Month: July 2026

What. A. Week.

When it comes to ministry, one of my favorite passages reads: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6). If we judge ministry by earthly standards, we’ll use numbers as metrics to determine whether or not we are being successful. I have abandoned this view, however. God hasn’t called me to be “successful” in ministry. What I need to do is be faithful.

Sometimes you plant seeds. Sometimes you water seeds that were already planted. It’s up to God to give the increase. From Sunday, July 19 through yesterday, eight souls obeyed the gospel here at Glendale Road. It’s like we went through a dry spell, as it sometimes happens. This last week, God has given the increase.

I was out the entire month of June. Every five years, I get a one-month sabbatical. I highly recommend that preachers negotiate this as a part of their employment with a congregation. Keith Parker, formerly of the Hendersonville Church of Christ, gave me this advice several years ago. Then, I couldn’t fathom taking a month off. Now, I can’t see not doing this every five years. Here’s why I believe it’s important: the church needs to know they will be ok without me, and I need to know that I’ll be ok without them. After all, if the Lord called me home tomorrow, things would keep on keeping on.

I used to believe that you have to be at every event, a part of everything, and if you didn’t do it, the work wouldn’t get done. That’s such an immature attitude. I know some churches have that expectation of their preacher. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. I guess it depends on the needs a congregation has. The church has existed long before I have, and the gates of Hades won’t prevail against it. If it’s the Lord’s will, she will continue after I’m long gone. This is why I have to remember: it’s not about me. It’s about the work Jesus left for us to do.

When I returned to work on July 1, I thought I’d do some basic sermons on Sunday mornings about the steps of salvation. I started with faith one week, then repentance, acknowledgment, and last Sunday, I preached about baptism. I had baptized two fellows on Saturday afternoon, and I knew one lady was going to come forward at the invitation to proclaim her faith. I think it was nice to have the public one. Then, on Monday evening, I got a text from another young lady who was going to do the same on Tuesday afternoon. She asked that I be there, so I replied, “Consider me present!” I’ve been at this congregation for a decade, and a lot of these kids were just that when I came. They’ve grown, and it’s so wonderful to see the people they are becoming. Moms and dads have done great jobs.

I’ve only told you about four here, so what about the other four? One occurred the Sunday before last; two others were done, and we later learned about them; and the final was at church camp. Actually, I worked backward chronologically, so the final was the first. Aside from that, we have had a couple of others from June. It’s been such an exciting time.

Additionally, we have been having a ministry fair that began in May. Each week, three tables are set up with different areas of ministry to educate the congregation on opportunities to serve. A group of brothers returned from a trip to Honduras earlier in the year, and they developed a group, “Here Am I, Send Me.” Yes, it’s from Isaiah 6. One brother said, “Why don’t we do this here at home [what they did on a mission trip]?” This is every preacher’s dream! The body of Christ, at work.

All in all, things have been going well. Of course, there are those who are grieving losses and those who are undergoing treatments. I’ve been asked to speak at a gentleman’s funeral on Friday. While there are a lot of positive things happening, there are some that are tragic and unfortunate. But that’s the work. Weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.

How NOT to Study the Bible

Hey, everyone! It’s been a minute since I last posted. In June, I enjoyed a month-long sabbatical. I did a lot of resting; my daughter graduated from the police academy; my wife and I went thrift shopping; and I started taking banjo lessons. I’m not very good, but I enjoy learning and practicing.

Some time ago, I made a statement about how someone used a passage. Sometimes Christians use Bible passages for motivation and inspiration, and I think that’s wonderful. However, they’re often used as if it were personally written to them, thereby overlooking the context of the verse altogether. My verse in question is Jeremiah 29:11.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Many people know and love this verse. It’s in their bios on social media. For some, it’s their personal motto passage. In the style of Norman Vincent Peale, they are using the power of positive thinking. However, most who use it this way were never Jewish exiles to Babylon. We have to remember that the Bible wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us. 

Is there anything wrong with finding encouragement from a Bible passage? Absolutely not! By all means, I encourage that. I also caution using Scripture in that way, because God was not writing this to you or me. I recall when in middle school, Daddy and I were watching a boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. It was the infamous match where Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear. While walking to the ring, Holyfield wore Philippians 4:13 on his robe. We scurried to find a Bible to read that passage. When we did, it became an instant favorite of ours. Years later, while studying Scripture in school, I learned its meaning and the circumstances that led Paul to write it. That verse had nothing to do with winning a boxing match, but the good that came from it was a father and son reading the Bible. So, I can see how this is both positive and negative. Though the negativity isn’t the end of the world. 

Jeremiah was a priest and prophet who warned Jerusalem that God’s wrath is coming. His instrument of choice would be the Babylonians, and Jeremiah is urging repentance and a return to the covenant that Israel had also broken, which had landed them in Assyria. Judah was worshipping at the temple, but they had also adopted some Canaanite worship practices, some as bad as making their children pass through the fire—something God had forbidden. 

When studying Scripture, there are always some questions to ask. My late homiletics (public speaking) teacher, Tom Holland (not the actor or Roman Empire scholar), used to say, “Ask the Bible questions.” By so doing, you will dive into a study of Scripture to find those answers.  

  1. Who’s writing the book? In this case, it’s not even Jeremiah, but his disciple and scribe, Baruch (Jer. 36:4–8).
  2. To whom is the book written? Anyone present in Jerusalem during said timeline. 
  3. What circumstances necessitated the writing? King Josiah is dead, and his next-to-eldest son was installed by the Egyptians (2 Kings 23:34). 
  4. In this case, who is the “you” in this passage? 

The first twenty-four chapters are Jeremiah’s preaching and warning Judah. The priests, king, and prophets have become idolatrous, and this has led to injustices against widows, orphans, and migrants. By chapter twenty-five, Babylon is heading to Jerusalem to execute God’s wrath. Jews are taken captive, Jeremiah among them, and the material in chapter twenty-nine is a letter to the captives from Jeremiah. 

So why would I think one verse from that letter is written to me? It isn’t. Yet, how I treat the Bible determines how I’ll understand it. I prefer to take the posture of Jesus (Matt. 5:17–19). The minutest points of the Law Jesus revered. Coming to Scripture and reading it as I describe above is a tad selfish and self-centered. Again, there’s nothing wrong with finding encouragement in Scripture, but context matters.

If I’m not to read this passage this way, what can I take from it? I can take from it that despite how wicked God’s people had been, He still has their best interests at heart. Though He has left them traumatized and decimated, it isn’t without purpose. All that they can see before them is destruction and a foreign land, but God tells them that the story doesn’t end in Babylon. Better times lie ahead, and despite what they’ve endured, God still loves them and wants the best for them. 

This isn’t a universal application. God may not intend the same for everyone, but He may have a specific plan for a person. For Peter, He had a plan in mind, and it wasn’t akin to the Jewish exiles (John 21:18–19). No one uses this passage as they do the one from Jeremiah, do they? It’s because they know it’s speaking about someone else. No one takes the words of any letter as if they are the “you” unless that letter’s specifically addressed to them. Even when it’s not, there are times that a universal application is present, such as in Acts 2:38–39. How is a person called? Paul writes elsewhere that one is called when the gospel is preached (2 Thess. 2:14). These are not limited to the Thessalonians or those present at Pentecost, respectively. 

Still, keep Jeremiah 29:11 in your bio, but know that its meaning isn’t a bumper sticker for your life. The meaning behind it, if you only use it that way, robs the Jews who were exiled of its richness. Everything written before that point happened to them, and not taking that into account leads a person to misunderstand what God was truly saying.