Preaching to the Philippians

Finally, I have something in common with the Apostle Paul -


I have preached in Philippi!


Not Philippi, the Macedonian city of Acts chapter 16, (named for the father of Alexander the Great); but Philippi, the county seat of Barbour County in the hills of northeastern West Virginia. This is the Philippi of covered bridge fame - the one I first learned of in Mrs. Gertrude Stone's West Virginia History Class at Gallaher Elementary School in 1960.

Tuesday evening was the first time I have had the privilege to be in Philippi, and I was there at the invitation of Rev. James Smith, the Director of Missions of the Monongahela Baptist Association. The purpose was to speak at that Association's Spring Semi Annual Meeting, hosted by the Southern Baptist Church of Philippi. This is a group of 23 Southern Baptist Churches scattered over 11 counties (Barbour, Lewis, Mineral, Preston, Taylor, Webster, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Randolph, and Upshur). Darrell Clark was also invited to come and offer special music in the service, and I was happy, not only to have company on the 3 1/2 hour drive up and 3 1/2 back, but also to have Darrell actually do the driving. (I tend to sleep much more peacefully when I am not behind the wheel!)

Besides the spring time beauty of that portion of "Almost Heaven" we found the people there to be most gracious and welcoming to two Marshall fans deep in the heart of WVU territory! We arrived in time to enjoy the pre-service spaghetti and meatball feast prepared by the ladies of the Philippi Church. It gave us opportunity to meet and visit with many of the messengers from the churches in the association. I met Rev. Don Ford, who tells me that, at 78, he is the oldest active Southern Baptist Pastor in West Virginia. There were a great number of couples and individuals who had come to do the business of their association, and to have a time of worship and fellowship with their fellow Baptists.

James Smith had issued me the invitation to speak a couple of months ago. He told me that the theme of the Semi Annual Meeting would be "Seize the Moment" and he asked me specifically to share my own testimony of my three and one half year battle with "incurable" cancer, and my love for missions. Jim and wife, Jerilyn, have been serving in northeast West Virginia for the past seven years. They came to the Mountain State after serving in a similar position as Associational Missionary in Macon, GA. Previous to their work in Georgia, they had spent 12 years as full time Southern Baptist Missionaries in Ecuador. My eight short term mission trips to the Philippines are NOTHING in comparison to the dedication of over 5,000 vocational Southern Baptist Missionaries (like the Smiths) who are presently serving Christ, all around the globe.

The Monongahela Association obviously believes in missions. There were reports that spoke of four new church plants in that association. Many of the churches participate in Franklin Graham's "Operation Christmas Child" shoebox Christmas gifts. We also saw evidence of the association's ongoing mission partnership with Russia, as materials were being collected to send to a Russian Orphanage Mission in the next couple of months. This is a group of churches that seem to be practicing what Jesus taught in Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (NKJV)".

There was great congregational music and special presentations by the host church's choir. Darrell sang, "The Anchor Holds" just before my message, and "I'd Rather Have Jesus" at the close of the service. He did an excellent job. My message was entitled "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day) and the scripture text was taken from John 9:4 where Jesus is quoted as saying, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."
(NKJV) . The gist of the message was, that like Jesus, we each have Important Obligations, ( "I must work the works of Him who sent Me...") ; Fleeting Opportunities, ( "...while it is day..." )
and a Crucial Outlook, ( "...the night is coming when no one can work." )

I was honored to have the opportunity to share with the good people of the Monongahela Baptist Association. My hope is that my message and testimony was half as much an encouragement to them as their example was to me. If you would like to learn more about the work of the various associations of churches that make up the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists, just click on this link - http://wvbaptists.com/