Join us for Worship Live @fbcknox @ 11 EST; or if you're home, on our webcast or Fox-43

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We're open for Breakfast @ 9:30 & Worship @ 11:00. Or Watch the Webcast & Fox-43 TV

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Join us @ 5-6 2nite 4 Christmas Eve service @fbcknox or live on local Fox-43

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Services canceled tonight. Middle school party moved to Friday night

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Services are canceled tonight. Middle school and high school Christmas party combine Friday night.

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Eddie survived a fire & is now #homeless. But he's always kept his word. Watch:

Christmas Brunch Interview 3 from First Baptist Church, Knoxville on Vimeo.

Eddie survived a fire and lived to tell about it. After working at Regas and Club LeConte, Eddie is now at Volunteer Ministry Center, hoping to move into Minvilla Manor. He learned from his father to "keep his word with people" so "he could always go back." Eddie joined us this past Saturday as our guest for the 5th annual Christmas Brunch.

In 2010, you could find @fbcknox people everywhere. Watch this year of ministry in review:

Looking back on a great year of ministry.

Love Feast Video - 2009-2010 Year in Review from First Baptist Church, Knoxville on Vimeo.

Many thanks to Michael McEntyre and Brandon Moore for producing this video.

An open Sunday night on the calendar during Advent? Perfect time for partnership and mission @fbcknox #missional @downtownknox

Finding an open Sunday night for a program-based church during the Christmas season is like finding an empty parking spot at the mall. It rarely happens. But for churches on mission, Sunday nights no longer need to be filled with another event for the sake of the calendar. Many groups celebrate the season and carry out the church's mission even better than we can on campus. With no reason to reinvent the proverbial worship wheel, churches can partner with these groups and extend the mission of the kingdom of God.

Consider what happened yesterday at First Baptist. The Fellowship Council and Worship Council provided lunch and worship. Neither happened on our campus, but both were "First Baptist events." During the lunch hour, several families participated in "Advent out to Lunch." Nine downtown restaurants offered "discounts" for eating out. I like what Courtney Evans said. She called it the "GOJESUS discount." But these families went a step further. They re-gifted the savings to the restaurant servers. They shared their percentage off their meal as an additional gratuity for the work the food service workers provide year-round.

Following the meal, many others attended the Knoxville Nativity Pageant. For 42 years, the First Baptist family and extended family have provided a living re-enactment of the prophecies and announcements of the birth of Christ as well as the arrival of the shepherds and magi. At 3:00 p.m. we worshiped together along with hundreds of others and joined (officially) what this fine organization as been doing in our community.

Our strategic plan for 2010-2014 calls us not only to work together but think creatively about these kinds of partnerships we can form with groups already on mission. Sunday was just one example of the way this is happening. There is no better season than to share the season with people who know the kingdom of God is "at hand." Now we can join hands.

(Pictured above Jonathan Higdon, Reese Higdon, and Drake Shiell check out the sheep stars of the Nativity Pageant.)

For more information on other churches who are engaged in partnerships, check out these great examples:

Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.

First Baptist Church, Wilmington, North Carolina, Harrelson Center
Hopeful Imagination Resources

Brunch gives smiles to a grandmother parenting a mother and grandchildren @fbcknox

Lillie Duncan has been watching First Baptist on television for over five years, but life has not been the same since her 90-year old husband passed away after a long battle with cancer. On Sunday mornings, First Baptist has been her worship home through our television ministry. But she had not attended our church until last year’s Christmas brunch. Her daughter Sue Johnson brought Lillie along with her great-grandchildren to our Christmas brunch again Saturday, and Lillie and I had a chance to meet.

For five years, the Christmas brunch has touched the kind of people who have been hurt the most by the economic downturn. They were receding before there was a recession. Under normal circumstances, when life piles on routine stress, our guests struggle. During times like these, many people face collapse.

Lillie and Sue are good examples. Lillie is homebound but fiercely independent. She cannot drive. She told me that the brunch would be her only meal of the day. She can’t cook for herself anymore. At age 70, Sue not only cares for her mother, but she’s also the primary caregiver for two grandchildren, a boy and girl ages 9 and 10. Their father has been through a divorce, works to make ends meet, and relies on his mother to provide assistance. In between her responsibilities as a mother, grandmother, and daughter, Sue works a part time job at a local mental health facility. Sue heard about the brunch because we contacted the facility to spread the word about the brunch. She shared the information at her work, and she brought her family back to enjoy the meal and festivities.

For one morning in December, there is hope, friendship, love, warmth, and as Sue Johnson said, “Smiles. If there is a frown, and someone gives them a smile, they might turn it around.” There were over 250 smiling volunteers sharing with people like Lillie and Sue and hundreds of others. We could not do this without your generosity and the volunteers who gave more than a Saturday to smile and love the people in the way Jesus loved them.

(Pictured from Left to Right: Sue Johnson, Sydney and Zachary Johnson, Lillie Duncan

"We've never done it that way before" would not make a good jingle for the mall merchants. #Advent blog:

The calendar from late November to mid-December usually answers one question for most East Tennesseans: "What did we do last year?" If you look at your calendar today, it's probably very similar to the one last year. Even if you did nothing last year, and the same this year, you've carried on a tradition.

But Isaiah asks us to think differently even about tradition. He knew even as a Jerusalem priest, tradition, annual feasts, celebrations, and especially the tradition of apathy were not nearly enough to get people ready for change and hope. In most cases, traditions just blind people further. Religious types tend to repeat traditions and keep the status quo for fear of losing what they know and for upsetting those they perceive have always liked it this way. "We've never done it that way before" would not make a good jingle for the mall merchants or a song on the all-Christmas music station.

Isaiah knew, and we know, that in order for Advent work, God must do something that we've never seen before. And we must respond in a way that we've never tried. Yesterday, we learned from Isaiah 2:1-5, in order to climb the mountain of the Lord, we'll need to check our weapons at security never to pick them up again.

When the light shined out of the cave of Bethlehem, down the mountain of the Lord, and drew people unto himself, God was asking for us not only to shed our political weapons of war but also our religious weapons of tradition. From Isaiah's perspective, the only traditions worth doing this month are the ones that cause us to shed our baggage and help us climb the mountain of the Lord with the things God really needs from us.

Like mountain climbers, we need people we can trust, whom we can tie onto as we climb the mountain. When we reach the summit, we'll need to offer the only gift that God wants-- our lives.

Perhaps you've never tried this, but Jesus' mother Mary could teach you a song or two about that. And in order for this to work, we're going to need some group to try.

Climb the mountain for #Advent10 @fbcknox @summitchallenge @robertdickie Blog:

Long before there were carols, Black Friday, nativity sets, and greenery, prophets saw a picture of a new way of living. In Isaiah 2:1-5, the picture included a large mountain that nations could stream to, settle cases before the Divine Judge, and return home to plow their land in peace.

He was not the first to depict a world at peace. Our modern attempts from UN millennium development goals, NATO "peacekeeping" operations, judgments issued from the World Court at the Hague, or peace treaties signed at Camp David came from ideas, real and imagined. They only plunge us further, however, into blindness toward the one Light that could save us. Every human attempt to solve the nations' problems becomes an exercise in the blind leading the blind deeper into the abyss because they leave out the one thing that Isaiah included. It was the sense that the one thing that could save us is not us. We are being called by the Creator to a place not of our own design but of God's. The only thing that could possible save the world is not a thing at all, but rather a Light from God given to the world.

Isaiah reminds us of our condition and our hope. We are people "walking in darkness," and God has shined this light from a mountain. We are so far removed from the source, however, the light appears to be one of just many stars in a galaxy of options in our world. What the world needs, and the nations need, more than anything else is a group so committed to the Light, they are willing to begin the climb up the mountain.

In modern climbing up the highest elevations such as Kilimanjaro, Rainier, and Everest, the last ascent begins around 1:00 a.m. The ascent and return to camp can take 13-18 hours. Storms roll in around 2:00 p.m. A mountain climber at the summit would be a human lightning rod with all of his attached metal. So the climbers carry only what they need, begin the ascent at night, and hope for the light of the moon and stars to guide them. Sometimes they rope together to help one another. The person in the lead will take the first steps, anchor into the mountain, turn around, and shine a headlight back so that the team can see where they are walking and listen for directions from the leader as they climb.

Our journey of Advent is a climbing expedition toward the summit of God's mountain. Unlike the kinds of trips we normally take during this season, we will need to pack differently. We don't need presents, decorations, lights, and ornaments to go "over the river and through the woods." We need to pack only what we need and take people we can tie onto for the last ascent to the summit.

On the climb, the only traditions that can help us are the traditions that train us to move toward the light, not leave us safely blinded in the past. We don't need to repeat what we did last year during this season for the sake of carrying on the past. Even the religious crowd of Isaiah's day (and Jesus') had plenty of things they did the previous year. We can't expect our possessions, traditions, people, occupations, and things to be the same when we're finished with this journey. If we move toward the light, life as we know it will never be the same.

Thankfully we have some examples of the way this really works. Magi saw the star and moved toward it. Joseph changed his plans when an angel spoke to him in a dream. And we have a rising star to guide us. So let's not wait any longer. Let's climb the mountain.


(Many thanks to Robert Dickie and the 7 Summit Challenge team for their beautiful pictures of the last part of their climb on Kilimanjaro.

Come to the light of a rising Star during #Advent 10 @fbcknox Blog:

Advent makes the rather shocking announcement that, this year, things will be different. That somehow, some way, before Christmas arrives, we will be ready for what Immanuel is going to do, to be with us. This of course is not how we schedule it. We would just prefer for Jesus to come to us while we repeat what we did last year. That is why we decorate, to make room in our homes for him to come. That is why we wrap presents, to give gifts to him when he comes. That is why we sing, so that when Jesus shows up again, he will appreciate our music. Hardly.

Unfortunately, the calendar, seasons, and annual celebrations more often than not inoculate our senses. Between the bowl games, Christmas letters, final exams, and travel, we assumed we could go through all this along with everything else and be ready for the divine presents to be left on December 25th. But that's now how Christmas works, and that's why we need Advent.

Advent is a liminal season, a thin place between the time when we say "Jesus has come," and "Jesus will come again." Most of our carols, traditions, and celebrations reinforce the assumption that if we wait and urge "Emmanuel to Come," He will just break through what we normally do this time of year. But prophets, Mary, Joseph, and Magi, saw things differently and responded differently. Instead of sitting back, they moved.

It seems like it was just yesterday, nine months ago really, that there was a rather shocking announcement to a girl barely old enough to date let alone be married. She was having a baby. Her husband had doubts. But all of this sort of fit the way things worked in his family-- surprise announcements to women and men who least expected to be instruments of God's grace. In case that was not surprising enough, their preachers missed the prediction. Magicians followed a rising star to be some of the first to find the King. Mary and Joseph relocated, some babies died. As Matthew remembered it, the whole episode gave "new beginnings" a whole new meaning for families and changed the "powers that be" in another political family.

We don't need Advent to tell us that something is not right with the world. We have the endless cycle of breaking news to do that. We don't need Advent to give us a countdown clock to Christmas. Your local retailer knew that right after Halloween. We do need Advent so we will come differently, as the Magi did, "to bow down and worship him." We need this month so that we will relocate our lives as Mary and Joseph did as willing instruments to the divine summons of grace.

The good news for us is that we get a do-over. We get another chance to come before God arrives, as Albert Delp suggests, to put things back where God placed them. To help us, we have a few voices and some music. Isaiah invites us to check our weapons at security, leave behind the bags we never needed in the first place, and move toward the mountain of Zion. On just an ordinary day of work, John the Baptist challenges the "powers that be" as well as the people whom we empowered to come down to the river. The children dancing in the marketplace invite us to let go of ourselves and spontaneously burst with joy, frivolity, and dancing. The magi tell us that even the stars can lead you home if you know Whom you're looking for.

Before you untangle another light, pose for another Christmas picture, purchase another fruitcake, or send another card, watch the prophets, angels, Magi, and a rising star. This time, Come.

2 Homeless women stay @fbcknox in February & have a home by Spring. @knoxtyp Blog:

First Baptist partners with Family Promise of Knoxville to provide shelter to homeless families for one week each quarter. Connie (top left) and Kim (bottom left) stayed with us on the Mezzanine in February and now live in an apartment. First Baptist gives through the budget to support Family Promise. Our volunteers fed these guests and spent the night with them. The resources you have given through the budget and your volunteer hours have made a huge impact on their lives. Here's a report from Connie on how they are doing now:

“Thank you Family Promise for giving Kimberly and I an environment where we could just breathe, a place that was and still is full of support and patience.
Kimberly and I received so much support and caring from each of our host churches and their volunteers, sometimes it was very overwhelming. I didn’t think it was possible for people who didn’t know us could care so very much.

"During our stay, we met wonderful people we will never forget. It was exciting to see who our host family for the night would be. Who would have thought Kim and I would meet a man who designed the lens for the Hubble Telescope, or someone from Scotland?

"The overall experience was a positive one. The room Kim and I had felt like home. The little gifts meant a lot to Kimberly, especially the monogrammed pillow case from one church and the pj’s with hearts all over from another. We cherish the memories.

"I now have my own apartment full of furnishings that someone gave to Family Promise. When I sit at the kitchen table and have morning coffee I look around and say to myself, 'I am Home. Kim and I are Home!' Thank you everyone!"

Connie and Kimberly

Thank you from Sabrina Ravanell, a face @fbcknox

Sammi (Sabrina) Thank-you-monial from First Baptist Church, Knoxville on Vimeo.

Sammi came to First Baptist Church with her family when they were active with the deaf congregation. Sammi got involved with the youth group at First Baptist and connected with others in the church. When it was time for Sammi to move on to college, the church surrounded her to provide support to help her succeed.

Thriving in Babylon: Essays in Honor of Chip Conyers @williamshiell chapter: "Share in the Joy"

From Wipf and Stock's website:
This delightfully multifaceted volume, comprised of thoughtful essays by an esteemed array of cultural critics, probes the intersection of Christian faith and culture to honor the memory of A. J. "Chip" Conyers, a remarkably ecumenical Christian scholar and cultural "warrior" whose premature death in 2004 cut short a remarkable career in teaching and writing. As those who knew him can attest, Conyers lived his life at the intersection of Christian theology and cultural concern with a singular blend of astuteness, gracefulness, and Christian conviction.

This festschrift, as esteemed theologian and Conyers's mentor Jürgen Moltmann indicates in the foreword, is intended to mirror Conyers's own commitment to incisive cultural criticism and theological faithfulness in the mold of the "great tradition." This is no small achievement even for so venerable a cast of scholars as the contributors to this volume, as Conyers crossed interdisciplinary boundaries—in a day of escalating hyper-specialization—with the greatest of ease. He was comfortable discussing contemporary church life or the christological controversy of the patristic era, Heideggerian hermeneutics or human dignity and the imago Dei, faith and the Enlightenment or the fatherhood of God, Catholic "substance" or Protestant reform.

Yet Conyers always did this through the lens of historic Christian orthodoxy. Though he was a most incisive student of culture, in a most refreshing way he steered clear of being co-opted by the currents of culture. Neither retreating into pious devotionalism nor opting for the theologically unreflective activism that has become so chic in our post-consensus climate, he embodied a theological perspective that blends responsible cultural engagement with eschatological hope.

The reader is sure to encounter the same blend in this festschrift, and to come away both challenged and edified toward fulfilling the message and hope of Conyers' life and work: to faithfully thrive in Babylon.

Pre-Order your Copy.

Wipf and Stock Publishers

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Communicating Church: Communicating Church Conference

Communicating Church: Communicating Church Conference: "On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, Carson-Newman College will host the Communicating Church Conference from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.  The conferen..."

Thanks for a 3rd straight quarter of generosity @fbcknox new blog:

Thank you for giving to First Baptist Knoxville during the third quarter of 2010. Because you have given so generously, we have been able to celebrate the work that God is doing in our midst through the Fall Festival of Faith.

Just as summer turns to autumn, so this season of First Baptist has been one of harvesting and planting. We have reaped the benefit of wonderful relationships formed and renewed through Sunday School and small groups. Families have shared dinner conversations around the Bible study, worship, and sermon themes. Individuals have met providentially in ways they never expected. As many people said, “I didn’t know this person before the Festival; but I can see now why we have been brought together.”

Attached to this post, you will find another way we say thanks for giving. It’s the first edition of our “First Baptist Faces” cards. These are the people and families who write to tell us how First Baptist has touched their lives. You might never see the work that is done for them, and I want you to know about the difference you have made. Because you give, staff, volunteers, and ministries through our budget touch lives behind the scenes. You will be reading more of these First Baptist faces. If you have one to share, please drop me a line; and let me know the difference God has made in you through First Baptist.

As of today, our giving is over 11% ahead of last year. Thanks for your faithfulness, and I am looking forward to a great fourth quarter. Please let the office know if we can assist you.

Where do we go from the Festival of Faith @fbcknox? Through the wardrobe on the adventure blog

C.S. Lewis depicted the conversion of the Christian life like children entering the magical land of Narnia. The icy grip of sin melted away because of the bright light of Christ radiating through the lives of good and faithful sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. The passageway from this world to the next, according to Lewis, was like a wardrobe full of coats to wear in the new world. The children donned the coats, and they "came down to their heels and looked more like royal robes."

Over the past 6 weeks during the Fall Festival of Faith, we have been playing in the wardrobe. The robes are the virtues of the Christ-like character, cultivated and nourished through the worshiping life of the believer and practiced daily in the habits of living as God wants us to behave. God takes our mind, time, relationships, and experiences and restores us to the people he created us to be, good and faithful servants living the character of Christ.

Where do we go from here? That's really up to you. Mark Moeller has already been meeting with people interested in a new Bible study for empty nesters. College students will continue their Tuesday night Bible study led by Scott Erwin. Others have made personal decisions that shape life forever. I look forward to seeing other fruit that is cultivated. Let me offer a few suggestions for the coming days.

1.) Share the experience. As you return to your routines, share testimonies in Sunday School of what the Festival of Faith meant to you. One of the best ways we find meaning from the Festival is through hearing each other's stories in the days ahead.

2.) Pray to want what God wants, not for Encore. The easiest prayer to pray is, "God, do it again." The harder prayer to pray is, "Lord, I want what you want." We love for God to repeat himself, but he asks us to live into the now in our world. The way we do that is by wrestling with the question every day, "Do I want what God wants for me?"

3.) Find some accountability. You will be reading and hearing more about Monvee, an online accountability for individuals. Even if you're not handy with the computer, find someone to help you carry the burdens and live into the restored you.

4.) Cultivate new habits. It takes about 21 days or so consistently to develop new habits, but we cultivate those through regular diet and exercise. Decide ahead of time how you will live the fruits of the spirit, and choose one person, relationship, or office where you will practice those virtues.

5.) Plan for a reunion. You've studied the Bible with another class or met together in a small group with new people. Now plan to get together again in a few weeks for fellowship. Sustain the new relationships in the body of Christ with the one thing that brings Baptists together: food.

6.) Keep worship a priority. My prayer has been that we'll recommit to the worshiping life of the church. This is the garden where the soil of First Baptist is watered and fertilized.

7.) Celebrate forgetfulness. Dallas Willard once said that we know we're getting somewhere in the Christian life when we look back and realize that we have not thought about a bad habit, person, or grudge for a long time. With hindsight we recognize that our minds and lives have moved on. Give thanks when you realize what you no longer think about. The character of Christ is taking shape.

8.) Fill out the Next Step form. Already, 81 people have taken another step in the conversion of the Christian life. This form suggests just a few ways you can make that a reality at First Baptist.

When the children decided to move from the wardrobe into Narnia wearing their robes, Lucy innocently remarked, "We can pretend we are Arctic explorers." Older brother Peter responded, "This is going to be exciting enough without pretending." And so the adventure continues.

What's Your Next Step? Take yours @fbcknox Sept. 26

September 26 is "Next Step Sunday.” On the journey of the Christian life, we do not arrive until the very end. But we do change one step at a time. During the Festival of Faith we have been restored and renewed by the living water of Christ. On September 26, I'm inviting you to make one of three decisions as part of your next step on the journey: Believe, Belong, or Become.

Believe in Jesus. This is the first step for those who have never said “yes” to God's invitation through Christ Jesus. This decision says yes to Christ and requests baptism as a member of First Baptist. Many parents wait until their children are ready to take this step so that they can share the waters of baptism with family. Others have been wrestling with the decision of public faith for a long time.

Belong to First Baptist. Many people attend church for a long time without identifying publicly as a member. You can choose to join First Baptist by transferring your membership from another congregation or by stating your faith publicly in Christ and planting your life in the church membership.

Become a faithful disciple. If you already believe and belong, you are becoming a faithful disciple. This decision could be a recommitment to worship and Bible study attendance. The Festival offers many suggestions to grow deeper as a follower of Christ through our church. Each one fits one of the five areas of the church’s Strategic Plan: Fellowship, Outreach, Mission/Ministry, Worship, and Education. Some of these are new initiatives the church’s ministry councils are planning for 2011. No person can do everything, but everyone can choose one thing that will help them take the next step as a growing disciple.

To confirm the decision, we're providing a “Next Step” form . Below, you will find a description of some of the new ministries for 2011. Please read over the form, pray about your commitments, and fill it out. The most important section of the form is “other.” What next step is Christ asking you to take that may not even be on the form? We want to share this joy with you and pray with you through this process. If you can’t decide what the next step is, a minister will be glad to contact you to help discern the next step. After you fill it out, bring the form with you on Sunday, September 26, and place it in one of the boxes after worship. If you will be unable to join us that day, drop this in the mail or fill out the form online.

I hope you will join me in taking the Next Step to become the church God has created us to be.
 
Next Step Commitments (coming in 2011)

Outreach:
Social media team uses Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs to build relationships for Christ. People who regularly use these programs will enjoy this process.
The “Welcome Wagon” will reach new residents in East Tennessee. Volunteers are needed to design and distribute this information.

Missions:
Restoration House is a home for one (1) single mother and her children. We are partnering with Fellowship Church, Cedar Springs Presbyterian, and Central Baptist Bearden, and many others in this ministry. Volunteers will be needed to mentor and support this family.

Community garden will be planted in the South Knoxville community in partnership with Operation Inasmuch, Habitat for Humanity, and the Missions Council. Volunteers will be needed to plant and tend the garden in our neighborhood near South Knoxville Elementary School.

New Initiatives

Move Downtown and join the neighborhood. Downtown Knoxville is alive with new residents and opportunities to live among the largest un-churched population in our community. Relocate your life, neighbor the community, and share the gospel.

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered ministry to help people recover from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Our Pastoral Counselor, David Lovett is exploring this ministry.

For more information about these and other items on the response form, just check the box, “Ask a minister or deacon to contact me.”