JACKSONVILLE (FBW)—Jerry Vines, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, took to his former pulpit Feb. 4—this time as a guest at the Pastors' Conference he co-founded 21 years ago. And when the former Southern Baptist Convention president left the pulpit, he officially became the pastor emeritus of First Baptist Jacksonville.

Vines, who wrapped up his tenure at the church at last year's Pastors' Conference, took the Sunday night slot, while Mac Brunson, the relatively new senior pastor, preached to pastors-and many of his growing flock of over 28,000—in the traditional Sunday morning worship service.

Brunson, in the morning service, prayed for the victims of the tornadoes which tore through Central Florida Feb. 2, and in the evening service $21,802 was collected in a special love offering for Florida Baptist Convention Disaster Relief.

Preaching from Hebrews 13:8, Vines said most are familiar with the verse which says: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever."

Pointing to the catchiness of the verse, Vines said the very nature of its assurance transcends the ordinary.

"It trips lightly upon our lips but it rests with great conviction upon our hearts," Vines said of the verse which contrasts greatly with Carl Sagan's version of the nature of the universe.

"[Carl Sagan's view is] the cosmos is all there is or ever was or ever shall be," Vines said. He is "declaring the eternity of the material."

"The Lord Jesus Christ the same yesterday ... is declaring the eternity of the Savior," Vines said. "Lost person, if you will invite Jesus in today, tonight, He will include you in His forever."

At the conclusion of Vines' sermon, Brunson presented him with an engraved glass tribute etched with the church logo for his 23 years at First Baptist and said the church wished to recognize him with the title, "Pastor Emeritus."

In the Feb. 4 Sunday morning service, Brunson spoke of the changes which have taken place in America since its founding—and even more recently—and compared it to a 1931 earthquake in New Zealand which entirely changed the landscape in the space of less than three minutes, taking 256 lives.

"We are living in a totally different world than what we grew up in," Brunson said. "Mayberry will never be again, I'm sad to say."

Referencing today's world as "a far different world than [that in which] the miracle of First Baptist Church Jacksonville took place," Brunson asked rhetorically how the church is to respond "in the midst of a culture is going through these great cataclysmic changes?"

Citing other historical events which produced great change, Brunson told the story of how Paul in the second chapter of 2 Corinthians talked about continuing to preach the "unchanging Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ" even in the midst of his troubles.

"In fact, in these changing times we are to preach God's unchanging message even in the face of personal persecution," Brunson said, recalling that Paul's attacks had come from within the church.

Putting aside those who are not in the church—the barkeepers, the "go-go girls" and others—Brunson said he doesn't worry about those people, but "it's the people inside the family of faith. That's where Paul was. God bless him."

In reacting to the pressures of being a pastor in today's world, Brunson acknowledged preachers must look to the "unchanging Gospel" in order to respond biblically.

"I'm preaching the Word God gave me, not the word that came off the Internet," Brunson exclaimed. "Pastor, let me encourage you: Buy some commentaries, park your backside in a seat, spend six hours in study one day, and see if you can't outpreach most of that mess you get on the Internet anyway."

Showing a connection, a link to God and to Christ, instead of looking at messages from "peddlers," Brunson said preachers are responsible to God for what they preach and being linked in Christ and not a peddler will be obvious to those who listen.

"I'm worried seriously about our denomination. I am worried greatly about the church and I'm worried about pastors; we are running off after everything that there possibly is," Brunson said. He was quick also to point out that though he may not agree with some of his brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God, he doesn't have anything against them.

"We have gone after the purpose-driven this and the seeker-sensitive that, and the emergent other—and we have gone after every bit of that," Brunson said to tentative applause. "It's not so much what they say that bothers me, it's what they don't say that disturbs me."

People are "hungry for the truth," Brunson said. "The Bible that presents to us the Lord Jesus as our Savior is the same Bible that presents to us the devil as our enemy, the two go together. If there is not anything to be saved from, we don't need a Savior."

"Whatever we do let's not ever stop preaching the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ," Brunson concluded.

More than 2,000 participants throughout the week strolled through exhibit areas and attended workshops in the sprawling campus covering 11 city blocks, while more than a dozen keynote speakers delivered messages related to the conference theme, "Building Bridges."

Among the speakers were Floridians Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa, and John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention. Other speakers were: David Allen, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Johnny Hunt, pastor, First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga.; Chip Roberson, pastor, Cave Spring Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va.; Jerry Falwell, pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va.; Junior Hill, evangelist; Chuck Kelley, president, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Erwin Lutzer, author; Danny Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Adrian Soud, Jacksonville attorney; Fred Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans; Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone Financial Resources of the SBC; and Roy Fish, interim president of the North American Mission Board.

A Women's Conference, hosted by First Baptist Church of Jacksonville's pastor's wife, Debbie Brunson, included speakers Susie Hawkins (wife of O.S. Hawkins), June Hunt, author and founder of Hope for the Heart, a worldwide biblical counseling ministry; and Dorothy Patterson (wife of Paige Patterson).

Next year's Pastors' Conference is scheduled Feb. 1-5, 2008, with speakers including Tony Evans, founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas; David Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, Calif.; Jerry Vines, pastor emeritus of FBC JAX and founder of Jerry Vines Ministries; David Allen; Johnny Hunt; Tom Nelson, senior pastor, Denton Bible Church in Texas; Junior Hill; Jay Strack, president and founder of Student Leadership University, based in Orlando; Don Wilton, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, S.C.; Ergun Caner, president, Liberty Theological Seminary at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va.