Monday Over Coffee: "Awake"
Posted July 31, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Hank was nine and Charlie was four when Kelly and I took them to Orlando. Upon arriving, we went straight to Disney World. Then, after a long day at the park, we headed to the Nickelodeon Hotel. Though it was unseasonably cold, the boys wanted to swim, which we did. Then exhausted, we tucked the boys into their bunk beds expecting a good night’s rest. Instead around 2:00 AM, the hotel’s fire…
Greg Funderburk on Sabbatical
Posted July 26, 2023 by Suzann Hermann in All Articles
South Main Baptist Church values the notion of Sabbath and, as a policy, provides time and space for periodic sabbaticals to our ministerial staff after having served the church for a period of seven years. Relevant research is persuasive about the utility and benefits of such time off to recharge and renew one's call to the work of being a minister. In light of this research and the…
Monday Over Coffee: "Day to Day"
Posted July 24, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Some have said the late baseball broadcaster Vin Scully’s sonorous tenor voice was so mesmerizing that he could read the phone book over the air and people would listen. That may be, but what folks would really be tuning in for were the compelling stories he’d inevitably tell as he went along. Between names, Vin would likely offer an interesting thumbnail sketch of someone whose name he…
Youth Peru Mission Trip
Posted July 18, 2023 by SMBC in Family Ministry, Missions
The Class of 2024 spent a week in Peru partnering with Operación San Andrés. These nine rising seniors began their capstone year in the Family Ministry with an immersive learning and service experience. We served in Collique with OSA and Iglesia de Esperanza each day and saw how God was working through them to show love and care for the community. We spent our nights in Lima eating really good…
Monday Over Coffee: "Elusive"
Posted July 17, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
If you're in my age demographic, you probably grew up quoting Monty Python. Everyone has a favorite line or two from the irreverent British comedy troupe: "It's not pining. It's passed on. It has ceased to be." (Dead Parrot sketch); "It's just a flesh wound." (The Holy Grail movie); and of course, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" (Spanish Inquisition sketch). After the group's…
WDS Club Camp
Posted July 11, 2023 by Alyssa Carter in Family Ministry
Over the week of June 19, 2023, our MainKids attended WDS Club Camp. Throughout this week, the kids had many fun activities as well as time digging in deep to the Word of God. Each morning, the kids started their day at Little Church. The whole week we learned stories that helped us remember basic truths, then throughout their day there was play time in the gym, craft time, small group time,…
Monday Over Coffee: "God is Awake"
Posted July 10, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Years ago when my kids, Hank and Charlie, were very young, and they put their elbows on the table during a meal, what followed typically went something like this:
Dad: "Boys, elbows off the table."
Hank: (as his brother, Charlie, is removing his elbows from the table) "Why?"
Dad: "Because I said so."
The Youth Mission Trip to Puerto Rico
Posted July 5, 2023 by Saige Jurek in Family Ministry, Missions
When we arrived at the airport in Puerto Rico it was smoldering hot, so hot in fact you could probably cook an egg on the sidewalk, even though it was like 10:30pm. We loaded up into the vans and eventually, after a long day, got to go to bed. I had the best roommates ever! I was with Kiran, Vivian, Jessie, Olivia, and Suzann. A definite highlight of the trip was my room because everyone knew…
Pastor Steve's Study Leave
Posted June 28, 2023 by SMBC in Pastor
As you read this, I am in Oxford for a month of study leave. Why a study leave? (I am glad you asked.) South Main has a generous sabbatical policy for all of our ministers. We believe sabbaticals are an important part of our retention strategy and an important component in ministerial health. We are not the only ones who believe that; the Lilly endowment did a deep dive into what…
The 527 Tribe Mission Trip to Oklahoma
Posted June 27, 2023 by SMBC in Family Ministry, Missions
During the first week in June, The 527 Tribe, together with some of our closest friends, loaded our bags and snacks galore and left the big city behind for the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma. We stayed in rustic A-frame cabins at Roman Nose State Park, where we enjoyed fireside hangs, volleyball in the grass, hikes to cold streams and lots of late night chats. Each day we spent…
Monday Over Coffee: "Anticipation"
Posted June 26, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
One of my favorite photographs of my son, Hank, is one in which he's about three years old and sitting on a tram running from the parking lot to the front entrance of Disneyland. Hank had been bouncing off the walls in excitement that he'd be spending the day at the famous amusement park, but now on board the tram, with the attractions just in the distance, he suddenly became incredibly…
Monday Over Coffee: "Commencing"
Posted June 19, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Our bright-eyed students have crossed the stage and flung their curiously-shaped hats high up into the air with great energy. It's now time to gather up all the sage and inspiring commencement remarks offered to these graduates and their dewy-eyed parents from all across our country and to choose the best of them.
Sodzo Update – June 2023
Posted June 13, 2023 by SMBC in Missions
Habari (Hello) from Kenya! It has been a blessing to see the growth of Sodzo's work firsthand during our trip this May/June. Here are a few brief stories and quotes to give you a hint of the way lives are being changed through your support.
Monday Over Coffee: "Play"
Posted June 12, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
I was seriously dedicated to playing when I was a little kid. Seriously dedicated. I'd play in the living room, down the hall, in my room. But what I really loved was playing outside. In the backyard. In the front yard. In the vacant lot down the street. In our driveway. On my bike. At school recess. With the dog. Even in the nearby bayou. I played with a holy fervor.
Monday Over Coffee: "Due Date"
Posted June 5, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
If you ask me to do something—a task, a project—you'll almost always get a polite question in return. Maybe it's kind of annoying, but the question you'll hear back is: "When is it due?" I know it sounds a little juvenile, like a student asking the teacher if this is going to be on the test, but I ask the question because I know myself. Whether the answer is it's due tomorrow, next…
Monday Over Coffee: "At the Proving Point"
Posted May 30, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
In a courtroom, one of the most effective arguments a lawyer can make to a jury is the old adage—actions speak louder than words. If the argument fits the fact pattern of the case, evidence, and testimony, this works almost every time because it simply rings true. Many a lawsuit, many a dispute, many a conflict come down to an issue of whether a person, an organization, or a company did what…
Monday Over Coffee: "Tribe"
Posted May 22, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Sebastian Junger seems afraid of very little. With a newly-minted degree in cultural anthropology, he embarked on a career as a freelance writer, researching a series of hazardous subjects. In a participatory way that routinely risked both life and limb, Junger studied, then wrote about some of the most dangerous things human beings do. His first book, The Perfect Storm, was a riveting account…
Thank You from our High School Seniors
Posted May 17, 2023 by SMBC in Family Ministry
Your encouragement, love, and prayers for young people at South Main are making a difference! As we recently heard from our high school graduates, their growing faith and trust in God has a solid foundation and they are ready to go with God's blessing and grace. We are so proud of them! The class of 2023 wants to share these words of thanksgiving with you.
Monday Over Coffee: "Thrum & Scrum"
Posted May 15, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
While we're commanded to set aside a particular day—the Sabbath—to rest just as God did following God's own work of creation, it's interesting God doesn't give us any further specific instructions to follow with respect to any other day of the week.
Monday Over Coffee: "Baggage"
Posted May 8, 2023 by Greg Funderburk in Monday Over Coffee
Not terribly long ago, our family packed our bags and went to Chicago. During our visit to the Art Institute of Chicago, one particular exhibit made a deep impression on me. Oddly, it was housed in the basement of the museum. The Thorne Collection was commissioned in the 1930's by Narcissa Thorne, a Windy City heiress with a fondness for dollhouses. Her collection is made up of a…
