In the biblical book of Acts, there is a brief mention of an obscure small town that became famous for the very best of reasons. Acts 17:11 reads, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” It’s a very short reference, but it says a lot...
While Jeremy is making his way back to the US from India, today’s blog is a guest post by Nathan Parker, Pastor of Worship and Media at FBC Seymour. As a worship pastor, I’ve come across many parody videos of worship songs and hymns over the years. While some are a bit corny, some are downright hilarious! One in particular that always sticks out in my memory has a man at the piano singing...
Just over a week ago, my nuclear family traveled to Puerto Rico to join with our family of faith for the Biennial Mission Summit of our denomination, the American Baptist Churches USA. It was an incredibly busy weekend of listening to reports from our missionaries and agencies, celebrating shared successes, recognizing areas that require improvement, and engaging in discussions to discern...
There’s a meme that resurfaces every year right around Super Bowl season. It says, “You should be as excited about church as you are about the Super Bowl. So when your pastor makes a good point this Sunday, pour Gatorade over his head.” Without fail, this meme peppers my social media feeds as people tag myself and my pastoral brothers and sisters to share the joke. I have a deep and abiding...
At no time of the year is tradition more widely observed and celebrated than during the Christmas season. Traditions vary from family to family, but we all have our own cherished holiday traditions. And it is, to some extent, the feelings of hope, joy, love, and peace that those traditions inspire that help make the season so special. Traditions have a sense of transcendence to them. They...
We have developed a habit here at First Baptist Church. As my good friend Deryk Baurle recently described it, we allow our mouths to write checks that we hope we can cash. To put it in more literal terms, we volunteer to take on large projects that require large amounts of organization, volunteer involvement, and, in almost every instance, some level of financial investment. Before we’ve fully...
Several years ago, the Christian rock band Newsboys released a song entitled Wherever We Go. I loved the song the first time I heard it. Even today, if it happens to come on the radio, I will turn up the volume and let my head bob to the music. Throughout the first verse, the lyrics are kind of ridiculous. They sing about bluebirds singing, flowers blooming, bees behaving, and squirrels smiling...
Not too far from the neighborhood where I grew up, there was a creek. Every once in a while, some of the other neighborhood kids and I would jump on our bikes and ride down to the creek to explore and play in the water. One of our favorite activities when we were there was to attempt to stop the flow of the water by building dams. We would scout out a good location, usually somewhere the water...
Summer camp was an important feature of my younger years. There were few things that I anticipated and enjoyed more each year than heading north for a week of camp. Camp, in all of its various iterations, played a crucial role in my development as a follower of Jesus. It was at a camp that I first felt the call to become a pastor. It was at camp that I developed important relationships that still...
When you think of spectator sports, cross country isn’t generally the first event that comes to mind. Most of us default to one of the big two of football and basketball. I mean no disrespect to other athletic events or those who participate in them, but football and basketball are the two events at which the band plays (marching or pep, respectively), cheerleaders cheer, and specific sections...
Jeremy Myers is the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Seymour, Indiana, where he has served since 2017. He has over 25 years of experience in local church ministry and not-for-profit leadership. He has a passion for helping emerging and existing generations learn to make space for each other and caring for the under-served and marginalized. In 2016, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Palmer Theological Seminary, with his thesis focusing on developing connections between senior adults and youth in the church. He is a passionate and gifted communicator and is regularly invited to speak at retreats, camps, conferences, and other events. He lives in Seymour, Indiana with his wife Robyn, their two children, Mikayla and JJ, and their Golden Doodle, Evie.
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