I’ve seen it posted many times on Facebook, the meme shared that reads, sometimes in varying forms: Heaven has a wall, gates, and a strict immigration policy; hell has open borders. Think about that. It’s a simple way to try to defend a certain political view on border security. The problem is, it’s both untrue and misconstrues scripture. And as if the meme weren’t enough, a politically vocal pastor stated in a nation interview recently: “The Bible says even Heaven itself is going to have a wall around it. Not everybody is going to be allowed in.” So, let’s start with a simple fact: Nowhere … [Read more...] about No, Heaven Does Not Have a Wall Around It
Discipleship is Easy and Hard (What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 3)
In this series, I’m considering some things that I’ve learned while pastoring over the last 15 years. You can check out the first lesson and a series introduction here: Part 1: Not everybody will like you, and that’s okay. Part 2: Pray for people and let them know that you’re praying for them. In this post, we’ll consider Lesson #3: Discipleship is easy yet hard because you have to constantly battle mission drift. Before I became a pastor, I had been involved in two churches. One lacked much of a discipleship culture and the other was a discipleship machine. It was in the latter … [Read more...] about Discipleship is Easy and Hard (What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 3)
What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 2 (on prayer)
In this series, I’m considering some things that I’ve learned while pastoring over the last 15 years. You can check out the first lesson and a series introduction here: Part 1: Not everybody will like you, and that’s okay. In this post, we’ll consider Lesson #2: One of the most important things you can do for your congregation is to pray for them regularly and let them know that you’re praying for them. Prayer and engagement with scripture are the two foundational spiritual disciplines, and they’re the foundation of pastoral ministry as well. In Acts 6, the Twelve responded to a … [Read more...] about What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 2 (on prayer)
What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 1
It’s a new year, yet again—2019. These things seem to keep moving faster and faster. As the calendar turns, I close in on a ministry milestone: Fifteen years being a pastor (with nearly nine of those in my current church). On the one hand, there’s still plenty of youth reflected in that number; still plenty of things to learn before I even sniff the tenure of guys who have been doing this for a long while (like Dave Miller, who purportedly learned from Paul in person). Yet, there are still convictions that have been formed and plenty of lessons learned to help create some semblance of … [Read more...] about What I’ve Learned in 15 Years of Pastoring, pt. 1
The World Needs More Foster Dads
With our journey into foster care, I’ve stepped into the social media pond of foster parenting to find resources and make connections with others on the journey. One thing I’ve noticed is that there are a whole lot more foster moms on social media than foster dads. We could assume that these moms are simply more media-engaged than their counterparts. Yet, it’s been my experience that many of these are single foster moms or ladies who lament that their husbands aren’t more engaged. In my face to face experiences, I’ve found the latter to be far from universally true, but you still hear the … [Read more...] about The World Needs More Foster Dads
Do What You Do Well
We’re always trying to figure out how to “do church better.” We have, after all, communities of people surrounding us many of whom have little to no connection to a church (other than, maybe, “oh, I attended VBS there as a kid!”). My shelf is filled with books and conference notes that talk about visions, pipelines, revitalizations, etc., ad nauseum. Most of these are written by or led by men who pastor large churches, run large organizations, or live in large communities. Maybe, at some point, they pastored a tiny church in a small or rural community, but those days are long in the … [Read more...] about Do What You Do Well
From the Voice that Matters Most – Ephesians 2:11-22 “Tear Down This Wall”
Text So then, remember that at one time you were gentiles in the flesh—called the “uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh, he made no effect the law consisting of commands and … [Read more...] about From the Voice that Matters Most – Ephesians 2:11-22 “Tear Down This Wall”
From the Voice that Matters Most: Ephesians 1:3-6 – Holy and Blameless Children of God
We share our opinions and insights at SBC Voices, but we believe that the Voice that matters most is the one that comes from God's Word. We present these daily expositional devotions, beginning with a tour of Ephesians called, "Walk Worthy," in hopes of encouraging our readers to remember to Voice above every voice. Passage: Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted … [Read more...] about From the Voice that Matters Most: Ephesians 1:3-6 – Holy and Blameless Children of God
The World Needs More Foster Parents
Fostering—I’m writing on this topic being by no means an expert but being involved. When my wife and I married, we entered our union with a shared conviction: No matter what God gave us for biological children, we wanted our home to be a place to welcome children in need via fostering and adoption. We even moved from our rental to our first owned home recently, a purchase we made specifically to become a foster home. Though there are many avenues, we decided to work through our state and local offices. We attended the informative sessions, took the classes, did our home studies, and … [Read more...] about The World Needs More Foster Parents
The Good Ol’ Days
There's a sign at a business in a town near mine that asks the question: When will we get back to the good old days? This is a question of nostalgia that doesn't simply appreciate something old but sees an inferiority in the present and perhaps even a fear of the future. But the question always persists when we talk about the "good old days": Good from what perspective? It never fails that when news comes out of something bad involving a school or children, the memes show up on Facebook with a student at a desk and her head bowed and eyes closed. We didn't have this problem when prayer was … [Read more...] about The Good Ol’ Days