Monthly Archives: June 2017

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Call to Community

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Community

It was about this time last year that I started talking to my leadership about embracing a model for church – a very biblical, practical, sustainable, and healthful model – as church as a faithful community. This concept stands in contrast with two other prevailing paradigms for the church in North America (other places too, I would suspect). The first is a religious institution driven by prescription and maintaining the comfort of members. The second is a vendor of religious goods and services obliging the desires of current and future customers. Good ministry can happen in both, but important, essential things get lost along the way.

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Catching Wind and Waves

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Windsurfers

With the rainy, windy weather we have been having, I have noticed an uptick in windsurfers around the fringes of St. Pete. From our house, it’s an easy walk to the north shore where sails of every size and color attach to boards and brave souls get lifted and carried by the wind. Some of those folks are really, really good at it and have obviously sunk some time, talent, effort, and some serious money into being serious wave riders. On other days, the Bay is still and the wind is calm – that’s when you paddle and kayak your way around. But when the wind and chop show up, so do those brave souls prepared to take on all that it has to offer.

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Exciting Times for Our Children’s Ministry

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FBC Children at VBS

What a week in the life of FBC, especially in the world of children and young family ministry! Sunday we were so pleased to announce that Aimee Hobbs will be joining the FBC ministry team and family as the new Pastor of Children and Young Families. Aimee comes to us from Prichard Memorial Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. At Prichard, Aimee has enjoyed a five-year ministry after serving the storied Broadway Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas for the previous seven. She is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University and holds a Master of Divinity from George W. Truett Seminary at Baylor University.

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Thank You, Ray

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The first piece of music I heard as your pastor was an amazing rendition of the Widor Toccata on Easter Sunday morning. After Ray Horsley presented that, I almost decided that anything less would be anti-climatic. Would have thought so if not for the wonderful rendering of the Hallelujah Chorus, joined by the orchestra, band, and choir. Sunday in and Sunday out, Ray has brought the might Rogers organ of our sanctuary to life – often in solo fashion, but even more impressively when joining with the other voices and instruments. We are among all churches most blessed.

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Numbers to Live By

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Numbers to Live By

During my nearly two decades in greater Atlanta’s northeast reaches, I spent a lot of time going back and forth on the ridiculously over-traveled road Georgian’s simply know as “316.” A quarter century ago it was the biggest hit in transportation, finally giving a direct route from north Atlanta to Athens, foregoing the need to stop off in burgs like Lawrenceville, Duluth, Winder, Statham, and Bogart. For folks in that region, traveling Highway 316 is now a way of life; a given route to navigate what has become one of the South’s most crowded corridors.

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