Updates – Yates Baptist Church

“The Better Part,” part II

March 1, 2023 by ChriIngr 0

Seeking “The Better Thing” In our age of ever-increasing responsibilities and expectations, focusing on one task and seeing it through to completion can be a challenge. However, in this Lenten season that cultivates simplicity, we also have an...

Embracing Dependence in Lent

February 1, 2023 by ChriIngr 0

Years ago, when my family lived in that place we still lovingly refer to as “the far East,” I would occasionally make the one-hour trip north to Chesapeake, VA, to buy bulk portions of food and family necessities. We believed our two older boys...

The Better Part

January 1, 2023 by ChriIngr 0

Happy New Year! As we make our way into 2023, I want to reflect on a New Testament story that speaks into our lives in church. In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus pays a visit to friends in the town of Bethany. Two sisters busy themselves in the presence of...

Welcoming Advent

December 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

Hospitality is that wonderful gift of welcoming the stranger. The people of the Bible could not have survived without it. God’s people were once strangers in Egypt and in the Promised Land, but they could never quite settle on what to do with the...

Holy Expectancy

November 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

Can you be surprised even when expecting something? Of course! Just ask anyone who’s delivered a child. A common phrase to refer to pregnancy is to be “expecting.” Expecting, indeed! Expecting a child means many preparations are underway. A...

Homecoming on the Grounds

October 3, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

Do you miss Homecoming? I do, too. Deeply. Though the COVID experience has disrupted our ability to celebrate Yates’ birthdays the past couple of Octobers, there’s good news. A birthday party is coming this month! I hope you’ll come and celebrate...

The Next Chapter of an Ongoing Story

September 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

At the end of August, we shared an inspiring service of worship in the company of many Burmese Christians. The sermon was shared in both languages, and several remarked about how the experience confirmed the unity of the church that comes by the...

Risking Transformation

August 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

All of life involves risk. Just growing up has risks involved, much less getting married, choosing a career, running a business, or raising children. Retiring can be risky, too. What makes the risk worth it? We know that risk-taking exposes us...

Ministry By Design

July 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

I write this article sitting at gate 10 of Dallas Love Field as I wait to board my flight back to North Carolina after a whirlwind trip to Texas to take part in introductory meetings around the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Thriving...

Seeking the Good

June 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

Sometimes, when reflecting on what to write, articles like these seem to write themselves. They flow from my mind and heart from a deep wellspring that has faithfully delivered refreshment as long as I have been at it. There are other times when...

The Very Best Gift

May 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

This month, as we remember Mother’s Day, I want to remember two women: Lois, the grandmother of Timothy, and Eunice, Timothy’s mother. There is precious little in the Bible that tell directly about these women or their lives, but...

The Lord Needs Them (And YOU!)

April 1, 2022 by ChriIngr 0

This year, Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, April 10. The Gospels recall with worshipful fanfare how Jesus enters the holy city of Jerusalem. The city is swollen with pilgrims who have arrived to celebrate Passover, the great Jewish celebration...