“But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate …” First Kings 22:34. Not a chance!

Most of you know that Eileen, Joshua, and I lived in Chicagoland when Josh was a little guy. Our church was in Winnetka, and – being located north of the city – it was filled with loyal Cubs fans. And our years on Chicago’s North Shore included a few trips on the “L” (short for the “elevated” train) to Wrigley Field. One day Joshua asked me: “How come every time we come the Cubs lose?” Of course, he wasn’t alone in that observation or sentiment.

But win or lose – mostly lose – stepping into Wrigley felt like stepping into a slice of American history. The ivy. The sunbathers in the bleachers. The fans watching from nearby rooftops. The iconic surroundings and symbols. Waveland Avenue and Sheffield Avenue. The old center-field scoreboard. The world of Wrigleyville. The ballpark itself is 102-years-old.

What happened Monday night? It was Game 3 of the National League Division Series, and the first Cubs home playoff game in seven years.

But of more interest to me is this: six unsuspecting men caught six home run balls. (Don’t tune me out, Cardinals fans …)

Jeff Baum, a 46-year-old school administrator from Lubbock, Texas, had flown to the city to run in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. Baum describes himself as the “fat kid” who watched the Cubs on TV every summer of his youth.

17-year-old Nick Jarecki, from Deerfield High (close to Winnetka), plays baseball at his school. Jarecki exclaimed: “I had to catch it. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Jim Gatto, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, is a 46-year-old Wisconsin doctor. (His Uncle George was a third baseman for the Cubs organization for six seasons – never climbing out of the minor leagues.) Gatto had never caught a ball in all his years of Cubs games – not any ball, at any time, under any circumstances.

Paul Fromm is 30-years-old, and hadn’t attended a playoff game at Wrigley since 2003. He just moved back to Chicago after living in New York and Michigan. He found himself bleeding slightly after scrapping for his ball, but he didn’t care at all.

38-year-old Tony Killeen lives in Dyer, Indiana. He survived playoff collapses in 1984, 1989, 1998, 2007, and 2008. But he’s still a fan, especially now.

Wayward sunglasses notwithstanding, 39-year-old Gary Patterson of Oak Park caught his ball as it bounced off the chair in front of him.

Since the first World Series in 1903, never had one team hit six home runs in a postseason game. Six home runs. Six different players.

Out of the 42,411 people in attendance, six men in those bleacher seats became a part of baseball – and in fact our national – history.

Some may refer to “those lucky guys,” but you and I know better. Luck is for fables and fairy tales. We live in an ordered universe. Recent scientific discoveries point to a finely-tuned world. In order for there to be life on Planet Earth, the gravitational force must be constant. The expansion rate of the universe must be constant. A life-sustaining solar system can have only one star. To quote our friend Greg Koukl: “There is no chance for chance.”

So, when you catch your home run ball, celebrate for sure! But don’t for a split second believe that it “just happened.”

Some baseball games we win. Some we lose. But, to know by faith in Christ a totally Sovereign God – that is always a win.

Pastor Charles

I’m staring up at a palm tree thinking about Charles Haddon Spurgeon. On this precise date, way back in 1857, Spurgeon preached to 23,654 people. Yes, you read that correctly.

And, if my research is on target, that was numerically the largest gathering ever to hear a single sermon delivered by “the Prince of Preachers.” 23,654.

But here’s the fascinating part: Spurgeon had no voice amplification. There was no electronic sound system of any kind.

The venue was known as the Crystal Palace. It was a cast-iron and plate-glass building located in Hyde Park. That would be the Hyde Park of London, England. The Crystal Palace had been built to host the Grand Exhibition of 1851.

A couple of days before Spurgeon’s sermon, he was on site figuring out some of the details, like where the pulpit would be placed, and from where would his voice best project inside such a massive structure.

Sometimes, early on Sunday mornings during sound-check with the musicians, I can be heard in our sanctuary: “Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3 …” But Spurgeon didn’t waste time with words and numbers like that. Instead, Charles Spurgeon bellowed out in his best preacher’s voice: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” And the pulpit was fixed in its place.

Were you and I on the planning team today, charged with working out the details for an “outreach” event of similar proportions, we would undoubtedly conclude that it can’t be done. Not without the right equipment! We would require stellar acoustics, sharp video projection (right down to the pixels), climate control, and enough other creature comforts to satisfy any sophisticated audience.

But here’s what happened in 1857. In one of the galleries there at the Palace, a workman heard the sound of Spurgeon’s voice. That one Bible verse (John 1:29) is all he heard. Nothing else. At that moment, that man was shot in the heart with an arrow of the Word of God!

One arrow is all it takes. The man went home and wrestled with God until he found peace in his soul with the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith alone in Christ alone. And on his death-bed, many years later, that workman told the story that I just told you.

If my God can make this absolutely magnificent palm tree (I’ll send you a pic from my phone), maybe He can take care of everything else. The bells and whistles may be enjoyable, but Jesus is enough.

And, back to that workman’s story. Maybe you can tell someone else. You really won’t need a sound system, as long as you’re willing to make a sound.

Pastor Charles

Revival. Upon us we pray.

Thank you for a wonderful month of seeking the Lord to do great things in and through the people called First Baptist Paducah!

Scotland. 1949. The Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides Islands. Within sight of the Scottish mainland at the northern gateway to the Irish Sea. Fishing communities. Cold, windy, and wet.

A remarkable movement of the Spirit of God broke out in the villages of Shader and Barvas, which then spread all over the island, and eventually extended well beyond there. It was a powerful work of the Holy Spirit, in which the awareness of the presence of a holy God was so overwhelming – and the fear of God and the conviction of sin so great – that in a matter of hours, church buildings overflowed with people. No advertising of any kind. Imagine that.

Sunday morning I’ll show you a brief video capturing something of what is now remembered as the Hebrides Revival. It lasted almost three years.

But what led to the revival?

Prayer. Cottage prayer meetings, in fact. Two sisters, Peggy and Christine Smith – one of them 84 years of age and blind, the other 82 and crippled with arthritis – became particularly burdened by the appalling spiritual condition of their community. Not a single “young person” attended public worship, so these two women made that a matter of fervent prayer.

The Presbyterian minister, Duncan Campbell from Edinburgh, recorded: “A verse gripped them: ‘For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground’ (Isaiah 44:3). They were so burdened that both of them decided to spend a long time in prayer twice a week. On Tuesdays and Fridays they got on their knees at ten o’clock in the evening, and remained on their knees until three or four o’clock in the morning; two old women in a very humble cottage.”

The preacher was preaching his heart out, but no one was moved. The congregation was content in their stiff and cold religious routines, or so they thought.

During one particular worship service, a young boy named Donald – seated near the front of the sanctuary – began to quietly weep. The preacher, in humility, recognized that the boy was closer to God than the preacher – so he stopped his sermon and asked the boy to pray.

Three sentences into the boy’s prayer, God’s power fell upon the church. Formal Scottish Presbyterian churchgoers began to cry out to God for mercy. Many knelt in repentance. Many stretched their arms toward heaven (which was not the church’s “style”). Something similar was happening seven miles away, and God took it from there.

In Pastor Campbell’s own words: “More souls were saved through young Donald’s prayers than all the preachers in the revival.” Young women and men filled the pews, and then quickly took Christ’s gospel into the streets.

Two praying women and a boy moved the heart and hand of God. That’s how God moves.

First Baptist Family, revival is coming. As to be expected, fiery darts fill the air. Maybe you never pray for your church, but I urge you to pray this weekend. Only prayer will work.

Revival. Upon us. In us. Through us. (In spite of us.) “For nothing less than this, O Lord, we humbly pray.”

Pastor Charles

Genesis 1:27. The imago dei. It’s foundational to our understanding of God. It’s foundational to our understanding of us. It’s foundational to our understanding of others. We are all God’s image bearers. I’ll quote Daniel Darling from the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission: “The Bible is clear that there is no other way to look at your fellow human being other than someone sculpted by the hands of a loving God.”

When we talk about loving as we ought to love, we know that we must abandon prejudice. Prejudice and the gospel don’t mix. Christ lived and died to set us free from prejudice. When we as Christ’s body love across cultural barriers, we give people a taste of God’s heart. A glimpse of heaven. A living sermon.

What unites us, despite our differences, is Jesus. And when we love our community – and everybody in it – we further a view of the church that is attractive even to the guy who’s been burned by “the church.”

In late July I had the distinct privilege of spending some time with “Mother Georgia King” in Memphis. Mother King, who has been used of the Lord to further the cause of racial justice in the Mid-South, was very supportive and encouraging in regard to our desire to become a truly multiracial and multiethnic church family. We had a few minutes to think creatively, and to pray with and for each other. A real blessing for me.

Even for a moment, if I can be the loving shepherd who I need to be in regard to real racial reconciliation, that is who I really want to be.

For a number of years, I have admired the ministry of Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, who served faithfully at First Baptist Grand Cayman but who now pastors in the D.C. metro area. While in college, Thabiti joined an Islamic group simply because those Muslim students exhibited strong convictions in regard to absolute truth. Thankfully, a Christian believer also befriended Thabiti – and the Christian eventually helped Thabiti come to know the real, living Christ. Now Pastor Anyabwile not only passionately lives and preaches the gospel of Jesus, but he also blesses the larger community from the epicenter of the local church: the poor, the forgotten, and those who come from an educational system so intrinsically broken that all seems hopeless.

One day every nation, tribe, and tongue will worship before God’s throne. I can’t wait! Let’s practice now.

First Baptist Family, may we settle for nothing less than all-gospel, all-life, all-world impact for Christ. May our witness be fresh and winsome. May our passion be Christ and His kingdom. And may Christ’s Spirit in and through us eradicate every racial and ethnic gospel barrier for the glory of God.

Pastor Charles

Here’s what I know (I think) about the current crisis. Some of you have asked how we can help, so I’m including some ideas for that as well. If someone would like to organize a packing-and-shipping party, let me know and count me in!

This Civil War may be the worst humanitarian crisis that we’ve personally observed (via the media) in our lifetime. A deadly confrontation continues to erupt between the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Syria’s other rebel militias. 11 million people have been displaced so far. In many cases these men, women, and children have nowhere to go.

Anti-government demonstrations began in March 2011 (part of the “Arab Spring” that started in Tunisia in late 2010), but then the government cracked down with extreme violence. Rebels started fighting to strip President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of its power. There is a loosely organized Free Syrian Army. Ethnic and religious divisions complicate everything, making it extremely difficult even to get a handle on this international crisis. The scene has gone from bad to worse.

For Syrian Christians – who have been caught in the crossfire – things are absolutely terrifying. Lawlessness has become the norm. Militant Muslim extremists have robbed churches, and kidnapped and raped (and sometimes killed) Christian women. People walking to the store have been gunned down. More than 1500 violent deaths in Homs alone (see photo of the city’s destruction).

Half of those killed are believed to be civilians. Basic life necessities are sparse. More than half of all Syrians are in need of urgent assistance, whether or not they have managed to get across the border.

The majority of Syrian refugees live in Jordan and Lebanon. Those in Iraq are trapped there by Iraq’s own internal conflict, and Iraq can’t even take care of Iraqis. Turkey has been similarly overwhelmed, so refugees have tried to cross the dangerous Mediterranean in hopes of some relief in Greece (or other parts of Europe). As you know, Greece is totally financially strapped.

Why do refugees take such tremendous risks? Because they’ve seen their neighborhoods bombed and their family members killed. Millions of Syrians await help from the U.N., but it may be a long and futile wait. Refugees are streaming through Europe, hoping desperately to survive a mad scramble through the Balkans and Hungary – sometimes having less than a day to escape.

The numbers of refugees are growing exponentially. This will likely surpass the Rwandan genocide two decades ago. Don’t picture these people living in camps – most of them can’t (there aren’t enough camps or supplies). No heat, no running water, and all the sadness and disease that accompanies such conditions.

Some of the refugees are Christians. Most are Muslims. All are desperate. Consider Genesis 12:10; 26:1; 41:57; 42:6; 43:1-7; Leviticus 19:34; Deuteronomy 10:18-19; Luke 14:12-14 (sound familiar?); Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2-3; and First Peter 4:9. Consider Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Daniel, and Baby Jesus. God’s people love refugees!

Thank you for the BIG HEART of the people called First Baptist Paducah.

Pastor Charles

Guess who was back in the dental chair before we left Eastern Europe? Tom, again! But all is well, and Drs. Dan and Daniel got in a little extra practice on “the toughest case of the week.”

On a more serious note, I want to thank all of you for your encouragement and prayers for Romania 2015. I couldn’t be happier about all that happened as part of the mission. We experienced spiritual victories both large and small. (And who says that “small” is small when God is in it?)

In August of 2014, while in Romania, I was asked to pray for a woman and her children – the woman’s husband had just abandoned the family and left them in a desperate situation. We prayed for a miracle then, that God would not just bring the man home – but that he would bring him home restored to a right relationship with Himself. During this year’s trip, after Sunday evening worship, the same woman’s daughter came to me, exclaiming: “Look – that man over there is my dad! He came home two days ago, a new man, walking with the Lord – and he’s home for good.”

All I can do is quote Fanny Crosby: “To God be the glory; great things He has done!”

The multi-church evangelistic meeting at the Cultural Center was a delight. To see all the churches working together – and to see the larger community (with a few from the Orthodox Church in the mix) blessed by hearing Christ’s gospel – was a real joy for me. One local pastor told me that I preached like Spurgeon. (I’ll live on that kind word for at least a month.) Anyway, the pastors want to see that kind of partnering ministry happen again, at least annually, for purposes of shared outreach and evangelism. I’m sure that they’ll lock arms and see to it that the vision stays alive.

In my photos you’ll see some of the kids with whom I got to eat and have some fun, the sweet ladies in the kitchen who helped feed those who needed the love of the church with “skin on it,” and one of the sections of the brass band that kicked off our community event with the open-air sounds of Romania. Much to take in. Much to enjoy. Much to remember and cherish.

If any of my Romanian friends are reading, I send all of you love and blessings in Jesus’ name.

In the words of Psalm 67:4: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity  and guide the nations upon earth!” Does it get any better than that?

Pastor Charles

There is an older lady that runs by our house every morning.   She’s got a distinct joy-filled aura about her.  Smiling contentedly, she shuffles slowly along, her hunched over frame suggesting that it’s seen some mileage.   She’s not the fastest runner, nor the one with the best form.  In fact, your first impression wouldn’t be one of shock and awe; it might not even be memorable.  Not until you saw her day in and day out, scuffling along in sun, rain, snow or ice, would you really begin to appreciate her.  That’s how it was for us, anyway.  As her daily grind turned into months and months into years, our family lovingly dubbed her as ‘Old Faithful’.

She doesn’t know it, but Old Faithful has inspired me often on my own runs.  Many a day, I want to call it quits before I ever get out the door.  ‘I’m too tired… My feet hurt already… My body is just getting too old for this…’ The myriad of excuses come at me ten-fold.

But then Old Faithful comes to mind, her hunched-over steadfast and resolute frame, and I think, ‘if she can do it, so can I!’  I make my way out to the street, remembering that I don’t have to be the best or the finest and it doesn’t even have to look pretty.   It’s just about showing up, being present and consistent—faithful to the cause.

As I was running this morning, my mind was on the fact that one of our finest student ministry teachers, Keith Nelson, is getting ready to step down from teaching for a bit.  He has been teaching for almost twenty years and feels like God is calling him to join his wife in her Sunday School class.   I thought about how many lives he has touched over the years and how much the kids love him.  Just the day before, the boys in our youth group had broken out in a spontaneous chant: ‘Keith!  Keith!  Keith!  Keith!’

These thoughts were mulling about in my head when I spotted Old Faithful.  She was slowly inching toward me, patient and determined.  Just as our paths crossed, I was suddenly struck with a revelation.  Old Faithful and all that she stood for was the epitome of who Mr. Keith has been for the past twenty years in our student ministry.

Mr. Keith is not one to ever take the spot light, nor does he want to (in fact, I doubt he’ll be all too keen on having an entire blog post written about him).  He’s not flashy or loud and you might not notice him at first.  He quietly tends to the background, looking for ways to serve those around him.  There’s no telling how many chairs he has stacked on a Wednesday night in the past twenty years.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:35: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  I definitely think of Mr. Keith when I hear that verse.

He might be a man of few words, but Mr. Keith sure can belt out a powerful yet tender prayer—the kind that’ll leave your hair standing on end.  Maybe his prayers are so impactful because he says “Lord, Jesus” at least a dozen times throughout them.

If you spent much time with Mr. Keith, it didn’t take you long to realize his passion for pointing others to Jesus.   And that’s exactly what he did day after day, week after week, year after year in our student ministry.  If you were fortunate enough to be in his Sunday School class, you heard him preach it.  If you were around him on Wednesday nights or at youth events, you saw it through his loyal servant-hood.

The more you were around him, the more you began to appreciate Mr. Keith.  You began to notice the little things he did, like making sure others had their coffee before he got his own.   Week in and week out, he was there with a smile, a pat on the back, or a word of encouragement.  I’m sure he doesn’t realize it, but he has made his mark on those around him.  First, he’s taught and inspired us to put others first.  Secondly, he’s been a living example of one who consistently puts the spotlight on Jesus and not himself.

If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a thousand times:  “Mr. Keith is about as faithful as they come.”

Consistently serving, consistently loving, consistently there.  Old Faithful in the truest form.

Mr. Keith, we love you.  You have touched more lives than you’ll probably ever know.  We sure will miss you.  You are always welcomed to come back and hang with us anytime.  And please know that even though we might refer to you as Old Faithful, it does not in any way, shape or form imply that you are an old geyser.

Guest blogger: Maria Grogan, Student Ministry Leadership Team

“By every word!”

Like Jesus told us in Matthew 4:4, we don’t live by bread alone, but “by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” It is exhilarating to experience God’s people in Romania trusting the Lord to build His Church even in circumstances which are sometimes hostile and adverse. We met with Millennials last night who expressed the difficulties they encounter in living for Christ in the face of an increasingly secularized culture (sound familiar?), but who are nevertheless committed to staying the course. We praise God for that! We ended our time with a season of corporate prayer led by the young adults.

Today Dan continued his dental clinic with complete success. More and more folks in the village are hearing of his free dental care and making their way to the office for a chance to see him, and tomorrow promises to be another busy day for Dan. Pastor Sabin — who I got to know in 2014, and who was such a special blessing to me on my last trip — has been so gracious and competent as a translator in the clinic.

This morning we delivered supplies to the hospital and met a few of the medical staff. They are very grateful for our help, and would like to enter into a more purposeful relationship in which we periodically assist them with a few items that are almost impossible to come by here. We were treated to a tour of the new surgical suite — which certainly looks good compared to the rest of the facility, still plagued by the Communist era — and we were even escorted right into the OR.

We went out into the village and delivered groceries where they are most needed. The shopping went quickly — we were men on a mission — and we tried to package the food so that every family would receive the same needed supplies. Each home visited became a tender encounter marked by Christ’s grace (including a visit to see the elderly lady whose tooth could not be pulled yesterday). She was very glad to welcome us into her little house, and that was a moment to remember.

The church served, and we enjoyed, a late lunch with some of the homeless — along with some others who are not homeless but for whom a hot meal is greatly appreciated. After lunch we distributed some of the hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses with which you sent us to Romania.

After writing this update, I’ll review my notes for the youth conference tonight. Please pray for God’s Spirit to blow through Grace Church in an amazing way this evening, as we honor Christ and seek to inspire the young people to live by His every word! There is so much potential here for a powerful movement of Almighty God. We want nothing less.

Pastor Charles

United in Christ! That’s who we are! Galatians 3:28.

We are so grateful to God for the Hispanic Ministry of First Baptist Paducah, and especially for the leadership of Pastor Julio Acosta. Sometimes our church calendar gets so busy – in our little corner of the world – that we miss out on some of the great work that the Lord is doing in the lives of others right here within our own church family. And our Hispanic Church is one of those all-too-often hidden gems.  

Did you know that our Hispanic Church is meeting regularly, and reaching the Hispanic community, well beyond the campus of 2890 Broadway? I want you to know about this – so that you can celebrate this – with the hope that you’ll take a late-summer frolic-and-detour (that’s what we called it in law school) and see for yourselves.

Every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., the FBC Hispanic Church meets in Melber, Kentucky, for a Bible study, fellowship, and outreach. You can stop by the Family Life Center at Melber Baptist Church (address: 2672 KY 1820, Melber 42069) and be part of the action – so plan to get your Spanish on!

Every Thursday is just as exciting, but the start time is 7:00 p.m., and the location is Mayfield, Kentucky – at the Graves County Baptist Association (address: 1400 KY 303, Mayfield 42066). Go check it out!

And, yes, the rumors have been substantiated. Not just our church family is expanding, but so is the Acosta Family! Don’t forget to pray for Pastor Julio, Sharon, and Daniel … as they prepare for this tiny little bundle of joy.

A Dios sea la Gloria! To God be the glory!

Pastor Charles