June 2008 In this year’s NCAA college basketball tournament, tiny little Davidson College almost made it to the Final Four. Kansas, a #1 seed in the tournament, finally beat out Davidson and many basketball fans who were hoping for the Cinderella story to continue to with an eventual national championship for Davidson, were disappointed. When the little guys win against the big guys, it gives everyone hope. When the long shots come out on top, everyone has a chance. Jesus came for all the long shots in life. One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning, says that Jesus came for those who struggle and know they don’t have it all together. He came for those who stand on wobbly and weak knees. He came for those that are the little guys in life…those not expected to amount to much. Take a look around our website. As you click through our different pages, understand that we’re not a perfect church. We have a wonderful group of very talented people, and people who are passionate about serving God. But we’re also a collection of long shots. Without Jesus, we don’t amount to much. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. And through God’s grace we are winners! July 2008 Sometimes I am asked, “What makes your church different from other Baptist churches? What makes your church different from the Presbyterian, Methodist, Reformed, Open Bible, Wesleyan, etc. church?” Most of the time that’s a very difficult question to answer because difference is often in the eye of the beholder. One person’s experience of “friendly” might be another’s definition of “stand-offish.” Conservative to one person might be liberal to another. In some churches, only having the piano accompany the singing instead of the piano and the organ might be a move toward contemporary worship whereas in other churches, if the praise band is not introducing new original praise music each week, then the church has lapsed into routine. I hope you catch a sense of how difficult it can be to describe and compare one church’s style and ministry compared to others. The best way to find out if a church is right for you is to walk with that group of people for a while. You need to find out what their passions are. Find out if their voice for ministry scratches an itch that you have too. How does that church seek to grow and nurture followers of Jesus? I hope that as you click through the different pages of our website that you’ll begin to discover some of the passions we have for ministry. But to truly determine if First Baptist is the right place for you to grow in Christ, you’ll need to walk with us for a while. My goal is not to have everyone come to First Baptist. My passion is to help people find a church that’s right for him or her. If that’s First Baptist great! If that ends up being somewhere else then I want to help you find that place that’s right for you!

June 2008

In this year’s NCAA college basketball tournament, tiny little Davidson College almost made it to the Final Four. Kansas, a #1 seed in the tournament, finally beat out Davidson and many basketball fans who were hoping for the Cinderella story to continue to with an eventual national championship for Davidson, were disappointed. When the little guys win against the big guys, it gives everyone hope. When the long shots come out on top, everyone has a chance.

Jesus came for all the long shots in life. One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning, says that Jesus came for those who struggle and know they don’t have it all together. He came for those who stand on wobbly and weak knees. He came for those that are the little guys in life…those not expected to amount to much.

Take a look around our website. As you click through our different pages, understand that we’re not a perfect church. We have a wonderful group of very talented people, and people who are passionate about serving God. But we’re also a collection of long shots. Without Jesus, we don’t amount to much. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. And through God’s grace we are winners!

July 2008

Sometimes I am asked, “What makes your church different from other Baptist churches? What makes your church different from the Presbyterian, Methodist, Reformed, Open Bible, Wesleyan, etc. church?” Most of the time that’s a very difficult question to answer because difference is often in the eye of the beholder. One person’s experience of “friendly” might be another’s definition of “stand-offish.” Conservative to one person might be liberal to another. In some churches, only having the piano accompany the singing instead of the piano and the organ might be a move toward contemporary worship whereas in other churches, if the praise band is not introducing new original praise music each week, then the church has lapsed into routine. I hope you catch a sense of how difficult it can be to describe and compare one church’s style and ministry compared to others.

The best way to find out if a church is right for you is to walk with that group of people for a while. You need to find out what their passions are. Find out if their voice for ministry scratches an itch that you have too. How does that church seek to grow and nurture followers of Jesus?

I hope that as you click through the different pages of our website that you’ll begin to discover some of the passions we have for ministry. But to truly determine if First Baptist is the right place for you to grow in Christ, you’ll need to walk with us for a while. My goal is not to have everyone come to First Baptist. My passion is to help people find a church that’s right for him or her. If that’s First Baptist great! If that ends up being somewhere else then I want to help you find that place that’s right for you!