FELLOWSHIP IS FORTY!

Saturday afternoon Mike and I were awash in a sea of hugs and gray hair as our church in Little Rock marked their fortieth birthday.

The meet-and-greet was for those from "the early days" of the church's beginning.  We saw familiar faces and played NAMEFIND in rapid-fire desperation.

Bill Wellons, Mike, and Bill Parkinson

Since the Cruses had gone to FBC from 1980 until our move to Fayetteville in 2009...we qualified as beginners.  Plus Mike had a ten year FBC work history.

The event tasted like heaven.  You know why?  Time was sucked out of a  room full of God's love.  





It wasn't that the people there were more favored than anyone else.  We saw friends who had experienced dread medical diagnoses, a divorce, or whose kids had run off into the weeds.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.

But they were people we had co-labored with...prayed with...loved...had forgiven...and who had taught us what God said.  These two Bill's to the right (plus Robert) married our kids and buried our family.  That makes them very dear to our hearts.

It was a special treat to have Alan Mesko come help us worship.  For a mathematician, he is an amazing pianist/worship leader who can work those keys like a boss.    

Then it wouldn't have been Fellowship without the beautiful sopranos, Debbie Rees and Vicki Burnett. 

Music has a way of transporting right into the throne room.

When the part came when our stats were read, we were stunned:

Fellowship Bible Church has 93 church plants,(open that link to see an amazing map), a residency program for graduating pastors, and over 100 ministries established by FBC alums on 7 continents/32 countries.  To experience the needs of others around the world, FBC put over 2,000 people on the mission field.  Twenty-five alums have written books.  We sought to be light in our local community by establishing a mid-town medical center, a work in the inner city, and an outreach at the Med Center (to equip new docs in money management, marriage skills, etc.).  We began "Sharefest" (which 150 churches adopted), a mentoring program in the schools, and Robert's "Men's Fraternity", which was taught over the United States and then went international. 

There was more, but isn't that awesome?  We knew not to be impressed with ourselves because we know our limits. The horn-tooting was all for the mind of God which imagined such an undertaking...and the Spirit of God who empowered it.  That's why at the end, we will fully realize His grace and throw our crowns at His feet.

Thirty years ago, Jane Anne Smith wrote a piece to try and explain how special she knew Fellowship to be.  She reread it on Saturday, and here are Jane Anne's thoughts about the 1977 founding of FBC:

Something Very Special

   Sometime ago, in eternity past, God was sharing His plans with an angel. Said The Lord, “You know, every century in the 77^th year, I do something VERY special.  The angel knew well that God was especially fond of the number 7.

   God went on, “I’ve decided for this century that I will build a very special church on earth, one that I will use to minister to many people and many nations, one that will glorify Me!”  The angel, wanting to please, offered, “Good idea, Lord! Of course, you will first need to put this idea into the heart of a man of vision…and order to get the idea across to the right people, a man who is a great orator and exceptional speaker!”  Thoughtfully, God answered, “No, I think I will use another kind of man, one who cries when he talks.”

   A little perplexed, the angel answered, “Oh…well, Lord…anything you say.  “But you will, of course, want to put this church in a very important place…a city that is very famous and in full view of the world, a very Big city!”.  “No”, said God again.  I think I’ll put this church in a very LITTLE city, one that is not very famous for anything.  In fact, I think I’ll put it in Little Rock.

   “Well”, said the angel, “I hope you’re planning to have them meet in a very stately and beautiful church building…one with stained glass windows and a BIG sign out in front! This church will need something to give it credibility in the community.”  Again, God had His own ideas. “Oh no, it will be many years before they will be ready for a building with a big sign out front.  You see, I don’t want them to look at a building and say, “This is my church”; I want them to look at each other and say, “This is my church”.  “No, I think I’ll have them meet in a kindergarten.”

   It was the angel’s turn to speak. “Uh, sure Lord, but if you’re  going to do that, you’ll need to have as leaders of this church very old and scholarly men who have had years of experience in the ministry.”  God chuckled. “no,no…you still don’t understand.  I plan to use YOUNG men, ones who have very little experience in the ministry, ones I can train to do things MY way!”.

   

“But God!”, answered the angel, “where will you find such men?!?  OH, I know, from the halls of higher learning, from the most prestigious religious institutions.  “No, no, no”, said God. “I plan to take them from a school that is famous for being a party school!”

   “But God”, answered the angel, a little shocked. “Does this school have a strong religion department?”  “It won’t need one” said God, enjoying every minute of this, “I plan to recruit them from the football team!”.

   The angel had heard enough.  He could be seen flying off into the sunset mumbling under his breath…something about the red sea and the burning bush.

   The people on earth heard very loud thunder! Actually, it was the voice of God, who was laughing the very joyous laugh that He reserved for those occasions when He did something VERY SPECIAL.

Jane Anne Smith

Fellowship Bible Church 

!0^th Anniversary

"Be certain, then, that the Lord your God is God; 
whose faith and mercy are unchanging, 

who keeps His word through thousand generations
 to those who have love for Him and keep His laws." 
Deuteronomy 7:9