FBCJacksonville Blog

Dear Church,

In 2 Chronicles 29, good king Hezekiah restores the worship of Israel.  The chapter describes all the work and reforms necessary to bring the nation back to the point of the worship of God.

There was a great deal of cleaning and set-up required. People were stationed at certain locations and assigned various tasks and duties.  The music and instruments were prepared as the people planned the time of worship.

The day finally arrived. Second Chronicles 29:28-29 states the following:

While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. . . . So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

What an experience that must have been! It was an incredible day of worship. Second Chronicles 29:36 says that

. . . all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

Pastors’ Conference 2012 has come and gone. The people rejoiced over what God had prepared and it all came about so suddenly.

What a great conference.  Every year someone says, “This was the best one yet.”  However, this year I have to agree with them.  It was so evident that the Holy Spirit was not only in the process of preparation, but He rested over the conference like the great cloud of fire that rested over the Hebrews in the wilderness.  It seemed as if the Lord stayed right here in our presence until the final note was struck, the final parting was made, and the last light was turned out.

I can’t begin to adequately thank you for all your hard work, labor, and especially your prayers.  Every year the greatest aspect of the conference is what our people do for pastors.  The people’s ministry is the greatest ministry of the conference.  Pastors are amazed, moved, stirred, and encouraged by our people and how they minister.  Every smile means something. Every word connects. Every deed is watched and God uses it all to heal, help, and hurry on His process in a pastor’s life.

Thank you for your willingness to work hard and display a wonderful attitude.  Now we, like Hezekiah and the people, can rejoice over what God has done.

Because of Him,

Pastor

Rebecca Pippert, author and speaker, tells the fascinating story of attending two very different events. One event was a graduate-level psychology class at Harvard University. Pippert stated that in the class the students were extraordinarily open and candid about their problems:

It wasn’t uncommon to hear them say, “I’m angry,” “I’m afraid,” “I’m jealous” . . . Their admission of their problems was the opposite of denial . . . their openness about their problems was matched only by their uncertainty about where to find resources to overcome them. Having confessed, for example, their inability to forgive someone who had hurt them, [they had no idea how to] resolve the problem by forgiving and being kind and generous instead of petty and vindictive.

The other event that Pippert attended was the total opposite of what she had experienced in the graduate-level psychology class. In fact, it happened to be a Bible study group at Cambridge University. Pippert states that the contrast was striking:

No one spoke openly about his or her problems. There was a lot of talk about God’s answers and promises, but very little about the participants and the problems they faced. The closest thing to an admission [of sin or a personal problem] was a reference to someone who was “struggling and needs prayer.”

Listen to what Pippert said about these two groups:

The first group [the psychology class] seemed to have all the problems and no answers; the second group [the Bible study] had all the answers and no problems. 1

We as ministers often come across that way. We have all the answers and no problems. The truth is we have struggles just like everyone else, but we have gotten caught up in the game of pretending that we do not. After all, we are supposed to know God better than anyone.

For the next few days I encourage you to be real and let your defenses down. We are not going to talk about you or your struggles or point you out as a failure. Our deepest desire is to minister to you. If you have come encouraged, then find someone and encourage them. If you have come looking for solutions to specific issues, I think we can help you. If you have come weary, worn, and a little beat up, then avail yourself of a church and staff and speakers whose sole desire is to be Christ to you. While we don’t have all the answers, we know Who the answer is. Allow us to be a brother in a time of need.

Mac Brunson, Pastor
First Baptist Church Jacksonville

1 Rebecca Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons (InterVarsity Press, 2001), 31-32

 

Over the Christmas Holidays, you should have received a letter from Dr. Brunson telling you a little about 2012 at First Baptist. With that letter were two enclosures: a giving / pledge envelope…and a commitment card for the “God in Me” emphasis. These were sent so that you and your family can begin now making plans for what you want to do inthe way of spiritual and financial commitments to God in 2012.

Please take some time to look at both the envelope and the “God in Me” card. You will note that the envelope is an expression of what you hope to do in the matter of financial giving to God through our church this coming year. There is also a place for you to update your contact information if you need to and also to indicate whether you would like to receive giving envelopes or whether you give on-line and do not need the envelopes. All of this information will be very helpful to the church.

The God in Me card has four areas of commitment highlighted. They are personal spiritual growth, expressing God in your relationships, and in your community, and in the world. You will note that each area has some space providedfor you to write in specific goals in each area. The card is perforated so that you can complete both sides, tear off one for your own keeping and giving the other to the Lord during the Chest of Joash Commitment Service. You are encouraged to be thinking about the reality of God’s presence in you and how that impacts these four vital areas ofyour life, and how you want to express His presence in your life as a matter of worship to the Lord this year.

Both the envelope and the card will be used in our Chest of Joash Commitment Service on January 22. These will be distributed in Sunday School on January 15. You will want to complete each one, as the Lord leads you, and then bring them with you to the service on Sunday morning, January 22.

 

 

I did not realize how self-centered and self-reliant I had become. But that day I had to admit that my outlook on life and every day decisions had become much more about self-preservation and self-reliance than about magnifying God in the world. Honestly, I was too interested in what I was doing than what God was doing. But in my self-centeredness, which I thought was necessary and prudent, I was actually creating a lot of anxiety, fear, and frustration in my heart. I no longer imagined or dreamed about what could be…from a spiritual perspective. I only saw what was. I had become a pragmatic pessimist…and was not very happy.

Thankfully, that day was a turning point for me; a spiritual wake-up call; the beginning of a renewed outlook on life and the rekindling of a zeal for what could be accomplished through God’s provision, both in my personal life and in the life of our church. That day a man invited me to imagine what could be if I lived life with a generous heart. The strange thing was that he was not talking about money. He was talking about my heart.

Throughout the meeting I heard personal testimonies and stories from people who had experienced the graciousness of others toward them. They told about the fantastic impact those acts had made on their lives. Then I heard from the people who had been so gracious, and why. They said they were living with an open hand and a generous heart…and were overjoyed at the results of what God was doing in them and through them. That day I was made very aware that my heart had grown dull. It had been a while since I had experienced the joy of lavish graciousness in my life. I came to realize that in living from a self-centered heart I had built-up calluses on my spirit, and had grown lukewarm about life and what God was doing. In living for myself, I had actually hurt myself.

Are you in that place? Are you living with a lot of frustration and pent up anger about life and your circumstances? You do not have to stay there. God has a far better place and far greater plans for you. But you have to be willing to change; to relocate; to move out of that place, toward God.

That is why I am writing this post. I want to help you move from that ungodly, unfulfilling, unproductive place that we can easily find ourselves in. On Friday March 25 at 6:30 PM (register) or on Saturday, March 26 at 8:30 AM (register) you can take a step toward a renewed outlook on your purpose and God’s purpose for you. You are invited to attend “A Generosity Encounter”, and discover once again what it is to live life with an open hand and a generous heart; to love God with all your being; and to love others as yourself. I hope you will take that step. I assure you, you will be glad you did. Please refer to the website for details and registration information. I hope to see you there.

Grace to You…
Rev. John Blount

Dear Staff and Church,

This was my fifth Pastors’ Conference as pastor of FBC JAX.  This year seemed to have more “firsts” than any of the others.  This is the first year of a “new generation” coming to the Conference.  At least one-third of those attending were here for the first time.  They were younger – a lot younger than any of the other years I have experienced.  I was stunned at how many “twenty-somethings” we had.  If we are going to have influence on anyone, the twenty-somethings are a good place to start.

It was the first for a number of our speakers.  In Baptist life we brought together two sides that have been quite antagonistic to one another.  However I think we had, as one of our ladies said to me, the sweetest spirit at this Pastors’ Conference.  Maybe God has used us to help bridge some gaps that have existed between brothers in Christ.

It was the first of the conferences where I sensed a broader hurt than I have ever detected before.  So many men shared how this past year was the most difficult year of ministry for them and how this conference made such a difference in their lives.

I believe we did more ministry this year than we have in the previous five put together.  All we had to do was just be there, listen, pray with them and it seemed to ease their burden and lift their load.  It is amazing how little expressions of love, care, and compassion can help another person.

You all did an outstanding job of “being the church” for a lot of weary pastors and their wives. I think this year the Pastors’ Conference has taken a new direction.  There seems to me to be a fresh wind blowing through our church and through the conference.  These past few weeks the presence of the Lord has seemed more real in my own personal life and in the services.  It could be the concentration of God’s people being daily in the word and in prayer for one another.

I want to thank you for months of hard work that often gets tedious, for going to meetings that often seem senseless, for working on projects that sometimes seem endless.  I want to thank you for being faithful to the Lord’s work.   Thanks to all the maintenance staff that helped set up, breakdown, clean up and kept us looking good.  Thank you to the kitchen crew who cooked up a storm.  Thank you to all of those who worked behind the scenes doing all kinds of necessary things that get overlooked.  Our people deserve our thanks for just being the wonderful people they are.  What a group of ushers we have!  Media, thank you for the tremendous job of pulling all of this off.  The choir and orchestra simply showed out – oh, how we love them!  I realize someone was overlooked by me but not by our Lord.

One pastor shared with me last night, “My church will be better for this because God has done something in my life here.” That is a testimony of a church that pulls together to do one thing once a year – love on God’s servants.

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To view an exhaustive photo gallery from the conference, please visit BillThompsonPhotography.com