One of my favorite things to do is watch church services online. <I know you are thinking weird, but I have always enjoyed church and worship>.    Most ever week I not only attend my church where I am staff organist but also attending a few other churches virtually.

A new church that I picked up watching over the past year has been First Baptist Church Knoxville Tennessee.   My connection to that church started as a rather simple tweet from their senior pastor, Dr. William “Bill” Shiell, that recognized my affection for gospel singer Cynthia Clawson.

He responded to a tweet of mine in early Spring 2010 that said she (Cynthia) was going to be a part of worship at his church in August of 2010.  I started watching their services online and quickly became fond of his preaching  and found the seasoned organist Mrs. Pickle a pure delight.  She retired after playing the FBC organ for over 43 years this past August.

Bill preaches from memory.  He has the scripture memorized as well.   His ability to convey a message is a well-honed form of storytelling.   His messages are captivating and give you something to think about and many times an action to follow during the week.   One of his Advent messages encouraged me to go in a closet and verbally confess to God my wrongdoings.  Try that one- it’s harder than you think.  Many times we have our standard words  in prayers “Lord, please forgive me where I have failed thee. ” That type of approach, through his sermon, encourage me to do more.

Bill is remarkable in that he is young (39 year old-2011) and has led an old (1843) downtown First Baptist Church in a very technological way preserving the connectivity of many generational age groups.

They stream their services on Ustream; each service is on Vimeo, and they broadcast on the local Knoxville TV station.  They have had a television ministry since 1959. They have a website that is stellar and constantly being updated.  They email their congregation and keep them informed via Facebook and Twitter.

His accomplishments during his pastorate at FBCKnox are astounding.  Read about them on the FBCKnox page about Dr. Shiell.  In 2010, he successfully led the congregation in retiring a large debt and at the same time saw an increase in overall budget giving.

Bill has encouraged me in many ways one particular is to be more focused and to work on memorizing things that you are passionate about.  Bill published a book this year  Delivering from Memory: The Effect of Performance on the Early Christian Audience.

Bill has put together a staff at FBCKnox that encompasses all genders and generational groups.  His staff all exhibit a work together type of attitude.

I think if Bill wasn’t a preacher, he would be a darn good lawyer.

Thank you Bill Shiell for being an inspiration to me and many others –especially to those that do not sit in the physical building each week and worship with you.  I’m a better person after I consume a FBCKnox service on Vimeo.

Below is a Sunday Morning Worship Service  (August 29, 2010) from First Baptist Church Knoxville Tennessee where Dr. Shiell and Cynthia Clawson created a unique traditional worship experience.

Who is your person of the year?

Other blogs that share their person of the year and were an inspiration to this post:

• Pete Wilson (Nashville Pastor)
• Greg Gibson