This is a partial transcript of a joint presentation by Carrollton’s Elders on December 30, 2007. 

Portions have been edited for length.

Part 1:   Robert Carpenter

Charles and I are both humbled and honored to serve our God and His family here at Carrollton as your Shepherds.  Although we have certain responsibilities to our Lord by serving in this way, He and you all know that we are just like each of you.  None of us is perfect but all of our imperfections are covered by the Blood of our Savior.  We all are striving to mature in our faith and serve our Lord to the best of our abilities.  Please continue to pray for us in our journey of service.

This morning our time together will involve looking back in review of our trials, triumphs and the blessings we have received from our fellow Christians and looking forward toward the challenges and opportunities that God has placed before us as individuals and as a body of believers.

During this past year we spent time studying and praying as we sought God’s vision for Carrollton.  We had times of prayer and discussions among ourselves, with the staff, deacons and members.  Our goal was to seek God’s direction for us.  As this process developed, the major recurring themes revolved around family, belonging to God, and serving.  The result:

“We are a family of God’s children serving our community.”

We truly believe that we at Carrollton are family.  We care and love and accept each other as family.  Just as each member of your physical family is different, so it is with us here at Carrollton.  God has blessed us here with a Spirit of acceptance. All of us, with our good and bad qualities, are accepted in love and encouraged to mature in our walk with our Lord.  Being Family provides each of us with a sense of belonging and of community as we continue developing, maturing and serving.

In the same way you are connected through a common lineage in your physical family, we at Carrollton are connected through the common lineage of God our Father.  Without our commitment to being in the Father, we would just be another social club. 

“Serving our community” completes the vision. Serving others gives our faith in God and our commitment to each other legs, the “works” and “fruit” that we read about in God’s word. A number of years ago one of our former ministers, Stan Helton, introduced us to the concept of God’s people being a Caravan: a company of pilgrims traveling together for protection and support toward a specific place.  In this analogy, our travels lead us to a deeper relationship with our God and with each other and ultimately to our heavenly home with God.  We need each other for support and protection as we follow the Father.  We need to encourage others to join us by serving them and sharing God’s love with them through that service. We need to be a family of God’s children serving our community.   

We as your Shepherds ask that you embrace this vision as we approach this New Year.  Be active in the family by participating and caring for each other, insure that you are in God’s family by maturing in your faith, and take time to serve those around us. Be a real member of the Family of God’s children serving the community at Carrollton.

As we look back to times before Katrina, we know that there were hardships and troubles.

A number of years ago the impact of this congregation on its immediate community was non-existent. We were not a caravan going anywhere, but were stagnant, only maintaining and serving ourselves.  Through God’s guidance a commitment was made to stay in this neighborhood and make a difference right here by reaching out and serving it. This decision did not go unnoticed by the Evil One. He tried to discourage us through the loss of three preachers in a short period of time.  He also tried to trip us up through leading someone we trusted to return to drugs and commit murder. Lacking the leadership of shepherds, Satan had us questioning our identity, purpose and even our decision to serve God here.  All of these items and more resulted in sleepless nights and distress, but God provided a way for us.  He blessed our efforts with KidCity, summer camp and other initiatives.  We were serving our community, showing God’s love to those around us and making an impact for God.  Our relationship with each other and God became stronger.

Then came August 29th, 2005 and Katrina.

Our individual lives and the life of the Carrollton Congregation would never be the same after that date.   Many more trials and distresses came.  We each have our individual stories.  Many of our number were scatted; all of our numbers were impacted. However, Charles and I believe and many of you would agree that the blessings that God has showered upon us since that date have far offset the troubles that were caused and we have truly experienced God’s love first hand these past two and a half years.

As individuals and as a church we have been blessed through the prayers, contributions and work of volunteers. We have also been blessed by God providing us with a loving and dedicated ministerial staff to assist us in our work and progression on our caravan journey.   We have seen God’s love everywhere we turn.

However, one of the greatest blessings is this family of God melding together, through the power of our Lord and the help and assistance of our brothers and sisters in Christ from near and far, to become again the loving, caring and giving congregation that God wills us to be: A Family of God’s Children serving our Community.

Paul once described himself as “…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything (2 Cor 6:10.”) This is what Charles and I believe and know the Carrollton Church to be.  Why we love it, serve it and call upon you join us in that service to God, each other and our community.

Part 2: Charles Edgerson

How do we measure Spiritual Growth? One way is through adversity. Adversity is an accurate barometer of our spiritual life. It’s God most effective tool for growing us in our faith.  Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

During difficult times, we may be hard pressed to understand what God is doing, but we can be certain that in His divine plan, He is working for the good of those who love Him. It does not matter what the source of the trouble is----whether adversity is from something we caused, from someone else’s actions, straight from the Devil, or from God Himself. Our Father has a purpose and a plan for it. (Romans 8:28) He is at work in all of our circumstances for His glory and our good.

If we want to know the strength and quality of our faith, we need only look at how we handle our troubles. As we sojourn through life, we must face the reality of death. For a Christian this place is not our home. Members we lost through death after Katrina: Ms. Vinnie Tullis, (retired school teacher) Melvin Gainus, (former shepherd) Ms. Bobby and Carol White, (guardians of the Smith children) Robert Gainus, (died a tragic death) Fredrick Washington, (gunned down in the streets of New Orleans).

Members that decided to relocate after the storm: Doris, Charlotte and Kelly  Gainus, the Ambrose’s, Darlene and Louis August, Linda Green, Daphane Deleon, Sam & Lisa Williamson, David & Heather Hicks, Joan England, Trish Poynot, EJ Danforth and family, etc…we miss them all and wish them well.

Like a caravan we lose members and we pick-up members as we journey in this life. And the Lord has blessed us: We have several people that were baptized into Christ recently as well as new members that have placed their membership with us. We are grateful and blessed to have them in the body.

Post Katrina we struggled to recapture our identity after separating from Operation Nehemiah. Our first step toward outreach was to “jump start” Kid City once again.  It was something tangible to reassure us and the community that despite our personal losses, Carrollton was returning.

What binds us together and keep the wheels of the caravan moving? What keeps the Carrollton Aveune Church of Christ going? Look around you.  We are a peculiar people set apart from the world. We are a very unique body. What keeps Carrollton going? Love for one another and love for our community. It’s the joy we experience from one another especially the joy we received when former members returned after the storm.

Over the past two years we celebrated small victories like when someone’s gas or lights were turned on--- things we once took for granted. We celebrated our first service back in the building.  We celebrated our new pews, carpet, new signs outside, and song books.  We even celebrated the “peachy” paint job.

But through all that celebration we as a body were still not complete. There still was one last piece of the puzzle missing, one final link in the chain. We had a member who would come to church and sit by someone just for a hug. Not only did she come, she brought all the neighborhood children along with her.  Not until Rashanel walked through those doors did we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Carrollton was going to be all right.

Using the caravan model, it was time to pull up our tent stakes, grease the wagon wheels, load the supply camels and send out the camp guards. Once again we can begin to move forward in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ led by His banner that reads “Love.”

As we stand on the threshold of 2008, God’s Spirit is moving with mercy and grace in Hollygrove. The enemy Satan will place uncertainties, fears and doubts in our path. But we have gained experience through trials; we have weathered the storm and overcome our doubts and fears. We have grown spiritually through our adversities and through our suffering. We are like clay in the Potter’s hand as he molds and shapes us! We know for a fact when we move by faith, it’s really not us moving at all.   It’s God moving through us, and all things are possible through Him.