Sacred Music Concert – Ray & Ann Gibbs

Members, Friends, and Neighbors of Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church,                    

I would like to invite you to attend a special service at our church this Sunday, April 25. We are celebrating Homecoming. What that means is that you can expect a family atmosphere. If it's been a long time since you have attended one of our services, come and see what has changed and what has stayed the same. Last summer, we completed a significant remodel of the auditorium. The year before that, we were finally able to complete our family life center. It may just be time for you to come back home, or perhaps it's time to find a church home.

This Sunday, we will only be having one service in the morning, starting at 10:30 a.m. The service will be special because we have classically trained singers Ray and Ann Gibbs doing a sacred music concert for us. The Gibbs have sung professionally all across the country as well as having taught music on the undergraduate and graduate levels. During the service, they will give their testimonies about how they came to know the Lord. Join us for an amazing time of worship.

After the morning service, please stay and be our guest for an old-fashioned covered dish dinner. We are asking our members to bring a main dish or side as well as a dessert and drink. The church will provide the plastic ware and plates. Experience tells me that this will be the best buffet in Pensacola this Sunday. In years past, we ate the dinner under the oak trees. Now we have the privilege of eating in the Family Life Center. If you really want to be nostalgic, feel free to eat outside on our new picnic tables. The Family Life Center will be open prior to the service for those wishing to plug in crock pots.

We would love to see you in church this Sunday. We are a growing independent Baptist church that places a premium on Godly worship, fellowship, and expositional preaching. We have a fresh perspective, yet we remain grounded in the truth. Come and see what God is doing at Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church.

 
 

Who Cares?

A couple of weeks ago, I received an unsolicited open letter in the mail from a ministry leader in the state of Florida. Attached to his letter was a personal letter from a ministry leader from the state of Indiana. Both of these men pastor large churches and both men are associated with Bible colleges. The tone of the open letter was petty, and the offense of the personal letter was overstated. I feel dirty having been exposed to somebody else's mess. The world is full of self promoters, and I think that we have all heard one too many arguments between brothers in Christ who use the KJV about "who is more KJV than the other."

Much of the issue in this particular "fight" has more to do with ego and "one-upmanship" than any real disagreement. The practical effect is a distinction without a difference. And we wonder why our young people don't have a taste for Christian ministry. Certainly this is not the only issue, but sometimes you just wish that "grown ups would act like grown ups." I have no admiration for the writer of "open letters." I have even less respect for pastors who write "open letters." It smacks of empire building.

Those of us who are committed to the concept of the local church prefer not being drug into the mess of those who are trying to build their own little kingdoms. Our church does not want to be counted on either side of your fight. Certainly there are things worth fighting for, but not feigned outrage for political purposes. There are more important things in life than joining someone's cause. As it relates to the leader of a school trying to get people on his side, the last time I checked, the Bible gives the responsibility for discipleship and ministry training to the local church.

God help us to serve one another in the local body of Christ. May He give us the wisdom to meet each other's needs in a Christ honoring way. May we be spared from one more fight over something that really doesn't matter.