On Tuesday, June 26, the Personnel Committee voted unanimously to extend a call to Rev. Amanda Barbour-Johnston to serve as our Associate Pastor.

Amanda and her husband, John, are both natives of Martinsville, Virginia. She attended Sweet Briar College, graduating in May, 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Dance.

Ordained by First Baptist Church, Martinsville on November 12, 2006, Amanda is a recent graduate of Duke Divinity School. She received her Master of Divinity and Certificate in Baptist Studies while at Duke. She has worked with children and youth in a church setting for six years. Her ministry placements have included both Baptist and Methodist churches as well as two hospital settings.

Amanda has completed the level 1 CPE internship training at Moses Cone Health System where she counseled both families and individuals. As part of a trauma team, she worked to support patients, and their families as well as the hospital staff. Her ministry passion is in the area of pastoral care. She loves to be with people and making a difference in people’s lives of all ages.

Her current and most lengthy placement has been with the First Baptist Church, Martinsville. Amanda has served as their youth minister for three years. Her responsibilities included organizing outreach programs for families in the community, regular leadership and planning in Sunday morning worship and continued contact with the church’s high school graduates.

Amanda and her husband work as a team. John is a professional musician and recently began a youth worship team at First Baptist, Martinsville.

Pastor’s Column in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter) – published August 2007

I am so excited that Amanda Barbour-Johnston has agreed to be our new Associate Pastor! The following is a revised excerpt from Mike Clingenpeel’s editorial in the July 8, 2000 issue of The Religious Herald. I offer it as a way to help us welcome the Barbour-Johnstons on August 4-5 and as Amanda begins her work here on September 4.

Repeat your name to Amanda and John every time you see them, at least until you are sure they know who you are.

Include Amanda and John in your events. But don’t get upset if she has to decline your invitation.

Don’t expect her to remember everything you’ve told her. If it is something important, write it down or email it to her, and make an appointment to see her.

Let her have her own style. There is more than one way to be a pastor, to lead a ministry, to deliver a sermon, to make a visit. That difference is a function of her unique giftedness. It’s a good thing!

Be tender. Everything that is thrilling about coming to our church is matched by something sad about leaving her former church.

Show up. Nothing is more encouraging than your attendance and participation in the various ministries that she is leading. A pastor’s enthusiasm feeds off the energy of the congregation and vice-versa. Your presence is a vital ingredient of the synergy you hope to build.

When you have a complaint, tell the pastor directly. Why go to the pastor and tell her directly? Because it is the biblical way to deal with disagreements (Matthew 18:15). It is also the courteous thing to do, and it is the only proven method for redeeming relationships.

Make the following assumption about your pastor. She wants to serve you. She wants to be your friend. She is a human being, and needs sleep, a day of recreation, and uninterrupted time with her family. Show her a gracious deed and add capital to her emotional piggybank. She longs to cooperate with you and God to see people identify their lives with Jesus, to watch people grow in the likeness of Christ, and to see an authentic work of God in our community through our fellowship. She is praying for you daily as you pray for her and her ministry.

Welcome your new pastor with all the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ, Michael

On July 8-13, eight members of our youth group together with Jordan Whiley and Gail Cave went down to Wingate University in North Carolina for PASSways Youth Camp. They were challenged to imagine how Christ can change their lives and their world. As part of putting what they’ve learned into practice, the group decided to raise money for the “Watering Malawi” project throughout this year.

On June 30 to July 3, five of our children attended Passport Kids! camp at Eagle Eyrie in Lynchburg.

The kids and adults enjoyed the camp as they learned about the Hill tribes in Thailand, played special games, experienced high-energy worship, and as they learned how God is the Rock on whom they depend.

This past Saturday afternoon, five church members spent the morning picking up trash on a stretch of W. Third Street (Highway 15) as part of our participation in the Adopt-a-Highway cleanup program. It was a hot morning, and the crew worked in tall unmowed grass, but they pressed on to collect more than five bags full of trash. In the past, the crew picked up used cell phones and even a $50 bill! But no such luck that morning. The find of the day was a part of a car side bumper. At the end of the morning, it felt good to see that our stretch of the highway was a little neater and cleaner.

Pastor’s Column in The Informer (FBC’s Newsletter) – published July 2007

As I prepare to go on vacation for a couple of weeks this month, I want to share a contemplative reflection that is found in William C. Martin’s book, The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections, p. 17. It is a reminder to all of us that the church is not a building, and it is not solely dependent upon the pastor. Martin paints a beautiful picture of what the church can be.

A church wisely centered in the Word
produces great contentment for the people.
The activities of the church keep them
just busy enough to gain satisfaction,
but do not detract from their loved ones.
They enjoy their pastor
because they do not expect him to be
other than what he is.
Their spirits are nurtured gently
by quiet and solitude and room to be.
They care for one another
without needing certain responses in return.
They share food and song,
sorrow and joy,
and become more and more free from fear.
And when they die they think,
“It was good, is good and will be good.”

As we enter a season of vacations and rest, may we as a church rest and rejoice in the acceptance and love of Jesus our Savior. May we be refreshed and renewed by the gentle breeze of God’s Spirit. May our activities be a joyful response to what God has already done for us. And at the end of the day, may we also say: “It was good, is good and will be good.”

Yours in Christ, Michael