When I first received a phone call from Highland Park Baptist Church’s pastor search committee, February 2, 2012, I was sitting in a Walgreen’s parking lot in North Texas.  A friend of mine thought I would be a good fit to pastor this historic church as Charity and I were open to moving closer to her family (in east Tennessee).

In an amazingly quick process, I preached in view of a call and accepted the pastorate of Highland Park.  My first Sunday as pastor was Easter Sunday, April 8^th.

Over this past year, we have seen a lot happen.  I was initially trying to get my feet wet, but knew we did not have time to “wait a year before making any changes” as they, for some reason, taught me in seminary.  As an aside, I think that line of thought may have been true years ago, but in today’s culture, in an urban or suburban church, waiting that long to establish any vision-casting is too long.

In May and June, I met with small groups of people from all different ages of the church, to have prayer and listening sessions.  I learned of what they perceived as the strengths, weaknesses, and spiritual climate of the church.

Then, Charity and I went to Gatlinburg for a few days to pray in July.  We sought the Lord on what direction He destined for me to lead the church.  I established we had four options: (1) Keep the church the same and watch it die; (2) Lay off the entire staff (including myself eventually) and start an entirely multicultural ministry with a much more multi-ethnic leadership base; (3) Merge with Mt Canaan Baptist Church; or (4) Move the church to our Harrison property and essentially start a new church.

On our way back from Gatlinburg, we exited in Ooltewah and headed over to our Highway 58 property.  It was at that moment that I knew God destined for our church to re-plant to that beautiful location.

Next, I had several meetings with our staff about our options.  Eventually, we had a staff meeting in Harrison to pray about and dream about moving to Harrison.  It was obvious the staff was behind us re-planting the church.

We had a deacons’ meeting, and we discussed the four options.  I put together a long-range planning team to discuss our options.  It was clear that the long-range planning team and deacons of the church wanted us to press the reset button and begin a new work in Harrison.  We eventually had a meeting in August where the deacons unanimously voted to follow the Lord’s will for Highland Park Baptist Church to move to Harrison, become “Church of the Highlands,” and adopt a more progressive, 21^st century model of ministry.

I announced all of this to the church September 9^th on our vision-casting day.  That day was one of the most difficult and exciting days of my ministry.  I was 100% confident of the decision, but standing up in Lee Roberson’s historic pulpit and casting a brand new vision of this magnitude was quite overwhelming.  Also, I had a policeman stand with me after the service because I didn’t know if someone would be really angry with what we were doing, and come after me.

Well, after the service, the church was so unified and excited behind this vision.  It was so obvious that it was of the Lord.  From September 9^th through January 20^th, we established a core group of people who would be a part of launching Church of the Highlands.  We had weekly core group leadership meetings on Sunday nights.  We quickly remodeled the Harrison property, developed and implemented a marketing plan for Church of the Highlands, and created a buzz in the community that we were coming.

We brought about 140 people with us from Highland Park.  Now, we average about 300-330 people in our English-speaking ministry and 410-440 when you include our Spanish ministry.  Last year, on my first Sunday (Easter), we had 220 people.  We had 450 people at our three English-speaking Easter services this past weekend, and 570 total with our Spanish ministry.

The exciting news that we shared at church this past weekend is that we are about to become debt free.  Church of the Highlands is currently in $2.85M debt, but once we close on this sale, we will have no debt!

As I begin my second year as pastor here, I reflect on God’s blessings in our church and look forward with anticipation to what the Lord will do over the next year.  I feel like the foundation has been poured in the first year to bring unity and health, and now is the time where we can really build a steady structure of a church family.

Praise the Lord for His favor.  I am honored to serve as Lead Pastor of Church of the Highlands.

All for Jesus,

Jeremy Roberts

Below are a few videos you may want to see: (1) My in-view-of-a-call sermon at Highland Park April 1, 2012; (2) Brief video of the vision from our Highway 58 property filmed in early September; (3) Vision-casting message at Highland Park September 9, 2012; and (4) First message preached at Church of the Highlands

A few days ago, Thom Rainer wrote on article reflecting on the past decade he has served as a church consultant (// link).  Whether you’re reading this as one in vocational ministry or as a layperson, either way, you need to read his fascinating article.  Something that struck me is that most churches and church leaders do not know basic demographics surrounding their church.  This caused me to look-up some of the statistics my leadership and I studied during the beginning stages of our re-planting process at Church of the Highlands.

Here is some interesting info about the five mile radius of our church property in the Harrison Bay/Ooltewah community:*

• 83% white, 13% black.
• 26% of our population is under 20 years old.
• 64% of our community lives in a husband-wife-kids household.  This is abnormally high.  The American average is 48% (source).
• 16,309 households.
• 15,313 occupied households.
• 22% of the houses in our community are owned free and clear.
• Total Population: 40,140.
• We are the fastest-growing community in the Chattanooga region (source).

*Unless a source is linked after a statistic, all of these stats are from the 2010 US Census Bureau, provided by NAMB‘s demographic department.

January 13

Title: Don’t Quit

Text: Topical Sermon

Details: I am preaching Dr. Lee Roberson’s famous sermon, “Don’t Quit” on our last Sunday at our Highland Park location

January 20 (LAUNCH Service)

Title: Keep the Wind Blowing

Text: Acts 2

Details: This is our first Sunday as Church of the Highlands.  The day Highland Park Baptist Church’s pastor search committee flew in my wife and me to interview to become the pastor is the day the tornado blew through our Harrison property which spurred the revitalization of this campus and now the re-planting of this church.  In Acts 2, the wind of the Holy Spirit was blowing.  It was blowing that first Friday of March, 2012, and we pray it will keep blowing.

SERIES SUMMARY: You’ve done it.  I’ve done it.  The nurse put the tongue dispenser on your tongue, and they told you to “Sayyaa.”  The medical professional can see details of your tongue, and it exposes what is deeper inside of you.  The Bible says a lot about the tongue.  It is interesting to note that in the second chapter of Acts, 3,000 people received Christ after the Lord got a hold of their tongues.  In this message series, we will study what happens when God puts the proverbial tongue dispenser in our mouths and we’re forced to “Sayyaa.”  Join me as we journey through the Bible together to learn what the Bible says about controlling your tongue.

January 27

Series: Sayyaa

Title: Your Words Matter

Text: Proverbs 18:21

February 3 (Super Bowl Sunday)

Tailgate Sunday

Title: How to Be A Champion in Life

Text: Mark 1013–31

February 10

Series: Sayyaa

Guest Preacher: Dr. O. S. Hawkins, President/CEO of Guidestone Financial Resources

Title: Getting Down to Brass Tacks

Text: James 3:1–12

February 17

Series: Sayyaa

Title: Things About Your Tongue You Wish You Always Knew

Text: James 3:1–12

February 24

Series: Sayyaa

Title: Dirty Harry Tongue

Text: Matthew 12:33–37

March 3

Series: Sayyah

Title: Bleepity Bleep Bleep—Sins of the Tongue

Texts: Isaiah 59:1–4; Proverbs 6:16–19

March 10

Series: Sayyaa

Title: Your Responsibility and God’s Ability with Your Tongue

Texts: James 1:26; Isaiah 6:1–8

SERIES SUMMARY: Jesus was on the cross. He had six profound statements as His body dangled on the old rugged cross.  As Jesus was merely moments away from death, some of the words He uttered included “Father, Forgive Them”–”I Thirst”–”It Is Finished.”  Throughout many Bibles, Jesus’ words are written in red so that they will stand out from the rest.  The day of the crucifixion was like no other.  It was a “Red Letter Day.”  Thankfully, and most importantly, Jesus came came back to life after this Red Letter Day!

March 17

Series: Red Letter Day

Title: Father, Forgive Them

Text: Luke 23:34

March 24

Series: Red Letter Day

Title: I Thirst

Text: John 19:28

March 31 (Easter)

Series: Red Letter Day

Title: It is Finished

Text: John 19:30

SERIES SUMMARY: Beyond the world we see around us on a daily basis, there is a SUPERNATURAL world of which the Bible speaks.  Have you ever wondered what heaven is like?  Is hell real?  Do I have a guardian angel?  Do demons enter Christians?  How did Lucifer, the supreme angel, become Satan?  Does God even really exist?  We’ll explore all of this in our post-Easter Spring series, SUPERNATURAL.

April 7

Series: Supernatural

Title: Heaven and How to Get There

Text: Revelation 21

April 14

Series: Supernatural

Title: Hell and How to Avoid It

Text: Luke 16

April 21

Series: Supernatural

Title: Angels Are For Real

Text: Luke 2:13–14

April 28

Series: Supernatural

Title: The Truth About Demons and the God Who Overcomes Them

Text: Mark 5

May 5

Series: Supernatural

Title: The Fall of Satan

Text: Isaiah 14:12–15

May 12

Series: Supernatural

Title: Does God exist, and if so, what is He like?

Text: Various Passages

1. Christ would be born to a virgin

Prophecy: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14)

2. Christ would be born to the family line of King David

Prophecy: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government, and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

3. Christ would be born in Bethlehem

Prophecy: 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

4. The birth of Christ would be announced by a star

Prophecy: 17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:17)

5. Christ would do miracles

Prophecy: ” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.  Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”(Isaiah 35:5-6)

6. A friend would betray Christ

Prophecy: ” Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” (Psalm 41:9)

7. Christ’s hands and feet would be pierced

Prophecy: Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

8. Christ’s clothes would be dived and lots would be cast for them

Prophecy: “They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.” (Psalm 22:18)

9. Christ would rise from the dead

Prophecy: “… because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay” (Psalm 16:10)

10. Christ would ascend to heaven

Prophecy: “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men,even from the rebellious— that you, O LORD God, might dwell there” (Psalms 68:18)

In less than a month, Highland Park Baptist Church will re-plant from the downtown Chattanooga area to the Harrison Bay-Ooltewah section of town, and at that time our name will change to Church of the Highlands, and we’ll begin living out a much more progressive philosophy of ministry.

We are completely re-planting our church.  This experience can be summed-up in a few key words: Exciting.  Scary.  Gutsy.  Risky.  Fulfilling.

As our church goes through this process, I’ve received calls from five or six people asking how I led the church to embrace this vision so quickly, and how they could do the same.  This many phone calls tells me there are inevitably others out there thinking about the same thing.

I do not recommend this process for most churches.  Highland Park/Church of the Highlands has a few important things that made this thing happen:

- We already owned 60 acres on a lake with buildings on the property in the fastest-growing part of town.

- The church experienced a precipitous decline over not just several years, but several decades from 10,000+ in the 1970s to 370 in September when I announced the vision.

- Our church is “PASTOR LED” in every sense of the phrase.  We don’t really vote on much of anything at our church.  As is the case with most churches that are historically Independent Baptist, much opportunity and responsibility is given to the pastor for making decisions.  Most churches do not have this unique history that makes pulling the trigger on this type of decision so quickly.  Although our church has moved away from the Independent Baptist belief system, and we now partner with several networks and a denomination for missional efforts, we still embrace the Independent Baptist model of church government.

- Our church was in a financial situation that made this decision a no brainer.  We own eight buildings downtown.  Four of the eight buildings are worship centers/chapels.  Two of them are 2,000 seat worship centers.  Our main auditorium costs over $500 per hour to use.  With our transition to our new location, our fixed expenses will reduce by $350,000 annually.  Also, we are in $2.5M debt, and after we sell our property we’ll be debt free and have some cash in hand.  Most churches are not in this unique financial situation.

- There are not enough new churches planting in the area where we’re moving in comparison with the rate of growth caused by the Volkswagen mass hiring 2.5 miles from our property.  I recall a meeting I had with a representative with the Hamilton County Baptist Association before seriously considering relocating the church, and he said we must plant more churches in Harrison/Ooltewah due to the influx of new residents Volkswagen is bringing.

It is painful to re-plant an historic church.  Many emotions are involved.  However, the laity at Highland Park has been so good at embracing the need to do something new to reach the changing culture with the unchanging Gospel.  Things are exciting, and I know we made the right decision here to expand the Kingdom of God through this unique church re-plant.

We are just 38 days (a little more than five weeks) away from our transition to Harrison!  As this time is quickly approaching, we have a lot happening to prepare for our launch service January 20^th.

• A parking lot will be poured either this week or next week in front of the cafeteria.
• The bathrooms being built in the gym are nearing completion.
• The bathrooms in the cafeteria will be remodeled in the coming two weeks.
• Screens, TVs, Lighting, and Sound have been installed in the cafeteria.
• The stage background will be installed before Christmas and carpet will be installed on the stage after that.
• Over 1,600 doors have received a personal knock from one of our members.
• Every school near Church of the Highlands will have teacher appreciation meals and/or desserts served to them by the end of this week.
• Two direct mail postcards will be mailed to the 5,000 surrounding homes one week and two weeks before the launch, respectively.

There is so much happening, but here is the deal: without the power of God, we can do nothing.  We need to ask the Lord for wisdom and opportunity in Gospel witness.  Will you do your part to continue spreading the word about our January 20^th launch?  Grab invite cards in the lobby at our Highland Park campus, put a magnet on your car, talk about the launch on social networks.  Let’s spread the word together!

All for Jesus,

Pastor Jeremy

We push social media a lot at our church.  I’ve noticed that our strategy has begun to develop into a pretty fine art that I thought I’d share with you.  Before becoming pastor at Highland Park, I was on staff with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention where one of my responsibilities was serving as social media strategist.  I hope this post helps your church to more effectively engage people so you can fulfill your mission.

Here are some things you should note about developing a social media strategy for your church: It is important, pick which social networks you’ll use, post clearly and often (but not too often), and reply to people.

It is Important

• 56% of Americans have a profile on a social networking site.
• 55% of Americans 45-54 have a profile on a social networking site.
• 22% of Americans use social networking sites several times per day.
• 47% of people say Facebook has the greatest impact on their purchase behavior.  Surely this also effects their church-choosing behavior, too.
• 23% of Facebook’s users check their account five or more times EVERY DAY.[i]
• 77% of buyers say they are more likely to buy from a company whose CEO uses social media.[ii]
• 82% of employees say they trust a company more when the CEO and leadership team communicate via social media.[iii]
• Facebook is the leading source of referred social media traffic to websites, at 26%.
• 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter, and 20% have closed deals.[iv]

Pick What Social Networks You’ll Use

There are a lot from which to pick.[v]  At Highland Park, we use twitter, facebook, and vimeo.

Post Clearly and Often

The key to posting information clearly and often is to use a scheduling strategy for posting information.  I use Hootsuite.  If someone were to just look at my usage of social networking, they’d think I was online way more than I actually am.  Every Monday, I schedule tweets and facebook posts for the church to release on different days at different times.  My goal is 3-5 posts per day for the church’s social networking pages.

Sometimes I post events the church is holding.  Other times I post Bible verses that pertain to what our church is studying.  I build excitement about our church’s vision and direction on the social networking sites, too.

As I finish my sermon preparation on Tuesdays, I use Hootsuite to schedule tweets Tuesday through Sunday that pertain to the topic or text I am preaching.  I simply copy/paste quotes from my sermon manuscript into Hootsuite and those quotes post at their scheduled times throughout the week.

For example, this Sunday I am preaching about generous giving.  On Tuesday, I scheduled a bunch of tweets with stats pertaining to giving, statements I’ll make in the upcoming Sunday morning message, and other various tidbits I think need to be shared.

Whenever you post information, don’t beat people down with the same announcements over and over ad infinitum.  52% of consumers say they have stopped following a brand because the information it posted had become “too repetitive and boring.”[vi]

Reply to People

I find it interesting that 95% of Facebook wall posts are not answered by brands.[vii]  If you put the effort into typing the post, you should put the effort into replying to people.  Not replying to a person on a social networking is the same thing as not replying to an email or a phone call.  You’re basically telling someone you don’t care about them when you don’t reply to them.

Well, those are my thoughts on how to develop a social media strategy for your church.  Have any additional thoughts?  Share in the comments!

Recently, I was interviewed by Clint Cooper, the Faith Editor for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.  He asked my thoughts on Mormonism, Christianity, the upcoming election, etc.  Here is what I wrote . . .

Mormonism is a cult.  However, the answer as to whether anything is a cult hinges on the definition of the word cult.  The ESV Study Bible defines a cult with the greatest clarity of what I would consider the average evangelical would probably say regarding this important word:

A “cult” is any religious movement that claims to be derived from the Bible and/or the Christian faith, and that advocates beliefs that differ so significantly with major Christian doctrines that two consequences follow: (1) The movement cannot legitimately be considered a valid “Christian” denomination because of its serious deviation from historic Christian orthodoxy. (2) Believing the doctrines of the movement is incompatible with trusting in the Jesus Christ of the Bible for the salvation that comes by God’s grace alone (Ephesians 2:8–9). [p. 2631][i]

Mormons are polytheistic universalists who deny that Jesus is the eternal son of God. When people hear the word cult, they usually think of sensational followers of charismatic leaders like members of “Heaven’s Gate” who followed the Comet Hale-Bopp and committed mass-suicide by eating applesauce laced with cyanide and arsenic, with vodka as their chaser while wearing matching Nikes.

Don’t confuse cults for only being a part of the sensational or sociologically-inept.

Will Governor Romney’s theological waywardness make any difference in Christians’ decision in the voting booth on November 6^th?  To some, it may.  I doubt it will make much of any dent, though.  40% of Americans don’t know what faith Governor Romney claims.[ii]  Only 22% of Americans are uncomfortable with his theological convictions.[iii]  Antithetically, less than half of Americans believe President Obama is a Christian, and 65% in that same poll are uncomfortable with the President’s faith.

As for me, I will vote based upon policy, leadership skills, and who I perceive will most likely lead the country in the direction I believe is best.  My number one policy issue is overturning Roe v. Wade. Since 1973, there have been 30 times more babies aborted than the number of Americans lost in all U.S. Wars.[iv]  Governor Romney is pro-life, and President Obama is pro-choice.  I am not voting on a theologian-in-chief, I’m voting for a commander-in-chief who will set policy in motion to transition the trajectory of our country one way or another.  I’d rather vote for a member of a cult who will prevent the murder of babies in the womb than for a President who would appoint a Supreme Court Justice to uphold the legalization of something that leads to more lives lost in two months than did the holocaust in twelve years.