A Ministry Mile-Marker

A couple of weeks ago, I hit one of those personal mile-markers in my ministry. My assistant shared with me that she logged my 1,000th sermon! That seems absolutely crazy to me! I remember starting out in ministry having one "Sermons" file folder that contained all I had. Now, I have 2 file drawers that are nearly full. I love the privilege and the task of preaching. 1 Timothy 5.17 speaks of those who "labor in preaching and teaching". It is a labor/work, but it is one that I love. Preaching is an essential part of God's Kingdom work. Romans 10.14-15 speaks to that...in part saying, "And how are they to hear without someone preaching?".

Each of the 3 churches that I have had the joy of pastoring have come with great ladies that served as assistants. Claudine (Marked Tree) and Fran (Warren) put up with me on a daily basis and were an important part of my ministry, as well as the whole church. A first for me now at Beech Street is that my assistant (Salli) primarily only covers me. I share her in a couple of other ways, but for the most part she belongs to the pastor. Of the many great things that Mike Huckabee did as pastor at Beech Street in the late 1980's, one of them was to hire Salli. I tell her often that she is the best personal assistant I've ever had...of course then I remind her that she is the only one that I've ever had to myself! Before coming to Texarkana, my sermons were in files, but were not organized. If God brought a previous message to mind, I just had to start searching for it. Salli has taken all my messages and logged them in Microsoft Access with several categories. Each sermon has info on it that includes title, text, subject, date/place preached, part of a series, etc. Each sermon is assigned a number and filed accordingly. I can search for and find any message with ease by using any of the above ways. Salli has spoiled me and I'm so grateful for her organization in this area!

I'm well on my way to working on the next 1,000, Lord willing. I never imagined that God would call me to a task like this. Naturally, I'm introverted and somewhat shy. I was voted "Most Quiet" as a senior at Western Hills High School in 1988! I'm humbled and overwhelmed weekly at what God allows me to do. I gladly accept God's challenge in 2 Timothy 4.2 to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching".

Friend Day @ Beech Street

We had a great Sunday at Beech St yesterday! While every Sunday is a "friend day", each year we pour lots of effort and resources into one day that focuses on taking the opportunity to intentionally invite friends to church. Our guest for the day was Grant Ethridge. He serves as Pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia (www.lbcmin.com). Grant served here in Arkansas at one church - First Baptist Lavaca - for almost 20 years! He has been in Virginia for approaching 3 years and God is doing some great things in that place. I got to know Grant when I had him come to Immanuel in Warren for a week of revival services back in 2003. His friendship has been a great blessing to me. His leadership and mentorship to me as a young pastor has meant so much. This Sunday was Grant's first time to be away from Liberty since going there. Getting him to Texarkana was really a "God" thing! And God used him yesterday to encourage folks greatly with God's Gospel and truth.

Boz the Big Green Bear was also our guests for Friend Day. Our preschool/children loved him and his show. Emily Smith, our Children's Minister, worked for the production company in Dallas that handles Boz while she was going to SWBTS in Ft. Worth. She used her connections to get the "Big Green Bear" to Beech St! Connecting with kids has been a huge part of our growth of young families...seeking lots more of that in the days ahead.


Our h2o Student Ministry led by Sean and Rob brought in the band, KingsDown, from Little Rock for a concert during the small group time Sunday morning. They rocked it out! The students worked hard inviting friends, in fact we had 100 students Sunday with several friends in small group and worship.

One-Day events like Friend Day are a lot of work and will wear you out, but they are worth it in the end. Praise God for showing up yesterday! May He do it again this Sunday...for another "friend day"!

Arkansas Pastor's Conference Reflections

Yesterday was the Pastor's Conference here in Arkansas. It always takes place the day before our Southern Baptists churches gather from across our state to report, encourage, and focus on God's work through us. This past year, I've served as the president of the Pastor's Conference. That fancy title basically means that I'm responsible for planning and pulling off the conference. Here I sit on Tuesday, the morning after, reflecting back on a great conference yesterday. I'm also finding myself reflecting on some lessons I learned over the course of this last year...thought I would ramble about a few.

I've made some new friends. David Hastings from Bentonville and Matt Pryor from Conway served as officers with me this past year. Getting to forge a new friendship with these guys has been great. Their passion and attention to this conference has been so helpful. I'm thankful that God put us together for this work.

I've had my faith stretched a bit. About this time last year, I had just been elected to serve as president. I had no clue what the conference would be about or who would come speak. I remember me, David, and Matt gathering to pray...asking God to come through. God led us to a theme (Bridging the Gap-Reaching Coming Generations) and to the exact speakers that were needed to drive that home in AR pastors, staff, and church leaders. The big question that every guy in my shoes deals with is, "How am I going to pay for all this?" The ABSC gives some start-up money for the conf, but the major funding is the responsibility of the president. God led us to some incredible speakers who we believed fit the theme. Now how were we going to get them to AR? How would I pay for flights, hotels, expenses, and all the other stuff that comes with a conference? I did not have to pay for it...God did! In what I believe was a miracle, God supernaturally provided for every need through the faithful and generous gift of a person in Texarkana committed to loving pastors and building God's kingdom. The details are not important...just that God is faithful and stretched me to get that lesson a little more. Wow!

I've been challenged to be more passionate and targeted on reaching out to the coming generation. Each speaker we had was unique, but there was a common thread of how we can "bridge the gap". Scott Maze from Van Buren, AR preached that the gap will be bridged when they see real intensity and passion in us. Al Meredith from Fort Worth (my former pastor from Wedgwood days) preached that the gap would be bridged by grasping the differences in the ages and engaging the lonely and isolated like Jesus did. John Avant from West Monroe, LA preached that the gap would be bridged by getting a new vision for the work and pursuing this generation that the enemy is so after. Ted Traylor from Pensacola, FL preached that the bridge will involve encouragement and getting hands dirty in doing good works. David Uth from Orlando, FL preached that to bridge the gap we don't need to lower the bar, but instead raise it...that's what this coming generation wants.

As I left last night, my cup was full. The worship and adoration of God that Jon and Suzanne Rushing led in was amazing...along with the good and timely words preached. But God's Spirit nudged me...reminding me that he filled me up so that I could be poured out. How I long to be a pastor and church leader that God uses to bridge the gap with the coming generations! Thank you God for an amazing day and year!