First Baptist Church of Birmingham - Birmingham, Alabama

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.
 

For the past several years on July Fourth the Lewis family has set on an attorney friends dock overlooking Pensacola Bay and watched the Pensacola downtown fireworks.  This year will be our first year in Birmingham, and we will be making a new tradition. 

However, no matter if we celebrate the Fourth in Pensacola, Mountain Brook, at Regions Park, or on Lake Martin, the important thing to remember is why we are celebrating.  America is the best country on earth, and God has blessed us with unparalleled freedom and prosperity.  Men and women have fought and  died so that we can have the freedoms that we enjoy today. 

What started as a rebellion against tyranny and oppression on the part of a small group of Patriots who demanded recognition and representation be given to a small British colony, has blossomed into the mightiest nation that the world has ever seen.  This nation while mighty is still fragile.  If we forget the sacrifices that have been made and must continually be made to keep America great then we will slowly degrade into a second tier nation, but if we forget the God who made us into the nation that we are today, then we will quickly plunge into the oblivion of history.

Let us with humility and thanksgiving reflect upon what God has given us and never take for granted the freedoms that we enjoy.

This week has been a week of noise, confusion, and bedlam - yes it is VBS week and it is going great.  We have had upwards of 75 children in VBS and everyone seems to be having a great time hearing Bible stories, playing games, and getting glue and glitter everywhere.

For many decades Southern Baptist have been doing VBS and it has been our greatest outreach. Every year we see the lives of children and families changed as they encounter the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Our prayer is that VBS 2008 will be just as life changing as it has been in other years.

Be Praying for VBS

Pastor Stan