Last Sunday night we had an amazing worship experience here at First Baptist Church. We had the honor and privilege of hosting a Community Unity Service. Members of different churches from all over Seymour, Indiana came together on the campus of FBC to celebrate the work and person of Jesus Christ. The intent of the service was to put aside the things that divide us, in order that we might focus...
Leaving a Legacy
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines LEGACY as “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor from the past.” To put it in more basic terms, a legacy is the content of one’s life left for others to carry after one is gone. Our legacy is our proverbial footprints on the sands of life, allowing others to follow our example and continue to propagate what was of value during...
Investment and Return
I regularly find myself reflecting on the many men and women that God has brought into my life through the years. As I think back over the proverbial path that God has led me down, I can see the faces of several faithful men and women of God who played meaningful roles in making me who I am and leading me to where I am today. I don’t know if they knew it at the time, but these people made...
FOR/IN
My heart’s desire is that churches would strive to be FOR the community, not just IN the community. Of my own church, I regularly say, “We need to be First Baptist Church FOR Seymour, not just First Baptist Church IN Seymour.” Many times, churches become prominent historic fixtures in the community. For those outside the church, they serve as landmarks for directions and house memories of days...
Show a Little Love
In the fall of 2001, I began my junior year of college at Appalachian Bible College. My wife Robyn and I had gotten married just a few months earlier, and for financial reasons made the move from Indiana to West Virginia to continue our educational pursuits. To be completely honest, it was an extremely difficult move for us. We were newlyweds with little money, no job prospects, and no friends or...
Celebrating Community
While my family and I have lived here in Seymour for the better part of two years, this year afforded us our first chance to engage in the flurry of activity that is Oktoberfest. Before we even stepped foot in Seymour, Indiana, we heard about the Oktoberfest. During the process that brought us to First Baptist Church, our first face-to-face interview was delayed because of Oktoberfest. Several...
The Forest and the Trees
Several years ago, I discovered Mr. Bob Ross. He was a painter and had a show called The Joy of Painting on PBS. If you don’t know Bob Ross by his name, you almost certainly would by his picture. Bob had a well-kept beard and an amazing ‘fro (turns out Mr. Ross hated his hair style, but kept it for branding purposes). The setting of the show was very simple. It was just Mr. Ross, his canvas and...
Face-to-Face Time
We live in exciting times. Human history is in the midst of a fundamental shift in the way we function. The advent of the smart phone is forcing us to evaluate and redefine how life is lived in our current age and for years to come. Not since the invention of the printing press has humanity experienced such massive changes. Every aspect of life has been touched by this new digital revolution, but...
The Cure for the Common…
We are a grand total of seven days into the new school year, and my lovely wife has already managed to contract the plague from the precious cherubs with whom she works. We are still experiencing temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s, yet somehow the common cold has already begun making the rounds in our area schools. It often seems to me that schools serve to pass germs along with knowledge. It...
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