Chris & Abby (and family!)

Abby and I are amazed at how much God provides for us.  Though we live off of very little income, God blesses us financially and takes care of all our needs.  Here’s an example.

We’re moving to Illinois next month where I will pastor Grace Baptist Church.  We’ve been looking for a house for the past couple of months so that we’ll actually have a place to live in when we move.  But so far, we haven’t been able to find a house that seems like a good fit for our growing family.  Last week, though, we got a call from one of our new church members who has been keeping an eye out in the neighborhood for houses that come onto the market.  Long story short, God has provided a home for us in town that we can stay in for free while we continue our search for a house that we would like to buy.  We met the owner yesterday, and it was such a blessing to hear her share her desire to serve God and be a good steward of what she has.

Even though I know other Christian families who really struggle financially, and that this line of thinking is similar to the “prosperity gospel” which I reject, I can’t help but praise God for His provision!

In preparing myself to be a pastor next month, I’ve been thinking a lot about what churches do and what they ought to do.  Many, if not most, churches have become bloated with many activities and programs.  They offer these programs either to draw people to the church, or else as genuine services to their communities, out of love for them and Christ.  I wonder, however, if these programs actually distract from the primary purpose for which the church exists.

I’ve been having an ongoing discussion with a friend on this very topic.  If you know me from college, you probably know who I’m talking about, as you’ve probably been having this discussion with him as well.  He’s got a good point, though, and it’s this: the church ought to be the “called out ones” of God, setting the captives of the world free.  He goes on to argue that this is best done through inner city ministries.

While I do agree with him that the church ought to be doing more to help the poor, homeless, and outcasts of society, I do not think that the church ought to do these things to the exclusion of other social ministries.  Sports camps, women’s teas, and tutoring all have their place within the life of a church.  At the same time, however, churches ought to make sure they are balanced in their efforts.  Here are three questions churches should be asking themselves before starting a new ministry:

1. Does this new ministry honor Christ? Does it point to Christ as our Savior and Lord?  How?  Is Christ the focus?  Many programs of the church fill legitimate needs in a community, but Christ is not often the center of them.  People are.  Rather, we need to be intentional that we serve people because Christ loves them and died for them.
2. Is this ministry needed in our church and community? Does it fulfill one of the purposes of the church, whether it be worship, service, fellowship, discipleship, or evangelism?  Even if the ministry may be a Christ-honoring one, each specific church needs to make sure that they are balanced in terms of how they fulfill each of the purposes of the church.  Many programs are started for the sake of fellowship and service, but few are started for the sake of evangelism and discipleship.
3. Is our church capable of engaging in this ministry effectively? Every church has a different mix of people, who have a unique mix of abilities.  Does our specific church have the specific talents needed to excel at this ministry?

These are meant to be a starting point, not the definitive checklist for each new ministry endeavor.  When it comes to church ministries, less is more.  Churches often spread themselves far too thin.  Rather than struggling to do many things, a church will honor Christ more and have a greater impact on the world for Christ if they learn to focus on doing a few things well.

After much prayer, searching, and communication with various churches, I have found the one that I believe God has called me to pastor: Grace Baptist Church in Nokomis, IL.  I’ve been in contact with the church since March, and we just took things one step at a time, although we had a hunch very early in the process that this was a church that we would be drawn to.

It’s a small church in a small town.  The church is made up mostly of young to middle-aged adults with young children and teenagers.  They have a “come as you are” way about them, while at the same time challenging each other to forsake all and follow Christ.  They seem to know what being the church is all about.

I’ve experienced a huge relief in finally finding the place where God is leading me to pastor.  But now another kind of anxiety has crept into my life since accepting the call to pastor Grace Baptist: the wait.  I know where I’ll be pastoring, but I am not yet there serving as pastor.  So, I must wait.

But waiting does not mean being idle.  Before moving to Nokomis, I’ll be helping with my church’s community block party and vacation Bible school, going with the youth on a mission trip and to Student Life camp, and I’ll be getting ordained at my home church.  Not to mention moving.

I firmly believe that the Christian life is a busy one.  Heaven is my home, and it is there that I will experience an eternal rest far greater than I can imagine.

I graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary two weeks ago.  Boy, does it feel good to be done!  The best thing was turning in my last paper, knowing that it was my last paper.  I’ll never forget that last paper.  It was an extra credit assignment on what I learned from memorizing Psalm 145.  It seemed very appropriate as a last seminary paper.  I can’t get enough of saying that!  No more papers to write!

I really enjoyed my seminary experience.  I definitely grew in knowledge and was challenged in ministry.  Every class was beneficial, but certain classes stick out in my mind as being exceptional.

Biblical Hermeneutics

This was first class I took at seminary.  My professor was Dr. Robert Stein, author of A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible.  The class was an overview of literary genres and how the Bible must be understood in light of them.  It was not new information to me.  I had learned most of this in college, but Dr. Stein was simply a great teacher.  He retired the following year, and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn under him.

Church for the 21st Century

Looking back, this class forced me to think about what church fundamentally is.  It’s not about the building, worship style, or cleanliness of the bathroom.  It’s not about manufacturing an experience.  Being the church means being the “called out ones” of God who are in the world but not of it.  Being the church means loving God and loving one another.  Though newcomers often judge churches on secondary matters such as keeping the bathroom clean (which I am certainly in favor of), the church must earnesly strive to be faithful in the primary things, which are clear in Scripture.  My professor was Dr. T. Vaughn Walker, pastor of First Gethsemane Baptist Church.

Hebrew Composition & Exegesis

Ironically, it wasn’t really the content of the class which sticks out in my mind.  Though it was certainly beneficial to learn to read and write in Hebrew (an objective which at first seemed insurrmountable), it was the professor’s humble demeanor and wealth of pastoral experience which will cause the class to remain with me forever (or at least for a very long time).  My professor was Dr. T. J. Betts.  I had other classes with him as well, but it was in this class that I remember him sharing many of his experiences and humbly instructing us through them.  One instruction I remember was how he told us to be very careful how we utilize the original languages in our preaching, as we never want to give the impression that one needs to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar in order to read the Bible.

Theology of Marriage

This was an elective that I took primarily because of who was teaching it.  Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of the seminary, doesn’t teach many classes, but when I saw that he was teaching one at an ideal time for me, I snatched the opportunity.

I remember doing a LOT of reading for this class, which is consistent with what we know about Dr. Mohler: he highly values books and ideas.  One of my favorite books that I read throughout all of seminary was in this class: Sacred Marriage.  It forces the reader to consider the question, “What if God designed marriage primarily to make us holy rather than happy?”  He was not implying that marriage should make us miserable at all, only that we should not go into marriage with a hedonistic mindset, and that we should look for opportunities to grow in Christlikeness because of our marriage.

The Practice of Ministry

This class covered many of the non-theological issues that arise in the pastor’s life.  Dr. Hershael York is simply a fun, down-t0-earth, extremely wise pastor.  I greatly enjoyed his advice and encouragement.

Courses in Biblical Counseling

I knew that counseling would be a major part of my life as a pastor, so I finished up my seminary education with a couple courses in Biblical counseling.  One of them was required (Intro to Biblical Counseling), and the other was my final elective (Essential Qualities of the Biblical Counselor).  I took both courses with Dr. Stuart Scott.  Both courses gave me some of the building blocks that I’ll need in order to do pastoral care.  I’m going to need to continue my education in this field, however, in order to be an effective Biblical counselor.

And finally…the Church

I cannot summarize my seminary experience without also mentioning that the local church has taught me so much about ministry.  Seminary education is great, but it cannot replace the hands-on experience that I’ve gained from being active in the local church.  I’ve been blessed to have been on staff at four churches now, serving in a variety of roles: Children’s Daycamp Director at Rockwood Baptist Church for a summer while I was in college, Student Ministry Intern at Parkway Baptist Church for 2 years (again during college), Youth Minister at Midlane Park Baptist Church when we moved to Louisville to attend seminary, and I’m currently the Associate Director of Activities (a.k.a. Minister of Recreation) at Parkland Baptist Church.  I will always look back on these last 6 years fondly (yes, I’m a slow learner).  But I’ve been in school since I was 4 years old, so I’m glad it’s over!

It’s so funny how Amber talks sometimes.  She is really trying to figure out language and how to have conversations with people.  She wants to use words and phrases that she hears, but she doesn’t fully understand how to use them.  Often what comes out of her mouth are strings of words that don’t make any sense when put together.  A few examples:

• “Did you wonder what these socks are?  They’re like something else.”
• “I didn’t got my husband when I was little.”
• (talking to her food) “Go in my mouth again!”
• “You’re driving me nervous.”
• (Saying her bedtime prayer) “Thank you for Daddy, and thank you for Josie coming to our house, and thank you for Mommy getting her hair, and thank you for my bed, and thank you for anything…”

The season has officially started! I thought to honor it I would list some of the things in our home that have come from garage sales. Things that we actually use and have been worth the purchase:

1. Clothes- most the kids clothes and a lot of ours are from garage sales- actually the shirt I wore today (and got complemented on) came from a garage sale.
2. Our laser printer- $25 and works great (bought about 4 years ago, it needs a new toner cartridge now though)
3. Fax machine- don’t use it all the time but the $5 piece of equipment definitely has gotten its use.
4. Our kitchen table
5. Cory’s Crib
6. Amber’s bed
7. One of their favorite toys- the big tent house
8. Another favorite toy- about half their weebles collection (the other half has been given to them by their Mamaw)
9. Our treadmill- yup it actually gets some use and for only $10
10. Picture frames- Chris has a little obsession with buying picture frames at garage sales. He does fill a lot of them with pictures and hang them up too though.
11. Kids books, dress up clothes, new 3 ring binders, little kids school desks, some of our white corelle dishes, some of the parts that are on my computer, more toys, our large mirror, 2 small book shelves, golf balls, metal trashcan, microwave bacon cooker. . . okay that last one didn’t get much use.

Time for me to stop rambling and head out the door. I saw on craigslist there is going to be a subdivision sale!

I’ve got to use this in a sermon some day.  It’s a clip from Saturday Night Live when Steve Martin hosted three years ago.  I once preached on the principle of reaping what you sow, and this would have been perfect.  Next time I preach on money, I’ve got to show this clip…

We live in a society that encourages a “get it now, pay for it later” mentality.  I’m not just talking about money and credit cards either.  We want and think we deserve everything at the tips of our fingers.  The “prosperity gospel” only encourages this even more, and makes God to be the one who ought to fulfill our every desire.  But when I read the Bible, I get convicted that I ought to be more content.  I get convicted that my desires so often do not line up with what God desires for me.  When I’m willing to pray (and truly mean) “yet not my will, but yours be done,” that’s when I’m at the center of God’s will for my life.