What Kind of Fish Hook?

What kind of fish hook should a person use in order to catch fish? If you are not a fisherman you might not ever give that a thought. If, however, you want to catch fish, it does make a difference. Are you fishing freshwater or saltwater? It makes a difference. You might not have even known fish hooks have sizes. Weird, the larger the hook number, the smaller the hook. Then when you go the other way, as the aught gets bigger the hooks get bigger. Are you fishing for trout or tuna? Ok, you know this is not a fishing lesson…especially from a guy that does not fish. Then what is it about? We are, as Jesus said, fishers of men. That is part of our calling as disciples, followers of Jesus. Sometimes we are fishing for little fish and sometimes we are fishing for the BIG one. We do not always use the same size hooks or the same kind of bait. The Gospel is always the same, but the methods vary depending on who we are going after.

Much of our fishing for men is done in what we call the “Community”. Most of the people in our community are not that interested in organized religion. So offering Bible Studies is not great bait for them. What might interest them is a Fall Festival where families can come to have fun in a family friendly environment. Another way to attract “Community” is our Weekday Preschool Ministry. Laura Holmes and her team do a great job of providing reasonably priced child care in a loving environment. Celebrate Recovery is a unique type of hook trying to reach people who are ready to change and recognize that Jesus Christ is the Higher Power. Those are three different types of “fish” requiring three different types of “hooks” but all of them motivated by the same Gospel.

What I love about our JIBC family is that you are fishing all over our community, using a variety of hooks and a variety of “baits and lures”. As you follow Jesus he leads you to sprits outings, to coach teams, to join clubs, go to events, watch ballgames…all places where we can find all types of “fishes”.

We have been commissioned by our Lord Jesus to go into the entire world and catch fish…to be fishers of men and to make them disciples. Keep up the great work.

Dear Father, I pray for your people known as James Island Baptist. May we be faithful to your call to become fishers of men. Give us wisdom, compassion, eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts ready for action. May there be a bigger catch this year than ever before. May we have the joy that comes from seeing changed lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THANKSGIVING?

I have been asked by a few people about the next mission trip to Louisiana. I am not sure when I will be making the next trip. I am sure about when Charles and Judy could use some help…Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving this year is Thursday, November 25. I feel quite sure Charles would love to have a team come to help pray for, pray with, cook, serve, give out Bibles etc.

Right after Katrina hit New Orleans 16 years ago, we had a big crew that cooked complete Thanksgiving Meals then we took the food to New Orleans and fed the masses! This trip may be a little different. I don’t believe Janie and I will be making this trip. But we would be glad to help plan and coordinate a trip for anyone interested in going.

Charles and Judy are currently working in LaFitte, Louisiana. That is right at 800 miles away which translates to about a 12- 14 hour drive each way. The last group that drove agreed that it really should be a two day drive and not just a one day drive.

JIBC might be sending the funds to help purchase some Thanksgiving Meals. So there should be no food to transport. They could always use help cooking, serving and loving on people. This would be a great trip if you have a desire to go. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up. If you want to go and need some help connecting with Charles, let me know. We will be glad to provide a support network.

We are still trying to provide Charles Dillon with some of the supplies and equipment he needs to carry on his work. If you would like to know more about going and how you could help, please contact me at tombrown41@comcast.net or 843.762.0244.

God has blessed Charles with great contacts with the Mayor of LaFitte, the Chief of a Native American tribe in the area and over a dozen pastors’. It sounds to me like Charles has found the place for the base of his mission of mercy. Let’s pray for and continue to support Charles and Judy Dillon.

Blessings in His Name,

Pastor Tom

FALL FESTIVAL #36

It is hard to believe we have been hosting the Fall Festival for 36 years. We started back in 1985. It has become a part of our culture. Again, let me walk through the vision and the mission of Fall Festival. We started this outreach event as a positive alternative for families. I know there are lots of people, JIBC families included, that love Halloween. It can be a fun day for families. Any way you look at it, the origins of Halloween has a dark side to it. Realistically, I know one could make the case that Halloween has evil origins connected with it. I also know one could make the case of how the Roman Catholic Church tried to influence and change the day into a day to remember their dead. This became connected to All Saints Day. I realize this is a very simplistic explanation. I could go much deeper into the specifics. I at least admire the Roman Catholic Church for trying to overshadow a day they viewed as evil or at least not helpful. Sacrificing to deities is a good way to bring down wrath!

When some of us were growing up, we made no association with Halloween except as the bonanza day for getting enough candy to last the rest of the year! In my neighborhood, you basically dressed up as a ghost or a mummy…or anything else a sheet could be used for. As the years went by, there were horrific crimes done on this particular day: candy being spiked, treats that were meant to do harm, children being harmed in various ways. It no longer seemed safe to send children to the homes of strangers to ask for treats. I know, I know, this is such an extreme position for what so many see as a harmless day of fun.

So, let’s get biblical: This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. We do not have to surrender any day to the devil or to evil. And we do not live in fear. We go head to head with Halloween by offering a positive alternative for families. There is no doubt that any child wanting to get candy can get more than enough at the JIBC Fall Festival. In addition, they can have a couple of hours of fun playing games, enjoying the atmosphere, winning candy and prizes, having a meal, listening to great music…all in as safe an environment as we can provide.

This is the largest community outreach event of the year for JIBC. It is an opportunity to love on the community and to meet a need for positive, wholesome fun! To make this year a success we need three things: prayer, volunteers and lots of candy! If you have never been to one of our Fall Festivals, please come and check it out. Volunteer at one of the booths for one or more shifts. We still have several slots to be filled. Pick up a bag of candy this week…especially if you see a “BOGO”.

Thanks for loving the community! See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

What’s in a name?

Mr. Shakespeare, in one of his most well known works, Romeo and Juliet, says: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. What is in a name? Often time it is quite a lot, good or bad. Other times a name is just a name, a handle by which someone is known or called. I mentioned a while back that Southern Baptist were putting forth the idea of a name change. The thought was to change from “Southern Baptist” to “Great Commission Baptist”. For two reasons I think that is not a bad idea. First, we have long since left the region of “southern” as the place we live and breathe and do the work God called us to do. We really are “Global Baptist” more than we are Southern Baptist. The name Great Commission Baptist does help identify who we are and at the very same time remind us of what our mission is to be. Second, try as we might, it is very hard to remove ourselves from our roots. Our start as Southern Baptist was only a little about missions and a lot about slavery. So, what’s in a name?

Well, let’s take a look at the name Great Commission Baptist. Did you know that as Baptists we have given over $5 Billion to international missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering? That does not include what was given through the Co-operative Program for International Mission Support. This year, concerning International Missions, we have approved 422 New Missionaries; have engaged 247 New People Groups; saw 86,587 Baptisms; welcomed 144,322 New Believers; and have planted 18,380 new churches. That really does sound like Great Commission Baptist. The Southern Baptist Convention/Great Commission Baptist, consist of 47,000 churches in North America. When we cooperate, we can do missions together that makes an impact around the world. A rose by any other name still smells the same. My prayer is that whatever we call the rose known as Southern Baptist/Great Commission Baptist, we will still make the same world wide effort to make disciples who make disciples that change the world. The lost person does not care much if we are called “southern” or “great commission”. They do care that we shared Good News about Jesus Christ, brought hope, lived out our love for God and people.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15.

It is not too early to start thinking of making an offering to the Lottie Moon International Mission Offering this Christmas season. Can’t believe I said the word Christmas before Thanksgiving.

Pastor Tom