Advent is a progressive journey. Much like a progressive dinner, where a group travels sequentially from one residence to the next, partaking of a multi-course meal along the way, so it is with Advent. We begin with the messianic promises of the prophets and journey toward the birth of the Christ child, with scenic stops along the way. This seasonal pilgrimage allows us to sense the anxiety and the anticipation of those who have traveled these roads before us.

This Sunday in worship, we begin our Advent journey by lighting the Prophecy Candle. We will focus on Isaiah 2:1-5 as we rediscover the promise of peace. Also on Sunday morning, we will witness the parade of flags as we focus on global missions and we will hear from our children’s choirs as a preview of their Christmas concert on this Sunday evening.

In the Sundays to come we will progressively light the Bethlehem Candle, the Angel’s Candle, and the Shepherd’s Candle, leading up to the lighting of the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve.

Pray for the Challenger Award Banquet which is scheduled for Monday, December 3 at the Civic Center. In addition to a great meal and awards presentations, each athlete and guest will hear former NFL great Danny Buggs share his testimony and a clear invitation to the Christian life.

Next week, December 2-9, is the Week of Prayer for Global Missions. On Wednesday, December 5 we will hear from two of the missionaries we have supported during the past year. Andrea Burks will share highlights from her experiences in Indonesia and Mark Davis will share about ongoing work in Russia and points beyond.

This season of the year presents multiple opportunities to invite disconnected friends and family members to join you in worship. Who can you invite to join you for worship and Bible study this Sunday?

On Sunday evenings during October, we have been talking about casual ways to share our faith as we have been studying key passages of scripture alongside Bill Hybels’ book, Just Walk Across the Room.

As we begin the month of November, are you ready to take your walk across the room?

As you prepare to be more proactive in sharing the good news, remember the following highlights from our conversations in October:

1. A few of us may have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but all of us have the responsibility to evangelize.

2. Your everyday experiences on familiar and unfamiliar turf will present unlimited opportunities for you to walk across the room to initiate contact and conversation with others.

3. Your conversation may plant a seed that bears fruit years later or immediately.

4. Taking the initiative to walk across the room requires discipline and commitment. You must do it several times before it becomes a way of life.

5. Discover how many ways you can talk about God, abundant life, faith, church, and Jesus without using religious words. Consider how many times Jesus talked with individuals about life concerns before they learned his identity.

How do you take your first steps? For many of us, walking across the room begins with baby steps:

1. Welcome someone to church that you do not yet know.

2. Make a list of “starter questions” to assist you with starting a conversation.

3. Be sure to notice the person in any crowd who is alone.

4. Have a goal of initiating a conversation with a stranger at least once a week.

5. Without sounding overtly religious, share the good news casually and conversationally.

God wants to work through you, your personality, your contacts, and your calendar to invite others into God’s family.

“Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people… They get exploited every time and never really learn… But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them…” – from II Timothy 3:1-9 The Message

One of Jimmy Buffet’s most unusual song titles is, “My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Really Don’t Love Jesus.” While some of us may be offended by the brutal honesty of such a statement, there are many in our world and in our community who have headaches and heartaches that cannot be healed by superficial religion.

This Sunday morning, with this unusual song title and II Timothy 3:1-9 in mind, we will focus on ways to minister to those who are burned out on church and fed up with religious clichés and slogans, yet they are still searching for that which is of authentic spiritual significance.

On Sunday evening, we will continue our series, “Just Walk Across the Room” as we examine relevant and simple ways to converse with friends and strangers who need to see, hear, taste, touch, and feel the goodness and grace of the Christ.

Invite a friend to join you as we gather for worship and Bible study.

After a season of testing, the Apostle Paul reports that the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9)

At some point in life, all of us will be confronted with seasons of testing, heartbreak, grief, and bereavement. However, this past weekend, our entire First Baptist Family experienced a tragedy as we lost one of our precious children, Gregory Threadgill, in a fatal accident.

As we continue to minister to the Threadgill family in the days ahead, let us also minister to one another and especially to our younger family members, many of whom are dealing with the death of a friend for the first time.

Even when accidents happen and life is cut short, God’s GRACE is Sufficient.

G is for Grieve. The Bible never says that Christians should not grieve, only that we should “not grieve as those who have no hope.” (I Thessalonians 4:13) Let us experience all of the emotions of this tragedy with our lives invested in the eternal hope that comes through Jesus Christ.
R is for Resist. Resist the temptation to explain a tragedy or untimely death with shallow clichés or anecdotes. Most accidents or tragedies have no clear explanation.
A is for Assurance. Assure one another that God is with us through all of the seasons of life and promises “never to leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
C is for Connected. Stay connected to those in your church family and your small group, those who form your primary network of support.
E is for Emerge. When we encounter a crisis or tragedy, we can eventually emerge with a stronger faith and a greater appreciation for God’s many gifts. “Sorrow lasts for a season but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

We look forward to gathering for worship this Sunday as we continue our series Changes in Latitude. Invite a friend to join you as we focus on the God who is with us on all of the Sundays and the Mondays of life.

Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32

There is a book written by Oliver Buzz Thoman on current bestsellers lists entitled, Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can’t Because He Needs the Job). Today, as we prepare to begin a new church year, I want to share with you Five Things Your Minister Wants You to Know (And He’s Not Afraid to Lose His Job).

1. God had a big dream for First Baptist Church. God’s dream is bigger than our current vision and bigger than our current level of commitment. We must either downsize God’s dream or upgrade our commitment.

2. In God’s dream, we are one church family. We have multiple services and multiple mission partners but we are one large church family. Every member is responsible for looking out for the good of the whole body of Christ.

3. The resources within this congregation are more than adequate to accomplish God’s mission. The personal, spiritual and financial resources in this community of faith are more than adequate to make God’s dream our reality, but we must channel those resources appropriately.

4. We must embrace the full giftedness of men and women. For years, God has called young men and women from First Baptist to serve as ministers, missionaries, evangelists, professors, and chaplains. Here are home we have called on men and women for teaching, worship leadership, missions, and committee responsibilities. In the future we prepare ourselves scripturally and prayerfully to make harmonious decisions as we contemplate calling on both men and women for other areas of servant leadership including service as committee chairs and as deacons.

5. Our Church Rocks. Our church ROCKS with multiple generations, multiple gifts, and multiple opportunities. We must decide whether our Rocks become steppingstones or stumblingblocks. We must decide whether to use our Rocks to build a fortress or to build a bridge.

Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

Our new Sunday morning worship series, Changes in Latitude, begins this week. I will borrow titles and phrases from popular Jimmy Buffett songs as we think about how our emerging faith impacts the “changes in latitude” of daily life and church life.

This week we welcome Jeana Lankford as our interim Minister of Students. Jeana, the wife of Dr. Ross Lankford, is a graduate of Samford University and has experience as a high school English teacher, an interim children’s minister, and an interim youth minister. Pray for Jeana as she provides interim leadership for our students and our student leaders.

As we begin the new church year, our church family expresses our gratitude to Scott Bell for his insightful leadership as chair of deacons. In all of our ministry efforts and decision-making, Scott has kept us focused on God’s best for the whole church family. We also welcome Bob Gowing as our incoming chair of deacons as we look forward to a great year of ministry and missions.

Our church family also expresses appreciation to Martha Dickson and Vickie Almond, both of whom resigned effective the end September. Martha has served as church librarian for … years and Vickie has served as a ministry assistant in our music department for … years. Thank you Martha and Vickie for your faithful service.

Last Sunday, as we launched our theme for coming months, Our Church ROCKS, I shared Five Things Your Minister Wants You To Know. Here is the condensed version ):

1. God has a big dream for First Baptist Church.
2. In God’s dream, we are one church family.
3. The resources within this church family are more than adequate to make God’s dream our reality.
4. To realize God’s dream, we must embrace and affirm the full giftedness of both men and women.
5. Our church ROCKS!

October presents great opportunities to connect with new friends and re-connect with old ones. Your spiritual gifts, your faithfulness, and your participation are just a few of the reasons that Our Church ROCKS!

This is the rock on which I will be my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. Matthew 16:18 The Message

On Sunday September 30 we will gather as one large family of faith for a combined service of worship at ten o’clock. During this unique experience of worship, we will celebrate baptism and communion, and we will sing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”

Our worship time will be centered on the theme, Our Church ROCKS! As we look forward to the completion of The ROC, the Paul Royal Recreation and Outreach Center, we are challenging each other to practice rock-solid spiritual disciplines so that we can ROCK our community for Christ.

During worship on Sunday September 30 members of our First Baptist Family will have an opportunity to vote on the proposed Ministry Budget for 2007-2008 and on the Deacon Nominees who will begin a three year term of service this year. Please mark the ballot in your worship guide and turn it in during the receiving of the offering.

On Sunday afternoon, we will gather in Seville Square for our annual Church Picnic. Invite a friend to join in the fun, games, and fellowship. We will conclude our picnic with inspirational moments of Vespers as we complete a day of great celebration.

In October we begin our new Sunday morning worship series, Changes in Latitude. I will borrow titles and phrases from popular Jimmy Buffett songs as we think about how our emerging faith impacts the “changes in latitude” of daily life and church life.

Changes in Latitude:
Oct 7 “Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude” Ezra 6:22, Eph 4:22-24
Oct 14 “What Happens Come Monday?” Luke 9:23-24
Oct 21 “My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Don’t Love Jesus” Phil 4:7-9
Oct 28 “Will There Really Be Cheeseburgers in Paradise?” Luke 23:42-44

On Sunday evenings in October we will offer multiple options. During Vespers in the Chapel at six o’clock, we will engage in a five week study of Just Walk Across the Room, a proactive approach to outreach and evangelism. Details of other discipleships options are listed inside this edition of The Builder.

Recitations of the Ten Commandments are echoing through Chipley Hall, the sanctuary, the atrium, classrooms, and homes of FBC families. Parents and grandparents, children and grandchildren are learning or re-learning the Ten Commandments as we prepare to recite them in a unison chorus on September 30.

Last week I overheard two of our senior members saying the Ten Commandments to each as I entered the sanctuary. One of them said, “We’re practicing the Ten Commandments.” I said, “I sure hope so.” Practicing the Ten Commandments is a good thing.

As we prepare to complete our series, Hang Ten! A fresh look at the Ten Commandments, Ross Lankford will be sharing a message this Sunday morning from commandment number seven, “You shall not commit adultery.” On Sunday evening, Don Minton will be sharing a message from commandment number nine, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

Our proposed Ministry Budget for 2008-2009 will be presented at church conference on Wednesday September 26. Then on Sunday morning September 30, our church family will have an opportunity to vote on the church budget and the new deacon nominees.

The theme for our combined service of worship on Sunday September 30 is Our Church ROCKS! On this day, we will gather on Sunday morning to celebrate baptism and communion. Then on Sunday afternoon we will gather at Seville Square for our annual church picnic.

As we prepare for the completion of the ROC, let us continue to learn new ways to ROCK our community for Christ.

Gracious God, as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day, we approach you with hearts that are simultaneously brimming with gratitude and weighted with concern. We are grateful for the privilege of living in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” We are thankful for specific liberties that allow us to freely choose our vocation, our community of worship, our place of service, and our venues of recreation. And we are indebted to generations of veteran servants who risked life and limb in the pursuit and protection of these liberties. From the “mountains to the prairies” we are inspired by some of the most diverse and beautiful terrain on our planet. From “sea to shining sea” we are privileged to access a mother lode of the world’s natural resources. We have access to prime healthcare, comfortable housing, diverse modes of transportation, more than adequate clothing, and an abundant selection of food. We are blessed far beyond our deserving.

But during this season of celebration our grateful hearts are heavy with concern. From our many different perspectives and ideologies we are concerned about things like the threats of terrorism, the brutalities of war, the abuse of political power, the divisiveness of harsh and misleading political rhetoric, a lack of civil discourse, a growing sense of moral anarchy, and the possibility of an approaching storm or natural disaster. These concerns lead to heightened anxiety about the stability of the market, the costs of insurance, and the tenure of our employment. And these anxieties often divert us from our mission to “minister to the least of these,” and to “love mercy, act justly, and walk humbly” with you.

These concerns and anxieties also remind us of our need to confess our sins, personally and corporately. We confess that we have too often taken our freedom for granted and we have too frequently been slack in our citizenship. We confess that at times we are too quick to criticize naively and too slow to intercede prayerfully. We confess that our self-interests have too often taken priority over the best interest you have in mind for our nation and for our world. We confess that we have been irresponsible in our stewardship of “our space and our stuff,” often consuming and storing compulsively without conscious regard for sharing. We confess that we have too often trusted in our own initiatives and ingenuity more than we have trusted in you.

You tell us in time-tested scripture that, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)

As we approach this Independence Day, we ask you to forgive our sin and to heal our land.

On this day, we pray for the leaders of our nation, our state, and our community that they will lead with wisdom and discernment.

We pray for the men and women who serve in our nation’s military that they will fulfill their mission with courage and return home safely and soon.

We pray for our enemies that their swords will also be “turned into plowshares.”

We pray for the churches, cathedrals, and temples of our nation and our community that we will be lighthouses of grace and mercy, ever pressing toward the mark of our high calling.

Because you are the freedom-loving God, lead us to exercise our freedom responsibly and to pursue “liberty and justice for all” of your children around the globe.

We pray in the strong name of the one who came to set us free. Amen.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6 NIV

On May 22, 2005 you gave to Amanda and me an overwhelming invitation to move to Pensacola where I would serve as your pastor. During the past week, I have been re-visiting my calling and reflecting on our first two years together, as we prepare to begin year number three. In my first acceptance letter to the Pastor Search Committee and congregation I wrote the following lines:

“Your strong faith and your love for First Baptist Church have been obvious to us since our first meeting with you…Therefore, with tremendous respect for the esteemed heritage of First Baptist Church, and with great anticipation of the continuing leadership of the Spirit in the future, I heartily accept your invitation to come to Pensacola in view of a call to be your Senior Pastor.”

During these first two years we have enjoyed several blessings and confronted numerous challenges. We have sought shelter during hurricanes, welcomed dozens of newborns, shared beautiful services of baptism, witnessed memorable weddings, shared in the memorial services of friends and family members, and welcomed many new friends into our church family.

Little did we know when we made our covenant as pastor and people how the economic and vocational landscape of our community would be impacted by successive storms in 2004 and 2005. In addition to those who have “graduated to heaven,” we have regretfully said “goodbye” to many friends who have relocated to other states, other assignments, or other vocations. Now, we find ourselves in perhaps the most significant and opportune time of transition since the church moved from the bay to the hill.

During 2007-2008 I foresee that we will be presented with some of the most crucial challenges and remarkable opportunities in the history of our church. As we prepare to seize these opportunities with proactive ministries of discipleship and evangelism, I am grateful that the Lord has led us in assembling a competent and committed team of ministers to serve as encouragers and equippers to our congregation. I believe that the Lord has brought us all together “for a time such as this.”

As we continue to grow in faith and friendship, as we reach out to new friends, and as we complete the Paul Royal Recreation and Outreach Center (ROC), I encourage every member of First Baptist Family to commit to the following partnership initiatives:
1. Participate regularly in worship and Bible study
2. Exercise extraordinary patience and cooperation with the inconveniences created during these final months of construction.
3. Make a connection with a friend or neighbor who is not connected to another church family.
4. Get involved in a mission or ministry project.
5. Be faithful and cheerful with your tithes and offerings.

As we begin year three of our partnership, I reaffirm the commitment I made two years ago to “tell the truth and love the people.”

I look forward to seeing you this week in worship and Bible study.