J Magazine Winter 2018

counted evangelist Billy Graham among
its members. This was a shocking
development in Baptist circles. The pastor
of First Baptist Dallas was never “called
away” by another congregation. It just
didn’t happen — until Brunson moved to
Jacksonville.
When Brunson arrived in 2006, First
Baptist was the third largest Southern
Baptist church in the country. There was
room to grow.
Brunson opened satellite churches in
Ortega and Nocatee, where a new
$7 million sanctuary, now
under construction, will
open next spring. Pastors
with the International
Ministry began separate
services for Burmese,
Vietnamese, Chinese
and Hispanics.
The broadcast
ministry was
expanded,
extending the
church’s influence
far and wide.
Its services are
broadcast
live at 8 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
and 6 p.m.
Sundays on
WTLV-12, and other
times on WJXT-4, WJXX-25 and
PEARL ST.
BEAVER ST.
UNION ST.
JULIA ST.
FIRST
BAPTIST
CHURCH
DOWNTOWN
CAMPUS
SOURCE: First
Baptist Church
over four local radio stations, including
one in St. Augustine. And its services
also are seen in Birmingham, Ala.,
Parkersburg-Vienna, W.Va., Sevierville,
Tenn., The Dalles, Ore., and Reidsville and
Folkston, Ga.
The church built a large music ministry
with a 300-member choir and orchestra
to provide professional music for its
broadcasts and special Christmas and
Easter performances.
Brunson also reached out to the next
generation with a school, First Baptist
Academy, and a campus ministry at
the University of North Florida. There’s
also an app and social media outreach
via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
YouTube.
There are lattes, espresso, smoothies
and peppermint mocha hot chocolate at
its 4 Grounds community coffee shop on
the first floor of the Preschool Building.
(All proceeds go to missions.)
And there is a soup and salad bar and
hot buffet at the church’s dining room at
125 W. Ashley St. which has a professional
chef and is open to the public.
Free internet access is available too,
and 40,000 books, videos and DVDs, all
focused on spiritual growth and family
life. Lessons in music, dance, art and
photography are taught at the Worship
Arts Center.
Alive
Buidling
Parking garages
Lindsay
Buidling
ASHLEY ST.
CHURCH ST.
Lindsay
Memorial
Auditorium
Hobson
Auditorium
HOGAN ST.
Administration
Building
Main Auditorium
Preschool
garage
Decline and
controversy
Despite the new outreach, membership
began to decline and with it the church’s
budget. In 2013, the church laid off 14 fulltime
and 33 part-time employees from its
220-person staff. The church now has 110
full-time and part-time employees.
But Brunson’s unexpected departure
took the community by surprise. Pastor for
12 years, he had recently said he wanted
to stay another five years, but in May 2018,
he resigned and Lambert was immediately
named his successor. Brunson, 60, is now
pastor of 1,000-member Valleydale Baptist
Church in Birmingham, Ala.
The church is quick to say that
Brunson’s departure had nothing to do
with scandal or impropriety. It might have
been a case of a pastor wearing out his
welcome.
Inevitably, First Baptist’s pastors have
stirred the pot of controversy. Lindsay
Jr. preached against LGBT rights and in
defense of traditional marriage. Vines
called the Prophet Muhammad a “demonpossessed
pedophile.”
LAURA ST.
Brunson got into it with an anonymous
blogger highly critical of the pastor, mostly
around money. Brunson, who reportedly
was paid $300,000, spent $100,000
remodeling his offices.
Brunson wanted to know the identity
of the anonymous blogger, citing “possible
criminal overtones” of the blog. He
asked a sheriff’s detective, a member
of the church, to find out. The detective
subpoenaed records from Google and
identified the blogger. He was presented
with a list of 16 sins and ordered to repent
or be banished. He refused, and he and his
family are banned from the premises.
The blogger sued. The Sheriff’s Office
settled for $50,000. First Baptist settled
for an undisclosed amount and a public
apology from Brunson.
Brunson also
Parking garage rankled members
when he
demanded the
congregation
in
Preschool
Building
Middle
School
Building
raise $1 million
one week after
the building
fund ran short in
the middle of a
construction
project. It was during
the recession, and it
took a while to raise
the money and the
pastor’s insensitivity
didn’t sit well.
N Lambert downplays the
suddenness of Brunson’s
departure, saying that when
he arrived in January 2016, he
MAIN ST.
Children’s
Building
knew he would likely be the next pastor.
“This has always been a faithful church
that wants people to come to know Jesus,
so I saw this as an opportunity for fresh
leadership,” Lambert said.
The church’s
role Downtown
Lambert said he is still getting his
bearings as the pastor of a megachurch.
He preaches twice on Sundays at Nocatee
and Downtown. He has to be on the road
by 8:15 a.m. to make the 9 a.m. service at
Ponte Vedra High School. “I have to be out
by 10:10 and walk in the door Downtown
by 10:45, or I’m in big trouble,” Lambert
said.
The decline in membership and
revenue will require the church to
prioritize, but its priorities will always
focus on sharing Jesus’ message, he said.
JEFF DAVIS (MAP)
70
J MAGAZINE | WINTER 2018-19