FCM Atlanta Chapter Minutes for October 11, 2018

FCM Atlanta Chapter Minutes for October 11, 2018 The October 11, 2018 meeting for the Atlanta Chapter of the FCM was held at the home of John and Julia Jefferson. Those in attendance were the following: John and Julia Jefferson; John Abbott; Leland Davis; Mark and Melissa Childers; Bill Darby; Judy Neyland and Rick Jeffers. Our next meeting will be THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2019 at the home of John and Julia Jefferson. Dinner begins at 6:30 and the meeting begins at 7:00. Please feel free to come early! What a lively discussion before the meeting started! Bill and Rick shared their experiences with Generation NONE—quite an enlightenment to several of us! We do so appreciate the work all of our members do to help our young people see that Jesus is the only way. Every generation is a different challenge. It was a wonderful time of sharing and bonding as servants of the Lord. We look forward to a couple of months of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families and returning to our fellowship in January. The following is a summary of our meeting. Keep the “SON” Shining… John Jefferson MINUTES: We opened with prayer and John J. began with announcements. On Monday, October 15, there will be the annual IBM magic flea market and Auction. All are welcome. The 28th Annual Music City Creative Ministry Conference will be held in Goodlettsville, TN on Nov. 9-10, 2018. John and Julia will attend. All are welcome. Remember the FCM Conference in Indianapolis July 8, 2019-July 13. Let the fun begin! John Abbott shared a cool slight of hand trick with a gold coin. God is our source of strength and will take away our sins. All we need to do is to ask and He will make them disappear. John then let us know that he will travel to India December 31 with Magic Bob on a mission trip. John is working very hard to raise funds for the trip. We do wish him the very best. Leland brought out a large bag and Julia raced to cover the coffee table! Oh well, he decided to do his science magic on the new rug—of course he protected it (we hoped) with a piece of plastic and a towel! Leland placed a large cookie sheet on the towel and had Mark hold up a yard stick. Then…the eggs! Yes, Mark was to hold an egg at a certain distance from the cookie sheet and then drop it! Leland put down, one at a time, a paper towel, 10 paper towels, bag of water, bag of air, bubble wrap and cotton and Mark dropped an egg on each one. Yes, an egg did break a couple of times! As he did the experiment he explained that there were times we actually expected the egg to break and there were times we were pretty sure it would not. Leland said that if you drop an egg on its side, it will be more likely to break than if it is dropped on its end. The lesson that Leland shared with his Sunday School children and now us was that we are always in God’s hands and He knows exactly how to hold us so that we won’t break. We just have to keep our eyes focused on Him. Thank you, Leland. As always we truly are delighted with the fact that you combine science and the Christian message. Mark then brought out his Crystal Gift Box. Since Mark had recently shown us this great illusion, he just quickly demonstrated several of its functions. And then…Mark surprised John J. with a Crystal Gift Box to keep! He also has one for Randy who is not feeling well! Mark did not forget the rest of the members. He gave each member a really great selection of magic booklets and tricks that will truly be useful in their ministries!!! Thank you, Mark. Your kindness and generosity are always so appreciated. We see God’s love in your love for others. Bill was next. He told us about a man in Texas, Steve Petty, who gives out penny crosses. He told us about the special 43D penny. Bill, in his street ministry in Atlanta, and his college ministry in Athens, uses slight of hand with the penny cross to get the attention of the bystanders and then he so lovingly shares the love of God. Bill is a joy to know. He goes where many fear to tread and he gives children of all ages a reason to live for the Lord. Bill, you are amazing. Thank you for using your talent as well as your heart to offer our children THE way. Melissa then shared a very sweet story. She and Mark were in Wendy’s. Two little heads popped over the back of the seat that they shared with Melissa and Mark. Of course, Melissa, always being the teacher, engaged the children in conversation. She then gave each one a coin that John J. had given out at our last meeting. To Melissa’s heart’s delight, the older girl began reading the coin to her younger brother! John 3:16. Melissa and Mark discovered that the parents did not have a church home and invited them to theirs. On another note, Melissa said that the girl told them that Melissa and Mark were really good people. Melissa reminded us that children are so vulnerable and will go to people who seem “good”. We will pray that that little girl will develop the wisdom to know good from evil. I feel sure she will remember Melissa’s caring and interest in her and will know that Melissa is a servant of the Lord Jesus and is, indeed, good. What a difference a “coin” makes! Thanks, John J. for sharing the coins that enable us to have conversations with those who need the Lord. Judy was next. Oh, by the way, Judy, thanks for bringing the delicious cookies! Judy explained that she shares the gospel by periodically doing magic tricks in nursing homes and giving out the gospel coins that John J. has provided. Judy is a precious member of our group. She is involved in many ministries and is bold in presenting God’s word. We thank her for her dedication and her love for others. Rick and Mark are working on a creative way to produce Watson. John J. suggested a large square circle. We’ll see what they come up with! We enjoyed just having Watson attend our meeting. Rick, he needs to return! Rick then gave out a prediction in an envelope and proceeded to use large cards to predict which color Bible will be chosen. He shuffled the cards and asked members which stack to use and then said that the color of the Bible is RED, because all Bibles should be READ! A great trick that seems impossible but is almost “foolproof”! Great job, Rick—great message. We then continued our conversation about Generation NONE. Rick is preparing to do a lecture on the subject and he shared several facts with us. 80% of students out of college do not follow Christ. This generation, ages 6th grade through college, claims no affiliations, don’t want labels, claim to be Christians or to be spiritual not because they have a relationship with Jesus, but because they believe they are “good”, they don’t go to church, they want to know why. They want conversations not demands. Every new generation brings challenges to the older ones. We do so need to be aware of the challenges and we need to step out and address them in the very best way possible. Thanks, Rick and Bill, for enlightening us. John Jefferson then brought out a large dollar bill which is really a gospel tract. The bill was in the form of a puzzle. He asked Leland to put the puzzle together. Leland had put together another puzzle in a day. John said Leland was proud of himself because the box said 3- 5 YEARS! OK, just a joke. Anyway, Leland did a good job putting the puzzle together correctly in just a minute or so. Then, John turned the pieces over and asked Leland to put it together showing the other side of the tract. For some reason, there was a piece missing! After a few seconds, Julia exclaimed that she had the missing PEACE! Really? She showed that the piece that was missing was actually a picture of Jesus. When we have holes in our lives, we need the peace of Jesus. Now the puzzle is complete. Thanks, John. The enlarged tract makes it great for a larger audience. John J. then showed us a Mental Card Prediction. He had a stand with several cards on it. He asked Melissa to choose one. It was the ace of hearts which John had predicted. A very simple effect that could have a great message. John J. then closed our wonderful meeting with prayer. Our “family” will not meet again until January, but will all have each other in our prayers. We wish each one of us a blessed Thanksgiving and a beautiful Christmas season with family and friends. We pray for our safety and for our return in January to the Fellowship—–of Christian Magicians. Grace be to You, Julia