Come on ring those bells!

December brings the end of a PhD seminar, the festivities of the Christmas season, and the wrap-up of 2010 resort work for Golden Isles Ministries in the office.

In the Christmas story we see WORSHIP!

1. angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest
2. (after seeing the Baby Jesus) shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen
3. (and eventually, two years later) the magi from the east fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

May this Christmas season remind us all of the gift we have of Worship!

Below are the books to add to my reading shelf of PhD life:

Why should I read?

Part of life for me is reading. Sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for school. I read this earlier today and I thought the advice was very practical and sound for all of us (especially in ministry)...

" READ LIKE A MANIAC

• Ask the people whom you admire and respect what books they read.
• Note those authors you resonate with, then get all of their books.
• Place those few books that have really affected you in a bookcase close to where you work.
• Interact with your books.
• Don't worry if you take a break from reading now and then.
• Whatever you do, don't limit your reading to spiritual books."

(taken from the book, Getting Fired For The Glory Of God, by Mike Yaconelli)

NEW website : Golden Isles Ministries

I serve as the Resort and Community Missionary of the Southeast Baptist Association. I have the privilege of coordinating guest mission groups through our resort ministry, Golden Isles Ministries.

I am happy to blog that we have a website for GIM and can be found at the following web address: www.goldenislesministries.com

where I am headed this FALL

Summer is gone...... bye bye 2010 summer !

From Now till Thanksgiving week, the schedule is breath-taking:

• Sept. 12 - 15 Lifeway National Youth Workers Convention (Nashville, TN)
• Sept. 22 - 25 PhD seminar weekend at NOBTS (New Orleans, LA)
• Sept. 26 - 29 Missions Fair at Samford University (Birmingham, AL)
• Oct. 2 - 14 Mission trip to Kenya w/ Search & See Minstries
• Oct.20 - 23 Families on Missions training event (Alpharetta, GA) cancelled
  
• Oct. 26 - 28 Summer Supervisors meeting (Georgia Baptist Convention)
• Nov. 4 - 6 PhD seminar weekend at NOBTS (New Orleans, LA)
• Nov. 13 - 15 On Missions Celebration (Cincinnati, OH)
• Nov. 15 - 17 Georgia Baptist Convention annual meeting (Albany, GA)

Peter Pinches Pennies - aka - coupons !

In the past year the coupon craze has caught and kept my attention. Also in the past year, I started PhD studies at New Orleans Seminary. These two things have become my hobbies :)

With so many people asking how I do it, what I clip, and what sites I read for coupons I thought a blog post on how "peter pinches pennies"...

First, realize that I live in Brunswick, Georgia. I shop primarily at Publix for food, CVS for whatever is on sale, and Target for both.

Second, you have to buy the newspaper. We have a local paper on the weekend that is a 2day (Saturday and Sunday) paper. It costs 75cents. I also have the opportunity to get the Georgie Times Union that costs $2. Sometimes I spend 75cents and sometimes I spend up to $6.75!

Third, you have to do your homework. You will get better as you go.

Fourth, you need to spend one-two hours a week on blogs, cutting, clipping, and planning your purchases to maximize your savings. (Personally, I make $10-$20 an hour based on coupons if that makes sense)

Fifth, purchase the ALL YOU magazine. You can typically find it online for about $20 for two years, so 24 issues at 83cents each. (link)

here we go:

1. PUBLIX

- doubles coupons 50cents or below with BOGO sales, you can buy 1 product at half price (but, you do not need to buy two)

i. e. Orville microwave popcorn (3 count) retails at 2.89 is on BOGO free sale
Buy one box at 1.45, use a 40cent coupon (which doubles), pay 85cents.

- you can use a manufacture coupon and a publix coupon for the same item

i. e. Orville microwave popcorn (3 count) retails at 2.89 is on BOGO free sale
Buy one box at 1.45, use a 40cent coupon (which doubles), and use a publix coupon that is 25cents, and then end up paying 40cents for a box

- will accept all competitor coupons

2. TARGET

- you can use a manufacture coupon and a target coupon for the same item

i.e. Sobe Lifewater bottles on sale for $1.
Buy two bottles for $2, use a BOGO manafacture coupon, and use two 50cent target coupons, and pay nothing for bottles except sales tax.

- take advantage of deals that offer $5 target gift cards

i.e. Sobe Lifewater bottles on sale for $1 : Buy ten and get a $5 Target Gift Card (after)
Buy ten bottles for $10, use 5 BOGO manafacture coupons, and use ten 50cent target coupons, and pay nothing for the bottles except sales tax & get $5 gift card

- will price match competitor ads (i.e. walmart, pharmacies, grocery)

3. CVS

- become an ExtraCare card holder (one person in your family)

- receive ExtraCare Bucks for certain items each week (expire 4 weeks after)

- you can use Extracare Bucks, manufacture coupons, and CVS coupons all in one purchase
i.e. a previous purchase looks like this:
bought 2 gillette body washes @ $4.00 each
bought 1 gillette deodorant @ $5.29
bought 2 papermate pen 10ct.@ $0.99 each
used BOGO coupon for body wash
used Free couopon for deodorant w/body wash purchase
---------------------------------------------------------
total $5.98 plus tax
received $8.00 in ExtraCare Bucks (per that weeks ad/sale) b.wash
received $1.98 in ExtraCare Bucks (per that weeks ad/sale) pens

* but I didnt pay 5.98 because i used ECBs from previous purchases
so, I paid sales tax only, still walked away with $9.98 in ECBs

WEBSITES:

www.southernsavers.com

www.myfrugaladventures.com

COUPONS: (typically can print 2 per computer)

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.sundaycouponpreview.com
(preview for coming Sunday newspaper coupon inserts)

www.target.com (bottom left)

Hope this helps :) Feel free to ask questions
(by way of facebook messages, please)

REMEMBER: links can be broken at anytime and webpages can be altered. Connector Blog does not endorse links of any sort.

off the cuff... july 2010

it has been awhile since i posted on my blog and i thought it was about time....

summers are full of resort and community ministry for me, as they have been since 2006. this summer has been a good change from the familiar myrtle beach ones the past four summers. we finished two weeks of world changers, and we are headed into the next three weeks before our august 6th completion date. things are going well...

concerning the SBC convention a month ago: i have received many comments both of who have agreed and disagreed with mine on this blog. i hope the days ahead for southern baptists are KINGDOM ADVANCED and SPIRIT LED. i will look forward to the days coming as the great commission resurgence voted on report plays out in local churches, associations, state conventions, and all entities and auxiliaries of our convention. there can be great days ahead for the sbc...

i recently read a story in a state baptist paper of a man who came to know Christ as Savior at the age of 91. the story can be found at this web address: http://www.baptistcourier.com/4308.article ! what a great reminder that people of all shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities, and looks have been made by our Creator and can find salvation only in our Savior, Jesus Christ...

kenya bound, once again, coming october 2-14. went back in october of 2007 and worked with a congregation of believers in Tiriki, and our trip this fall is for the purpose of dedicating an actual building that God's people will use to spread the Gospel. please begin praying for our trip and for the sovereignty of God to be displayed in our efforts and our going to encourage the church in Tiriki...

many of you have asked me in the past months concerning my dear friend and former supervisor Todd Wood. in the Spring of this year, Todd began the IMPACT ministries of Myrtle Beach. the new website for this ministry can be found at this web address: http://impactmb.org/ ... about a month ago i partnered with this ministry (that is not relating to the local association, state convention, or north american mission board at this time) because i believe and have no doubt in Todd's heart to reach the grand strand with the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. $1 a week is a simple sacrifice to help this ministry reach tourists and locals throughout 'redneck riviera'. will you prayerfully consider helping?

school related -- i am taking an online statistics two class this summer using the SPSS program. this fall i will take a teaching methods class and a seminar on childhood education. always appreciate your prayers in this area of my life!

finally i want to leave you with this picture that was taken the last week of june. five of my former staff from 2009 (two of which are also currently with me this summer on staff) and i had an opportunity to take in a part of a student service we had at our association office of over 165 people. it was a great snapshot from a blessed night and a great hot week of ministry...

In my last post, I commented on the GCR report...

READ THE LAST POST CONCERNING MY THOUGHTS ON THE GREAT COMMISSION RESURGENCE (GCR) TASK FOR REPORT & THEN READ THIS ONE

For this post I want to share two books that I have read and lingering thoughts concerning why I wrote the last report...

In college at Charleston Southern University, my (youth ministry) classmates joked that I would become the next SBC president. I say that to say that I am an avid follower of all things SBC. I read Baptist Press just about daily. I like to engage in understanding the work of SBC both today and in the past. Twice now, I have had both the mandate and opportunity to take a course (for Masters and PhD degrees) concerning the SBC with special emphasis on New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) and the Cooperative Program (CP).

In my experience the past three and a half years in associational work, I think the CP and the work of the local baptist association have much in common. The idea that "what we can not do ourselves we can do together" is found in both the association and the CP. Some have said "the light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home." I think they understand that cooperation and association is the meat behind the reality.

I resonate with the words of the Apostle Peter (in 1 Peter 2:9) when he wrote, "you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession...." I am a believer in Christ. As a believer in Christ I hold to the reality that my life must worship God, which is evidenced by the cry of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31. As a believer who worships God, I think that Baptist doctrine closely aligns with the Truth of God's Word. I do not have a problem endorsing a faith statement like the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Realizing who I am, Whose I am, and that God's Word speaks to this "penetrating of lostness," I fully agree we must be actively sharing our faith in Christ and our love for Christ. My goal as an associational worker and (NAMB) Mission Service Core missionary is to 'empower, excite, and equip local churches and mission groups to do the Great Commission through the Great Commandment.' I am continuing in Southeast Georgia a goal that I began implementing in my ministry in Myrtle Beach.

These two books have helped me along the way:

1. I read the Baptist Reformation by Jerry Sutton in the Summer of 2007. This is a great review of the Conservative Resurgence that happened in SBC life.


2. I finished the book One Sacred Effort by Chad Owen and David Hankins a week and a half ago. I think that this book would be a great read following Sutton's book because it gives a more detailed history of the work of the SBC and it's entities, even up to 2004.

2 PhD semesters behind me, the Summer before me...

The past month has been incredible. I thought a post was in order to get some things off my chest and maybe for you to research for yourself.

First, I have written before and I will write again -- I am a struggling PhD student. This school year has taught me yet again how much I write like I talk. Yes, Fuge that means "preachy". If anyone knows a good writing coach in the Wick (aka Brunswick) I need their contact info.

Second, I have read much about the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) over the past months that Southern Baptist messengers will vote on at this years SBC annual summer meeting in Orlando, Florida. I have read a myriad of viewpoints across the spectrum and I have come to my own conclusions:

*** I can not vote for the full seven report recommendations of the task force***

Why not?

1. Recommendation One - Since when did the SBC need a mission statement, and when did this committee find it their responsibility to give the SBC this statement? However, I like this missional vision statement.
2. Recommendation Two - Since when did the SBC need core values, and when did this committee find it their responsibility to give the SBC this statement? Furthermore, I like how these values add to that which we as Southern Baptists adhere to in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
3. Recommendation Three - We have forgotten the magnitude of the work of the Cooperative Program (CP) and this Great Commission giving only gives definition to what many are already doing. The CP is the CP - don't touch it!
4. Recommendation Four - Southern Baptists have forgotten North America, and it's not the North America Mission Board's (NAMB) fault. We don't need to decentralize, nor do we need to break off cooperative agreements. The 5300 missionaries serving with NAMB, funded - jointly funded - or volunteer must partner with state conventions and local associations to get the most Kingdom effort and work done. I speak from this missionary perspective with great concern for the NAMB and SBC missions education for North America.
5. Recommendation Five - Subsidizing NAMB ministry efforts and work does not reach more. NAMB should work closely with the IMB to minister to these unreached and underserved people groups. Good in theory, wrong in practice.
6. Recommendation Six - the CP works best with the Executive Committee (EC) as its head. SBC made this change years ago, and later reversed it back to its present position because it worked better that way it is. Don't try it again. Instead, let us embrace the work, giving, and education of the CP from the local church, to the association, and the state convention, and the SBC as a whole.
7. Recommendation Seven - The increase is great in practice, but I think the theory is wrong. What we do not know in this report is where this decrease in EC comes from so we can give the one percent increase to the International Mission Board (IMB). What this report should have done was to encourage healthy giving instead of reallocating funds.

I realize that many have worked long and hard over the past year in proposing this GCR report. I do not hate nor do I judge any person on this committee concerning their details of this very urgent matter--to take the Gospel to every Person in the World.

I will not leave the convention if this GCR is adopted by the messengers of the SBC convention in Orlando next month. I will continue in my life and work as a MSC missionary of NAMB to continue reaching the resort and community ministries in Southeast Coastal Georgia through the Golden Isles Ministries of the Southeast Baptist Association.

Letter to the Editor - Post and Courier newspaper

After watching Sunday's night edition of EXTREME HOMEMAKOVER on the ABC network, I think it would benefit each reader of this newspaper to let them know something very important that the show did not highlight in it's one hour episode.

In addition to the new home the Suggs family received in Loris, SC, Charleston Southern University gave the four children in the home full-tuition scholarships for four years. As a 2004 alumn of Charleston Southern University, I thought it would be beneficial to make aware the readers of the Post and Courier newspaper.

I am thankful for Charleston Southern University, and this incredible gift to the Suggs family that estimated today would be well over $400,000.00! Charleston Southern University deserves special recognition for this reminder that they are serious about learning, leading, and serving in South Carolina.

Respectfully submitted,
Peter Copeland

Uganda Mission Trip from the Hansens

I had some friends recently go on a mission trip to Uganda, and I wanted to share some of their testimonies and a picture of each from their missional journey...

Dennis Hansen wrote...

"This was my third trip to Uganda and it never ceases to amaze me at how appreciative and thankful the people of Uganda are. They don’t know that they are poor and they are just as joyful as can be. It’s truly an example for me. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." (Phil 4:11) We could all take something away from that…are we truly content? Also, the Ugandans always have a smile on their faces…another example for me! I need to let our joy of the Lord shine through my face, what better way to do that than with a smile. This year I had the privilege of being part of 'one on one' evangelism for two days. As we went to the different villages each day, our evangelist would preach to the people while the medical team set up the clinic. Our Ugandan friends would go to the medical clinic, then on to the pharmacy to get medications, then they would come to our tent. If they were already saved, we would pray with them. Their top four prayer requests were: better health, husband’s salvation, school fees for their children, and for jobs. If they weren’t saved/born again, I would ask them if I could tell them about Jesus. No one said no. I used an “Evangecube” as illustration to share the gospel. (If you don't know what an Evangecube is, it’s a cube with pictures that helps illustrate the scriptures and story of Jesus and what He has done for us. It is an excellent witnessing tool.) All this is done with an interpreter, of course! Even if I would mess up, my interpreter could help me out! I had the privilege of seeing about 35 people come to the Lord...the highlight of my trip. It was also a blessing watching Terri and Dustin on mission and seeing them “in action.” They both do great. It’s not as natural for me, so it was good to get out of my comfort zone. Again, it was a wonderful experience that I would hope you all can try sometime. You go to be a blessing, but you end up being the one that was blessed. Thank you again for your prayer and financial support. Your prayers held us up and we couldn't have done it without you. God Bless!"

Dustin Hansen, Dennis' son, wrote...

"Back in my routine and back to the grind. And I actually did come home with more than just a tan! I had a lot of incredible experiences, but the ones that stick out above the rest are the times I got to spend with a special friend and mentor that I met last year in Uganda. Pastor Anthony, a Kenyan pastor living in Eldoret, came to Uganda to join us in ministry. Having spent years in Uganda pastoring, Anthony knows the local languages and understands the culture greatly. His love for the people in the Uganda is a real blessing to watch. Most days, Pastor Anthony and I ended up doing "door to door" evangelism or "hut to hut", as I like to call it. One thing that I learned from Pastor Anthony is praying in faith. I've never heard a man pray in as much faith as he does. His whole countenance changes as he prays knowing that God will touch those that he prays for in His will. Pastor Anthony and I had the privilege of seeing many come to know the Lord. From those experiences, I've learned a boldness I never knew before. The way that he could change any conversation he was having into a witnessing experience was amazing. Now that I'm back at school and work, I am more aware of my responsibility as a Christian to share the Gospel, and I recollect on all those experiences in Uganda and remember Pastor Anthony's example. When I got home, I challenged myself to learn how to love my own people as much as Pastor Anthony does his. Once I acquire that love, the next step becomes so much easier. Thanks to everyone who made this trip happen by your prayers and financial support."

Praise the Lord for their Christ-centered lives in reaching the world with the Gospel. Terri Hansen, Dennis' wife and Dustin's mother who also went on this mission endeavor, asked me to share with you the ministry of Mission Link International based in Charlottesville, Virginia, by clicking here.

And Lots more books that i've read

Lots more books that i've read

i am .... (part two)

my nicknames are peetah and pedro
i am an avid sale-shopper
i enjoy watching movies in the theater
i dislike people who are unprepared
i vow to never drive a neon
i hate it when people only go on international mission trips
i cut out coupons weekly
i like my pillow to be cold
i would like to one day teach youth ministry in a liberal arts institution

everyday, i try to live by His grace and for His glory....

i am .... (part one)

my middle name is john
i cant stand nail filers
i enjoy traveling in planes
public audiences don't scare me
i dislike events that bring attention to me
i am a struggling phd student
i have a great ministry position
i wish popeyes had its naked strips still
i am a msc missionary with namb
i like the hgtv station
i dont coook very well
i enjoy drinking out of wakka juice cups
i could wear a shirt and tie everyday
i like reading books, some more than others

everyday, i try to live by His grace and for His glory....