Centennial: With Joy, and Fear

We are filled with gratitude for being able to mark our centennial. God has been graciously using First Baptist Church of Monterey for one hundred years, and I count it as a great honor to be the pastor at this time. I am the fourteenth pastor and the number two in length of term. I have been the pastor for 13% of our history! This is an honor and a fearful responsibility.

It is an honor is to be riding the wave of faithful service of the hundreds who came before us. Certainly there were grave mistakes, and grievous sins committed along the way, but God saw fit to preserve this church and continues to use it for his glory.

In just a few weeks from now, at the end of May, we plan to celebrate God’s goodness in a reverent and raucous way. We are a family church, and we are Baptist! We will worship with a few shouts of joy, moments of tearful praise, and several bounce houses for the kiddos! We’ll top it off with a big family feast! All you can eat beef tri-tip and grilled chicken. It is going to be a blast!

But I also use the word “fearful responsibility.” The marking of a centennial is wonderful, but our work is too important for any slackening in our efforts. We are still in the battle. Let us mark our blessings and successes, but let’s keep our powder dry! Remember how Nehemiah directed the builders of the wall of Jerusalem to build with one hand and keep your sword in the other? This is always necessary.

This past Sunday was a glorious Resurrection Celebration. While we had a great attendance there were many that were not there because they are living in open defiance of our risen Lord. I learned just before our first service that one of our young ladies has been swept into the degrading life of drugs and street level evil. Another family in our fellowship is reeling from the evil of drugs as well. Satan is not taking any time off in observance of our centennial! The enemy is real, and evil is powerful. Lord help us! Some of our families have fallen away from fellowship and a few are splitting up. The need is great.

The Bible tells us how to do Christian ministry. For example, in 1 Corinthians 3 we are challenged to build with the right materials in order to produce lasting results. This passage also emphasizes that our work will be tested. It certainly is my prayer and continual desire to make sure we are using God’s good precious materials in building his house!

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:12–15 ESV)

It is also a great encouragement to be reminded by Psalm 127 that when all is said and done it is our powerful Lord who builds his house! This thought is also contained in the statement of Jesus: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Matthew 16:18 ESV)