First Baptist Church of Birmingham - Birmingham, Alabama

1 Timothy 2: 1 – 4
2Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ^2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ^3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ^4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The election is over and it is now time to pray for our newly elected officials.  I have been praying for my brother-in-law, Tim Wyrosdick, who is the newly elected Superintendent of Schools for Santa Rosa County in Florida.  Tim will take office very soon and he has some major issues to deal with as soon as he starts.

There are many newly elected officials and the cycle that has been going on for over 200 years in this country has yielded a new crop of excited people who have grand dreams and plans for their area of service.  We need to pray for all of these people. 

Of course the race that has had the most attention and the office that has the greatest pressure and power is that of President of the United States.  Our newly elected president needs our prayers. No doubt there are people already lined up with agendas and schemes that could take President Obama and this nation in a tragic direction.  While our new president may have many plans and goals he must remember that he will answer to God one day for this stewardship that he has been given. 

The writer of proverbs tells us that “The heart of the king in the hands of God, like rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” While President Obama will answer to God for his leadership we will answer to God for how we have prayed for him and other elected officials.  Be found faithful in this divine calling and trust God.

Pastor Stan

This past week I was preaching in Northwest Florida at a small church where I spent a few years as a child.  The name of the church is Unity Baptist Church and it was the 128 year of the church’s’ existence.  No doubt the founders of the church named it “Unity” in an effort to remind the congregation that it had a responsibility to be a unified body of believers.

In Ephesians 4: 3 Paul tells the Ephesian church that they are to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and that is one of the hardest burdens for church members and pastors to bear.

It is a hard burden because of the sinfulness and selfishness of people (even well meaning Christians) as well as the spiritual warfare that rages around and in the life of Christians and their churches.  This is why we must be endeavoring” in the pursuit of peace, but always remembering that the unity that we seek is based on the Spirit and nothing else.

I am thankful for Unity Baptist Church and the investment that they made in my life and ministry, and I am grateful that God has allowed me to pastor this church where I see believers endeavoring to be unified by the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace.

Pastor Stan

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.

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.

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

School has begun.  I know those words bring a range of emotions and reactions depending on if you are a student or not and if you have any children at home or not.  I know the little girls at the Lewis house are excited about their new schools and their mother is particularly excited that school has begun.  With the start of a new school year I would like to remind our church family to be praying for our children, youth, and college students (and medical and law students).  Here are some items that you can pray for them about:

• that they would make Godly friendships (1 Corinthians 15: 33)
• that they would maintain their good name  (Proverbs 22: 1)
• that they would work hard (Ecclesiastes 9: 10)
• that they would have favor in the eyes of their instructors (Daniel 1: 9)
• that they would be a witness where they attend school (Colossians 4: 6)
• that they would have discernment regarding right and wrong (Hebrews 5: 14)
• that they would have courage to take a stand (Ephesians 6: 10)

Our students are precious to us and they need our help and prayers in order to navigate the rough seas of today’s educational process.  There are so many opportunities and wonderful adventures waiting for them as they are learning everyday, but there are also many pitfalls and dead end streets that can harm and ruin them.  Pray for our students.  Pray for their instructors.  And pray that the church will continue to be a place that cherishes and encourages the next generation of Christian disciples.

The past couple of weeks have had tremendous highs and heartbreaking lows and through it all I have seen the people of First Baptist really show their true character. Because of the generosity of church members, our family was able to go on a very nice vacation to Lake Martin. We had a relaxing and refreshing time on the lake. Before we left I had asked our church to pray for my friend Eddie Echarri and the church was so faithful to pray for him. While we were on vacation we received word that Eddie had been called home to Glory and his journey in this world had come to an end. The love and support that I have received from my church family has been overwhelming.

This past weekend my dear friends from Romania, Dr. Paul Negrut and Elijah Soritau came to Birmingham for a visit and Brother Paul spoke to our church this past Sunday. What a wonderful service that we had and again the church came through with a very generous love offering to support Emanuel University where Dr. Negrut is the president. All weekend long I had help from several people in hosting my friends. The Jordan’s graciously opened their home to Dr. Negrut and on Sunday two of our deacons (Jud Stanford & Harris Wilson) stepped up to help transport Dr. Negrut and Elijah to various other places where they were speaking. They even babysat my children while Kristin and I were meeting with our Romanian friends (thank you George and Paula). What a fantastic deacon fellowship we have!

In all of these ups and downs in the past couple of weeks the people of First Baptist really shined in their faith and love. A simple thank you seems so inadequate for all that my church family has done for me personally and for my dear friends. I know that God will reward our church for their faithfulness in service and love and I simply say thank you to my family for your support.

With a Grateful Heart,
Pastor Stan

Time flies when you are having fun, and the last six months have been wonderful days of ministry for Kristin and me. Every Sunday and Wednesday when I preach I walk away amazed at the loving spirit that is in our church and that I actually get paid to do something that I love so much and to be able to minister in such a wonderful place. Our family feels so blesses to be at First Baptist and this church has been so loving and supportive of us. We are thrilled with what God doing in the church and amazed as we see His faithfulness on display every day.

Now that we are at the six month mark our family will be taking a short vacation this week. We are rapidly moving through summer and school will start soon after we get back and our girls are very excited about their new school and making new friends. Life is starting to take on a routine for the Lewis family and we are starting to discover our new normal as we settle in to our new church and community. God has blessed us and we are grateful.

This has been a wonderful week for me. All this week I have been attending the Beeson Divinity School’s Pastor’s Conference. During this conference I have heard some fine speakers and been encouraged greatly in my ministry.

What makes this conference even better is that Beeson is part of Samford University which is a half mile West of our church on Lakeshore Drive. I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have Samford and Beeson so close and to be able to have fellowship with their faculty and students and to utilize the resources of these two fine institutions.

I want to thank Dr. Andy Westmoreland and Dr. Timothy George for the wonderful leadership that they are providing to Samford and Beeson and for having a ministry to me and the people of First Baptist Church.

What a month June was!  I don’t think the Lewis family could have packed another event into that month.  The church was a busy place also in June and we had many great events such as Vacation Bible School.  We had over 75 children involved in VBS this year and it went so smooth.  I want to thank Susan Thorington and Robin Rose for their hard work in organizing VBS, and thanks as well to the many other workers who made VBS ‘08 such a success.

I also want to thank Susan and Robin for their years of faithful work in our children’s area.  These two ladies have watched over a very important area of our church and laid a foundation on which we can build the next phase of children’s ministry.  On July 1 we began the process of looking for a Children’s Pastor and this brings about a transition in that ministry area.  All transitions are difficult because they have many unknown factors but I want our church family to know that the children’s area is being well looked after in this interim time.

The Children’s Ministry Team, led by Amy Snow, has already planned the rest of the summer for this area and they are diligently working on the Fall programming.  Please be praying for the Children’s Ministry Team as well as the Children’s Pastor Search Committee as we go about this important work.  Also, regarding the Child Development Center, Robin Rose has agreed to stay on as the director of this work as well as serve as a teacher for the CDC.  There are many great days in the future of our children’s ministry and I am excited about what God has done and will continue to do there.