Baptist21 was able to sit down with two young Floridian Pastors. Both serve growing churches that are considered by some to be a bit edgy. One went the route of church planting. Brad White is the pastor of LifePointe Church in Tampa, Fl. The other went the route of church renewal. John Cross is pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Porte, Fl. He is also the newly elected President of the Florida Baptist Convention.
John Cross is a third generation Baptist Pastor that does church differently than his father’s church. He has taken Baptist out of the name, wears Jeans and T-shirts, etc. He has been at his church for 18 years and has seen tremendous growth. During this interview, he tells his testimony and the steps he took to take South Biscayne Church from an older, dwindling congregation to a younger and growing congregation.
Brad White also is the son of a pastor. He decided to plant a church in Tampa because he noticed that some of the most influential churches were those that were plants. He also shares his testimony and how he went about planting a church that is now thriving in the Tampa area.
Both of these men share the “Whys” and “Hows” of their planting and revitalization efforts. For those interested in church revitalization or planting this is a fantastic interview to hear. We at Baptist21 hope to hear from many voices in the SBC and these guys share a fresh voice. Take time to listen to this interview as we think through how to plant and revitalize our churches in the 21st century.
The second part of this interview will touch on: things these guys do in church that more traditional churches would see as innovative, day to day activities of their churches, evangelism in their churches, how they became Southern Baptist, why many of their stripe are jaded by the SBC, why they choose to stay in the SBC, influences in their lives, and why they choose to do non-traditional things (such as taking baptist out of the name) and how they would defend themselves against some of the attacks levied against them.
N.A. and J.A.