Thank you for a wonderful Vacation Bible School and Upward Sports Camp week. God poured out his blessings on us, and we have several people to thank personally for their great work. Children’s Minister Rhonda Smith and Co-Directors Allison Bubriski, Amy Rigsby, and Caroline Weiss orchestrated a seamless operation. Truly, this was the best one […]
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Today, I’m spending a lot of time reflecting on this week’s events and preparing for worship with you tomorrow. It’s been an incredible week. We’ve had the spiritual high of Mount Everest Vacation Bible School, and the anger, grief, and despair of the Charleston massacre. It’s hard to put into words the range of emotions […]
Read More »At the business meeting June 24, our Personnel Committee will be recommending Rhonda Smith to be our new Minister of Pastoral Community. Rhonda has served faithfully for 18 years as our Minister of Children. Although she did not seek this new position, she was open to the Spirit’s leadership when the search committee approached her […]
Read More »The latest victims of the sins of racial hatred and murder are the brothers and sisters of Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This kind of action has happened before in other churches and schools. The forces of evil pick the good people and congregations who care about Christ, salvation, the gospel, peace, justice, […]
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We climbed Mount Everest today at First Baptist Church. Vacation Bible School is off to a great start. With the assistance of 200 adult and youth volunteers, 266 children learned how to conquer challenges with God’s mighty power. Today we learned Elijah’s story from 1 Kings 17 and memorized 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God will […]
Read More »Where do you turn for wisdom during times of change and tension? The Bible offers several examples, but one of the best books to read is 1 Samuel. This book records the Israelite transition politically, relationally, and spiritually. God’s people moved from a tribal system to a monarchy and encountered tremendous difficulties along the way. […]
Read More »Last Tuesday, I attended a meeting in Mayor Andrew Gillum’s office regarding “Operation Safe Neighborhood.” As you know, Leon County has the highest crime rate in our state. A recent shooting in Frenchtown the last weekend of May served as another example of the problem. Not all of these incidents result in death, but most […]
Read More »Parker and Drake are alumni of good Weekday ministries. Parker graduated from a Mom’s Day Out when Kelly worked (for pay) in San Angelo. Methodists and Baptists taught Drake how to be prepared for Kindergarten. He’s our ecumenical preschooler. Both benefited from loving people who could have done anything with their lives. Their teachers worked […]
Read More »I’m not sure what I loved about choir tour more—rehearsals, tours, Bible studies, host homes, leadership, friendship, food, or home concerts. I’ve visited more natural bridges, eaten more church spaghetti meals, and had more prayer partners than the disciples in Acts. But one thing I know for sure. The experiences of choir tour have had […]
Read More »Legend has it that when the Greeks successfully defended their homeland in Marathon against the Persians in 490 B.C., a runner named Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of some 26.1 miles to bring the good news of victory. The way opened for democracy to continue for the philosophy of Plato and the […]
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