Your Voice

Local church home helps college students’ spiritual growth

By Maya Lewellyn

I never would have thought my college professor would become my pastor; however, that is exactly what happened. I found my church home because of my professor’s invitation to visit Crawford Baptist Church.

Jay Robertson is a professor in the School of Christian Studies at University of Mobile (UM) and the pastor for preaching and vision at Crawford Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama — not far from the university’s campus.

He upholds UM’s standard of excellence in all he does — including pastoring his church. He loves the Lord, handles the Word with gracious care, encourages community outreach and deeply cares for his congregation.

Under Dr. Robertson, I have learned so much more about God.

Once students get to college, it becomes easy for us to stop going to church. Family isn’t there making sure we go to church, the thought of sleeping in is tempting and many times students have to find a new church to become their church home.

University of Mobile encourages all students to be involved with a local church. They provide many opportunities for students to connect with different local churches through expos and by inviting local pastors to speak at chapel.

The local church benefits from having college students, and college students benefit from having a local church.

The local church allows college students to be known on a spiritual level. It offers godly wisdom, community and a place to serve.

College students offer a willingness to learn, a way to disciple the next generation and free time to serve.

Crawford Baptist Church’s congregation has turned into my community. They depicted what hospitality looks like through various lunch invites, carpooling opportunities and spending quality time with people at their homes. I have formed friendships and found mentors at church.

Through my relationships, I have been encouraged and called out in love. I have learned what it looks like to be a disciple and how to disciple others. The congregation reflects what it means to love like Christ.

The church has given me a place to serve. I have been able to invest in my church by serving with their children’s ministry. Serving has allowed me to use my spiritual gifts to build up the body of believers. It has given me valuable life skills, so I know how to better serve others for the remainder of my life.

With the university’s help, I found a local church. I am thankful to attend a university that recognizes the importance of the local church and encourages students to get involved.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Maya Lewellyn studies communication and intercultural studies at University of Mobile. She is a marketing intern for the university’s office for marketing and public relations and serves with university ministries.

Complete for Teen Girls

By Candace McIntosh

Ask any girl who has attended Alabama WMU’s Complete what her favorite part of the teen-focused event is and you are likely to hear, “We love the breakouts.”

Why? Because these 45-minute breakout sessions that deal with subjects about life, missions and ministry are designed to speak to the heart of a teenage girl. They speak to her dreams, challenges and struggles. But this event is so much more.

It is important to us that a girl who attends this event sees herself reflected on the stage and in leadership.

Dynamic women provide leadership at all levels — Bible Study, worship, late night and breakouts. Girls who have served on mission or will be serving on mission are commissioned, and a young woman serving on the missions field will speak.

All these parts come together to provide an environment where a girl can grow spiritually and explore where God may be leading her to serve now and in her future.

Don’t let teen girls in your life miss this wonderful event.

Complete will take place March 6–7 at Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Montgomery. For details and to register, visit AlabamaWMU.org/Complete.
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Letters to the editor

Remembering a TAB contributor and friend

I read The Alabama Baptist because it comprehensively reports Southern Baptist news. I read it because every issue informs me of persecuted Christians. I read it because …

James Leo Garrett Jr.
Nacogdoches, Texas

EDITOR’S NOTE — Baptist theologian James Leo Garrett Jr. listed more reasons about why he reads TAB in his 2016 letter to the editor and then ended it with a simple, “I am indeed grateful.” He was a friend of TAB’s editor emeritus Bob Terry and served as a guest contributor for TAB from time to time. Garrett died Feb. 5 at the age of 94.

James Leo Garrett Jr.’s reputation as a scholar and lecturer was indeed well deserved. … [But] while Leo Garrett was a scholar of the first order, he was also a man of deep and genuine piety, kind and considerate toward others, a faithful churchman and a devoted follower of Christ. He loved the gospel message and exemplified a confidence in the Scriptures, which he believed to be totally dependable, trustworthy, truthful and infallible.

He modeled for us what it meant to be an ecclesial theologian, one who understood that his first calling was to serve the church. …

Garrett maintained an infectious commitment to and hope for the unity of the people of God. … Always my teacher and mentor, he continued to challenge my thinking and offer corrections to my authored works, even into his 90s.

I am immensely grateful not only for his imprint on my life, but for his vast influence on so many, many others. He was truly a Christian gentleman and a scholar.

I was saddened … when I learned of his passing, but we rejoice today that Dr. Garrett, though absent from the body, is present with his Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:8). In this confident hope, we say thanks be to God for the life and legacy of James Leo Garrett Jr.

David S. Dockery
Southwestern Seminary
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Measure your wealth by what you’d have left if you lost all your money.

H. Jackson Brown JR.
“Highlighted in Yellow: A Short Course In Living Wisely And Choosing Well”

Ready for a little more Lottie Moon celebrating? Back in December, you (members of First Baptist Church, Prattville [FBCP]) generously gave to this international missions offering. As of now, we have officially given over $186,000, which means we are financially providing for at least THREE missionary units! Glory be to God! Thank you, FBCP, for helping advance the gospel!

First Baptist Church, Prattville
Facebook post

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:43–45). Love your enemies! Now that is thinking differently. It changed the world starting 2,000 years ago, and it is as subversive and counterintuitive today as it was then. … Ask God to give you the strength to do this hard thing — to go against human nature, to follow Jesus’ teaching and love your enemies.

Arthur Brooks
Excerpt from 2020 National Prayer Breakfast address

When there is a hill to climb, don’t think waiting will make it smaller.

Anonymous

The Bible has numerous accounts of salvation, a life made new through repentance and the forgiveness of sin. Once a sinner’s name is written in the book of life, it is a one-way track toward the end. As citizens of heaven, our longing is for our new home, and our lives eagerly await the return of our Savior.
The tragedy is that millions of people have yet to hear this good news. Their lives continue toward the one-track way of destruction. … Let’s continue to preach the eternal message: one way — Jesus!

Paul Kim, Pastor emeritus
Antioch Baptist Church
Cambridge, Mass.

The church has become a backbone for what we are trying to do in our community. It is a visible expression of Christ’s love.

Patrick Schwartz
IMB missionary
Glasgow, Scotland
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From the Twitterverse

@StephenRummage

What if all SBC pastors and leaders just did this? Could it possibly hurt us, our churches or our witness? “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10, ESV).

@KSPrior
When the Apostle Paul told first-century Christians to be “kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,” he was speaking to an early church facing death from an evil regime. Those were the enemies Christians were to love.
— @DavidAFrench

@dandarling
I am distressed whenever there is fresh news of scandal in ministry to see many Christians go online and use it as a catalyst for their leadership ideas and opinions. The Bible says, “take heed lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). We should weep and pray in humility, not gloat tweet.

@GoBGR
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8).

@jdgreear
While all Christians are called to evangelize, give, serve and pray (among other spiritual gifts), we are not all called to everything equally or gifted equally for them. Not everything that comes from heaven has your name on it. But something does.

@sPeytonHill
“God’s purpose for my life is that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion.”
— Jonathan Edwards

@TuscaloosaUM
Don’t say something permanently painful just because you’re temporarily ticked off.

@MichaelHyatt
Without problems, there aren’t opportunities. And without opportunities, you can’t grow.