First Baptist Church of Brooksville

Giving this guy, Scott Harris, a church is like giving a 2 year old a hammer. All this guy needs is a hat and he could be Mr. Magoo

I agree with James. I attended this church twice. Both time I also attended a Bible study. Very superficial. I heard the Bible study teachers say thing that I know were errors, but I held my two cents, being a visitor. People were trying to get me to fill in a visitor card but I didn't really want anyone calling me until I had decided on the church.People there were older people, like me, but they didn't seem to know very much about the Bible. When I went to the service I found out why. Both times I had a hard time staying awake. The Pastor was extremely hard to understand. I didn't know what he was trying to teach us. I have to say, I didn't hear any banjo music, but the music is not a reason to attend this church. They did a good job but they played songs I have never heard, with the exception of a hymn.

I live in Cincinnati. Last year I visited my family in central Florida. Unfortunately, my family, not Christians, did not have a church they attended. So I found a Baptist Church in the town of Brooksville, Florida. The First Baptist Church of Brooksville is a Southern Baptist Church. I was excited to visit. I expected some old fashion fire and brimstone preaching.

The church building has a granite maker in front with a date in the mid-1800s. But the building housing the sanctuary looks no more than 50-60 years old. The church is beautiful, with a traditional church steeple. The sanctuary is flanked inside by stained glass windows, which I rarely see in Baptist churches. There is even a stained-glass panel of Jesus, apparently in the Garden of Gethsemane. I was very shocked to see this, especially considering the Second Commandment. I attend a Reformed church, and most traditional Reformed churches teach this is a violation of the command in Exodus 20:4-5 regarding the making of images or likenesses of God.

The service started with worship music. At first, I thought we were being punked. The team leader strummed a banjo (I thought that was a southern stereotype) and sang in a very nasal voice (think, Man of Constant Sorrow.) They did some old-time songs. Mercifully the music ended after 3 or 4 songs. I know music is not that important when choosing a church, but I appreciate good worship music.

The Pastor, named Harris, was a perfectly amiable guy. He was very friendly and apparently lighthearted. He started the service with about 15 minutes of announcements and other Church business. Apparently, fried chicken and banana pudding (a southern thing?) is essential to this Southern Baptist Church. The Pastor was teaching on a passage in the Bible very well known to me. Even though I had a tough time following Pastor Harris. He seemed to wander around the issues presented in the text. He jumped around in the Bible from verse to verse, none of which, in my opinion, had anything to do with what he was speaking on. However, he did get into a humorous story. I kept waiting for him to get started, but he never did. His rambling sermon finally ended around 12:15 without reaching any conclusion.

I only attend this Church one time. The building is beautiful. The Church members were charming people. However, in my opinion, the teaching was non-existent. I am unsure where the Pastor was trained; I guess he never received any formal pastoral training. Therefore, I cannot recommend that you attend this church. If this is your only choice, you may be better off staying home and watching some other service online (that is, unless you have an abiding hankering for fried chicken and banana pudding.)