Why the Pulpit of First Baptist Church of Brooksville is Special

OK. I'm REALLY getting nostalgic as my time at First Baptist Church of Brooksville is drawing to a close. I've previously posted an article about why I'll miss the center aisle. (How crazy is that?!) So, I thought that I would write about why I'll miss the pulpit.

If you're still reading, more power to you. lol

First, it's one that I handpicked.
When the front of our worship center was undergoing a much needed upgrade, I was talked into (I'll blame it on others) getting a pulpit that I had spoken of often. Instead of a bulky wooden pulpit, I wanted a transparent one.

Why?
1) It illustrated what I wanted to be as a pastor - transparent.
2) It allowed me to preach with my body. I gesture a lot and the wooden pulpit we had before blocked much of my attempts to explain God's Word.
3) It allowed for things happening behind the pulpit to be easily seen by the congregation (i.e. children's skits, choir specials, etc.)
4) It allowed me to peek past my Bible and notes to the clock at its base without making it obvious that I was looking at the time (even though folks at First Baptist would question whether I ever actually looked at the clock).

This list could go on and on but you get the idea.

Second, there is a powerful reminder taped to it.
I heard a quote many years ago that was credited to a preacher named Richard Baxter. I've never forgotten it. I believed that if I got the truth of it engrained in my mind and heart, it would powerfully impact how I preached. The quote is: "I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men."

As I approach the pulpit to preach each Sunday, that verse is directly in front of me. It reminds me that I may never preach to these people again. One of us could be moments away from death in a horrific car accident, a heart attack or any number of other possibilities. With that knowledge, I needed to be certain that what I was preaching and how I was preaching it would be sufficient if it was the last sermon they heard.

The quote, by in large, has kept things in perspective as I have stood to proclaim God's Word to the folks at First Baptist Church.

Third, it has some very special verses under the carpet. 
When the platform was being remodeled, I got an idea. The day before the carpet was installed, I took a black permanent marker and wrote some Scripture references in the area where I stand as I preach. I wanted to literally "stand on God's Word" as I proclaimed His Word to the congregation. These are the verses under the carpet that I have stood on as I preached at First Baptist:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Finally, there have been some incredible people that I've invited to stand behind it and proclaim God's Word.
The risk I run in naming anyone is that I will leave so many out. However, I'll run that risk by saying I will name two special individuals who represent all of those who I've invited to preach behind the pulpit.

Robert Amaya ("Javier" in the movie "Courageous") was at First Baptist Church in January 2012. I would invite him back to preach in a heartbeat! He is grounded in God's Word and has a passion to call others, especially men, to take up their crosses and follow Jesus. He shared with me that he has an insatiable hunger to read theology books and wholeheartedly believes that in order to behave like Christ-followers, we must first think like Christ-followers. I could not have been more pleased as I listened to Robert preach God's Word from behind that transparent pulpit. I hope to one day invite him to speak again. To view pictures I took of the time Robert spent at First Baptist, just click here.

Harry Bollback is another very special person that I invited to preach at First Baptist Church. Many know Bro. Bollback from his work at Word of Life Bible Institute. However, even with the incredible story of his involvement in Word of Life, I found out that there is so much more to his story.

After he preached at First Baptist, Bro. Bollback invited my family to join him and his wife, Millie, for a meal at Word of Life and then see the passion play at their Youth Camp in Hudson. While eating with him, I picked his brain and found out that he and his wife were missionaries in South America and were dear friends of Jim Elliott, Nate Saint and the other 3 missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in January 1956. He and his wife visited the widows in Shell, Ecuador after the murders. I continued to probe and found out that he and his wife had a very similar experience and someone had written a book about it.

Naturally, I was hooked and wanted to get the book. He gave me a copy and signed it for me. I was so glad that I had a chance to meet this incredible man of God during my time at First Baptist. To view the sermon he preached behind First Baptist's pulpit, click here.



Come to think about it, maybe it's not so silly to miss the pulpit at First Baptist Church after all. It IS pretty special!

Prayer memories made in a center aisle

View from the front of the sanctuary

As my time at First Baptist Church of Brooksville is coming to an end, I am growing nostalgic. Kim and I have made so many memories with the folks in this church family that will remain with us for the duration of our lives.

But, certain locations also carry memories. For one, I'll miss the center aisle of the worship center. Throughout the last 7 years of ministry I have spent hours upon hours upon untold hours walking that aisle as I wrestled with God in prayer.

I have prayed for folks who had family problems. I've prayed for folks experiencing the loss of loved ones or who were experiencing illness. I've prayed for the wayward children and grandchildren of members. I've prayed for members who were in sin. I've prayed for marriages, jobs, wisdom, strength, direction, protection, effectiveness ... you name it.

View from the rear of the sanctuary.

And I've seen God answer so many of the prayers offered up while I paced that center aisle. In a very real way, God has become more 'real' to me as I've sought Him in prayer as I paced the floor in the worship center.

It sounds silly ... but I'll miss that center aisle!

Abortion and the value of a human life

A few days ago, a cargo plane in Afghanistan carrying 7 pilots and crewmen accelerated down the runway and took off. However, after reaching an altitude of about 1,200 feet, it stalled. The pilot veered to the right in an apparent attempt to regain speed but it was too late. It crashed into the ground and burst into flames killing everyone on board. A video taken from a vehicle dash cam showed the surreal, horrifying scene.
 
As I watched the clip on the news, I knew ahead of time that the crash was coming. Yet, as I observed the plane take off knowing that they had about 15-20 seconds left to live, I realized that the crewmen inside the plane were clueless as to what was about to happen. They were moments from their own demise and didn't even know it!
 
As I also watch American culture and it's rapid moral decline, I cannot help but realize that unless God's people wake up and push back the darkness through 1) prayer, 2) changing hearts by leading folks to a saving faith in Jesus, and 3) by legislation, we are headed for our own demise ... and probably much sooner than we think.
 
It's seems to me that one of the clearest signs of our coming doom is the issue of abortion. Masked behind the veil of "women's rights," it has become a major catalyst in helping us to become a culture of death.
 

To view a few undercover videos of what abortionists

approve and advise their patients behind the closed

doors of their clinics, simply click on the following links:

 

Undercover in America's Late-Term Abortion Industry - Arizona

Undercover in America's Late-Term Abortion Industry - New York

Undercover in America's Late-Term Abortion Industry - Washington, D.C.

 
 
As abortion becomes more accepted and normalized and as our nation's conscience becomes further desensitized, we should not be surprised if, very soon, other human life is no longer valued (e.g. the elderly, the handicapped, etc.).
 
A Christian worldview is diametrically opposed to our nation's growing acceptance of abortion.
 
Let me ask you some questions: Have you ever thought about what gives people value? Are you worth anything? And if so, why?
 
That answer is clear in the Bible. Your worth is based upon one primary thing: you are made in God's image! God's fingerprints are all over you!
 
Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness' ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
 
Did you get that? Your worth isn't based upon how much money you have. It's not based upon how successful you are or how much influence you have. Your worth isn't based upon how much you contribute to society. It's not based upon what others say about you. It's not based upon who you know. It's not based upon your age or the fact that you are still growing in your mother's womb.
 
Pure and simple, your worth comes from the fact that you have God's fingerprints all over you! You are His creation! No matter what you do or who you become, you are a person of value.
 
That cannot be taken away from you. You are God's creation made in his image and therefore, you have worth!
 
Without making this post too long, I'd like to take you to one more passage of Scripture - Psalm 139. In this Psalm, King David exalted God for his greatness. Specifically, he elaborated on the three "omni's" of God:
 
- Psalm 139:1-6 - God is omniscient (God knows all things)
- Psalm 139:7-12 - God is omnipresent (God is completely everywhere at all times)
- Psalm 139:13-18 - God is omnipotent (God can do anything God desires to do)
 
In regard to the last attribute (God's omnipotence), how would you have illustrated God's power if you wrote this psalm? If I wrote it, I probably would have described his action in the creation of the world. I would have talked about how He formed the massive galaxies with only a word. Talk about power!!!
 
Yet, that's not what the Psalmist used to illustrate God's omnipotence. Instead, as the Holy Spirit directed him, he illustrated God's infinite power by describing His work in forming a child in the womb. Just think about that!!!
 
Psalm 139:13-18 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you."

In a Christian worldview, every single person is viewed as someone of value because they are created by God in His image (even though we are tarnished by sin). The baby in the womb is to be protected just as should an elderly person who no longer is able to contribute to society. Why? Because they are a human life created in God's image! God's fingerprints are all over them and therefore, they have value!

Unfortunately for all of us, Christianity is losing its influence in American culture. As this continues to happen, we shouldn't be surprised if human value nosedives at some point and death is not simply the plight of the unborn ... but of the elderly who are unproductive, the handicapped or whoever is deemed by society a "burden." (If you scoff at my conclusions, wait for about 10-20 years and then let's see if you're still laughing.)

As Christians stand against abortion, we're not standing against women's rights. We're fighting for the life of the unborn who has value. We're also fighting against a mindset that may soon move to claim other "burdens" on society.

It blows my mind that Christianity is seen as a threat to our society (Christian soldiers may now be court martialed for sharing their faith) when we are virtually alone in standing up for human value!