New Pastor!

Surrey Hills Baptist Church has a new pastor, Dr. Wendell Lang!  I had the privilege of getting to know Pastor Lang in a few briefs moments this past weekend.  And what struck me is it feels like we have been serving together in ministry for many years.  I believe we have a kindred spirit for the leadership of the local church body.  I believe we are going to have a great and long time of service together at Surrey Hills Baptist Church.  I believe with all my heart that the days of potential at Surrey Hills are over and we are now entering the days of blessing as God uses us to reach a community with the love of Jesus.

 

I don’t think these lofty and great things are coming because a man is coming to lead our church as pastor.  I believe these are going to be days of great blessings for two reasons.

 

First, these will be great days because God always blesses those who proclaim the good news of Jesus.  One day as Jesus was talking about his future death he said, “…if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself.” John 12:32.  I believe this verse has great power and meaning in our day as well.  When we do the work of lifting up Jesus today he still draws people.  With Dr. Lang as our pastor I know we will lift up Jesus to our community. 

 

Secondly, these will be great days because Dr. Lang has seen the favor of God before.  When Joshua and Caleb visited the Promised Land they told the Israelites to get up and go and take the land.  They had seen the Promised Land and they knew it was the place God wanted them to be.  They knew it was the place for them to be, but more importantly they knew that God was going to do the fighting for them.  Joshua and Caleb said, “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey and give it to us…the Lord is with us…” Numbers 14:8-9.  Pastor Lang knows that if God is pleased with us His favor will be on us.  Pastor Lang has seen it many times before and he knows God can and will do it at Surrey Hills Baptist Church.  When Pastor Lang comes and says, “I have seen the Promised Land”, let’s get up and go and take it.

 

I would ask that you pray at this time for these items as well:

Pray for our new pastor.

Pray for our new pastor’s wife, Pam.

Pray for the quick sell of their home so the transition will be smooth.

Pray for our pastor’s new work and all the challenges that go along with starting over.

Pray for their difficult time of saying goodbye to their former church.

Pray for the reception that they will receive from their new church.

Pray for God’s hand of favor to be upon Surrey Hills Baptist Church.

Pray for a special infilling of the Holy Spirit upon the pastor and the church as we begin a journey.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those in our community to receive the good news of Jesus.

Pray for special divine appointments in the days ahead as we reach people with the love of Jesus in our community.

Pray for the continued focus of our church to be the church outside the walls of our building.

Pray for God’s direction in your life as you seek the place you are to serve in ministry.

As always, serving with you,

 

Doug Brown

rev.dougbrown@gmail.com

405-317-8076

Do churches have it backwards?

I wasn't planning on writing today, but I ran across a verse from one of Paul’s letters that just hit me in the face.

“…while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.” 1 Corinthians 8:1

Paul is writing to a church that some believe had slogans for the way they should live their lives. He said they had the head knowledge of what to do, but they didn’t have the love associated with being a child of God. He goes on to say in verse 3, “But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.”

My limited observation of the local church today would lead me to believe that we have gotten love and knowledge mixed up. Churches today are filled with wonderful teachers and classes that know the difference between a Sadducee and a Pharisee, but when was the last time that class left the building and showed God’s love in their neighborhood? Ouch, that hurts me too.

Why are we closing the doors on more churches than we are opening on new churches? Why is the Southern Baptist Convention not growing, but reached a plateau for the last two years? Why are churches weak today? I believe one of the reasons is we have abandoned hair on fire love for people for knowledge of the Bible.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe the answer for our world today is the truth and proclamation of God’s word. I of all people love to understand and teach God’s word, but have we escaped into the church with an excuse to learn more and abandoned the people God has called us to love?

One of the great things from our student led echo groups formed during Falls Creek is that they have actually gotten out meeting people’s needs. They have shown love. A couple of groups have spent time at a senior adult care center.

Let’s reverse this trend of knowledge over love. Let’s be a people that the world would say, “They really know how to love people and take care of those in their neighborhood.” Let’s let love strengthen the church!