Lent Devotional: Monday, March 11
Posted March 11, 2019 by Louis Gomez in Lent
The first part of this verse reminds me that Christ experienced the wilderness like we all do. This happened right after His baptism where the Father proclaimed, "This is my Son." It went from a glorious event to a wilderness moment in Christ's life: His temptation. Although Jesus resisted the temptation, it served as a reminder that wilderness experiences are a part of life for everyone, even…
Lent Devotional: Friday, March 8
Posted March 8, 2019 by SMBC in Lent
Finding your way through the wilderness isn't hard if you have a good map and compass (or smartphone). However, orienteering skills are not always perfect metaphors for life. I know my family and SMBC blessed me with a good guide and a firm foundation in setting a plan for my life. I was given every navigational tool necessary.
Lent Devotional: Thursday, March 7
Posted March 7, 2019 by Angela Bell in Lent
When I was growing up, I didn't know what I wanted to be, but I knew who I was. I got a lot of "You seem to know yourself very well" comments.
It's true. I did. I still do. Ten years ago, I moved to Houston. I stored my belongings, packed my car, and headed south. After three decades in my home state, I'd built a vast network of supporters, friends, and colleagues, but in a city of…
Lent Devotional: Wednesday, March 6
Posted March 6, 2019 by SMBC in Lent
I lived in New York City for a few years and was surprised how many people I met who had never been out of the city. In fact, I occasionally met people who had never been outside their borough. I remember a conversation with a group of people from Staten Island as we looked out a 20th story window, and none of these lifelong residents of New York had ever been up that high. My life hasn't been…
Communications Changes
Posted March 4, 2019 by Susan Moore in Discipleship
Your South Main Communications Team is excited to tell you about some things we've been working on the last few months. We have dreamed, studied, debated, researched, and planned to discover improved ways to communicate with our church family. Here is the new weekly rhythm for our churchwide communication:
Of Things Seen and Unseen
Posted March 1, 2019 by David McNiel in Worship, Discipleship
Seen and unseen—renovations are almost never one or the other and, for me, that's especially true of the recent renovation of our worship and fellowship space.
Whether it's renovating unseen things such as:
Our Gift to Future Generations
Posted February 28, 2019 by SMBC in Worship, Discipleship
Although we recognize that the church is, at its core, its people, the improvements that were made possible by the capital campaign provide a place where we can bring our family each week to play, laugh, learn, and serve with our family of God.
Because of the work done in the kitchen and the Fellowship Hall, our family can comfortably and reliably have meals with our family of…
A Sound of Joy and Worship
Posted February 27, 2019 by Mark Jones in Worship, Music, Discipleship
I covet space in the songs I spend my life listening to. The ambient sound the room provides to the creative process where there was once nothing, now there is a holy (or unholy) noise. As Pastor Steve said in a recent sermon, our sanctuary is "where sight and song gather together to call us to tend the Gospel story". The sanctuary renovation really has transformed the space, from pulpit to…
Worship Participation Accessible to All
Posted February 26, 2019 by SMBC in Worship, Discipleship
Growing up at South Main in the 1960s and 1970s, I have vivid memories of being in the sanctuary and worshipping with people of different ethnicities. I never remember a time when there were not people of a variety of cultures actively involved in our church. Our church was open to people from different backgrounds in a time when it was not popular to be so.
Sanctuary Building Renovations
Posted February 25, 2019 by SMBC in Worship, Discipleship
Serving on the Building Committee was an honor for me. My business has been in the management and construction side of commercial real estate, and to be able to use these skills to serve the Kingdom of God was a true blessing.
What the Broadcast Ministry Upgrades Mean to Me
Posted February 23, 2019 by David Johnson in Worship, Discipleship
In October, 2019, South Main Baptist Church will celebrate 60 years of having a television/broadcast ministry. South Main was the first church to be on television in Houston, and we were on Channel 2, KPRC until 1995. The broadcast ministry has evolved over the years to our present day, state-of-the-art facility, as a result of our recent capital campaign.
South Main Sanctuary Renovation
Posted February 21, 2019 by Daryl Robinson, Former SMBC Organist and Artist-in-Residence in Worship, Music
The Sanctuary of South Main Baptist Church is absolutely one of the finest treasures the city of Houston has to offer. For many years people admired the room, rightfully, for its architectural beauty, and of course the glorious windows.
Three Steps Up, Three Steps Down
Posted February 18, 2019 by SMBC in Discipleship
Three steps up, three steps down, three steps up, three steps down. It may not seem like much, but when you do that over and over again during the course of a meal service carrying full, steaming hot pans of food from the kitchen to the serving line, it is an exhausting task. Prior to our kitchen renovation, the entrance from the serving line and the entrance from the hallway were both via…
To Applaud or Not to Applaud
Posted February 15, 2019 by Carey Cannon in Worship, Music
There have been instances in worship at South Main when our congregation has offered up applause. Moments such as the announcement of a newly married couple, the end of a moving testimony, or a musical offering by choir and orchestra have lent themselves to a just and worshipful response of applause. But is it right for us to do so?
My answer is—it depends. I know. You wanted a more…
Strength for Today & Bright Hope for Tomorrow
Posted February 14, 2019 by Brad Jernberg in Worship, Discipleship
Our entire operation is based on faith. From January to December we are careful about running numbers; we are meticulous in managing our expenses; and we are hopeful and optimistic about the collective giving capacity of this congregation. And another December has come and gone, and we have overcome another $800,000+ deficit, thanks be to God. The strange and unique thing about our "business…
Train up a Child...
Posted January 31, 2019 by Dolores Rader in Family Ministry, Discipleship
Some of the moments of greatest clarity in ministry for me were in response to a simple and unassuming conversation which collided with my understanding of the inherent value God sees in each of us and the overwhelming desire He has for us to live beautiful lives filled with joy and blessing. The number one conversation on this list goes like this: Kid tells a racy joke, cusses, or some other…
The Promises of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace
Posted January 18, 2019 by Vlad and Eunice Davidiuk in Advent
For children, the majesty and excitement of Christmas is often focused on a single day, sometimes specific early-morning hours of that day when the house fills with laughter and torn pieces of wrapping paper. The unbridled, enthusiastic joy of Christmas morning is one common to children, but it is as adults—especially as parents—that we have begun to truly appreciate the significance of the…
I Survived My First SMBC Christmas!
Posted January 17, 2019 by Matt Walton in Advent
I have always loved the Advent season. The weeks leading up to Christmas are a wondrous time. There are celebratory sights and sounds, smells and tastes that transport me into the feeling that miracles can and do occur at the behest of a God who stoops near to earth.
Advent Reflections by the Taylor Family
Posted January 15, 2019 by Randy, Penny, and Joe Taylor in Advent
In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, including the craziness of work commitments and the necessities of home life, celebrating Advent as part of our worship has helped bring the true meaning to the intention of the Christmas season in our home. Our family had the honor of being part of the Advent emphasis in worship at South Main Baptist Church the second Sunday of Advent focusing…
Fresh Faith. Vintage Church.
Posted January 9, 2019 by Greg Funderburk in Worship, Discipleship
I visited a vintage clothes shop with my son, Hank, a couple of weeks ago. He needed some shoes and a matching belt. The Buffalo Exchange was hopping on Friday night around 8 PM—a diverse array of folks weaving through tightly packed racks and rows of colorful clothes, holding up cool shirts, trying on stylish pants, gauging their fit and look. I felt like each patron was searching for that…
