It’s overwhelming to consider all our family has been through in the past year, but God has sustained us. In just twelve months, Natalie has endured her third pregnancy, three UTIs, a kidney infection, 15 weeks of early contractions, child birth, severe postpartum bleeding, two DNCs, two blood transfusions, chest pains, emergency gallbladder surgery, internal bleeding, and a second exploratory laparoscopy.

In addition, Dylan was rushed to the ER with a head injury in December, I went to the ER with chest pains in May, and Abigail was diagnosed with hydronephrosis (fluid on her right kidney) while still in the womb. Abby also went in to the hospital for several days this summer for unusual skin color and a possible heart defect which was eventually ruled out. On September 26, Abby will have surgery for her hydronephrosis, which we hope will fix her right kidney and allow it to drain properly. This procedure has a very high success rate, but we know she is ultimately in God’s hands. We have done our best to honor God through all these trials and have certainly learned to depend more fully upon Him. If it pleases Him, we hope this next year will be less eventful. Thanks again for your prayers, your patience, and your support!

In our Sunday morning worship service, we’re taking a break from our exposition of 1 Corinthians to get better equipped in evangelism. The series is based loosely on the “Share Jesus Without Fear” material by William Fay & Ralph Hodge (Lifeway Publishing). I pray the Lord will use this study to help every member be trained, confident, and actively sharing their faith.

During 9:15 Life Groups, I often lead training sessions with our newer attenders. I just concluded a Baptism Class and will be starting another Membership class on Sunday, Oct. 2. It was a thrill to have three new members join us Sunday, and several more on the way.

On Wednesday nights, we’re continuing our series on Spiritual Warfare and have had some great participation. Our new Bible Study & Prayer format is really working well. Come check it out. If you don’t live in town, try getting involved in one of the other home-based Bible studies we offer across the Basin like our Morongo Valley Bible Study or 29 Palms Bible Study (details TBD).

The past few months, after heeding some good advice from a friend, I’ve begun to focus more on discipleship and training men for ministry. I continue to teach servant leadership training (SaLT) once a month, plus am now meeting each week with different men for one-on-one mentoring. Please pray that God will raise up future leaders in our church, and that we will give them opportunities to grow and serve.

Lastly, please pray for me as I teach on Tuesdays down at California Baptist University in Riverside. I’ve been asked to teach the junior and senior Applied Theology students about pastoral ministry, and to help organize their church internship program. Because of this new commitment, I’ve discontinued my Tuesday Greek class and my weekly involvement in the Copper Mtn. Christian Club. It’s an honor to serve as Adjunct Faculty at the university and to help mentor the next generation of pastors. But you can rest assured that serving as pastor at First Southern Baptist is still my primary calling and delight.

Over the past 25 years, God has blessed First Southern Baptist Church of Yucca Valley with a very comfortable and adequate facility. But the time has come to make some repairs and improvements. In 2011, we hope to enhance our facility in four key areas.

First, we need to replace stolen equipment and expand our preschool playground to be more kid- and family-friendly. Second (and the most urgent), we need to repair our leaking sanctuary roof with a new Fibertite roofing system and skylights. Third, we need to upgrade our sound system with new microphones, speakers, and wiring to better broadcast God’s Word. Finally, we need a new front sign to help invite our neighbors. These four components will not only get us back up to standard, but will improve our ability to minister to people in the 21st century.

This project represents the fruit of many hours of prayer and research by our church leaders. As I recently noted from 2 Chronicles 24, “how we care for God’s house reflects how much we care about God.” This is a great opportunity to love God and support His work here in the Morongo Basin.

This Friday and Saturday, we’re encouraging families to take time to pray and assess what the Lord is leading them to give. Then on Sunday, during the worship service, we’ll pray together for this project, humbly ask for God’s blessing, and quietly make our pledges before the Lord. The pledges are just a tool for each family’s benefit to take a step of faith and set a bold, yet attainable, goal. They will also help our stewardship committee in planning the timeline and extent of our repairs. The commitment cards will look like this:

We pledge, by God’ grace, to give above our regular offering…

$ ________ a Week for 21 Weeks (or)
$ ________ a Month for 5 Months (or)
$ ________ Total Amount
[  ] We cannot currently make a commitment, but pledge to pray for this campaign.

All names and individual amounts will be kept confidential. We realize that someone’s amount may even need to be revised or cancelled should circumstances make it necessary. But I think we will find our pledges to be a helpful benchmark as the year unfolds.

This is an exciting moment at First Southern as we unite together, give joyfully, and watch the Lord provide!

Please pray with us for this important campaign, and if the Lord lays it on your heart, consider making a donation of any amount to support our church ministry.

In 2008, both the U.S. men’s and women’s 400m Olympic relay teams were disqualified for dropping the baton. But how many pastors are guilty of failing to pass on the ministry baton to the next generation? In the Pastoral Epistles, we see Paul’s effort to make a clean pass to younger men who will minister long after Paul has finished his leg of the race.

Perhaps most significant is 2 Timothy 2:2, where we see the transmission of truth between four generations: “The things which you [Timothy] have heard from me [Paul] in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men [Timothy’s disciples] who will be able to teach others also [their disciples].”

How should this be applied in the local church? As I once heard and often tell others, one of the main roles of a pastor is to work himself out of a job. That is, over the years, and as I disciple my congregation, there should be an increasing number of trained and godly men who are able to receive the baton from me and carry it on for a new generation.

Colin Hansen has a must-read article for all pastors today on Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession. It frames the issue in a historical perspective, giving both some healthy and unhealthy examples of succession. Sadly, he points out that often,

Senior leaders don’t want to let go. They realize too late that they’re slowing down, a process that begins in many cases around age 60. Various aspects of the church’s vision become neglected, and the church stagnates. The senior leader’s gifting and experience mask underlying structural weaknesses, as in the case of Spurgeon. Meanwhile, younger leaders don’t want to wait around to take charge. Many capable young leaders know the long odds of a successful succession. So they prefer to plant their own churches or invest in smaller ones they can grow by God’s grace.

Curtis Thomas, in his excellent book Practical Wisdom for Pastors, gives a tragic example of one pastor:

Everything seemed just right, and it was expected that when he turned the reins over to a successor an ongoing, dynamic ministry would continue.

But he would not step down. His age advanced well beyond normal retirement. His health began to fade. His sermons began to lose their appeal. His influence began to wane. The members and even some of the leadership began to move elsewhere. Young couples began moving their memberships to other churches. Only his close, personal friends stayed with him, many of whom were quite old and less mobile, hence not very energetic when it came to the work of the Gospel.

As he saw his ministry begin to fade, he became bitter and very caustic. Squabbles erupted within the remaining members. Eventually the church voted to vacate the pulpit. Things became very acrimonious. The pastor left the ministry as a tired, pitiful, bitter old man.

I am a mere 32 years old. If the Lord tarries, and blesses me with good health, I have perhaps another 30-40 years of vibrant ministry ahead. Compared to the age of some in my congregation, I’m still a “kid.” But ironically, the time to start planning my succession — and to be training up the next generation — is right now.

Here’s a summary of last week’s Vacation Bible School. This article and photo appeared in today’s edition of the Hi-Desert Star.

Children entering First Southern Baptist last week were greeted by a 12-foot barn, pine trees, western murals, and a life-size ranch fence. The words “Saddle Ridge Ranch” were emblazoned across the large archway, welcoming kids into the 2010 Vacation Bible School.

On June 21-25, the church hosted games, crafts, music, and a Bible story each morning for local children. Families were invited back Friday night at 6 pm for Family Fun Night. Over 120 people attended the free BBQ followed by a closing concert and awards ceremony.

“This was a very special year for us,” said Pastor Stephen Jones. “We had record-breaking attendance and were able to make many new friends in the community. Both the kids and their parents were so enthusiastic. We give all the glory to God.”

Throughout the week, boys and girls competed to see who could bring the most missions offering. The boys barely edged out the girls on Friday, together raising over $240 for the Haiti Response Fund to provide food, water, medical supplies, and shelter for earthquake victims in Haiti.

Planning for next year’s VBS is already underway. The theme will be “The Big Apple Adventure,” featuring the sights and sounds of New York City.

First Southern Baptist Church is located at 56374 Onaga Trail in Yucca Valley. For more information about their regular services and kids programs, please call (760) 365-5771 or visit www.fsbcyv.org.