The camera zooms in for a barrage of close-up shots. You hear swords clanging, guns cocking, and body armor strapping. The snare drums rattle, and the music swells.  Finally, the camera pulls back, and there he is– the hero fully locked and loaded. He’s ready for battle, weapon in hand, tools and ammo strapped to his chest, as he gloriously stares into the distance.  Every good action movie has one of these montages. They’re cliché for a reason. They excite you as a viewer and let you know that fights, explosions, and bravery are just around the corner.  And just like the action movie hero, Paul paints a picture in Ephesians 6:10-20 of a Christian suiting up for battle “against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians...

Dear First Baptist Family, I need to share some frustrating news. I am writing to you from the hospital, waiting for an operating room to open up, and I will have surgery as soon as one does. The good news is that my brain is in good shape. I’m experiencing no spasms, no nerve pain, and no neurological symptoms of any kind. This continues to be good news about the ultimate success of my last brain surgery. The problem I am confronting is that after so many surgeries, the flesh around my scalp is not healing properly, and now my wound has ruptured, and that rupture must be repaired. The surgery team is going to do that with an operation that will add grafts to the damaged layers and resew the wound. This operation will not be fun, but it is also not brain surgery. The recovery will be much...

I love summertime. Getting away on summer vacation (or staycation!). The smell of burgers on the grill. The giggles of kids in the sprinkler in the backyard. The smell of smoke after the fireworks. The crack of the bat against the baseball. And – of course – getting lost in a good book. Summer is often like a deep breath between the busyness of spring and fall, a reset of sorts. I want to encourage you this summer to cultivate the habit of reading so that you’ll keep it going throughout the second half of this year. Here are a few tips to help you pick up the wonderful habit of reading this summer: Read Something Fun, Fascinating, and Fruitful. I am a pastor. Most of my reading intake involves commentaries, theology books, and other non-fiction works. So, during the summers, I try to change...

For several years I served as a minister of music and youth. We call this Student Ministry now. It was not in my natural disposition to be a “wild and crazy” youth pastor. I have always been a bit more serious than that. But I did my best to fit the prototype of youth ministry frivolity when the role called for it. And this included singing silly songs (sometimes “with Larry,” if you remember him). One of those songs that continues to be somewhat popular today is the “Fruit of the Spirit Song.” (You can find this on YouTube if you need a refresher.) The fruit of the Spirit’s not a *banana. The fruit of the Spirit’s not a banana. If you want to be a banana, you might as well hear it. You can’t be a fruit of the Spirit. Cause the fruit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,...

Revival is a mighty work of God where he saves the lost and sanctifies the saved in surprising numbers. This message has been boldly proclaimed for weeks as our church continues to preach through the book of Acts. Here at First Baptist, we have been praying that God would do this mighty work in our congregation, and in the city of Jacksonville, all for his glory. We want to see every man, woman, and child come to know and follow Jesus Christ as Lord. However, in order for revival to happen, we need godly fathers who will stand up and lead their families in worshiping our great Savior.   Now, please hear me, we also need godly mothers, single women, single men, teens, grandparents, great grandparents, and everyone else in between to be engaged. Revival is a work of God that involves all the...

No Frills In my family, when we want the honest, straightforward assessment of a situation without any sugar coating, we often ask for a “no-frills assessment.” Well, after the conclusion of the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in 2023, I want to share a no-frills assessment of where I believe Southern Baptists are in the aftermath. Southern Baptists are People of Great Conviction The issue garnering the most attention in advance of the convention meeting was the one of female pastors. As messengers gathered in New Orleans, they were asked to decide whether Saddleback Community Church, led by Rick Warren, could remain part of the Southern Baptist Convention after the church installed female pastors in clear violation of The Baptist Faith and Message (BFM). No one knew for...