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So what will you do?

April 8, 2013 in Encouragement, Tampa Church with 1 Comment

We are first introduced to Barnabas in Acts 4- when he sells some property to give to the apostles. Because of the timeliness of this gift they give him the nickname- “son of encouragement”. In Acts 9- Barnabas makes the risky move of trusting a religious terrorist- Paul! He introduces Paul to the disciples who have been careful about embracing Paul’s conversion . He goes on the first missionary journey with Paul to encourage new believers.

I am a blessed man because I have had many Barnabas’ in my life. I remember my Mom telling me how fortunate I was to have so many good friends. Today I began a quick list of people who have been there for me- the list grew to 20+ very quickly. Here are some traits of the Barnabas’ in my life:

They walked in when others walked out
They spoke about my strengths when all I saw was failure
They introduced me to their friends in a way that made me feel valued
They reminded me of how God has used me when I felt helpless
They didn’t watch me make mistakes and let them go- they risked pushing in and challenging my poor decision making.

So here is my thought- why not make a list of those who have been a Barnabas for you and pray for them today, thank God for them and maybe even write them a note of appreciation.

Ask this question- where do I need to be a Barnabas? God has placed people in your life that need a boost right now or a word of encouragement. Why not take a moment, pray for them and then encourage them!

I have lived long enough to experience my fill of draining people- and sometimes I get tired of them (you do too if you are honest). But- I have never gotten tired of the encouragers in my life. I believe I am a better disciple, husband, father, pastor and friend because of the encouragers God has placed in my life.

So what will you do?

Thank You for giving to Church at the Bay!

October 24, 2012 in 90 Day Challenge, church at the bay, Encouragement, Generosity, Giving, Haiti, life change, Students, Tampa Church with Comments Off

Dear Church at the Bay Financial Partners,

This is Blaine, your Worship Arts Pastor here, and it is an honor to write to you on behalf of all of our pastors this month. God is doing so many wonderful things at Church at the Bay, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my perspective. Serving a church where the people are so generous with their time, energy, and finances is encouraging and inspiring!

The third quarter of 2012 was a busy one. Here are some of the happenings:

July- Party at the Park

We kicked off the quarter with a church-wide party at Philippe Park. In addition to a great time of hanging out with our church family, we got to watch some people take their next step with Christ by being baptized- Go God!

Student mission trip

Our student ministry spent some of their summer break on a mission trip to South Florida. They painted a house for a family in need, helped paint a title 9 school, cleaned up at a beach, and helped run a summer missions program for kids at Discover Church (one of the churches that we help support/Pastor Chip Stallings).

Our Orphan Village in Haiti
Hurricane Isaac passed through in August, and we were thrilled to learn that no one in our village was injured or worse. There was some property damage, though. Because of your generosity, Church at the Bay, all of the damage has already been repaired! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ and making a difference in our kids’ lives.

New offices/Warehouse space
Just a couple of weeks ago, we moved into our new church offices. We are so excited about the opportunities for ministry that this new space will provide. In addition to the much-needed facelift to our office space (we now have consistently working AC and no leaking roofs), the BIG plus to our new space is THE WAREHOUSE.
The warehouse is a large open space that will give us a place for Student ministry events/bible studies, Ladies’ Events, leadership training, IRON MEN, and more! If you’d like to check out the new space, come by and take a tour sometime. We will be having a Christmas Party in the warehouse for all of our Church at the Bay volunteers in December. If you serve in a ministry at CATB, you are invited! If you don’t serve anywhere, what a great time to jump in and start making a difference!

Speaking of Christmas, we will begin giving toward our year-end “Love Your Neighbor” offering in December. The money received during this offering will go toward church starts, Haiti, and other compassion ministries, local and beyond.

I am thankful for the way that God has resourced the ministry that is going on at Church at the Bay. He is using YOU to spread His glory and gospel in our city and our world. Now that we’re in the final quarter of 2012, it’s a great time to take stock of where you are investing.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the great stuff that is happening at CATB. I am looking forward to all that He has for us as we close out 2012 with excellence!

God bless you,

Blaine Albright

Pastor of Worship Arts

A Work in Progress

May 22, 2012 in Bible Study, Encouragement with 1 Comment

Do you ever feel like giving up? Have you ever approached that quitting point and thought- “When will God change me? Has He given up on me?” If we are honest we have all gotten tired of facing some of the same temptations and failures and if we are not careful we will just throw in the towel. I believe much of this “stinking thinking” comes from our culture of, “I want it now”! No one wants to wait for:

Weight loss (lose it in 30 days is the advertisement)
The “right person” (I need to marry now and get on with my life)
Checkout at the store (Give me the line with 10 items or less- and you better not have 11- I am counting)

And so, if we are not careful we expect God to change us over night. The truth is early on we see a lot of changes and as we grow change is more subtle. Christian maturity happens in the marathon of years not in the sprint of today. This coming Sunday we will unpack some of these ideas as we continue our study in Philippians. Listen to this passage in Philippians 1:6

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

The great truth is that God is not finished in you and through you and He is still at work on you! In fact you never reach maturity until we reach heaven so – stay in the race!