South Fairbanks church reawakens with young pastor
Published Monday, March 24, 2008
On Easter Sunday morning, a paper shredder stood in stark contrast next to a large, life-sized wooden cross in the sanctuary at Corinthian Baptist Church.
The cross, representative of Christ’s crucifixion, was covered with index cards nailed to it by parishioners at a Good Friday service when congregants penned personal sins on small cards and nailed them to the cross, written side-down.
“It was a very emotional service,” Corinthian pastor, S. Anthony Justice said.
At the beginning of Sunday morning’s Resurrection service, clerics, dressed in white, removed and shredded the confessional cards and in their place attached fresh white lilies to the remaining nails on the cross.
The symbolic reversal proclaimed a new beginning and opened Sunday’s joyful celebration of Christ’s Resurrection while a praise dance team of eight young women clad in blue and white robes performed to the hymn “He Has Risen.”
The family-focused 11 a.m. service was the second service of the day for the South Fairbanks church.
Corinthian Baptist hosted an earlier sunrise service conducted by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Fairbanks, a first for the seven-church alliance that drew 148 worshippers, Justice said.
The young Baptist minister, who turned 30 last week, hails from Virginia. He left a post at Mount Zion Church in Macon, N.C., to take on the pastorship at Corinthian.
In the seven months since his arrival in mid-August, Justice has quadrupled the church rolls from 30-40 to 150 members.
Sunday’s upbeat service with lots of live music — including piano, organ, drums and saxophone performances — praise, dance and preaching, is the obvious draw.
Justice, who graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., with a dual degree in music/vocal performance and political science/pre-law, spent part of the service playing the organ and directing the choir.
For Justice, Corinthian is more than Sunday-morning and Wednesday-night church.
“We’re multicultural, and we’ve become a full-time church that tries to reach and teach to people’s needs,” he said. “We’re offering a unique worship service that bridges the generational gaps and brings them together.”
Until Justice’s appointment, Corinthian Baptist was without a permanent pastor for three years after a split in the congregation. An interim military pastor filled in until he transferred out of state. The church board then conducted a nationwide search that resulted in Justice’s hiring.
Church trustee Susan Jones described the new pastor as “young, energetic, and spiritually led.”
“He hit the ground running,” Jones said. “He’s just been a blessing to the church.”
Willie Young, a church board member, agrees.
“(Justice) has a really broad vision for the church,” Young said. “He started putting together church teams right away. Before one or two people were doing everything.”
According to Young, Justice’s influence on the Image and Identity Team “infused the team to think outside of the box” and come up with the church’s motto: “We’re Here to Heal — The Church Where God Heals You Everywhere You Hurt.”
As the Corinthian congregation heals itself, it is expanding its role in the community and attracting others to share in the process of finding salvation in a holistic setting — to heal mind, body and spirit.
“We not pulling people from other (church) communities,” Young said. “We are seeing people who are new or are stationed here.”
Bill Post, the dean of the School of Discipleship at Corinthian, said that in Justice’s short tenure, he’s brought in a badly needed component to the church family — young people with families.
“There’s been a huge blossoming of young people and programs,” Post said.
Mike Andrews, 15, is one those young people.
“He’s a great guy. (Justice) brought me into church and got me active,” Andrews said.
Justice also taught the teen how to play the drums, which Andrews does regularly now at Sunday service.
Marceline Post participates in the praise dance team and choir and likes the youth lock-ins at the church and WOW (Word on Wednesday).
“I like being in an active church,” the 13-year-old said.
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makes me wonder what the pervious comments were. maybe mine will be removed too!
How nice to read some positive and encouraging news!!!
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires."
- Susan B. Anthony
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes"
- Thomas Jefferson [Letter to von Humboldt, 1813].”
“In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people.”
- James Madison
I attend Corinthian as a member and young person. I love our new pastor and i an excited to see what God has in store for our church in this new "season" [08] we have grown both as pple and as a church. We have more members almost every sunday and they come right into welcoming arms. My spirituality has also blossomed under Pastor Justice's leadership. As for the Picture of him Preaching..WE DNT HAVE CHURCH SECURITY GUARDS LOL THOSE GENTLEMAN ARE CALLED ARMOR BEARERS THERE NOT THERE TO PROTECT THE PASTOR THEY ARE SIMPLY THERE TO HELP HIM AND GET HIM WHAT HE NEEDS WHEN HE CANT GET IT HIMSELF. I just wanted to make that clear there is no need for security in GODS house.
dont we just love censorship in this country
It is nice to hear from one of the young baptists in our town. Here's what some other Baptists in the USA are saying:
"There ought to be limits to freedom [of speech]"
-- George W Bush, commenting on the website www.gwbush.com, a parody of his campaign website
"It's not appropriate to have an atheist in here. There are ways to find out whether they are believers or not."
-- Randy Clinton, saying he'll bar atheists from employment in a tax-funded charity program established by George W Bush's faith-based charity plan, the Community Solutions Act
"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being." -- Rev Jerry Falwell
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."
-- Jerry Falwell
And while I'm on the subject, let me say something about Harry Potter. [Gravels her voice.] Warlocks are enemies of God!! [Back to normal screech.] And I don't care what kind of hero they are, they're an enemy of God. And had it been in the Old Testament, Harry
Potter woulda been put to death! [Applause.] You don't make heroes out of warlocks. This is the generation that's gonna stand for purity, an' righteousnesss, an' holiness, an' you're gonna serve the lord all the days of your life.-- Becky Fischer, from a video, "Jesus Camp"
"Only when Christ comes again will the little white children of Alabama walk hand in hand with little black children."
-- Billy Graham
"I'll tell you what is wrong with America. We don't have enough of God's ministers running the country."
-- Rev Tim LaHaye
"Evolution is the root of atheism, of communism, nazism, behaviorism, racism, economic imperialism, militarism, libertinism, anarchism, and all manner of anti-Christian systems of belief and practice."
-- Henry Morris (Christian "young-earth" creationist)
[[ Not actually sure all of these guys are Baptists, just so you know]]
All lovers of freedom and liberty - BE WARNED!!! Know your enemy! They are right here in our community!!!
I am not Baptist or particularly religious, however I have attended Corinthians recently (as a visitor) and Pastor Justice is doing a great job. For those that are quick to judge him or be suspicious, perhaps you should look at your own reasons for mistrust. I am not naive in thinking that everyone in life is good or honest, however to automatically assume that a younger pastor is out for is his own gain is a mass negative generalization. Newsreader, it is great to know you can find quotes about religion from well known people, but what are you attempting to say? To assume to that all religion/religious leaders is negative just shows how little you critically think. If Pastor Justice is helping the community and providing a positive atmosphere especially for our teenagers, what is the harm? If you would rather our youth get the much needed guidance elsewhere, what do you suggest? If it’s not hurting you or anyone else, what’s the problem? Perhaps those that automatically negatively judge Corinthians and Pastor Justice are no different than those that automatically trust everyone, just ends of a continuum.
I thought that using other's words might help people accept them, as they may not except mine. So, here are so more things that I am trying to say:
"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise." James Madison, April 1, 1774
"Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it." James Madison
"God is an essence that we know nothing of. Until this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there never will be any liberal science in the world." James Madison ["this awful blashpemy" that he refers to is the myth of the Incarnation of Christ, from Ira D. Cardi]
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
Benjamin Franklin - Poor Richard's Almanack, 1758
"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." - Benjamin Franklin
Newsreader, stop trying to make this about you. You are bitter, self-absorbed & hate to see any positive view of religion (or anything else for that matter). We KNOW! Find a new schtick already!
And, here are some more things said by "God-fearing" individuals:
Washington and Lincoln were un-Christian and their names are unworthy of being brought before the public.
-- Rev Romaine F Bateman (BAPTIST)
The real liberators of American women were not the feminist noise-makers, they were the automobile, the supermarket, the shopping center, the dishwasher, the washer-dryer, the freezer.
-- Pat Buchanan
No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots.
-George Bush (Senior)
[Those who oppose capitol punishment and war] are moral perverts and degenerates; they have lost the capacity for righteous indignation.
-- Rev R H Charles
Did you know that (apparently) "Under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance due to McCarthyism, and was NOT put there by our founding fathers?
"We are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words "under God" added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man."
-- Dwight David Eisenhower, in a letter to the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic group who, with other Christian groups and because of the anti-Atheist sentiments fueled by McCarthyism, the Red Scare, and the Cold War, the Knights had worked tirelessly to turn our nation's once-universally accessible Pledge of Allegiance into an exclusive mantra that only religious people can recite with honesty and in dignity (August, 1954)
"The ACLU hates Christianity, the Christ of the Bible, and we hate
the ACLU"
-- Rev Mickey Kirkland (BAPTIST)
So, what I'm saying is that all enlightened liberty and freedom loving citizens of the United States need to realize that fundamentalist religions (like Baptists) have declared war on our personal freedoms and they seem to be winning. What I'm saying is that this enemy of freedom is alive in our community and is, apparently, recruiting new members each day. I don't know about anyone else, but this scares me - A LOT!!!
Here's some final quotes from more "God-fearing" individuals:
"Therefore, I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. By fighting off the Jews, I am doing the Lord's work."
-- Adolf Hitler
“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.”
-- Napoleon Bonaparte
"I'm fighting so I can die a martyr and go to heaven to meet God."
-- Osama Bin Laden
akprincess72 - this is not about me. This is about OUR liberties and freedoms being taken from us by an organized group that perpetuates itself by indoctrination and brainwashing at a very young age - catching "converts" when they are so young they do not have to ability to save themselves from the mental cage they are placed in.
I think I've made my point now. So, as long as I don't receive further questions, I won't attempt to show anyone else the truth behind fundamentalist religion(s) (at least for today).
Yeah, they took away your freedoms with a news article? Whatever.
Oh yeah, I'm one of "them" (not that particular church, but the faith in general) and it isn't my 'mental cage' I am worried about newsreader...
Do you believe in black helicopters too?
Newsminer I am glad you have more quotes but this is what other people say and believe. If you criticize religion as useless and a way to brainwash people who cannot or choose not to think critically, then how are you different? The ability to think and communicate critically does not mean regurgitate what others have said through quotes. Your quotes have only shown you know how to find what others have said, not what you believe. Perhaps you are unsure of how to critically evaluate information and find it easier to let others do it for you. Do you see the connection? We need teach our youth critical thinking skills.
Ummm, black helicopters? Sure, I believe in them. Why wouldn't I? I can, after all, see them and have physical proof of there existence. (unlike some other things I can think of...)
"The American military does in fact operate helicopters painted in black or dark colors, particularly the Pave Low which is optimized for long-range stealthy insertion and extraction of personnel, including combat search and rescue." (wikipedia - sorry)
[If you are referring to some conspiracy theory, I've never heard of it before just now.]
Qbaton - Rest assured that I have spent MANY, MANY hours analyzing my beliefs and the beliefs of many religions worldwide. I have come to the absolutely certain conclusion that organized fundamentalist religions retard scientific growth, restrict civil liberties, and ultimately discourage our youth from developing their own critical thinking skills. [This is just the short list of evil accomplished in "God's" name]
As I already stated, I thought that the words of others would be more readily accepted than mine. That does NOT in any way mean that I can not use my own words or that I do not have the ability "to critically evaluate information". It means that I felt, in this instance, that using the words of our founding fathers and of modern believers of fundamentalist religion might provide more of an impact that my words alone.
Qbaton - I realize that I neglected to answer a couple of your other questions:
"If you would rather our youth get the much needed guidance elsewhere, what do you suggest?"
I would suggest that the community create more programs that support positive things for kids to do in our town. Something like the one that was on South Cushman. Oh wait... That's right, that one is closed down because a BAPTIST PREACHER stole their funding... silly me...
"If it’s not hurting you or anyone else, what’s the problem?"
It is hurting me, and its hurting you, and its hurting America. If you do not see the social ill that organized religion has brought to the land think about this - there was once a time when all people believed in God and the Church ruled. It was called the DARK AGES!
(and, yes, that's another quote, I forget by whom)
Learning critical thinking skills happens first in the home. I will agree that many atrocities have occurred in the name of “God” but many positive things have occurred in the name of “God” as well. While I may not be a religious person, I allow the rights of others to choose for them selves. Scientific growth will occur regardless of religion. It is a lucrative industry. I am a firm believer in our rights and I am glad to have this discussion, however using our founding fathers is not the best backup. While searching for their beliefs check some of the other things they said and did. It is easy to select quotes that back up one side of a story.
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Qbaton, thank you for respecting the differences that exist among people.
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You don't like an article about a church then "don't read it - close your mind, block out the truth, a(nd, I presume) remain in your (non)faith-based fantasy world." Try that instead of spewing your hate.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander(goose). Well, you get the drift.
Woah! I don't thing Newsreader is "spewing hate"... just trying to prove that organized religion/Christianity is as widely accepted as many would hope. It is a little unfair to infer that he/she is not doing something to "fix the world". I don't always agree with newsreader, but I appreciate the thought provoking contributions... and I don't think any of us would participate in these comments if we couldn't tolerate a little cage rattling.
That being said, as much as we may not like or agree with religion, it's not going away anytime soon. Churchgoers are members of our community, and an article regarding their goings-on has as much of a place in the DNM as one about folks researching permafrost or the Grizzlies' dance team.
Now we reach the crux of the difference between you and I - I choose to read all information and make a critical analysis. I do not choose to close my eyes and live in a fantasy world that includes magic, witchcraft, miraculous transformations of inanimate physical objects, and people coming back from the dead. Instead, I choose reason to guide my life.
It might interest you to know that I personally live by the one truth that comes from the new testament, "Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you." And, I assure you, that if I believed in mystical beings, spirits, magic, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or God I would SERIOUSLY hope that someone would point out to me the utter ridiculousness of those beliefs.
Thank you Imusuallyright, however in my opinion some of the removed comments were hateful. That is only my opinion of course, I wish they hadn't been removed. I wasn't offended by them so much as dumbstruck. You are a good ref & I appreciate the comments.
All people in this community are a part it & all belong, even those disagree.
C'mon Newsreader, the Easter Bunny is cute~ =)
It is cute I agree! Sometimes I wish I could return to my carefree youth and revel in the cuteness... I really do!
Thanks for your statement "All people in this community are a part it & all belong". It is easy for any of us to forget that - to vilify the differences and not embrace them. For my part, I will attempt to work towards that understanding.
And, thanks for ending this on a more positive note.
Thank you for agreeing to.
One thing I believe Newsreader and I could definately agree on is that when we shut off our mind to follow a religion, it is dangerous. The bible actually commands that we test what we hear our leaders preaching, not go along with them because they happen to be christian.
I am sorry that you, Newsreader, have seen the damage and hypocracy associated with my faith, but more than that, I am sorry it is there at all. Nothing pains me more than to see what is supposed to be the light of the world cause enough pain to make someone like you hate it.
I'm an agnostic and could speak volumes on religion, but I will spare you the sermon(tee hee). My personal beliefs aside, I think what this pastor is doing is wonderful. Anything that brings people together and gives them faith and hope is a miracle in itself, regardless of how misdirected some of us may think it is.
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