For this reason God sent us to Freeport (Titus 1:5)

Picture of Church Building of First Baptist, Freeport

How God Revitalized a Local Church to the Praise of His Glorious Grace!

Titus 1:5, For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. 

The year was 63 AD.   "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."  In many ways, the young churches in Crete were already spiritually broken.  In response, Paul left one of his young protégés behind in order that "Doctor" Titus might help put "humpty dumpty" back together again.

Titus was to "set straight" this broken ministry.  Note the inspired purpose statement mentioned in Titus 1:5.  For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.  This young pastor was to put on his reformation cap and with God's help he was to try and right anything that was defective in a God-honoring way.  He was to reform these churches according to the precepts of Holy Scripture. 

As important as Titus was to this revitalization effort he was not to try and carry out this mammoth sized task alone.   Titus 1:5b, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.   Titus was to find, select, train, and set apart qualified leaders (note Titus 1:6-9) who would help him shepherd the flock of God (see 1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 14:23). I believe this has always been God's plan for His Church (note Acts 14:23, Phil. 1:2, Hebrews 13:17).

Police, Pastoral Ministry, and CONTEXT: Where You Work Impacts More Than You Know

    Photo Credit: mscutie817.tumblr.com

Police work, Pastoring, and Context. WHERE one works or serves as a Christian is often far more significant than many realize. 

Today's video sheds light on this neglected aspect of Christian vocation. With specific insights from police in Los Angeles and Indianapolis.  How has the BlackLivesMatter narrative impacted law enforcement serving in different cities across America?

I trust my latest video-cast will encourage many people; whether you serve in Philippi or in Corinth (1 Cor. 15:58; Gal. 6:9).  

Click to watch Videocast 

The Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Parables (MacArthur)

If you want to have John MacArthur as a preaching professor on a regular basis there is only one D. Min program in the world you should enroll in (and that's TMS).  Drs. John MacArthur and Steven J. Lawson are the regular teaching faculty for the Master's Seminary Doctor of Ministry program.  This is one of the reasons why the revamped Doctoral of Ministry track at TMS now has 60 pastors/missionary students.  During one of Dr. MacArthur's final lectures this past summer he talked about the Do's and Don'ts of Preaching Parables.

“The word ‘parable’ (parabole) appears forty-eight times in the Synoptic Gospels (seventeen times in Matthew, thirteen in Mark, and eighteen in Luke).  It is entirely absent in John’s Gospel and is missing in the rest of the New Testament...”[1]  The word comes from two Greek roots: para (beside) and ballo (throw).  Literally, it means "to place alongside."  It suggests a comparison between two things that are alike in some way.

Regardless of what passage or genre one is studying, employing a consistent hermeneutic is the most important component of faithful interpretation.  The student of Scripture must never depart from the grammatico-historical hermeneutic in effort to manipulate the God-intended message of the text, for the meaning of Scripture is the Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15).  According to MacArthur, Tim Keller misrepresented the major thrust of Jesus' Good Samaritan parable in his best-selling book The Prodigal God.  This kind of thing is not uncommon when it comes to parables.  Many apparently believe you can make parables say anything you want them to say; so long as your conclusions are biblical.  This is simply not true!

Establishing the Larger Context

When I came to FBC, Freeport five years ago I was informed by a pastoral staff member and by some of the key deacons that First Baptist Church was in decline numerically, financially, and most importantly spiritually and had been in decline for quite some time. All one has to do is read through the church minutes or converse with honest long-time members to confirm this humble assessment.  At one point in the sixties FBC averaged 700 attendees and was by all accounts the "it church in town."  Many things transpired during the 90's and 00's that slowly changed the trajectory of the church.

However, in early 2008 the lay leaders and youth pastor (rightly) determined that the most important thing was for First Baptist to try and become a Word-dominated ministry once again. To focus first and foremost on Colossians 1:28-29, Ephesians 4:11-15, and Hebrews 5:11-14 rather than on numerical growth and church growth strategies.  I believe this was a landmark decision in the life of this church.

Before I ever candidated Pastor Gary Gilley from southern Illinois was asked to come and speak with the lay leaders who also served as the search committee of the church. Pastor Gary rightly assessed that First Baptist was at an important ministry crossroads. “What kind of church do you want to be? A Word-dominated, Christ-centered church, or something else?" He also asked the men whether the tail was wagging the dog here? Gary believed that the church needed shepherd-leaders who would lead the church rather than have a congregationally-led church. Pastor Gary told the lay leaders that if we committed ourselves to being a Word-dominated church that the ministry may not grow numerically or financially. Pastor Gary understood that our church needed to follow God’s blueprints for His Church and to trust the Lord with the results; which as many of you know is much easier said than done. At this critical point in the life of this church the lay leaders were united in spirit which is why they eventually decided to hire a Senior Pastor from the Master’s Seminary. The reason for this decision is because they believed TMS' philosophy of ministry was biblical and was what this local fellowship needed to implement.  These faithful men also saw that Freeport sorely needed a "9 Marks" local church.

During my first year we enjoyed what is often referred to as the pastoral "honeymoon."  Despite five funerals a year things numerically were moving in the right direction. More importantly First Baptist gained some key like-minded families/couples along the way but we also had a lot of internal tension and infighting going on behind the scenes. Some within the flock did not like the new depth and bible heavy direction of the church. One long time member asked a staff member, "Are you guys actually going to do whatever the Bible says?" "You can't be serious?"  Many of these disgruntled members wanted shepherds who would visit them in the hospital, which we tried to faithfully do, but they did not want shepherd-leaders who would watch over their souls.  Many did not truly believe in any kind biblical confrontation/restoration. After many painful face to face meetings and a number of explanatory congregational meetings the vast majority of these folks eventually decided to leave (often time with guns blazing).

All that to say, after a very challenging start we were the smallest we had ever been. We were also more united and focused than ever before. We appeared to be growing spiritually and were no doubt moving in the right direction. The ministry was blessed to have a debt free four million dollar facility. At the same time, we faced the corresponding challenge of seeking to maintain such a huge facility.  The test of faith was ever before us. 

The First Baptist Church of Corinth

When God led me to pastor the First Baptist Church of Freeport I had no idea how challenging or demanding the work of church revitalization was going to be.  For one, Mark Dever had not yet published his fine series of essays on church revitalization.  Second of all, how do you really appreciate and understand something until you have experienced it yourself?  Firsthand ministry versus classroom education is often much different.  Finally, the work of biblical reformation is often somewhat glamorized in books and movies.  Having made it through the past five years of revitalization work I now understand a little bit of what Carl Truman writes of in his fine book, Reformation: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow.  I am referring particularly to his masterful chapter on "Meeting the Man of Sorrows: A Theology of the Cross." I will devote an entire blog post or two to that very important topic at a later date in time.

The ministry I inherited in 2008 was in many ways similar to what Paul described in
2 Corinthians 12:19-21, All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved.  For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there may be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced. 

One pastor familiar with this local church later told me that First Baptist had developed the reputation as a "pastoral graveyard."  So much for stepping into the shallow end of the ministry pool for your first senior pastorate.