Archive for September, 2008
Welcome Drew Ramsay 9/16/2008
This past Sunday was a great day. I felt we had great freedom in our worship time and I have a real sense that the Lord is moving in our church. A great part of the excitement in our church is that we have been able to add a new part-time staff position in the area of outreach and discipleship and I am even more excited with who we have been able to put in that position - Drew Ramsay.
Drew Ramsay is a man with a fantastic reputation in our church and city for evangelism and compassion. He and Barbara know our church well having been church members in the past. Drew brings a great many skills and a wealth of experience that I know will benefit our church greatly in these next two years. I hope you will pray for Drew as he starts this new position and for your part in carrying out the Great Commission. Please welcome Drew and Barbara back to our church and continue to be ready for God’s direction in your life to be a witness for Christ.
The Essential Nature of Leadership 9/12/2009
For the last month our church has been undergoing the dual process of finding members for our 2009 committees and ministry teams as well as continuing our search for a new Children’s Minister. For First Baptist Church, this is the nature of how our church operates and continues the ministry of Jesus Christ. This church or any church, if it is to effectively carry out the work it has been called to do, must do so with the partnership of ministers and lay people. First Baptist must have Godly staff leaders who have Christ’ love for His Church in their hearts and it must also have Godly lay people who are willing to serve in the Body of Christ. Only as the staff and the lay people function together to carry out the work of the ministry, can the church be effective.
With that said, I want to first thank the people of First Baptist for allowing me and the other staff to serve here, and I want to further thank them for their commitment to serve in the capacity that God has called them to. I am overwhelmed with the willingness of our lay people to serve in Christ Kingdom and I thank God daily for allowing me to minister in a church with such great lay leaders. Next I want to ask the people of First Baptist to continue to pray as the Nominating Committee is seeking who God would have serve on the 2009 committees and leadership teams, as well as praying for the church as we are seeking and bringing on new staff members to work alongside of our lay persons. The essential nature of leadership at First Baptist is simply Godly staff and lay persons working alongside each other in service to our Lord.
Are You Ready for Some Football!? 9/2/2008
September is here and so are the Tide, Tigers, Bulldogs, Volunteers, Gators, Seminoles, Blazers, etc. College football brings a lot of excitement, fun, competition and forgetfulness. Forgetfulness? Yes, sometimes when we get caught up in all the festivities we can forget about Jesus and His Great Commission. In the midst of BCS polls, Heisman Trophies, and SEC championships we must remember who we represent and what our mission is. Should we have fun? Absolutely! But when we are at a tailgate party we need to have our speech seasoned with grace. As we sit in the stands we should bear in mind that the people next to us might need to hear the Good News. And when we watch the game in high def on the big screen, maybe our neighbors would like to watch with us and that would be a great way to form a relationship that might lead them to Christ. Your season tickets might just change someone’s eternal destiny - but in order for that to happen you have to remember why you are here and Who you represent.
Your Pastor
Stan