The Word and the Work: Thoughts on Preaching, Pastoring, and the Christian Life

Autism Awareness is a term that makes me smile. Every time I hear that said it makes me think about my wife's coffee cup. Some years ago we were in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond store and saw a large Tervis tumbler that was on sale. It had a multi-colored puzzle piece and said "Autism Aware" instead of what it was probably supposed to say, which we believe was "Autism Awareness". We laugh whenever she uses it and find ourselves saying "boy are we aware of autism". We, like many families in our community, have a child that has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD). These families are much like your own but are tasked with living in the Kingdom of Autism along with the everyday world that everyone else lives in. Let me tell you a few things about the Kingdom of Autism. It is simultaneously one of the most amazing and magical places you can imagine while also occasionally being a place of great hardship. There are things that happen in this kingdo...

 On Thursday January 9 th , 2023 House Bill 1174 was filed in the Arkansas House of Representatives. This bill would provide equal protection for unborn children under Arkansas law without exception or compromise. Most would have believed that the Arkansas based Family Council headed by Jerry Cox would have been rushing to support this bill filed by Rep. Richard Womack. Instead, they have come out and publicly opposed HB 1174 in an article on their website citing some reasons why they would oppose equal protection under the law for the unborn in Arkansas. Cox’s first listed reason is that before the Roe decision in 1973 women were not prosecuted for having abortions in Arkansas. It is interesting for Cox to bring this point up, because it was the unequal punishment for the woman having an abortion in Texas the Supreme Court pointed to as being problematic in the Roe decision. Also, the past is not what defines what is needed in the present and future. We are to obey Chris...

  Autism and Gospel Communication I do not claim to be an expert on autism. I am not even an expert on the individual that lives in my home who is autistic. What I do see as a father and a pastor is a great need for Christian parents and churches to be better equipped to try to have spiritual conversations with those in their lives that might be affected by autism. This is no simple task and it is something that needs a great deal of thought, research, and prayer. What I want to offer are some basics about having spiritual (and other) conversations with people who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is no one size fits all approach to autism because it is so diverse in the way it impacts people, but hopefully this will be a start for someone who is grasping for help and finding no resources to help. I know that there are people at different places on the autism spectrum for which some of these principles may not be as applicable. However, it is my pra...

          Acts 2:42 (NKJV)   And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.          Gathering with God's people is a great privilege given to us by God.  More than that, we are commanded as God's people to gather for the express purpose of praising God corporately.  I have said many times that worship is the thing that God has used in my life above all else to minister to me in days of difficulty.  When we come together and worship the Lord for who He is and what He has done in our lives it places our worldly troubles into proper perspective.  We recognize as we worship that there is a God in Heaven who is sovereign over all things, who has a plan that is beyond our comprehension, and who is completely holy and good.  Worship fixes our eyes on the things above so that we can walk properly through our lives here in this worl...

There are two times a year I get reflective.  One is at New Year's time.  The second is on my birthday.  Perhaps this is true for everyone, but I always find myself in the midst of self-assessment at these times.  Luckily my birthday is in June so that makes for a nice time of reflection every six months.   Recently, I have begun to doubt the value of reflection in my life for a couple of reasons.  Reflection almost inevitably leads to regret.  Regretting things that were done or things that were not done.  This is not necessarily wrong if done properly but the truth is that most of us do not do  it properly.  What do I mean?  The type of reflection that most of us engage in is inherently self-centered.  We linger long in thought over our missed opportunities or perhaps wrong that has been done to us.  That is not the way God calls us to live. It is right and proper to think upon what we have done if we have uncon...

There are times in our life and in our walk with Christ when things just seem to be sideways.  Some call it a desert experience, a dry spell, or just feeling distance from God.  One of my favorite preachers talks about being "dry as cracker juice".  Here is the problem with being in that place.  When we are not in a place where we feel immersed in the living water offered by Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit we, like other dry things, are in danger of crumbling. It happens to all of us.  There is an old preaching illustration about an older couple riding down the road in an old pickup with a bench seat.  As the man drove his wife, who was seated against the passenger door said "honey, whenever we were younger and rode down the road in this old truck we always sat a lot closer together". The man, with his hands on the steering wheel said "Honey, I am not the one who has moved". This is a picture of us with God.  When we feel distance, it is ...

Today is April Fool's Day.  However, it is also the beginning of Autism Awareness month.  A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post titled The Gospel and Autism: A Father's Fear.  You can find that post here .  I relayed in that post many of the things that we were dealing with as a family, and how I had struggled with the ability of my son to mentally access the Gospel.  I would be lying to you if I said I still do not harbor some of those fears from time to time.  In the last six months I have begun to put together the very beginnings of a writing project that may end up being book length or it may just be essay length.  Either way it seeks to explore even deeper these concerns that I have because I know that I cannot be the only one that has them.  In the passing of almost 2 years I have learned some things about my son, about myself, and about God.  First, my son is amazing.  This 6 year old is largely taking life by storm....

This may look like a stack of Bibles.  In fact, it is exactly that.  If you asked the average person what was pictured above that is the answer they would give.  I would tell you that it is much more than that. In this picture there is almost 100 years of the godly heritage of my family on display.   The Bible on the bottom belonged to my great grandfather.   Depending on who you ask his legal name was either Willie Russell Threet or William Russell Threet.  According to the census records I have seen It is the latter.  All that being said he is the person that I was named after.  I never knew him, but I know much about him because my Dad was very close to his grandfather.  The Bible here was given to him by his parents on Christmas Day 1924 when he would have been 23 years old.  The inscription reads: Christmas Present. From Father and Mother to Willie, Dec. 25, 1924.  Read this Precious Book with Care for Its our earth...

Sadness. Despair.  Disgust. How many times do we feel these things in tragic situations?  It is normal and human.  What we do not feel is the proper feeling.  That feeling is responsibility.  I said it.  You and I are responsible for these types of tragedies.  Not in the way the politicians are going to paint it.  Not in the way that the media is going to paint it.  Not even in the way that the devil is going to paint it in our minds.  Yet, we are responsible. You read this and say, "How in the world could I be responsible for the actions of a deranged mad man in Charleston, South Carolina?"  We are responsible because for too long people on both ends of the political spectrum, all races, all nationalities, and all stripes of religious persuasions have failed to live courageously.  We have elevated our desire to be right over our duty to care.  We have jumped toward extremism at every opportunity.  Every tragedy...

Thanksgiving is this week so that means we have already been under a constant barrage of Christmas music for several weeks now.  As I have fought through this in a very Grinchy fashion I have begun to wonder about Parson Brown in the classic Holiday song Winter Wonderland.  You know he was who they were going to pretend that the snowman was."In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Parson Brown".  Any ways, I have always been aware of the term Parson, but did not really know its origin.  A quick Google search will tell you that a Parson was a clergy member, especially in the Anglican tradition, that was the overseer or pastor of a church, usually in the country, that was not a part of a larger charge or presbytery.   This term has fallen out of use many places, because people are not fond of its rural implications.  Somehow to be called Parson is to be viewed as a rube of sorts amongst men of God.  As I looked at this I was really...

As my life has gotten busier, I have listened to less and less music through the day.  When I drive I listen to preaching or talk on the phone.  It is simply my reality.  I might even pray a little.  However, a few weeks ago I got the chance to go to a Southern Gospel concert.  That is immaterial, but I heard a song that has stuck with me.  It is called Good Ole Boys. The sound is not great on the video. This song has stuck with me because it has mirrored my life.  Look, it's no secret the way I used to live my life.  It was rough.  It was rowdy.  It was sinful.  I am ashamed of it and I am not here to brag about sins of my past.  The reason I am approaching this subject is because I was the quintessential Good Ole Boy the song mentions.  If you asked people to describe me from age 16 to 22 they might have even used those words paired with some other colorful vocabulary.  I am from the great Southern state of Arka...

Well, here we are at the end of Summer.  At least school has started back.  It's still hot.  This means that my family's ministry in the Chestnut Grove area of Buckingham County, Virginia has been officially going on for around 14 months.  I use this blog very intermittently as a way of putting some of my deepest issues out there so that I do not mislead myself.  That being said I would like to share with you about our time here at Chestnut Grove so that you can pray for the church, my family, and me. I have learned quite a few things over the course of this year and thought I might share them with everyone so that those looking into certain kinds of ministry can get a well rounded picture.  Understand, we are a rural church if there ever was one. A friend who came out here to sing during our revival put it this way; He said, " Brother, if you wanted to get away from it all you have succeeded."  This community is unlike any that I have known and it i...

There is a lot of things that happen in our lives as a family that cause us to stress.  Many times these things are directly related to our oldest son William Paul's diagnosis as having an autism spectrum disorder.  Some days he is so hyper that he absolutely cannot be contained.  Some days he squeals all day long.  Some days he freaks out because he does not have the proper 20+ items in his bed with him so he will not go to sleep.  These are the struggles that parents of kids with ASD face.  It is normal at our house.  Hey, our other sons have their issues too but William Paul is obviously our squeaky wheel that needs more grease.  God Bless my wife because she is the one applying grease most days. Now, with all that said I come to my struggles.  I am a pastor .  More than that I am a Christ follower.  I am a Christ follower wholly concerned with the salvation of lost people.  Now, what kind of parent would I be if I say tha...

Is it possible to say too much about the cross?  As a preacher that possesses salvation purchased at the cross I do not believe it is possible.  Is that what is happening in this day?  I do not know.  I do not dare make a blanket comment regarding preaching or church life in general.  I do know, however, that the focus of the majority of preaching, books, and conference breakout sessions are not the Cross.  Social media workshops? Yes.  Public Proclamation of the glory of the Cross?  No. Some may say that it is understood that as Christians our focus is the Gospel message of salvation beginning with the atoning sacrifice at the Cross.  Sounds nice, but is it true?  Let me give you an example.  I have in front of me a brochure for an upcoming Baptist conference.  Here is a list of some of the so-called breakout sessions: 1.  Transformational Elements in Worship 2.  Beyond Bathrobes: Theater in Christian Education ...

It is a rarity for me to post two blogs in a week.  Heck it is rare for me to post two blogs in a month, but here I am.  I am writing here as someone who is just beginning to understand what God has in store.  Not just for me, but for us all.  God's plan is nothing short of miraculous every single day of our lives.  I would recount to you the examples of this in the last week, but I don't have the time nor the typing prowess to type that much.  God showed me something today in a very simple thing and that is miraculous. I am overwhelmed by how culture can effect our behavior even when we try to be on guard.  I had the pleasure of going to speak at a school today.  It was a Christian school and they asked me to bring a 10 minute chapel message.  Now, I wanted to get the kids attention so I took two Evangecubes I was planning on asking a couple of questions at the beginning and giving these 2 evangecubes to those who answered properly....

I am the SENIOR PASTOR of Chestnut Grove Baptist Church.  Not that there is a junior pastor.  There is just me, but the title remains.  I am simply the pastor.  So, here I am 2 months into my first pastorate.  I probably know it all by now, right?  Not hardly.  Luckily, I was blessed with a salesman's brain so names are coming easy, which makes things much more smooth. So, 8 weeks in I was hoping to have some great pearls of pastoral wisdom to share, but again I say, not hardly.  Anyways, I will tell you a few things.  The first thing is that people here are amazing.  They have been a blessing to both me and my family.  We have been provided with a great home and much more. Secondly, I will confess that I love my job.  I know I am not supposed to call it a job, but it is that and a lot more.  It is a calling, a lifestyle, and really just a lot of fun.  I have had some great and not so great moments already, but I ...

                                                                                                           But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Cor 7:32   Everyone loves to talk about discipline.  Discipline in schools, discipline for your kids, church discipline.  Right? Actually no one likes to talk about it.  I am only talking about it because God is convicting me of a ...