A new day, a new guy: First Baptist pastor Brandon Hudson celebrates first Easter

No pressure on the new guy.

It's his first Easter sermon at his new church in his new city. An Easter sermon is regarded as the most impactful of the year, the culmination of everything that is preached throughout the year.

Hardly just another day in the sanctuary.

Brandon Hudson preached for the first time here Feb. 4. A Lubbock native, he returned to Texas from Crosscreek Baptist, an outlying church just south of Birmingham, Alabama, to take the senior leadership role at a downtown church. His task was simple: follow Phil Christopher, often called "Abilene's pastor." Christopher led First for more than 26 years, retiring in August 2021.

Hudson seems up to challenge, made easier, he said, by the warm welcome he received in Abilene and the support around him at his new church.

"It has been great. A lot of that has to do with this is a fantastic church," he said, crediting First Baptist's prayer life that carried it through the pastoral transition and now forward. "It's remarkable. There is a lot of prayer and humility in this church. I feel that has made us very open to the movement of the spirit, which is fantastic."

He said metrics - baptisms and attendance, for example - are valuable but more is "the feel of the spirit. Everyone is feeling genuine and feeling enlivened.

"I cannot imagine the last eight weeks going any better," he said.

Easter week comes quickly

Settling into Abilene has included participating in the Holy Week sermon series. Hudson was the first to speak Monday, at First Central Presbyterian.

As he "feared," he was roasted a bit by the dean of local pastors, Cliff Stewart. But taking his turn at the podium, Hudson fired right back.

Someone in the crowd remarked, "He's going to do just fine."

A Maundy Thursday service was planned, as per tradition, but new this year was what Hudson called a "Good Friday experience." The sanctuary was to be open and the "Baptist stations of the cross" were offered as a "self guided way to reflect on the death of Christ."

That, he believed would bring people out of the Lenten season into the celebration of Easter.

For Easter Sunday, Hudson will be turning to John's gospel.

Jesus. near the tomb, encounters Mary Magdalene, who then tells the disciples her astounding news. Two then go the tomb to see for themselves.

"You get these different levels of belief. In all of those stories, people are looking for something. The women look for a body to prepare. The disciples go to find Jesus and find only an empty tomb. And Mary goes to find the body of Jesus but finds who she thinks is the gardener.

"She does not recognize him until he calls her by name. So, one of the things I want to focus on is the kind of expectations we bring into Easter."

People, some of whom don't come regularly to church, bring baggage, grief or expectation into Easter, he said.

"In the midst of what we bring, Jesus finds a way to show up to all of us," Hudson said. "Eventually, he does show up to all the disciples."

Christ's first word to them is "shalom," or peace. He did not come back with a vengeance.

"He doesn't want to wreak havoc on all those who betrayed him. He comes back to offer peace," Hudson said.

"To me, that is the good news. We live in a world where it's hard to find peace. Jesus is the one who enables us to have any shot at peace."

Fitting into the city

Hudson already has been introduced around town, asked to give the prayer at public events such as the recent United Way of Abilene annual meeting.

Last week, he was the first to give a sermon for the annual Holy Week series.

That's something he welcomes because, Hudson said, his church has been and will continue to be involved in the community. And not just at social events but, more importantly, with a community in need beyond the massive doors to the church on North Third Street.

A block away is City Light Ministries, where the homeless and others in need can find a meal and other assistance. Currently, the church is well into its Hope Project, a $6 million project that is expanding its outreach ministry by renovating the former First Christian church campus nearby. When Christopher retired, about two-thirds of the funds needed had been secured.

"I think it's going to be fantastic. The generosity of this church and the way God moved in that is going to enable us to have the space to do some exciting things," he said.

It should open in the fall, Hudson said.

Hudson's sermons for several Sundays have encouraged people to be salt and light when they leave the church.

First Baptist, he said, has understood that "we don't come here for us. We come here to be refueled to be the salt and light in the world."

He has incorporated that into baptisms, giving the person a shaker of salt and a candle as representative items of the mission ahead.

"As they grow up in the faith, they are the salt and light of the world," Hudson said.

"Church is not who we are in the building," he continued. "Church is who we are in the world. This church has a deep commitment to being in the world, if not of the world."

That ranges from the nearby City Light effort to missionary work in other countries.

"That is something we've been emphasizing and we will," he said.

Grading, if you will, a church is difficult. Hudson said the best way, in his view, is faithfulness.

"And this is a very faithful church," he said.

Leaving sweet home in Alabama

The Hudsons had been in Alabama for more than nine years.

Why leave?

Hudson said the First Baptist search committee had his resume; he wasn't casting a line, as a fisherman would.

He spoke with them, "being vulnerable and honest," he said. "In conversing with them, I think both they and I ... and my wife and children ... became convinced this was something that God had His hand in. And so we surrendered to that."

"Bob Ellis would say that the search committee fell in love with me, and I would say the same. Over the course of getting to know the search committee, I fell in love with them and the church. And that has continued to blossom."

That is essential to being a pastor, he said.

"You find new ways to fall in love with your congregation," he said. "It makes for a good marriage, too."

Hudson said a perk is getting back to Texas and Lubbock, where his parents live.

"I was very happy in Alabama. Sometimes when you make transitions, secular and religious work, you make those transitions because you know you need to go somewhere else. You're done where you are at," he said. "I didn't necessarily feel that way, but it became hard to ignore what God was doing here."

He paused.

"And I do like Abilene," he said. "I do like the taller trees (in Alabama) but I didn't realize how much I missed the open sky."

But, he said, not the wind.

"Last week, I chased my garbage can ... my full garbage can ... eight houses down," he said, smiling. "And then hold it until the garbage guy got there."

He didn't realize that he would arrive during banquet season.

Then again, he was told it's banquet season all year in Abilene.

A church's role in today's world

Churches of all denominations or without a denomination are faced with challenges. Hudson believes churches must work together.

"And with other stakeholders in the community in terms of mission," he said.

First Baptist, through Christopher, has supported the United Way, which supports more than two dozen nonprofits.

With its history, resources and mission focus, Hudson wants to "see what the needs are in the community" as he learns about Abilene.

"And I don't have to learn that. People already know that. I'm just catching up," he said.

The faithfulness component is a way to combat the isolation and polarization people face today, he said. Pastors were warned years ago that an epidemic of isolation was coming. The pandemic, he said, "brought it to our doorstep.

"That human connection, people are so hungry for that."

That can happen virtually, particularly for people who are unable to go to church in person.

Yet, that comes at a turbulent time in relationships.

"I don't have all the answers but it's important that we know our neighbors," he said. And not just a select few.

"We have to remember in America that we don't all have to agree," he continued. He stopped and said that goes for Baptist life, too. Baptists don't have to all agree to worship God together.

"The kingdom is much more diverse than that. The better we can mimic that in our practices and ideological stance, the healthier we are."

People with divergent viewpoints can love each other "and love God together regardless of what our personal opinions may be," he said. "I think the world needs that witness."

Christians, he said, need to be in the community and not siloed.

"We need to learn to see the image of God in everyone," Hudson said.

Continuing First Baptist's history of community engagement will be priority, he said.

"There is such a temptation to be safe and secure and identify with people who are similar," he said. "But what I see Jesus doing is reaching beyond ourselves. So those are things we'll continue to work on."

It's good to be downtown

The vitality of downtown Abilene matters to First Baptist, he said.

He and his family - wife Jill, daughter Sophia and son Quinn - have been introduced to The Grace Museum and are looking forward to the Children's Art & Literacy Festival in June, he said.

"I didn't realize how much I'd like working downtown," he said. "I'm sure it has gone through its swings, but it seems to be in a good place and moving in a good direction."

His personal challenge involves the direction of streets, he joked, Which ones are two-way, which are one way?

That has been a challenge for others in Abilene for decades, he should know.

But he walks, too.

"You can find a need in Abilene if you just pay attention," Hudson said. "And sometimes you don't have to pay a lot of attention. It's right in front of you."

Knowing names counts, he said.

"Hearing your name matters a lot," he said.

That is why he walks to City Light before preaching Sundays

"I don't do that because I'm holy. I do that because that space is holy, and it feeds my soul before we come and do worship here," he said. "See people coming in and fellowshipping together and needs being met.

"You realize it's not a hierarchal thing but everyone has value. Everyone has gifts.

"Everyone has a story worth listening to. Just take the time to listen."

First Baptist pastors over the years

• 1882-83: L.S. Knight

• 1883: W.A. Whittle

• 1883-86: Bennett Hatcher

• 1886-89: G.W. Smith

• 1890-92: J.C. Wingo

• 1892-99: R.T. Hanks

• 1899-1901: Isaac Sellers

• 1901: Owen C. Pope

• 1901-08: Lee Scarborough

• 1909-12: C.C. Coleman

• 1913-15: R.A. Kimbrough

• 1915-48: Millard A. Jenkens

• 1948-49: Jesse J. Northcutt

• 1950-53: James L. Sullivan

• 1953-66: Elwin L. Skiles

• 1966-83: James Flamming

• 1985-94: Bill Glenn Bruster

• 1995-2021: Philip L. Christopher

• 2023: Brandon Hudson

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: A new day, a new guy: First Baptist pastor celebrates first Easter