Back in the Saddle

Today is the day!  After 12 weeks today is my first day back in the office.  Staff members have been introducing themselves to me all day long!  I'm grateful because I've forgotten some of their names!  Not really but it is good to be back.  Over the past 12 weeks I have worshipped in over a dozen different churches, written five chapters on what I anticipate will be about a 10-12 chapter book, I have spent a lot of time listening to God and what I believe is His plan for the next several years for our church and I have spent a lot of time recharging my life and recommitting myself to what God has for me and our church.  I am so grateful to our personnel committee and to our entire church for giving me this opportunity.  It came at a time when I really needed it and I believe it will be of benefit to me and to the church for years to come.  I plan to spend the next several months telling you about the last twelve weeks in many different ways including sermons and just one on one.

This past weekend Tami, Alyssa and I traveled to Stillwater Oklahoma to watch Ryan suit up for his first Oklahoma State Football game.  The day was great as we watched him participate in the "walk" where the football team walks about three blocks to the stadium with thousands of fans lining the path.  We watched him run onto the field with 60,000 fans cheering them on and probably the coolest part of the day for me was when we were waiting for him to come out of the locker room after the game.  As he came out a boy who looked to be about seven years of age asked Ryan for his autograph.  Now that was cool!!!

Today is Ryan's 21st birthday.  Hard to believe it was 21 years ago today when God blessed us with a perfect baby boy that has grown into a man of God.  I'm proud of Ryan for so many different reasons.  The fact that he plays football for a Division 1 football program is not even near the top of the list.  The fact that he has become a Godly man who cares for others and who works hard to earn everything he gets is at the top of the list.  I'm thankful for a church that helped Tami and I raise him and shape him into the man he is today.  I'm thankful for a wife and mother that has loved him and molded him into the caring man he is today.  I'm thankful for coaches and Sunday School teachers, friends and family members that have helped us lead Ryan into adulthood.  I told him today he is now a man, no longer a boy, he has earned the right to be called a man and I am blessed to be his father. 

Happy Birthday Ryan!  I Love You and I'm proud of the man you have become!

"It's Time!"

This past weekend I visited Mark Campbell and his wife Alesia in Edmond Oklahoma.  Mark and Alesia moved to Edmond from Denton about eight years ago.  Mark was on the search committee that called me to First Baptist thirteen years ago.  Not too long after I arrived in Denton Mark and Bob Modlin convinced me it would be a good idea to go to Colorado and hike up Long's Peak one of fifty-two 14,000 foot peaks in the state.  It was an experience I have never forgotten!

Mark and Alesia joined Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond when they moved there eight years ago.  Mark was working in the pharmaceutical industry at the time.  About a year ago Henderson Hills convinced Mark to serve on their ministry staff.  Mark is the director of their Ministries of Jesus a wonderful ministry of the church that provides medical, and dental care as well as counseling and recovery ministry.  I was overwhelmed at what they are doing there to help thousands in their city and most importantly introducing them to Jesus Christ.

The reason I visited Henderson Hills this weekend was to see the Campbells and to learn about the ministry Mark oversees but also to visit with their pastor.  Eight years ago Henderson Hills was in many ways where First Baptist Denton is today.  They had purchased land and were planning to move their facilities to that land.  It has now been about five years since they moved.  I was able to gain some great insight into the process they went through to make that happen.  It was good to hear from someone who has been right where we are and is now on the other side of that process.

For the first time in years I'm actually still watching the Rangers this late in the season!  It looks like they are going to make the playoffs for the first time in a long time.  If you have been keeping up with the Rangers you know their theme this year is "Its Time!"  I would agree, it's time for the Rangers to do something other than just play 162 games and then go play golf.  All Summer long as I have heard those advertisements on television and at the few games I have attended I have thought that needs to be the theme of First Baptist Church.  "It's Time" for us to move toward the future God has for us as a church.

I'm looking forward to being back with you on September 19th and moving toward that future that God has for us as a church.

Don't miss Dr. Wayne Blankenship this coming Sunday.  He is a significant part of the wonderful history of First Baptist Denton and I know you are going to enjoy hearing him preach. 

BACK TO SCHOOL

This is a year of "lasts" at the Williams house.  It's really already begun and today was a major one.  For the past sixteen years I have taken a picture of Ryan or Alyssa or both of them at the front door on the first day of school.  I asked Tami last night if we had all of those pictures and she assured me we do although I wasn't totally convinced!  This morning I did if for the last time.  Of course it was just Alyssa although we have threatened to drive to Stillwater and take Ryan's picture at the front door of his Frat house!  Today marks the last first day of school at the Williams' house.  Hard to believe really, but another one of those last milestones has arrived. 

Some of the "lasts" that await us throughout this year I'm looking forward to.  Like the last Cheerleader car wash that took place a couple of weeks ago!  Others I'm not really looking forward to like the picture this morning.  Of course they are all a part of life and the transitions that take place along the way.  I'm proud of Alyssa and all she has accomplished and I hope she has a great senior year at Ryan High School.

I went to Grace Pointe church yesterday right here in Denton.  Grace Pointe was started about five years ago by my friend David Smith who was pastor of FBC Corinth for 9 years.  The church meets in the former Heroes Party space on Mayhill road.  David is a great pastor and is leading a growing church here in Denton.

Next Sunday I will be at the Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma.  I will be staying with Mark and Alesia Campbell, former members of First Denton.  Mark is now on staff at Henderson Hills.  I'm especially excited about visiting this church and spending some time with their pastor and staff because about 8 years ago they were right where we are today as a church.  They have since relocated their entire church facility and are growing and ministering in their city.  I'm looking forward to hearing how they did it!

I'm doing some more writing this week and beginning to prepare for the sermon series I will begin on September 19th "Heroes for Today."  Thanks for your prayers.  I'm looking forward to seeing you on September 19th, don't miss that day at First Baptist!

Only Four Weeks to Go

     Just four weeks from this Sunday I will be back in the pulpit at First Baptist!  It's been a great journey for me and I'm so thankful for the First Baptist Family for allowing me to take it.
     The last two Sundays have been ones of great contrast for me.  On Sunday August 8th Tami and I were in Memphis, Tennessee.  We attended two churches on Sunday morning.  The first was Germantown Baptist Church.  We were there for the second Sunday of their new pastor's ministry there.  We then went to the 11:00 service at Bellevue Baptist Church.  If you are not familiar with Bellevue this is the church that Dr. Adrian Rodgers was pastor of for 32 years.  The street out in front of the church is now named after him!  Do you think they would ever change Malone street to Williams Avenue!?  I doubt it!  Anyway it is one of the great churches of America.  Over 5000 were in worship that morning.  We had a great time visiting with the pastor and his family and then I had the opportunity to meet with him on Monday.  It was a great trip and I learned some valuable things that I believe we can use in ministry here in Denton. 
     I said the last two Sundays involved contrast.  Yesterday Ryan and I attended worship in one of our country churches here in Denton county.  There were about 40 people in the worship service.  As I sat in that service with the memory of being with thousands the week earlier my primary thought was it doesn't matter the size of the room or the number of people, you can worship our great God wherever you are.  Those 40 people in that country church, without all the modern technology and professionalism of the larger church, worshiped God just as fervently and enthusiastically.  By the way the pastor, who is a friend of mine delivered a great message as well.  He has been there for 14 years!  He truly is a devoted pastor and preacher.
     This week I will be doing some more writing and also praying more about God's vision for First Baptist. I'm really getting excited about what God is telling me about the future of First Baptist.  I'll share more about that in the weeks and months to come.  Thank you for your prayers I"m praying for you! 

The Dog Days of Summer

Can you believe how hot it is?  I played golf yesterday with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicholas and Gary Player, better known as Jim Cupstid, Jim Radar and Richard Corley!  You talk about hot!  But we had a great time together.

It really is the dog days of summer but school is about to begin and that means a new church year as well!
Mark Caswell, our Student Minister will be preaching the next three Sundays getting you ready for the beginning of that new church year.  Mark is a tremendous speaker and I know you are going to be blessed by his messages.

Other than golf, I've had a great week.  I met with Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas today and had a great conversation with him.  It was good to hear how God is blessing that church with a sort of rebirth of buildings and ministries.  Dr. Jeffress helped me to see a lot of similarities between First Denton and First Dallas that I think will help us as we move into the next 5-7 years.

I visited First Presbyterian Church of Dallas and Incarnate Episcopalian Church this past Sunday.  I had never been to either of those denominations.  Both services were enjoyable and gave me a different perspective of worship.

This weekend I will be traveling to Memphis, Tennessee.  On Sunday I will visit the great Bellvue Baptist Church and Germantown Baptist as well.  On Monday I will meet with Dr. Steve Gaines the pastor who followed Adrian Rodgers at Bellvue. 

I'll be back in town on Tuesday and plan to do some more writing the rest of the week.
I hope you are staying cool, don't miss Mark Caswell's message this coming Sunday. 

HALFWAY POINT

Can you believe it!  We have reached the halfway point of the sabbatical.  In some respects it has gone by really fast but in others it has begun to slow down a great deal.  I can honestly say after almost six weeks now I have begun to really relax.  I can't thank you enough for allowing me this time at this point in my life.  It has proven to be an even greater blessing than I anticipated.

Yesterday I visited Bent Tree Bible Fellowship and Prestonwood Baptist Church.  These two great churches are right across the street from each other so it was very easy for me to attend both services.  They are both doing great things both at home and around the world.  I was especially impressed with Bent Tree's missions ministry.  They have sent over 470 people on 45 different mission trips around the world this year!  I enjoyed their worship service as well.  Quite different from what we are accustomed to at First Denton but a great experience.  I have been to Prestonwood many times in the past and enjoyed their worship as well.  Dr. Robert Sloan president of Houston Baptist University was the speaker. The only negative about visiting these churches in the summer is that so many of their senior pastors are not there!  But I still enjoyed both services yesterday. 

This week I'm going to be doing a little local "traveling."  Tuesday I'm going to a Baylor function in Ft. Worth and Thursday Tami and I are taking Alyssa on a college visit.  The rest of the time I will be doing some more writing and reading.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers and thank you for the prayer cards.  I am reading several every day, it is a highlight of my morning to read your wonderful notes.  Have a great week!

First Baptist Dallas

Tami, Ryan and I had the opportunity to worship at First Baptist Church in Dallas yesterday.  It was the first time I have been to a service there in over thirty years.  I have been to luncheons in the past few years but not to a service.  Our motivation for going yesterday was to hear their pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress and to hear Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy the real life parents portrayed in the movie The Blind Side.  We went to the 9:30 service which is the second of three and is held in what they call CenterStage as opposed to their historic sanctuary. 

The Tuohy's only spoke for about 10 minutes but I was impressed and inspired by their message.  It was simple, make a difference in someones life.  You may not be able to adopt a 6'6" 320lb African American teenager but you can make a difference in someones life every day.  They have written a book "In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving."  I'll warn you it's not a book about Michael Oher and their experiences with him, instead its a book about their lives and how they have tried to make a difference.  They were also featured on the cover of the USA Weekend magazine that came in the Sunday paper.  In that article they list 21 ways you can make a difference in someones life.  Sounds like what a church should be to me!  Making a difference in the lives of people.  Let me challenge you this week to make a difference in someones life.  It doesn't have to be a huge thing, just something simple that will make their day a little easier. 

This week I will be doing some more writing and spending time with God seeking His will for our church in the next 5-7 years.  I'm already getting excited about some of the things I believe He is beginning to reveal to me.  Please pray with me for God's vision, direction and plan for First Baptist Church.  Stay cool and have a great week!

Getting Down to Business!

After traveling for two weeks and getting things in order last week I'm excited about getting down to the business of writing this week.  I will be spending most of my time organizing and beginning the process of working on my book idea.  Many of you have asked what the book is going to be about.  The answer is the Family.  You might remember I did a series on the family about two years ago.  My plan is to take that series, and expand upon it. 

I visited two churches this past Sunday.  I went to mass at the Catholic church and I went to a United Methodist Church.  Both were certainly different from what I am accustomed to at First Baptist but both had elements that helped me to worship and experience God in new ways.  I was somewhat surprised at the similarity of the two, although the Catholic church was a bit more liturgical and formal there were certainly those elements in the Methodist service as well.  I managed to slip in and out at the Catholic church unnoticed but not the Methodist!  I saw several people I knew and got some confused looks which made it even more fun. 

I know you are going to enjoy hearing Dr. Randall Everett this coming Sunday.  Dr. Everett has led our Baptist General Convention of Texas for over a year now and has brought great leadership in a time of great change and challenge in denominational life.  Don't miss Dr. Everett this Sunday!

Home at Last

Tami and I arrived home Sunday night hoping to see the Denton fireworks only to find they were on Saturday night!  Thankfully some people in our neighborhood ignored the ban on fireworks in the city of Denton and we had a pretty good show.

After two weeks of travel it's good to be home.  Tami and I had a great time getting away together for the first time in many years!  I highly recommend parents that you take a trip without kids whenever possible, it will bless your life!

For the remainder of the this week I will be getting ready to speak at Mini-Camp at Camp Copass.  For the past several years this has been something I look forward to with great anticipation.  I will also begin this week to work on my book.  I hope to at least begin to get my thoughts together to begin researching and putting together what I hope to accomplish.  I'm also looking forward to spending time in prayer seeking God's vision for FBCD in the years to come. 

Thank you for your prayers for safety during my travel.  I won't be traveling again for a few weeks.  Pray this week that God will give guidance and wisdom as I begin to study and pray for your First and Second graders as they attend mini-camp. 

Back From Haiti

It was good to be back in Denton after seven days in Haiti.  I can personally testify that the earthquake damage is even worse than you have seen and heard on television.  Tens of thousands of people are living in tent cities across Port Au Prince, hundreds of buildings are piles of rubble and the Haitian people say the death toll is closer to 300,000 rather than the 200,000 we have heard.  In the midst of that destruction our team made a difference in the lives of several people.  They worked in the orphanage, cleared about four feet of rubble from a destroyed houses foundation so it can now be built back and brought a great deal of encouragement to Jacob and Claudette Bernard.  Our team of 23 was fantastic.  Not a word of complaining about cold showers or food they are not accustomed to.  We were blessed to be staying in the moutainous area this time.  I never thought I would need a blanket at night in Haiti but I did several nights!  Each and every adult and high school student worked extemely hard each day and as a result came back changed.  Many are already looking forward to a return trip.  John Hinchey will be talking about the trip on a Wednesday night at WEBS in the near future. 
Tami and I are on an anniversary celebration trip this week.  Next week I will begin visiting churches.  I will let you know how it goes then. 

What a Send Off!

When I planned my sabbatical leave I knew I didn't want to miss Vacation Bible School.  In twenty-one years as a pastor and several years before that I have never missed VBS.  I'm so glad I didn't again this year.  It was a fantastic week with hundreds of kids and workers.  The greatest number was 42, that's the number of kids that made professions of faith on Wednesday morning, the highlight of the week for me.  This year Chris Barfield brought some great new ideas.  One of which was my favorite.  At family night Brad Cockrell and I baptized 11 of those kids!  I now have a new highlight of the week! 

This morning 23 of us left for Haiti.  We will be there until Saturday June 26th.  Please pray for safety and opportunities to share Jesus with the people there.  I won't be able to post until I return so I will get back with you next Saturday. 

Proud Dad

Most parents say they are proud of their kids and for good reason.  But I promise you there is no one more proud of their kids that me.  Recently they have both done things to continue to make me proud.

Ryan just this week completed his sophomore year at Oklahoma State University.  He has earned almost 70 hours of credit and has maintained a good GPA.  He is on track to receive his degree in four years!  Which I really need him to do because his sister starts college in just over a year!  While going to school and making good grades Ryan has also walked on to the OSU football team.  This past February for the third time he went to the tryout and made it!  He did spring football with the team and will be on the roster this Fall.  It's his tenacity and never give up attitude that I am especially proud of.  Even if he never plays a down in a game he has accomplished a great deal and I believe that trait will take him far in life.

Alyssa will finish her Junior year at Ryan High School in just a few weeks.  This coming Friday she and I are going to Baylor  for an official visit for her.  This July she will make application to Baylor and in just 15 months hopefully she will be a Bear!  I can't wait for her to fall in love with Baylor as I did 27 years ago!  She already has 6 hours of college credit and will earn some more her senior year.  For the fourth time Alyssa tried out for and made the cheer leading squad at Ryan.  Next year she will be the captain of the varsity squad!  Her leadership skills are great and I'm looking forward to watching her lead and encourage the other girls this next year.  And by the way that makes me the "Cheerleader Captain Daddy!"  That's a role I am proud to have.

Well as you can see I have a lot to be proud of and those are just a few of the reasons I'm proud of my kids!