I’m heading for Washington D.C. on Thursday. I’ll be back next Monday night. I’m going to see President Obama to see if I can give him some pointers on leadership and ObamaCare.
Nah! Just kidding…
I’m actually heading to our fair nation’s capitol with a couple of other guys in the church to an “Elders Conference” at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington.
Care to see the Agenda?
9Marks Weekender – March 13-17, 2014 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Thursday – 3/13
5:45p Welcome & Orientation; Main Hall (Please plan to eat dinner before arriving)
Overview of 9Marks
7:00p Elders Meeting; West Hall – light snacks provided
(Warning: This meeting has been known to go later than midnight)
Friday – 3/14
9:15a Elders Meeting Q&A; Main Hall (optional)
10:00a History of CHBC; Main Hall
11:30a Introductions; Main Hall
12:30p Lunch; Fellowship Hall (basement) – Regional Seating
1:45p Church Discipline; Main Hall
3:00p Afternoon Seminars: Meet with Staff on… (Choose one)
Adult Education; Memorial Parlor (basement)
Service Planning; Blue Room (basement)
International Missions (one time only); West Hall
4:00p Afternoon Seminars: Meet with Staff on… (Choose one)
Adult Education; Memorial Parlor (basement)
Service Planning; Blue Room (basement)
Church Revitalization & Planting (one time only); Main Hall
5:45p Dinner; Fellowship Hall (basement)
7:00p Membership Matters Course Part I; West Hall
Saturday – 3/15
7:00a The Slow Joe Mall Jog
8:30a Light Continental breakfast provided; South Hall
9:00a Discipling & Counseling; Main Hall
10:00a Choosing & Transitioning to Elders; Main Hall
11:00a Congregationalism; Main Hall
12:15p Lunch; on your own, Children’s Ministry, or Group Lunch with an elder (sign-ups on site)
4:30p Bookstall open for Weekenders; West Hall (optional)
5:30p Dinner; Fellowship Hall (basement)
6:30p Church Polity – Case Studies; West Hall
7:30p Sermon Preparation/Preaching; West Hall
Sunday – 3/16
9:30a Core Seminars (Sunday School); meet in West Hall
10:30a Sunday Morning Service; Main Hall
1:00p Lunch with an elder; an elder’s home
4:00p Elders Meeting; Fellowship Hall (basement)
5:00p Sunday Evening Service; Main Hall
7:00p Members Meeting; Main Hall
9:00p Service Evaluation; Fellowship Hall – dinner provided
Monday – 3/17
7:45a Leadership 101: Raising Up Leaders (optional)
8:30a Evaluation of weekend; West Hall – coffee and doughnuts provided
9:30a Bookstall open for Weekenders; West Hall (optional)
**Best Practices Sale of 9Marks Titles**
It’s a nice looking church. They have about 1,000 people each Sunday.
I’m looking forward to learning more about Elder Leadership and it should be a wonderful time of growth and introspection for me. I’ll fill you in when I get back.
Kandace snapped this shot of our latest snowfall.
Pretty huh! Here’s a good shot of Clara and Andrew’s snowman. They wanted to build him all by themselves.
Nice job for two 8-year-olds. You know we pretty much hit the winter forecast on the nose. Back in October I said this:
I shared with you a while back that our snowfall this year looks to be around 25-30% more than normal. For western North Carolina that means about a foot of snow with 2-4 significant events. Now remember something about your bald-headed blogger… I’m a novice weather-guy, but I know enough to be dangerous and that’s about it. But, I read and study other weather bloggers and scientists and so I’ll try to sum some things up for ya!
It looks like we are going to have a more active southern jet stream with a weak El Nino. (El Nino is good for active winters for the south.) west and that bodes well for colder ground temperatures that will keep the air from Canada colder as it comes south. Past history teaches us that wet October’s mean colder and wetter winters.
Looks like the south might be in for a couple of ice storms. You’ll note…North Carolina will be caught in the middle of snow/ice, as usually seems to be the case.
Okay. Now for the drum roll please for the updated forecast from: LiveWeatherBlogs.com (a very reputable weather blog):
Snow Days
Location
Avg.
2013-2104
12.7
Asheville
13.2″
18.0″
17.5
Banner Elk
38.7″
50.4″
16.9
Boone
35.3″
46.1″
25.5
Grandfather Mountain
53.5″
66.7″
5.6
Highlands
11.8″
14.0″
2.6
Kerr Scott Reservoir
9.7″
12.4″
1.4
Morganton
3.9″
5.8″
3.3
Oconaluftee
6.5″
7.8″
2.6
Pisgah Forest
7.5″
9.1″
1.4
Waterville
4.1″
6.3″
Average Snow & Forecast
Snow Days
Location
Avg.
2013-2014
2.4
Chapel Hill
3.7″
5.6″
1.9
Charlotte
4.3″
6.6″
1.7
Concord
3.7″
4.1″
0.7
Durham
1.9″
3.2″
0.2
Gastonia
0.9″
1.8″
3.9
Greensboro
7.6″
10.1″
1.3
Henderson
2.7″
3.9″
2.3
Hickory
7.7″
10.0″
0.9
High Point
1.8″
3.6″
4.2
Mount Airy
9.3″
14.7″
1.7
Raleigh
3.9″
6.4″
Well… I think it was a pretty good forecast overall. Again…I’m a novice, but it’s fun looking at the weather. In Wilkes County (Kerr Scott Reservoir above), we pretty much hit that 12+ inch mark. In fact, eastern Wilkes County was closer to 20 inches. The first big storm we had this winter had a “dry slot” in it that held down totals in Western Wilkes, where I am. But, overall…we hit the numbers pretty well.
It’s looking like we are going to have a near normal summer for temperatures but a bit below normal in precipitation (especially the more south you go into SC and GA).
Okay…want to get a “heads-up” for next winter? Some of you are thinking, “Are you serious?” Yep. Winters run in patterns just like an individual winter can set up a pattern. The winters of 1917/18, 1957/58, 2002/03 were very similar to what this winter and next winter are going to look like for us. So, expect a wet and cold winter again in 2014/15.
You heard it here first from your handy-dandy…bald-headed…novice meteorologist!!!