Our Senior Pastor
Our Senior Pastor, Bill Williams, came to FBC in May of 1988. He obtained his Bachelors Degree from California Baptist University in Riverside, California and his Masters Degree from Golden Gate Seminary in Mill Valley, California. Linda, his wife of 28 years, and Bill have three children, Kari, Brian, and Melissa. He is a gifted speaker and teacher who communicates God's Word in a way that is applicable, relevant, and engaging.
Bill's Black Book
(Thoughts from Pastor Bill's Black Book. Sometimes they're well thought out, sometimes they're random, sometimes they're even funny.)
July 2010
At FBC we value People’s Giftedness. One of the tasks of leadership – of pastors, lay leaders, everybody – is to help people discover and develop their strengths. At FBC we believe in people. We believe that everybody has something to contribute. Churches grow to the extent that they empower the people in the church to be what God meant them to be. The task of leadership is to enable others to express their gifts. That’s our primary job.
Part of the strategy of our classes (101, 201, 301) is total mobilization of people’s gifts. Pastors set boundaries and say this is where we believe God wants us to go. Then people are free to accomplish it any way they want to as God gives them the ability. Everybody is good at something. Leadership’s task is finding, freeing, releasing, and liberating the gifts that God has already given people. Romans 12:6 (LB) “God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.” 1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever spiritual gift he has received to serve others…” Programs don’t build the church; people build the church. At FBC we also value People’s Differences. We respect every individual that God has made. We value diversity. We don’t just accept people who are different. We value differences. Not just accepting differences but actually learning to celebrate them, to appreciate them, and to recognize that God put them in your life for a specific reason. It’s not just a matter of acceptance. We do believe in acceptance. But we believe more than that, that God has shaped everyone differently for a purpose, for a reason, for significance. In a church, you can have unity without uniformity. You can have differences without division. God has called us to respect and appreciate the people that He has created. 1 Corinthians 12:5 (JB) “There are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people.” Romans 15:7 “Accept one another then, just as Christ has accepted you…” Philippians 2:2 (Ph) “Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you have only one mind and one spirit between you.” A secret of greatness is great people make people feel great.