Joint Thanksgiving Service

Tomorrow night, our church (West End Baptist Church) is going to have a Joint-Thanksgiving service with Everettes Baptist Church. I'm really excited about this and am very glad that Jason (their pastor) and the church body decided to do this with us. I think it's going to be a great time of worship and fellowship as two different local bodies come together to worship and give thanks to our great and loving God for being so good to us.

I think it's really great when churches can come together for worship, service, and fellowship. Sometimes, people (even pastors) can become competitive with other churches. If another church down the road is growing faster, or has a better building, or more programs than their own church, people at times can get envious and bitter. Sometimes they will even become resentful that God seems to be blessing one church more than another. Even at the conventions and things, pastors will at times compare numbers and/or ministies with others, like we're in competition.

But we have to remember, that when the Word of God is our center & authority and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being accurately presented, then we're not in competition with one another... we're on the same team! And in this day and time, especially in our culture, it takes all kinds of different churches to reach all the different kinds of people. Some people like formal services, others like casual worship. Some people like Southern Gospel, while others like Contemporary Christian. Some people like to dress up in coat and tie, while others like wearing their shorts and sandals. And truly, the Word of God gives freedom in these non-essential areas.

So, I'm very excited about tomorrow night and I hope we have a good turn out of fellow believers who desire to take special time out of their busy lives to praise and thank God for all His wonderful blessings that He has given. And most especially for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. And I pray that He will indeed be glorified and pleased with our small demonstration of unity tomorrow night.