A View from the Gulf: The Perspective of a Local Seaman

Several weeks ago when the Deepwater Horizon explosion triggered an oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, those who live on along the coast and around the country began praying for containment and clean-up of the oil. Many, like me, also began getting better educated about the oil industry and the specific ways this industry functions in the Gulf.

In the past two months, as I have read or listened to a variety of perspectives and scenarios from politicians, media commentators, BP executives, and “expert” analysts, I have been curious to hear the perspectives and opinions of those who work jobs related to the oil industry in the Gulf.

I learned in Sociology 101 that all of us have a bias in our perspective. Biases are not a bad thing. We simply must be aware of a person’s bias in order to better understand and interpret where that person is coming from. For example, politicians are biased toward the interests of their constituency. Media personalities have a vested interest presenting news in a way that captures public attention and elevates the ratings of their network. BP Executives are charged with framing and re-shaping the public relations image of their company and restoring profitability once this crisis is over. Expert analysts are interested in making a persuasive argument that could perhaps lead to other invitations to share their insight. And those who work in the oil industry would likely be biased toward preserving their jobs.

With awareness of those biases, I wanted to hear from someone who works in the Gulf, someone who depends on the oil industry for their livelihood, and someone whom I could trust to give honest straightforward answers to my questions without being concerned about constituency or public image.

I contacted Adam, one of the young men in our church, who is a devoted father and husband, and who has a perspective that is based on firsthand experience. Adam is an experienced seaman who is away from his family and our church for weeks at a time to do his job. I asked Adam several questions and he gave straight answers. Here are my questions and his responses:

Barry: What are your primary job responsibilities and how do they relate to the Oil Industry?
Adam: I work on a 285 foot supply boat. My job title is Able Body Seaman (AB). My job responsibilities are to keep the outside area of the boat in ship-shape, which entails painting, rust removal, handling of boat’s mooring lines (tying and untying the boat), and numerous other jobs. When at the rigs, I have to do the rigging of deck cargo. I work with the crane operator in getting the cargo from the boat to the rig’s floor. Sometimes it can be an easy job; at other times when the seas are rough it can be scary and sometimes dangerous. Our boat carries everything that a rig needs to drill for oil and natural gas. We provide all supplies, from the food for the platform crew to the liquid mud used to hold the oil down when they strike it.

Barry: How much time do you spend in the Gulf and what is your typical work schedule?
Adam: It seems like sometimes this is my home. Normally I work 28 days on the boat and 14 off. Here recently the company has put us on a 2 week on / 2 week off schedule. It didn’t have anything to do with the spill in the Gulf. This was done before the spill. My company recently sent a lot of their boats down to work in Brazil. They are waiting on the arrival of three new boats being built before putting us back to our regular schedule. But I don’t know yet how the oil spill in the Gulf may affect us. We normally work 12 hour shifts and our boat sleeps about 35 people.

Barry: What kind of marine life do you typically see?
Adam: While at sea, we do see various types of marine life such as dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, assorted fish, and birds. We’ve even seen a whale shark that came right up to the boat. A couple of months ago a sea hawk flew up on our back deck and stayed awhile. The rig we are currently working is about 9 hours (90 miles) from the dock which is in Fusion, Louisiana. We haven’t seen a lot of the oil spill because we are about 30 miles south of where the Deepwater Horizon was. Most of the oil seems to be going north.

Barry: How has your work changed since the Deepwater Horizon accident?
Adam: Since the accident things for us haven’t changed much. It’s not to say that changes are not on the way. If things continue to go as they seem to be going, change will be here before we know it and I don’t think it will be good.

Barry: What is the atmosphere and mood among your co-workers?
Adam: Everyone around here is a little scared about the possibility of their jobs going away….even if they wouldn’t admit it. We are all trying to keep our heads up and praying that this huge mess we are in the middle of goes away.

Barry: What are your fears and concerns about public perceptions of the oil industry?
Adam: I know everyone is upset about the crisis in the Gulf. I believe the last thing they should want is for the oil companies to leave the Gulf and go overseas. I don’t think the public would really want this in the long run. We need to keep drilling in our waters and keep our dependence on other countries down.

Barry: Do you think the efforts to achieve containment and cleanup of the current spill are being managed well? Do you have ideas about how containment and clean-up efforts could be managed more effectively?
Adam: I don’t think it was handled right from the start – from the putting out of the fire to what we have going on today. From the start we had too much red tape and Homeland Security involvement. We should have gotten what we needed when we needed it. For example, the big filter boats should have been brought in at the beginning. At least we could have been sucking up the oil from the start. It was crazy to refuse help from abroad. I believe that the people overseeing these affairs should have acted quicker.

Barry: Do you believe that drilling in the Gulf can continue in a way that is safe for the environment? Why?
Adam: Of course I believe drilling in the Gulf waters is not as safe as it can be. We can definitely do more, even as individuals, to keep our Gulf waters clean. I have seen dumping of soluble materials from the rigs. I’m pretty sure that somehow it has to have a negative effect on the Gulf, but what that effect is, I don’t know for sure. If they are putting this stuff in the Gulf, someone has told them it is okay to do so. What I do know is the company I work for is doing our part to help keep it clean. For example, we have a zero pollution policy which means zero discharge. We don’t put or discharge anything from the boat into the water. Everything is brought back to the dock for proper disposal.

Barry: What are some of the safety standards in place in your work environment?
Adam: On my boat we conduct weekly safety meetings and “drills.” We have drills on everything from fire safety to fuel spills. We try to cover all that is needed to keep us and the environment safe.

Barry: You are a resident of the Gulf Coast. How do you think we can balance utilizing and preserving the vast resources of the Gulf?
Adam: This is a question I will have to give more thought to. It is a difficult balance to achieve, but necessary for the quality of life as we know it.

Barry: Are there other things you want the public to know about your work, the oil industry, or oil drilling in the Gulf?
Adam: To do this job you have to be Coast Guard Certified and hold a license for each position you hold on the boat. You must go through a rigorous government and law enforcement background check. During my career in this industry I have experienced many things including two trips by boat to Africa where piracy remains a serious threat. I do sacrifice time from my family, but my job provides a living for my family and a product for the public that is a consumer driven need.

Among the many opinions about managing the oil spill crisis, the risks of the drilling in the Gulf, and the long-impact on the coastal economy, there are many good seamen like Adam who do their work with integrity, and whose lives and careers are uniquely impacted by this crisis. This conversation is too important for their voice not to be heard.


(Barry Howard serves as senior minister at First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. Adam Gafford is an Able Body Seaman who is employed by a family-based company out of Des Allemands, Louisiana.)

A Prayer for Independence Day 2010

Freedom-loving and grace-giving God, you have given us the privilege and the responsibility of living in the most resourceful land in the world. From sea to shining sea most of us enjoy unprecedented freedom, comfortable homes, regular meals, preferred vocations, and unique religious liberty.

As we give thanks for the numerous blessings associated with living in this great country, we are aware that we live in a season of heightened anxiety. Our military men and women are engaged in multiple international conflicts. Our economy is slow to emerge from the recent recession. Many are unemployed. We are facing an oil spill crisis in the Gulf. And we are lacking consensus on major issues.

These concerns remind us of our need to confess our sins, individually and collectively, and to follow your plan for living with purpose and integrity.

We confess that we have too often taken our freedom for granted and we have too frequently neglected the responsibilities of our citizenship.

We confess that we are often too quick to criticize and too slow to intercede.

We confess that our selfish interests have too often taken priority over our interests in the common good of our nation and for our world.

We confess that we have been negligent in our stewardship of health and wealth, often expending and consuming carelessly when we should be managing carefully, investing wisely, and sharing generously.

We confess that we have too often trusted in our own initiatives and ingenuity more than we have trusted in you.

We pray with the psalmist, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:1-3)

Therefore, as we prepare to celebrate this Independence Day, we ask you to, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

On this day, we pray for our President and for all of the leaders of our nation, our state, and our community that they will lead with moral courage, bipartisan cooperation, and astute wisdom.

We pray for the men and women who serve in our nation’s military that they will perform their humanitarian mission with effectiveness and precision, complete their assignments, and return home safely and soon.

We pray for our enemies that their swords, and ours, will be “turned into plowshares.”

We pray for the churches, cathedrals, and temples of our nation and our community that we will be dispensaries of grace and mercy, living our convictions with consistency, engaging in our discourse with civility, and fulfilling our ministries with hospitality.

Because you are the freedom-loving and grace-giving God, lead us to exercise our freedom responsibly and to pursue “liberty and justice for all” your children around the globe, especially the “least of these.”

We present our prayer in the strong name of Jesus, the one who personifies the truth that makes us free indeed. Amen.

Celebrate July 4th: Exercise Your Freedom to Worship

July 4th falls on Sunday this year. Where will you be this Sunday morning?

Independence Day falls on Sunday only every few years. The last time this occurred was 2004. The next time July 4th falls on our designated day of worship will be in 2021.

While many of us have appropriate plans in place to celebrate our nation’s independence with picnics, barbeques, ice cream, and fireworks, one of the most fitting ways to celebrate Independence Day this year is to exercise our freedom to worship.

Our Baptists ancestors were among the many who contended for religious liberty for all faiths. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States confirms that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

As citizens of these United States, we enjoy greater freedoms than any people group on earth. In light of our religious liberty, let us pray fervently for those who live in regions subject to harsh religious persecution. As we freely choose where to spend July 4th, let us remember our brothers and sisters who will gather anxiously but faithfully in underground churches, taking risks unfamiliar to me in order to worship God and gather with their fellow believers.

From my perspective, joining regularly with other believers to worship nurtures spiritual growth, fosters moral character, and encourages humanitarian service. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, “Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer." (CEV)

Of all Sundays to neglect gathering with other believers, failing to prioritize worship on Sunday July 4th is to trivialize the tremendous price paid for our freedom to assemble and worship God without fear of reprisal or repercussion. Perhaps the worst expression of historical amnesia is the tendency to take freedom for granted.

I think we best celebrate and preserve our freedom by exercising our freedom. This Sunday is Independence Day. Whether you are at home or traveling, I hope you are making plans for a fun day of celebration with family and friends. I hope you will take time to give thanks for our great heritage and to pray for our nation’s leaders and country’s future. Most importantly, I hope you will celebrate July 4th by exercising your freedom to worship.

Live from Pensacola

Today is Saturday June 26, 2010. The sun is shining, the waves are rolling, the sand is white, and the water is mostly clear at Pensacola Beach. If it were not for the large number of dump trucks, tractors, media vans, haz-mat tents, and occasional tar balls, a visitor would not know that earlier this week the beach was closed due to a massive wash-up of messy brown sludge from the oil spill in the Gulf.

Although I’m sure the crowds are down, I was glad to seeing that parking lots were mostly full, lines were forming outside of local restaurants, and traffic coming toward the beach was heavy.

Friends who have reservations along the Gulf Coast have been calling to ask whether they should cancel their reservation or come on down. While I don’t want anyone to come to the coast to be miserable, my best advice is to “come on down.”

There are at least five good reasons I think those having reservations on the Gulf should consider keeping their plans in place:

1. Most hotels, property owners, and real estate companies are offering unprecedented guarantees. If there is a major influx of oil prior to or during your stay, you should receive a full or partial refund.
2. The seafood is still some of the best in the world. Today we ate at Peg Leg Pete’s, one of our many favorite local establishments. A large part of the Gulf is still open for fishing, so the shrimp, the oysters, and the grouper were all harvested from Gulf waters. I am convinced that the Gulf seafood is safe, but for those with doubts, many local markets are also carrying farm-raised fresh water shrimp, as well as Atlantic and Pacific seafood.
3. Resort swimming pools offer a safe, oil-free alternative. Our friends who were vacationing in Gulf Shores two weeks ago enjoyed the beauty of the Gulf for the first two days of their trip. On day three, the brown sludge came ashore. As the Gulfront was being cleaned, a few miles of the beach was closed to swimming for a couple of days. During the brief closure, their family simply spent more time with children and grandchildren around the pool, time that became a highlight of their vacation.
4. There are many sites and attractions in addition to the beach. All along the coast there are waterparks, arcades, shopping malls, golf courses, tennis courts, and movie theatres. The Naval Air Museum in Pensacola is a must-see. The Wharf in Gulf Shores offers a variety of concerts. In Gulf Shores, Alabama or Gulf Breeze, Florida your family can spend a day at the zoo learning about animals from around the world. Rafting and kayaking trips are available in area state parks. In other words, you can have a fun week on the Gulf Coast, even if the beach is temporarily inaccessible.
5. The price is right. Many hotels, condo owners, and property management companies are offering properties at significantly discounted prices. As we continue to emerge from the recession of recent years, you can negotiate a quality beach vacation for an unusually affordable rate. Additionally, many local restaurants are offering specials similar to the “snowbird specials” that we typically see during the winter months.

Being a resident of the Gulf Coast, I am a little biased, but I think the beaches along the panhandle are among the most beautiful in the world. However, the Gulf Coast has so much more to offer than a walk on the beach. In the months ahead, I expect that we will continue to see brown blotches periodically on our white sands. But for now, that makes for a mild inconvenience.

The full impact of the oil spill on the Gulf is not yet known, and certainly there will be serious environmental consequences. However, one of the ways we counter the negative impact of the oil spill, is to focus on the venues that we as coastal residents enjoy all year long. Don’t let the spill spoil your summer vacation. Come on down and discover how many fun things you can do on the Gulf Coast.

Are Future Ministers Up to the Challenge?

by Barry Howard

This week I’ve had the privilege of sitting around the table with a distinguished group of future ministers and veteran ministers in a retreat setting as we collaborated about our sense of calling, the challenges and opportunities of the local church, and scenarios for the future. As the first session began, I found myself wondering whether these young ministers are actually up to the monumental challenges facing the church in the coming years. However, as I listened and interacted, I became convinced that many of these young ministers seated around me are better prepared for ministry than previous generations of ministers, primarily because of their participation in the Ministerial Residency Program funded by a Lily grant and administered by the Center for Ministerial Excellence.

Two years ago, the church that I serve entered a partnership with the Center for Ministerial Excellence to become a Teaching Congregation. That means for the past two years we have been host to a Ministry Resident, a recent seminary graduate who is preparing for a first call to ministry. Most of the churches I have served have provided short-term opportunities for university students to serve as interns. While internship programs are valuable in helping students explore their sense of calling, a ministerial residency actually provides opportunities for young ministers who have confirmed their calling and who have completed their theological training to serve on a church staff full-time for two years in a mentoring relationship with a veteran pastor. In the residency the young minister encounters a variety of real life ministry situations prior to moving into a first call in a local congregation.

In recent years, statistics have shown that young ministers who have a frustrating experience during their first call frequently transition from local church ministry to para-church organizations. Or, they are so overwhelmed with the challenges of church life, they leave ministry all together. I believe that a young minister who completes a residency will be better prepared to serve on a church staff with maturity and longevity.

The Ministerial Residency Program makes sense for young ministers and for congregations. My wife is a veteran school teacher. As a part of her education and preparation for becoming a teacher, early in her program she was required to spend a certain number of hours in a classroom observing interactions between the teacher and students. Then as a final step before being fully certified, she was required to complete a practicum, spending a semester working alongside a teacher in the classroom, preparing lesson plans, and doing “practice teaching.”

I have numerous friends who are respected physicians. Between the completion of their medical school training and their entry into a medical practice, physicians are required to complete a residency that typically includes a rotation in multiple areas of patient care…emergency medicine, pediatrics, oncology, geriatrics, etc. The variety of medical dilemmas addressed by the medical resident during residency prepares the young physician to enter a medical practice with sharper skills and greater confidence.

In Baptist life in particular, while ministers are not required to complete a residency prior to ordination or a first call, a residency program can provide pragmatic preparatory experiences which prepare a minister to serve effectively in the crucible of a local congregation.

In addition to our congregation becoming a Teaching Congregation who provided a place of service for a Ministry Resident, it has been my privilege to serve as a Supervising Pastor to the resident. In this mentoring relationship, our resident has experienced almost every kind of ministerial responsibility and challenge that I face as a pastor. Our resident has prepared and preached sermons, planned worship services, written columns, implemented ministry initiatives, worked with challenging people, prayed with patients who were entering surgery, counseled couples preparing for marriage, walked alongside individuals who were facing death, performed baptisms, administered the Lord’s Supper, conducted weddings, and spoken at funerals.

While I hope that I have provided a few bits of wisdom for our resident, our Ministry Resident has provided refreshing perspectives and insights to me. As a veteran pastor, it is easy to grow stale or mechanical or to become entrapped in the vacuum of meaningless traditions. Our resident has helped me, colleagues on our staff, and members of our congregation to think more creatively and to serve more passionately. And now it’s time for our resident to graduate from the ministerial residency program, and hopefully, in the near future to be called to a new assignment offering that fresh insight and energy to another congregation.

So here I sit, around the table with the Supervising Pastors and Ministry Residents, listening to their stories, feeling their anxiety, and sharing their dreams for the future. They are a diverse group. Some are young men and some are young women. Some are clergy couples. And I hear and sense their passion for ministry, their deep faith in God, their impatience with institutionalism, and their love for the local church.

I am convinced that the young ministers who have completed the Ministerial Residency Program this year are extraordinarily bright and gifted ministers who are now ready to fill the vacant ministerial positions in our churches. They are well-prepared for the challenge. The bigger question is, are our churches ready to be challenged and led by these young ministers? A church search committee would be wise to consider these young ministers as a pool of candidates with advanced standing. They are the cream of the crop and they are ready to serve.

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister in First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

Crude Lessons: What I Am Learning from the Oil Spill Crisis in the Gulf

Some of the most valuable lessons in life are learned during seasons of hardship, suffering, or adversity. Wisdom is often forged from mistakes, mishaps, and miscalculations. John Maxwell reminds us that “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.”

As our coastal community deals with the anxiety and the challenges brought on by the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf, what are the lessons we can learn that will help us be better custodians of our planet? I sense that many of us are working our way through some of the stages of grief…denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Rather than just accepting the reality of this calamity, I believe that we can be more proactive and progressive going forward. This month as our church family is focused on “Wising Up!” we are being challenged to learn from the mistakes of the past so that we can build a better future. When it comes to the realities of the oil spill, I recognize that I have a lot to learn. Although I cannot speak for everyone, here are five lessons I am in the process of learning:

1. Do not take for granted the treasure at your doorstep. I was raised in Northeast Alabama not far from Cheaha State Park, the home of Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. When friends would come to visit from other parts of the state, I was surprised that they were awestruck with the scenic vistas from the Bald Rock, Chimney Peaks, and other landmarks, sights that I took for granted because they were in my backdoor. Now I live on the Gulf Coast where I routinely walk on the world’s most beautiful beaches, enjoy fresh seafood, observe marine life and drive along scenic coastal roadways. This catastrophe reminds me that the Gulf is a natural treasure and as a coastal resident I have the privilege of enjoying it and protecting it.

2. Be a better steward of creation in the future than you’ve been in the past. In the creation story after God breathed life into human souls, God gave to humankind a stewardship responsibility over all of creation. For me, this means adopting a lifestyle that is creation-friendly. I am habitually inconsistent in my responsibility of caring for creation. There are times I would give myself an A- in creation care and others times I would rate a C+. There are many ways I can be a better, more proactive custodian of creation: Using eco-friendly products, recycling, conserving energy, and supporting and protecting green spaces like national parks, state parks, and wildlife refuges.

3. Be better informed about the energy industry. My lifestyle is energy dependent. Energy consumption is not a bad thing, but wasting energy or being dependent on unsafe and monopolistic energy systems can be damaging to our ecosystem. I am pretty well up-to-date on information technology and the most recent telecommunication devices, but I am behind the curve on my knowledge of the energy industry. I am determined to become better informed about how my lifestyle drives the system of energy production and energy consumption.

4. Be more supportive of the research and development of alternative energy sources. Please do not misunderstand. I am not anti-oil and neither am I opposed to safer methods of off-shore drilling. But I agree with oil investor T. Boone Pickens who proposes converting more oil and diesel-based systems to natural gas and other cleaner fuels. In addition to non-fossil fuels, other possible sources include solar energy, wind turbines, wave power, and geothermal energy.

5. Make decisions about energy usage based on the ultimate cost and not just the current price. I am a shopper. I love a bargain. When I am about to purchase a product…whether a new computer, a new cell phone, or a new car…I not only look for the best price, but I read product reviews, and consider quality, service, and longevity. However, when I am filling my tank with gasoline, I usually pull into the station with the lowest price without consideration of fuel quality or cleanliness. When I work toward lowering my utility bill at home, I tend to be more concerned about my monthly costs than I am about the long-term cost to the environment. I need to change my way of thinking, understanding that there may be occasions where I may need to pay more in the short term to minimize costs in the long term.

Before this saga is over, I am sure there will be many more lessons to be learned. The impact of the oil spill in the Gulf will likely linger for several years. But hopefully, the major cleanup of coastal land and waters will be completed much sooner. I hope and pray that the lessons we learn from this crisis will equip and motivate us to be more effective caretakers of the Gulf and the planet because “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1a NIV).

Crude Prospects: A Rising Tide of Anxiety Along the Gulf Coast

by Barry Howard

Out of town friends are calling daily and asking questions like “How are you guys doing with the oil situation?”, “How do the beaches look?”, and “What do you expect to happen in the coming weeks?” Here are my most recent responses: “We’re doing okay right now but folks are worried about the overall impact.” “The beaches look great this week but last week there were more tar balls.” “We’re not sure what to expect at this point because so much of the early information has been unreliable and the forecast scenarios are constantly changing.”

Today there is a rather large and nasty sheen of oil just offshore near Pensacola Beach and it is anyone’s guess when it will wash ashore. Last weekend there were lots of tar balls. Yesterday you had to look carefully to find even one. The waves crashing the beach are clear and the sand is bright white. But what will it look like next week? Next month? Next year?

Predications about the environmental and economic impact of the oil spill on the Gulf seem to change several times a day. These shifting forecasts have been a way of life for Gulf coast residents since the Deep Water Horizon explosion on April 20 triggered what is potentially becoming the most catastrophic environmental disaster in history.

Coastal communities here seem to have experienced more than their fair share of hurdles in recent years. At least four hurricanes inflicted damage on the coastlines of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana from September of 2004 to August of 2005, with the winds of Ivan and the flooding associated with Katrina wreaking the most havoc. During the rebuilding season following these successive storms, coastal communities were among the first to experience the effects of a growing recession, an economic phenomenon which severely impaired the vitality of businesses already reeling from the storm damage.

When news of the Deep Water Horizon explosion flashed on screen, our hearts went out to the families of those who lost loved ones, because many of our coastal churches and communities have friends and relatives who work on similar rigs and who live much of the year on “floating cities” in the Gulf. Even when we heard that the explosion has caused a gushing leak about a mile below the surface, we supposed that the leak would be contained within a matter of days and the cleanup of spilled oil would soon follow. But in the subsequent hours and days, news agencies clarified the seriousness of the leak, reported on the failure of successive containment attempts, and began projecting economic and environmental damages.

In early May, I was having breakfast with a group of businessmen when one of them asked me sincerely, “Do you think the Gulf could be the next Dead Sea?” I think it was at that moment I realized the historic, ongoing, long-term impact this oil spill is likely to have on the Gulf Coast.

Now, two months after the explosion the leak is still gushing at approximately 2.5 million gallons of oil per day, much more than the original estimates. Although other containment efforts are underway, the most hopeful containment strategy…the drilling of a relief well…is not expected to be complete until August.

There are multiple scenarios of how life will change along the Gulf, scenarios that leave coastal residents wondering what to expect in the future. What will be the impact on the local economy? What will be the ultimate toll on marine life? How will the spill affect tourism? How long will we see oil in the Gulf? Will there be a residential odor? What are the health risks of being in the water or even living along the coastline? How will a hurricane in the Gulf complicate the risk factors?

After the onslaught of consecutive hurricanes five years ago, even the most weathered storm veterans began to experience “storm phobia.” The dread of another hurricane even motivated a small percentage of residents to sell out and relocate inland.

What is the mood along the coast as we deal with the impact of the oil spill? There are varying degrees of anger, grief, fear, and mistrust. But most of all, there is uncertainty.

In contrast to the “hurricane alertness” that accompanies the beginning of storm season, the mood along the coast these days is dominated by “horizon anxiety,” a psycho-emotive tension caused by the uncertainly of the short-term and long-term impact of the oil spill.

How will our communities respond? Although there are more than enough hopeless pessimists who have been interviewed by the local and national media, I concur with one restaurateur whose business is being severely diminished by the spill. On national television he emphatically declared, “We are a resilient people. We will make a comeback.”

The anxious mood along the coast is understandable. This is not just about beaches, seafood, and dolphins. The implications are global. We continue to hope and pray for complete containment of the damaged well and a thorough cleanup of our coastline and our waters. But we are not naïve. We know that rising up to meet the challenges presented by this crisis could require more perseverance, more faith, and more determination than any prior storm. And hopefully the lessons learned will make us better stewards of creation in the future than we have been in the past.

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister of the First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

A Bird’s Eye View of Church

By Barry Howard

My friend and fellow FBC Pensacola member, Bill Harden, went home to be with the Lord last week. A diabetic since the age of six, as Bill encountered mounting health complications in recent years he inspired his family and many of us with his cheerful humor, his durable smile, his positive attitude, and his artistic craftsmanship.

One of his favorite wood-working projects was building birdhouses. Although Bill invested most of his career in the travel planning business, as a retirement hobby Bill carefully constructed aviary residences in a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to the dozens of birdhouses Bill gave to others as gifts, an assorted collection of birdhouses sit atop the mantle and around the hearth in the Harden home.

About a year ago, Dr. James Pleitz, our pastor emeritus, and I were each blessed to receive a unique birdhouse as a gift from Bill. Built especially for the pastor and pastor emeritus, these church-shaped birdhouses were built from the wood removed from the floor of our former education building, affectionately known as the old library building, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Ivan and eventually demolished a year later.

My birdhouse is strategically located in front of the chair where I have my quiet time early in the morning. As I have looked at it during my prayer time over the past several months, this birdhouse has become a wooden parable of how I understand church in the 21^st century….not the bricks and mortar of our campus…but our ministry…our mission…our spiritual family.

While most of the wood on this birdhouse came from the old church, Bill also incorporated new lumber into the birdhouse, creating sort of a two-toned effect, a phenomenon that reminds me that our church is a composite of the old and the new, a merger of our heritage and our dreams.

For the perch, Bill installed an oversized doorknob front and center, which reminds me of the importance of opening wide the doors of the church to welcome both new friends and old neighbors with Christian hospitality, else we will become cliquish and stagnant.

Above the door is a cross. Intentionally placed over the entrance in a location similar to the street number or family name on your home, this cross explicitly identifies the occupants as followers of Jesus above all else.

And finally, Bill went online and ordered a miniature spire which now sits atop the steeple pointing upwards, beckoning us to look heavenward to God for our hope and our strength.

My friend, Bill, is now at home with the Lord, but he left behind an ongoing testimony, a well-crafted story, a wooden parable which gives to me, and to us, a bird’s eye view of church.

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister of the First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

Remember and Never Ever Forget

The last Monday in May is designated for a unique and specific purpose. Memorial Day usually does not generate as much holiday enthusiasm as Christmas, Easter, or Independence Day, perhaps because Memorial Day is more an observance than a celebration. This important holiday is not just another “day off” but a day to remember those who have lost their lives in the military service of our country.

In a culture that is increasingly attention-deficient, remembering is a painful but necessary discipline. Remembering historical facts should help us to remain consciously aware of the harsh realities of global conflict. Revisiting stories from the battlefield may enable us to learn from both the successes and the failures of our national ancestry. When we remember the fallen we keep alive the individual and corporate legacies of valor and courage that inspire and challenge us to be responsible citizens of the free world.

To fail to remember is to develop a convenient amnesia that eventually robs succeeding generations of their national heritage. To fail to remember creates a contagious apathy that leads to a neglect of both freedom and citizenship. To fail to remember can produce a false sense of protection and a perceived exemption from future warfare. A loss of memory eventually leads to a loss of national identity. Remembering is a painful but necessary discipline, a discipline that forges vision from memory, and a discipline that extracts wisdom from knowledge.

What are some things we can do to help remember and commemorate the contributions of those who lost their lives in battle?

· Read biographies of world leaders, military generals, POW’s, and holocaust survivors.
· Read historical accounts of crucial battles.
· View a documentary or movie that realistically portrays the stories of war.
· Visit historic sites such as battlefields, monuments, and military cemeteries.
· Talk with a veteran and listen firsthand to stories from the heat of battle.
· Give thanks for those who have fought for freedom and justice.
· Pray for those who are serving in military service today.
· Work for freedom, justice, and world peace.
· Practice and preserve religious liberty.
· Exercise your rights and fulfill your responsibilities as a citizen.

The discipline of remembering enhances our discernment and our decision-making. An anonymous proverb contends that, “Remembering the past gives power to the present.” In The Roadmender Margaret Fairless Barber suggests that “To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.”

Today is Memorial Day…A day to remember the past with gratitude and to look to the future with faith and informed patriotism.

Living Your Faith….Authentically

How can others who cannot peek inside your heart, glance inside your mind, or scan your soul, know for sure that you are a follower of Jesus? What is the primary evidence of your credibility and authenticity? According to John 13:35 your Christian identity is best revealed in the way you love others: This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other (MSG).

Last week I was reading the story of Elijah McCoy, a master mechanic and engineer who was born in 1843 to former slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Ontario via the Underground Railroad. His parents sent him to study in Scotland, where he earned a degree in engineering. Later in his career, working in partnership with the Michigan Central Railroad, McCoy invented a lubricating cup that automatically dripped oil. He received a United States patent in 1872, and installation of his invention on locomotives began shortly thereafter. His design greatly increased engine efficiency, and soon every company wanted one of the "McCoy Cups." So many inferior copies were made that train engineers began to demand "the real McCoy," and not a “knock off” or an imitation.

Authentic Christian living tends to be a more powerful and persuasive influence to pre-Christians than sermons, songs, or religious programs. Pre-believers are more interested in the genuineness of your personal faith than they are your doctrinal purity or your denominational loyalty.

For the growing Christian, faith is not a game wherein we pretend to be something we are not. Growing Christians do not try to act hyper-holy or super-religious because deep down we know that we are merely sinners saved by grace.

This week rather than striving to be religious, strive to be real. Believe it or not, those who surround you already know you are not perfect. The real question is “do others see the evidence of God’s grace at work in my life in spite of my imperfections?” The core of your character and the genuineness of your faith are revealed in the crucible of daily living. Let others see who you are under pressure. Let them witness the way you wrestle with moral and ethical decisions. Let them see the ways that you are learning to apply and practice the teachings of Jesus in your unique circumstances. And especially let them see the way that the love of Christ shapes your attitude, reaction, and disposition toward others, for according to John 13:35, this may be the real litmus test of authentic faith.

Speaking of the power of authentic Christian witness, Scottish minister William Barclay writes, "More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all of the theological arguments in the world, and more people have been driven from church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christianity than by all of the doubts in the world."

No matter where you are on the spectrum of Christian growth, be authentic…be genuine…be real!

Exercising the Mind, Enriching the Soul

For me, reading had become a crucial life discipline that exercises the mind and enriches the soul. Every year I try to choose a selection of fictional and non-fictional works to supplement my reading of the Bible, theology, and other devotional literature.

Because we live in the age of information technology, we can easily let ourselves settle into watching some type of audiovisual media, whether big screen or little screen. Merely “watching” doesn’t stretch and challenge that great mental muscle called our mind.

Luke 10:27 challenges us to love God with our minds. To effectively love God with our minds, our minds must be as sharp, alert, and active as possible.

During this past year, as the unpredictable nature of my pastoral responsibilities has interrupted my regular reading routine more than usual, I have noticed that my mind has been “hungry” due to being undernourished. When I am deficient in appropriating my study time and my reading time, my mind gets lazy, my memory short-circuits, and my creativity is stifled. When I protect my study time and reading time I find that my mind is sharp, my memory is remarkable, and I am a better pastor and a better preacher.

I have not always had a faithful discipline of reading. In high school, since I worked an “after school” job , I often read summaries of the books on the required reading lists. But about halfway through my university experience, my English instructors inspired me to read. One instructor, in particular, encouraged me to start three or four books, reading alternately from each as though I were engaging three to four partners in a conversation. All of these years later, I find myself starting several books and reading in them alternately until I have completed them.

Now, I am concerned when I see students and adult spending more time watching television, staring at computer screens, and preoccupied with IPhones than the time invested in reading. Reading just causes me to think and reflect and imagine on a deeper level than audio-visual observation.

For Christians, I think reading should be listed as one of our spiritual disciplines. Hand-in-hand with prayer, Bible study, meditation, worship, and stewardship, reading enriches my soul. Regular reading from a variety of genres tends to keep me informed and engaged. Novels, biography, history, poetry, and documentary all expand my knowledge of God’s world and the interesting inhabitants of it.

There are several things that are important to my physical, spiritual, and emotional health: My prayer and devotional time, a balanced diet, my exercise routine, and time spent with friends. One of the most crucial is my ongoing discipline of reading.

A Prayer for Conscientious Wisdom: Invocation for Law Week 2010

Good and gracious God, you have given us the privilege and the stewardship responsibility of living in one of the most beautiful and resourceful communities in the world.

Even as we count the many wonderful blessings we share by living in this great land, we also sense that we live in a time of heightened concern and anxiety. Our nation is engaged in a multi-national military conflict. Our economy is slowly emerging out of a recession. And this week our eyes are turned toward cleanup of the Gulf.

These concerns remind us of our need to confess our sins, and to embrace your plan for living life with purpose and integrity.

On this National Day of Prayer, we pray for our nation. We pray for the men and women who serve in our nation’s military that they will perform their humanitarian mission with effectiveness and precision, and return home safely and soon. And we pray for our local, state, and national leaders that they will rise to a new level of bipartisan cooperation and moral courage commensurate to the challenges of our day.

Specifically on this day during Law Week, I pray for every member of our legal community. I pray for our elected officials as they work together for the common good and the bright future of our community. I pray for legal staff members as they provide strategic support for a variety of leaders. I pray for our attorneys to provide careful counsel and appropriate advocacy to all clientele. And I pray for our judiciary as they administer decisions with both legal discernment and conscientious wisdom.

Our aim is to live according to the words your ancient prophet conveyed which instruct usf us…”to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”

We offer our prayer in the name of the one who exemplifies the truth that makes us free indeed. Amen.

(I offered this prayer as the invocation at the Law Week Luncheon sponsored by the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association on May 6, 2010.)

Experiencing the Passion of Holy Week

This week is Holy Week…a time to experience the passion of Christ. Around the globe, Christians and other inquirers will be reflecting on the events leading up to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What is the purpose of Holy Week and how can I explore its deeper meaning?

The tradition of observing Holy Week seems to have originated in the East, emerging out of the practice of pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Each day of Holy Week is significant, however, for those of us whose faith was primarily shaped in non-liturgical communities, at least four days call for guided reflection. Palm Sunday is a day to revisit the royal welcome extended to Jesus by the curious crowd as he entered Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday believers recall the occasion when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples as he gave them a new mandate to love and serve. On Maundy Thursday evening, many faith communities re-enact “the last supper” when Jesus broke bread and shared the cup with his disciples by receiving the elements of communion. Good Friday is an occasion to feel the passion of Christ and to think on the enormity of his suffering. And Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, is a festive day to celebrate and proclaim that “Christ is risen; He is risen indeed.”

Because of the sequential significance of these events, Holy Week is best approached slowly, with a disposition of holy exploration, an attitude of sacred awe. In his book, The Gift of Worship, Weldon Gaddy underscores the opportunity we have to experience a profoundly meaningful experience of Jesus’ resurrection: “Holy Week services bring into focus dimensions of discipleship that are missed completely by a simple leap from Palm Sunday to Easter. Worship services which take seriously the truths of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday please God because they challenge a greater commitment and a more comprehensive ministry of compassion among the people of God.”

This year as you embark on a spiritual journey through Holy Week, rather than merely reading the historical account, open your senses and your imagination to both the tragedy and the triumph of this pivotal week in history. Take time to listen to the voices of the crowd as Jesus enters the city. Hear again the teachings of Jesus and contemplate his days in Jerusalem. Feel the water touch your feet, taste the morsel of bread on your tongue and the sip of wine rolling over your lips. Sense the disgust of his betrayal by a friend. Smell the stench of the scourge and hear the mocking sarcasm of the trial. Grieve over the cruel injustice of his execution and experience the passion of his incomprehensible suffering. And ultimately…consider the mysterious power of the resurrection and the hope generated by the notion that life invested in Christ cannot be extinguished, even by the reality of death.

The events of Holy Week invite and inspire us to follow Jesus, not out of religious obligation or fear of eternal damnation, but because we resonate with his teaching, we identify with his vision, and we belong….we just belong to his cause and to his kingdom. A slow and deliberate journey through Holy Week may re-energize your faith and motivate you to live and serve with passion.

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister of First Baptist Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

The Pastor's Wife

(I read this poem on February 13, 2010 at the memorial service for Margaret Ann Pleitz, a beloved Pastor’s wife)

She's a Godly woman, she has such grace
Always a warm greeting, a smile on her face.
She's always encouraging, she knows her place.
She is - The Pastor's Wife.

She has to always look just right
Always on time, though the schedule's tight.
From early morning, 'til late at night
Always - The Pastor's Wife

She's such a Lady, everyone's friend
She serves with love from deep within.
All the rifts she tries to mend
Oh she's - The Pastor's Wife

She carries your burdens, she prays for you
Sometimes she cries the whole night through.
But you won't know when she's feeling blue,
'Cause she's - The Pastor's Wife

At church as she starts to walk up the aisle,
So many need to stop and talk for awhile.
Though she is tired, she has her own trials
She's patient, she's - The Pastor's Wife

Her life, her time, is not her own
There's always a need, they go on and on
With a knock at the door, or a ringing phone.
That's the life of - The Pastor's Wife

Her husband she shares with a whole congregation
She humbly accepts his intense dedication.
In loneliness she kneels to see consolation
God Bless - The Pastor's Wife

She will someday reach the end of this race
As she meets her Master face to face
Surely our God has a Special Place
In Heaven for - The Pastor's Wife!

By Judy Dycus, March 10, 1992

The Eyes of Jesus Are Upon Me

When I got up this morning, I had this sensation that I was being watched. As I went to the kitchen to make the coffee...Hazelnut to be exact...I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else was in the room.

As the coffee brewed I moved to the desktop computer to check news headlines. As my eyes were focused on the screen, I could sense other eyes watching my every move.

Then I went to the living room to begin this morning's quiet time with the Advent devotional guide compiled by our Children's Ministry at FBCP. When I closed my eyes to pray, somehow I perceived that other eyes were opened.

After a few more moments of praying for guidance, offering gratitude, and remembering the poor, the homeless, and those who are grieving during the holidays, I began to investigate the room more thoroughly. Everywhere I turned; there was Mary, Joseph, and a baby Jesus looking my way.

My wife, Amanda, loves to decorate for Christmas. We have four themed Christmas trees: a Santa tree, a music tree, a white ornament tree, and a favorite-ornaments-tree adorned mostly with ornaments given to us by friends, students, and parishioners. We also have an aging talking tree strategically located in the guest bathroom. Battalions of angels are also on display, including a chorus of wooden angels, tree-top angels, porcelain angels, crocheted angels, and a lighted angel atop the kitchen buffet who flaps her wings as if she is ready to launch.

Two fluffy stockings, one red and the other green, hang from the mantle below wooden block letters spelling J-O-Y and N-O-E-L. The other wooden blocks in the entertainment cabinet spell M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S! Assorted Dickens Village scenes are located on the shelves of the Entertainment Center and on the library table...all lighted and wintry scenes depicting a typical English holiday.

The Christmas cards that we receive are hung from doorframes and over the kitchen bar, some containing family photos, others portraying holiday scenes and inscribed with personal greetings. Our pink Christmas cactus is in full bloom on the computer desk and a few over-nourished Santas are scattered around like centurions guarding the Christmas goodies. One jolly ole Santa flips his lid because he is really a cookie jar, which, ironically, is empty.

The central attraction in our Christmas display is the nativity. As I surveyed our house in the quiet of the morning to see who was watching, I counted 13 manger scenes, each depicting a unique perspective on the real meaning of Christmas. Among the notable ones is a clear glass miniature grouping near the kitchen table. Another is a wooden set given to us by a Jewish craftsman in Birmingham. And the largest is a ceramic menagerie designed and painted by Amanda's mother, now neatly arranged on top of an antique sideboard under a spotlight in our foyer.

They're everywhere...thirteen editions of the babe-in-a-manger. It occurred to me that everywhere I go in our home, I see Jesus. But the more important epiphany is that everywhere I go, Jesus sees me. If my eyes are on Jesus, and the eyes of Jesus are upon me, I have no excuse for missing the real joy of Christmas this year.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Advent

by Barry Howard

In early October when I made a quick stop in a local discount store to pick up a few general items, I couldn’t help but notice the strange combination of items in the promotional section near the front of the store. Half of the aisle was fully stocked with Halloween items…bright plastic jack-o-lanterns, various costumes and assorted Trick-or-Treat candies. The other half of the aisle was being stocked with Christmas items including miniature trees, boxes of lights, gift-wrapping paper, and colorful candy canes. To see the decorations of two separate holidays together on the same aisle seemed a little out of place.

Now, a month later, the turkeys have been gobbled up and the dressing has been devoured and we are in the week following Thanksgiving. Christmas music is playing on the radio, Christmas sale ads are blaring from flat panel screens, and bucket trucks are hanging aging ornaments on the light poles on main street.

In our home and on our church campus, multiple trees are decorated, lights are twinkling, and the aroma of scented candles fills the air. Just before our vespers service last Sunday evening, someone who was admiring the beauty of the décor said to me, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” “Not too fast,” I said. “It’s really beginning to look a lot like Advent.” We need the season of Advent to spiritually prepare for Christmas.

At my home church, a rural congregation who helped to shape and form my adolescent faith, we didn’t observe Advent. We proceeded directly from Thanksgiving to Christmas. In that tight-knit congregation, the sacred dates on our church calendar other than Christmas and Easter were Church Conference after worship service on the first Sunday, gospel singing on the fourth Sunday night, revival during the second full week in August, and homecoming the last Sunday in July. Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Passover, and Pentecost were not in my ecclesial vocabulary.

Later, as a young pastor, I was introduced to the colors and candles of Advent and my journey toward Christmas was upgraded and enriched. Today, I am convicted and convinced that as mission-driven Christians who live in a market-driven culture, we need the reflective disciplines of Advent to keep us alert to stealth forces like materialism, busyness, greed, and indifference…those deceptive grinches who would love to steal the real message and gifts of the season and replace them with superficial slogans and glamorous counterfeits.

I love a festive and joyful celebration of Christmas. However, to begin celebrating Christmas in October, November, or even early December, is like a parent trying to skip labor and delivery to go straight to the nursery. For a Christian, Advent is our progressive, devotional journey that culminates in grateful celebration when the Christ candle is lighted and the Christmas Star shines over the manger in Bethlehem.

During Advent in our church, we will prepare for Christmas by re-visiting the prophets, singing the carols, re-reading the gospels, and lighting the candles that re-energize our peace, hope, love, and joy. Then we will be better equipped to empathize with the anxiety of Mary and Joseph, to feel the labor pains of God, to celebrate the birth of the world’s most pivotal newborn, and to recognize both the singing of angels and the sobs of Rachel weeping.

If we take the time to revisit the biblical stories, to reclaim the joyful promises, and rekindle the fires of our faith, we may find that we are more than ready to follow Christ from the cradle to the cross and beyond.

The decorations are in place. The music has started. The Bible is open…and so are my mind, my heart, and my soul. This week it’s beginning to look a lot like Advent.

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister of the First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

Why Teddy Roosevelt Went to Church

by Barry Howard

Some people go to church regularly, some go occasionally, and others seldom go at all. How important is church participation? Are there good reasons that I should go to church?

Actually, the Bible calls on believers to be the church, and not just go to church. But to effectively be the church, believers need to faithfully gather with the other members of the body of Christ for equipping and encouragement.

Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth President of the United States, believed in attending and participating in church. In 1917, in an interview with Ladies Home Journal, President Roosevelt offered at least ten reasons for going to church:

1. In the actual world a churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoffed at or ignored their religious needs, is a community on the rapid downgrade.

2. Church work and church attendance mean the cultivation of the habit of feeling some responsibility for others and the sense of braced moral strength which prevents a relaxation of one’s own moral fiber.

3. There are enough holidays for most of us which can quite properly be devoted to pure holiday making... Sundays differ from other holidays--among other ways--in the fact that there are fifty-two of them every year... On Sunday, go to church.

4. Yes, I know all the excuses. I know that one can worship the Creator and dedicate oneself to good living in a grove of trees, or by a running brook, or in one’s own house, just as well as in church. But I also know as a matter of cold fact the average man does not thus worship or thus dedicate himself. If he strays away from church he does not spend his time in good works or lofty meditation. He looks over the colored supplement of the newspaper.

5. He may not hear a good sermon at church. But unless he is very unfortunate he will hear a sermon by a good man who, with his good wife, is engaged all the week long in a series of wearing, humdrum and important tasks for making hard lives a little easier.

6. He will listen to and take part in reading some beautiful passages from the Bible. And if he is not familiar with the Bible, he has suffered a loss.

7. He will probably take part in singing some good hymns.

8. He will meet and nod to, or speak to, good quiet, neighbors... He will come away feeling a little more charitably toward all the world, even toward those excessively foolish young men who regard churchgoing as rather a soft performance.

9. I advocate a man’s joining in church works for the sake of showing his faith by his works.

10. The man who does not in some way, active or not, connect himself with some active, working church misses many opportunities for helping his neighbors, and therefore, incidentally, for helping himself.

Eighty four years have passed since that historic interview with President Roosevelt. And church attendance and participation is still vitally important to faith development and Christian service. The scriptures advise us “not to give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, even more as you see the day of the Lord approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)

Why not go to church next Sunday and learn to be the church in your community everyday?

(Barry Howard serves as senior minister of the First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida.)

Living the D-R-E-A-M

by Barry Howard

While perusing a vacation and tourism magazine as I waited at the doctor’s office for my name to be called, I couldn’t help but notice the large number of ads for resort and retirement communities inviting prospective residents to “come and live the dream.”

What comes to mind when you think about the dream life? Winning the lottery? Living in extravagant luxury? An easier job? Marital bliss? Early retirement? Perfect health?

Whatever your perspective, most of us think of a dream life as an upgrade in our circumstances, a life with fewer challenges, and a greater degree of comfort and convenience.

Is this really God’s dream for you? What if the challenges you and I face are actually the opportunities we have to participate in making God’s dream a reality?

In describing the “latter times,” the Old Testament prophet envisioned a faith community that is motivated by God-inspired dreams and visions of multiple generations:

²⁸ "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions. Joel 2:28 NIV

Are you living out God’s dream and vision for your life? Are you assisting your church family in living out God’s dream and vision for your congregation?

The word “dream” has frequently been used as an acronym. When I “googled” DREAM as an acronym, I discovered that in education, DREAM can stand for “Discover the Reality of Education for All Minds.” In communication, DREAM means “Dynamically Reconfigurable Energy Aware Media.” In computing, DREAM can represent “Distributed Routing Effect Algorithm for Mobility.” In local government, DREAM can refer to “Downtown Restoration, Enhancement and Management.” In Orlando, DREAM stands for “Disney Resort Experiences are Magic.”

What does DREAM mean for the church? As we rise to new levels of commitment to confront the opportunities and challenges of our day, I suggest that DREAM means “Doing Risky, Encouraging, and Authentic Ministry.”

Let’s break down the DREAM:

• Doing- Be doers of the word and not hearers only. James 1:22 KJV
• Risky- So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 15:25-26 NIV
• Encouraging-Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
• Authentic-Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8a MSG
• Ministry- But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. II Timothy 4: 5 NIV

Though we are conditioned by our culture to think of the dream life in terms of prosperity, we are commissioned in the Bible to aspire to a DREAM life in terms of purpose and mission. In other words, the dreams and visions that are generated by the Spirit of God give your life and mine genuine significance. Comfort and convenience can lead to complacency. Dreams and visions lead to proactive, mission-driven living.

As a follower of Jesus, you really haven’t lived until you have lived the DREAM.

(Barry Howard serves as Senior Minister of the First Baptist Church of Pensacola, Florida.)