It was one year ago that First Baptist Church, Paintsville, KY invited me to be their Senior Pastor. It was an honor and privilege then to receive their invitation, and it is an honor still today to be their pastor.

In light of this occasion, I delivered to the church my “State of the Church” address. I believe this to be a very healthy, pastoral, and profitable time for the local church. Also, I believe this to be a biblical practice. What are Paul’s letters to the churches? What are the seven letters to the churches in Revelation? These are biblical examples of something like a “State of the Church” address. These churches are commended for their good works, provided with doctrinal instruction, and given correction for where they are spiritually lacking. Therefore, along those lines, we looked at where the Lord had brought us over the past year, we did some honest reflection on where we are as a church, and we set forth some pursuits for our future.

1. A Look Back.

It is always beneficial to stop and look back at how God has graced you over the previous year. The hindsight of faith is really 20/20, and even the hills of trial appear as mountains of blessing on the far side! First, The Lord carried us over a vast range of biblical territory in one year. We studied through Philippians, Philemon, Titus, the Armor of God, the doctrine of Sanctification, and began the Gospel of Mark! Second, the Lord has moved us to pray regularly and faithfully. Third, the Lord launched us on a lifetime journey to be and become more and more like the New Testament church for the glory of God. Fourth, the Lord has added to our number in membership and baptisms.

We praise the Lord for what He has done, but we dare not grow satisfied.

II. An Honest Look In.

There were three main items we discussed as taking an honest look at ourselves. First, we are still in a time of transition. Every church naturally moves through a period of transition with the coming of a new pastor. Things will change, and so will the makeup of the congregation. That’s ok. That’s normal. Second and third, there are some real glaring issues for our church that we simply must be willing to make changes and examine our hearts in order to address.

These obstacles are opportunities for us. Every church has problems. We are not going to ignore our problems, we are going to face them in faith. These are our opportunities to grow!

III. A Look Forward.

There are a few fundamentals we are committing to. First, we are going to pursue as many ways as possible to pour the Word of God into our lives. We will do so because we believe the Word is truth, it is our sanctification, and it is life! Second, we are going to continue becoming more like the NT church. We believe that any issue we face will fall under one of these two categories. Third, we are going to target families with biblical truth and help. Fourth, we are going to reach out to every segment of our community, and when we are finished, we are going to do it again!