A Changed Life

Change is something that many would like, but not many like to go through. Change can be very difficult. We are creatures of habit. We typically like things to stay the same, but we also realize there are points where change must happen for the better. 

Think about medicine. George Washington died from a simple throat infection. One of the major ways they tried to treat him was to drain some of his blood thinking it would remove the infection. This would happen four times over a day and a half before our nation’s first President died. Aren’t you glad that treatment has changed over the years?

Yes, change can be hard and even uncomfortable at times. It is needed at times, though, for growth and health to take place. 

As Paul writes to the churches in Galatia, he shares the importance of the gospel. When we began looking at this letter a couple of weeks ago, I shared that Paul wrote this letter with two points to make: 

• The importance of the gospel
• Defending his apostleship

As we continue to look at this letter, we come to a section where both of these topics arise in the matter of 14 verses. Let’s read those verses together, and see what the LORD has for us today.

¹¹ For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. ¹² For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ. 

¹³ For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ¹⁵ But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus. 

¹⁸ Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you. 

²¹ Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. ²³ They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

Galatians 1:11-24 (CSB)

The Gospel is not a human invention

Paul shares with the Galatian churches that the gospel he had previously shared with them,  which brought them salvation, was not something that had come from the imagination of some person. The gospel message comes from the heart of God. 

Think about the gospel message for a moment. Who would have come up with that plan? The holy God of the universe would show grace by sending His one and only Son to be the sacrifice which would bring sinful human beings back into a right relationship with Him. There would be nothing that humans had to do to earn this. It would be a complete work of God’s grace. 

One reason we can trust in the message of the gospel is that it does come from God Himself and not man. He is perfect and all of His ways are good. There is no fear that it will not do what it claims to do.

Paul even mentions in verse 17 that he did not get the gospel from a seminar or class, but He received it from the LORD Himself. It was Jesus who confronted Paul on the Damascus Road in Acts 9. 

While we may not hear the gospel from the LORD’s mouth ourselves, we can be sure that when the gospel is shared through His Word, it holds the same power. The words of Scripture are God-breathed. Because of this, the gospel becomes the standard by which everything else is measured. 

The Gospel is a transforming message

Starting in verse 13, Paul begins to show how his life was completely transformed by the message of the gospel. The gospel has a power that we cannot fully understand. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 

Romans 1:16 (CSB)

We can see three important factors of God’s grace through the gospel in what Paul writes in verses 13-19.

Paul needed grace

Paul writes about his life in the Jewish faith in verses 13-14. He talks about how he was a persecutor of the Church and the name of Christ. 

• Acts 8:1 shows where Paul gave his approval when Stephen was killed for his faith in Jesus. 
• Acts 8:3 shows where Paul committed to “ravaging the church.” He would go out as a representative of the Jewish leaders and arrest Christians even from their homes for their faith in Jesus.
• In Acts 26:10-11, Paul talks about times when he would do everything he could to get Christians to turn away from Jesus, even to the point of having them put to death.

As we see these parts of Paul’s past, we can see that he desperately needed the grace of God that comes through Jesus. He mistreated people like few have. 

He thought he was doing God a favor. You see, Paul was a religious man. Every ugly part of his past was tied to his “religion.” He held to his beliefs tightly and thought he was doing God a favor by his actions. 

Misdirected beliefs will lead you astray regardless of how zealous you are. A person can be so consumed with “religion” and miss Jesus. That is what happened in Paul’s early life. 

There are times when we look at someone and say, “They need Jesus.” Their sin is out in the open for all to see. God’s grace is available to them through the gift Jesus made available on the cross. 

It is easy to look at people who are living in blatant sin and think they need to experience the grace of God. But what about the person who is moral… religious… well thought of? Does that person really need God’s grace? YES!!! 

What about you? Do you see your need for God’s grace? You may say, “I’ve never done anything like Paul did. I’ve never killed anyone or anything like that.” While that might be true, what is also true is that each of us have sinned in some way against God. That means that each one of us are in need of His grace. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Romans 3:23 (CSB)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 (CSB)

You don’t have to have a horrible past to have a need for Jesus. All you have to have is sin – which we all do. Every one of us is in need of God’s grace. Paul highlights this truth to the Galatians. 

Grace found Paul where he was

What we see unfold in verses 15-16 is a beautiful picture of God’s grace. Paul shares that while he was actually running in the opposite direction of God, God came running to him. Jesus met Paul right where he was in life – in the middle of all of his junk, and brought His grace with Him. 

This is the story of every Christian. While we are born running from God, He comes to us with the message of the gospel – a message of forgiveness, hope, and grace. God doesn’t wait for us to get our act together. He knows that apart from His help we cannot do that. He meets us right where we are and offers His amazing grace to us.

You may be hearing this and thinking it is too good to be true. The perfect God of the universe would come running after me and offer me forgiveness, hope, and grace (when I don’t deserve it). I would tell you with every fiber of my being that is exactly what happens. 

We don’t have to get our act together to come to Jesus. If we could do that, what need would we have of Jesus? We don’t have to even fully understand it all to receive it. That is why it comes to us through faith. 

Paul shares how, though he didn’t deserve it, God came to him and offered Paul His grace.

Grace caused a desire to grow

Paul continues to share that this grace he encountered developed within his heart a desire to grow. He talks about how, at first, he didn’t go up to the disciples in Jerusalem, but spent some time with the LORD. This was needed in his life to sort out everything he had been taught previously (Galatians 1:17). 

It wasn’t long before Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit to join himself to a church. We see that he did go to Jerusalem where he would spend time with Peter (Cephas), James, and others (Galatians 1:18-21).

Paul learned quickly that he couldn’t know all of the things about this new life in Christ by himself. He needed a local church to come alongside him and disciple him. We are not called to walk this journey alone. Just as Paul needed a group of believers to come alongside of him and disciple him, so do we. This is one of the main reasons we strongly encourage people to find and join a local church. 

God is working in each of our lives. Part of that work in us is to equip us with tools to help and encourage each other in our faith journey with Jesus. It is much more than just attending some services and sitting in a room together. It is doing life with one another. It is teaching one another. It is helping one another up when we fall. 

Paul knew that if the Galatians kept listening to the false gospel that was creeping into their midst, it would rob them of the wonderful work God was doing in their lives. He knew this firsthand and cared about them enough to confront them about it.

Conclusion

As we hear about the wonderful work of God’s grace in the life of Paul, I have to wonder if we are experiencing that work in our own lives. Are we realizing that this gospel message is not something that some man or woman dreamed up somewhere way back? Do we realize it is the heartbeat of God? 

As we see how Paul’s life was changed by the gospel, can we see our story in this as well? Do we see our need for God’s grace and His coming to us just as we are extending the most precious gift ever given? Maybe you’re seeing that clearly for the first time. I would invite you to reach out by faith and accept that gift. We would love to show you how you can do that. In a moment, we will give you an opportunity to talk with someone about receiving this gift of God’s grace.

Do we see our continued need for God’s grace and to be part of a local church where we can join together with others in growing and carrying out the mission of God? It is so much more than a place to go to hear some good music, a speech, and maybe catch up with those you haven’t seen all week. It is a representation of the family of God. It is one of the most powerful tools God has given us to help us in our faith journey until He calls us home. I would encourage you to find a local church where you can plug in and grow in your faith.

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What A Game

Last night was the college football playoff national championship between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs. It was a game that I was greatly looking forward to as a fan of college football and especially the SEC. I believe that the game lived up to all of the hype. I know that there were many who were upset because there were two teams from the same conference in the national championship. The truth is that if the two top teams are in the same conference, they should be the ones playing it out on the field for the prize.

As I’ve had a little time to come down from the excitement of having “my team” win it all (in dramatic fashion), I’ve been thinking about some things that I will be taking away from this game. I thought that I would share them with you.

No one is bigger than the team.

The University of Alabama made a major decision as they came out of the locker room after halftime. They decided to put in their backup quarterback to lead the team and try to get a spark going for what had been a less-than-stellar first half. One might think that that is not such a big deal. That is until you realize that the backup is a true freshman who has not seen any real competitive gametime action all year. The decision to make this young man’s first major appearance in the biggest game of the year with only half the time to work with seems crazy… but it was the right decision.

The starting quarterback for Alabama, Jalen Hurts, is one that came into last night’s championship with a record of 25-2. That is simply phenomenal no matter what standard you use. While Hurts had led the team to championship game all year long, when it came time to step aside, he did. Jalen Hurts did not think more about himself and his fame than that of the team. He did not demand what he “had earned” but stepped aside for the betterment of the team. And because of that, today is part of a championship team.

There is no one person that is bigger than the team. When I think about the arena that I spend most of my time in (the church), I think that this is a lesson that we could all use. Too many times people are tempted to go the way of what they see in the business world within the church. The church is not about “me”… it is not here to make me look better… it is not here to help me achieve my agenda… it is not even here for my desires. The church is the team of God’s people working together carrying out God’s agenda.

Be ready

One thing that Tua Tagovailoa learned firsthand last night was that you had better be ready when your number is called. There was no time to make excuses. There was no time to prepare at that moment. He would either sink or swim. The wonderful thing for the Crimson Tide is that Tagovailoa was ready for the moment. There were very few (if any) who thought that the coaching staff would make the switch of quarterbacks at halftime of the most important game of the season. I know I never saw it coming. But that decision was made… and they are celebrating today.

Every Christian should take notice. 1 Peter 3:15 reminds us “in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Sadly, not every (actually very few) opportunities that God calls us to come with a warning. We have to be ready for that moment before the moment comes.  God uses every moment to prepare us for what lies ahead.  If we stay alert and ready, then when that call comes, we will experience the victory that God has for us.

The Importance of Celebration

As the Crimson Tide hit the long pass for the victory in overtime, the place went nuts.  I know it went crazy around my house.  One of the key moments of that night was when starting quarterback (Jalen Hurts) ran out onto the field to congratulate the backup quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa).  Hurts was the first one out there congratulating the young man that took his position.

If that wasn’t enough, Jalen Hurts was interviewed after the game.  He was quick to praise his teammate and all that Tagovailoa had done for the team.  There was no jealousy.  There was no whining.  There was no regrets.

Too many times, the church loses sight of this element.  We are part of the same team – the team of Christ.  We should celebrate when the Kingdom is represented well and wins.

Give glory to where glory is due

The interview of Tua Tagovailoa after the game is one that will be remembered for some time to come.  This young man who was on top of the world at the moment was quick to give glory to His Savior… and he didn’t go the generic route… he left no doubt about who he was talking about.

When we experience great moments in our lives, we must remember that none of it would be possible if God did not provide.  A part of being alert is remembering that fact.  It is easy to get caught up in the moment and lose our focus, but we are just recipients of grace from a mighty God.  Thank you, Tua, for giving my boys another man to look up to in this dark world.

And thank you, Crimson Tide, for another great year of football!

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Book Review: "Who Moved My Pulpit"

A couple of months ago, I was given a book to read and asked to write a review about it.  The title of this book grabbed my attention almost immediately.  This book was Who Moved My Pulpit?  Leading Change in the Church by Thom Rainer.

I have read many of Thom Rainer’s books before.  I like his style of writing and topics that he predominantly writes about.  I took the the challenge of reading this book on with enthusiasm.

Change is necessary in any organization or living being.  One cannot stay the same and expect that everything will just go like it should.  Living things must change and grow to reach their potential and to reach more people.  @ThomRainer has said himself, “Change is urgent because the gospel is urgent.”  I could not agree any more.

The church of Jesus Christ has the most important task in the history of the world: sharing the gospel with the world.  In order to accomplish this task, the church must grow with the culture.  The message of the church (the gospel of Jesus Christ) must NEVER change.  The methods by which we use to share the gospel with our communities and around the globe MUST change at certain times.  This is because the means of communication change over time.  If the church does not change and adapt to clearly share the gospel with the world around it, then it will fail at carrying out the Great Commission.

In Who Moved My Pulpit, Thom Rainer seeks to provide church leaders with a resource to help them lead their churches through change in a healthy manner.  Rainer first shows that there are different types of “unmovable church members.” Then he moves into what I would call an 8-step process.  He spends a full chapter with each of these steps.

The appendix to the book is called a “Church Readiness Inventory for Churches.”  I truly think that this might be the best part of the whole book.  This is a series of questions that can help a church leader see where their church stands and how willing/ready they are for needed change.

Recommendation

When I first read this book, it took me all of 3 days to finish it.  I did not want to speed-read through it, but really see what all it had to say and process it.  I found that this is a great book for church leaders to help them in a much needed area of ministry… especially in our ever-changing culture. I want to see churches around the globe fulfilling the Great Commission at their fullest potential, and I believe that Who Moved My Pulpit is a great tool to help make that happen.

You can get your own copy of this great resource by clicking on the image above.  It will take you to a link where you can order a copy.

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Changes

One thing that is just to be expected in life is change. For many, this word can stir up many different emotions. For some, change is like a root canal. For others, it is an adventure that makes their mouth water. Depending on the change, I'm usually found in that second category. I don't mind change. I try to view change as an adventure and something to be conquered.

Our family is experiencing a great deal of changes at the current time. We are awaiting the arrival of our third son at any time. Each of our sons has brought about a great deal of change to our lives. We are eagerly expecting and anticipating the changes that will come with Cole (#3).

Another big change has to do with ministry. Today, I announced that I am stepping down as the Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama. My last day will be Sunday, August 14th. I have felt for some time that God was changing my heart. Since 1998, I have been involved in some form or fashion in student ministry. I have served as student ministry intern, part-time Youth Pastor, worked at the MS Baptist Children's Village, and full-time Youth Pastor. I have watched God do miraculous things in the lives of students for the better part of 13 years. The shift in my heart is from students to the entire church. I feel that God has equipped and gifted me to serve Him as a Senior Pastor of a local congregation.

This change that God is bringing about calls for a HUGE step of faith on my and my family's part. I know that for me to move forward in the direction of becoming a Senior Pastor that I have to finish something that I started in 2007: seminary (MDiv degree). I have about a year left since I was doing it through New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary via their extension centers. Our family will be moving to south Mississippi so that I can commute to the New Orleans campus full-time and finish out. The faith comes in trusting God to provide for our needs. After August 14th, I will not have income coming in. We are trusting that God will open up something soon. Also, anyone who has been to seminary knows, it ain't cheap. But as God guides, He provides. We feel that He has not only called our family to this, but He will also provide the needs. A verse that has really stood out to me over the past year is Hebrews 11:6

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

I firmly believe God's Word is true and trustworthy. As Christians, we are called to live by faith and not sight. I know that this doesn't mean to be wild with it. If we live our lives in the comfort of what we can do, we will miss the hand of God many times.

We have no idea what the days to come will look like. One thing's for sure though, it will be a ride! We ask that you keep our family in your prayers. I will be looking for opportunities to serve as I finish up seminary. If you know of a church that is looking for a pastor in the south Mississippi area, please contact me. If you would like to join with us in the phase of our ministry by helping with costs of school, please contact me directly and I will let you know how that can be arranged.

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To Change or Not To Change...

As we gear up for a new year of student ministry, we are looking many changes square in the face. We are looking at "tweaking" a good bit of the things that we do on a regular basis. I have always been one that is open to changing things as needed. The other day, I began to wonder if this mindset could actually be backed up by the Bible.

As my mind wondered and my fingers browsed the pages of Scripture, I came across some interesting things...

• In creation, God created man in a different manner than He created everything else (Genesis 2:7).


• There was only one ark (Genesis 6).


• There was only one burning bush (Exodus 3).


• There was only one disciple who walked on water, and they did it only once (Matthew 14:22-33).

One can easily see from Scripture that God has chosen to use unique ways to bring glory to Himself and do great things.  Why do we see something work once and believe that is the only way that it should be done until Jesus comes back?  The truth is that the ways that people communicate changes with the times.  Though the message of the cross shall never change, the methods that we use to get that message out have to change with the times.

How are you clearly getting the message of Jesus Christ out to those around you?

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A New Day Dawning

It's a great thing when you have a good team behind you with the same mind.  Today, I had a meeting with a group of parents in our church who help me plan some stuff for the student ministry.  In the baptist church, they are called the "youth ministry committee."  I call them a great group of parents.  In our meeting, I discussed some major changes that would be happening in the student ministry starting this fall.  If you have never tried to totally change something in a baptist church, I encourage all you thrill-seekers to try it sometime.

Here's the model of meeting times that we had:

• Sunday morning: Sunday School small groups and morning worship with adults.


• Sunday evening: worship with the adults


• Wednesday evening: youth worship

This is a very common model that is found in Southern Baptist churches (sadly).  As I met with the team, I asked them where was the time of discipleship and ministry?  We couldn't find either.  So we are looking at shaking things up a little so that we can do more effective student ministry.

• Sunday morning: Sunday School small groups & family worship


• Sunday evening: youth worship and outreach


• Wednesday evening: discipleship classes

I am very excited (as was the youth ministry team) with this new model.  I wonder if there are any youth pastors out there who have made this change and have any good tips to help with transition?

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