Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!  Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. (Psalm 96:1-2)

Just this past week, I noticed a trend during our Wednesday evening service.  In keeping with our harvest-emphasis, I gave the small group of gathered believers opportunity to share about any successes or rejections they had experienced thus far in their attempts to share their faith with their friends or even invite them to church.  A few individuals began to share testimonies that really made me rejoice as a pastor.  One shared about his diligent attempts to connect with a friend who is under heavy conviction in order that he might share the gospel in-depth with this friend for whom he has prayed for years.  It was exciting to hear this man’s passion and desire for his friend’s salvation.  Another shared an incident from earlier that afternoon when, in the course of stopping by a repair-shop, he engaged a man in a conversation that led into a deeper discussion of religious matters.  He offered to pray for the man concerning some of his trials and invited the man to attend our church soon.  Again, I was glad to hear this report simply because it reflected an intentional desire to engage a total stranger, to listen to their problems, to offer to pray, and to invite them to church.  Granted, I would love to see these engagements result in a full-blown sharing of the gospel, but I will rejoice nonetheless.

Both of these men encouraged me with their stories of sharing and engaging.  But what I noticed that challenged me so much was the sense of exotic awe with which the rest of us listened.  We listened as if we were hearing strange, exotic, reports from a faraway places.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am glad that we were listening intently, but my concern is with the fact that we listened as if we hadn’t heard this kind of sharing in years.  Ulitmately, we were carried away by these men’s words and stories precisely because their stories were so strange to us.  We are so unaccustomed to sharing our faith in our daily life and reporting these accounts to others for prayer that when we do intentionally share, it feels almost prideful, and as if we have really accomplished something special for the Lord.

And that’s what troubles me.

Again, don’t get me wrong.  There was no pride or wrong intention in the hearts of these men sharing, in fact, they were sharing in response to my request to do so.  But why is it that sharing our faith has become so rare that hearing stories like these sound so alien to us?

The Psalmist tells us that telling others of our deliverance should be a day to day occurrence.  It should be a natural response to the presence of Christ in our lives.  In fact, rather than the occasional “sharing story” being rare, circumstances in the life of the Christian should be the exact opposite.  Instead, the day when we DON’T share Christ’s love to someone else verbally should be the rare occasion.  Instead of witnessing the gospel to the lost once every thirty days or so, there shouldn’t be more than one out of thirty days in which we don’t share Christ with the lost.

Sharing Christ with the lost and telling others of God’s deliverance shouldn’t feel like such a rare, exotic occasion.  While it should certainly be exciting whenever we hear of a witnessing encounter, that excitement and those reports should be the rule rather than the exception.

So how is it with you?  Do you tell others of God’s deliverance in Christ from day to day?  If given the opportunity to testify about a witnessing encounter this week, would you have one to tell?  Or would you sit back and listen with amazement as someone else told of an encounter and think to yourself, “boy, I sure wish I could open my mouth and share Christ like so and so does…”

Wake up church.  We cannot afford to sit in silence any longer.  Tell someone today of Jesus and his love.

I sincerely want every member of SHBC to check out this story at the Western Recorder website and read it carefully and thoughtfully. Here’s the story: http://www.westernrecorder.org/wr/wrsite.nsf/stories/200941-Awakening

God is pouring out His Spirit in a magnificent way upon this church in Morehead. Clearly, they are in a season of revival for which they have longed, and now, with this outpouring of God’s Spirit, they will enter into a season of discipleship, deepening of the converted, and hopefully, prolonged harvest. I pray for this church and hope sincerely that they will continue to experience this great movement of God’s Spirit!

Even more exciting to me than reading the confirmation of this movement of God (I had heard about this earlier this week at a meeting), is the fact that this is the VERY SAME AGENDA that I have been promoting at our church for the past four weeks. I have been attempting to pass on to you all as a church what God has laid on my heart as a pastor, namely that it is time for us to labor in light of the harvest! As a church, we must wake up to the fact that if we do not begin to take part in God’s economy of sowing, cultivating, and harvesting, we will die within a few short years. I have been encouraging you all to “lift up your eyes” to see the lost and hurting people all around you. I continue to encourage you to specifically and diligently pray for 2-3 lost people that you have some contact with in your life. Tomorrow is a day of church-wide prayer and fasting for the lost and for our church. Will you participate?

Beyond looking and praying, I am challenging the folks of SHBC to share their faith with these 2-3 people for whom they are praying. A simple personal testimony is a good start. Have you shared yours lately? Finally, I am asking you all to invite your friend (or family member, etc…) to church with you on the morning of November 1st, bringing them to breakfast at 8:30, small groups at 9:30, and morning worship at 10:45, to hear the preaching of Dr. J.D. Payne, who is going to deliver the gospel to them in fuller, expositional form. All of this is geared toward making you a participant in the Lord’s harvest.

SHBC, it is far past the time for us to wake up to this reality. Unless we corporately begin to sow, cultivate, work, and pray for harvest, we will never experience the kind of great outpouring of God’s Spirit that we read about above. The irony for me is that I have been pressing on churches the need for almost the EXACT process that this pastor is describing in Morehead for many years now. I had “Harvest Days” for years in Grayson, but never with this kind of result. Now, I am seeking to create a culture at SHBC that is driven by a desire to see God’s harvest in our congregation.

Read Jesus’ words in John 4:35-38. Read his words in Matthew 9:35-38. There can be no question that we must begin to look upon the fields, specifically take note of individuals who are in need of salvation, and then compassionately go to them and tell them of Christ and invite them into His presence! I cannot see how this could even be questioned by any well-meaning, well-read Christian. The question is whether or not we will be obedient to the words of Christ.

The pastor in the above article admits that when he issued the challenge for his congregation to work to see 100 people saved in three weeks, that he and many others didn’t believe it was possible. But look what God did in that church much to everyone’s surprise! I believe with all my heart that the same and even more can happen at SHBC!

Do you?

If you believe in the potential for harvest, then you must also believe in the necessity of sowing. Join us in intentionally praying, inviting, serving, sharing, and presenting Christ to our community throughout the remainder of our Harvest Days 2009.

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1, ESV)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SOUTHERN HEIGHTS BAPTIST CHURCH!

It is my joy to serve as the pastor of Southern Heights during this very special time in our church’s history. This month, we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Southern Heights Baptist Church. On October fourth (10/4), we will celebrate this momentous event in our morning worship service by getting together with old members, staff, and friends and worshipping the LORD of the church together. We will hear the Word of the LORD from former pastor Monty Carter, a man who has himself experienced the healing and mercy of the LORD in the past year. Following the service, we will share a meal together and then enjoy an afternoon of celebration, reflection, and reminiscing. I do hope you will attend!

However, in the midst of all of this, let us never forget the WHO and the WHY of our celebration. As the words of the Psalmist remind us, we are not the ones deserving any applause. It is not our name that should be exalted or praised at the anniversary celebration, but rather the name of the LORD. Though our church is comprised of wonderful, loving, and godly people, we are not strong enough, smart enough, rich enough, or spiritual enough to have sustained a local church for fifty years. We acknowledge that, as human beings, we are flawed people who lack full commitment and faithfulness. Had the continued existence of our church depended on any one of us, we would have failed long ago! But thanks be to God that HE is the one who has remained present in the midst of our church for all of these years. He has guided us, sustained us, empowered us, and cared for us as His people. Without the LORD’s preservation, this anniversary celebration would not be possible!

And so our celebration this month should be more than just meals, memories, and reminiscing; it should be a genuine act of worship directed to the God who birthed, grew, sustained, guided, and still lives in the midst of the Southern Heights Baptist Church. Because it is His steadfast love and faithfulness that has brought us this far, we must direct all of our praise, thanksgiving, credit, honor, and glory directly to him as we celebrate our first fifty years. To do any less would dishonor God.

However, I hope that our anniversary celebration is more than just a look backward. It is natural at times like this to reflect on the past, but looking at God’s faithfulness through the years must do more than fill us with “warm and fuzzy feelings.” It should motivate us to look to the present and the future and anticipate the great things that God has yet to do in our church. In the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 1-3), Jesus always begins by acknowledging some things that the churches had already done in their past, either right or wrong. However, he always goes on to include hopeful words of encouragement about the churches and the future reward that they could attain if they would only respond in faith and obedience to Him.

I believe that Southern Heights has a rich and blessed past, one for which we should always thank God. However, I also believe that the best years are yet ahead of us! God is not finished with our church. May we look to the wonderful foundation that has been laid during our first fifty years of ministry and build on that foundation in the years to come. Until the day that the Lord of our church returns, may we continue to minister and be found faithful!

So happy anniversary Southern Heights! And thank you LORD, for your faithfulness to our church! Thank you Lord, for the faithful, godly, loving, and supportive Christians through whom you have worked through the years to make this celebration possible, and may you continue to bless us and make disciples in our midst until Jesus returns!

Honored to serve,
Pastor Terry

(Below is the post that I added to our church blog today… I hope it is a blessing to all my readers!)

Have I told you all lately just how great a joy it is to serve as your pastor?  I believe that God is alive and well today and that He is beginning a great work at Southern Heights!

I really do want us, as a church, to learn from the children of Israel in Nehemiah’s day!  In Neh 12:43 (the text from last Sunday’s sermon), we see the children of Israel celebrating, worshipping and rejoicing in such a way that others around them knew something was going on in Jerusalem!  That’s the way I hope it will be at SHBC.  I pray that we would mature as a church, constantly moving toward greater unity, theological depth, and passionate love for Jesus Christ.  As we do that, may our worship, our words, our giving, our service, our fellowship, and everything else that we do create an environment in which others can clearly see that we are changed… different… excited about something… and as they see it in us, they will desire it for themselves… and then we point them to the wonderful cross of Christ!

I have so much to share that I felt it was necessary to drop everyone a line to keep them on top of all the great things that are happening at SHBC!  I hope that hearing these things not only encourages you, but also gives you a guide by which to pray and seek ways to get involved.  When we constantly talk about the ways in which God is at work in our church, the result is infectious!  Soon, others want to know more about our church and our Savior.  May others see the joy and excitement with which we approach ministry opportunities in our church, and may they be drawn to Christ through our joy!

Note the following updates and announcements:

1. The new (March) LifeWalk magazines are in for next month; these are the daily guides that we are using for reading through the Bible in 2009.  Be sure to pick up your copy this week or on Sunday so that you can stay on top of your daily Bible reading.  At our meeting this past week, our crowd was looking kind of puny!  We began with yearly Bible-reading commitments from at least 30 people, but only about 12 were present at the February accountability meeting.  Let’s get back on our reading plan and work hard to diligently read God’s word this year!

2.  We heartily and joyfully welcome the Campbells, Kevin and Natasha, who both presented themselves to our church Sunday morning as candidates for baptism, having just recently accepted Christ as Savior of their lives!  We welcome them and their infant daughter, Sydney, and are anxiously anticipating the baptism service in which we will see Kevin and Natasha announce their faith in Christ together through the ordinance of baptism.

3. I want to give a special thanks to all who gave to the Gideon’s offering this Sunday; we gave $147 to the Gideon’s organization for distribution of the Bible throughout the world.  Learn more at www.gideons.org

4. I want to give a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to all who made our Valentine’s Day Dessert Auction a great success!  Almost $2,700 was raised in one evening for the church mission-trip coming up in June of this year!  Praise God for your generosity!

5. We have completed the initial phase of our G.R.O.W. Team training, although there will continually be various training sessions offered on evangelism.  We want everyone to know that if they were unable to attend the training sessions, they can still be involved in a team.  Come and talk to me (Pastor Terry) about how to get equipped in order to serve on an outreach team.  The teams have been selected, and will meet according to the following divisions:

The “G” Team (1st Thursday, 10:30 am)- Don Carter, Lloyd Goodlett, Barb Riddle, Agnes Durbin, Sam Benge, Libby Padgett.

The “R” Team (2nd Tuesday, 6:30 pm)- Bob Dooley, Garry Reynolds, Larry Reynolds, Ashley Blair, Bill Landrum, Betty Landrum, Mike Padgett (sr.), Jackie Thompson

The “O” Team (3rd Thursday, 10:30 am)- Bill and Linda Grant, Bob Tibbetts, Lisa Wisener, Ethel Hill, Fred Meade

The “W” Team (4th Tuesday, 6:30 pm)- Ken Cornish, Jerry and Cheryl England, Betty Anders, Bill Workman, Michael Howard, Mike and Fran Stone, Monnie Leap

While we want the teams to “GROW” in members and participation, we certainly don’t want them getting smaller than they are here, so make EVERY EFFORT to be a part of your team’s first meeting in March!  You will be blessed for attending!

Don’t forget to pray for our Kids on Mission 311, who, right now as I type this email, are ministering with our friends downtown to create sack-lunches for the hungry in Lexington.  Pray for these kids and their ministry!  Also remember that we are meeting tonight for fellowship, prayer, Bible Study, and a specially-called Business Meeting to discuss some issues surrounding the calling of a new Music and Worship Minister.  If you can’t come, pray for us…but if you CAN be here, then please do make it!

I share the following from a sermon by Asahel Nettleton, the subject of my forthcoming dissertation in evangelism at Southern Seminary.  This excerpt is from the sermon Professing Christians, Awake! and is taken from the compilation of Nettleton’s sermons by William C. Nichols:

“Another reason why you should awake is that sinners are perishing around you.  While you sleep your example will contribute much to their destruction.  Yes, while you sleep the world may now be stumbling over you down to destruction.  Little does that ungodly professor of religion think what a train of immortal souls may be following him down to hell.  It is a fact not to be concealed that one ungodly professor of religion may do more to prevent the conversion of sinners than many infidels.  I know it is most unreasonable that mankind should suffer themselves to be thus forever ruined.  It can surely be no  consolation to the sinner in hell that he was led there by a hypocrite.

Brethren, is heaven,- is hell a fable?  If so then let us treat them as such.  Or are they eternal realities?  Whence then, this silence, this seeming indifference to the souls of men that your fellow sinners should obtain the one and escape the other.  Do you verily believe that within a few days you shall be in heaven, singing the song of redeeming love- or in hell with devils and damned spirits forever and ever.  Have you ever described your own danger, and fled for refuge from the wrath to come , and do you feel no concern for the souls of men?  Or are there no sinners in this place?  Have they all become righteous?  Do all profess to know the Lord from the least to the greatest?  Is there no prayerless family in this place, on whom God hath declared he will pour out his fury? No prayerless youth to whom God has said, I will cast thee off forever?

My brethren, if there be one impenitent sinner among us who is in danger of going into that place of eternal torment, can you sleep? One sinner in this house!  One inhabitant of hell!  Solemn thought! One soul present that will be lost forever.  Who can it be?  Could you bear to hear the name?  Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?  Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burning? Have you not reason to believe that many are now living without hope and without God in the world?  Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Wherever God designs to pour out his Spirit and to call up the attention of sinners to divine things, he will be inquired of by his children to do it for them.  This he has taught us in his Word and often in the language of his providence.  It is high time for you to awake out of sleep; for others are awake- sinners at a distance are alarmed- and hundreds are now flocking to Christ.  And can you rest?  Are there not more souls here to be saved or lost forever?  Are they not as precious as ever?  And is he not a prayer-hearing God?  Hath God forgotten to be gracious?  Is his mercy clean gone forever?  And will he be favorable no more? No, my brethren, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear- Come then, ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence, if ye speak not to warn the wicked; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.”

Wow…Nettleton sure sounds like a man who was passionate about evangelism.  He certainly has a heart for reaching the lost.  In fact, during the ten years that he was most prominently involved in evangelistic ministry (1812-22) it is said that upwards of 30,000 people were converted under his ministry!  That’s amazing by any account!  But the part that I like most is the fact that he remained this passionate for the lost while maintaining an unapologetically Calvinistic theology.  He unashamedly preached the doctrines of depravity, election, limited atonement, the powerful and irresistable drawing of the Spirit, and eternal security.  All while maintaining a positive passion for the lost and an actively engaging evangelistic ministry.

Maybe it is possible after all to hold to the doctrines of grace and be evangelistically passionate; all the while desiring biblically informed methods and a doctrinally sound message.   I believe that it is, and that Nettleton provides us one example of a man who held to such a soteriology while maintaining evangelistic passion.    May that encourage and challenge all of us who hold to these doctrines to be more faithful, diligent, and passionate in our personal evangelism.

I haven’t been blogging here too much lately; for the past 2 weeks the town in which I live (Lexington, KY) has been basically shut-down because of the horrendous weather conditions.  Maybe you’ve seen it on the news.  In the midst of all this, I haven’t had too much spare time, and what time I have had, I have been putting in to starting a blog-site for our church at www.southernheightsky.wordpress.com.

Anyway, while I had a spare minute, I thought I would tinker with the site for a few minutes, and I decided to customize my blog-header with a picture I took a few years ago.  It is one of my all-time favorite pictures.  I took it in black-and-white a few years ago while on a mission trip to the Dogrib Indians of the Northwest Territory, Canada.  The team I was serving with flew in to Edmonton, Alberta and then drove hundreds and hundreds of miles north to the NW Territory.  On the way, we stopped at Twin Falls Territorial Park and walked to the Louise Falls.  They were absolutely, stunningly beautiful.  And unlike parks in the U.S. there were almost no railings, signs, or protective barriers at the park.  I could walk right up to the water and stand right at the edge of the falls…which was kind of wierd for me.  (see pic below)

Anyway, I hope this new header-pic looks cool, and that folks like it.   And if you think about it, pray for the folks of the Northwest Territory.  I have taken a few trips up there in the past few years, and I LOVE it.  I even considered going there full-time as a church planter, but alas, it was not to be.  The need for the gospel in the NWT and throughout Canada in general is great.  The fields are white unto harvest, we must pray therefore that the Lord will raise up laborers for His field.

OK, I don’t have long to post right now; I am getting ready to head out the door and attend the weekly meeting/ luncheon of the Elkhorn Baptist Association.  EBA is the oldest association in the state of Kentucky and I believe (but could be wrong) the oldest west of the Alleghenies.  Anyway, I enjoy the fellowship and work of our association here in Lexington.  I believe it is done right by our DOM Don Reed and his staff.  We have various ministries to the people of greater-Lexington and our association sees itself as a resource for the churches, not vice-versa. 

My question, which is specifically directed at “younger” guys but open for all, is this: What do you think about local associations in Southern Baptist life?  Why aren’t more “younger” guys interested in being a part of the fraternal fellowship provided at the associational level?  Why are the meetings increasingly attended by the older generation but skipped over by younger guys?  Are we really arrogant enough to believe that we don’t need any fellowship, encouragement, or accountability outside of our local places of service?  What is the usefulness of the association for you?  How would you like to see them improve?   

I am not necessarily offering answers to these questions, but merely asking them because I really believe that in my lifetime, we are going to see either a radical restructuring of associational life or the death of them as institutions.  I say that not as a critic, but as one who participates and supports associational life when it is done well. 

What are your thoughts?

That quite frankly, I don’t even know where to begin.

Check out the first one here, about a 6-year old that took his family car and attempted to drive to school, saying that he learned how to drive from playing Grand Theft Auto?@#$!

1. What the heck is a 6-year old doing playing Grand Theft Auto?

2. How does a 6-year old take keys, start a car, and drive for 6 miles unassisted?  NO WAY can he reach the pedals and maneuver properly?

3. How does he crash the car and receive nothing but a bump on the head?

4. How does he do this without the parents knowing a thing?

Can anyone begin to see why our nation is in such a mess?

The second story is a ridiculous report out of       Chicago, where the kids graduate without knowing how to read, but really enjoying their coffee!  BTW, same cess-pool of corruption out of which some other politicians of note have come.

Finally, there’s this one.  I have just one question… how is one “accused” of urinating on another’s leg?  Shouldn’t that one be pretty cut and “dry”?  The evidence should speak for itself?

This world in which we live is not only coming apart at the seams, it’s just a downright weird and creepy place to live sometimes.

*NOTE: If you are someone who takes yourself or life in general too seriously, you probably don’t want to read this. If you can laugh at the little things in life, then enjoy!

Last night as my wife and I gathered with our children for family Bible reading before bed, we read Proverbs chapter five (5) to them and discussed it’s content. You may ask “why did you choose that passage?” The answer is that I am making it our goal to read through Proverbs this month as a family by reading a chapter per day out loud and discussing the wisdom of Proverbs with our children. After all, no book is more practical or more needed today than Proverbs.

And so we read chapter five. Now, chapter five of Proverbs is a discourse on the wisdom of marital faithfulness, which leads to life and blessing, as opposed to the folly of infidelity of any sort. I think this is a very relevant passage for a number of reasons. First of all, kids today need to understand the beauty of covenantal relationships as God intended them and the way in which they point us to the gospel (Eph 5:25). They need to learn from their parents and pastors about God’s plan for relationships and understand sexuality in the context of marital relationships. They are certainly not going to hear this message from the culture?@#! And so as I read the passage and explained the idea of infidelity in all its forms (i.e. marital unfaithfulness, pornography, lust, emotional infidelity, etc…) my kids were surprisingly attentive, even though they are only seven and ten years old (the babies were in bed by this time!). They asked questions about marriage, divorce, adultery, and even what it meant for sin to lead to death. It was a great teaching opportunity.

It got a little sticky for me however, to try to skate around the obvious issue of sex in the passage. Instead of being graphic, I spoke to the kids about “kissing” and “mommy and daddy smooching” and used other colorful terminology to substitute for sex without being too graphic with my kids. The time will come to drop the cutesy terms and be blunt, but its just not yet. As I read on and explained more, there were a couple of responses from my kids that were just pure gold.

When I read verse 15, (Drink water from your own cistern…) I paused and asked my kids in a puzzled tone just what that meant. I never dreamed that they would have a clue, but my 7-year-old son responded without missing a beat, “I think that means that you should be happy with the girl God gave you dad.” How incredibly perceptive is that for a young boy who had NOT been coached in the answer?! I hope he remembers that when he grows in to a young man!

Then, when I approached Proverbs 5:19, I faced a problem. The verse reads, “Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight,” but I just could not bring myself to explaining that to my mixed audience of children. As I paused momentarily to think of a substitute word (I settled upon “Let her hugs and kisses fill you at all times…) my wife snickered softly, sensing my clear discomfort and awkward hesitation and knowing the verse well. My ten-year-old daughter then bursts out of her seat and, like a hyena perfectly sensing its prey’s weakness, comes at me insisting, “that’s not what it says dad, come on, tell us what it really says.” It was a moment of laughter and fun as we playfully wrestled and I diligently sought to maintain some level of innocence by keeping the Bible from her and “hiding” the real word used! But we eventually continued in our study together and I was left to reflect upon some lessons that I had been taught about family devotions.

#1- God’s Word is relevant to the needs of every generation. It is not outdated, outmoded, or out-of-touch as some insist. In a day when many in the church feel that they need to move to “something else” to give kids what they need, I say that a return to the relevant Word of God is what is needed. When exegeted properly and diligently mined for nuggets of truth, the Bible addresses clearly and truthfully all areas of life from God’s perspective. I would much prefer for my kids to learn about human relationships and sexuality from God’s Word than from MTV, Oprah, or from the public education system.

#2- God’s Word is powerful when unleashed. All I had to do was read it to my children and facilitate instruction and they were able to grasp its truths by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

#3- We need a return to more Bible reading in our homes. Most adults today are not even aware of what rich truths the Bible contains because they have simply never read it. How much less today’s children, who seldom know more than what they have learned from a singing vegetable! (Before anyone complains, I LOVE the singing vegetables… but they should not be the sole source of children’s knowledge of the Scriptures!)

#4- Sometimes presenting the totality of God’s Word can become awkward or uncomfortable, especially with our children, but with a little common sense, the truths of Scripture can be conveyed without too much embarrassment or discomfort. There is no question that in our culture, our children are going to be exposed to issues like violence, war, murder, sexuality, adultery, etc… In fact, they see it every day on the news and in popular media. I firmly believe that parents can use the Word of God to give their children right moral and ethical views on these and other subjects according to what God has revealed about them. This can and must be handled with sensitivity and common sense, but navigating the difficult course between truthfulness and embarrassment is possible with a little practice and common sense. I guess what I am saying is, don’t avoid the “hard passages” of the Bible with your children, but rather, approach them truthfully with much prayer and concern for your child’s moral and spiritual development.

**On a lighter note though, a list of passages you may want to save until your kids are older might include Genesis 9:18-27, Leviticus 15, Judges 19, 2 Kings 6:24-31 (Lam 4:10), and the entire book of Song of Songs! It’s hard enough to explain circumcision to your kids or to tell them why David danced naked before the Lord (II Samuel 6) without having to make things too complicated! Stick to the “fun stories” that kids (especially little boys) love hearing, such as the story of fat king Eglon (Jud 3), or Jael and her tent-stake (Jud 4), or Absalom’s hair-problem (2 Sam 18), six-fingered giants (1 Chron 20) or even Ezekiel’s fuel dilemma (Ezek 4:9-17)! Last year, we bought my son a comic-book style adaptation of selected Bible stories called “Weird and Gross Bible Stuff,” and amazingly, he couldn’t put the book down! He read it diligently and asked many questions about the content of the Bible. Incidentally, there is a whole series of these books for children published by Zonderkidz, including one titled “Seriously Sick Bible Stuff” and “Bible Wars and Weapons.”

#5- Sharing the Word of God with your children can be fun, exciting, and memorable. It does not have to be some negatively stereotyped “boring quiet time” that your kids dread. My kids laughed, interacted, and even asked for applications of the text as we discussed this difficult text. I’m willing to betcha’ that they will remember for a long time to come the core teachings of this text.

#6- Be patient with kids as they learn the ropes of spiritual truths. One last anecdote. Because we had spent yesterday evening volunteering at a local homeless shelter, my kids had asked lots of questions about homelessness, poverty, and a Christian’s concern for these issues. I explained as best as I could the plight of the homeless and why we should be motivated by the love of Christ to help our fellow man not only with physical comfort, but also with gospel-centered concern. As we closed out our evening with family prayer, my son prayed just as seriously as he possibly could (no denigration intended), “Lord, help the homeless people of our city to find a nice cozy dumpster to sleep in tonight…” My daughter began cracking up and my son didn’t understand the problem. I worked through the chuckles to explain to my son a better prayer to offer and he then finished. Kids have to grow in their understanding of how to live the Christian life, but shame on us parents if we don’t teach them diligently and then give them the room they need to make mistakes and learn by trial and error.

As my son demonstrated with his response, they really are picking up a lot more than we give them credit for!

It was one of the best nights of family devotion in my recent memory. I can’t wait to find out what we discover tonight in Proverbs six… and neither can my kids.

Oh, and by the way… I never did tell my daughter what the real word was in 5:19! I know she can find out for herself if she chooses to and nothing I can do will change that…but as I said, there is a time and place for everything. For now, she just knows that I am satisfied with her mommy’s “hugs and smooches!” And she is a happier child for it!

First let me wish everyone who reads this the happiest and most blessed of new years! My prayers are for peace, joy, health, and the advancement of the gospel in 2009 in an unprecedented way, both in my own life and church and around the world as well! May you be blessed in 2009!

Now for other matters…I am officially reentering the blogosphere with this post. As you may be able to see from the date of my last post (June 25, 2008), it has been over six months since I wrote. Although I really do love the engagement, interaction, and capacity for communication that blogging allows for, I had to make the choice to put blogging on the back burner for a few months for a number of reasons (which I will mention below). However, in the past two weeks, I have received three inquiries from friends about when I would begin writing again. Honestly, I didn’t really think that there were three people who cared, but apparently I was wrong. So today, with “things” finally slowing down and a new year upon us, I thought it was a good time to reenter the blogosphere and begin a regular regiment of posting again. I do so with a renewed commitment to try to post things that are positive and encouraging rather than focusing on negative things in the SBC today. Believe me, I do think that there are lots of things wrong that I could blog about. Chronicling the so-called “Baptist Identity” or “Anti-Calvinist” agendas, while it would really boost my “daily hits” number, would lead only to greater division and nasty posting back and forth by the same 2-3 dozen people. Spending my time ranting against the political agendas at work within the SBC or pointing out the incessant nepotism and narrowing of parameters would lead to lots of heat, but very little light. Yes, there are problems. Southern Baptist life is not perfect. However, I want to work with my brothers and sisters to make it a better place. I want to work hard to create a positive environment within the SBC in which the world can see the love of Christ at work. Maybe I just don’t have the stomach for the politics of it all, or maybe I just naively trust that truth will win out in the end. Maybe I’m just a coward, afraid anymore that to speak out about some things will only result in bad consequences for me personally. Whatever the case (and they are all options), I hope to bring some things to the table that are positive and encouraging to my small crowd of readers and those within my church who visit the site.

So where have I been for these six months and what has been going on in my life?

Southern Heights Baptist Church, Lexington Kentucky

First, in late August of 2008, my family and I transitioned to Lexington Kentucky where I began a new ministry as pastor of the Southern Heights Baptist Church. We dearly loved the First Baptist Church of Grayson and valued our almost 4 years of ministry in Appalachian Eastern Kentucky, but in the end felt that truly God was leading us to Southern Heights where there were greater opportunities and greater challenges for a young minister like myself. The moving process took a number of weeks. We packed, moved, unpacked, and lived out of boxes until we were finally “settled in” around the end of September. We are still not completely unpacked, but we are comfortable enough to feel that we are truly “home” at our house just down the street from the church.

We absolutely LOVE living in Lexington and we are crazy about our new church family at SHBC. Our church has tremendous potential, sitting right in the middle of a growing residential area in southwest Lexington. Estimates project that there will be almost 80,000 people living within a 3-mile radius of our church by 2013. My challenge is to lead a group of solidly-committed, progressive-minded Christians (about 140 per week at SHBC currently) to become a missional-minded church that is committed to disciple-making through biblically-sound evangelism and discipleship. It is a tough task, but I feel that I am up to it. I am surrounded by wonderful people, a great staff, and a church with a strong history. We are truly preparing to see God work and move in great ways!

Secondly, the last six months were complicated tremendously by the fact that all of this moving and transition took place in the midst of a very demanding semester of Ph.D. work. Doctoral work is always a bear and working full time in the pastorate while attempting a doctorate is even more strenuous. Moving is always difficult as well. But trying to work full-time at a new church, move my family, and complete some of the most strenuous doctoral work to date (including the reading of about 30 books!) proved to be almost too much. Regrettably, many things had to give, including personal health (recreation and exercise), sleep-time, fun-time with family, blogging, and even leisure-reading. Outside of work and school, I have had little time for much else in the past six months. I have just this week begun preparing for my last semester of seminar/ colloquium work this spring at SBTS. My classes are challenging, but I am more excited than ever to be studying in the program that I am in and blessed to be studying under the godly men that I am under. Pray for me this semester to manage my time better.

Third, there were a string of health-related issues that kept my wife and I extremely busy in the past 3 months as well. Our younger two children (Terah and Lucas, 3 and 9 mos) went through rounds of infection, fevers, and viruses, as do so many children. But also, our 7-year old little man, Ethan, has had some serious gastro-intestinal problems all of his life that finally demanded attention back in October. Without getting in to detail, his condition is by no means life-threatening or even dangerous, however it is one that causes him terrible pain and discomfort and has affected his physio-biological growth in some ways. He had to have an overnight procedure in October at the UK Children’s hospital that seems to have helped somewhat with his problem. He has bounced back well since the procedure, but his problem still requires lots of attention and causes us lots of concern.

Following that, on October 11^th, my father was in a life-threatening motorcycle accident. While riding his Harley, he and my step-mother were hit by a deer. It killed the deer and almost killed my dad as well. Though my step-mother walked away with minor injuries, dad had multiple broken-bones, the most serious of which was a crushed pelvis. He was air-lifted to University of Cincinnati hospital where he spent about 2 weeks in intensive care and going through surgeries to reconstruct his pelvis. After UC, he went to rehab for about a week and then came home just before Thanksgiving to complete his recovery. He has been in a wheelchair ever since and will require months of therapy just to walk normally again. Though my step-mother has taken care of him through most of this, we have made some trips north to stay with dad and have spent lots of time and energy helping deal with this trauma. We are just glad that he is alive, well, and recovering. Hopefully, God can use this trauma for his own glory by reminding my dad what the real purpose of life really is, namely to “Love God and keep his commandments.”

So in a nutshell, that is where I have been in the past 6 months. It’s a crazy life…but it’s the only one I got! I hope that things slow down a bit in 2009, but then…wait… no I don’t… I enjoy every minute of the life with which I am blessed just as it is!

I hope to hear from more of you as I re-enter the blogosphere in 2009, and I hope to be a blessing and encouragement as I write!