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A Busy Few Weeks…

I’ve not written in several weeks because my life has been a bit busy. Since early May, I’ve been in conversation with a pastor search committee from Wilkesboro Baptist Church. On Sunday July 26, they voted to call me as their Senior Pastor, and I have accepted their call. It is exciting and sad. Mud Creek Baptist Church has been home to our family. It’s the only church my boys know, and its the church where I grew up and learned to be a pastor. We will miss the friendships, experiences, and blessings of Mud Creek Baptist Church.

While the last several weeks of interviews, conversations, preaching, house selling and buying have been busy, this move has been a much longer process. I remember more than four years ago walking into Dr. Greg Mathis’ office (my pastor, mentor, and friend) and sharing with him my sense that God was leading me to become a Senior Pastor. Since that first conversation, I’ve had opportunities and disappointments, but I’ve always had wise counsel and support from Pastor Greg. I will forever be thankful for his influence, friendship, and encouragement.

From the first conversation with the search committee at Wilkesboro and onward, there was something special, something right, something clear. I’ve come to believe with certainty that God has called me to be their Senior Pastor. God has affirmed this for me in more ways than I could possibly recount here. Here are just a few affirmations:

  1. The search committee has been equally as generous, kind, and considerate of my wife and boys as they have been of me. (Affirmation: One of my prayers from the beginning of my sense of calling to be a Senior Pastor has been a place not just for me, but for my family to thrive).
  2. Wilkesboro Baptist has a long history of mission-mindedness, loving their pastor, and caring for their congregation. (Affirmation: Another of my prayers has been for a church where we could pray and work together to accomplish God’s purposes and mission, and they have a history of doing that).
  3. God orchestrated our house in Zirconia going under contract the weekend of my trial sermon, along with orchestrating a house in Wilkesboro for our family. (Affirmation: The pastor search committee specifically prayed that God would send a buyer for our house, which occurred before we were able to get it on the market). In truth, God has been at work in the details and conversations through this entire process.

I am deeply grateful to Pastor Greg and Mud Creek Baptist Church. I am grateful for this new opportunity in my life and ministry to use the gifts God has given me and fulfill the calling he has placed on my life. Would you continue to pray for my family and me during the next weeks of transition? My first Sunday at Wilkesboro will be August 23.

To My Dad on Father’s Day, “Thank you.”

 

silhouette-photo-dad-and-child

For the last couple of years I’ve noticed a tendency on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. I’ve had the privilege of teaching or preaching on those days for a number of years. Moms get a lot of praise and adoration on their day. Dads, or men in general, get challenged and chided. Now, adoration for moms is well-deserved, and challenge for men and dads is necessary. And I guess as a man speaking to women, it is easier to be encouraging than chiding. And I guess the reverse is true as a man speaking to men. I see my own shortfalls along with the shortfalls of men in general and take the opportunity to challenge us.

But with that said, let me take a moment and offer a positive commentary on dads and men. I have a great dad. He’s not perfect, but he was always there. Growing up in the home of a pastor presents a challenge to children (glass house, parental pressure, etc.). I never saw my dad as a pastor first. He was a good pastor who loved and led his church, but I saw him as my dad because he was present.

My dad taught me to play sports—baseball, golf, football, fishing, etc. My dad taught me to work, to mow the grass, to tend a garden, to be generous with what God had given us, to love a woman deeply, and to trust God. My dad modeled for me some important lessons I’ve tried to emulate as a father.

  1. My dad taught me to be present with my children. We did many things together, and even today I cherish the golf and fishing memories of my childhood.
  2. My dad taught me that we should sacrifice for others, but that family comes first. I remember cutting a vacation short one year because a church member passed away. But putting church things ahead of family was rare. My dad was always generous and giving with his time, but he didn’t sacrifice his family for his church.
  3. My dad taught me that it’s ok not to be perfect. I’m my own harshest critic. I think I get that from my dad actually. But my dad reminded me over the years that he’s not perfect (and he certainly pointed that out to me, in a good way, when I was a child). That’s a lesson I didn’t get until I became a parent. It’s not my job to help my boys be perfect. They are sinners and need to know it. It’s my job to show them my imperfections, their imperfections, and point them to Jesus, the only perfect One. I’m eternally grateful to my dad for that lesson.
  4. My dad taught me to say, “I love you” and “I’m sorry.” Dads, your children need your affection, your emotion, and your honesty. They’re learning how to live and interact with others from your example.

I pray that I can live up to the lessons my dad taught me. I also hope this father’s day to be an encouragement to other dads and men. So, if you’ve learned from your dad, or if you’re seeking God in your role as a father, be grateful. Take some time tomorrow and enjoy the day. Honor those who’ve taught you. Bless those who are learning from you. And humbly acknowledge the great responsibility you have as a dad.

To my dad on Father’s Day, “Thank you for what you’ve taught me. I love you.”