West Ridge Church

As part of the goal of better stewardship, we are continuing to leverage technology to better serve our people. This year as in last, your year-end tax deductible giving statements are downloadable for you to print, rather than the costly and time consuming process of printing, assembling and mailing of these statements. Your year-end statements are available online for you to download today and can be accessed anytime throughout the year. Here's how you can access them:

• Select the "My Contributions" tab
• Select the "Report" tab
• Select the "Detailed Contributions" button
• Select the date range for Jan 1, 2011 to Dec 31, 2011.
• Statement type: Select Family 
  (if applicable to capture all your giving statements).
• Print the detailed tax deductible contributions report in .pdf format.
  This is the same report that has been mailed to you historically.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Men and women have equal value and dignity but different roles in marriage.

The Bible affirms this in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”. The Apostle Paul also speaks of this equality of men and women in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,  there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Any discussion of manhood and womanhood in the Bible must start here. Every time we look at each other and talk to each other as men and women, we must remember the person we are talking to is a creature of God who is more like God than anything else in the universe.

Therefore we should treat men and women with equal dignity, and we should think of men and women as having equal value.

Men and women have different roles in marriage as part of the created order.

Adam’s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not the result of sin. God spoke to Adam first after the Fall even though Eve sinned first. God summoned Adam to give account for what had happened. “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” – Genesis 3:9. This suggests that Adam was the one primarily accountable for what had happened in the family.

As we move to the New Testament we see Paul instructing the church of Ephesus, “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” -Ephesians 5:23-24. The biblical ideal for men is to provide loving, humble leadership and avoid errors of passivity and aggressiveness. “At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.” (Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood).

The biblical ideal for women is not an ideal of a woman being a doormat but a picture of a joyful intelligent woman submitting to her husband. This submission is not like a child obeying their parents. Rather it is a voluntary yielding in love to the authority God has ordained. This submission is reserved for the wife’s husband and not to all men. “At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.

Don’t miss our series “I do, we did, now what?” as we discuss the roles of men and women in marriage. Also, get connected to a journey group where you can discuss topics like this with other followers of Christ as well as pray for and encourage one another. Register for our next Grouplink at http://westridge.com/events/details/grouplink.

Husbands, wives, parents, singles, and even children can better understand their love language and find practical and powerful ways to express love by taking the assessment at http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/.

The 5 Love Languages® by Gary Chapman

Words of Affirmation

Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

Quality Time

In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Receiving Gifts

Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

Acts of Service

Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

Physical Touch

This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

Spiritual growth is about becoming the people God made us to be. It isn't about changing the person God created you uniquely to be, but developing you into the true version of yourself. It is a progressive work of God and yourself that makes you more and more free from sin and like Christ in your actual life. You and God both play roles in your growth. God’s role is primary and yours in secondary. It begins at the moment you are “born again”, and increases throughout your life, yet it is never completed in this life. It is completed at death for your soul and when Jesus returns for your body. We would like to encourage you to take some next steps this year to become all that God wants you to be. To become God’s best version of you. Here are some resources and next steps we encourage you to consider:

1. Understanding and Planning Your Spiritual Growth 
2. Get Connected with a Journey Group
3. Take a Class
4. Read a Book

Hey West Ridgers,

Ready or not Christmas is here! Tonight we begin the first of a total of nine services that will be held at our three campuses. We have already had over 7,000 tickets reserved. Our Cartersville campus has completely sold out the 6 pm and 7:30 pm services on the 23rd and the East campus is close to selling out the 7 pm on the 23rd as well. I know that our creative arts area has worked tirelessly to put together an amazing Christmas worship experience at all three campuses. This is truly a wonderful opportunity to bring an unchurched friend. If you don't have a ticket, don't worry; nobody will be turned away at the door.

We will not be having public worship services on December 25. However, we have created a Christmas devotional for those of you that would like to be able to worship as a family in your homes on Christmas day. You can locate it on the front page of our website – WestRidge.com.

On January 1, we will be having a very special morning where I will be speaking to all three campuses (streaming to our West and Cartersville campuses). In 2011 we have shared some great victories together, but we've also journeyed through some very tough valleys. On January 1, I will be giving a very personal "family talk" about how both have impacted us as a church. Because it is a "family talk" we will not be streaming live that morning to the Internet, nor will this talk be available to download later. We will also be sharing communion together. If you consider West Ridge Church to be your church home, I would like to ask you to be in attendance at one of our services on this special morning. We know that most people stay out late celebrating the New Year, so we'll be sure to have plenty of coffee on hand to wake you up. All of our kid's ministries will be running as normal.

Continue to pray for our Creative Arts Pastor, Troy Page and his wife Lindsey. Today is day eight of Troy being in the hospital. As most of you know, Troy had cancer removed from his colon last week. We are so thankful that his pathology reports showed no sign of the cancer spreading in his body. However, because of complications from his surgery, his body is still not functioning well enough for the doctors to be able to send him home from the hospital. Please pray for Troy that his healing would progress and pray for peace and strength for Lindsey and their unborn baby.

Amy, Taylor, Zachary, and I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We are so thankful for each and every one of you. We are also very grateful that God sent His Son Jesus to bring salvation to mankind. We look forward to celebrating that with you over the next few days.

For His Glory,
Brian

The Gift is an offering we take in December each year where we challenge ourselves to give a financial gift to Jesus that exceeds the amount of any other gift we give during this season. These funds are then used to fuel strategic outreach initiatives planned throughout the coming year.  

We are given a clear outreach strategy in Acts 1:8 to first reach out to our own community and then to move out from there - ultimately touching the world. We have adopted this strategy with this year’s gift offering by focusing on three strategic outreach initiatives:  

1) Internship Program: 
In 2012, we are expanding our influence by investing in the next generation of church leaders through the WRC Internship Program. Providing an opportunity for young leaders to work at West Ridge Church will allow participants to gain the practical experience and leadership skills necessary to lead a thriving ministry.

2) Vertical Church, Atlanta GA
Currently, WRC is helping plant a new church in downtown Atlanta called Vertical Church. This church is launching in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city with one of the highest crime rates anywhere. This is our opportunity to bring the hope of Jesus to a community that is in desperate need.

3) Burkina Faso Church Building
WRC has adopted one of the poorest countries in Africa called Burkina Faso. Great strides have been made to improve education and provide clean water for people in this region. Now we have the opportunity to meet the spiritual needs by constructing a building for a church plant currently meeting in a school cafeteria.  

4) Global Outreach
As always, 10 percent of The Gift offering will be used to fuel our various outreach efforts across the globe. 

Give Online

This offering will be taken at each service on December 11th & 18th. You can also give online here:

• No Account? No Problem! Give Online
• Have an account? Give Online
• Cartersville Campus: Give through SecureGive