The First Baptist Church of Redlands
T A PE S T R Y
Nov 2019
Wo v e n To g e t h e r I n L o v e : C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 2
As most of you know, I was a campus minister for more than 30 years. The last 17 of those I was the pastor and director of the Baptist Student Foundation at Purdue University. I was the third campus minister in the nearly 70 year history of the ministry. The first campus minister built the building and the sanctuary is named for him. The second one acquired more property and built a significant endowment fund and the kitchen and café area is named after him. I have a funny feeling that it would be a tossup as to whether to name the boiler room or the women’s restroom after me. My years were the ones of replacing all the parts of the building that had worn out over the years (and trying to find the money to do it). Beyond the building and the names of rooms, I know that the legacy of the ministry of which we campus ministers have been a part, is in the lives of those who for generations have gone on to follow Jesus and work for the Kingdom of God all over the world. Most of us will not have a building or a room named after us, but we will have a legacy. We see it in the investments we make of our time and resources. It may be in our children and grandchildren. It may be in the lives that we touch in our work or in our service or just in our daily contacts with people along the way. As we serve in various roles in the life of our church we are partnering together with God to make a difference in the lives of people who will make a difference in this world.
Issue No. 11
I shared at our quarterly congregational meeting a couple of weeks ago that God took Abraham outside to remind him of the covenant that God had made with him. God said to Abraham, “Look at the stars! So shall your descendants be!” When we think of just one thing that we may be involved in, as individuals, or as a church, and how many lives are touched…it’s like looking at the stars. When we do something, like help someone learn to read, maybe someone who has been overlooked most of their lives, what an impact it is on their life and the lives of those touched by that person. When we teach about our faith in Jesus to a little one and their understanding of Jesus and their place in the Kingdom of God grows with them, who knows how many lives will be touched as that young person pursues the call of God in their life…it’s like looking at the stars. There was a missionary named Alice Roberts who retired in Redlands and was a part of our congregation in the early 20th century. Today there is a teacher in our church, Ja Seng Brim, who is from the school that is a result of Alice’s ministry in Burma (now Myanmar)…looking at the stars? The next time you find yourself looking at the stars, remind yourself that you have a legacy. What will it be? In Christ, Pastor Shawn
Legacy and Looking at the Stars A Message from Pastor Shawn