August 2018 Branches

Staying on Mission
Discipleship Within Biblical Community
2018 Summer Lookback
A Photo Collage of This Summer
Leadership Training Class
Equipping Men & Women to Lead
August 2018 · southwood.org

Contents
1000 Carl T. Jones Drive | Huntsville, Alabama 35802
(256) 882-3085 | www.southwood.org
Christine Betts Assistant Director, Youth/Families
Robert Blevins Director, Community Development
Daniel Brown Print & Digital Media Specialist
Niña Cash Director, Children's Ministry
Rita Clardy Executive Assistant
Shannon Clark Administrative Assistant
Ron Clegg Associate Pastor, Discipleship
Ty Commons Youth & Family Intern
Janice Crowson Director, Facilities/Finance
Kim Delchamps Administrative Assistant
Terri Good Accountant/Bookkeeper
Derrick Harris Asstistant Pastor, Shepherding & Young Families
James Parker Chief Musician
Peter Render Assistant Pastor, Youth/Families
Angela Sierk Assistant Director, Children's Ministry
Will Spink Senior Pastor
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4
5
6
8
10
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Pastor's Note
General Assembly Report
Session Update
Diaconate Update
Jobs for Life
Staying on Mission
Discipleship within Biblical Community
2018 Summer Lookback
Small Groups
Deep Gospel Community
Southwood Women's Ministry
Leadership Training Class
Contributors
Derrick Harris
Peter Render
Robert Blevins
Ron Clegg
Niña Banta
Will Spink
Upcoming Events
Children's Ministry Leader Training
Next Wave of Small Groups
Aug. 5
Aug. 5-19
Photos
Daniel Brown
Kim Delchamps
Southwood Members
Feedback!
We want to hear from you! Please send
your suggestions and comments to
branches@southwood.org
Cover Photo
Looking beyond
Carl T. Jones Drive
Children's Ministry Family Picnic
Leadership Training Class Begins
Southwood Women's Conference
Family Movie Night
Church Work Day
Aug. 12
Aug. 15
Aug. 17-18
Aug. 24
Aug. 25
FAMILY PICNIC
Sunday, August 12 @ 12 noon
BEHIND THE SANCTUARY
Email Stephanie Pearson at
trippandsteph@gmail.com
to sign up to bring a side dish.
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
THE INCREDIBLES
Friday, August 24 at 6pm at the Lodge
Popcorn & Grilled Hot Dogs
$4 per person · $15 per family (4 or more)

Pastor's Note
Living in Community
You may hear the word “community”
at Southwood quite a bit in the
coming days – not merely in this issue
of Branches. We’re having community
breakfasts in August. We’re starting
Connect Communities in September.
I’ll be preaching about biblical
community starting this month. The
reason that we’ll be talking about
it is because it’s essential: Biblical
community is a catalyst for our
mission. In other words, God has called
us to “Experience and Express Grace,”
and biblical community fuels that
mission; in fact, we can’t accomplish
it effectively without continually
fostering true community.
The heart of why Southwood exists
as a church is that we have a God
who is so unimaginably gracious that
to know Him truly through Jesus is
to be transformed deeply so that
every aspect of our lives is reoriented
toward his glory (“Experience Grace”).
In particular, this means we live daily
in the midst of friends and neighbors
who are facing life today and – even
more troubling – eternity apart from
Christ and who are, like us, suffering
under the brokenness, injustice, and
self-absorption of the Fall. We believe
God has placed us here to be “beggars
showing other beggars where to
find bread,” to offer a taste of God’s
kingdom, to share the good news of
God’s amazing grace with everyone
around us (“Express Grace”).
All the ways that a biblical community
is a catalyst for this mission will be
a conversation in the days ahead.
Developing this community, then,
is fundamental to our mission. It is
certainly not mission drift away from
the biblical mandate of outwardfacing,
self-sacrificing discipleship
toward self-focused, feel-good
consumerism. God’s Word actually
paints biblical community as an
essential part of knowing God and
making him known to the nations, and
that’s the reason we are placing such
a high priority on it at Southwood.
Here are a few windows into what
a biblical community is that we will
get to explore together in the weeks
ahead: A biblical community engages
very different people who are united
by the gospel when there is often
little else that would bring many of
them together. A biblical community
provides a safe place to struggle with
the internal and external challenges
of life. A biblical community cares
across generations for its oldest and
youngest members.
A biblical community gives common
purpose to naturally individualistic
people. A biblical community values
people not merely for what they have
accomplished or what they can offer
but rather for who they are created to
be. A biblical community is primarily a
shared admiration society rather than
a mutual admiration society (think
on that one!). A biblical community
eagerly and intentionally welcomes
others into the family, especially
those who are not welcomed by other
communities.
I could keep going, but just writing
these descriptions is getting me
excited to open God’s Word, talk
further together, and pray for God to
make Southwood more and more into
this kind of community. But perhaps
one more thought on community
for now: While there is a lot the
Bible says about community, biblical
community is something that is often
better experienced than defined. It is
lived practically rather than merely
discussed theoretically.
So, my encouragement to each of you
as we consider community together
this fall is this: Live in community
as we discuss community. Don’t do
everything at once, but try a small
group for the first time. Serve together
with Jobs for Life. Grab a friend and
come to the Leadership Training Class.
Volunteer to love our children, youth,
or shut-ins. Check out one of the new
Connect Communities as a way to get
to know some people or as a way to
help others get into relationships you
already have and value so much. It’s
quite possible you’ll understand true
community better in these places
than you do in any of my sermons!
Will Spink
Senior Pastor
If you would like to contact
Will, use the following:
will.spink@southwood.org
@WillSpink
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General Assembly Report
by Will Spink
Four Southwood staff members and one ruling elder
participated in this summer’s General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in America (our denomination),
held in Atlanta, GA. This 46th General Assembly was
perhaps most notable for electing Rev. Dr. Irwyn Ince
(pictured here) as the first African-American moderator
of the PCA. Dr. Ince received the gavel from last year’s
moderator, Alex Jun, the first minority moderator of
the PCA. While Dr. Ince moderated graciously and
effectively in these meetings, he will also continue to
serve in an influential role in the denomination in future
years.
This increase in minority leadership is occurring slowly
but surely throughout the denomination thanks in no
small part to the work of the Racial Reconciliation Study
Committee, whose report and recommendations were
unanimously received by the Assembly. This very helpful
and extremely thorough 67-page report is available at
http://www.pcaac.org/racial-and-ethnic-reconciliationstudy-committee-report/
and well worth reading as we
at Southwood continue to consider racial reconciliation
in our own context.
Several other substantial issues were discussed, but
perhaps more noteworthy than any particular action was
the spirit of unity and charity that largely marked this
year’s Assembly on the floor and in the hallways. People
with differing perspectives seemed eager to listen well
and work together, and we were challenged from God’s
Word about the priority of loving each other and our
neighbors well in this regard. Pray that our commitment
to God’s Word, the Great Commission, and the love of
our brothers and sisters would increasingly characterize
the churches of the PCA and the denomination as a
whole as we labor together to see Christ’s kingdom
advanced around the world.
Session Update
The Session continues to be excited about plans for
this fall that we trust and pray will be some of many
opportunities for gospel community to flourish at
Southwood. Remember that while the children still
move up to new classes on August 12, our adult Connect
Communities will not begin until September 9. In the
meantime, we will utilize the Sunday School hour on
those August Sundays as a time for food, fellowship,
and discussion of discipleship in community for all ages.
To be clear, these “August Community Breakfast” events
will begin at 9:00am followed by the 10:30 worship
service.
Also remember that when these Connect Communities
begin on September 9, we will also adjust our Sunday
morning schedule so that our prayer gathering is at
8:45am, our corporate worship service is at 9:30, and
our Connect Hour is at 11:00. We are grateful for all the
encouragement, questions, and input we have received
from members about these changes. Please know
we continue to be open to further conversation if it
would be helpful to you in any way. Contact any of us
personally or all of us at elders@southwood.org. If this
is the first you are hearing about plans for this fall, you
can read more in the letter and Q&A document posted
at southwood.org.
We know that the fall schedule is full at home and at
church for many of our families. We would urge each
of you to consider thoughtfully where God would have
you connect, grow, and serve lest you miss out on great
opportunities on the one hand or get overcommitted
on the other hand. May God give each of us grace to
seek first his kingdom and trust in his all-sufficient grace
especially in this busy season.

Serving with Jobs for Life
by Robert Blevins
Fall is fast approaching and you know what that means:
That’s right, Jobs for Life training! For the last three
years, Southwood has provided support to one of our
mission partners, The Cornerstone Initiative, as they
have developed relationships with members of their
community through holding these job readiness classes.
JfL helps prepare men and women in the neighborhood
of West Huntsville for meaningful work through
relationships, mentoring, work-force development
training, and an ongoing community of support.
Training for JfL mentors, called "champions," begins
on August 9. This training is valuable equipping for
loving our neighbors in any context and understanding
particular economic challenges some of our neighbors
in West Huntsville face. It’s only four nights in August for
an hour and a half each night.
There will also be opportunities this fall to volunteer with
childcare, meal prep, the prayer team, and the business
network. Email shannon.clark@southwood.org for more
information about these additional opportunities to
partner with Jobs for Life.
Training Dates:
August 9, 16, 23, & 30
Time:
6pm – 7:30pm
Location:
2702 Holmes Ave NW
Huntsville, AL 35816
Diaconate Update
Fall will soon be in the air and on Saturday, August
25, the deacons have planned a church work day. It is
one of the deacons’ roles to encourage and lead the
congregation in stewardship of the church grounds.
Unlike our work day in the spring, this one will be
focused on the Southwood property instead of working
with our community partners around town. We will work
on the main church building and the Lodge, both inside
and out. It has been several years since our last churchfocused
work day, and there are many opportunities
for us to work together to keep it in good shape. All
of us are responsible to be good stewards of the
resources that God has given to us, and this is a great
way to preserve, protect and beautify two of our most
significant physical assets.
Some of the projects we are planning to work on are
staining the fence around the playground, cleaning
the toys in the nursery, pressure washing on both the
church and the Lodge, replacing some of the signage
in the parking lots, and working in the beds around the
building pulling up some of the less healthy shrubs and
plants as well as weeds. There will be other projects as
well, both inside and out for all skill levels, and we will
even have a few things that children can help with.
The work day is planned from 8:30 until noon on the
25th, and if you can only come for part of the morning,
that is fine as well. A quick breakfast will be served at
8:30, and we will get to work directly afterwards. Please
e-mail shannon.clark@southwood.org to sign up so we
can form teams, know how many people to expect, and
make good use of your time to get as much done as
possible. We would also love to know any special skills
you have or any suggestions of additional projects.
Southwood Men's Retreat
September 28 & 29
Location: Joe Wheeler State Park
Speaker: Alex Shipman, pastor of The Village Church
Registration opens August 15.

Staying on Mission
Discipleship within Biblical Community
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5, ESV
In the last edition of Branches, we saw that the primary
calling of the church is to make disciples. That involves
calling men, women, and children to faith, and then enabling
them to live out that faith in every aspect of their lives as
ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. Scripture gives us
this calling as well as a particular context of how such
discipleship takes place. It is always within, never without,
a community of fellow disciples.
The ultimate goal of every disciple is found in the great
commandments to love God and to love our neighbor.
The key term here is “love.” Love is never expressed or
produced in a vacuum. It always involves others. These
two great commandments are seen in more detail in the
Ten Commandments. All ten of these are relational, either
vertically towards God or horizontally with one another.
Then you have the words of Jesus in John 13, where He says
that there is one unmistakable characteristic of His people,
which is love for one another. The world will know that we
are Christ-followers not because of our religious language,
the crosses we wear around our necks, or the fish bumper
stickers on our cars. They will know because they see Jesus’
love working in and through us. So, it is not surprising that
Paul gives Timothy the core value of His ministry—love. The
goal of all that he teaches, of all of his shepherding, and all
of his pastoral care is to see love growing more deeply in
the hearts of his people.
This is a point we sadly often miss. When we study the
Bible, it is so that we will love better. When we study
theology, it is so that we will love more deeply. We grow
in our faith so that we can love more effectively and more
completely. If our study of the Bible and theology does not
produce deeper love for others, and if our ministries do not
encourage us to love more fully, then we are missing the
core of the Gospel. The Christian life is never merely about

clean living or church attendance. It is always to be about
loving others as we are loved by Christ. Therefore, the
primary core of the Christian life is about love. The primary
evidence that we are indeed worshipping Jesus rightly is
seen in our love.
The implication of this truth should be clear. If discipleship
is all about us becoming better lovers of one another,
then we are necessarily called into community with other
believers. Only in community can the outworking of biblical
love be expressed. Biblical community is also the context of
how we grow as disciples. There is no avoiding it. A disciple
cannot grow to health apart from relationships with other
disciples. A healthy faith requires community built around
the Gospel. Why are other people so indispensable to our
growth? There are many reasons.
Biblical community points to the way
God has made us like Himself.
God is Trinity, eternally enjoying relationship among the
three persons of the Godhead. In being made in His image,
we also fundamentally relational. When God said about
Adam, “It is not good for the man to be alone,” He was
saying something essential about our being. We are made
to be in relationship with others, and it is not good when
we are not.
Biblical community provides a tangible
demonstration of grace.
Community is hard because every gathering of people
is a collection of broken, wounded, rebellious, and selfdetermining
sinners. Therefore, when they come together,
you will inevitably get trouble. But when the Gospel works
in the hearts of these sinners and turns them towards each
other in forgiveness and patience, we get a tangible taste
of the grace we are promised in the Gospel.
Biblical community provides clues to the
remaining sinfulness of our hearts that
we cannot see otherwise.
Much of my sinful propensities remain hidden to my
eyes, though others might see them much more clearly.
When I interact with others, my sin becomes more clearly
evident to me. That exposure leads me to run to Jesus for
forgiveness and dependence on His grace instead of on my
goodness. This is one reason why people avoid community,
because they would rather avoid the pain of seeing how
they are still badly broken. But, this exposure producers in
us a much deeper trust in Jesus, and as a result the Gospel
becomes ever sweeter.
Biblical community provides
accountability.
We need this along with the exposure. I need to have
others around me to keep pointing me to Jesus. If left to
myself, which my self-centered heart wants, I will never
change or do the hard work of repentance. Yet, with the
encouragement of brothers and sisters, I will more readily
face up to my sin and more persistently press on to greater
faith and trust in the work of Jesus for me.
Biblical community provides
encouragement.
Accountability is not merely negative. It is wonderfully
active in moving me forward, especially when I do not feel
like moving. I love riding my bicycle on road trips. When I
ride alone, I am far more apt to quit when my legs begin to
feel tired. I am less apt to push myself to climb the hills or
ride the extra miles. So, I love riding in groups with other
riders like me. In those groups, I will much more easily
ride farther, faster, and ride roads that are harder. I need
encouragement of the bike community to grow as a cyclist.
How much more do I need the faith community?
August Community Breakfasts
One of many ways we are pursuing biblical community
here at Southwood is the launch of new adult Connect
Communities. We hope you will become an active
participant in one of these communities. We also want you
to understand the bigger picture of how they are designed
as just one part of the discipleship process to encourage
the development of biblical community and stronger faith
in our church family, things that are critical not only for
Southwood's adults, but for our students and children as
well.
As we head into a new structure for Sunday mornings in
September, we are taking the month of August to enjoy
a taste of this vital community and to talk together about
where connections for people of all ages on Sunday
mornings fit into the mission of the church and the lives
of her individual members. So, please join us at 9:00am
these four August Sundays for a light breakfast and an
opportunity to focus particularly on one piece of this multigenerational
plan each week.
We need each other as we seek to follow Jesus and invite
others into the joy of relationship with our Father through
him. So, join us in August, and then let’s stay on that mission
together!
August Community Breakfasts
Sundays beginning August 5
9:00am
Connecting Spaces
August 5 Focus: Engaging Children in our Community
August 12 Focus: Engaging Youth in our Community
August 19 & 26 Focus: Discipleship through Community
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CHURCHWIDE ICE CREAM/BBQ
PERU TRIP, EDGE CONFERENCE

VBS, CLIMB, WATER WARS
1907
Summer Lookback

small Groups
Deep Gospel Community
by Derrick Harris
When I arrived at Southwood almost one year ago, I
didn’t really “know” anyone. I didn’t know where to
eat, where to buy groceries, where to send my son to
school or where to take my wife on a date. I didn’t know
if people would like me, if I would fit in, if I would be able
to have close friends, etc. I had a lot of fear, but I also
had the church. Now one year looking back, I can tell
you that one of the largest ways that God has worked
in my life is through the community of our small group.
It has been a place where we can be known and get
to know others. It has been a place where we can talk
about our struggles and about how God relates to those
struggles. It’s also been a place where we can laugh, cry,
pray, and laugh again.
Our heart here at Southwood is for everyone to
experience that kind of deep community that typically
develops over time in small group relationships. We’ve
all experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness.
We know what it’s like to feel distant from others and
friendless at times. Let’s face it: community is hard. It
takes time, patience, and intentionality. Nonetheless,
God still calls us to live in radical community together,
a community where we bless those who persecute us,
rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who
weep. God’s community is designed to be one where
we are instructed to show humility to one another, to
associate with the lowly, and never to be wise in our
own eyes.
Gospel-centered community is at the heart of everything
we do at Southwood. God will always exist in a Trinitarian
relationship of community. Likewise, God has created us
in his image and has called us to be in community with
each other that is centered around him. Gospel-centered
community is not possible without relationship. First and
foremost, we want people to connect to Jesus because
a relationship with Christ becomes the foundation and
source of all other relationships. As we live out the truths
of Scripture while relating to the world around us, we
become a part of renovating the world one relationship
at a time.
Gospel-centered community provides a harbor of safety
in a hurricane world. It’s a haven where people can be
known for who they are as opposed to what they have to
offer. It’s a home where people can grow in relationship
with God, each other, and neighbors. It is this type
of community that we all need and it is this type of
community that God provides through his church.
As Southwood adds a new opportunity for relationships
called “Connect Communities” in September, some have
asked how small groups are different from the Connect
Communities and whether you need both. Small groups
are similar to Connect Communities in that they share
the same vision of connecting people to God, each
other, and their neighbors.
Though they are similar in purpose, they are different
in practice. Small groups are called “small” for a
reason, and that reason is fewer people together
providing the context for more sharing and deeper
relationships. While Connect Communities are a great
way to “connect” in some of these life-giving gospel
relationships, small groups take time intentionally to go
deeper in community. They are not so much a program
to be involved in as they are a way of life for which God
designed us. Relationships within a small group are often
fertile ground for people who know and understand
some of our struggles to remind us of God’s grace,
pray for his work in our lives, and urge us to see life in
the light of his Word. Being connected in small groups
also empowers us to move toward others who are also
hurting, whether they are “neighbors” living next door
or across the globe. From neighborhood cookouts and
serving together locally to praying for our missionaries,
small groups provide an amazing opportunity for us to
share the grace we so desperately need with each other
and others who need it, too.
If you’re interested in finding a small group community,
right now is a great time to get started. You can contact
me personally and I’ll be happy to help you connect, or
sign up online at southwood.org/growingsmall.

southwood
by Martha Brady and Nanette Respess
AUGUST 17-18
Women's Conference
Julie Sparkman, The Lodge
Register at southwood.org/crazytrain
Southwood women, A group of women meets together
regularly to pray for you, to plan, and to dream about
where God is leading our women. Our meetings are filled
with lots of dialogue and laughter. We get our work done
and are not afraid to engage in hard discussions. Pastor
Ron assists us in planning and sharing our work with the
pastors and session.
Who are these women? Active women involved in the
church, our kids’ schools, our jobs, and our communities.
We are busy, just like most of you. You should be able to
identify with at least someone in the group ... if you are a
woman!
This working mom in her early 50s has a newly married
daughter and a college-bound son. Her laughter permeates
a room!
This woman has been at Southwood since the beginning.
She is unmarried, in her 27th year of teaching and she and
her sisters care for their aging mom. She enjoys her little
and young friends at church.
This busy wife, mom, and ER doctor spends most days
when not working in her car shuttling a teen and pre-teen.
Her mom is an SPC member, and she is one of our fearless
‘leaders’ who attempts to keep us on track with an agenda.
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5
6
1
2
3
This woman is in her 20s, married fewer than five years, no
children yet. She works at our Crisis Pregnancy Center in
Huntsville. She and her husband now live in Lincoln Village.
Her smile and tender heart bring warmth to our meetings.
This woman in her 40s is a wife and mom of four children
plus some in heaven. Of her four children, two are adopted
(one with physical disabilities). Her thoughtful application
of the Word and spiritual insight are gifts we use often.
This woman is a reader, wife, mom of two boys and a
daughter in heaven. She was a teacher before having
children. Her humor, tender spirit and discernment bring
balance to our team's work.
This insightful woman in her 70s is also a retired RN, retired
pastor’s wife, mom of three and grandmother of seven.
She is a part-time caregiver to her husband.
As we work to plan activities, we want activities that
equip, encourage, and engage our Southwood women
to experience and express grace. We want all of you to
feel a part of this, so we’ll be asking this fall for your input
about how we can best do that; be on the lookout for that
survey! Right now we’re particularly excited about this
month’s conference with Julie Sparkman that kicks off our
fall study. Check out the details on this page and make
plans to join us!
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(L to R): Nanette Respess (#5), Gracie Clark (#2), Anna Babin (#1), Lolita Owens (#6), Cathy Mayer (#4), Martha Brady (#7), Sara Foreman (#3)
Leadership Training Class
Equipping Men and Women to Lead
Class Begins August 15
Email rita.clardy@southwood.org for sign-up info
or visit southwood.org/leadership
Have you ever considered leading a small group but felt you wouldn’t know what to do? Have you wanted to understand
God's Word better for yourself or for conversations with friends and family members? Have you desired to use your
gifts to serve the church but felt uncertain as to what gifts you had or where they could help the body? We would love
to have you in the Leadership Training Class this fall (Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:00)!
We all have different gifts, personalities, and passions, but the heart behind this class is to equip all the saints for the
work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12); men and women, longtime members and visitors. Some of us lead in formal offices
like elder or deacon. But most of us are called to lead children’s Sunday School classes, lead the Huntsville community
in serving the poor, lead small groups, or lead neighbors to Christ. In that informal sense, all of us serve as leaders and
need the deeper understanding of the gospel and its impact on all of life that enables us to point others to Jesus.
To the end of equipping us to go deeper in the gospel of Jesus Christ and its application in our lives, this class includes
conversations on the Heart of Southwood, meaty theological discussions, and intensely practical classes like “Caring for
Hurting People.” Having the opportunity to interact around the Word of God and to wrestle through the mission God
has given to Southwood is a rich opportunity for all of us.

AUGUST
Community Breakfasts
Sundays beginning August 5 from 9:00-10:00am
During the 9:00-10:00 hour on all four August Sundays, all our adults will meet together in the
Connecting Spaces. This will be a unique opportunity to share fellowship together and to hear more
about community-driven discipleship for all ages here at Southwood.
August 5 Focus: Engaging Children in our Community
August 12 Focus: Engaging Youth in our Community
August 19 & 26 Focus: Discipleship through Community