I made a quick trip to Birmingham this week to preach at Lakeside Baptist Church for the closing night of a revival meeting. It was a great evening. The church was very responsive. Just five weeks ago their pastor and my friend Mike McLemore resigned to be the Director of Missions for the Birmingham Association. The church is hungry to find a new pastor . They are just getting the search team put together. Mike was there twenty-five years. They have a huge task.

The BARNA Research group stays on top of statistical details and trends in the church. They recently reported that the unchurched population in America is approaching the 100 million mark. By unchurched they mean adults who have not attended church in six months or more. With 300 million people in America you can do the math and know that 1/3 of the population ignores the church. BARNA reports that in the South the number is about 25% unchurched. While we do better than other regions, we still have fields that are white unto harvest. 

If you stand on the roof of Olive Baptist Church near the white cross you can see the apartments that are springing up all around us. Thousands of people live within view of the building but do not attend anyone’s church. How do we get inside of these gated fortresses with the Gospel? We move in. We must plant small group Bible studies and ministry points inside the gates. They are not coming to us.  We must go to them. Every home is an outpost for evangelism and fellowship. That includes apartments. We have work to do.

With Easter just days away we face a season of the year when people are open to listening and attending church with us. We must invite them. This Sunday afternoon at 4:30 we will meet in the ROC and scatter to invite the community to join us for Easter. Come and go with us. We will return at 6:00pm for a cookout, followed by the Lord’s Supper.   

I must add that I was just a little proud of my choir and orchestra Sunday evening. Yes, when they sing like that they are MINE!

Pastor Ted Traylor                                                                          

For the next two weeks you will hear me encourage you to get to know your neighbors and invite them to Olive for Easter services. With that on my mind, I decided to take a walk on Thursday. My journey began as a prayer walk around the 52 acres of the Olive campus. During the intercession I sensed God’s voice prompting me to visit our neighbors I was seeing out and about. So I made some connections. In my boots, jeans, Upward shirt, and Alabama cap I started talking. It was a blast. One man told me about the pastor at the big church. He had not a clue I was the pastor! And I never reveled who I was. Had a great talk with a lady I have known for several years. Work on the Charis House came up several times. Improving the neighborhood is a big positive.

Then I met Wayne. He was just out of prison. He had been in 35 years. I shared the Gospel. He gave a good testimony of salvation and baptism a few years ago during his term in jail. Plans are for him to join us on Easter. Another person asked me when the Easter services were. I tell you all of this to say you can do it.  Invite a friend for Easter.
 
Here’s the deal: get out and meet your neighbors. Surveys show 41% of them are open to attending church if they get a personal invitation. There is not a better time of the year than right now to love your neighbor in Jesus’ name. You ask, “Who is my neighbor?” and I direct you to Luke 10:29-37 for the answer.
 
Reminder:  One week from today Andy Andrews is at Olive from 8:00am-noon. Get your tickets and don’t miss it.

Pastor Ted Traylor

Today and tomorrow are very important days at the North American Mission Board of the SBC. For several months now, NAMB has been searching for a new president. The search team has found their man. They will introduce Dr. Geoff Hammond to the board today and a vote of confirmation will be taken Wednesday morning. I ask that you pray for Dr. Hammond and the entire board of trustees as we meet in Atlanta. 

Several have asked me, “Who is Geoff Hammond?” He currently serves as the Senior Associate Director of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of the Virginia State Convention. He has been a church planting strategist there since 2002. Before that, he served as a director of missions in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. Hammond was born on the mission field to British parents serving in Nigeria. Later Geoff and his wife, Debbie, served as International Mission Board missionaries to Brazil. You can read more about him at www.namb.net.    

NAMB has its focus on planting churches and helping existing churches touch North America. We have a vast mission field. This task is God-sized. Yet we live in a culture where people are open to listen. Recent surveys of the formally churched in America tell us that 41% of drop out would be prompted to return if a friend invited them to come back. All of us have friends in this camp. This Sunday I will place in your hand a nice invitation you can use to invite a friend to Olive over the Easter weekend. Prayerfully consider whom you can bring with you. Dr. Hammond cannot win America alone. It will take all of us. That includes me, and that includes you.   

Pastor Ted Traylor    

For the past two days, I have had the joy of being a guest professor at Midwestern Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Dr. Phil Roberts is the president and I was team-teaching with him a preaching course for doctoral students. There were twelve bright minds in the class. They are involved in ministry as well as school. During those days on campus, I was reminded that God continues to call out young men to minister and preach.
 
Today I want to remind you that all of us have a calling into full-time Christian service. Some do it vocationally as a church staff member, missionary and so forth. However, the Bible speaks of all followers of Jesus as ministers. Ephesians 4:12 tells us that leaders equip the saints for the work of the ministry or service. That means you have a full-time job for Jesus. As you teach school. count widgets, fix fenders, sell insurance or whatever, you are to be “on mission” for your Lord.
 
To do this job you also need training. We seek to provide that at Olive. LYNTYS training will be a help to you in this area. If you have not taken the course, I encourage you to sign up when you see it offered.

Also Friday, March 30, 8 a.m. - noon here at Olive, Andy Andrews will be presenting a business seminar entitled, Seven Decisions for Personal Success. For $15 you cannot get better training to equip you for your ministry in the world.
 
The weekend is here. See you Sunday.

Pastor Ted Traylor

It is still several weeks until Mother’s Day. But today I have my mom on my mind. It is her birthday. I called her last night to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. This morning a special delivery of flowers will arrive at her door.
 
Like many others she is special for all the little things she did for me over and over. That includes the cooking, cleaning, reading, being my personal taxi driver and more. One thing I will never forget is the trip we took just after I was called to preach as a 17 year old. She loaded me in the car and we drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Baptist Book Store now known as LifeWay Christian Store. She purchased two sermon books for me. They were Simple Sermons  from the Books of Mark and Acts written by Herschel Ford. She told me that if I was going to become a  preacher I  must study. She went on to say we had enough boring preachers and if I was not going to study I should quit before I started. That made an impact on me. I often pray, “Lord, don’t let me be boring, someone like Mother may be listening today.”
 
If you still have the ability to talk with your mom, I encourage you to talk to her today. It doesn’t have to be a special day that prompts you say thanks. Just let her know you love her.

Pastor Ted Traylor

This weekend is time change weekend. At 2:00 a.m. Sunday, time springs forward. This is a new date for Daylight Saving Time (there is no “s” at the end of saving). People have been messing with the clock for years. It all started in 1918 in the U.S. Actually, Ben Franklin introduced the idea years before that. The whole idea in the modern era is to save energy.
 
Someone asked this week,” Who is the person who had the power to change the date that we are to change the clocks?” Congress did it when President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. It moved the start time back three weeks to the second Sunday in March – and extended the time to the first Sunday in November.  The Energy Secretary is to monitor the situation and report back to the Congress. The whole thing may move back to the way it was in a few years. The bottom line is to trim the country’s electricity usage. On another note, it has been said that candy companies are thrilled that we will have more daylight for Halloween.
 
It is also good to use this date as a reminder to change the batteries in your smoke alarms. Every time the time changes, change your batteries. It may save your life. I guarantee it will keep you from having to confess your sins. You understand that the batteries in your smoke alarms seem to always go bad in the middle of the night. When that alarm awakens you and you can’t get it to stop you then will need 1 John 1:9.
 
Remember to set the clocks ahead one hour Saturday night. Then be on time at Olive on Sunday morning.

Pastor Ted Traylor

Andy Andrews is returning to Pensacola and Olive is the host. On Friday, March 30, from 8 - noon you can receive four hours of world class training. This masterful storyteller has a life-changing message. He has shared it with hundreds of corporations, civic groups and universities around the world. You will not be disappointed. I encourage you to get your ticket and be ready for a morning of inspiration, challenge and fun, fun, fun!
 
I was introduced to Andy a few years ago when I read his book The Travelers Gift. It is a New York Times bestseller. Then a lady in our church, Dr. Kim Jernigan, sat next to Andy on a plane and got to know him. She introduced me to him and we struck up a friendship. Andy and his family live in Orange Beach, Alabama. It has been my pleasure to get to know him. He has been to Olive for a Wednesday night. Andy also spoke for me in Destin when I hosted the Metro Pastors Conference last year. He had those preachers on the edge of their seats. He will do the same for you.
 
When signing one of his books Andy will often write the word PERSIST under his signature. You see, the prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning. You will leave after hearing Andy speak and remove from your vocabulary such words as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, retreat and hopeless.
 
This conference is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and will be available this Sunday at Olive. Tickets sold at the door will be $20. Help me spread the word. Let’s invite the city of Pensacola to join us for a great morning. Also check out Andy for yourself. You can learn more at www.andyandrews.com.

Pastor Ted Traylor

This Sunday evening the Discovery Channel will air the documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus. It will attempt to make a case for the discovery of the bones of Jesus and some of His relatives. You are probably aware that this presentation is based on an archeological find from 1980. The people who were involved in that find made clear this could not be the remains of Jesus our Savior. This is just another attack on the Lordship of Christ and the cornerstone of biblical faith.   

Now think about it. If men cannot determine who is the father of Anna Nicole’s baby, how can they know whose bones they have in an ossuary from 2,000 years ago? If we cannot figure out where to bury Anna Nicole, how do we find a grave from the first century? Someone asked me this week who they used as next of kin to do the DNA testing that determined those were the bones of Jesus.    

If Christ has not been raised your faith is empty. But HE is not in a bone box, HE is risen from the dead! Over the weekend we will have church on the first day of the week. Why? You know! It is the day our Lord overcame death and the grave.   

The Discovery Channel may still be looking for Jesus. As for me I made the discovery of where He is a long time ago. He is alive from the dead and lives within my heart. Happy Easter…early!    

Pastor Ted Traylor