I Am Second Articles: click here.

I am Second! And so are you, and you, and you! So are Jason Edwards, our Pastor; Abby Bland, Second’s gifted teenage poet; and Becky Dempsey, an accomplished actress about town. Second is Doloris Forman, our church’s wedding coordinator, and Larry Gregory, the all-around guy who sees to our property.

Second is all of these individuals and their array of vocations, interests, causes, and callings. Second is also that mom and dad and three darling tots you sat behind last worship service. It’s the Bible study group that wanders into the Sanctuary on Sunday mornings still absorbed in their discussion. Second is the sound guy in the balcony, the choir singing from the choir loft, our custodian, Jerry Springs, and the greeters who hand you a worship guide every week. One of those greeters—that was me!

Indeed, Second is a cornucopia of all our favorite action figures. We have enough doctorates in this congregation to establish a new college if we wanted; the retired pastors to staff a seminary; musicians and artisans to create a conservatory; contractors and tradesmen to build a house; enough doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to operate a clinic; seamstresses to open a boutique; farmers, cooks, bakers, and servers to run a restaurant; teachers to educate students from kindergarten through twelfth grade; lawyers, bankers, auditors, and financial planners to make us rich; and elected officials to help us “form [an even] more perfect union.”    

Despite these impressive work-a-day labels, I’m guessing most of us at Second would describe our lives as rather ordinary. No matter how plain we may seem, however, each of us has a story to tell, and for certain, a story worth hearing. That’s our Faith Story—our story in Christ—and for the purposes of this new bi-monthly column— a story we’re hoping you’ll feel joy about sharing.

For those willing to be featured in the weeks to come, we’ll begin by sharing your history. details such as where you grew up and when you first sensed Jesus tugging at your heart. Did you immediately join a church then, or did you wait? What have you committed to as a Christian since then?  

As a result of our reading these stories, I’m hoping anytime we walk into the Welcome Center, we’ll be more prepared to strike up a conversation with that someone in our church community we didn’t know as well before; that we will come to appreciate even more how essential each of us is to making Second Baptist whole.  

I beg you, don’t be shy. If it’s in your heart to tell your story, if there is somebody in our church you’d like interviewed so you can know them better, or if you feel inspired to write your faith story yourself (perhaps have already written it) and don’t mind me framing it in a few facts about you—let me know. Let me know if you are part of a class, a group, or a project in our church we need to explore for everyone.

You can contact me and/or send your stories, essays, poetry, or suggestions to suewrights@att.net. And if I should ask you to participate before you have a chance to volunteer, please say yes. Remember all of us are Second. That’s you and you and you. And ALL of us have a story to tell.

Thanks.

Sue Wright

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