King Of The Mountain

I remember when I was a kid, there was a heavily wooded area at the back of our neighborhood. I and a friend of mine played in those woods like it was our own personal forest. We made forts, we played Cops & Robbers, we climbed trees, and skinned plenty of knees.

Then we found it.

For some unknown reason, someone had cleared out a section of trees in the middle of the forest, totally cleared the land, and made a gigantic hill in the process. Oh the fun that he had on that hill! We would carry our bikes to the top and recklessly ride them back down. We rolled down the hill more times than I can even remember. Our favorite game was playing king of the mountain on that old dirt laden hill. I came home filthy nearly every time...much to my mother's dismay. If you've ever played king of the mountain, you know that it is a simple game where the object is to knock everyone else down and be the last man standing. We thought we were gladiators and there was no one who could conquer us if we happened to win the conquest of the day.

As I've grown older, I reminisce about those days...those simpler times. I remember that regardless of who won the game, my friend and I were still just that...friends. While we may bask in the glory of winning one day, it was nearly inevitable that we would lose the next and we would still be friends and enjoy each other's company...that is until we climbed that hill again and the battle raged on. Unfortunately, that isn't how it works often times in the real world.

You see, in the real world, people build the hills for themselves and will fight to sit on their own thrones. People love to build this sort of kingdom and bask in the glory of it all. But the reality is that every kingdom ever known to man has had enemies. The problem with the kingdom of self is that when you become so self-important, you've set yourself up to have somewhere around 7.5 billion enemies. Enemies that are put off by your ego. Enemies that desire nothing but to see you fail. Enemies that would celebrate the opportunity to see you getting knocked off the mountain.

Sometimes people build this kingdom and it overshadows the Kingdom of God. This can look like that person who is so committed to making sure that everything goes their way in church. They cannot stand the thought of their personal preferences not being met. This can also look like someone who is so wrapped up in tradition because in their mind, that is the only way a kingdom can operate. Pastors can get ensnared in this too. For pastors, this can look like boasting about numbers, programs, buildings, and degrees. Often times, people may feel like they are building the Kingdom of God while only building a tall, yet fragile mountain for themselves. I recently read an article which was nothing but a pastor boasting on his own kingdom. He smiled for the camera as the words on the page spoke of his accomplishments. Nowhere in the article was God glorified. Only the man and his mountain.

This is a little side note but I think that it serves as an apt illustration. I have two boys who are two years apart. They absolutely love to get on each other's nerves. One of our favorite vacation spots is the beach and just like most kids, they love to build sandcastles. Another favorite pastime for both of them is to destroy the other's sandcastle. It infuriates both of them, yet they continue to still do it. They watch each other build mountains just to tear them down.

In what is known as the High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father and emphasized his unity with the father. As a perfect model of unity, Jesus prayed that his church would be unified. He prayed, "that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (21). You see here a clear purpose for unity...that the watching world will know that we represent a united Triune God. The Kingdom of God says stuff like, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." It says things like, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." So I feel just in supposing that we turn our eyes on Jesus and fervently strive to build His Kingdom instead of our own. 

Once in the Bible, Solomon turned his attention away from God's Kingdom and began to focus on his own. As a King, Solomon had much power and that power began, as it so often does, to go to his head. He began to focus on his own desires and pleasures. He felt like he had earned the right to do whatever he pleases with whomever he pleases. He began to build what the Bible refers to as "high places" on mountains in honor of his many wives and their false gods. This displeased God, therefore God said to Solomon in 1 Kings 11:11, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant." You may have built a kingdom for yourself that no man can conquer. You may be ontop of a mountain that noone else can overcome. You may be the gladiator today...but rest assured, if your kingdom stands in the way of the glory of the King of Kings...you will get knocked down. 

Just Some Turkey And Stuff-ing

Today is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2019. Yesterday and the day before, my family spent celebrating birthdays for our two little boys...Great Wolf Lodge is a really fun place and features a water slide that will seriously be a thrill to even the grizzliest of men...think of being sucked up in a tornado in utter darkness and you'll get the picture. I honestly don't know who had more fun...me or the kids? As I sit behind this desk today though, I must confess that for some reason, I am a tad melancholy.

I have more than enough to consider myself a blessed man. For a good portion of the world's standards, I am incredibly wealthy. I have a relatively healthy family, though I wouldn't mind a prayer or two for a particular health concern. I have a new home, two relatively new cars, two rambunctious little boys that love playing outside with me. A wonderful wife that works hard and sacrifices much for our family. A church that really loves me and my little family and does things all of the time to affirm me and my ministry. JUST SO MUCH!

Yet I am drained a little. No worries...I've been here before...and much farther than here. I have learned from the great teacher of experience that things can get much, much worse.

There are things that I want to see God do in my life. Things I want to witness him do in my family. Things I want to experience him accomplish in the church that he has been so gracious to let me lead. Things that he just doesn't seem to be doing right now. I have been a Christ follower for most of my life which means that I have seen God come through in literally every single situation for years now. As a pastor, sometimes I feel like showing any sign of weakness would be to the detriment of those who are under my care. I feel like I have to hide behind a mask of unshakeable faith. But the truth is...I don't. I am a human being with real and sometimes raw emotions. I know that God is there. I know he will accomplish his purpose in his timing...I know these things just as much as I know that I am sitting here typing this right now. I suppose the struggle is the waiting.

I have been in ministry now for more than ten years. I have had the privilege of ministering in wonderful settings and in some not so wonderful ones. I have experienced abundance...and drought. Right now, I am in the best place in my life, ministry-wise. Again, the church I pastor is exceptionally gracious to me and my family. The people here are absolutely amazing and I love them with my whole heart. I find though, that I want more for them. I want God to open up doors of bountiful blessing to them. I want them to experience God in a way like they never have before. I want God to use this church as a light in a dark world. Make no mistake, God IS at work here and he will accomplish these things. Sometimes, I guess in my fragile human state, I wonder if he will have to do these things in spite of me. And then I realize that YES, YES he will have to do these things entirely in spite of me. My righteousness is equivalent to the rag that you used to clean the toilet because everyone is coming over tomorrow to eat Turkey and you don't want to be embarrassed by a nasty bathroom...yep that's me!

When I look in the mirror, I sometimes do not like what I see. You are a pastor dude, get it together...you know better! I don't like that I see someone who struggles. I don't always like the father I see in that mirror. More often than not, I certainly do not like the husband I see. I really don't even care for my physical appearance a whole lot. Being overweight and bald in your thirties will do that for ya. The mirror shows me a man who has been broken because of his own sin...a man made inadequate for all of the many tasks set before him.

But GOD...!!!

The terrible truth is that I am not a great husband, father, son, brother, or pastor. I AM NOT. But my identity is in Christ. Where I have inadequacies, Christ is wholly adequate. Where I fail, Christ succeeds. Where I lose, Jesus gets the W. All of the things that I wish were true...about me, about my family, about my ministry...are things that I have set my mind on as measures of success. I have been lost in my subjectivity. I have looked for success outside of my standing in Christ. He is the absolute truth. He is the objective standard for success. Look, I know that this may be a dangerous post to write...it may cause me some difficulty...but that's okay because Jesus proclaimed that I am more than a conqueror. Writing this has already made me search introspectively and find the peace that God promised would pass all of my understanding. My aim here is not to throw some sort of juvenile, attention-seeking, pity party. My aim is to be transparent. To be real. And to lead others to a REAL God who gives abundant joy even in the darkest nights of the soul.

After trekking all over Great Wolf Lodge, Bass Pro Shops, and a couple of race team headquarters (NASCAR is the best sport outside of college football...fight me!), I was exhausted yesterday. I wanted to kick my feet up and relax a little. I probably kick back and relax a little too much on a regular basis...truth be told and it makes me unhealthy. I have to intentionally work on my posture. Sometimes you just have to stand up straight and stretch out a little. Gratitude is a little like that. It is a posture that sometimes isn't the most natural or even comfortable. Sometimes we just kinda wanna kick back, relax, and wallow in our own mire.

So tomorrow, I will sit at two different tables. I will eat two different Thanksgiving meals with two different sides of my family. And I will be thankful. I will remember that God has me exactly where he wants me to be right now. That doesn't mean that he doesn't want to grow me and stretch me. It certainly doesn't mean that he is done with me or that I have "arrived"...far from it. But God knows who I am and he intimately knows my future. And just like my past, he has never failed me and he won't fail me in my future. So I will rest. I'll enjoy my family. I'll enjoy the food. I'll enjoy the parades. I'll enjoy the football. I'll enjoy knowing that my identity is in Christ alone. I'll enjoy knowing that HE was, is, and ever will be ENOUGH. .

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

Get Real!

Authenticity. So much hinges on that one word. Much of our world is looking for authenticity in something. Authenticity in advertisement. Authenticity in government. Authenticity in leadership. And yes, authenticity in church. A lie can be found in so many places but the truth is rare. If there is one place truth, genuineness, and authenticity should be found, of course, it is in the church. Unfortunately, however, that is simply not always the case.

I have been on a journey of seeking authentic discipleship for myself and for those that I lead for quite some time now. It seems now more than ever that I have found my thoughts echoed by many other church leaders. Whether it be in books that I or my wife are reading or in blogs or statistics, the drive for authentic Christianity and discipleship is a plea coming from every direction. For example, my wife is reading a book on the history of the Baptist denomination. In it, she discovered that a church local to us is the oldest Baptist church in the state of Georgia, the historic Kiokee Baptist Church. In its beginnings, Kiokee was so determined to be an authentic outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven that they practiced and enforced the strictest variation of church-discipline. One could not simply be a nominal Christian and be a part of Kiokee. An individual had to represent Christ, His Kingdom, and Kiokee well in order to maintain membership. Kiokee Baptist Church is still a wonderful church that is genuinely making a Kingdom difference and I thank God for the work they are doing in our community.

Things in general have changed however.

The Word tells us that we should be in the world but not of it. In attempts to be relevant, we have capitulated to the world's standards. We are too afraid of being called judgmental to hold our brothers and sisters in the church to a heavenly standard, and heaven forbid we speak out against any injustice or immorality in our culture for we are sore afraid of being called bigoted or worse. It may be that we have spent to much time trying to look like the world for the purposes of attracting the world. The aforementioned books, blogs, and statistics tell us that what will actually attract the world is quite the opposite. People are looking for truth and we possess the ultimate source. Now we must understand that we will not advance the Kingdom by being Bible-thumpers or those who would seek only to win arguments with what we perceive as our social enemies. When the Bible tells us to disseminate truth, it tell us to do so with love. We must lovingly speak out against issues in our world such as abortion, sexual abuse, anything that stands against biblical marriage, racism, and the like. Believe it or not, those who are coming to our churches want to know how to think about these things in a different perspective. High schools, universities, and mainstream media tell them how to think about these issues rather unashamedly. Their minds are flooded with progressive ideologies that are being promulgated by a liberal socialism that many are recognizing, in unprecedented numbers, as yet another inauthentic vie for their minds, hearts, and their very souls.

In the Word of God, we are told to not only be hearers of the Word but also be doers. This, unfortunately, is another place where the church fails to be as authentic as we should be. A. W. Tozer once said, "If you are not worshiping God on Monday the way you did the day before, perhaps you're not worshiping Him at all." People know when you go to church. They see you leave every Sunday and they know where you are going. They hear you talk about your church. And I have been in church settings where no one ever said anything good about the church...trust me, people pay special attention to the negative things you say. Praise God, Powell (the church I am serving now) does not disparage herself in this way. Whether they see you going to church once or twice a month or they see you going every time the doors are open, what your friends, family, and neighbors are actually looking at is how your church attendance and your devotion to Christ affects your life and behavior. If there is no discernable difference between you and Joe Atheist across the street, what would lend anyone to believe that you or your religion is authentic. How can we be world changers when we look, smell, talk, and walk like the world? Simply put, we will not. I pray for Kingdom advancement but that requires work on my part. It does on your part as well. In the book that my wife is reading, The Baptist Story, Caleb Evans said, "When we pray for the advancement of this kingdom, if we are not willing to do all we can to advance it, our prayers cannot be genuine, they are hypocritical." The last thing this world needs is another hypocrite. I realize that we cannot provide perfection to the Kingdom because we are human and by nature we are sinners. I don't think that the saved have to live in the bondage of the old life to sin but, alas, we still sin everyday. What I do think is that we can and should live in authentic relationship with Christ and repent everyday. Authentic discipleship to King Jesus is radical and will be noticed. Live in a way that makes you a bright shining city on a hill, an outpost of grace, an ambassador of justice, a beacon of hope, and a lighthouse of love. You will be amazed at the impact that you can and will have on this world. People need authenticity and genuineness in a world nearly devoid of it. Where else will they find it if they cannot find it in the body of Christ?

Fight The Right Enemy

I spent some time this morning thinking about heaven. I thought about what it would be like to see the face of Jesus. I pondered on the overwhelming joy that would flood my soul as He embraces me and welcomes me into everlasting perfect communion with Him.

And then it happened...our adversary distracted me. The enemy reminded me of the struggles of this life. Satan told me to quit daydreaming of fairy-tales. That is what spiritual war is all about. When you begin to think on the beauty and wonder of God, Satan quickly tells whatever lies he can tell to rob you. He is a roaring lion whose only desire is to devour you. He wants to kill you, steal from you, and destroy you. We must be vigilant because he will use whatever means necessary to distract you from the wonder of God and the purpose of life.

One of the main things that our adversary uses is people. We know that the Word of God tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12) but often times Satan will use people as human shields. The enemy will hide behind people and make you think that they are your enemies. They are not. 

I have not been in ministry for a very long time comparable to some pastors but I have been for ten years. In my time in ministry, I have found that when God wants to do big things, Satan feels threatened. Our adversary will pull out every weapon in his arsenal to stop us from being used of God. One of his most devastating weapons against us is divisiveness and dissension. He will use mundane things to drive wedges between people. He will destroy relationships over trivial nitpickings that should not, and in fact, do not really matter. The adversary does not have to create major rifts between people to create chaos. All he really needs is a toe-hold. All that is really needed is for us to open the door for him by allowing differences of opinion to matter more than they really should. When we think of spiritual warfare, it seems that we often think of doing battle with strong demons. It is a lot more subtle than that. 

Our God is a big God with big plans. Satan is a big adversary with big plans. Satan is not an enemy that should be taken lightly. Although it seems that he may not be waging all out war on us...I can promise you that he is. His battle plan is to wear us out by winning small skirmishes. We may think that these are no big deal until we realize that we have let him have victory on so many small skirmishes that he has won some major battles and is nearly winning the war. As they say, hindsight is 20-20. So wage war on him every day. As an individual and as a part of the corporate body of a church, determine daily that Christ will have the victory. Do not let him win any more skirmishes in your life and in your relationships. Get along with people for the sake of the Kingdom. Again, I have to reiterate that we as believers have more in common with each other than what the enemy would have us believe...because we have Jesus in common. Put aside your differences. Be united with the body of Christ. Realize that the enemy is cowardly and is hiding behind those people that you think are your enemies. Do not allow him the pleasure of hindering the plan of God in your own personal life or in your church because of trivial, nitpicky, non-sensical differences that will not matter in eternity. 

As believers we know that the war has already been won. We know that God is victorious. We know that we are more than conquerors but we have to realize that although Satan has been defeated, he has not given up on taking as many down with him as he can. The Normandy invasion in 1944 has been infamously called D-Day. We know that this took place on June 6, 1944 but do you realize that, although the war was essentially won by the allies on that day on that bloody beach, skirmishes continued to rage on for nearly another year until what is known as V-Day (or Victory Day) in May of 1945? The Axis powers knew they had been defeated but they kept trying to inflict as much harm as they could until the bitter end.

The War has been won for us when Christ stormed the beach of death on Easter and proclaimed victory over the grave but our V-Day is still in the future when Christ leads his battalion to end Satan once and for all in the valley of Megiddo. Until then, keep fighting and realize that the person in the trench (or in the pew) next to you is not the enemy. In fact, they are your battle buddies. Don't weaken the war effort by fighting skirmishes with your allies. Join forces and flank the enemy together with the sweeping death blow of love and unity.

What Did You Just Pray?

Do you believe that God is a God who answers prayers? I am sure as soon as you read that your heart began stirring within you and you gave a resounding yes as if it was as sure as the fact that you are breathing right now. If we indeed believe God answers prayers, then what are we praying for?

All too often we treat God as if He were our cosmic grandfather. We want Him to grant us our desires of fortune and comfort. If God were to answer your prayers today, would your family, friends, and neighbors be saved because you prayed for them to be saved today? Or would you have a clean bill of health, a new car, a new house, and your favorite sports team would be undefeated? There is, of course, nothing wrong with praying for the health of our friends and family. There is nothing wrong with praying for the blessings of God on those we know and love. Why not pray then for the ultimate blessing of the security of salvation in their lives?

In Acts 1:8, Jesus commanded us to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After this, in verse 14 we find that the disciples went back to their gathering place and devoted themselves to prayer. They knew and believed that what they were called to do was to share the Gospel with the entire world around them. Great power had been bestowed upon them and they immediately committed themselves to continuously tapping into that power. They believed in Philippians 4:13. They believed that God would equip them to do anything that He called them to do. Philippians 4:13 does not mean that you will be able to accomplish crazy feats of superhuman strength. It does not mean that you will have access to every outrageous desire of your heart. It means that God will strengthen you to do what you were made to do.

So while we are praying, we should be praying that everyone that we come in contact with will know of the love with which God loves us. When we are praying, we should be considering ourselves an answer to the prayer. The Word of God tells us to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into His fields...we are the laborers. The Great Commission says to "Go therefore" but when you study the language, what it actually says is "As you are going" which means that as we are living our lives, we are praying, we are being strengthened to live as we are called, and we are going with intention in our lives to tell as many people about what God has done for us and what He desires to do for them as we can.

Do not say that you cannot share your faith. You can say that you are too fearful or that you are not passionate about sharing your faith. But do not ever say that you cannot. You have been given the power from heaven to share this good news and if you are a follower of Jesus it is not only a commandment, it is a privilege. You can and you must. The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, J. D. Greear, has challenged us to find our "one". Who is that one person or perhaps more than one in our lives we know needs to hear the Gospel boldly proclaimed? Find that "one" and share with them. Pray for them. Do not ever give up. 

Prayer is a powerful thing. To pray is to speak to the Creator of the universe. To pray is to have a conversation with the great and mighty omnipotent God. I am challenged today to pray and speak to God and ask Him to do that which only He can. Today, I am asking Him to bring salvation to the lost and dying. Today the average statistic would say that 7 out of every 10 people that live in the U.S. are far from God. Of that seven, there are surely those who would say that they are saved. There are most definitely those who could speak of some time that they walked an aisle or prayed a prayer but their lives do not reflect the transformative power of Christ. I am praying today that I will have the boldness to speak truth into their lives. That God would give me opportunities to share my faith, my testimony, the Gospel. I am praying that we would not go to church but that we would be the church as Christ intended.

Pray and when you are done pray some more and then go and be an answer to prayer.

What Jesus Says About You

Believe what Jesus says about you. This has been a theme that has been running through my head for a couple of weeks now. God has been using this phrase recently to encourage me and to use me to encourage others. 

Satan wants nothing more than for us to feel defeated. He wants nothing more than for us to throw in the towel. Just give up. Our adversary says we are not good enough. Not smart enough. Not strong enough. He tells us to quit trying because we will never succeed. He reminds us of our failures and assures us that we will indeed fail again. 

Jesus tells us that He is enough. He is good enough, smart enough, and strong enough. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Jesus told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." When we become his disciples, we are promised that he will never give up on us. When we fall, he is strong enough to pick us up, dust us off, and lift our heads.

We are called his children, his beloved. The Word of God assures us that before Christ, all we had to offer were filthy rags but when we embrace a relationship with him, we are co-heirs with Jesus. If Jesus is the King of Kings and we are his children, then we must be princes and princesses in the most glorious kingdom of all eternity. When the Bible speaks of our heavenly inheritance, it speaks of being in the court of the most high God. We stand to inherit the earth and the fullness thereof because it all belongs to our Father. Not only does our Father own cattle on a thousand hills, he owns the thousand hills too.

He says that those who follow him are new, transformed, justified, redeemed, accepted, righteous, free, chosen, holy, blameless, sealed, alive, complete, and Jesus even calls us his friends. We can stand up to our adversary and remind him of all of these things. Tell our enemy who you are in Christ. Never ever give up. Remind Satan of his destiny and yours! Thomas Edison once said, "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." When you think you don't have the strength to defeat the enemy, you are absolutely correct. But when you trust in the power of our Creator God, you have more than enough weapons to slay the father of lies. Get back in the fight and try again, dear friend, for Jesus has already said that you are victorious!

Running The Ultramarathon

All of us are running toward something. We are traveling down one path or another. As the old hymn says "This world is not my home, I'm just a'passin' through," One thing is for sure, God never promised that the road would not be long and hard. He just promised that there would be eternal rest for those who love him waiting on the other side.

I want to be able to say, like Paul, that I have ran the race and finished it well. I want Jesus to look at me and say "Well done, good and faithful servant." That is what I want for all of us at Sardis Baptist Church.

I have a friend who was a cohort peer with me in my doctoral studies. He runs 100 mile ultramarathons. I have heard him talk about the grueling process of training that running these races requires. He has explained to me the fatigue that comes with running this extreme race. He describes the desire to give up and quit before he is finished. But then he gets excited when he speaks of the second wind that he gets that takes him to the finish line. Oh the sight of that finish line!

As a follower of Christ, life is not a sprint. It is an ultramarathon. It takes significant training that only the church can provide. Only Jesus can be our trainer. He keeps pushing us to get better, run harder, be stronger. One beautiful thing about that is that Jesus runs the race with us. Jesus never gets winded. He never gets tired. His strength is made manifest in our weakness. When we want to give up, he is there to give us a second wind. When the road is too long, too tough...he is right there. He knows what it takes to finish the race and he knows the course because he created it.

There have been times when I have gotten too weak. Times when I have gotten lost on the course. I have wanted to take shortcuts. He keeps guiding the way. The road to destruction is wide and easy. There aren't too many hurdles on that road. I have found myself trying to get out of the marathon and just take a casual stroll on the wide and easy path. I know that is not who I am. I know that is not what I trained for...but it's easier.

Recently I made the difficult decision to leave my position at Sardis Baptist Church and begin a new ministry at Powell Baptist Church. This was not an easy decision. I have been the pastor at Sardis for over five years. I know that is not a tremendously long time but it is long enough to establish life-long relationships.  It is long enough to become a part of a community. And, dangerously, it was long enough for me to have become comfortable in my position. Jesus said it was long enough. In my time here, I ran the best way that I knew how. I wanted to stay on this course but Jesus wanted to challenge me.

I have made so many friendships. I have learned so many things. Seminary prepares you doctrinally for the marathon but it cannot prepare you the way that actually running the race will. I remember my first week here. I was new at this thing. I was clueless. There were many times in the first weeks and months that I didn't even know what I was supposed to be doing...how to even get started running. After a while, though, I began to figure things out little by little. I have not, by any means, arrived. I've just figured out how to start running. I pray that most of the marathon is still ahead of me and that I can use my experience here as a springboard to propel me into many fruitful years of ministry. Sardis Baptist, though, was never considered a stepping stone for me. I never had intention of leaving until I knew for certain that God was calling me away. I believe with all of my heart that God called me here just as strongly as I believe that he is leading me away now.

I will always remember my time here. I will remember that this was where God chose to use me for the first leg of my race. I will remember that through the ministries of Sardis Baptist, my son came to know Jesus. I will remember the good times. Were there bumps in the road? Sure. But God used those bumps to make me stronger...to give me a second wind. I pray that our Lord will do the same for Sardis Baptist. I pray that the best years of ministry in this place are still to come. Run the race, church, and finish well.

Sardis Baptist will always hold a special place in my heart and I look forward to crossing the ultimate finish line and standing before Jesus together will all of the saints. One day we will fellowship again together. Until then, let's keep running.

Pastor Nick