Pastor Bill Compton
Since 1994, I have had the pleasure of pastoring Belmont Baptist Church. Over the years, God has done some exciting things with our fellowship. We have grown and expanded in ministry to meet the needs of our community while at the same time impacting our world through missions. It is a joy to serve such a caring and loving church where worship is heartfelt and ministry is a way of life.
Message from the Pastor
In light of the Global Warming conference held in Copenhagen several weeks ago, I have been watching and listening with interest as experts have attempted to validate their stance in light of uncovered data that was flawed and suppositions that were used as fact. As I watched and listened, I heard a couple of terms being used over and over – carbon footprint and carbon credits. I decided to Google the terms to see what information was available on the web. I got a long list of websites from some interesting organizations. I found that there is a primary footprint that is made up of each person’s direct impact and a secondary footprint that is comprised of the products we use. I even found a carbon footprint calculator to measure a person’s impact on the climate.
Though I am not an advocate of Global Warming, I do believe each of us leaves a footprint – not so much a carbon footprint, but a Christ footprint. And those footprints have a direct impact on the world in which we live. In Matthew 5, Jesus taught that we are salt and light in the world. Our footprints on society will either honor God and draw others to Him or hide Him and keep others from coming to Him. In that same passage, Jesus went on to say that if salt loses its saltiness or light is hidden, it loses its effectiveness as well as its usefulness.
I’m not sure how much our carbon footprints are affecting climate change, but I am positive that our Christian footprints are affecting life change. Our words in witnessing and our actions in caring comprise our primary footprint while our prayer life and commitment to His kingdom comprise our secondary footprint.
As we continue to embark on a New Year, may we do so with a desire that intentionally leaves footprints showing lives committed to Jesus Christ and making Him known. Paul declared in 2Cor.2, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”
What a privilege we have making footprints for Christ!
To His Glory,
Pastor Bill
Pastor Bill Compton
Since 1994, I have had the pleasure of pastoring Belmont Baptist Church. Over the years, God has done some exciting things with our fellowship. We have grown and expanded in ministry to meet the needs of our community while at the same time impacting our world through missions. It is a joy to serve such a caring and loving church where worship is heartfelt and ministry is a way of life.
Message from the Pastor
In light of the Global Warming conference held in Copenhagen several weeks ago, I have been watching and listening with interest as experts have attempted to validate their stance in light of uncovered data that was flawed and suppositions that were used as fact. As I watched and listened, I heard a couple of terms being used over and over – carbon footprint and carbon credits. I decided to Google the terms to see what information was available on the web. I got a long list of websites from some interesting organizations. I found that there is a primary footprint that is made up of each person’s direct impact and a secondary footprint that is comprised of the products we use. I even found a carbon footprint calculator to measure a person’s impact on the climate.
Though I am not an advocate of Global Warming, I do believe each of us leaves a footprint – not so much a carbon footprint, but a Christ footprint. And those footprints have a direct impact on the world in which we live. In Matthew 5, Jesus taught that we are salt and light in the world. Our footprints on society will either honor God and draw others to Him or hide Him and keep others from coming to Him. In that same passage, Jesus went on to say that if salt loses its saltiness or light is hidden, it loses its effectiveness as well as its usefulness.
I’m not sure how much our carbon footprints are affecting climate change, but I am positive that our Christian footprints are affecting life change. Our words in witnessing and our actions in caring comprise our primary footprint while our prayer life and commitment to His kingdom comprise our secondary footprint.
As we continue to embark on a New Year, may we do so with a desire that intentionally leaves footprints showing lives committed to Jesus Christ and making Him known. Paul declared in 2Cor.2, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”
What a privilege we have making footprints for Christ!
To His Glory,
Pastor Bill