Our Blog

Pastor's Point - October 2023

Dear Church Family,

By now you will have received my letter to the church to share the exciting news of our recent student minister search. First let me say that I am very thankful for God’s leading during this process. The search took longer than I imagined, and it led us to a plan that I was not thinking of at the beginning of the process. But I know that we ended up where God wanted us to be.

One of the great things about this plan is that it allows us to continue to invest in our student ministries, which we have done for many years. But it also allows us to refocus on our Life Groups which we have not done well in the last three years or so. With the departure of Pastor Nick Scott to the mission field and the season of Covid, our groups have needs that need to be addressed.  I am thankful that we are going to be able to invest in our students as well as the wider ministry area of discipleship in our church family.

One other aspect that I am so thankful for is the availability of solid Christian men that have been raised up in our church to make this plan possible!

Pastor Bryan Gotcher has been around Oakhill for sixteen years and in that time has worn many different ministry hats. His ability to minister and administrate different areas of ministry has been a real blessing to us throughout the years. As God began working on my heart about ways we could fill the leadership needs in our church, I reached out to Bryan to share, pray, and collaborate. And it was out of this time together that God led us in the direction of the plan that we have shared with you all. Bryan is excited for this direction of ministry in his life personally and for the church corporately.

Alex Kilgore is a young man that grew up here at Oakhill and has been a part of ministry throughout the years as he has come back in the summertime to complete multiple years of internships in our church. He has graduated from Boyce College at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is excited to collaborate with Pastor Bryan in the area of student ministry and make an impact on the lives of our awesome students. He is a solid young man who has a heart to be used by the Lord. I know that as he and Pastor Bryan work together it is going to be a great blessing for our student ministries.

Paul Willett and his lovely wife Amy were brought to our church by God almost two and a half years ago. As a couple they have been nothing but an absolute blessing to our church family as they have been busy giving their lives away into the lives of others. Paul served as an elder at an SBC church in Kentucky for a few years before they made the move to Evansville. He has a love for God’s Word, he desires to see people discipled and grow in their faith, and he has a heart for missions as well. I believe that he is going to do an outstanding job of ministering to people to encourage them to grow in their faith and live their lives on mission for the glory of God!!

If you have questions, please come to one of the two question and answer sessions on Wednesday, October 4^th at 12:00 pm or Thursday, October 5^th at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall at South Campus.  Then on Saturday, October 14^th at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall of the South Campus come for a meet and greet with Paul and Alex so you can hear more about their excitement for the future ministries of our church.

Then on Sunday, October 15^th the elders and personnel teams would ask for you to be present as we ask for a vote of affirmation for this ministry plan that has been presented for consideration.

I am praying for God to use this plan for the good of Oakhill Baptist Church and for his glory!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!

Spare Change - October 2023

I was reminded this week in my devotion time how quickly we can turn away from the Lord.  I was reading through the life of Solomon and in the first several chapters of 1 Kings I read about how Solomon spent his life honoring the Lord.  In chapter 3 God came to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for anything he desired.  He asked for wisdom which pleased God.  He gave Solomon great wisdom and as a bonus long life and riches.  Solomon grew into the wisest, most powerful, wealthiest king to ever live.  He was able to build a great temple for the Lord in Jerusalem.  He was recognized by all people to be a great and wise king, however he turned away from God.  What happened?

In 1 Kings 11 we see a drastic change.  Solomon turns from the Lord and begins to worship false gods.  The scriptures say that the reason was because he married many
foreign women.  It is recorded that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  These women were from all over the world and when they came they did not assimilate to the Jewish religion.  Instead, they kept their religious preferences and were allowed to continue to worship their own gods.  This was the reason that God forbade the Jews to marry from other nations.  There were rare examples of foreign women marrying Jewish men, but they were assimilated into the Jewish faith like Ruth and Rahab.  

Overall, God wanted to encourage full fidelity to Himself which meant His people must not worship foreign gods.  For Solomon the influence of the foreign women was too much.  He built altars to the gods and allowed his wives to make sacrifices and offerings.  This caused the downfall of Solomon and resulted in the kingdom being split.  His unfaithfulness to God caused so much pain and suffering for himself, his family, and the people of Israel.

It is amazing to me that Solomon, a once great man of God, fell so hard and so quickly.  For all his wisdom he forgot one thing - stay vigilant.  From Jesus to Peter and even Solomon himself we are encouraged to keep watch and stay vigilant.

• Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
  - Mark 14:38
• Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8
• Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. - Prov. 4:23

There is a real danger in letting our guard down.  Christians, we must remain vigilant against the schemes of the devil.  He loves nothing more than to tempt us to fall and cause destruction in our lives.  Often this fall does not just affect us, it ripples out to many others in our lives.  In the case of Solomon, it affected an entire nation.  What could he have done differently; how could he have avoided such pain and destruction?

To avoid this, you must know what you believe and refuse to compromise.  Solomon knew the right thing, he was the wisest man to live, but he refused to stand on that truth. Instead, he compromised his beliefs and turned away from the Lord to false idols.  This is a good reminder for us, first we must know what we believe.  Do you believe the truth that is found in God’s Word?  You too can be wise if you will read it, study it, memorize it, and live it.  Second, you must refuse to compromise from what you know is right.  Solomon had 1000 women vying for his attention, that was enough to distract him.  The world is constantly trying to distract you.  We must remain vigilant and not get distracted to the point we fall like Solomon.  Don’t think it can’t happen to you.  Stay vigilant and keep your feet firmly planted on the Word of God, you can stand no matter what challenge comes your way.