Author: Rob Paul

Who’s Your One? Imagine if every member of Huffman Baptist Church could answer that question with the name of a person who is far from God—a person for whom they’re praying and with whom they are seeking to share the gospel. That’s the intention behind Who’s Your One. We believe God’s people don’t merely need another method for evangelism— what they need is a white-hot passion to see people who are far from God experience the new life He offers through Jesus Christ.

During the month of March, our church is joining countless other Southern Baptist Churches to prioritize personal ownership of the Great Commission as we each intentionally pursue one person with the hope of the gospel. At times, it seems the mission is simply too complex and too vast for churches like ours and people like us. While we can’t do everything, we can do something. We can all take responsibility for one. And, because of God’s power and the work of His Spirit, each of our ones can add up to make a significant impact for God’s kingdom.

Here is the plan. First, identify someone who is far away from God. It could be a friend. A family member. A neighbor. A co-worker. The person you see regularly at a local restaurant. This may be someone who is unchurched. Or it could be someone who is a completely inactive member of Huffman Baptist Church. The important thing is to identify someone who is far away from God.

Once you identify your one, register your participation on our website by clicking here or by submitting a Who’s Your One registration card that will be available in the worship center pew racks. This will enable us to pray with you for your one!

Prayer is a primary focus of the Who’s Your One? emphasis. Prayer is at the center of every great evangelistic movement, and every movement is made up of everyday people like us. Therefore, we will provide a 30-Day prayer guide to help you pray for your one. Paper copies will be available in the worship center on March 1st, or you can access a digital prayer guide by visiting the Who’s Your One 30-Day Prayer Guide on the You Version Bible app.

Throughout the month of March, our worship services will be designed to warm our hearts to the gospel. You will be encouraged and equipped to pray for your one and to engage your one with the gospel. And then on Easter Sunday, April 12th, you will have an opportunity to Invite Your One. Join me now in praying for many to be saved and made a part of the body of Christ!

Wow! What a January. We were able to celebrate some amazing victories from 2019. A new website and social media platform. Bible engagement and daily prayer. Community engagement. Giving 110% of our fourth quarter financial goals. Giving 112.5% of the annual goal for our missions offering, The Blessing. And funding more than 100% of every mission goal within The Blessing! When I am reading a good book, that’s the kind of ending that makes me want to turn the page!

Vision

And so we have turned the page to The Next Chapter of Huffman Baptist Church. Like Nehemiah, we have developed a burden for God’s glory to be restored. That burden has led to brokenness and repentance before God. And in return, He has given us a bold vision for the next five years at Huffman Baptist Church. I sincerely hope that you were present on January 12 when I shared what the Lord had laid on my heart. How God was leading us to become a family of churches who are sending transformed people to make Jesus known across the street and around the world. If you were not present, you can watch the message here.

I was most impressed with the response of our people to the challenge. With a strong voice you said, “Let us rise up and build.” The altar was full. We are ready.

Prayer

As I shared that Sunday morning, we can not become a family of churches who are sending transformed people to make Jesus known across the street and around the world apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, we are placing a huge emphasis on our Wednesday night prayer meeting. This will become one of the most significant gatherings we have. I hope you will join us at 4:30 on Wednesday afternoons.

Here are five ways we will be praying for HBC in 2020:

1. Pray for the unity of the church

A lack of unity is a common characteristic in declining churches. There are often competing agendas. Personal preferences abound. Alliances have been formed. God establishes unity in the church. It is our job to maintain it. So pray for members “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

2. Pray for protection from the enemy’s fiery darts

Whenever a church is experiencing revitalization, the enemy takes notice. He takes notice because Jesus is reclaiming his glory in the church. And the devil does not want that to happen. Revitalization is spiritual warfare. So pray for protection. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

3. Pray for members to function as the body of Christ

God has placed every member of your church in the body according to his design. Regrettably, there are many churches functioning at less than capacity because so many members are not fulfilling their role. “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Corinthians 12:18).

4. Pray for workers to go into the harvest

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). Be careful how you pray for this. It is highly likely that the Lord will remind you that you are in fact the answer to your own prayer!

5. Pray for the people around our church

Drive slowly through the neighborhood. If you see someone outside, stop and ask them how you can pray for them. If it is safe, you may even want to knock on a few doors. “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

Heart

During February we celebrate Valentine’s Day, so our minds are attuned to matters of the heart. Accordingly, I am looking forward to preaching a three-part miniseries challenging us to get to The Heart of the Matter. We will explore several Old Testament passages to see what it takes to have a heart like his. Make your plans to join us. It could change your life!

I love the start of a new year. It is like you are starting a new chapter in a book. More than turning a page. Maybe a little less than starting a new book. The characters are largely the same. But the storyline gets richer. I love the start of a new year. Especially in the church.

For many years now, I have taken the first Sundays of the new year to look back and to look forward. We look back to celebrate what God has done. And we look forward to anticipate what God is going to do. As Isaiah prophesied for the Lord, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare…. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 42:9, 43:19).

The Former Things

Huffman Baptist Church has such a rich heritage. Many of our current members remember the days when HBC was one of the largest and most influential churches in Birmingham. In those days, Huffman Baptist was growing numerically. Baptizing hundreds. Building the facilities that we are now charged with stewarding. Those were exciting days. And they still bring out wonderful memories for many of our members.

Of course, not all of the former things bring out happy memories. There are painful memories as well. I will not recount them here. But based on the multiple conversations I have had with church members these past several months, those painful experiences are not forgotten.

Into these past experiences (good and bad) the Lord himself enters saying, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Jesus is working in and through the pleasant and the painful experiences. He is making all things new. He is redeeming what is lost. Repairing what has been broken. Reclaiming his glory in his church!

A New Thing

I believe with all of my heart that Huffman Baptist Church has a rich future. God is not finished with HBC. Jesus is doing a new thing. And we have the privilege of joining him in what he is doing. I am excited about this Next Chapter in the life of HBC. During the month of January I will be sharing with you the vision God has revealed concerning what he is doing. The new thing. The Next Chapter. You will not want to miss a single Sunday!

2020 Focus: The Ninety-Nine and the One

In Matthew 18:12 Jesus said, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” During 2020 our two main things will shift from Prayer and Bible reading to shepherding the ninety-nine and reaching the one who is lost. To be sure, we will continue praying together at 7:00 AM and reading the New Testament together. But our focus will shift to “The Ninety Nine and The One.”

January Preaching Schedule

• January 5 – State of the Church
• January 12 – Vision 2025
• January 19 – 2020 Focus – Shepherding the Ninety-Nine
• January 26 – 2020 Focus – Reaching Your One

In closing, let me thank you as a church for your generosity during the Christmas season. Let’s continue to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Over the past few weeks, I have had several people ask me, “How long have you been at Huffman?” Some were shocked that I answered very specifically. The first time I was asked, I answered, “100 Days!” Then, “106 Days!” I followed it up with a humorous, “But who’s counting.”

There is something special about the first 100 days. The media marks a new president’s term by scrutinizing the first 100 days. The truth is that most of us overestimate what we can accomplish in a day (or 100 days) and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year, three years, five years or more.

A couple of weeks ago, I passed the 100-day mark as pastor of Huffman Baptist Church. I am still excited about what I see God doing at HBC. Church Revitalization is hard work. It is truly a marathon and not a sprint. Did I mention that it’s hard work? That’s why I asked you to enter into something of a covenant agreement with me back in July when I preached in view of a call.

Perhaps you remember my promise to do the following:

• I will pray for the members of Huffman Baptist Church daily.
• I will love you.
• I will listen to you.
• I will seek to lead this church in the power of Jesus alone.
• I will be transparent with you.
• I will tell you what you need to hear even when it may not be what you want to hear.
• I will be faithful to study God’s word so that I may preach to glorify him.

In return I asked you to do the following (I even gave you permission to vote “no” on extending a call if you were not willing):

• To pray for Melanie and me.
• To allow Melanie to be a church member like anyone else.
• To love us as we are.
• Because you know change is inevitable, to make sacrifices of your preferences and desires for the greater good of the church.
• To not gossip or criticize behind my back. If you have an issue that needs to be addressed, to bring it directly to me.
• To love other members of the church, even when you disagree with them.
• To pray for Huffman Baptist Church because she is the bride of Christ.

I was truly humbled on July 14 when you unanimously called me to be your pastor. In that vote you agreed to some really hard things, and I am thankful that you are striving to do what you agreed to do. God is not finished with HBC. He’s not finished with you or me. As long as we have breath, we have a role to play in making Jesus known across the street and around the world.

Thank you for traveling this journey and allowing me to be your shepherd! I love you more…

In Acts 17, Paul and Silas brought the gospel to Thessalonica. “And some of [the Jews] were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women” (v. 4).  The movement of God in that city was so great that the opponents of the gospel accused Paul and Silas of “turning the world upside down.” Wouldn’t it be amazing if the church today could have that kind of impact. What if we could turn the world upside down?

Before we can turn the world upside down, we must first turn the church inside out. Let me explain. In 1906 a group of fifteen men and women began meeting together with a vision of turning the world upside down for Jesus. Two years later Huffman Baptist Church was officially organized and constituted as a Southern Baptist church. And for the next 100 years, the church grew. Huffman grew because it worked from the outside in. There was an outward focus. A clear commitment to outreach and evangelism.

Over the past twenty years, like many similarly situated churches, HBC began to decline. And over the past five years that decline has accelerated. Slowly but surely, we stopped working from the outside in. But as I shared with you in July before you called me to be your pastor, there is hope. Jesus has a plan for Huffman Baptist. He is in the midst of his church. He is not finished with us. But his plan for his church is that we go and make disciples. His plan is that once again we work from the outside in.

At our quarterly family meeting, the finance team presented the church with a proposed 2020 budget to fund the ministries of Huffman Baptist Church for the coming year. As has been the trend, this budget reflects an anticipated decrease in tithes and offerings. But this budget also reflects an effort to change the trajectory of the church. This budget reflects a subtle shift of turning the church inside out so that we can work from the outside in.

As I explained during the family meeting, our current budgeting and staffing plans were designed to help us maintain an orderly decline. And if our vision for Huffman Baptist Church is to die a slow death, then by all means we can keep doing what we’ve been doing. But if our vision is to fulfill Jesus’ purpose for his bride, then we must become outwardly focused. We must change the trajectory. We must be committed to evangelism and missions.

The proposed 2020 budget will provide funding to begin moving us from the inside out so that we can work from the outside in. I appreciate the work of our staff and our personnel, facilities and finance teams in putting this budget together. It has truly been a team effort.

Please continue to pray for the Lord’s leadership along this journey. Pray for me as I pray for you. And let’s come together on November 3^rd at the conclusion of our morning worship service to approve this financial plan for ministry. Let’s work from the outside in so that we can turn the world upside down.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus told the disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” These were his last words to them before he ascended to heaven. From there, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word of God (Acts 1:14-15), and they waited for the Holy Spirit to come. The book of Acts is the story of how the Gospel went forth throughout Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The Holy Spirit came. The disciples received power. They became witnesses. And the Holy Spirit directed them. By the end of the book, the early church had made Jesus known across the street and around the world.

Across the Street

At Huffman Baptist Church we are celebrating some of the ways that God is using us to make Jesus known across the street!

During the week of September 11th, we participated with other Birmingham Metro Baptist Association churches in the annual Adopt-a-Station ministry. Throughout the week, HBC members served firefighters at Station 30 and Center Point as well as police officers at the Birmingham Police Department’s East Precinct. Since we Baptists love to eat, our local first-responders were treated to lots and lots of food. Lots of love. Encouragement. And prayer! Thank you HBC members for loving our neighbors and making Jesus known!  

While I was writing this article, I received a text from one of our members asking me to come to what we call our Founders Room. I had no idea what to expect. But I was super excited about what I found. A group of our ladies meet once a month for what they call Tack and Snack. They make sleeping bags for Birmingham’s homeless community. Here’s how it works. Church members and others donate fabric throughout the year, and these ladies sew the fabric together. Tack the pieces together. Stuff the pieces with batting. Sew the pieces together. Roll the bags up. And store them in a closet until November. Then our church administrator takes them to ministries downtown that serve the homeless community. And these ladies have been doing this for years! Thank you ladies for loving our neighbors and making Jesus known!

Around the World

Jesus has also called us to make him known around the world. And HBC has a legacy of giving to support missions. Praying for missionaries. And sending members on mission.

We Sew Love is an Acts 1:8 mission partner with HBC that provides clothing for children all over the world. Each button on the map to the left represents a distribution point. We Sew Love was recently featured on one of WVTM13’s Community Champions segments.

At the conclusion of our morning worship service on September 15th, we had the privilege of honoring a long-time member who participated with HBC’s Builders for Christ mission teams for more than fifteen years! James helped to build more than a dozen church buildings in the United States and Honduras. I first met James a couple of months before this picture was taken. I was visiting with the staff at HBC prior to being called as pastor. James was helping in the kitchen, as he had done for many many years. Thank you James for loving the nations and making Jesus known! God is indeed working in and through Huffman Baptist Church. We are currently working towards our Fall Festival on November 3rd from 3:00 to 5:00. This will be an opportunity for us to bless our neighbors and build relationships that will bear gospel fruit.  

Welcome to something new. Our website has a fresh, new look, and will become an amazing tool to help us as we make Jesus known across the street and around the world.

We are just getting started building our site. So check back on a regular basis as we continue to add content.