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Pastor's Points - May 2021

Dear Church Family,

This month is special to me because it is in this month that I celebrate my yearly anniversary of being your pastor! My first Sunday standing in the pulpit as your pastor was on May 21, 2006. These have been the sweetest 15 years of my ministry!!

When I went through the interview process, I honestly shared with the search committee my convictions about ministry in the local church, and they shared with me what Oakhill was looking for in the future. And in this process it became apparent that God had brought a pastor and a church together for future ministry at Oakhill!!

As I shared with our church my convictions of ministry, the church voted for me to come to serve as pastor. For the past 15 years I have dedicated myself to stay true to the convictions I shared back then, and our church family has kept their word to
support, care, and follow godly leadership when given. I love being your pastor!! God has been so good to me to allow me the privilege of pastoring our church family!

I look forward to many more years together in ministry! God is not done moving and working in and through our church! We are poised to take the next step of faith that God has for us as we anticipate soon going forward in faith to develop and build out the first phase of the plan that God has given us for our North and South Campuses! I am excited to see all that God is going to do!!

In conclusion, many of you know that I have had spinal fusion surgery to correct issues in my back. By the time you read this letter I will be at home on the road to recovery, and out of the pulpit for 4-5 weeks as I recover. I have asked Dr. Todd Linn to fill the pulpit for me in my absence. He is the former Senior Pastor of First Baptist Henderson, Kentucky. Since his retirement, he and his wife Michelle have been attending Oakhill and actively serving. He is a dear brother to me and one of the biggest encouragers to me in life. Please make sure to be at worship because Todd truly is a gifted speaker! You will be blessed as God uses him. Some may ask why our other pastors were not asked to speak. The simple reason is they have picked up extra responsibilities since we have not yet replaced Pastor Nick’s position on staff and are very busy with those responsibilities. They are thankful for Todd being able to help out during this busy season of ministry.

Our church is in good hands. We have wonderful associate pastors, church staff, lay elders, and deacon body! God’s work will continue on without missing a beat!!

I would ask that you pray for me during my recovery. I do not do well not being able to be out working. Pray I do not waste this time and that God would use it in my life to do a deeper work in me. As always...

I love you and I love being your pastor

Pastor's Points - April 2021

Dear Church Family,

Over the last few weeks two thoughts from two of my sermons have really been impressed on me personally.  Each week before I ever get in the pulpit, I have preached my message to myself all week long.  And I have been convicted that I need to heed these two points in my life. My prayer is that God would use the messages He gives me each week for your good as well as for His glory.

The first thought is that I need to be ready to minister in the flow of my life. Peter and John modeled for us this point in their encounter with the lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate. (Acts 3:1-7) This man was not just an interruption to their schedule; he was a divine opportunity that God gave them to minister in the name of Jesus Christ.  I know that there are times in my life that I have not been as sensitive to the “interruptions” that come to me.  I need to recognize that God is always at work around me.  God does not have to clear with me these ministry opportunities.  I need to stay ready to walk in the good works that He has prepared for me. (Ephesians 2:10) And I need to remember that often those good works are not going to be on my official schedule for the day.  I need to always remember that people are not interruptions to my day, they are ministry opportunities that I had not planned on.  God help me to be sensitive to people and what you are doing in my life to minister to those around me.

The second thought that has been pushing in on me is that those who reject Jesus the Author of Life are only left with spiritual death. In Acts 3:14-15, Peter states in his sermon that… “But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.” People who reject Jesus as their Savior and Lord are rejecting the Author of Life.  And in their rejection of Jesus, they are only left with spiritual death.  And if I truly believe this, it should move me to want to share the truth of the Gospel like never before.  Faith in Jesus is not optional.  It is a matter of life or death.  People must actively trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.  And I, as a follower of Jesus, should make it my aim to live in the power of the Holy Spirit to live out Acts 1:8 in my life and be a willing witness to the world so they can trust in the Author of Life so they can receive spiritual life instead of spiritual death.

I do not just want to endure the dark days of the world that we are living in!  I want to shine the light of the Gospel in the darkness!  Lord help me to be sensitive to the ministry opportunities that you bring across my path.  And Lord please break my heart for those who reject the Author of Life.  Help me to share with them the power of the Gospel, and then celebrate the changed lives that you will transform as people place their trust in your son Jesus Christ!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!