Faith Baptist Church

It feels like God has been pouring out blessings to me with greater speed and intensity than I can keep count of or fully appreciate. I am compelled to stop a moment and record some of them here. My beautiful wife has been a continual blessing to me. She is wise, compassionate, patient and she is my deepest passion after Christ. She is the best gift God has ever given me after salvation. My children are fun, encouraging, talented, so forgiving, and so lovable. I don't deserve kids like this. I am SO thankful for a faithful prayer team that call on the Lord on my behalf. I am thankful for new tires on our van (I still can't figure out how we had that extra money in the checking account). I am thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ who are growing, and challenging me to grow. I am thankful for a wonderful little widow that slips me money for groceries. I am thankful for friends who sacrifice so I can go to a conference. I am thankful for new treasures I've been discovering in God's word. I'm thankful for my parents, and my extended family - who have ministered to us consistently for many years in countless ways.

Thank You Lord - I am overwhelmed by Your tender mercy and unfathomable grace!

A couple days ago my wife and I were reflecting on how our parenting has changed since entering the ministry. It reminded me of what a tremendous privilege it is to be paid for studying God's word, and attempting to minister it to others. I had to stop and give God thanks for the blessing of serving Him as a pastor. It's tempting to focus on the trials of ministry, and forget how blessed I am to have a job description that includes "meditating on Scripture, giving myself entirely to it, taking heed to myself and the doctrine" (I Tim 4:14-15). Thank You Lord for giving me this honor, and thank You for Your people who sacrifice financially to make it possible.

If you are considering full time ministry, I can't commend highly enough the opportunity it provides to draw near to God in His word.

David Powlison made these comments about the wrath of God as expressed in the book of Ephesians, "Human history is about the rightful King and his allies invading a dark Reich. Everyone chooses sides. The pretense of neutrality and agnosticism is only a cover for darkness." I was encouraged by the bold precision of his words, and thought I'd post them here today. It's so tempting to believe that if you aren't against God, He probably won't be against you. Only our human pride would make us think that God shouldn't require allegiance and worship from every one of His subjects. What a blessing to know there is a shelter from God's just wrath. The shelter of faith in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.



Seeing With New Eyes by David Powlison

"The Church's functional - not theoretical - identity shapes the way it thinks and acts, what it teaches people and how it equips them to live." I was discussing this quote with a friend, and reflecting on the functional identity of Faith Baptist Church. It's a sobering reminder to think that the heart of the leadership and people in a church drive the purpose and direction more than any document, mission statement, or creed. I'm sure every Bible believing church would say that Christ and His gospel are the core of their identity, but as I heard one pastor say, "Cross-stitching it on a pillow doesn't make it so." I'm praying that the love of Christ and the power of His gospel will grip the hearts of each of us in such a way that we become in reality what we say we are on paper.

The quote came from an article written by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp, titled "One Church's Story". You can find it here:

http://www.ccef.org/sites/default/files/pdf/OneChurchStory.pdf

We've been into the marriage and family sections of Ephesians here at Faith on Sunday mornings. As I've been studying and meditating on these Scriptures, I'm just overwhelmed by the amazing wife and children God has given me. My family has endured me being discouraged and distracted the past couple months, and their reaction has been so much better than I deserve. My wife and kids (along with many friends and family) have encouraged me and prayed for me. God has tremendously encouraged me. I feel like I got a gentle tap on the noggin with God saying, "Hey buddy, as if the unsearchable riches of Christ weren't enough for you - I've given you an amazing family, an outstanding church family, and numerous meaningful friendships. Time to stop whining."

So, I'm saying yes Lord. Thank you to those who have prayed, encouraged, and endured. You are clear evidence of God's grace to me. Sometimes I wonder how folks survive without Christ and a loving church family. Thank You Lord for the gift of relationships. They grow more precious to me all the time!

A church member gave me the book "Who Stole My Church?" by Gordon McDonald. I had heard it recommended many times. I'm 3 chapters in, and so far finding it extremely helpful. The author is very effectively helping me understand why older generations may be skeptical and resistant to changes in our church culture. He really promotes a compassionate understanding of the common generational tensions in an established church. I wish I had read this several years ago, but I'm thankful to have it in my hands now! I pray that God will help our church grow in tenderhearted, compassionate understanding between the generations. It may be easier for older and younger Christians to split apart into congregations of relatively similar age demographics, but it would be a poor testimony as to the power of the gospel to bridge these very common divides.

The guys had me laughing at last night's meeting. I had to quote a few highlights for those who can appreciate Deacon Meeting humor.

"We could siphon off that much from the parking lot on a Sunday morning!" in response to how we will obtain gas for the mower in light of budget constraints.

"Note to self: don't read the book" in response to how the man currently responsible for thermostat control received that duty. (he read the owners manual)

"Free cider, we'll help you load it!" One deacon offering to help another with some contaminated apple cider.

I love these guys!

I've been enjoying David Powlison's book "Seeing With New Eyes", and thought I'd mention a few great lines.

"the promise of real estate has been swallowed up in the promise of Christ." pg 27 in reference to repeated promises of the Old Testament in the New Testament (ie. Eph 6:3), and their deeper meaning in Christ.

"the defining characteristics of evildoers are always the remnant tendencies and temptations of those who believe." pg 31

"We may be exactly right about our particular issue, but narrow truth becomes unbalanced truth... narrowed truth loses love and the redemptive modus operandi." pg 32

"You have a common calling in all relationships to walk worth of your identity as the Wife, Child, and Slave of the Lord." pg61

Thank You Lord for diverting the wrath You justly had for me (because of my sins against You) to Your Son on the cross.

Thank You for giving me a wonderful wife and tremendous children that I do not deserve.

Thank You for allowing me to pastor Your people here at Faith Baptist.

Thank You for a blog site to express my thanks to You publicly.

You are my God, and I worship You!

Hey we arrived at the final chapter! This chapter was entitled "Overcome Evil With Good". God has been working on me lately in the areas of sinful worry and control. It is so easy for me to let my mind imagine every worst possible outcome of trials and conflicts. Then I find myself trying to anticipate and counteract circumstances that may never even occur. With God's help I've been attempting to more actively trust in God, and wait on Him. A few lines from page 253 of this chapter were extremely helpful in this fight against my sinful worry and attempts to control the future.

"It is easier to accept your limits if you have a biblical view of success. The world defines success in terms of what a person possesses, controls, or accomplishes. God defines success as faithful obedience to His will. The world asks, "What results have you achieved?" God asks, "Were you faithful to My ways?"*

One of God's ways that keeps striking me is the example He gave through the cross. Denying self and sacrificially giving out of love for others. I'm asking God to help me put on cross like love for others, and put off worry and control.

Thanks for following our blog. Not sure how regularly I'll be posting in the future, but I appreciate all who participated.


*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.

I was so encouraged by this chapter of the Peacemaker. It is so relevant to me personally at this time. I am very thankful for the timing in reading it this week. This chapter outlines a biblical model for negotiating cooperatively with others. The item that I found most helpful was the distinction the author makes between "interests" and "positions". It was very helpful for me to stop and distinguish between my own interests and positions, and also to realize that I often times fail to discover what another person's interests are in a negotiation. If I understood the difference properly, a position is what I communicate as my demands or expectations, and my interests are the motives and desires I have that brought me to that position. It's very encouraging to stop and think that in a case where two positions may be irreconcilable - the interests involved may not be.

The four promises of forgiveness, as explained in chapter 10 of The Peacemaker, are gold nuggets out of the Peacemaker materials. It repeatedly exposes to me how hard it is to forgive in the same way God has forgiven us. I'm thankful that the author recorded his wife's simplification of those promises in her resource The Young Peacemaker. I really appreciate that simple poem for reminding myself and teaching others what it means to forgive.

Good thought (I will not dwell on the offense)
Hurt you not (I will not bring up the offense to use against you)
Gossip Never (I will not talk of this offense to others)
Friends forever (I will not allow this offense to stand between us)*


If God forgives us in this way, how could we do less?

"For You have cast all my sins behind Your back." Isaiah 38:17


*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.

Hi leaders and blog readers,

I'm posting this weeks chapter from Louisville, Kentucky. I'm at a conference on the Gospel with my fellow pastor, and excited to be better equipped for ministry!

Chapter 9 of The Peacemaker starts to deal with the uncomfortable subject of, "What if the other person doesn't want to be reconciled?" I am so thankful for the clear guidance and instruction God gives in His word. The instruction regarding restoration, and even restorative discipline found in God's word can be particularly hard to understand when we haven't seen many 'successful' examples in real life. I pray God will give us the grace to demonstrate obedience to these concepts to our children (and theirs).

I was particularly struck by this statement on pg 194, "The intention in treating others as nonbelievers is not to injure them or punish them, but rather to help them see the seriousness of their sin and their need for repentance."* I believe this provides a winsome apologetic for why we must be faithful in obeying the Bible command, but it also is a great motive checker when the time comes to love a brother (or sister) this way.

*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.

Chapter Eight of Ken Sande's book The Peacemaker is titled "Speak the Truth in Love". I was challenged by the author's personal testimony of growth (and continuing need) to weave the gospel into conflict resolution. I felt he described a wonderful way of doing that on page 172. He was encouraging us to "Talk from Beside, Not from Above" and made the following suggestions, "Acknowledge your present, ongoing need for the Savior. Admit ways that you have wrestled with the same or other sins or weaknesses, and give hope by describing how God has forgiven you and is currently working in you to help you change."*

I know how encouraging it is to me when others approach me that way, but I find it so unnatural to start a difficult conversation that way. I want to grow (need to grow) so much in my personal appreciation for what Jesus did for me on the cross. I pray that by His grace the gospel will become an increasingly natural part of my speech, even (and especially) when trying to gently address a person's sin or resolve a dispute.


*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.

WHOA! Please forgive the delay in posting...

For those of us who may not have grown up in a Biblical Peacemaking Culture, one of the most frightening prospects is considering how far this is supposed to go. Are we supposed to be trying to resolve every tiny little difference of opinion, or schedule a meeting every time someone looks at us funny. Life seemed full already, now I'm going to be engaged in 24/7 peacemaking!!!

Chapter 7 of The Peacemaker is so encouraging. The practical wisdom about what can and should be overlooked versus what must be addressed is a gold mine. We're taught that anytime we're aware that someone has something against us - it's time to go restoring (Mt 5:23-24), but when does God expect me to talk to someone who has wronged me or is caught in sin? This chapter provides extremely helpful guidance to answer that question.

I was most encouraged by application question #4 on pg 160, which helps evaluate when someone's sin is too serious to overlook. The specific questions given to ask ourselves like: "Is it [the sin of another] dishonoring God? If so, how?"* are just the sort of objective questions I need. They guard me from my two common extremes of 1)not wanting to get involved, or 2)wanting to nail someone to the wall.


*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.