Go green!
PASTOR'S PEN

William Campbell is pastor at First Baptist Church of Port Aransas.

Green is "in"! From politics, to business, to Hollywood, the push is on to be "environmentally friendly". My focus, though is not necessarily on the environment . . unless we are discussing our spiritual environment. Just like our local environment, spiritually we have to watch out for pollutants. They come in all forms, shapes and sizes, so we need to be on our guard.

If you were to describe your life, would you use the color green for growth, or would you have to use the color brown for lacking life. Long before the environmental movement became popular, God was encouraging us to "go green" spiritually.

In Ephesians 4, Paul encourages believers to grow in the body of Christ - Eph 4:15 NLT "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Ch is the head of His body, the church."

God wants us to prepare the soil of our life so that it is conducive to growth.

As any gardener knows, plant growth doesn't just happen. It takes preparation before planting ever begins, then after planting there is constant maintenance. The same is true for the believer. We don't just grow after our conversion; we must be in constant maintenance of our lives.

Some of these areas that Paul lists are things in which we all can grow, as well as eliminate certain "pollutants" that keep us from growing. Just a few of the things that stand out to me are: 1.) The words we use (or how often we say things that do not need to be said), 2.) Lust - it is a problem that everyone must face, 3.) Forgiveness - we need it and we need to give it, 4.) Honesty/integrity - we need it in our work, play and every other area of our lives, and 5.) Relationships - the "church" word is fellowship. We need a relationship with God and a relationship with other believers.

If you could use some help in "growing green", First Baptist invites you to join us for this series as we look to God for his advice in our "spiritual environment.