First Baptist Church, Palo Alto

For those of you who missed it or were unable to attend, here is a link to the recording of Wednesday's service commemorating the 25th anniversary of the disfel...lowshipping of 5 American Baptist congregations: https://awab.org/25th-anniversary-of-5-disfellowshipped-co/ Thank you to everyone who worked on and attended the service. It was a special occasion. We live in steadfast faithfulness and undying hope for the realization of God's affirming welcome for all of God's children.

RESCHEDULED FROM JANUARY 6: Service Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of 5 Disfellowshipped Congregations January 27, 2021 at 5:30 Pacific/6:30 Mountain/7:30 ...Central and 8:30 Eastern. On Wednesday evening, January 27, 2021, The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists will host a worship service via Zoom in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the disfellowshipping of five faithful American Baptist congregations by their regions for their membership in AWAB. First Baptist Church (now United Church) of Granville, Ohio; First Baptist Church, Berkeley, CA; Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, CA; New Community of Faith, San Jose, CA; and San Leandro Community Church, San Leandro, CA, were expelled from the American Baptist Churches of Ohio and American Baptist Churches of the West (now Growing Healthy Churches) respectively. The service of song, prayer and testimony will lift up the pain of these actions, their ongoing significance, and the hope their memory calls forth. The service will begin at 5:30 Pacific/6:30 Mountain/7:30 Central and 8:30 Eastern. See the AWAB page for the link. https://awab.org/event/

I'm thinking about truth-telling and Jesus. If, as many have argued of late, it is incumbent upon Christians to speak true things, actual factual things, rather than ideological pie-in-the-sky or the-sky-is-falling things, what kind of Jesus will we need? Or, rather, what kind of Christology will emerge from such a need? Someone is gonna say, "There's only one Jesus. What do you mean 'kind'?" Just give me a second, y'all. The Imperial Christ has ruled America for a good long... time. The Globalist Christ has been enjoying a healthy tenure as well. The Christ of The Poor is still thought of as a communist. So, who is Jesus now? Who is the Jesus of #QAnon? The Jesus of #BLM? The Jesus of your suburban cul-de-sac? I'm not looking for false equivalencies here. There are some good Jesuses and some flat-out poisonous Jesuses out there. But as a preacher, someone who has been called and trained to speak the Gospel of Christ, I feel compelled to revisit that call and ask myself what it means to speak of and for Christ in this present moment...because we need truth telling badly and the Christ of Telling The Truth No Matter What has never been all that popular when job security is on the line. And there is so much that is on the line right now, no? Tripp Hudgins

Here is the link to the video of the service: https://www.facebook.com/ocfairviewchurch/videos/1338941489784199. The sermon begins at 31:30. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? A Sermon preached by the...Continue reading