the Colts (31-17) to win Super Bowl 44 and take home the coveted Lombardi Trophy and returned to Bourbon Street for a pre-Mardi Gras celebration and victory parade.

Approximately 40 Unity football fans attended the Souper Bowl of Caring by donating at least one canned food item to RIFA. No other admission was charged to see the Super Bowl by satellite in the Fellowship Hall. As advertised, there was lots of hot soup to tempt the palate and even more sandwiches, cookies, fresh veggies, chips and desserts. It seems that Baptists never waste an opportunity to pack on a few more calories in the name of “fellowship.”

While most of the adult football fans were glued to the larger-than-life screen, many of the children and youth headed to the gym area for volleyball, air hockey, pool, and basketball shooting competitions. At halftime, Dr. Huggins shared a very appropriate message about “the game of life.” He challenged all of us, young and old, to live up to the name of Christian and to run with intensity the race that will end with eternity in heaven—the only final score that really matters.

Brother Bob carefully intercepted the beer commercials and other high-dollar advertisements that cost millions of dollars on this night every year. Instead, we enjoyed looking back at the highlights of activities in recent years at Unity as compiled in a slide show by Brother Scott Warren.

By the end of the evening, everyone left feeling very blessed (even if their favorite team came up short.) These special times for fun, food, and recreation are part of the warm fellowship that exists at Unity Baptist Church. Let’s don’t try to keep the Good News just for ourselves. Invite your neighbors to join us at Unity Baptist Church.

Submitted by Mary Wadley
A disappointed Colts fan

Pastor’s Notes March

The star-nosed mole has a nose that does more than smell. In terms of its sense of touch, it is the most sensitive organ in the entire animal kingdom. As a point of reference, it is six times as sensitive as the human hand. The end of the nose really does look like a star as it is equipped with 11 pairs of fleshy finger-like appendages. The appendages are covered with some 25,000 mechanoreceptors called Eimer’s organs. Within the “star” there is a central fovea area designed for high resolution and on the periphery there is a less sensitive zone. Approximately half of the mole’s brain is devoted to processing sensory information from the nose and this says a great deal about how important the nose is to this organism’s place in nature. Not only does this nose serve as a remarkably designed sensory-motor organ but it also enables the mole to smell underwater, something which was previously thought impossible for mammals. This species has been filmed as it coursed along underwater scent trails which led to food. They exhale between 8 and 12 small air bubbles per second onto objects or scent trails while foraging underwater then inhale the bubbles to test them for odors picked up by the air bubbles. It consumes its prey at speeds which dazzle the mind but maximizes the time it spends finding food while underwater. This species recently entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest forager. Neuroscientists hope to learn much from this amazing little animal’s design.

For the Christian we once again find testimony that the heavens and the earth declare the glory of God. Isn’t it amazing that God not only has designed an animal to forage both underground and underwater with an organ that is both capable of detecting odors and using touch to find its food source. Scripture tells us “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created”. Revelation 4:11

Pastor’s Notes February

A shorebird known as a bar-tailed godwit was recently found to have flown nonstop for nine days, no food or water, from Alaska to New Zealand for a total of 7,145 miles. It is the longest continuous flight bird migration ever measured according to the biologists who followed the flight using satellite tracking. While seeking favorable winds at elevations between 1.85 miles and 2.5 miles the female godwit flew, according to satellite data, at an average speed of 34.8 miles an hour.
There are many God-given attributes that allow birds such as this to perform amazing feats of athletic prowess and endurance. The muscles of the breast of all migratory birds are composed of “dark’ meat. This indicates that there is a molecule known as myoglobin, much like the hemoglobin of our blood that allows us to carry oxygen to our tissues, and a very good blood supply. The myoblobin allows the muscle to store oxygen for use when it is most needed. The contour of the body in flight makes the bird glide (aerodynamic) through the air with little resistance; they have hollow bones which reduces weight that must be kept aloft; feathers keep them warm at high altitudes; fat is easily made while feeding and used for energy while flying long distances; they know to seek favorable wind currents; they are born with the ability to navigate by the sun in daylight and the stars by night; they are able to sleep by allowing one side of the brain to shut down at a time (known as half-brain sleep). In addition the air they breathe circles through the lungs, rather than flowing into and out of the lungs along the same path as in humans, due to a series of air sacs. This makes sure that the air entering the lungs, from which oxygen is extracted, is always “fresh”.
Jesus told us that even Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed as one of the birds that God created (a Huggins paraphrase from Matthew 6:29). God has indeed prepared His creatures for what they will face in the life He has granted them. The Bible also tells us the purpose of the stars was given for light, a calendar and navigational purposes (Genesis 1:14) and so it is both for humans and His other creatures that have need of such guidance. As His children we should realize that not only does God provide a means to guide us physically across oceans, deserts and mountains by such means as celestial bodies but He also desperately desires to lead us through the spiritual barriers of life via our Bible study, our prayer time and our everyday interaction with the Holy Spirit. We too have been imbued with God’s gifts for sustenance in this life: physically, mentally and even spiritually if we only choose to listen.

Your Pastor,
Dr. H

Dr. Huggins Office Hours

Dr. Huggins Office hours are changing due to his class load changing. Wednesdays will stay the same. That being 4:00 – 7:00 P.M. He will no longer be in his office on Tuesday. Instead he will be there on Monday 2:00 till 5:00 P.M. On Monday he will show up and check his messages and email and if no one is scheduled to be there he will go out visiting. If you want to make sure and catch him leave him a message or email.

Youth Road Trip to See Saul~2~Paul

On Sunday, January 24th, a group of seven from Unity Baptist Church traveled to Friendship Baptist Church of Medina to see a concert presented by the Christian Praise Band Saul~2~Paul. We all had a great time singing, clapping our hands and praising The LORD. After all, it is not the method but the message that’s important. After the concert where we were filled with Spiritual Food, we stopped at “Mickey-Dees” for some physical food. Those who participated were Savannah Warren, Katie Warren, Shelby Johnson, Brandy Shrewsbury, Taylor Ross, Jamie Garner and Bob Wadley.
Bob Wadley

R.A.’s Health kits

Last Wed. night Cathy Huggins’ class of 4-6 grade boys made health kits for victims of disasters. They may be sent to Haiti. They used soap, toothbrushes, wash rags and etc… It was nice to pack love into these kits. We hope that someone will feel the love of God when they use their kit. I hope we concentrate on missions this whole month.
Lisa Hopper

Japanese Tea Party

Acteens received a taste of Oriental culture at the Japanese Tea Party sponsored by the Madison Chester Association WMU on January 16. The event was held at Union University Coburn dining Hall with 9 girls and 6 adults attending. Jimmy Lynn Phillips, Association WMU Director welcomed the girls and encouraged them to share the good news of Acteens with all their friends. Ramona Mercer, retired missionary from Japan, came dressed in her formal kimono and shared her experiences from 38 years of ministry. She led the girls in a traditional Tea Ceremony. The girls drank green tea and enjoyed the solitude of the moment. Ramona’s daughter, Darlene Tanner taught origami as she shared her experiences as a child growing up in Japan. Patricia Smith, GA from East Union Baptist helped the girls get excited about the origami with her paper folding talent. Savannah Warren, state Acteen Panelist, led the group in a prayer for the missionaries having birthdays and for the people of Haiti. The event closed with makeup techniques as Andrea Young, Hardin Association WMU Director, showed everyone the proper way to wear makeup as a Christian young lady. The girls left with samples of lipstick, eye shadow and a host of goodies from Mary Kay cosmetics.
Cathy Huggins

The Princess and the Frog

On Monday, January 18th, Bob Wadley and four youth- Shelby Johnson, Brandy Shrewsbury, Katie Warren, and Savannah Warren- took a trip to Jackson. The group left the church at about 12:00 noon and headed to Jackson. The outing began with a lunch at Chic-Fil-A. While there everyone enjoyed a great lunch, several laughs, and had to work hard not to play on the playground. Following lunch was a trip to the movies to see the Princess and the Frog. The movie was very funny as well as sad towards the end when everyone’s favorite character- the firefly- died. I believe a few tears were shed during this scene. Once we got Bob’s eyes dried we began heading home, but did make a pit stop at McDonald’s for a McFlurry- a pick me up from the sad part of the movie. This gave everyone a huge burst of energy which led to endless singing with the radio all the way home. This does include Bob. The trip was very fun for all of us and we really enjoyed it. Special thanks go to Bob who was brave enough to take us.
Savannah Warren

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