OAKWOOD BAPTIST: PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACH

BY TONEY ATKINS


CHICKAMAUGA, GA -- Oakwood Baptist Church in Chickamauga puts the Christ in Christianity.

Exercising its stated purpose of “loving God, loving people (and) making a difference,” Oakwood Baptist goes far beyond beautiful Sunday singing and sermonizing to spread the true meaning of Christianity by putting Jesus’ words and works into action in northwest Georgia’s Walker County and beyond.

I knew I was in the presence of a loving, wonderful spirit the moment I stepped into the lobby of the church building to have a meeting with church deacons when the multiplying problems of a crisis-filled year led me to seek help that I could not seem to find anywhere else.

Feelings of abandonment, loneliness and destitution were becoming all too common again since I had waded into the swiftly flowing and deepening river of my so-called “golden years.” Retirement from working two jobs most of my life was turning out to be not as I had expected and hoped for my 60s while rapidly approaching the even more uncertain age of 70. (My brain often teasingly deceived me into believing I was still young, but my mischievous body loved to remind me of an otherwise reality -- and it still has that tendency.)

"Murphy's Law" seemed to kick into high gear in July of 2010 when my foot missed a doorstep and I took a tumble onto a concrete walkway, further messing up an already suffering back, breaking fingers and spraining an ankle. A week later, a blood clot was discovered, and I was put on a blood-thinning medication to add to my repertoire of pill bottles in my carrying case. Then came physical therapy and a continuing battle with cholesterol and triglycerides and an appetite for foods that were dangerously loaded with both.

Things got no better in December when my car went out of control on a rain-and-ice-slick road, plowing directly into a power pole, totaling the vehicle and damaging my ego and sense of security behind the wheel. The seat belt, which I had always hated, probably saved my life, keeping my body from taking the full brunt of the steering wheel and my head from smashing through the windshield. Months were to pass before most of the physical pains went away, and some aftereffects still persist. God was definitely with me.

He was also there when a potentially cancerous growth recently appeared on my face and when hospital technicians found that I have a kidney stone that may be too large to pass naturally without a lot of serious pain. At this writing, the latter issues still have not resolved themselves.

Add to all that a deepening financial crisis. I suddenly had to find a new place to live in mid-2011 when a friend, from whom I had been renting a room and  sharing expenses, decided to turn his mobile home back over to the bank and leave because he said he simply could not afford it any more. Being retired and on a fixed income, I chalked up that development. I had to seek affordable housing and to make what I prayed would be only a temporary move into accommodations that I really couldn't afford.

Despite knowing that God was there, taking care of me the best He could, I became more and more despondent, depressed, full of self-anger and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness that I was doing very little to help Him to help me.

In mid-summer of 2011, I was spiritually led to Oakwood Baptist Church to seek any kind of help I could get. For the first time in many years, I was in a position of having to seek charity, and that was painful to my pride.

The church had been much smaller when I lived in Chickamauga as a young man, but apparently it was high on God because it had grown in size, membership and service to the community in comparison to what I remembered.

I felt the Spirit within moments of entering the doors. As I sat in the lobby, awaiting my appointment, one of the choirs was practicing and I had to smile. Long ago, I had sung in a choir. Long ago, I had felt the peace and joy that was welling up inside me. Several people passed, on their way to various activities. All smiled and offered greetings -- not because they felt compelled to, but because they wanted to. For a while, my anxieties were gone, seemingly meaningless. My fears were calmed. I felt good, physically and spiritually.

The deacons with whom I spoke reinforced the down-to-earth, “real people” atmosphere. Like Jesus, they were genuinely concerned about my problems. They didn’t preach at me. Foremost, they listened to me, they prayed with me and they helped me. God was in that room and everyone, including myself, was tuned in to Him.

Any doubt that I might have had about the power of the Spirit of Jesus, the Christ, was gone when I drove home, relieved that people cared, people helped.

The auditorium was packed for the Sunday services that I later attended. The ministers’ words rang true and the music and songs lifted me higher. The crowds smiled.

The church seems to be active seven days a week. I remain amazed at the number of ministries available to members and to the public, including missions to lead and encourage each other as the Body of Christ to go outside the church and be intentional in the area of relationship evangelism. This is performed through such actions as serving the community, as well as organizing short-term mission teams from Oakwood’s congregation.

Oakwood’s Ministry of Hope assists individuals and families in need of furniture and household items.

A church booklet points out that “life change happens best in community. When people gather in groups with a shared mission to pursue God; to love one another; or to serve others, God tends to show up and do amazing things.”  Oakwood’s Life Group ministry offers a variety of groups.

Celebrate Recovery, which meets weekly at both the Chickamauga and Germantown (East Ridge, TN) campuses, is the “perfect place to go to heal from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups,” a spokesperson said.

Among other events and activities, Oakwood Baptist offers a children’s ministry, student ministries, a worship ministry, the Financial Peace University, a men’s ministry, pastoral care, a singles ministry, a recreation ministry and the Oakwood Christian Academy.

Oakwood is part of the Northwest Georgia Baptist Association with many ministries that Oakwood, along with 70 or so other churches, help to minister in Walker County and around the world, reader Don Taylor pointed out.

Oakwood Baptist also presents an annual Easter sunrise service in the area of Wilder Tower in the Chickamauga-Chattanooga Battlefield National Park between Chickamauga and Fort Oglethorpe.

Oakwood’s Chickamauga campus is at 115 Oakwood St., Chickamauga, GA 30707, with Bible study and worship services at 9:15 and 10:45 a.m. Celebrate Recovery meets every Friday at 7 p.m., with a meal at 6 p.m. The Gateway campus is at 247 Market Place Lane, inside the Gateway Mall, in Ringgold, GA (just west of Interstate 75). Sunday services are at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The Germantown campus is at 707 S. Germantown Road, East Ridge, TN, where Sunday worship is at 10:45 a.m. and Celebrate Recovery is Sunday at 7 p.m., with a meal at 6 p.m.

More information is available by calling (706) 375-5760 or going online to http://oakwoodbc.org .

 I have never been known to write unsolicited commentaries about a particular church, but I have to say it. The Lord is leading me to testify about Oakwood Baptist and part of what it does in Chickamauga and surrounding communities. It’s “old-time religion” for the 21st century, and may it continue to bless.

Yes, "Murphy's Law" (if it can go wrong, it will) still challenges me, but I  have rediscovered a very special and spiritual way to deal with it, thanks to the folks at Oakwood who practice loving God, loving people and making a difference.

I urge friends, relatives, enemies and other readers who would like to feel some Christmas spirit all year long to send charitable gifts to the Caring Missions fund to benefit the northwest Georgia area's needy at https://e-giving.org/GuestDonation_v5/DonatorPage.asp at Oakwood's web address or send checks or money orders to the Chickamauga church campus' street address listed above. Checks or money orders should be made to Oakwood Baptist Church, with the memo specifying Caring Missions.

You will be blessed as someone less fortunate than you is blessed. This is my personal recommendation, because I know it works.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Writer Toney Atkins was born and grew up in Chickamauga, GA. He accepted Christ as his Savior in the mid-60s. He taught fifth, sixth and seventh grade subjects at Chickamauga Elementary School between 1967 and 1971. He taught at North Rossville (GA) Elementary in 1971-1972, after which he moved to Florida to become a newspaper writer and assistant editor. After retirement, he currently lives in northwest Georgia and can be contacted at toneyatkins@gmail.com .