Pastor's Blog: Servant Sermons
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“Servant Sermons”
I have so appreciated our church’s response to the changes we have made in our Deacon Ordination service. What seems to have connected with our membership most of all are the Deacon testimonies, where each of the ordinands shares a brief word on what the church has meant to him or her. I know I am better for hearing these heartfelt expressions. They remind me of how a congregation is always forming its members and the many ways the Holy Spirit is ever working in our midst.
This year’s ordination service will be this Sunday, January 21, at 10 a.m. It will be our last combined service for some time. We’ll hear from six new deacons: Chris Burch, Linda Cale, Sara Compton, Andrew Loveman, Clyde McCain, and Sean McMillan. We’ll also be recognizing three Life Deacons: Rachel Hubbard, Lamar White, and June Whitlow – whose exemplary service to our church over the years deserves such recognition. As in years past, it will be a banner day in the life of Mountain Brook Baptist Church.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. You’ll have a chance to see and hear firsthand the quality of leadership God has provided our church, not only through these new Deacons, but also in reflecting upon the character and commitment of all our servant leaders. No organization can move beyond the capacity of its leadership. Fortunately, we have a stellar group of servant leaders at MBBC and our future possibilities are limitless because of it. As you participate this Sunday, I encourage you to be thinking about how God might inspire you to serve in the place you occupy in our church, even as I will be doing, so that together we can move ahead in living out our church’s mission to “love God and live with grace and generosity,” which is a servant sermon that everyone would be better for hearing
“Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:13).