Good Friday morning High Places,
This Sunday we continue our trek through "emotions" and follow-up on last week's dive into "Regret" with a look at the emotion of "lament." We're going to look at what we know about grief from a biblical perspective, and see how we're encouraged to grieve the right things, at the right times, in God's way. I hope you'll join us.
Because the themes of "regret" and "lament" are a little heavy, we are lightening things up with some help from Guru Gavin, which is simply meant to have a little fun. When we laugh together, or if the humor isn't hitting you, simply relax together it can ease anxiety for some on these kinds of topics, and open us up to receive a Word without tension. Our skits aren't meant to distract or be irreverent, quite the opposite actually. We want folks to feel at ease and to worship from places that easy... and fun. If the skits get a bit too much for you, our prayer is that you'll pray for others around that might find the fun opening them up and connecting with the message, and with God, in a unique way. And always, thank you all for the freedom to bump around with God and with each other, and in the freedom of the Spirit.
News and Notes...
We are working with a family who's apartment burned in a house fire. This family of five will most likely be staying with us at the Grove for a couple of days while the school system, TORCH, and the Red Cross figure out their next steps. If you feel led to bring a dinner down in a crockpot this weekend, please do! If you'd like to give to help support our efforts here, drop something in the box and designate it for "Extra Helps Ministry" and we will know how to use it.
On the topic of giving, two quick updates -- one is that our community's post-pandemic needs have been significant and we've been getting quite a few calls for assistance. We're already beyond what we spent last year on benevolence and still have about three months to go, with the holidays usually being the time of biggest need. Two, we did fall behind in the month of August some compared to June and July. Giving to High Places is as simple as dropping something in the box near the entrance of the lobby, or by visiting:
https://highplaceschurch.breezechms.com/give/online
ARK-Tober is coming for our children's ministry and quickly taking shape. On October 22, our mountain movers will travel by bus to the Ark Adventure. This one-day trip is sure to be a memory-maker, and we ask for all High Places folk to be in prayer for this interesting and unique experience. How might God use a trip like this to speak, grow, and build our children's ministries. If you would like more information this trip, please let Kady Marcotte know.
Saturday, October 29 our "Monster Fest" returns to the Grove from 2:00 to 4:00. This year in addition to meeting the monsters, we will host magician Danny Whitson for a magic show to kick things off at 2:00 PM. While the event is free, we're also hoping to help our High Places Cub Scout pack by letting them handle concessions to raise a little money. We're very excited for this event and hope you invite all the kids you know, and maybe come down to volunteer as well!
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Keep me in prayer please as I will be officiating the wedding between our good High Places friends, Brett Beeler and Dora McPeak. After thirteen years of being together (they started dating at age 14!!) Brett and Dora will tie the knot tomorrow. Pray for the marriage, and pray that the ceremony captures both their love and the love of Christ.
Blessing to everyone,
David
News and Notes - September 7, 2022
Good Wednesday morning High Places family!
Autumn is almost upon us with cooler temps, shorter days, and the majesty of East Tennessee leaves as the move through oranges, yellows, and bright reds. I've always been pretty open about what fall does to me, emotionally speaking. The shorter days and less sunlight tend to bring a "seasonal-affective" melancholy with them, and to be honest, it's strange thing because inwardly I am happy to see the heat give us a break, and of course the fish start biting strong in the fall which is also a ton of fun! Then there's college football and basketball, incredible hikes and walks in the changing colors of the trees... so much to be excited about and grateful for in this season, so sometimes I feel guilty for getting the emotional doldrums in autumn.
Are emotions are powerful gifts from God, and finding balance between trying to regulate them verses stepping fully into them can be a fine line to walk for some people. It's why when I was watching the waves crash against the sand in Destin several weeks ago that I felt impressed to do this series on emotions for us at High Places.
As I mentioned in the message last Sunday, we can often struggle the most with loving ourselves and all our imperfections. And yet unless we do that, it's hard to be fully present and loving with others. When we fret, or mope, we're not functioning at our best and I just wanted to say with transparency, that this is the time of year I struggle with those things the most.
I am thankful for Scripture though, as we sang this past Sunday, it is a "lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." This Sunday we will look at the emotion of regret and hopefully see that way that our love and courage can give shape to regret in our lives to produce change. Regret that isn't processed spiritually is crippling to people, and yet, I believe feeling regret is necessary for us to develop empathy and understanding, both of ourselves and for others.
The Bible says, "Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death." It seems like we are to grieve certain things in our lives, but like all emotions, they're to happen God's way and in God's timing, with an eye cast toward the rescue we can receive from our regrets. Without it, we become victimized by our grief and it begins cutting our lives short because it slowly eats us away.
Godly regret doesn't sulk, but rather sees past misstep and misfortune as an opportunity to deepen and grow. You might remember that when destruction fell on Sodom, Lot's wife looked back, not with the hope of learning from God, but with a paralyzing nostalgia of her life there that she was unwilling to let go of. Likewise, Isaiah reminds in chapter 43 that we "Do not look back to the former things, or things of old," because God is "doing a new thing." And Jesus said, "the one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back again, isn't fit for Kingdom duties."
We know looking back can be paralyzing to us, emotionally and spiritually, but it doesn't have to be. We can look back on our lives, the missed opportunities, the mistakes perhaps we have made, and be crippled by them -- or we can name them one at a time and hand them over to God is merciful and rich in grace and love. We we give it to God, our regret becomes a kind of Godly grief that Paul speaks of and we can be freed from it.
I hope you'll join us this Sunday for this important concept explained in God's Word.
News and Notes
On Saturday, from 10:00 until late afternoon, the Scarboro Community has invited all Oak Ridgers to fellowship with them and enjoy the day. There will be food vendors, games, and activities for all. If you plan to go for an hour or two, and you would like to go as a High Places group, see me on Sunday after the message.
ARK-tober is coming for our Mountain Movers! This travel-trip to the Ark Experience in Kentucky will be a fun trip for our kiddos and dates are being selected now. This trip comes to us through Patrick Weir (praises for his recovery!) who doesn't have children of his own but wanted to do something special for our High Places kids. Stay tuned into Kady Marcotte for more details in the coming weeks!
On Saturday, October 29 our "Monster Fest" returns to the Grove, remember last year we did a Monster Cruise due to the pandemic. (Thank you Jollay family for that incredible day!) This year, we will return to the Grove, serve lunch, and make the day into a fall festival of sorts. Lots of this day are still in the planning phases, so stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
Women's bible study continues on Mondays, and we're still hoping for a men's breakfast bible study and tool room clean-up morning at the Grove, perhaps as a way of launching a regularly scheduled men's gathering.
Finally, in November we're going to keep the doors open for a working lunch for a couple of Sundays as we learn some of the concepts from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace teachings.
Fall is going to be great at High Places! Join us this Sunday for a great time together, for encouragement, and for the celebration of our faith family. You are all loved!
David
News and Notes - August 10, 2022
Good rainy afternoon High Places, this is Chad the youth pastor. I wanted to take a moment to say again just how great it is to be the youth pastor at High Places Church. You all go above and beyond every single year to help provide and support our annual youth camp to Big Ridge. I cannot thank you all enough for all that you do to help our camp experience provide teenagers with the opportunity to connect with God. Coming out of Covid it has been tough to get students and keep students engaged and camp is always such an exciting time for so many students. Many of our regular campers look to camp as their favorite week of the entire year and you all continue to bless these campers with your generosity and support. Camp does not happen without each and every one of you supporting the youth of High Places. It is such a blessing to serve our students with the backing of so many incredible and uplifting spiritual family members. So, with all that I am and with my arms reached out to give you all a BIG HUG, I say thank you for all that you do to help this ministry to continue try to be God’s love and light to our student population. Also, I cannot go without saying thank you to my counselors who spend a week pouring into the lives of our students. Camp is nothing without them and I would ask that we pray for them as most of them will be back to college classes soon. And I am so grateful to my youth staff that works every Wednesday and at camp to provide a place that our students can feel loved and accepted for who they are. Tracy, Regina, and Orion, you are lifelines to these students, and it is a pleasure to get to serve alongside each of you. I am truly blessed with you all.
Speaking of BIG thanks, thank you all for serve at our two events last Saturday. The spirit that you all as a church body poured out into service in the Health and Safety event and the Chili Dog Days of Summer event was incredible. They say that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. I say High Places showed up ready for the harvest and God is preparing us for something BIG. Both events were full of smiles and joy and that is what it is all about. So, again I say thank you High Places for answering the call and showing up ready to serve in anticipation for God to do something great.
Finally, we look forward to seeing you all this Sunday at 10:30 am as we continue with part 2 of Sufficiency in All Things. This week, may we all look at everything around us and realize just how blessed we are and just how loved we are by the God of All Things. We have had lots of visitors on Sundays over the last month so look for someone you don't know and say HELLO!
News and Notes - July 14, 2022
Happy Thursday High Places!
Just a reminder that tonight is family night at summer camp (Big Ridge State Park), so if you're up for a road trip on a beautiful summer day, come visit us at Big Ridge just past Norris and Andersonville at 6:00 PM. The group camp is situated in the back of the park, so just follow the road back past the old Grist Mill and you should see us. If you're up for it, bring a side dish and share in the meal we will have together -- but even if you can't, don't worry. We will have plenty!
We will also have a baptism tonight after supper and do some old-timey singing down by the water and a very brief word about the sacrament of baptism and what it has meant to the Christian church ever since Jesus Himself chose to be baptized.
Please remain in prayer that our summer camp (this year a very young summer camp with lots of first time campers!) is going great, and keep praying for God to work and move in this space as so many of our staff and volunteers are pouring themselves into the week with the hopes of creating safe, joyous, and open spaces for our teenagers to seek the Lord.
In other News and Notes...
Life at High Places continues to grow rich and deep, with God adding to our faith family regularly. In fact, God added our newest member as Kelly and Adam Detwiler welcomed baby John into their family this week. Congratulations to them on the new addition and our prayers are with them on the journey. And I just learned that daughter Chloe (who is at summer camp) plans to be baptized tonight. So exciting!!!
I have just returned from a two-day exchange at the Kettering Foundation, which regrouped this week after a long pandemic break from in-person gatherings. Meeting at Kettering these past few years has been a bit of lifeline for me personally, as so many pastors from around the nation just get together to discuss our collective challenges, obstacles, hopes, and dreams related to our work in our home-towns and we as we gather together find spaces to decompress and heal as a group of leaders. I return refreshed and reinvigorated and feel especially grateful for the opportunity to share our ministries on a national stage, and to hear from other communities around the United States and what they are doing to make more healing spaces for their neighbors.
Finally, I wanted to let High Places know that I am currently in the closing paragraphs of a grant that will be submitted tomorrow. It's grown and grown after conducting dozens of interviews, and to be honest, has about as much potential to bring change in our community as anything that I've ever worked on in maybe 30 years of ministry. The number of times God has just "winked" at me in the process has been overwhelming and reassuring. While it doesn't mean we're going to win the grant, it has certainly been an affirmation that our church is on His path and in His lane on our journey. That affirmation alone has been encouraging.
Now... I am late to get to camp and I haven't even mentioned our August 6th events... plural! Those will have to wait until next week's news and notes.
Long story short.... great stuff just keeps a happenin' ... and God is very, very good.
Love to you all and I hope to see you tonight at 6:00 PM at Big Ridge State Park.
David
News and Notes- July 8, 2022
Good Friday morning High Places!
Tomorrow, Saturday July 9, I could use some help moving Eric Rosenving and his partner Rita. We postponed the move from last Saturday because it was a holiday and so many people were occupied. We believe it will be two hours or so at most, there isn’t much. He has done quite a bit of it already in stages. We are going to begin at 9:00 AM @ 246 Gum Hollow Road. Please shoot me a text if you can help. You may remember Eric and Rita from our adult retreat this year.
Also tomorrow, MegaFunFest 2 will be happening at the Grove from 2:00-5:00 PM, please help us spread the word by sharing the flyer attached to this email. Kady puts so much thought and work into these events, and we want as many kids as possible to have the experience!
Camp begins this week and if you would like to help upload the camp kitchen, check the camp for critters, etc. then please let Chad Oneal know at 865.806.0530. We will meet at Big Ridge State Park around 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. Our students will depart for Big Ridge Monday afternoon. The church is invited to join us on Thursday at 6:00 PM at Big Ridge for a meal and a baptism celebration at the lakeside. If you would like to be baptized next week, please contact any member of our staff.
Summer is moving very quickly, and these next seven days are going to be some of the most joyful, impactful, busy, and stressful weeks of our entire year. Our staff, leaders, and volunteers sincerely need your prayers to help push us over the hump. We would also ask that each High Places person pray about how they may be able to lend a hand. We’re in this together.
Finally, I am receiving an overwhelming number of calls for support because for many, these times are financially very stressful. We plan to offer a Financial Peace course in August, which gives families handles on managing their household budgets. We also have a very limited benevolence fund each year that we supplement with donations throughout the year. Over the holiday, I was working with a family with three small children sleeping their car. While that is something we alone cannot fix, our church did provide them two nights relief from the heat in hotel. Small gestures like that can sometimes help people rest long enough to give their affairs in order. If you’d like to assist us in helping to meet these kinds of needs, please let Marilyn know.
Thank you all and please keep our staff in your prayers.
David
News and Notes - June 9, 2022
Good Thursday High Places,
This Sunday we will start to revisit our service and support teams and be organized for the fall ministry season. Regina Wilson is leading the charge in as a service & support elder in training. (Thank you Regina for ALL you do!!) Please read this note from her for our church regarding the next 2 weeks. Love to you all!
Also, remember that our memorial supper and candle lighting service for the community is Tuesday, June 21. I could still use a few helpers in the kitchen. And if you're able to prepare a soup or salad, please let me know.
Love to you all,
David
News and Notes - May 20, 2022
Good Friday High Places!
As we swelter under the 90 degree temps today and enter Day 13 without rain, we give thanks to God who causes the rain to fall on the just and unjust alike, as Jesus reminds us. It's an odd start to May for certain, but we recognize He's in charge and we trust Him! Stay hydrated, keep your veggies watered, and keep praying for some sweet May showers to fall.
I want to give us an update on things happening here in the near (or even very-near!) future so you can mark your calendars as needed...
#1 This Monday, May 23rd our High Places ladies are gathering for "Aubrey's and Axes," which just sounds really awesome to me no matter how you chop it (pun intended!). Ladies will meet at Aubrey's at 6:00 PM and if things work out they'll move over to Atomic Axe Throwing after dinner. (Wow, this paragraph just gets more awesome as it goes along). The purpose of Monday night's get-together is some 'get-to-know-you' time, as well as meeting together to map out a summer series bible study. Anna Childs is leading this push forward, so if you have interest you can reach out to her at -- annabethchilds@yahoo.com, or by phone -- 865.898.4499
#2 Wednesday, May 25th at the Grove, 7:00 PM -- Leadership Meeting. Leaders and interested others please plan to attend as we map out our summer schedule for touching, teaching, training ministries. This planning meeting is designed to carry us through summer and into early fall, and additionally we will be reviewing our basic T/T/T principles and taking a look at Edwin Friedman's "Failure of Nerve." It's alot for one hour, but I am confident we can do it!
#3 Saturday, June 11th -- Our annual High Places Mountain Movers "School's Out" party for kids will be held at the Grove. We love our kid events and the past few have been spectacular. Thank you Kady Marcotte! More details are coming on this event in the next few weeks.
#4 Tuesday, June 21st -- We will be hosting a community-wide remembrance dinner at the Grove for families who lost loved ones during covid (not necessarily from covid) and were unable to do a proper burial or memorial service. We will share a meal and share stories of those we lost, then light candles in the large auditorium in remembrance. If you would like to volunteer to cook, or otherwise help serve, in this event please let me know at the leadership meeting on May 25th. More details coming soon.
#5 Summer Camp is back, July 11-16 at Big Ridge State Park for our "Off the Wall" student ministries. If your teen wants to attend, please let Chad know and he can get you the registration forms. Summer camp is always "church concentrate" as Martin calls it, and while it is primarily for teenagers, we have numerous adults impacted every year. Additionally, baptisms will be scheduled for Thursday July 14th unless someone is eager and wants one right away, in which case -- we will oblige!
#6 Dave Ramsey Financial Peace begins on Thursday, August 4th at the Grove. With inflation at record highs, the stock market uncertain, and household debt skyrocketing all across the land, this class could not come at a better time. Thank you Matt Shifra for arranging this and volunteering to lead. If you have never done a Dave Ramsey class, it can be life-changing and will help you apply biblical principals to your home budgeting and retirement planning. I personally believe everyone, whether newlywed, single, or nearing retirement, has much to gain from these classes. We will have formal enrollment coming soon, along with more information.
#7 Summer Farmer's Market Gleaning, 4th Saturday every month this summer. I could use help gleaning the market and delivering food to needy families, so if you are inclinded to lend a hand, please let me know. I also need help with weekly rounds of food delivery to a few of our High Places shut-ins and other areas of need in Oak Ridge. Since I know where I go, but don't know all the addresses, shadowing me a time or two might be the best way to learn the route. If you can help me in this, please let me know.
Finally, because I heard that our last News and Notes actually went to a few spam folders because it contained a link to our giving page, just a reminder that you can always give online on our website. We appreciate all your support.
Much love and many blessings. Save this email in a folder so you have the dates, and thank you!!
David
News and Notes - May 11, 2022
Happy Wednesday High Places,
Continued blessings from High Places to our mothers, and thank you for sharing another Mother's Day with us, even if virtually as I have heard that many did. We continue to pray for those who've lost their mother, most especially those who have lost her this year, and ask for continued healing and comfort that might sustain them until we're all reconnected in heaven.
Friday night is our 2nd quarterly non-profit fundraiser concert and we have a great line-up of bands. I would like to invite each of you to come, serve if you feel called, enjoy the show, and share your joy with our neighbors. Doors open for BBQ at 6:00 PM with the first performers taking the stage at 7:00 PM. Come support John and Randall too, as Dark Hollow Band will close out the evening. A great time is sure to be had by all.
On Wednesday, May 25 we will have another leadership meeting, with our focus being on touching, teaching, training opportunities we hope to reboot for the summer and early fall. These will include a women's small group, a men's breakfast devotional time, restarting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace classes in August, and hopefully will include resuming our Wednesday evening Bible studies (open to all), and our High Places "Expeditions" book club. I am personally excited to see this area of ministry resume post-covid and I am praying for both leaders and attendees to experience growth and togetherness along the journey. Please plan to join us Wednesday, May 25th at 7:00 PM at the Grove.
As summer approaches we have youth camp, children's events, and more on the way. Stay tuned to news and notes over these next weeks so none of these opportunities fly by too quickly.
Being the month of May, our facilities have been in hyper-use mode. End of the school year recitals and performances have filled nearly every day of the calendar this month as our dance troups, Sound Company, and the symphony orchestra have all been holding performances before their summer breaks. On Saturday, Creative Edge dance presents "All that Jazz" at 11:00 AM, and "The Adventures of Peter Pan & Tinkerbell" at 5:00 PM. If you'd like to support them, tickets can purchased here: https://www.creativedanceor.com/spring-2022-recital-tickets.html
Since we've been so incredibly busy at the theater, I wanted to once again put out the call for help if you feel led to host and be "a joyful touch" upon the lives of our many theater community partners. It can get a little overwhelming this time of year, so I personally would welcome the pinch hitters into the game for the ninth inning stretch (to use a baseball metaphor! -- Go UT baseball!).
Finally, as we near the mid-point in 2022, I want to encourage us to remain faithful to giving as God leads. The finance team let me know we're slightly behind for the year with lots of 2022 still to come, so I ask that you not worry. We have some savings built up which has us covered, however it's still good to occasionally update our members where we stand and how things are going. If you've been thinking about giving, or maybe been meaning to get around to it but forgotten, the box is always in the lobby, or you can give online at https://highplaceschurch.breezechms.com/give/online
Thank you for all the encouragement, prayer, and support you each provide. Thank you all for your ongoing investments in our ministries. God is working and moving and accomplishing what only He can. Praise!
Much love,
David
News and Notes - April 15, 2022
Good Friday friends!
This is the greatest weekend of the year as we celebrate the triumph of love, even over death. Eternity secured in a risen Christ, the crippling effects of sin and shame were released from our souls and psyches, and our worth in the eyes of God was demonstrated as He gave us all He had to love us from the cross.
This special weekend contains the single most pivotal event in human history, and even the Universe. We are wonder-filled by God's love for us, amazed, and in awe of His Grace. And we invite you to CELEBRATE with us this Sunday at 10:30 AM.
We will have a special message time for our children, as well as an Easter egg hunt after the main meeting. We will also have a pot luck lunch, so bring your favorite food if you're able and enjoy someone else's favorites. Easter is always a magical, miraculous experience at High Places and we want to share it with you! Bring a friend!
High Places regulars - if you would like to help hide eggs before the service, Kady could use the help. Drop her an email at kady865@gmail.com if you can come a little early.
We can't wait to see you on this joyous Easter Sunday, and we can't wait to reconnect after two long years of Covid. Our theme has been "Beauty Will Save the World," and we believe it!
Many Blessings,
David
News and Notes - March 30, 2022
Happy Wonder-Filled Wednesday everyone!
It's a gorgeous day in East Tennessee and the sun and temperatures are wonderful! I hope your week as been filled with childlike wonder for all God has done and is doing in our lives. I pray you are experiencing His peace and have received an extra measure of His grace this week as you work and move in His Spirit.
This weekend is our adult retreat -- finally! After a long Covid-19 break in 2021 we return to enjoying a time-honored tradition at High Places. This year we are retreating to "The Great Escape," a 9-bedroom cabin on Norris Lake in northern Campbell County. There's a dock (and we may have a couple of boats moored there!), plus some hiking opportunities in the day on Saturday. Our rooms are at 100% capacity, but there is still room for you come up and attend some sessions on Friday and Saturday if you choose.
Our first session begins at 7:00 PM on Friday, and if I can figure things out I plan to stream our sessions to a private link on our Vimeo channel. You can watch live (with the link) or watch later as I hope to archive them on the website under a private link tab, which I can provide. Regina is working up the menu, and Earl is frying fish for us again, so having a good take on the numbers is important.
If you plan to drive up and attend a few sessions, and potentially eat with us one or both days of the retreat, and if you haven't let me know this, please text or email me your plans.
To attend, simply drive up at the session times:
1st Session, Friday 7:00 PM
2nd and 3rd Sessions, Saturday 9:45 AM to noon (with a break)
4th and 5th Sessions, Saturday 6:30 PM until 9:00 PM (with a break)
Last session, Sunday morning 9:45 AM
It's about a one hour drive from Oak Ridge (not 45 minutes as I previously stated), so please plan accordingly if attending in person. And again, if I can figure it out, I will stream these sessions live on our vimeo site through a private link. I hope that even if you cannot attend in person, you will join us online. Please let me know if you would like this link to our sessions!
Those driving up will need to park in the overflow area near the swimming pool.
It's a beautiful time for us to be together on Norris lake! Be in prayer for the things God wants to accomplish this weekend!
I will be back to preach on Sunday morning and I am very much looking forward to that. So if you can't make it this weekend, I hope to see you on Sunday.
Many blessings,
David