March 13, 2020 - Message Concerning the Coronavirus - Mt. Olive AME Zion Church

Message Concerning the Coronavirus - Mt. Olive AME Zion Church

Dear Mt. Olive:

I have been prayerful over the past week concerning the spread of the coronavirus and how it would effect our community. I have monitored the spread in this area; the cases in Wake County; the Durham resident who contracted out of state; and I am aware that Durham schools will be closed beginning Monday. All of these things have weighted heavily upon me because I am not only concerned about your spiritual well-being, I am also concerned about your physical well-being. It is this concern that has kept me in prayer this week concerning whether we should continue with services. We are to worship God in all things and in all circumstances; yet, I must also be concerned with public safety.

As I was watching the news last night, I received a message from Bishop Monroe. His message said:

Unfortunately, Governor Cooper has requested that any public gathering must be within 100 people.  Of course, such a request is troubling because it does not take into account how persons demonstrates or expresses their faith. I am asking all members of the ENCED to use Godly judgement about church activities and worship services or gatherings. In some instances, it is difficult to determine how many people will be in a Worship or church gathering.  However, I would not encourage any of our pastors to cancel a worship service.

With this encouragement, all services at Mt. Olive will continue. The corporate worship of God is the focal point, the life-blood – if you will – of any church community. It is what binds us together and strengthens us both for ministry, and for week ahead. This is why we are encouraged not to neglect our worshipping
together (Heb. 10:25).

Let me assure you that as we continue to worship and study together as a community, we are taking every precaution to protect you. I have been in conversation with the Trustees and they are making sure that sanitizer, soap and other things are readily available for you. Renee is giving extra attention to making sure that pews are cleaned, wiped down and sprayed with disinfectant. We are taking as much care as possible to make sure the environment is safe.

At the same time, if you are feeling sick or there are persons in your household who are sick, it would be better if you remained home until you recover. All of our sermons are livestreamed as well as our Bible Studies and the links to those are provided with this email. You can also continue to support the church by
giving through to Givelify app. Also provided with this email is the link to our website which will also have links to the livestreams and the Givelify app.

I ask us to first pray for this country; the leadership and those who have the responsibility for public health and safety that God will strengthen them as they confront this virus. Pray also for those who have been effected. Ask God to give them the grace and the strength to recover. Let us pray for the families of those who have succumbed to this virus. We pray that God will be their comforter at this time. Then, let us pray for ourselves that God would provide grace, and would sustain us in this troubled time.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days, For the living of these days.

Mt. Olive Facebook (for live streaming 10am morning service): https://www.facebook.com/MtOliveAMEZ/

Mt. Olive Bible Study (Wednesday Night 7pm): https://www.facebook.com/MOAMEZBibleStudy/

Givelify (You will have to set up an account): https://www.givelify.com/givenow/1.0/MTA3NQ==/selection

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax

MARCH 2020 PASTORAL MESSAGE

Greetings:

In January I said that we were going to begin a conversation concerning the direction of the church and its ministries. In January, Rev. LaKeshia Womack (she was Ordained the week after being with us) came and helped us to think about who we are; and she gave us much to consider. Also, in my January statement I said that God purposed the Church to be a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ both in the world and in the community where it serves. It is to that purpose that we will turn our attention now.

Beginning this Wednesday, March the 11th, our Bible Study will study what the Bible teaches concerning the Church. I won’t preempt our study by saying a lot more, only to encourage you to come out and engage
this study with us so that we can learn what God intends for God’s church. We will begin in Matthew 16. Our questions for this week will be:
     
I.      How is the Church called into existence?  
II.     What authority does the Church have in Heaven? 
III.    What can come against the Church?

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax

February 2020 Pastoral Message

Greetings:

In January we had Rev. LaKeshia Womack to come and to lead us in a discussion concerning the further direction of the church. One of the things that came out of that discussion was a question concerning our Mission Statement? The majority of the participants had seen the Mission Statement, but could not remember what it was.

Our Mission Statement is important. Not only does it define who Mt. Olive is, but it also sets the direction for the ministries of the church. Therefore, every member of the church not only needs to know what the Mission Statement is, we should also be in agreement that this statement captures who we are as a congregation.

Our current Mission Statement is this: To cultivate Christ centered communities where Christians meet the needs of the people and offer Christ to all!

So, I’m taking a general survey. Is everyone in agreement with this statement? Does anyone have a correction or something that they would want to add? Instead of calling a Member’s Meeting to discuss this, over the next 2 weeks I am asking that you would return your feedback to me at metaphysicial@gmail.com. I will compile your responses and return to you the results.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax

January 2020 - Pastoral Monthly Message

Continued Christmas Blessings upon each of you.

As you should know, I’m inviting everyone to breakfast on Saturday the 11th, from 8-9. I want everyone to come, to have a good breakfast and to enjoy the fellowship of one another. And, as I continue to say, if I’m going to get up and be there at 8 am, I certainly want to see everyone else there as well. However, there is something after breakfast.

After breakfast, I am asking that everyone join me in a conversation about the future direction of the church.
Mt. Olive needs to have a greater focus and impact upon the community around us, and I’m asking for your help and ideas on how that should be. I want us to start thinking about the ministries of the church and how they can be more effective in reaching the community. What ministries can we expand; what new
ministries do we need to create? How do we plan and strategize to reach the community? Certainly, I realize that we will not be able to answer these important questions all on one Saturday morning; however, I want to begin a conversation which I envision continuing throughout this year.

Let us remember that God purposed the church to be a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world (or in our particular case, the community). No matter what else we do, this must be our primary mission. So, Kevin Rogers

Kevin Rogers - I ask each of you to pray with me as we discuss how we can be more effective in fulfilling God’s mission for the church.

I sincerely hope that every member of Mt. Olive will join me next Saturday.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax

December 2019 - Monthy Pastoral Message

Greetings:

Sunday we celebrated the beginning of the Christian year, and I spoke about the Christian calendar and how we should reorient our lives around the life of Jesus; but there are 2 important things about the Christian calendar which I did not include in the sermon.

First, Easter is a fixed date on the calendar. It is the only date (and Pentecost, which is set according to Easter) for which we know exactly when the event took place. All other dates are approximation on the calendar to represent this point in Jesus’ life. As such, the Church does not proclaim that Jesus was actually born on December 25th; rather, the Church has chosen to celebrate his birth on this day, and the days until Easter are an approximation of his life until his death and resurrection.

Second, the calendar is also a metaphor of the movement of growth we experience in the life of Christ. From Advent to Epiphany and his manifestation to all the world; to Lent and our time of sacrifice to Easter when we celebrate the life we receive through his resurrection; to Pentecost and our life in the spirit, to Kingdomtide and the growth we experience in our life with God; and the cycle begins again.

As our Advent Meditation booklet says (if you didn’t get one, see me Sunday), we pray that during this Advent season, you would slow down and focus on our faith in Christ, resulting in a deepened faith that inspires us to greater works of compassion, justice and witness.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax

November 2019 Pastoral Message

Greetings Mt. Olive:

 I’m so excited to be your “New Pastor” and I look forward to meeting all of my “new members” this Sunday.

I began pastoring in 1982, and every year I have spent the week before my 1st Sunday in prayer, asking God for direction in the upcoming year. I generally don’t even go anywhere near the church that week (although, I had to stop by today to get something for a meeting I have later this week) because I don’t want to go to my “new church” until I have been with God. This year, however, I am doing something different.

In all of my years I have prayed on my own for direction. This year, for the 1st time, I’m asking you to join me in seeking God’s direction for the church in this upcoming year. Certainly, God will answer my prayer; but how much more powerful it will be if the WHOLE CHURCH prayed with me.

So, please pray with me this week that God might not only give us direction for the upcoming year; but that God would strengthen us to fulfill what God is preparing us for.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax