It's Monday morning as I write this blog, and we have just completed our two week series on the mission of Walnut Street Baptist Church. I thought I would take some time to write today and explain how we landed on this, and talk a little bit about where we take it from here. When we began to transition from Pastor Rusty being the Senior Pastor to him taking on a different role, we knew there would be many unanswered questions about where we are going from here.

One of the things that began to come out in conversations, and even some bible study discussions, was a sense that we needed to communicate what it is that drives what we do. Why are we here? What is our purpose? As a staff, we have always felt that we were driven by Christ's command to make disciples in Matthew 28, but it became apparent that we once again needed to make sure everyone knew where we were going and why. I began a time of study and reflection in God's word, asking the question, "What is that you want for us and from us Father?" It's important that you know I was driven to Scripture for this. There are countless books available that speak to the Church and her mission, many of which I have found very helpful. For this time in the life of our church I didn't want to present Rick Warren's or John Piper's or anyone else vision for the church. I wanted to know what God's word has to say to us.

Two things became readily apparent in my study. First, Christ commands us to love God with every part of who we are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). To put it as simply as possible Christ commands everyone who would follow Him to Love God and Love People. Christ says that loving God is the first and greatest commandment, and loving people is just like it. We cannot be followers of Christ without following these commands. If this is His command to us as individuals, we must also take this command to pertain to the Church gathered here at Walnut Street Baptist Church.

Secondly, after His death, burial, and resurrection but before His ascension, Christ commanded His followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Christ commands His people to go and share the good news of His grace and mercy, and to teach them what it means to follow Christ. After some discussion among the staff we decided to summarize this as Grow Disciples. As I said in my sermon yesterday, we chose the word "grow" because of our context today. When we hear the word "make" we think of a project that you begin, complete, and then move on. Growing indicates process, time, and investment. The disciple of Christ never stops growing. We don't reach a point where we say, "Ok, I'm all done. I am complete." That point will not occur until we see our Savior face to face. Growth in Christ is a lifelong process in which we are more and more transformed into the image of Christ.

So where do we go from here? That seems to be the million dollar question. Here is my hope: I pray that as a church we will develop a passion to pursue obedience to Christ in these areas. I pray we take it upon ourselves to go and make disciples, telling people in our lives about the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. I pray that we will have a passion for seeing people grow in their knowledge and love of Christ throughout their lives. I pray that we will invest our lives in the lives of others so they might know Christ. I pray we will evaluate how we spend our time and energy, both individually and collectively, and ask if what we are doing is producing fruit for the Kingdom of God.

In talking with one of our church members, he communicated that he felt this approach (Love God-Love People-Grow Disciples) was simple, easy to remember, and biblical. This was the goal. We wanted to present the church with something you could remember, that was easy to understand, and most importantly was biblically sound and based. The call is clear. What remains to be seen is how we will respond. My prayer is we will simply say, "Yes Lord!".

The VBS 2012 theme verse was Psalm 147:5 which reads "Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite." The Lord has shown His greatness this week at Walnut Street Baptist Church. Thanks to all the workers who volunteered their time, hearts and lives for this week. During VBS this week kids heard the gospel, some for the first time. There was one preschool child who asked in preschool music who God was. The Lord gave us the opportunity to step into the lives of kids who now know a little more about Jesus. Praise the Lord for the opportunity of sharing the gospel with kids!

I am so proud of the kids who came to VBS this week, not only did they come to VBS but they worked hard to memorize Bible verses and bring mission offering. In the childrenʼs building you can see evidence of Bible memorization. There are clouds all over the wall of the entrance of the childrenʼs building that represent a child who memorized a Bible verse. Please go read all the names. As part of the missions effort of VBS we collected money to purchase Bibles for people in China. The children bought 105 Bibles to give as a gift to the people of China through the organization Go with God Global.

Thank you again to all the Bible study teachers, special classroom teachers, helpers, and snack makers. We could not have done it without you.

Summer is here and there is much going on around Walnut Street and around the world through our people. Right now, as I write, we have members ministering in Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil and Haiti! Wow! Is that cool or what? Cool may not be the best word, but you get the picture! It’s beautiful!

And have you noticed the increase in our younger adults and college students since we overhauled the first service last fall? Yesterdays first service had lots of younger adults that came for the first time. The word is finally getting around that there is a lot going on at Walnut Street and there are places for the younger adults to serve.

Which brings me to my primary topic today. I announced Sunday morning a called business meeting for Sunday, June 17th, that we might deal with the calling of Paul Gibson as our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. Paul has been leading our college ministry since last fall and preached Sunday, June 10th with Kris in Haiti. Paul will preach for me this coming Sunday, June 17th.

We have a timely opportunity to take another giant step in continuing to gradually transition our church to one that attracts, engages and appeals to a younger generation, a generation that is very missional in their desire to follow Christ. The proposed addition of Paul Gibson as Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate is of great significance.

We have been wonderfully blessed that God brought Paul Gibson and his family to Walnut Street last fall, with the express purpose to help us continue to attract and engage the younger generation. Paul came to us on a mission, and now we have the opportunity to take another step in the necessary direction of increasing younger persons in this church.

Paul and his wife Tara have been married 9 years. The Gibsons have two children, daughter Natalie Ryan, 3, and son Isaac, 5 months. Paul’s recent resume will be available Sunday. Paul has a Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership from Bethel Seminary and served a three-year internship at Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago. Tara holds a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy.

This development/opportunity has come on us quickly, and from the pastor’s perspective, is easily one of the most exciting things that has happened since I have been pastor. To have the chance to begin to penetrate the campus at U of L with the help and cooperation of the Kentucky Baptist Convention through our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate is an amazing development that we would have never anticipated even two months ago. The resignation of the campus minister at U of L last month opened up the discussions with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

I truly believe God orchestrated the situation for us to proceed with this plan. It is a win/win/win scenario. The church wins because we are blessed to be able to make a huge move in the right direction of continuing our effort to reach more young persons. It is a win for the KBC because they are able to staff the campus with a very able interim who will “be there” when the students return in less than two months!! And last, but not least, the Kingdom impact of this is great.

Let me take us through a timeline of the last 14 months:

1. In April of 2011, the Walnut Street Great Commission Task Force, made up of a broad cross-section of our members, brought their final recommendation set to the church for approval.

2. Included in the four recommendation categories was the addition of a young Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. With the understood need for our church to begin to put younger leadership on the platform each Sunday, this pastor would preach regularly. He would also provide leadership for all our missions endeavors, beginning with all we do in the city (including the Walnut Street Academy and CSM), and extending to our global missions efforts.

3. The church approved the Great Commission Task Force Report by a vote of 82% in favor of the recommendations.

4. Our finance team, with the approval of the deacons and the church, approved the current fiscal year budget, which allowed for the hiring of the Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate at mid-year, which was May 1.

5. Three weeks ago, we began discussions with the Kentucky Baptist Convention regarding our cooperation with the campus ministry at the University of Louisville. After much prayer and conversation, we reached a cooperative agreement that Paul Gibson would become the interim campus minister at U of L. This interim position will run through the end of the year. This is an amazing opportunity for us to extend our outreach to the U of L campus. Though the campus position is interim, this will really help raise awareness on the campus as to what God is doing at Walnut Street!

6. Last week our Personnel Committee met and voted to bring Paul on as our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. Their recommendation went to our deacons for affirmation on Monday night. Paul’s position with us is permanent, while the campus minister position is interim. For the first six months or so, he will be generally splitting his time between Walnut Street and the campus.

7. Our by laws read thusly:

A. The Personnel Committee will recruit, interview and employ all positions except the pastor. Individuals who have been called of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit shall be sought. Employment will be within the framework of the church budget.

B. The Personnel Committee is charged to consult with the pastor, other appropriate church committees, provide information to the deacons, and to seek church affirmation before taking action to employ any ministerial personnel.

8. Thus we brought Paul for affirmation to the deacons Monday night and will bring him for church affirmation on Sunday, June 17th.

So God continues to work in incredible ways in our midst. Only God could have arranged the circumstances in such a timely manner, bringing his parties together at just the right time! Walnut Streeters, it is truly exciting to see what God is doing in our midst as the plan continues to unfold! I am reminded of my favorite Scripture verse, Eph 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think—according to the power that works in you—to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Do you believe that passage? Really believe it? Or do you believe that our best days are in the past? I beseech you to seek God’s perspective and come to believe that God cannot be through with Walnut Street, if we will continue to take steps of faith in pursuit of Him!

Be Prepared

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. [NIV]  I Peter 3:15

Every Christian ought to know what they believe and how to communicate it in today's world. But, unfortunately that is easier said than done. For that reason, we will begin a new study on Sunday afternoon, June 10, at 4 PM.  A light snack and discussion will end each evening at 6 PM.

What Every Christian Ought To Know And How To Defend It In Today’s Unbelieving World

Stan Craig will lead this new Sunday session beginning at 4 PM on Sunday evening, in the dining room. We will have 2 resources for our study. The first is an easily read book by Adrian Rogers, What Every Christian Ought To Know: Essential Truths For Growing Your Faith. Our second text is by Doug Powell, A Guide To Christian Apologetics. It is a Holman, “Quick Source’ book.

LifeWay bookstores have offered us a significant discount for all who sign up for our Sunday session. These will be 2 books that will be important additions to every library. Copies are now available for purchase in the church office and the welcome center.

This Sunday afternoon program is open to everyone from any age group who wants to learn more about what we believe and how to present to anyone who asks.

Education is costly, but ignorance may be devastating.  There are basic truths that every Christian ought to know.  In our world there are many who founder in a sea of moral relativism and fake religious opinions. Our society boasts about pluralism [there's room for every idea], but really practices blending all religious thought into a bland mixture of spiritual pablum that is far from God's revealed truth.

We often talk about moral values but the real question is, “Whose morals, whose values?”

Come join us for a challenging and engaging 6 weeks of humor, insight and spiritual growth.

Sign-ups begin this coming Sunday after morning worship or call Kathy Wilson to reserve your place-589-5290- email her at kwilson@walnutstreet.org.

As we live our lives abiding in Christ we are to share our faith. I know that this is a challenge for everyone, to figure out the words to say to the cashier, or man who helps you at the store. But everyday we are exposed to people who need to hear the truth about Christ. That Jesus loves them and has desire to see them turn from a life of sin and death to a life of being alive and living in truth. Matthew 28:19-20 tells me that this is my job, that is every believers job to share the gospel (good news).

I know how hard it is to tell to a stranger, about the truth of the gospel. How do you begin? What do you say to the boy/girl who is bagging my groceries? How do I start a conversation with the person who is bringing me my food at the restaurant I am going to after church on Sunday? Do I ask questions? Which approach should I use? The other day I was reminded that in reality I am making it so much more complicated than it needs to be, the gospel is a simple love story. The reminder happened when a kid who had been to Sunday School went out and shared Jesus with someone. Did I mention that this kid was two years old?

We have a new Sunday School curriculum in the Childrenʼs ministry, it is called FaithWeaver. A couple of weeks ago, we were learning about Jesus healing a man who was possessed by evil spirits. He was healed by Jesus, and then followed Him. The two year old Sunday School teachers told the story by telling the children how when we have boo booʼs Jesus will take them away. The kids then took stickers (of Jesus) and placed them on a picture of the sick man. They talked about how the man, when he was sick had a sad face, but when Jesus healed him the man was then happy. The day went on, and the kids went home, ate lunch, took naps as most two year olds do. Days went by, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Then one day one of the two year olds went to a local fast food restaurant with his babysitter; he and his babysitter ate and played in the toy land. As they were getting ready to leave, the two year old went up to a complete stranger and said “boo-booʼs away, boo-booʼs away.” The man looked at the babysitter in a quizzical manner, and the babysitter (who is also his Sunday School teacher) was able to tell the man the truth of the gospel! She was able to share with this man that Jesus loves us and wants to take our “boo booʼs” away and heal us.

What a healthy reminder for all of us to take the time to speak small truths into the lives of everyone around us, taking what we learn on Sunday then sharing it with those we meet in our lives everyday.