Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Detroit
 
Dear Friends,

           

In his final moments with his disciples, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?”  “Yes,” Peter replies.  Then, “Feed my lambs,” the Good Shepherd tells him.  “Tend my sheep.”  Three times, Jesus passionately repeats his instruction, pressing his followers:  If you love me, take care of the people I love.  Live your love for me by actively tending these for whom I have sacrificed everything.  (John 21:15-19)

 

Soon, you’ll have an opportunity to offer your gift to One Great Hour of Sharing, empowering our American Baptist ministries of disaster relief and refugee aid, meeting basic needs in Christ’s name throughout the world, and sharing resources that allow people to improve their own lives and communities.  Soon, each of us will decide how to respond to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?”

 

The members of the family of God—from those we know to distant sisters, brothers, and cousins in parts of the world we may never visit—are God’s flock, the sheep of God’s pasture (Ezekiel 34:31).  Yet, God’s flock is often forcefully scattered, as people are chased from their homes and livelihoods by brutal expressions of war, as communities and futures are shattered by natural disasters, as societies and countries are ground down by unrelenting hunger, disease, and poverty.

 

Jesus calls us to tend his sheep caught in these situations of evil and nature run amok.  And with love and energy, the Church responds!  Through One Great Hour of Sharing.

·        disaster victims quickly receive shelter, food, water, and medical supplies

·        local communities develop secure sources of food and clean water

·        minds and bodies grow stronger with new schools and medical clinics

·        refugees receive housing and long-term help to construct new lives.

 

In these challenging times, we often wonder how much we can afford to sacrifice to help feed Jesus’ beloved sheep, when our needs remain pressing.  Perhaps only our prayerful conscience can answer that.  But remember the feeding of the 5,000:  when Jesus asked the disciples to feed the crowd, the disciples despaired (Mark 6:34-44).  The five loaves and two fish seemed insignificant compared to the massive need.  Yet when each gave sacrificially from what they had, through God’s blessing, their gifts turned into a miracle of compassion for all.

 
 
 
Dear Friends,

“The Lord is my shepherd.”  Last Sunday we saw the 23rd Psalm as a journey psalm.  To call the Lord “my shepherd” says a lot about God and about us.  God’s provision meets our daily needs and God’s presence guides and leads us along the right paths.  God is a gracious host who audaciously sets a table for us in the presence of danger, threat and challenge.  “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Against this passage last Sunday, I introduce a shepherding ministry for FBC-D.  Shepherding ministries are as old as the church and FBC-D used to have one years ago.  From the Membership Committee to the Church Council, folks have responded to this idea as a prompting of the Holy Spirit.  And some folks have already stepped forward to become shepherds.

 

This ministry will extend and amplify the pastoral care ministry of the church.  The Shepherding Ministry will not replace the pastoral care I provide as your pastor.  However, I have been aware for some time that our metropolitan congregation is very wide spread and not everyone in the church is connected to others.  The very last thing we want to happen is for someone to fall through the cracks by having an unaddressed pastoral or ministry need.  Shepherds will have specific number of members and friends in their respective “flock.”  They will pray for these folks by name.  They will ask: “How may I pray for you?”  They will also remember folks on significant and special days.

 

Each shepherd’s list is being developed through prayer and the heart of the shepherd.  Our first “Shepherding Sunday” will be at the Annual Meeting, May 23, after the worship service.  Here each shepherd will gather his or her “flock” at a common table and we will hold a different type of Annual Meeting—a celebration of what the Lord is doing in our life.  Each shepherd will share with his or her table any details and lift up dreams for the church.

 

The whole of the spiritual life is predicated on the journey inward and the journey outward dynamic.  As we deepen our walk with God, we deepen our walk with each other.  This ministry will deepen our journey inward as a congregation and it is important that all of us participate.  I look forward to this next step of our journey together.

 

Peace and Grace,

 

 

 

 

Pastor Bill
 
FBC-Detroit 2010