Bicetennial Day: Worship, Work and Witness...

It is hard to believe that our Bicentennial celebration has finally come and gone. It was a great day of worship, work and witness. It is what First Baptist Church of New Bern has done for two hundred years and what continues to define us so uniquely among Baptists of all brands.

We worshiped together in the traditional high church mode with awesome times of remembering our history and what God has done through the years, thanks to Miss Jane Marshall Jenkins. We also had wonderful liturgy so carefully honed out precisely by Rev. Barry Templeton and ministerial staff. There was never a worry about the influx of young families and what would happen to their infants and children with Dr. Sharon Bender and her husband Wade at the helm. The worship music, with organ fanfare and Dr. Perry Smith singing, as well as the newly commissioned anthem that was sung, as well as Bob Garver singing at the dedication of the Memorial Garden brought tears to your pastors eyes. Dr. Randall Lolley reminded us of our call to recognize the honor of being the First Baptist Church in New Bern, and what a wonderful and challenging message it was. Worship was inspiring. Contemplative and traditional worship has been a defining hallmark of our church through the years and continues to be so today, even in our attempt to make our nontraditional worship uniquely a service of thoughtful worship rather than “just” praise and singing.

Work was the name of the game for feeding the over four hundred members and guests that attended the event. I was so proud to gaze across the Family Life Center and observe the coordinated effort of so many youth and adults serving the host of believers that were gathered to share food and fellowship around the tables of God. Work has been a defining force of our church through the years and continues to be so today. Great work went into making the Bicentennial possible and the list of those who contributed is far too long to highlight here. The worship, the Garden, the food and the church plant are all testaments of honor to our God and Savior.

Finally, not only did we worship and work, but we witnessed to one another. From the witness of Scripture being read in the language of our new Chin refugees from Myanmar and in English, to the witness of theology proclaimed through music and prayer, to the proclaimed word by a former seminary president in our state, we witnessed the power and presence of God Almighty. Ken Bryant reminded us of the miracles God still performs in the lives of those who seek God with all their hearts, minds and souls. Again, tears filled my eyes as Ken shared his story of misdiagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and then the correcting diagnosis and treatment that not only gave him back his mind and body, but increased his witness. Our worship and work only inspire us to go out into the world for as many years as God allows to share our witness of the love and power of a God who will not let us alone until all the sheep have come home to pasture in His fields.

Thank you Lord, and people of God for a day to remember, a day of Worship, Work and Witness that challenge us to live so in the days to come.

Graduation?

Do we ever "really" graduate? We certainly can be proud to earn degrees from academic institutions that indicate that we have demonstrated a set of skills that reveals our ability to do well on a variety of tests. However, is that the only graduation needed? Academic endeavors? When do we ever "graduate" from marriage school, or from parent school, or from relationship school with those who are adversarial in our community and even in our church? Do we ever demonstrate that we have "mastered" the necessary ingredients to be proficient and expert at ALL relationships? I think not! There is always more to learn, more disappointments to experience, and more joys to celebrate when we experience unity and communion even on rare occasions. Go ahead and get used to studying. You will need to learn to love learning and listening in order to become more and more proficient at seeing the breadth of God's Spirit and the breadth of humanity's brokenness!
In Christ,
Dr. Fitzgerald