In recent months, you’ve heard some talk about a pastor Adam Hamilton and his books.  He definitely believes in the words from Isaiah 43:19 where God says, “See, I am doing a new thing”.  He and his congregation have tried many “new things” in the Lord’s name and have been greatly blessed as a result.  We want all of us to have that experience as well.  So we are going to try something new here in Camden.

Beginning on Sunday, January 7th, Camden UMC will be offering a 6-week “whole church” study based on one of Adam Hamilton’s books, “Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It”.  It will operate on 3 levels, in order to accommodate participation by our whole church.

First, on each of the 6 Sundays involved, the first part of the pastor’s message will be a 10-15 minute video of the book’s author, Pastor Hamilton, speaking about one chapter of the book.  This will be followed by a commentary by Pastor Steve, using the book’s Leader’s Guide and other resources.  That way, everyone who attends worship will be participating at a basic level.

Second, those who would like a little more in-depth understanding can order a copy of the book for themselves and read a chapter during the week.  Print and ebook copies are available at Cokesbury.com, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, and other sites.  If you need help ordering, please let Leslie know in the office.  If you’d like to donate a copy for our library, that would be much appreciated.

Finally, our Wednesday night study group (Loaves and Fishes) will be studying this same book, with plenty of opportunity for discussion and comment on the contents.

We know that change can be difficult for some of us, but we are excited about this and ask that you do your best to be open to this “new thing” we are trying here at Camden UMC.  We pray that God will bless all of us and show us ways to use what we learn individually in our daily lives and as a church trying to reach out to the lost and lonely in our community.