Pastor's Blog

Acts 4:8b/ Rulers of the people and elders, 9/If you are questioning us today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and if you are asking how this man has been healed, 10/ let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead.

Acts 4:32/ Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. On last Sunday morning we began a 7-week series of conversations under the theme “Believing Jesus, Belonging to the Beloved Community and Becoming a Missional People.” The Holy Spirit impressed upon me that these 50 days between Easter and Pentecost Sundays are a time of revival here at First Baptist. For each of us to get the most from this revival it is important that we are engaged in these conversations on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am, from now until May 27^th. I pray that God will awaken within us individually and corporately a new found appreciation for our identity and calling as followers of Jesus Christ.

On Sunday April 15, 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall, we will hold the first of seven very important congregation-wide conversations related to the key areas of mission and ministry for The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC. During this auspicious year when we celebrate 210 years of dedicated Christian witness, worship and works, another opportunity has come for us to prayerfully appreciate, evaluate, and anticipate the quality of our ministry in the present and for the future. During these conversations we will worship, pray, share our thoughts, and listen to the thoughts of each other as we seek to discern and to pursue God’s will and purposes for our church’s ministry going forward.

John 12:20-21/ Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” In Jesus’ day, the high holy days attracted the attention of those who were not his followers. They hovered around his familiar hangouts in Jerusalem in order to get a glimpse of him; for it was well known that Jesus always visited the City during the religious feast days.

Believing Jesus! Belonging to the Beloved Community! And Becoming a Missional Church is the combination of words that the Holy Spirit has placed on my heart for now to express our identity and mission forward. I believe those words capture and convey what God is doing now and wants to do in the life of The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC! The time has come for us as a congregation to move toward a shared understanding and shared decisions as a church about more the specific priorities, approaches, and programs that we agree to pursue together under the banner of First Baptist.

There is such powerful life-changing truth contained in the Holy Scriptures that we do our mission well to listen more closely, more often than we typically do to what the Bible says, and then to simply pause and take it in, making a spiritual note of its truth and permitting the scriptures to permeate our minds, bodies, souls, hearts, handiworks, and footsteps. Psalm 19 is one of those passages that speaks to me in powerful ways. Its words establish that the Laws of our God are above all laws. I offer a few of its verses to you now for reflection and meditation.

The church of Jesus Christ faces the very real prospect of rejection by the world when we promote the values of God’s Beloved Community. However, we must never equate rejection with defeat. Sure victory is a certain outcome of Christian mission despite how fierce things may seem.

During Jesus’ 40 days of prayer and fasting in the wilderness he secured needed strength and focus for his ministry. The temptations that Jesus faced during those forty days in the wilderness represent the same types of distractions that entice all of us from time to time to deviate from our God-ordained purposes and mission.

2 Corinthians 4:5/ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6/ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

During this season of spiritual discernment let us embrace a missional approach to imagining our ministry future that is also inspired by a Biblical understanding of our existence.

The time has come once again in the life of The First Baptist Church when we, as an entire congregation—not just the elected leaders—must set apart quality time to pray and seek direction and empowerment from the Holy Spirit to discern and discover where God is leading First Baptist, and how God wants to prioritize our mission for the next few years.

On Wednesday nights I have been discussing the book by Danny E. Morris and Charles M. Olsen entitled Discerning God’s Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church.

Since our theme for this month is “Explore Your Call", I want to recommend three primary ways in which we respond to the call of God on our lives.

How do we recognize God's call in today's world?  1 Samuel 3:1-20 provides insight into this question.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. Jesus grew in strength. Jesus was known as the author and finisher of the faith, who

What’s In a Name?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

With the Birth of Jesus Christ, God came to the earth in human form to take the future of our well-being into God’s own hands.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the rose it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.”  Isaiah 35:1-2

“The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains…All the nations shall stream to it.”

How eager are we to embrace God’s vision for an international church?

In Luke 17:11-19 an individual’s life is changed, and God’s heart is moved by the coming together of gratitude and faith in response to a divine healing.