Hey CHURCH FAMILY,

I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to send out a quick reminder about services tomorrow. We are in for a special treat as our Pastor Emeritus David Cason will be delivering the message. We have services at 8:15, 9:30 and 11:00. If you’re unable to make it in person, you can livestream the service from home. You can watch it on our website, Facebook, YouTube or Church Online Platform. 

I was out of town this week for a NextGen Pastor Cohort in Nashville, TN. I want to express my gratitude for making this trip possible. I’ve been part of this cohort for the last 2 years.

Basically, three to four times a year, I am able to meet up with 8-10 other younger pastors from the state of Texas to discuss ministry and learn “Mentor Pastors” around the country. It’s a small investment with a large return. I always come away from those times encouraged, challenged and excited about the future.

This last gathering was with Ronnie Floyd, the president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. It was a learning experience for sure.

For those of you new to Broadview, we are a “Southern Baptist Church.” That means we cooperate with other “like-minded” churches at a local, state and national level. One aspect of this partnership is our giving to the Cooperative Program. 

We give 6% of our General Fund income to the Cooperative Program. This money is pooled with other CP gifts from other SBC churches and then distributed to further mission and ministry in our state, nation and around the world. The Executive Committee is responsible for collecting, allocating and distributing those funds. 

October is the Cooperative Program emphasis month which is part of the reason I’m giving you this explanation. Our giving helps to send thousands of full-time missionaries to the most unreached places of the world. Our giving helps to plant churches in the most unreached areas of our country. Our giving helps to pay tuition for seminary students at our six SBC seminaries. (of which I was a personal beneficiary!) 

The CP funds entities like the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission, Baptist Press, Lifeway Christian Resources, and more. So every time you give to our church, you are a co-laborer in that cause. It really is an amazing thing. We are able to do so much more together than we ever could do separately.

I wanted to share with you a video I watched while on this last cohort trip. It was an inspiring reminder of why things like the Cooperative Program matters. It’s also a reminder that giving to the CP helps us advance in our own 2020 Vision to multiply disciples, bless our city, plant/revitalize churches and send missionaries.

Check it out.

Get Your Flu Shot!

Before closing out this week’s update, I wanted to give you an update on a few things happening in our church. Below you’ll see updates on the upcoming women’s retreat and men’s Bible study. Please help me spread the word on those two things.

We are also having our annual “Flu Shot Clinic” on October 25th. You can register to get your flu shot using this webform or by filling out the same form on campus a week prior to that date. The shots are provided by Barnes and Williams Pharmacy (owned by church member Jordan Talley) 

Jordan will also need a copy of your insurance card or Medicare card, if applicable, to process the vaccine. Please make sure the card you send has pharmacy processing information on it, such as RxBIN, RxPCN, RxGRP, and ID number. You can email your card to the email address below or we can collect a copy of it the week before the clinic.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jordan at 325-695-3784 or jordan.talley@bwdrug.com.

New Sermon Series

As you well know, we are in an election season right now! In God’s good providence, this time of year also lines up with a section in the book of Ephesians on Spiritual Warfare. Nothing exposes the invisible war that rages all around us quite like the political season. 

I just find it amazing how a commitment to expository preaching surfaces the relevant issues at the relevant times. I didn’t pick the book of Ephesians thinking that we’d be addressing this issue at this time. The Lord just made it clear, after the pandemic, that we needed the practical wisdom of this great letter to flourish during this season. Obviously, He knew what he was doing.

I have LOVED preaching this book. I learn so much each week in preparing for the messages. Honestly, I didn’t think we would move as slowly as we have nor did I imagine us staying in this book for so long. However, the Lord has been clear in directing our steps and He has accomplished so much in us through this journey. I’m excited about what this next series will present. 

Paul’s thesis is that “we battle NOT against flesh and blood” but rather “principalities and powers” of this evil age. This is so true. We tend to focus on the personalities and the surface level threats. The true threats are the demonic spirts and satanic ideologies that undergird so much of our politics and “culture wars.” 

It’s so important that Christians know where the true battle lays and how to win the war for your soul. That’s why, for the weeks leading up to the election and for the rest of this year we are going to talk about Spiritual Warfare. We will explore what it takes to win the battle for your soul using the armor of God and the weapons he has provided.

Please continue praying for me as I prep for this series. Especially in the weeks leading up to the election. As usual, I’ll try to avoid needless partisanship. However, we are not going to muzzle what the Bible says about the political issues facing us today. More importantly, we are going to address these issues at their “spiritual root” instead of the surface level “talking points.” Hopefully, it will be a clarifying and unifying season for our church even as our country grows more and more polarized and uncivil. 

Closing Thoughts

With that, I’m going close up this week’s update. Please be praying for those in our church family who’ve lost loved ones. It seems like every week we lose not just a church member, but a deeply loved and significantly invested member of our church. As one person said, it is a great sadness for us, but great glory for them.

These are people who leave behind a great legacy of faithfulness and righteousness. It’s hard to say goodbye and their absence will be felt for years to come. But the Lord is good and he will continue to be faithful. Even as past generations graduate to their final destination, the Lord is raising up a new generation to pick up where they left off.

In the words of the author of Hebrews,