Husband, dad, pastor, artist, and musician. Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006 (no joke!). Loves coffee (big time), good movies, and sarcastic humor. Holds a Doctorate in Ministry. Most importantly, a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. All glory belongs to Him! Matthew 5:16
Congratulations to a fellow Tennessee Temple Crusader, Chris Blue, for winning “The Voice”!
Chris Blue is a worship leader in Knoxville, TN, and attended the school where I received my bachelors and masters degrees, Tennessee Temple University. He was the worship leader there until the school closed in 2015.
Being that I did not attend many chapel services there since I was a commuter and spent most of my time in the seminary, I never got to meet Chris in person. Nevertheless, I wish him well. May God continue to use his talents to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ.
After all, that’s what being “Distinctively Christian” is all about.
Here’s the first thing I want you to know…my blog statistics for 2017 are looking good! I’m on track for breaking last year’s record!
Oh, I know my stats are nothing compared to bloggers like Beauty Beyond Bones. For crying out loud, she’s got 23,000 more followers than me…so you do the math. She’s also slightly better-looking that me, so… Nevertheless, my numbers are 51% of last year’s total, so I am ahead of schedule!
Awesome, right?
That is why I would like to keep things active, even though the next month or two is likely to be uber-hectic.
Second Thing
We will be moving once again, this time into the parsonage at South Soddy Baptist Church. Now, this old home hasn’t been lived in for years, and it’s in desperate need of some cleaning and repair – not to mention a few upgrades – so a lot of my time will be spent working there before moving in.
Don’t believe there’s work to be done? Here are some pics.
The back porch/laundry room.
The living room with a broken window, no lights, and some floors that need help.
The ceiling in the kitchen. The ceilings in the rest of the rooms aren’t this bad, but they need work.
The bathroom shower was evidently used in a horror movie.
What is the best way to keep out a draft? Evidently duct tape. This is the inside view of the front door.
Also, the place where we are now living is going on the market very soon, so there is work to be done here before it sells. All the work here, and at the parsonage, will be taking a lot of my time – time which will also be shared with working as a trainer for new bus drivers, studying for sermons, recording radio programs, doing lectures at the seminary, and doing a lot of visitation this summer.
When am I supposed to be writing for this blog???
Third Thing (the charming part)
Because I am going to be soooo busy this summer (Oh, and my wife and I are going on a paid-for cruise for our 50th birthdays!), and since I want to keep the viewers coming back, I need guest posts!
It’s not something I’ve done very often, but it’s been fun in the past to have guest bloggers contribute to The Recovering Legalist. However, now it’s more of a necessity than fun – I’m going to be too busy to post something brilliant every day.
So, if you would like to contribute entertaining, thought-provoking, God-honoring, award-worthy literature, start writing now and start submitting. Once I get enough I will start publishing them, thereby freeing me up some valuable time.
But I need your posts. Like soon. ‘Cuz I got me sum tings to be doin,’ doncha know.
Otherwise, I’ll never have enough views/stats/hits to justify renaming my blog…”Beauty Beneath the Fat.” 😉
Why is it that people say, “When life gives you lemons…” it’s always in a response to something bad?
What is wrong with lemons?
Coincidentally, my daughter just sent this to me from her phone.
Why not cherries? Or grapes? Why not complain about them?
Why not suggest what to do when life gives us avocados? I hate avocados!
What if life gave you tomatoes for your iced tea? You’d be wishing you had some lemons, I bet.
No, it’s always the poor lemon. It’s like everyone is prejujuiced.
What’s wrong with a little sourness every once in a while?
The fact is that God doesn’t just allow lemons, He sends them as a gift! Unfortunately, most people never take the time to recognize the benefits of a little acidity.
So, the next time when life gives you lemons instead of strawberries, don’t be so negative; you might have been spared an allergic reaction from hell without even knowing it.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Yes, I confess. I am a redneck, especially considering how burned my neck is after standing out in the sun for five+ hours. Which leads me to ask a question of myself…why do I never remember sun screen unless I go to a beach?
And I also know that I am a redneck because Jeff Foxworthy told me so. If you remember, Foxworthy’s comic routine made famous the line, “You might be a redneck.” Here are some that I know have applied to me at least once over the 45 years of my life (as of tomorrow, the 17th).
I prefer old trucks to new ones. (No, this one’s not mine)
You might be a redneck if…
You read the Auto Trader with a highlight pen.
Every socket in your house breaks a fire code.
The taillight covers of your car are made of red tape.
Directions to your house include “Turn off the paved road.”
Going to the bathroom at night involves shoes and a flashlight.
You use the term “over yonder” more than once a month.
I’m a Sinner
Unlike a whole lot of people in this world (and in a world of their own), I can admit that I am a sinner. The only difference is that once I confessed my inability to change my nature, I traded my “filthy rags” for the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). Now, I’m still a sinner, but I’m am a saved sinner.
So, based on the actions of Adam and Eve in the third chapter of Genesis, I took a cue from Jeff Foxworthy and came up with my own list of “you might be’s.” From that list I preached a message entitled “You Might Be a Sinner If…”
You might be a sinner if…
You have ever talked to a Serpent – and taken its advice (v. 2).
You know the difference between “Naked” and “Necked” (v. 7). Side Note: If you consider fig leaves appropriate attire, you might be a sinner.
You feel like running when the law shows up (v. 8).
God is searching for you, and not the other way around (v. 9).
You feel self-conscious or defensive about anything you’ve ever done (v. 9-10).
You ever play the “blame game” – Others, “The devil made me do it” (v. 11-13).
You were born (Romans 5:12).
Change of Status
Some people try on their own to change their status in life. Sometimes rednecks move away from Redneckville in order to become a different person. But what they find out is that Redneckville never left their heart. They still have those same desires to grill Spam and fish with dynamite.
In the same way, many people think, once they finally realize they are sinners, that change can come with a simple change of atmosphere, or the turning over of a new fig leaf.
The fact is that sinners don’t become “saints” on their own. It takes outside intervention.
If we confess with our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
There are times when a hymn can do what nothing else can do.The Solid Rock, written by Edward Mote (1797-1874), has been my favorite hymn for as long as I can remember, but for today it is on the second and third verse I want to focus.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath His covenant and blood
Support me in the ‘whelming flood:
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Darkness does come, whether we want to admit it, or not. There are times when, like Shakespeare, I feel all I’m doing is “trouble[ing] deaf heaven with my bootless cries.” At times His loving face is hidden in the darkness, leaving me to feel like no one is listening, like no one cares.
But I will rest on His unchanging grace.
And when, in the darkness, I feel my ship tossed, I must remind myself that I am not the One responsible for the journey. When the darkness is so thick that it sucks away all light, leaving me only with the sensation of drifting, I must not fear…I must not lose hope…I must stay in the ship.
My anchor holds within the veil.
Am I forgotten? Is my purpose of not importance? What of my value that I should be left alone in the increasing depths of sorrow and doubt? Has He left me to drown as the waters rise around me? Is He unfaithful to finish what He has begun? NO! Of course not! His Word is true, and he cannot lie! He is faithful, even when I am not, and His promise of my rescue is sealed in His own blood!
His oath, His covenant, and His blood support me in the overwhelming flood.
When it seems like everything is caving in around me; when it seems like every place to stand becomes loose soil on the edge of a cliff; when all the advice in the world sounds hollow…
He, then, is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Beginning on Sunday morning, probably @10 am (that’s yet to be determined), May 28th, Proverbial Thought will actually take to the radio on WKWN AM & FM!
Cool, huh?
Up until a local gospel AM radio station folded (WFLI), I had been doing a regular broadcast on Sunday evenings at 5 pm. A couple of weeks ago the opportunity opened up to start a new program on a new station. The big plus this time around will be that it will be streamed on the internet, so people all over can listen, especially those who for years have subscribed to the blog, ProverbialThought.com.
So, what I hope to take place is that local and regional listeners to the radio program will go to the Facebook page for Proverbial Thought, Proverbial Thought Extra, to share their thoughts. I also hope it will lead them to dig a little deeper into God’s Word, and even use Proverbial Thought as a tool.
The radio station on which this program will air is not a Christian station, but it does have more of a conservative talk/news format. Therefore, this program will be geared to appeal to those with less of a gospel-programming taste, and more of a practical, rubber-meets-the-road mentality.
You see, Proverbs is a book that is profitable for all people, no matter their relationship with Christ. The wisdom in Proverbs is useful for everyday life, including business, politics, relationships, and other cultural issues. Hopefully this will prove useful to anyone who decides to listen.
On the other hand, the Wisdom of Proverbs is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24). Each week the program will cover one verse from one chapter, sequentially going through a chapter a week, starting over on the 32nd week. Each program will show how the wisdom of the particular proverb/verse can be practically applied, but it will also offer Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.
A beloved brother in Christ, Paul Wheeler, gave the funds to put the last program (“The Voice from the River”) on the air, and he wanted to give for this one, too. As a matter of fact, he was the one that asked me to continue preaching on the radio after I resigned from my last church, because he wanted to keep the program going, promising to do so even after his death!
For the record, Bro. Paul Wheeler is a decorated Vietnam veteran who first started the program under the name “Veterans for Christ.” However, when he started attending the church where I pastored, and after his voice and strength began to wear out (due to lung cancer), he told me, “You take the program, Pastor, and I’ll keep it on the air as long as you want to do it.”
So, please keep this program in your prayers, and listen to it when you can. Also, check out the blog (and the “About” page) and the Facebook page.
The following post was first published in 2011, yet it is definitely worth revisiting. If you have not read this post, what it depicts is a perfect example of why I call myself a “recovering legalist.” Even now I cringe when I recall my judgmental, legalistic actions 6 years ago. But God’s grace doesn’t force immediate change; we grow in grace.
Some take longer than others.
The Story
For the last several weeks we have been going out to get some food after evening services. If you don’t know what I am talking about, let me explain:
Getting Food = going to a restaurant that sells stuff you could make at home for a lot less money, but tastes better and is more fun when you pay for it in the company of others.
Evening Services = gathering of believers at a local church that still takes place on Sunday nights, while most people stay home, in order to give the pastor something to do.
Last night, after a great time of worship and hearing from God’s Word, my wife, our girls, our youth director, and I went to Cracker Barrel. When we pulled in, I noticed a really sweet Prevost tour bus sitting in the lot. I said to my wife, Valerie, “Now that has got to be a group, or a band, or something, because it takes somebody serious to keep one of those things on the road.”
We gently maneuver our tired, aged frames (we’re getting old in our 40’s) out of the car and walk toward the entrance. As we walk across the front of Cracker Barrel, where all the rocking chairs are, my wife and I notice some interesting young men dressed in black. One of them had a black hat and a hairstyle that would make more than a few grannies say, “What died on your head, sonny?”
Myself? Well I am in a suit and tie. My wife? She is wearing a dress. WE are the “Reverend and Mrs. Baker,” you know. WE know how to dress on Sunday, unlike these guys. So, my wife walks past them first and gives them a forced, but gentle smile. Next, I walk by, thinking to myself, “These are definitely musicians…yep…the hair gives it away…they’re the Prevost riders.” I nod and smile.
Once inside the Cracker Barrel, my conscience started to bother me. Something wasn’t right. I have been around long enough to recognize when the Holy Spirit says, “Hey, I bear witness that those weird-looking guys out there are part of the Family.” That is when I come up with a brilliant, self-covering plan – send Katie, our 15 year old, out to see who they are.
I only had an old iPhone. And it was dark.
“Katie,” I say, “go out there and ask those guys on the porch who they are or what band they’re with.” Fortunately, and I knew this, there were others outside beside the “men in black,” so don’t think I sent my little girl out to talk to strangers, alone. She talked to strangers with other strangers there to help.
A few minutes later, Katie comes back in with the biggest smile on her face, beaming with a glow that could blind a man in sunglasses, saying, “They are Building 429!!”
Now, here’s the point of all this. Here I am, someone who preaches against unrighteously judging others, especially Christians who look different (what’s normal?). What do I do? I walk right by a group of guys and assume, wrongfully, that evidently, just because they were not in suits on a Sunday night, they were a group of heathen beatniks heading to/from Nashville. I messed up.
An Official Apology
Sorry, guys, for doing the very thing I hate seeing other people do. This is why I call myself a “recovering legalist.” Sometimes I fail. Last night I failed in a bad way. Up until last night, I had never even seen you before to recognize you in person. All I know is that the song you recorded, “Always,” is one of my favorites…I’ve shed more than a few tears while listening to it.
Please forgive my wife and I for acting like a couple of snobby, self-righteous, judgmental legalists. If I’m fortunate, maybe God will someday give this preacher some hair like yours.
May God bless you and your ministry. He WILL be with you always.
UPDATE: Shortly after this post was first published, Building 429 posted a link to it on their Facebook page. A little later we exchanged a few emails in which they graciously accepted my apology. I offered to buy them dinner the next time they came through town, but Jason Roy (lead singer) said that wouldn’t be necessary – then he offered me free tickets the next time they came to town! Cool, huh? But I never took him up on it – we just bought them, anyway.
Here is a more recent video from Building 429, “Unashamed.”
The post below was written ten years ago in May, 2011! I stumbled upon it today as I was looking for some other material.
Coincidence?
After dealing with my mother’s death and all the other stuff, I unloaded a little to my congregation this past Wednesday night. In a non-subtle way my wife asked prayer for her husband and sister-in-law because “they” (me) were having a hard time coping. That led to me “airing my dirty laundry.”
Folks, I feel if I didn’t share these things you’d be missing out on a critical and fundamental aspect of my faith in Jesus Christ: it’s real, all the time. I don’t want to be a fake, and the only way I know for sure you can know for sure I’m not, and Jesus is not, is to be open and honest about real life.
It’s all about being “real.”
Hypocritical Toothpaste
Have you ever been completely spent? Worn out? Empty? I have. As a matter of fact, I woke up this morning feeling like a squeezed out tube of toothpaste.
Yesterday was a great day. I was blessed to be able to preach in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. The only problem is that when you go all day, preaching your heart out, by the end of the day you’re exhausted. When I got up to drive the school bus, I looked at that tube of toothpaste and said, “That’s me.”
Over the next couple of hours a thought came to me: how can you tell when a tube of toothpaste is empty? Usually, it is flat and rolled up. The compacted tube shows evidence that all of its contents have been used – there’s nothing left. Then what about the hard, stand-up kind?
These new containers for toothpaste are deceiving. Unlike the old-fashioned tubes, they do not compact and show any visible signs of being empty. They always look full. Then it hit me – what hypocrites! Those new-fangled containers are just putting on a show and never give any hint of being used up. In other words, they’re not “real.”
I want to be “real.”
This is not a lesson on hypocrisy. This is not a lesson on being a whitewashed tomb full of dead men’s bones. This is about being “real.”
Too often, especially in ministry, we are forced to put on a façade, thereby making ourselves appear to be something we’re not. It’s not meant to be hypocritical. It is meant to spare others from the truth of our own inadequacies – our own emptiness. Sadly, because we don’t want to be a burden or a disappointment, we endure the emptiness…the loneliness…the fatigue. Being “real” is risky.
There are limits to how much dirty laundry a pastor can air in public without losing his ministry. There are limits to how vulnerable he can be around others. But may it never be said that we have to pretend to be something we are not. We are human. We have weaknesses. We have limitations. We can feel “used up.”
Fortunately, unlike a tube of toothpaste, we can be refilled. And for that matter, even a seemingly squeezed out tube always has just a little more to give. God gives us what we need, when we need it. The important thing to remember is that we shouldn’t try to act full, when we are empty. When we do that, that is when we act in our own strength. Let us then admit our weakness and emptiness, and in turn our heavenly Father will refill us with what will bring Him glory. Who knows, maybe it is our emptiness He wants to use most.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 KJV
With so much being posted on social media these days, even those in ministry have available to them a plethora of helps, lists, and general advice from experienced clergy folk.
Just this morning I saw a post forwarded on Facebook by a pastor friend, one that gave “10 Reasons Ministry Isn’t for Wimps.” On other occasions this same friend, Alan Rogers, has shared articles dealing with everything from sermon tips to how to destroy one’s ministry.
Much of what is shared on Facebook and Twitter are written by the “pro’s” in ministry research like Thom S. Rainer, or long-time veterans of ministry like Joe McKeever. What rarely gets shared are articles and posts written by ordinary guys like me – probably because we don’t publish that many, for one thing.
But I think it is about time we start seeing some helpful hints from old-school, bi-vocational, small-church, in-the-trenches pastors with no access to research teams, only personal experience and some common sense.
So, in order to kick things off, here are…
10 Words of Wisdom for Those Entering the Pastorate
Get a biblical education. Seriously, it doesn’t matter if the school is only a rag-tag, non-accredited hole in the ground, get an education from some place that will teach you how to study the Bible by making you study the Bible. Those who call a seminary a “cemetery” are nothing more than illiterate bigots who should be avoided – unless you want to show them how to get saved.
Listen to your wife. I know, sometimes wives have actually been the reason men have left the ministry. However, a good, godly wife will offer you insight that no one else can. She really does have an intuition that sees what our eyes can’t. She is also going to be the only one in the church you can trust 100%
Don’t think every sermon needs to be alliterated. Guys, not every sermon is best delivered with four points, all alliterated with a certain letter or phonetic sound. Sometimes the best way to outline your sermon is just go with the way the Scripture leads.
Be a sheepdog. Do whatever it takes to arm yourself with the knowledge necessary to protect not only those in your church, but your own family. Be prepared to fight – literally – for those you love. Always be on the lookout for wolves in sheep’s clothing, especially sexual predators. Believe me, I wish I’d prepared better.
Draw your lines in the sand early on – the earlier the better. Don’t wait for church trouble to draw your lines in the sand. Don’t wait until you are in a struggle with disagreeing leadership before you say, “This is the way it’s going to be.” Start early by saying that…be the thermostat, not the thermometer.
Learn to preach without notes. There’s going to come a time when you need to preach and you won’t have time to prepare an outline. There is going to come a time when you are asked to preach a funeral, or a revival service, and all you will have is your Bible. Read it…learn it…know it…and be able to preach from it without a man-made crutch.
Check your pride. The day you go up to the pulpit all cocky, that’s the day you will be an utter failure. Ascend to the “sacred desk” with your knees shaking under the weight of the seriousness of what you’re doing and you will come down humble, but confident God’s Word will not return void. As long as you are humble and dependent on God, that’s when even the most basic of sermons can shake the foundations of hell itself.
Don’t grow too dependent on technology. Men, there may come a day when we don’t have the internet, iPads, microphones, and projection screens. At any moment you could lose one or all of those things, so learn to prepare and to preach like the great warriors of the past – because history has a tendency to repeat itself.
Love your family more than your ministry. You’ve probably heard it said before, but it’s true; your family is your first and most important ministry, not the congregation you serve. Don’t lose your wife or kids for the sake of any church.
Never stop studying and learning. Even if you go to Bible school and seminary, never think you’ve learned enough. Always be learning, reading, researching, and studying. If George Washington Carver could squeeze all he did out of the lowly peanut (to the glory of God), imagine how much you will be able to find if you keep digging deeper into the Holy Writ!
I could share some more words of wisdom with you all, but this is all my wife will allow for this evening – I’m listening to her, and she said I need to go to bed.
So, there you have it. Do you have some words of wisdom you’d like to share? Why not write them in the comment section below? I’m sure we all could benefit from our collective experiences.
The Recovering Legalist 