You can’t turn on the television these days without listening to people talk about the $900 billion stimulus package Congress is considering. On one side you hear it is a must NOW. On the other side you hear it is doomsday if we do this. Fear is on every side. I sense these are good days to be praying person. A hot kitchen normally draws one closer to the throne of grace. I am optimistic. About what you ask? America! It is still a great place and I believe we will pull out of this mess and rise again.
However, another thing excites me. I sense a new passion for Christ in the lives of young believers. They are serious about the claims of Jesus. Many are taking a stand. On our local high school campus I am hearing about a fresh move of the Spirit of God. Students are meeting before school for prayer and study. These may just be the embers of revival. God, please grant it. This is the kind of stimulus we need in America – one that moves the hearts of people to seek after the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and mind.
Sunday is going to be a great day at Olive. Many of our friends are set to join us on Friend Day. Come expecting a harvest.
Pastor Ted Traylor
I was scheduled to fly to Dallas at 7:00 this morning but the icestorm in Texas caused my flight to be cancelled. The purpose of my trip was to meet with the Board of Trustees for Emanuel University which we support. I will participate by conference call at 2:00pm. Please continue to pray for this vital work in Romania.
As the Olive family knows this Sunday is Bring A Friend Day. Travis Fryman will be sharing the power of the Gospel in his family’s life. I am trusting God to give us a great day of harvest. Bring your friends to church this weekend.
In 1970 a spiritual wake-up came to young people in North Alabama. I was a high school student at the time. It was a part of the Jesus Movement across America. God, do it again! I am sensing a fresh movement in our young people. They packed the “youth section” last Sunday at 11:00am and were all over the worship center as well. They are hungry for God’s Word. Many are bringing friends with them each week. I see them on their knees at the altar. They are seeking, asking and knocking. When that happens God promised to open doors and answer. America needs revival and teenagers make great fire starters for the move of God!!
Pastor Ted Traylor
Tuesday I spent the day in Atlanta with a group of NAMB trustees. It was a good meeting. At 7:05 PM I boarded the Delta flight home. Next to me in Row 14 sat Tom Bartow. He was on the way to Pensacola to speak to a local investment group. During our conversation we began to talk basketball. Turns out this man from Nevada is a personal friend of legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. When we got off the plane he asked if I would like to talk to Coach. I said I sure would. He flipped open his phone and dialed the number. In a few minutes I was conversing with the 98 year-old Hall of Famer. I thanked him for his great books and the example of integrity and character he has displayed in his life. He thanked me and said, ”You know, whenever your words are an encouragement and help to another, it brings joy to your heart.” And then he told me that as a preacher of the Gospel I have that opportunity each week. WOW! This encounter of just a few minutes was a thrill for me.
As I write this I am looking up at a signed picture of John Wooden I have in my office. He is a champion. I don’t just mean the kind that won NCAA titles. He is a champion for Christ and good. I hope I can be like him when I am 98.
Pastor Ted Traylor
It is Inauguration Day for the 44th President of the United States. Congratulations to President Barak Obama. Let’s all pray for him and his family. He has an enormous task in front of him.
Greetings from Atlanta. I flew out early this morning and will return tonight. I am at the North American Mission Board for a meeting of trustee leaders. One big item before us is the GPS initiative that has been the focus of NAMB’s work in recent days. It is a strategy to get Southern Baptists in the evangelism work of the kingdom. GPS is God’s Plan for Sharing. At Olive we are seeking to create a culture of evangelism. This is a must for our entire convention. I encourage you to be bold today with the Gospel.
Remember, February 1 is Bring a Friend Day at Olive. Travis Fryman will be our preacher. Endeavor to get your friends in the building to hear the Gospel. That is part of GPS.
Pastor Ted Traylor
As the weekend of the inauguration approaches America finds itself in a theological fog. A USAirways jet makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River on Thursday. The survivors speak of praying as they were going down. No one objected! Notices are passed out this week in Santa Rosa County schools telling teachers that they are not to pray. A recent ACLU lawsuit has the school system running for cover over any hint of religion or prayer. The atheists are grinning. On Sunday morning at the Lincoln Memorial the We Are One rally will kick off the inaugural weekend. The invocation will be offered by openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson. He has announced his will not be a Christian prayer. Tolerant Americans will think it nice and heaven will yawn. On Tuesday Pastor Rick Warren will offer the invocation before President-Elect Obama takes the oath of office. The gay community is up in arms over his participation. Some have said they will turn their backs as the pastor prays. Bottom line: America needs revival!
Before we complain we must ask ourselves how much praying we are doing in our own prayer closets. After we knell, it is time to take a stand.
Pastor Ted Traylor
The order has come down in the case of two minors in Santa Rosa County who were offended by prayers and other religious practices in Santa Rosa County schools. The ACLU paper The Torch tells of their Religious Freedom Project Director Glenn Katon bringing this suit. The school system has agreed to being silenced. No prayers are allowed to be planned for graduation and it seems religious baccalaureate services are to just form out of thin air if they happen at all. Or maybe the wording allows for a secular baccalaureate service.
If you are a teacher or student in a public school I want to encourage you to be courageous. This is no time to say we cannot talk about Jesus at school. Be creative in your proclamation of Christ.
As I Peter 3 :14-15 reminds us, ”But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
There remains a strong voice in America led by the ACLU that wants no hint of religion outside of church property. They will say that is not so but their actions indicate a different thought. The wall of separation between church and state is leading us to a secularization of America. A nation that is not “under God” will be a nation that is soon gone under. Dare to be a Daniel.
Pastor Ted Traylor
Around the world at any moment people are living for Jesus and sharing the Gospel. I was reminded of that in the past 24 hours when I received an e-mail from missionary Buck Waters, who is currently serving in Portugal. He told me of a new Bible printing he is distributing to young people. He is also starting a new church with people under 30 as the target. This new missionary that came out of our church is just one of those who partner with us around the world for the Gospel.
We hear reports of bad news every day. But do not think there is not good news from around the globe. God is always active in His people.
Congratulations to the Gators-2009 National Champions!
Pastor Ted Traylor
School is back in session, newly elected local officials are being sworn in, and people are back to work. Welcome to 2009!
Liz and I will be teaching the men and women at Olive each Wednesday night in January. Join us at 6:00 pm each week for Bible study. Ladies will meet in the Worship Center and men will gather in the Blue Room.
Last Sunday evening we had a wonderful rededication time for Passmore Hall. Melissa Greene of the group Avalon did a splendid job singing for the dedication concert. The building was constructed as the worship center for Olive in the early 1970’s. For the past twelve years the youth have used it on Wednesday evenings. Now we have refurbished it into a first-class room for worship and other events, but the primary function remains as the meeting place for teenagers. I am grateful for those who have worked and made the building a more useable resource for Olive. Thank you to those who gave as part of the special offering for new chairs. It takes more than a facility to do this work but a fine meeting place will enhance the effort.
I believe 2009 is going to be a great year in youth ministry. I ask that you pray for me as I preach messages with teenagers in mind each Sunday morning this month.
Pastor Ted Traylor
In the Tuesday addition of the Pensacola News Journal two columns were dedicated to Rick Warren and his being asked to offer the invocation at Barak Obama’s inauguration. The Southern Baptist pastor has drawn fire for his stance against Proposition 8 in California. The people voted for it and defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. Now gay rights activists have said they are feeling betrayed that Warren was invited to pray.
However, very little ink has been given to the man asked to deliver the benediction. The Rev. Joseph Lowery is a retired United Methodist pastor. He is called the Dean of the Civil Rights movement. Ebony magazine calls him one of the 15 greatest black preachers. If you have ever heard him you will agree he is a powerful speaker. After marching with Dr. Martin Luther King he was a founder and later president and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1977 until 1998. He led the Cascade Methodist Church to great things during his days of pastoral leadership in Atlanta.
Dr. Lowery believes marriage is a civil right and should not be denied to gays or lesbians. He has also called for the ordination of gay clergy in the Methodist church. Along with over 51% of voters in California and over 60% in Florida, I disagree with his stance. Both states voted for marriage to remain as defined being between a man and a woman. This is a moral issue. It is a Bible issue. While you can count on Dr. Lowery praying a soul moving prayer to close the inauguration, he is wrong on this marriage issue. Rick Warren has is correct. If a man can marry a man then the logical next step is toward polygamy and then allowing a man to marry a child. On and on the slippery slope falls. Without a doubt it is time for America to pray.
Pastor Ted Traylor
Happy New Year! Hope you have a great and God-favored 2010.
The Bible has much to say about new things:
The one in Christ is a NEW creation – 2 Corinthians 5:17
We are to walk in NEWNESS of life in Jesus – Romans 6:4
Jesus is the NEW and living way for the disciple – Hebrews 10:20
Jesus gives us a NEW commandment that we love one another – John 13:34
One day He will make all things NEW – Revelation 21:5
As we begin the Year of Discipleship at Olive, I ask that you seek the Father for a new attitude and
new spirit of obedience. I believe these next few months could be explosive at our church.
Pastor Ted Traylor
