Joy and Learning—Weakness and Praise These are the words that join together as overarching trusses by which all the other things hang. It has been an incredible joy to serve the Lord and his people at Rainbow Forest Baptist. God has provided other leaders, resources, experiences, and grace each day. When I look around, I see it is clear that God has done so much work that no one else can take credit for: stories of redemption and salvation that God has worked on for years; a

When we read through Joseph’s life, it seems like we take a detour onto the wrong street of Judah’s life. We look up and think…why did that matter? But chapter 38 is not a detour. Within the verses, the author keeps the promised seed (Judah) within constant view, while also taking time to compare him with the favored son (Joseph). Joseph will not be the one that continues to bring forth the Messiah Jesus Christ. Judah has that role according to Gen. 49:10 “The scepter shall n

It is always good to take in some biblical Hebrew to start your day! First, how does one pronounce toledot? One should take the phonetic approach to understand the pronunciation in the Hebrew: toh-LED-oth. This word occurs ten times in Genesis and means “generations.” Specifically, it is usually elleh toledot meaning “these are the generations of.” “These Are the Generations Of…” This phrase, “these are the generations of,” functions as a natural chapter division within the b

Following the life of Joseph is an extraordinary journey of seeing a life that exemplifies our Christ’s command. The command is found at the conclusion of the vineyard illustration given by Jesus in Matthew 20:16: Matthew 20:16“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Now aside from church members using this in frequency at a potluck meal, the idea is pretty simple. Pursue a path of humility and service while entrusting God to reward you in glory. We should all live ou

As we embark on a journey through the life of Joseph, we need helpful tips for reading through Genesis 37-50. How do we understand the events and what are central aspects to better keep God supreme throughout it? It is easy to slide into a path of reading through Joseph’s story and just focus on the moral issues that crop up. You have strong emotions of hatred and deep grief in chapter 37. Not much further one comes across lust, disobedience, death, imprisonment, and restorat

We have been in a sermon series called: Present Suffering Future Glory. We spent three weeks discussing a theology of suffering and how God uses suffering to conform us more and more to Christ. The past three weeks we looked at a theology of heaven. Much of that time has been trying to keep a forward glace at the life to come with Christ forever. Heaven seems so distant a thought to some, while ever present in the mind of others. Personally, heaven barely crept into my mind i

"It’s not about me…" This is the resounding thought in my mind when I study and deliver the Word of God. To do so, I actively avoid inserting my life, actions, or family (they are thankful for this) into illustrations. But on occasion, I come to an impasse where my experiences and the text collide. A few Sundays ago, in the text of 1 Peter 2, I shared my experiences on trying to suffer well under unjust accusations. For those that missed the illustration, I’ll recount it here

A pastor approaches his responsibilities with many different experiences, abilities, and priorities. No two pastors are alike, and, at the same time, each pastor stands holding the same Bible. If you look across the churches, their commonalities exceed their differences, though they are led by different men. Each church is filled with various needs and congregations that reflect their heritage, culture, and geography. There are older congregations that require more physical c

A pastor approaches his responsibilities with many different experiences, abilities, and priorities. No two pastors are alike, and, at the same time, each pastor stands holding the same Bible. If you look across the churches, their commonalities exceed their differences, though they are led by different men. Each church is filled with various needs and congregations that reflect their heritage, culture, and geography. There are older congregations that require more physical c

A pastor approaches his responsibilities with many different experiences, abilities, and priorities. No two pastors are alike, and, at the same time, each pastor stands holding the same Bible. If you look across the churches, their commonalities exceed their differences, though they are led by different men. Each church is filled with various needs and congregations that reflect their heritage, culture, and geography. There are older congregations that require more physical c

This is a follow up to a blog entitled “Why Baptist Churches Moved Away from a Plurality of Elders.” In this blog, I would like to address reasons Baptist churches moved away from elders and their move back. First and foremost, among the ideas of why Baptist churches should move back to a plurality of elders is because the Word of God makes clear church leadership/polity. The Bible Clarifies Leadership In the middle of the qualifications for elders, you find these verses: 1 T

“Elder” is an uncommon title for those in Baptist churches who are in leadership. Why is that? What happened that caused Baptist churches to move away from the title “elder,” the plurality of the role in leadership, and why do we need to make our way back? “Elder” in the Bible “Elder” in the Bible is often interchanged with pastor/bishop/overseer. We see a number of biblical texts that use the term “elder.” Sometimes in the Old and New Testaments you will see “elder” used to

Proverbs 16:16 says, “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!” So, how does one obtain wisdom? Proverbs gives us a multitude of practical ways to be wise. In fact, it is one of three books of the Bible, along with Job and Ecclesiastes, that are categorized as “wisdom” books. Together, these books give us insight into God’s wisdom. Here are three short but very informative videos from the Bible Project on the wisdom books: Watch: Wisdom Boo

What are some sayings you grew up hearing? Benjamin Franklin, American statesman and author, coined many wise sayings through his “Poor Richard’s Proverbs,” including one my mother often used: “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” Franklin also wrote the familiar proverb: “early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” The tradition and culture of Franklin’s day dictated that people were versed in and ready to give practical wisdom f

Like most pastors, I was in my 20s looking for a way to pay for seminary. It was clear that additional academic training in counseling, study of the Word, and church leadership was needed. Seminary would not teach me everything I needed to be a helpful pastor but would expose me to opportunities and resources that I would not even begin to understand. One of those things would be proficiency in biblical Greek and Hebrew to better understand the Word for personal study and pre

Many days, I sit in my office chair listening to the story of another, asking questions to elicit meaning and offering strategies with deep concern for my client’s wellbeing. There’s a heaviness in the room as they express the hurt and pain this world has offered them. There’s no question that suffering exists, and we try our best to come up with effective strategies to help us cope with the continuum of mild symptoms all the way to tragedy. And yet, as I sit there, I know co

This past month at Mission Station, our kids packed their (imaginary) bags, grabbed their Mission Station passports, and took a very exciting trip to Northern Africa to visit our one of mobilization partner families! No long flights. No jet lag. Just big faith and even bigger imaginations. The adventure began with students learning about the Family’s life since moving last year. We talked about what daily life looks like in Northern Africa—new language, new culture, new food

When most people think of history, specifically church history, their timeframes only stretch back to their earliest experiences. Starting with experiences makes sense for the church because emotion and novelty play an important role in engagement. Because the time period is so far removed from our experiences, it is much harder to talk about the church history of the 12th century or even American church history of the 18th century. The history of the Southern Baptist Convent

What Is Expositional Preaching? What is expositional preaching? To define the process, let me start with something familiar. Many in the church grew up hearing topical sermons. Topical sermons are when a pastor selects a topic (ie missions, love, family, etc.) and selects a few passages of Scripture to clearly exemplify the topic. Expositional preaching doesn’t start with the topic and select Scripture. Instead the pastor moves verse by verse through a book of the bible. The

Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We have heard them all or at least most of them, but few know what they mean or the promises they proclaim to us and others. The Beatitudes-- or simply “blessed”-- are conditions in which people are considered blessed. “Blessed” in the New Testament never refers to finances or material possessions. In other words, the Lord does not prom