Salutations brethren,

Thanksgiving Day is a favorite of mine.  As an American, I know we have much for which to be thankful.  I think it’s wonderful that our country observes such a day, but it should serve as a reminder that for the follower of Jesus, every day should be a day where we give thanks to God.  If you are one of “those people” on Friday, I will pray for you.  I look forward to a couple of days off (during which I’ll write a sermon), but I am a bit nervous about what follows on my calendar.  We’ll have Hope Kitchen on Saturday, November 30.  Sunday afternoon, December 1, we will go to Heritage Apartments.  Monday evening, December 2, we will have our annual Firemen’s Supper.  Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon/evening, and Saturday, December 4/5/7, we will execute our location of the Toy Store.  Wednesday evening, December 4, will be a V.B.S. night for SONquest.  I eagerly await a nap on Sunday afternoon, December 8; from that point, I’ll have two-and-a-half weeks to get my shopping done.  Thankfully, things will calm down for me after December 8, because we will have Treat Night on December 18 and the Candle-light Service on Sunday evening, December 22.

Some of you may have a bit less ink spilled in your calendar than I do, but I feel confident that others of you have jam-packed schedules that are even fuller than mine.  Some of you know how much I love my ‘ba humbug’ hat; if you have your car radio tuned to 99.5fm WMAG, I can’t in good conscience ride with you, and the decor makes me break out in hives.  I am convinced that our culture makes things more stressful than they need to be.  Between special events, and extra chores, and heightened expectations, tensions run high.  Some people are at their worst during this time of the year – please don’t give anyone reason to think this of you.  For others, these are particularly hard days each year; hearts are heavy as we contemplate who isn’t at the dinner table this time around.  Let’s all take a deep breath, slow down where we can, so that we can treat one another with patience and grace.

As we pause, let’s also remember why we call these holy days (holi-days): because it’s during these days that we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of the Messiah.  If your decorations and sweaters and egg nog draw you to worship the Son, by all means, do it!  Is it possible, however, that simplifying things and toning down some of the trappings could free us up to consider giving God a bit more of our minds and hearts?  Let’s all work together to fight the temptations that cause the Lord Jesus to get lost in the fray of all the other stuff.  The Prophet Isaiah (9:6) was given a word about the Messiah: for unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.  Jesus was born, but the pre-existent eternal Son, the second person of the trinity, who became a human, was given…unto us.  Why?  So that He might live a sinless life, so that He might be uniquely qualified as an atoning sacrifice, so that He would lay down His life for our sin.  The Son was given…to die…for us.  As we consider the incarnation of the Son, let’s be moved to worship Him.  What about this season might cause you to be distracted from worshiping Him in spirit and truth?

O come, Desire of Nations, bind all peoples in one heart & mind;
bid envy, strife, & quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace,
--A.J.

Dear friends,

(If that expression is good enough for Jesus’ younger half-brother, as we read in the past month, it’s good enough for me!)  I write to you on Tuesday, October 29, and two Sundays ago we wrapped up a sermon series through the letter from Judas/Jude/Judah.  I thoroughly enjoyed that sermon series, and I hope you did too!  This-past Sunday, I began a brief (three-week; well, at this point I think it will be three Sundays; we never really know what God has in store) series reminding us of our mission statement and articulating a vision for our church moving forward.  As I articulated in the autumn of 2022, we want to lean into our values, while seeing what God would have us to see, so that we might go where God would have us to go.  I am NOT trying to reinvent anything this time around, simply keep these thoughts and principles from two years ago, fresh in our minds.  May we be sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, going where He would have us to go, getting there the way He would have us to get there.

As we think about this journey together, I am flooded with excitement.  As we bear back into standard time (where we belong year-long!!) and the temperatures lower, it warms my heart to get my long sleeves back out!  On the fourth Thursday of November, our country will observe Thanksgiving Day (and if you’re a civilized human being, you’ll wait until then to put up a tree and play “that” music!!).  Over the next 10 weeks or so, my calendar will be filled with family dinners and festive gatherings, lots of poultry and ham, and many a “seasonal greeting”.  As we greet one another, and visit, sharing stories and merry making, I am always reminded of how much I have for which to be thankful.  It is good that our great country observes a Thanksgiving Day, but I shouldn’t have to remind you, that for the follower of Jesus, every day ought be a day of thanks-giving.  A dear saint in our church family (who has gone on to be with Jesus) once told me that she didn’t like the hymn Count Your Blessings; she wasn’t able to count all of hers.  I told her “that’s the point, just start”.

We, as a church family, have much for which to be thankful.  We have, perhaps, the most handsome piece of property in Walnut Cove.  On it, we have a great facility, in great shape, that far exceeds our needs.  We are debt-free and have money in the bank.  Our greatest resource (as I am so often reminded) is that of “human capital”!  We have a great staff and volunteers, ministry leaders and committees, faithful servants of God, many of whom serve quietly below even my radar.  We have received about a dozen “yellow cards” since Easter, and guests continue to bless us with their presence.  We have a New Life Center teeming with little ones and staff, many of whose families have no church home.  We have a good reputation in this county, with many of our neighbors knowing us as “the church that feeds every body at the end of the month”.  We have relationships and partners in ministry, and opportunities to make profound Kingdom impact.

As God drives us to our knees in profound thankfulness, let’s seek His face together.  Let’s seek His will for our church in the days ahead.  Let’s pray that He will show us what He wants us to see, and let’s be willing to leverage every man-hour, and square foot of real estate, and every cent in the bank, and every networking relationship we have to see souls saved and lives changed.  We want every man, woman, and child in the southeastern quarter of Stokes County to see, hear, and respond to the Good News.  O, that we would begin to count our blessings, be thankful for them, and use them to bless others.  Above all, we are thankful to have a Good News.  A Good News of salvation in Jesus’ name; a message of His gracious love for us, bearing our sins, conquering death, and giving us eternal life in its place!  This News is Good indeed; good enough to tell, good enough that we want others to hear it!  Are we telling it?

Serve YHWH with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Enter His gates giving thanks and His courts with praise!
--A.J.

Happy New Year brethren!

I think it’s a great thing that North Carolina is a “swing state”, but I am growing exceedingly exhausted by the political advertisements on television, on our once-pretty road ways, even embedded within my pod casts!  I’m going to go [not too far] out on a limb and guess that you are growing weary of the coming election also.  I would like to kindly inform you that the dead line to register to vote in the coming federal election is Friday, October 11.  If you are eighteen years old, a citizen, and haven’t lost your right to vote as a criminal, PLEASE make sure you are registered to vote.  As citizens of God’s Kingdom, let’s be the best citizens this country has!

As if they haven’t been already, the coming month-and-change will be extremely divisive, public discourse will be toxic, and we will have 1,001 ways to greatly tarnish our Christian witness and taint the name of Jesus if we are not incredibly careful.  If you’ll allow me, I would like to encourage you to adopt my personal rules surrounding the up-coming election.  I have set these down for myself after much prayer, and I hope you find them to be written in a spirit of humility.  First, bite your tongue and avoid at all costs the temptation to say “I can’t believe a Christian would vote for X (candidate), Y (party), or Z (ballot measure, policy, etc.)!”  Good and godly spiritual siblings may have different understandings of particular issues, applications of God’s Word, or policy priorities.  Perhaps these spiritual siblings of ours are “younger brothers/sisters”; let’s not throw a stumbling block into the path of a fellow believer, regardless of how mature they may or may not be, besmirching them and condemning their opinion.  Second, let’s avoid assuming the worst about those with whom we do not agree.  Whether the person is a fellow believer or not, let’s practice Christian charity and avoid considering them A) stupid, or B) evil.  As an extension of this charity, let’s give everyone the benefit of the doubt and presume they genuinely want the betterment of our country and society.  Third, don’t take your opinion, or party, or candidate too seriously.  Be light hearted, good humored, and willing to concede points, acknowledging weaknesses in your own opinions, if you happen to be in a deep conversation about politics in the days ahead.  Fourth, if you “evangelize” a party or candidate this month, it could dilute your ability to practice genuine evangelism next month.  Remember Whose you are; take care before sullying His name, and hindering your own ability to witness (yes, this includes social media).  Fifth, maintain a biblical perspective.  Our hope is not of this world.  No one will go to heaven because the “good guy” wins in November; and even if the “bad guy” wins, God will still be on the throne.  Let’s join the Lord in the business of seeing souls saved and lives changed.  This will help us fight the temptation to view anyone or anything as a savior of anything, besides Jesus.

If you are like me, and really want to just stay home on November 05, let me remind you that local and state races tend to impact our lives more than the results of the presidential election or the Congress.  So even if you write in Jim Cohn for president, please vote for the races down the ballot.  Take a day, educate yourself about the races and the candidates, pray over these decisions, and honestly strive to honor God when you cast your ballot.  I don’t expect you all to be as big a “pin head” as I am; not everyone holds a public policy degree (from the greatest university in the history of the world!!) and nerds out the way I do about this stuff.  Neither do I expect you to value each of these things in the same way I do, but consider the following issues as you think through the complexities of your decision-making.  These are my personal top-five most important issues (in no particular order).

When I think about policies in our state or country, I always consider religious liberty as articulated in Amendment I of the [federal] Constitution.  In the age of “anti-discrimination” legislation, these kinds of regulations and rules are often thinly-veiled attempts (by people who have worldly, rather than biblical, views of gender and sexuality) to target Christians (or people of other religious convictions) from practicing our faith freely.

I also consider issues affecting the dignity of life.  I could write whole news-letter articles about these.  Though I don’t worry about things in North Carolina as Christians should in other states, physician-assisted suicide strikes at the heart of humans being made in the image of God.  I also think followers of Jesus should hope for, pray for, and work toward saving every not-yet-born baby we can, and their mothers, most of whom have not even been enlightened enough to consider abortion to be the killing of a human being.

An extension of this series of issues are those involving gender identity.  I don’t think it’s wise for us to allow (never mind promote or encourage or celebrate) children to do grave harm to their own bodies.  In several states, parents have had their rights stripped away because they would rather affirm who God made their child to be.  I pray that our officials, elected and otherwise, will work to protect children, and support parents.
 
I would not have even considered this issue twelve months ago, but over the past fifty-one weeks, I have given much consideration to our country’s foreign policy.  I unapologetically support the right of the Jewish people to have a piece of real estate somewhere to call their own.  Israel (the modern country) is the toe-hold of western civilization in a region of the globe marked by tyranny.  If our political leaders are wise, they will not try to restrain Israel from exercising its right to defend itself.  We’d also be wise to project strength, and a willingness to defend the defenseless.  When the United States displays weakness, tyranny advances, and people around the world suffer.

When I consider electing officials to represent and serve me, I also must consider their character.  Are they honest?  Do they have convictions and principles?  Do they look remotely like Jesus (very few ever have)?  Would they honor God in what they do, and how they do it?  Do they genuinely have our best interest at heart?  Do they have any inkling of humility?  Do they seem to cultivate trust and loyalty?

If you, as I am, are exhausted by political discourse and disgusted by the hatred and slander of the public square, be encouraged.  I write this not to divide us or spark debate.  I write this not to unify us around a candidate or party.  I write this to rise above the fray, maintaining perspective, and uniting us around King Jesus!  Let’s vote, despite the pitiful options we have, because as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we’re the best citizens this country has.  Let’s pray for our country, and her leaders (whether or not they are the ones we supported).  Let’s pray for the people across this great land, that souls might be saved, lives might be changed, and human flourishing might be promoted.  Let’s pray for a great revival of the Church and spiritual awakening of the lost.

America, America, God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law,
--A.J.

Greetings First Baptist Church!

September is the final month of our fiscal year.  Several different bodies have been working in recent weeks to pray, and do math, and prepare, and conscript, and draft proposals that will be put before you for consideration this month.  On the third Wednesday evening of this month, we will have the annual Business Conference where we will vote upon a proposed budget and a proposed list of committees/officers among other things.  Our ministry leaders are considering dollars left in current line items that we can invest now as we plan for the coming year.  It’s the time of year where certain committees and work groups, and us here around the Office, work strategically to finish the year well and gear up to begin the new year in October.  In our church’s life cycle, this is a natural time each year to look forward, and to look backward.

Couple this with the fact that it’s the second Sunday of September each year when we hold a home-coming celebration.  This naturally allows us to reflect on days gone by, and ponder what the days ahead might hold.  I may not be as nostalgic as others of you, but as you read a couple of months ago, I can be sentimental, occasionally.  As you read, I have pretty clear understanding of where our church has come from over the past fifteen years, but many of you have much greater clarity than me as to where we have come from over the past two or three generations.

In February 2024, our church became 133 years old (boy, we look fantastic to be that age)!  A [very] few of you may remember the days before the ministry of Rev. J.M. Johnson, Sr., but a majority of our “baby boomers” recall Johnson from their childhood days.  It seems to me [and Jim Cohn, I think] that for two generations now, the plumb-line of pastoral ministry in this church is measured against that of “Preacher Johnson”.  Many of you were baptized by him; several of you had him to officiate your wedding.  What a faithful servant of God he was.  My hope is that fifty years from now, someone views a period of time while I get to be here the same way many of us view the period of time under Pastor Johnson’s leadership.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Rev. Johnson.  I have, however, had the great honor of meeting Robert Glasgow and Roger Dobbins.  Neither of these men served here a terribly long time, but they both had a tremendous impact within our church family, and maintain a lasting legacy from the 1970s through today!  I am thankful for the faithful witness of these two gentlemen, and I know many of you are thankful in a way far greater than me.  Sadly, I never got to meet Sydney Goldfinch, but many of you have told me time and time again of how he brought a missionary heart to our pulpit.  Not only did he preach the Great Commission; he put feet to pavement here in Walnut Cove and lived out the Commission.  Aren’t we thankful for such a standard bearer of missions and evangelism within our church’s history?

I am so thankful that last year’s home-coming got to be a day of great reunion with Rev. William Fryar, Sr.!  I knew Bill’s impact within our church family was wide and deep, but I didn’t appreciate until last year the season of prolonged growth that Bill led may be eclipsed only by the “boom” Rev. Johnson saw through the 1950s and 1960s.  Bill served us for fifteen years; three of those (only 20%), we were blessed by the ministry of William Watson.  Will served in both our music and student ministries.  We could probably debate in which one he did a greater job, but no one would dare argue against his profound talent.  He is unquestionably a gifted musician, and the youth group under his charge was as vibrant as our church has ever seen!  Again, he was only here with us from 2001 to 2004, but we are still feeling the effects of his great work.  I am so excited to have him come back home, twenty years later, to share a sweet day of reunion with us.  I’m not sure who is more excited, him or me!

I needn’t tell you of the deep affection and respect I have for Rev. James Cohn.  By the time you calculate his eleven years of full-time ministry here, and then add the three years and change of previous part-time service, only Preacher Johnson and Bill Fryar have lengthier tenures within our church.  Many of you can tell the story better than I can, but as I attempted to write a couple of months ago, I am so grateful to God for the way He has blessed our church over the past decade-and-a-half.  Knowing what I know about the 50 or 60 or 70 years before that, I believe we as a church have a lot for which to be thankful.  I can’t imagine how our church family looked, or sounded, or felt like 133 years ago, but I know that they were loved and saved by the same Jesus who loves and saves us today.  I know that our spiritual fore-fathers read the same bible we do, they experienced the same grace we experience, they worshiped the same Lord that we do, and they carried the same Good News to their neighbors in the same county in which we carry the Good News to our neighbors today!  Though many things have changed within our church family over 133 years, many things have not.  I dare say, the most important things have not changed at all.  As I wonder what Walnut Cove will look like another 133 years from now, I am convinced that the rapture will have taken place, that First Baptist Church and all the others will have already been snatched away from this world; but, should God see fit to leave us, or our spiritual great-great-grandchildren here, I am confident that they too will be saved by Jesus, experiencing His love and grace, reading the same Word of God, worshiping just as we worship today, and faithfully carrying the same Good News to their neighbors!  As we slow down to look backward and reflect, let’s also close our eyes and imagine the days yet to come.  Aren’t we thankful that we have been saved by a God that is the same: yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Forever He is faithful, forever He is strong,
forever God is with us, forever and ever; His love endures forever,
--A.J.

Hello again brethren,

I write this, a month late, to inform you about the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Perhaps you saw some headlines in secular press relaying what took place during the Convention.  Just assume they were over-blown and written in a way to stir up controversy.  I’ll address the two top attention-getters as I go, but let me first tell you a bit about what the S.B.C. is, and isn’t.

First, as I always remind us, we are an independent/autonomous church.  We answer to no higher organizational body; we strive to be as faithful to God’s Word as we can be, and He alone has the authority to tell our church what to do, or not do.  We choose to affiliate with the Triad Church Network (formerly called the Pilot Mountain Baptist Association), the Baptist State Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention, among other networks of churches.  It is perfectly within our right to disaffiliate from any or all of the above.  It is also within our right, as partnering churches, to help these organizations articulate where the boundary lines belong, defining what the organization is and believes.  As we discussed back in the winter, walking through the Baptist Faith & Message document on Wednesday evenings, there are areas of doctrine where the historic Baptist tradition is fairly narrow (I used the term “distinctives”) and others where we have a rather broad orthodox theological conviction (for example: salvation – many churches are more “reformed” than ours, many others are more “Arminian”).  There is a great diversity of opinion within our conventions on the doctrines of the end times; not only do different churches teach different things, many people within the same church have different interpretations of biblical passages.  Most theological scholars agree that end times doctrines are “third tier” issues.  With respect to these boundary lines, I often use the term “tent stakes” to refer to where we place these.  Pastor Jim and I both believe that if we are to err [as organizations] we should err on the side of having a “big tent” to accommodate churches of different convictions on all “tier three” issues, and even some “tier two” issues.  However, we both believe that if a church is straying from biblical fidelity, the associations of churches have a right, and even an obligation, to correct the unfaithfulness.  We should lovingly and humbly confront the teaching, ask the church to clarify doctrine, and only after a church remains obstinate, the churches collectively can decide together that the church in question is no longer within “our tent”, praying that God would bless its ministry efforts as it goes its own way.  In 2023, several churches (13 I think off the top of my head) were deemed to be “not in friendly cooperation” with the S.B.C.

In 2024, we voted by super-majority to view the First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia as “not in friendly cooperation”.  I have a fourth-hand connection to the pastor of that church (which I’ll explain later), but not only do they have divergent views upon the biblical office of pastor/elder/overseer, they have been actively teaching and advocating for highly-questionable views of human sexuality and gender identity.  Join me in praying that this church will return its attention to teaching God’s Word faithfully, and that God will bless that church in its ministry efforts going forward.

Second, and speaking of divergent views upon the biblical office of pastor/elder/overseer, most on-lookers probably agree that the biggest head-line going into the Convention meeting was a vote upon a proposed amendment to the by-laws.  After much reading and prayer, Pastor Jim and I voted against the proposal.  There were several reasons for our decisions, probably the most influential was that the wording of the proposal was subject to interpretation, and could have been used to unfairly target whole groups of churches, questioning the “friendliness” of their cooperation.  The second most important decision of the Convention was the election of our officers, specifically our President.  I am happy to report to you that North Carolina’s own Clint Pressley was elected from a third ballot.  This did not get much attention from out-siders in the press, but Pastor Jim was impressed at my prophetic abilities throughout the Convention!

Third, I shall address the other attention-getting issue in the secular press.  Many ignorant head-lines read that the Southern Baptist Convention is against in-vitro fertilization (“IVF”).  Some individuals may be, and some churches (I don’t know of any) may preach against it.  To be clear, the churches, the collective organization, nor individuals within the Convention are against IVF.  We did pass a resolution (not overwhelmingly) that affirmed the dignity and value of human life in any form, including embryos, including those in-vitro (in glass) or frozen.  That resolution affirmed the beauty of medical treatments that have allowed infertile, or even previously-deemed sterile, couples to conceive and bear children.  It also cautioned wise Christians to carefully consider medical and scientific procedures that are morally questionable.  I am not a huge fan of resolutions in general, and I especially dislike when they are used to be divisive, but this one is carefully worded, and I commend for you to read it carefully before having really strong opinions about it.  It is also worth mentioning that resolutions are not binding in any way, and have a minimal substantive value within our Convention.

Fourth, after we finish our mid-week Bible Study series in the book of Leviticus, we will take at least two Wednesday evenings to discuss the Southern Baptist Convention.  One will be a report from me (and I fully intend to fill you in on SOME of the fun Pastor Jim and I had along the way); the second will be an opportunity for questions and answers.  A possible third Wednesday may evolve into a discussion of how (or if) these questions apply within our church family.

Fifth, and finally, I want to high-light a few things that got no press attention what so ever.  Despite the best efforts of secular pundits, and a few extreme (generally right-wing) “grenade throwers” (my term to Pastor Jim) within “the tent”, there was a great lack of discord and argument.  The Convention meeting had a great spirit of unity and kinship.  It was so much like a family reunion, the love and communal mission we share seemed to bond everyone together.  Our stellar President, Dr. Bart Barber, influenced this tone through his leadership.  His graciousness, poise, integrity, and humility have in my mind set the new standard for what the President ought to be and do.  I was amazed at the people I saw hugging and shaking hands that frequently get into online debates and quarrels.  If you are wondering: “why does this matter?”  This unity of commitment to God’s Word and the Great Commission was manifest most clearly by the sending of missionaries.  The International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board (respectively, the beneficiaries of our Lottie Moon Offering and Annie Armstrong Offering dollars) commissioned men, [even more] women, and couples out to the field.  Many of these had to stand behind a screen such that we could only see their silhouettes as they introduced themselves and requested prayer.  Several more had to have someone else read their paragraph because they can’t afford to have an audio recording of their voices.  This is for security reasons, because they are being commissioned to nations and lands where it is illegal to evangelize because it’s illegal for citizens to become Christians.  These precious saints of God are going to the ends of the earth where “Jesus” has never been heard.  They are fully funded, thoroughly vetted, and highly trained by the world’s best seminaries.  It would take nearly our church’s whole budget to send one couple to a far corner of the globe in this way, but collectively, we (a Convention of churches) can pool our resources and accomplish so much more together.  If there is a single reason why we should be part of the Southern Baptist Convention, this is it.  I am thankful that churches, many of which are significantly smaller than ours, can band together and accomplish this kind of profound missions effort.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  It is a great encouragement that we have like-minded brothers and sisters in other rows of the mission field all plowing in the same direction we are; to God be the glory!

praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
--A.J.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I write to you on Monday, June 24, and I am thoroughly de-railing my plan for this monthly article.  I was going to write an article with some take-away thoughts from the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention two weeks ago.  That shall wait another month, because I simply must pause and write a note of thanks to you for your kindness to me and my family.

I will not list any names here, for fear of leaving out anyone whose name should be listed, but from the one who conceived the scheme, to the Deacons who gave a “green light”, to the kitchen/social committee, to all those who prepared food in their homes, to all those who put the Fellowship Hall back together and carried out the garbage, to everyone who bank-rolled a gift certificate, to those who wrote a personal card to me, to those who kept me in the dark about inviting my family members and personal friends: thank you, a thousand times, thank you!  More importantly, to those (some of whom are in the physical presence of Jesus now) who have loved and encouraged and supported and graciously rebuked and biblically challenged and prayed for me over the past fifteen years: I thank God for your ministry to me and your Good News partnership!

While I was glad-handing and hugging folks in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, some of you didn’t realize my whole story over the past decade and a half.  I want to take a few moments in this article to high-light a few of the reasons why I have been so reflective, grateful, and frankly, over-whelmed by emotion the past few days.

On Sunday, May 10, 2009, I graduated from the greatest university in the history of the world.  After spending a week with friends at the coast, I returned home to Greensboro the following weekend.  Monday, May 18, I drove to Walnut Cove and met Randy Wood in the parking lot outside the Office.  He brought me into the building and introduced me to Kristal Vance (our then Secretary).  Since we were without a pastor at that time, they invited me to put my stuff in the Pastors’ Study.  I was charged to serve as the interim Youth Director; I already had plans to move to Raleigh in August and begin seminary.  Since we didn’t have a pastor, I was given the opportunity to preach a few times, I was asked to visit the hospital, and even participate in a few funerals.  After several outings, a beach retreat, and trying to figure out how to teach the bible, I had fallen in love with your middle and high school students.  Miraculously, some of them, and even a few of their parents, had grown to like and trust me.

In August, Tanya Smith, Diane Oakley, Sherry Shelton, and whoever else was on that committee that hired me [it’s their fault!] asked me to remain on staff part-time through the school year in a more permanent capacity.  Just thankful for the opportunity, I was quick to agree.  By the spring of 2010, I had the awesome privilege of walking with Anita B. Mabe through her cancer journey, right up until she met Jesus face-to-face.  That process had thoroughly cemented my affection for this church.  At the same time, to say our church family was going through a difficult time is a bit of an under-statement.  What I describe as a three-way split through our church deeply grieved me, and I believe it grieved God.  The church, Daniel Jarvis (our then Minister of Music), and I were in a bit of a Mexican stand-off.  He and I both had resignation letters written, but God made very clear to me during that season that “I have put you here to serve, and I haven’t moved you anywhere else yet.”  We all experienced an abundance of God’s grace during that season, and He did what only He could do: bring peace, healing, forgiveness, and love.  To have a front-pew seat to that work of God still blows my mind today.

Many of you know this story, but some may not.  From the fall of 2010 into 2011, I got pretty sick.  I was having gastro-intestinal issues that doctors struggled to figure out; I lost about 60 pounds over about eight months.  Other than the hair-loss and the dental issues, it was the best I’ve ever looked!  Because there were no stones, it took what felt like forever to diagnose that I had gall bladder problems.  Finally, in June 2011, it was surgically removed.  The stresses of church issues, graduate school, and medical stuff, had taken its toll upon me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Now, only by looking in the rear-view, I am flooded with emotion because I can see the hand of God where I couldn’t see it in real time.  He is more faithful to us than we might give Him credit for in the moment.
 
By 2012, y’all saw fit to ordain me as a pastor/elder/overseer.  By the end of 2012, I was finally able to land the plane of seminary.  By the spring of 2013, for whatever reason, you elected to bring me on full-time as your Associate Pastor.  In the fall of 2015, our dear friend Daniel Jarvis moved to Wake County to teach at a new school, forcing him to give up service within our church.  At that point, I took off my student ministry “hat”, exchanging it for music.

Another story that many of you may not know, in 2016, a dear friend to Pastor Jim and me, who serves a larger church elsewhere in the state tried to actively poach me onto his staff.  I struggled mightily with this decision, because I refused to choose anyone over Pastor Jim.  He, in a way that only he can do, sat me down and said ‘hello!  This is God’s church; not yours; not mine.  You go where He calls you to be, and He will take care of His church!’  As I continued to wrestle with such a decision, another friend of ours spoke wisdom into the situation: “maybe, God isn’t calling you to go anywhere; maybe, He’s checking to see if you’re willing to say “yes” when He does call you to go elsewhere.”  Yet again, God was gracious.  He finally settled my heart with that peace, surpassing all understanding, knowing that I was where He wanted me to be.  Again in the beginning of 2017, I struggled hard whether to remain here or take an opportunity to participate in international missions by moving to Hungary.  Very few of you will ever know how close I came to leaving the country at that point, but God engineered circumstances, closed a door, and reminded me the value of faithfulness.
 
By 2018, Pastor Jim and I were talking very seriously about a transition plan.  He was looking pretty hard at 2020 as a retirement date.  I need not remind any of us why that date came and went, delaying our plans (haha, the schemes of man…).  Mark me: if God calls me away tomorrow, I’ll be kicking and screaming to be sure, but I very much hope that I’ll have the faith to answer “yes Sir”.  However, if God sees fit to leave me here, then right here is where I shall remain.  I told someone Sunday afternoon: “here’s to fifteen more!”

I am profoundly thankful to Daniel Jarvis, my brother-in-arms during that two-year period where “the Colonel” was away.  Words can’t express how grateful I am to Pastor Jim for his leadership of our church, and me personally.  I have been keenly aware in recent days of fellow parts of our staff, folks who have served on committees, tent mates on mission trips, kids who have yielded their lives to the lordship of Jesus, card writers, and people who have called me just to give a word of encouragement.  You, saints of God, have been a tremendous blessing to me.  I’ll never be able to properly thank you.  First Baptist Church (many of whom are now in heaven) has been God’s greatest gift to me in the last fifteen years.  We’ve ridden the roller coaster together, but I look forward to what He will do in our midst in the days ahead.  All my life, He has been faithful.  All my life, He has been so, so good…

Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
--A.J.

Dear fellow follower of Jesus,

Are we disciples, or do we just claim to be disciples?  Better yet, assuming we are one, are we the disciple we claim to be?  It’s deja vu (“all over again”, in the words of Lorenzo P. Berra); and this may be the only time I’ll ever use a French term in a news-letter article.  Yes, the first two sentences above were the same first two sentences as my most recent article.  Please go back and read it if you haven’t yet.  Reading it is imperative because it defines “disciple”, and if we’re ever going to answer these questions honestly, we must understand what a true follower of Jesus is.

Are you a disciple of Jesus?

Really?

If you’re wrestling around with your answer to this question, PLEASE come see me.  We want everyone to know Jesus as their Lord, and we want everyone to know that they know that they know that they know Jesus.  We want everyone struggling with this question to experience the assurance of salvation we find in I John.

Now, I shall assume everyone still reading claims to be a follower of Jesus.  At the same time, I shall assume that none of us are the follower we claim to be.  We can all stand to look more like Jesus than we do today.  Praise God we all look a bit more like Jesus that we did “yesterday”; but by His grace, we can all look a bit more like Jesus “tomorrow” than we do today.

Sunday, May 05, 2024, you likely heard the most passionate and brilliant and stirring sermon you’ve ever heard (I know, I can be more humble tomorrow, and every day there after, than I am today).  In that sermon, from the Great Commission (Matthew 28:11-20), I said that if we aren’t making disciples, we aren’t really being disciples at all.  So, since you claim to be “in line”, with Jesus as our “line leader”, who else are you working to get to join the “line” along with us?

Last summer, I preached a sermon series [that literally came out of a box from the North American Mission Board] entitled “Who’s Your One?”, during which I challenged us all to find ONE person who is near to us and far from God.  Who is your ONE, and what are you doing to point this person toward a relationship with Jesus?  By praying for our ONE, and living with intentionality as we have a relationship with them, we will naturally live on mission all day, every day.  We will naturally think evangelistically as we go through our mundane tasks and chores.  By praying for our ONE, God will open our eyes to see others, at the grocery store, or in our family, or at the bank, who may not know Jesus.  By living, intentionally pointing our ONE toward Jesus, a side effect will be that we naturally point every one toward Jesus.  By loving and serving our ONE, earning their trust, equipping ourselves to have [potentially awkward] conversations about spiritual things, and treating them with profound hospitality, will begin to treat all our neighbors with the same intention.

In that “Who’s Your One?” sermon series, I gave you three challenges.  I reissued those challenges on May 05.  I remind you of those challenges again here.  1) Invite a family into your home, where someone in your family shares his/her story.  This can be a new neighbor; this could even be a family within our church family that you don’t yet know well.  If not directly evangelistic, this could simply be an exercise in hospitality, and a willful attempt to “grease the skids” taking relationships to the next level.

2) Invite someone to share a one-on-one meal, where you share your testimony.  We have tools to strengthen your ability and comfort level in sharing your personal testimony.  Come see me and I will give these to you.  It could be a full-blown meal; it could be a drink at Oma’s.  Sit down, one-on-one with someone who you believe may not know Jesus, and have the courage to converse about [potentially awkward] spiritual things.  It could be your ONE, it could be a “guinea pig” that’s less intimidating than your ONE.  If you don’t have a relationship like this with someone who is [probably, you believe] lost, then you need to build this kind of relationship with someone unchurched.

3) Invite someone to church, to worship alongside you.  DO NOT invite someone that is part of another church family.  We don’t poach sheep from other flocks.  Do invite someone that fallen out of a church family (perhaps our own church family).  Do invite someone for whom church would be an alien experience, a co-worker perhaps, or even someone in your family.  If you think our church family isn’t welcoming enough, or if you fear that our church might not be gracious toward your ONE [or any other neighbor of yours], come see me.  We need your insights as we work to improve our first impressions.  Whether you can commit to serving on such a team, we need your wisdom, your heart, and your input.

So, are you like me?  Have your toes been thoroughly stepped on by these challenges?  Do you feel convicted that you aren’t living on mission very well?  Do you struggle to identify your ONE?  Do you go, and make no efforts to make disciples?  Are you not the disciple you claim to be?

Welcome to the club.  Let’s do better.  Aren’t we thankful for the grace of God?  Don’t we want others to experience this grace too?  We have a Good News worth proclaiming; now let’s get to proclaiming it!

That sinners be converted, and Thy name glorified,
--A.J.

Dear fellow disciple of Jesus,

Are we disciples, or do we just claim to be disciples?  Better yet, assuming we are one, are we the disciple we claim to be?  Before we can ponder these questions: what is a disciple?  A disciple, put simply, is a follower.  Dare I say, we’re all disciples of someone, or perhaps, something; but disciples of Jesus are those who follow Him.  I’m not talking about the Disciples (note the capital D); there were twelve of those, and that number is fixed in the New Testament.  That Testament calls us to all be [lower-case D] disciples of Jesus.  So, what does it mean to follow Jesus?

Do we follow Jesus across Galilee and through Judea?  In a metaphorical sense, yes.  Let’s read “Matthew”, “Mark”, “Luke”, and “John”.  Let’s see where He went, and what He did.  Let’s appreciate the people with whom Jesus came into contact.  By reading the words of the New Testament, and much of the Old, we have a clearer understanding of where Jesus went and what He did.  As we read and study scripture, we are seeing the steps of Jesus, and through the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit, we super-naturally follow in those steps of His.  Being “conformed into the image of Jesus” is the language the Apostle Paul uses.  As we are, we are more faithfully following Him.
 
Do we follow Jesus in the way we treat others?  Absolutely we do!  The Apostle Paul calls us to practice humility, and to put others’ needs ahead of our own (Philippians 2:3).  As he calls us to this action, this way to treat other people, he grounds this action in the actions of Jesus, claiming that He is the ultimate example/embodiment of humility.

Do we follow Jesus to Calvary’s cross?  Well, no…and yes.  Can we do for ourselves, or anyone else, what Jesus did for us?  Emphatically, NO!  Can we accomplish, or replicate, or extend God’s mercy beyond what Jesus did in about six hours that Friday two millennia ago?  We most certainly canNOT.  Can we follow Jesus’ example of self-less love?  Can we practice sacrifice for the benefit of others?  Yes, we can!  Again, rooting this call in Philippians 2, we know that Jesus’ work is an example for us to follow.  Knowing what we know from the beginning of this paragraph, how then can we do what Jesus did?  By the time we get down to verse 17 of Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul tells the church of Philippi (and us) that he is being poured out as a drink offering.  In other words, Paul’s personal sacrifice wasn’t sufficient for the atonement of sin, but it was a supplement to the atoning sacrifice.  As we see in Leviticus, a drink offering is a supplement to the sin offering.  We too, like Paul, can practice a self-less, loving service to others that is a supplement to Jesus’ work of salvation.

To be clear, not a soul is saved because of anything I have done, or am doing, or will do, or might do; souls are only saved because of what Jesus has done.  I however, can bring more souls to Him.  I can be salt and light, as Jesus calls disciples to be in His sermon upon the mount, as Matthew recorded.  I can be, as the Apostle Paul calls the Church to be, the hands and feet (or spleen) of the Body of Christ.  We, never as well as Jesus did, can give of ourselves.  We can lay down our lives, metaphorically or perhaps literally one day, in service of others.  We can give, and go, and teach, and bless, and pray for, and pray with, and feed, and clothe, and shelter others.  How willing are we to do these things?  How willing are we to practice sacrificial, self-less love?

We’ll pick up on this thought next month, but I send you back to the beginning of this article, and its first two questions.  Are we disciples, or do we just claim to be?  If, in fact, we are followers: are we the followers we claim to be?

Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child (& forever) I am!
--A.J.

There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day,
and there may I – though vile as he – wash all my sins away.

This precious old hymn has haunted me for a few weeks now.  I write this article the Tuesday evening before Resurrection Sunday.  In my preparation for Easter, over the past month, I have studied several passages of scripture.  Some I have preached, others I haven’t.  As I have pondered the resurrection, I’ve studied its nature, its implications, and its value in making the Good News good.  I hadn’t planned to preach about the criminal upon the cross next to Jesus’, until about a week ahead.  I knew that on Palm Sunday, I would look at the cross, but about ten days prior, the Holy Spirit drew me to Luke’s account and the two criminals between whom Jesus died.

For years now, Pastor Jim has gotten a kick out of me using the expression “bloody Sunday” to describe worship services where we sing multiple blood songs.  March 24 was one of those Sundays.  I have always wondered ‘what would a person who had never been to church think if they walked in today and heard us singing all these songs about blood?’  In wisdom, we’d do well to mention the significance of this metaphor as a beautiful picture of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.  I don’t particularly want to bathe in Jesus’ blood; I certainly don’t want your blood on me.  This rather gross image is helpful for us to see more clearly what salvation is all about.  Jesus’ work, including losing blood, leading up to and during His time experiencing crucifixion, is a work of ugliness and shame.  Because of His own sinlessness, He was uniquely qualified to serve as a propitiating sacrifice, offering atonement to sinners.  For those of us that accept this atonement, God’s Word tells us that we are made clean from our own sin.  This “washing” is a beautiful picture.  We get an image of this “washing” in the practice of baptism, but to close our eyes and imagine a fountain of Jesus’ blood is a jarring thought.

From the day I decided to focus my preaching efforts upon the criminals in Luke’s narrative, the second stanza of “There Is a Fountain” simply would not get out of my mind.  I worked Sunday to make very clear how that “thief” was saved, but not because of anything he did or said.  He was saved, as we are saved, because he threw himself upon the mercy of Jesus.  The odds that these hardened criminals had committed murder are pretty good, and when we consider this, it makes sense that he deserved an eternity in hell paying for his own sin.  Before we think, however, that we are in any way better than him, let’s acknowledge that we too, deserve an eternity in hell paying for our sin too.  Aren’t you thankful that the merciful Jesus who said “verily I tell you, today you’ll be with me in paradise” to that criminal is the same Jesus who goes to prepare a place for us, pouring out the same mercy?  I am no less vile than that violent criminal who freely confessed that he deserved his crucifixion.  Just as he rejoiced to see that mercy in his day, may we experience the cleansing of that blood fountain, having our sin washed away!

I have spent the past month pondering my own sin and death.  If you’re like me, perhaps you have difficulty letting go of the shame and guilt of your own sin.  I am also increasingly aware that many of our neighbors struggle to come to faith and accept Jesus’ mercy because they somehow feel “not good enough”.  We live in a world of profound brokenness, with profoundly broken people, and we must hold fast to the Good News of salvation.  We must be the carriers of this News that our broken neighbors so desperately need us to be!  We must also be heartened by the truth that if that “thief” could be saved by Jesus, we can be too!  The message of the resurrection is this: sin and death has been conquered once and for all.  Isn’t it sweet to know that Jesus has put our sin to death, and given us eternal life in its place?  He experienced the shame so that we don’t have to.  He bore the wrath, so that our guilt might be expunged and we might be credited with His righteousness!  This truth is what makes the News good!  Do you know someone who needs this hope?  Are you carrying the Good News to them as God calls us to do?  Do you want other broken “thieves” to experience paradise along with us?  O sing hallelujah; our hope springs eternal!

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save!!
--A.J.

Hosanna! blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!

For those who were present for our Wednesday evening study on February 14, you may recall that our more liturgical brethren (brothers & sisters) commemorated Ash Wednesday that day.  I told those of you that evening that when I hear “lent” (you can’t hear the E), I remember to check the filter on the clothes dryer.  Those of you who were raised Catholic, or Lutheran, or Anglican/Methodist, or even some Presbyterians, you may be familiar with giving up something [a vice, or a luxury] for the lenten season.  Of course, the point isn’t so much to give up a thing, but to replace that thing with meditation/prayer.  As we spend time praying and meditating upon the Word of God, it’s as though we are taking a metaphorical Q-tip and clearing our “ears” of distractions such that we might better hear from God and allow Him to draw near to us, revealing Himself in new ways.  Why?  So that we can prepare our hearts for Easter.

Lent is supposed to reflect the forty days when Jesus fasted in the wilderness, during which Satan tempted Jesus.  Though there certainly is merit in fasting for an extended period of time, whether from food or some other thing, I’ve never really given up a luxury or a vice for a season to commemorate lent.  However, I do believe that it is a wonderful thing to have seasons of preparation.  Though certainly not as culturally pronounced as Christmas (which is probably a good thing), it’s a good thing to take time to prepare ourselves for Resurrection Sunday!

The Festival [or Feast] of the Resurrection, as it was called in the early Church was, and should be today, a time of profound celebration!  Of all the days we have a reason to party, it ought to be the day when King Jesus conquered sin and death!  Before we can rightly appreciate this victory, however, we must also appreciate the death and the sin our Lord defeated.  As we approach Resurrection Sunday, let’s all, together, allow God to prepare our hearts.

On Sunday mornings, we are going to hear about what the resurrection did, what it means for us, what the implications of it are, and how we can live because of it!  On Wednesday evenings, beginning February 28, we are going to take a look at the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to see what the Disciples saw in the week prior to Jesus’ resurrection.  (For those asking, we will return to our study of systematic theology in the summer.)  As we prepare corporately for Resurrection Sunday, let me also challenge us all to prepare ourselves privately.  Pray.  Ask God to show up.  Ask Him to strengthen your resolve to set aside distractions from your heart (internal) and life (external) so that you can be better focused upon Him.  Ask Him to reveal Himself to you, to your family, in new ways.  Praise Him for who He is.  Repent.  Thank Him for what He has done.  Ask Him to speak to you this year, about your sin, your death, and His victory.  As you pray, meditate upon His Word.  Read our Sunday passages; read our Wednesday evening passages.  Read something else; read anything in your bible!  As we pray for Him to speak, and as we read His Word, He'll speak.  Will we listen?

Perhaps you can take a lesson from our liturgical brethren, and give up something specific in your home, or in your life as you prepare yourself.  As I challenge you to prepare your heart, be encouraged.  As we press in to a closer relationship with God, He will naturally reveal His own holiness.  We will naturally be made aware that we are unholy.  As He speaks, if we are listening, He’ll reveal new areas of sin we didn’t even know were there.  As we repent of these, the Holy Spirit is sanctifying us, and we are growing in spiritual maturity.  As He speaks more, if we are listening, we’ll become acutely aware of our sins, and we’ll become acutely aware of what we deserve: death…separation…eternal death…eternal separation…separation from God…hell.

As we allow Him to prepare our hearts, our church will be learning just what, exactly, Jesus did go through as He passed around the cup saying “this is my blood”, as He prayed [for us] in the garden, as He pleaded “let this cup pass from me” with the Father, as He was arrested, as He stood “trial”, as He was beaten and mocked and beaten some more, as He was sentenced, as He was crucified, and as He died.  Again, as I challenge us to prepare our hearts, be encouraged!  Don’t we feel encouraged yet?

Well in reading the past two paragraphs, assuming we have properly pondered the words, we aren’t naturally encouraged.  In fact, we’re probably quite discouraged.  Good.  Now we have come to grips with sin and with death.  Read these paragraphs over and over between now and Resurrection Sunday.  Why?  Because if we are ever going to appreciate the resurrection, we must appreciate what – exactly – He defeated: sin, and death; our sin, and our death!  Are you encouraged yet?  Are you ready to party?  No, you’re not.  I’m not either, but if we take days ahead to sit in these truths (no, not read them in twenty minutes, but ponder them for a half-hour, or a full hour, every day), over the next several weeks, we’ll have stewed in the richness of the mercy of Jesus.  Then, perhaps, we’ll really be ready to party!  Prepare our hearts.  Where’s your Q-tip?

O sing hallelujah! our hope springs eternal o sing hallelujah!
Now, and ever, we confess:
Christ our hope, in life, and death!
--A.J.