Old Barnett building downtown?

[buckethead]

I'd rather see the building demolished that become FBCC.

Someone smarter or more connected than me will need to lead the way. It's all I can do to keep my own mortgage current. I do have some expertise in construction, but as it applies to Hi Rise, I am not up to speed. That I do not fear. I could run the project if needed be, but financing and permitting would be beyond my means.

[gmpalmer]

I was thinking FBU.  Or something like Liberty or Oral Roberts.  I'll gladly take any other sponsor, tho.  CSXU? WDU? George Jenkins University?

[CS Foltz]

Until the current Administration leaves town..........forget about the City doing much of anything. Its all they can do to keep putting our money in their pockets. They don't have time to worry about little things such as vision or maybe a plan for downtown or maybe what they were elected to do! Multi use Bldg might be nice but I think that the condo market is kinda saturated and today's economy prohibited much in the way of acquisitions!

[jeh1980]

I think Donald Trump ought to get a shot of restoring that building. And maybe restore that electronic clock.

[Ocklawaha]

Okay boyz, I AM one of those NASTY CHRISTIANS! God has to forgive me because I came up as a hippie then a Vietnam nut case.... "But Ock! You have a mouth like a sailor, and drink like a fish..." Yeah, well I AM a SAILOR and am quite partial to fish!"

I think if we quit ragging on FBC (I'm not a member there, though I once was), and sat down with their board, you might be amazed a how willing they are to mold their buildings into "our" downtown.

As for schools, something that was talked about back when the late doctor Homer Lindsey (friend of Stephendare and myself) was pastor and head of the Southern Baptist Convention. There has always been a small seminary (Thomas Rice) here in town, but it's ultra conservative and doesn't really fit the modern church image.



First a lesson:
Since so many on here don't even know what the Baptist Church is, or how things are done...  The original Baptist faith go back a bit beyond Martin Luther, meaning the Baptists were already tied to a stake, before Luther started an avalanche of dissent. At the time the nearest thing to "organized" Baptist faiths would be found in the Mennonite Church. In America, the Baptists began to split off from the Mennonites in the Great Awakening. Baptist took a VERY literal interpretation of the Bible, using it as history, textbook, doctrine, and as an outline into church structure. Because of pioneer racism, as each group of churches grew, they pulled their resources, publishing efforts. Many of these early groups went by literal names, such as Swedish Baptist Association. When north and South split up, so did the church, Northern Baptist and Southern Baptists. Some of the groups protective of what they considered as "the original church," got into legal battles and the government (Supreme Court) stepped in breaking down the church into "Conventions". The church that won "the original church label" Came from the baseline doctrinal studies of each Convention. The courts sought and found that baseline, which was identified by a court ordered name, PRIMATIVE BAPTIST. General Baptists, Northern Baptists, Southern Baptists, Missionary Baptist etc... all came from a mix of religion and law.

Mostly the conventions today meet like Vatican Councils. Everything including doctrinal questions are carefully studied and voted on. The Conventions set the tone for all published content, study materials and democratic authority. Conventions also take care of the human needs within their group, this could range from EF-5 Tornadoes in Oklahoma, to 5.9 earthquakes in California. Baptist services go into action as soon as a need can be identified. When my desert cabin in California was split in half by a 7.8 earthquake, the highways into and out of the high desert were shutdown by the highway patrol, and aided by the USMC at 29 Palms, NAVY at China Lake, etc. My mother and father were living there at the time, and we had great worries about water access, fuel delivery's, and food basics. Red Cross might have been able to help some, but a call to the Southern Baptist Convention (from Florida) kicked the SBC into quick action, by afternoon, I got a call from a "Baptist Relief Helicopter," they needed directions and I was able to talk them home on the phone. My mother a former Baptist Sunday School Teacher, and my father a retired minister of music, couldn't believe their eyes when the big helicopters landed in the front yard!

Hope this helps y'all understand, that the LOCAL church makes the LOCAL decisions. Improvement to downtown Jacksonville, is no exception. Membership in the Convention can change with a vote and the Convention is merely the agent for the churches.

Since 1980, FBC JAX, has wanted to create a downtown school, K-12 and we are finally starting to see dirt move. Now is the time for the urbanest at MJ, to meet with FBC, Bethel, and the A.M.E. churches to get them into a mutual benefit, land use plan. This could well be the case, they want to be good neighbors, pulling in a major school campus might bust the downtown wide open. I would go kicking and screaming praying for a branch campus of the Dallas Theological Seminary. Many of the most progressive church campuses have their roots in Dallas Theological. Conversely Bob Jones University, need not apply.

Let's tell FBC, we support their  month to month parking garage's. Thank them for making their corner of downtown more beautiful, Skywalks, Tunnels, Christian Bookstores, fountains, parks, Coffee Shop, Student Lounges, new playground, and access to the Skyway, with some encouragement would be like pouring gasoline on a flame.

OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Sounds good to me Ock! Now how do we get them on the bounce and moving?