THE BACKGROUND
So, how did this all come about?
On Friday, I received a call from a FNC staff member. They wanted to know if our pastor would be available for the story at 12:30 pm on Sunday. I checked with Gregg to see what he thought, and it truly would have been too much of a burden on his schedule. His first priority on Sunday morning is to teach the Word of God and be here as our pastor. He did not want to be rushed to get out the door as soon as the service was over.
With Gregg's blessing, I confirmed with FNC that I would be available for the interview.
THE EXPERIENCE
FNC asked me to report to Total Video in downtown Houston's warehouse district. This is now one of my most favorite buildings in all of H-Town: historic, eclectic, funky, character, you name it.
One of the crew members walked me through the place, pointing out pictures of people who had used their studios over the years. He shared that Bill O'Reilly is a nice man -- and very tall -- and that Greta Van Susteren is a sweetheart -- and very short. He also showed me the 10,000 square foot studio used by ZZ Top and Destiny's Child for rehearsals and video shoots. ("One day," I thought to myself. "Maybe one day!")With just a few minutes before airtime, they sat me in the seat, powdered by forehead and nose, put the earpiece in place, and told me where to look. I asked the camera guy if he had one of the fancy cameras that actually takes off 10 pounds. He assured me that they did. But, he confessed that he did not have enough money to buy one of the cameras that adds hair to CEOs.
As you'll see in the video, I wish they had told me to smile. For those of you who do not know me, I really am NOT that serious looking! I promise! (Can I get a witness?)
THE INTERVIEW
I love how God works in our lives. There was a time -- years ago -- when I was exactly where Ruth was in my view toward megachurches. Having grown up in a small church, I had many of the same opinions that she expressed in the interview. But they were just that -- opinions. Theories. Assumptions. Guesses. By no means were they based on personal experience.
Fast forward to last Sunday and there I was representing all megachurches on national TV. Had I had the chance, I would have shared that the size of the church is not the issue -- rather, it's the heart of the church. HFBC does not believe that all churches should be megachurches. We support over 20 small mission churches in H-Town alone. We started in 1841 with a congregation of less than 20 -- half of whom were freed slaves!
I would like to think that no church purposefully seeks to be a megachurch. Rather, that they seek to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that they are obedient to be good stewards of the people God brings through their doors. As Pastor Gregg has said, Houston has millions of residents who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior. HFBC cannot minister to all of them -- even if they were to walk through our doors on Sunday. We need Bible-believing and Bible-teaching churches of all sizes to work together to reach a lost world.
THE THANKS
I am thankful for my friends who were praying for me before and during the interview -- and for the text messages confirming that they were! I am thankful for Pastor Gregg for giving me some helpful pointers on Friday and for his phone call afterwards. I am thankful that God gave me the words to use in the interview -- even in the moment as the interview was being conducted. My prayer request in advance was that God would get the glory -- not me or HFBC or megachurches in general. To the extent that He did, it's all due to Him making it so!
(And so I wouldn't get the glory, God saw to it that FNC misspelled my name!)
5 comments:
I clicked on the link. I could hear the interview, but not see anything. I think you did a good job explaining the size and the breakdown of our church. And God was glorified!
Great job, Steven! I really thought Ruth's arguments were well stated, but your answers were excellent! You did a very good job at explaining "your side", and I am proud to call you a friend!! :-)
Well done, and thanks for the update.
mike
I thought your hair looked great. You did a wonderful job Steven. I stil say Ruth looks like Bea Bernadette who played the mom on Petticoat Junction and was the sister in law on the Beverly Hillbillies.
i think you did awesome! well said man! well said!
Thanks for sharing this... it made me appreciate Tom Mosley's time of testimony to the church that much more. I agree that you did a great job explaining our connections from service through accountability.
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