Dear First Baptist Family, When God called you and gave you salvation, you were “born again” (see John 3:3). It was your second birth, and the image is a dynamic one. A baby needs milk to grow — basic...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,Over the holiday, Jen and I were reflecting about some of our early years. We met and fell in love in college, then began to navigate next steps. At the time, Jen was studyin...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family, One of my heroes of the faith early in ministry was a youth consultant named Mike Yanconelli. He was a passionate, tireless advocate for a vibrant, risky faith. His speaking...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,Six young people boarded a bus in New York, bound for Florida's beaches, when they noticed a quiet passenger named Vingo. He sat motionless in his ill-fitting brown suit, los...  Read More

Dear FBC Family,Happy Thanksgiving week to you! I hope you have a restful, gratitude-filled holiday. Jen and I will have our daughter Emily in town for a few days, and we will head to Alabama during t...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,One of the most discouraging circumstances God’s people can face is when they suspect that the best days are behind them. What if all of your major victories, accomplishments...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family, What would we do without the variety of jars and containers we use each day? Just this week, I have used peanut butter jars, mason jars with salsa, containers of milk, caraf...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,Arthur F. Burns, the former chairperson of the United States Federal Reserve System, was a wise and impactful public servant. He served as an economic advisor to presidents f...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,The data is in: many people struggle to trust others these days. I recently read a report from the American Bible Society (ABS) that highlighted how Americans increasingly do...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family, For a lot of people, the world doesn’t make much sense right now. Politics, the economy, global affairs…it’s a long list. But just for fun this week, I’d like to recognize s...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,On Sunday, we introduced an acrostic to help us think about what a life of blessing looks like. B stands for begin with prayer; L stands for listen with care; E stands for ea...  Read More

Dear First Baptist Family,One of my favorite episodes in the life of Jesus happened when His disciples were out on the lake. Jesus had sent them ahead of Him while He stayed behind to pray. The text s...  Read More