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Pastor's Points - October 2019

Dear Church Family,

I want to talk to you about being thankful even though that topic would probably fit better next month in the November issue of the Oakleaves. But it is good for us to be thankful outside of Thanksgiving, so I am going to go ahead and approach the subject.

Simply put, I am so thankful for all that God is doing in our church family right now!  His blessings are numerous, He is moving, and we are moving with Him, and we have an exciting future ahead of us!!  But we must have as our goal to be thankful in the good and bad times in life.  Consider this article written by Dr. Danny Akin, the President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

[15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. . .. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
(Colossians 3:15, 17 ESV)

Here in a span of a few short verses the Apostle Paul makes clear that the appropriate character clothing of the Christian will always include a faithful heart. He does not say our thankfulness should depend on circumstances, nor on whether or not we “feel” it. Rather, he simply commands, “Be thankful.” This is a volitional act, not an emotional decision. Further, we can make two additional observations about thanksgiving from these verses.

Be Thankful Comprehensively
There are no limitations or qualifications to this bold imperative. Why? Because we are naturally ungrateful. We get angry, fuss and fume when:

We don’t get what we want.
We don’t get it when we want it.
We don’t get how much we want.
We don’t get it the way we want it.

We are always and everywhere faced with situations in which we may be ungrateful. But here and in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says, “In everything give thanks.” As followers of Jesus, we must take each and every one of these situations and infuse them with a spirit of gratitude.

Be Thankful through Christ

We are to give thanks (a) to the Father (b) through Christ. Why? Because as 1 Thessalonians 5:18B says, the “in everything” of our thanksgiving is “the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We have been given in Christ “every spiritual blessing” (Eph 1:3). This does not mean there will not be times to mourn, or to lament, or to work for change because we see evil in the world. What it does mean, though, is that none of these things can supplant the enormity of what God has done for us in Christ, and for that we should always be thankful.

This is one of the most difficult pieces of character clothing for the Christian to put on. It is also one of the most important, for it can be done only with the eyes of faith and a settled confidence in a sovereign and gracious God. When we understand God’s hand is in all things, through Christ, then we can thank Him for all things. Unable to trace His hand, we can still trust His heart!

Let’s continue to choose thankfulness in the good and bad times of life!

I love you and I love being your pastor!

Pastor's Points - September 2019

Dear Church Family,

By now you should have received a letter from me communicating the exciting possibilities that God has placed before us.  We are in a time of God’s blessing on our church family!

For the last two years or so, God has moved in a steady, consistent way as we have refocused ourselves on making disciples and doing whatever it takes to continue to reach out to those around us with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Our focus on Life Groups on and off campus, Growth Initiatives, and summer discipleship classes have enabled us to see more people intentionally grow in their faith.  Also, in this focus we created more space for people to come and worship together on Sunday.  Before we began our off-campus Life Groups, we maxed out in worship at 500 because at the 9:30 am hour our parking was exhausted.  But since the creation of these off-campus groups we are now able to reach out to over 600 people.  In fact, the last three Sundays before Labor Day weekend we were over 600 all three Sundays!  Also, in our last quarterly M3 meeting, where we share about our mission, ministry, and money, we reported that in just the last quarter of the year we added 32 people into membership of our church!  We were also able to   report that we were running 4% ahead of budget for the year as well!  That is all God!  He did all of that!  He is moving among us and I am so thankful for that fact!!

We are now in a season where I believe with my whole heart that God is calling us to move with Him once again.  After being here at Oakhill for two years God moved among us and led us to build the sanctuary that we currently   worship in.  It was a time when God moved, and we moved with Him in faith!!  A little over 200 people believed that God would provide and came together in faith and followed God!  And here we are 11 years later where we are asking 600 people to believe once again that God is moving among us and we need to move with Him!!

My prayer is that we can secure this property that is literally a half a mile away from our church campus for our  future.  It would be amazing to continue the legacy of our church here on Oakhill for many years to come!  If we can purchase this property, we will then enter a time of praying and planning with experts as to how best use our properties for the continued legacy of ministry through Oakhill Baptist Church here on Oak Hill Road.  I am so excited and encouraged about our future!

The greatest privilege of my life has been to be your pastor for over 13 years.  I love you with my whole heart! I do not ask us to consider this step lightly.  It will take us all being willing to step out in faith and be willing to follow God.  But if we truly believe, as God moves, we move, we must take this step together and follow God into a future that only He knows.  I cannot wait to see what God is going to do!

 I love you and I love being your pastor!