I know big … I’ve been big most of my life. Not just in my size which, thankfully, is much less now days in proportion to the definition of the word, but in my experience with churches I have served. This is a blog on BIG church. BIG Church Blog. See if you can say that 10 times real fast. “Big Church ablog, etc.” BIG has to do with the way you think about serving in a church.
Church has always been BIG in my life, and I started out in a BIG church. Travis Avenue Baptist Church, in Fort Worth, Texas gave me the springboard for what I refer to as my ” Bible Based Beginning.” That wonderful fellowship of believers provided the opportunity for me to develop leadership while I was being led by some of the biggest names in the “business” at that time. Dr. Robert Naylor, Dr. John Earl Seelig (my wonderful father), Dr. James Coggin, and my youth director/music minister/mentor/and dear friend, Bill Pearson.
Travis Avenue, in that day, was one of the largest churches in the south. Not only was I allowed to be a minister’s son and make mistakes, but I was given invaluable encouragement and a foundation that I frequently refer to and use as an example to challenge my staff in order to raise the bar for excellence … think Big! This was the beginning of my belief that God is not only BIG but deserves those that will serve Him in a BIG way. Mediocrity to me is unacceptable when we believe in a God who tells us “all things are possible.” Why should the world have a corner on excellence?
I have often said throughout the years “I ought to write a book about BIG church.” I have served at Second Baptist Church Little Rock, Arkansas, Willow Meadows Baptist Church in Houston, North Phoenix Baptist in Phoenix, Arizona, First Baptist Houston, and presently at Second Baptist Church in Houston. People often refer to church as being the building, adding to the thought that the church was BIG because of the size of the building. I have never considered the size as being the worth of the church itself. What was going on inside the building determined the size of its worth.
Jesus thought BIG. The disciples were astounded when Jesus asked them to feed 5,000 people. How in the world would they feed that many people? It wasn’t the amount, but the idea of such a BIG task that made them quickly ask the question “How are we going to do that?”. They didn’t have the Food Network giving them tips on “how to cater”. From a small lunch came a BIG dinner for those that sought a new direction for their lives. Feasting at the feet of the One who had all the BIG answers made the trip worthwhile.
When we ask people who are seeking divine direction to give their time to come to our house of worship, we had better be sure that we are prepared for the BIG plans He has for His Church. God does not deserve the scraps left over from last year or last week. He planned BIG … He planned so that the overflow would fill His followers for the rest of their lives.
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20, 21 NASB)
