Graves Family Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Posted December 6, 2023 by SMBC in Advent
Some of my first Christmas memories are tied to these chocolate chip cookies. Every December, my parents and I made several dozen cookies for our church’s Hanging of the Greens service. My parents taught me how to bake on those Saturday afternoons.
End-of-Year Need to Meet the Budget
Posted December 5, 2023 by Steve Wells in Discipleship, Pastor
This year we are starting with a taller tree than in past years. Between the time you read this email and the close of books on December 31, we need to give $1,644,792 in order to fully subscribe our budget. We absolutely have the resource to do so, but only if we all give together. This year’s budget is 12% more than last year’s budget, so as a gauge, if you are able to give 12% or more than you…
It Takes All of Us
Posted December 5, 2023 by Steve Wells in Discipleship, Pastor
As the end of the year approaches, everyone at South Main is accustomed to seeing what we call “the Christmas tree” email—the one that pops up in your inbox on a weekly basis throughout December and informs you about how much is needed to make our annual budget by December 31. This year, we also want to show you something we might call, “The Upside-Down Christmas Tree.”
Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Posted December 5, 2023 by SMBC in Advent
Go Tell It on the Mountain, the beloved African-American spiritual, tells the tale of Christ’s birth that is inextricably tied to one of America’s darkest sins. Originally passed down orally from plantation to plantation, the spiritual was sung by the enslaved in the tradition of a long-awaited jubilee—the hope of emancipation.
Family Traditions
Posted December 4, 2023 by SMBC in Advent
What’s your favorite family tradition from childhood?
Monday Over Coffee: "Influencer"
Posted December 4, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
I resolved ahead of time to eat absolutely everything put in front of me. Or at least to try it. I’d made reservations at a well-reviewed Nordic restaurant in Finland—one I’d found on a “foodie” website with a pre-set tasting menu—and felt a distinct sense of anticipation about what the evening might hold.
Hope Sunday
Posted December 3, 2023 by J Hill in Advent
Hope. For such a short word, it’s a really complicated idea, at least for me. The word hope doesn’t imply certainty, but in our everyday vernacular it often insinuates something like a pipe dream.
Advent Devotions
Posted December 3, 2023 by SMBC in Advent
More than most any other, this time of year tends to be strongly tied to familial stories and memories. The Advent season often evokes the wonder and nostalgia of family gatherings past, but for many of us, family now isn’t what family always has been, as loss and messiness can pervade.
Monday Over Coffee: "Tenet"
Posted November 27, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Tenet: (noun)— a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy. You’re barely settled in your seat in the movie theater when, in the very first scene of the film, the Kyiv Opera House falls under an apparent terrorist attack.
Monday Over Coffee: "In, not of"
Posted November 20, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Novelist Victor Hugo wrote that architecture is a special kind of writing. If this is true, when we enter into a building constructed for religious purposes—a church, chapel, mosque, synagogue, or house of prayer—we should see or at least sense the word sanctuary somehow figuratively, expressively, written into the space it occupies.
Campus Master Plan Update – Outdoor Rooms
Posted November 15, 2023 by Campus Master Plan Task Force in All Articles
Part of the first phase of our campus master planning effort included an evaluation of our existing land and square footage. Before we can know which parts of our campus can be developed, we have to know how much space we have now, and how much do we need to preserve for future church use?
Monday Over Coffee: "Sequel"
Posted November 13, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
I understand another round of superhero movies is on the way to our local theaters. It seems every superhero movie sets off a flood of sequels these days. And while many of these blockbuster sequels are quite entertaining, none of them offer us anything as authentically superheroic as what’s found in Stockholm at the Nobel Prize Museum.
Monday Over Coffee: "Mitzvah"
Posted November 6, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
we’re this way because it’s become embedded in our DNA, but it seems much easier, doesn’t it, for us to hold onto and remember all the bad things that happen in the world over the good ones. While this tendency probably helps us stay on guard against risks of all sorts, it’s also important, isn’t it, to be reminded of all the good that has transpired in human history and that continues to…
Campus Master Plan Task Force Update
Posted November 1, 2023 by Campus Master Plan Task Force in All Articles
At each Task Force meeting, our chair, Clint Pasche, reminds us of the goals which guide our work. We thought it would be a good idea to remind you, our church family, of these as well. In the coming weeks, we will share status reports and interesting findings we have learned on our journey so far. You can review our goals and answers to some basic questions below!
Monday Over Coffee: "The Crucible"
Posted October 30, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
For as long as human beings have dwelt together, we’ve insisted on placing art in the public spaces we inhabit. Going back to cave drawings on the walls of caverns in France dating from 30,000 years ago to the ancient ruins of Greece and Rome, to the “metallic bean” Cloud Gate installation in Chicago, or the faux Prada Shop located along a desolate highway in West Texas, we human beings seem…
Monday Over Coffee: "Sing"
Posted October 23, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Once one embarks on a concept for a building, this concept has to be exaggerated, overstated, and repeated in every part of its interior so that wherever you are, inside and out, the building sings with the same message. — Eero Saarinen
Monday Over Coffee: "Nested"
Posted October 16, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
My favorite children’s book growing up was called "Fortunately, Unfortunately." Its rather simple plot involved a boy named Ned who was invited to a party. Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party. Unfortunately, the party was a thousand miles away.
Monday Over Coffee: "Unplug"
Posted October 9, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
My mother had suffered with early onset dementia for two decades and was bedridden when my father began to show signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. I had a young family. Charlie was a baby, Hank was a little boy, and my wife, Kelly, and I both had demanding jobs. I set up a series of appointments for my dad with the same neurologists who were following my mother’s condition.
Happy 5th Anniversary, Matt Walton!
Posted October 3, 2023 by Steve Wells in Discipleship, Pastor
It is hard to believe Matt Walton has been here five years and that he has ONLY been here five years. Just think of all the ways Matt’s work is blessing and shaping our church. We are so thrilled with the work Matt has accomplished so far and cannot wait to see how he continues to minister to the family of South Main.
Monday Over Coffee: "Trials"
Posted October 2, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
My uncle, Larry Funderburk, is an attorney and was my law partner for a long time. One of his main clients was the Werner Ladder Company. For many years whenever Werner was brought into a lawsuit, they’d call Larry to defend them. One of these cases involved a ten-foot aluminum step ladder and a man named Boyd who claimed he was on the ladder when one of its side rails bent, causing him to fall…
