One of the biggest blessings of my life is the opportunity to preach the Word on a weekly basis. I am so thankful for the pulpit ministry that the Lord has given to me. I was just telling somebody earlier today how much I enjoy preaching at Parkview. Years ago (about 20) I heard a pastor talk about the responsibility of the listener when it came to preaching. I can’t say I remember any specific quote or saying from his message but the overarching theme has stuck with me. In the message the speaker shared about the responsibility that the listener has to listen and about how listening is actively engaging in the preaching of the sermon. In light of that sermon I heard, I would like to share some thoughts with you about how you can help me preach the sermon:

• Let God speak to you during the week through His Word
• Before you come to church pray that God will speak to your heart
• Bring your Bible (a worn out Bible is usually owned by somebody who is not)
• Take notes (writing significantly increases retainage)
• Come to church rested as opposed to exhausted
• Use the bathroom before the service starts. Getting up during the sermon not only distracts you but others around you.
• Utilize the amazing learning environments for your children (if applicable) where they learn on their level from incredible, loving teachers.
• Expect God to speak to you
• Talk about the sermon with others after the service

What I believe to be true is that the power of God’s Word has the ability to change our lives. I don’t want to miss anything that God is trying to say to me and I don’t want you to miss anything that God wants to say to you. Let’s come to church this weekend and both of us preach the sermon!!

I rest confident that God’s agenda has been accomplished(one of our core values is Driven by God’s Agenda)! Our leadership did everything we could do in regards to the potential merger with the Hammock and then we left the outcome in the hands of the Lord. This afternoon the Hammock First Baptist Church voted in favor of the merger 11-8. Yet, because the vote required a  75% approval the motion failed. (Update: After the initial blog post I was told the vote was 10-8 against the merger, as opposed to what I understood earlier to be the vote as stated in the previous sentence. Regardless, the outcome is the same.)So what exactly do I think now:

• I really had a desire to see a strong gospel voice in the Hammock and I still have a desire to see that happen.
• I am spiritually sad we will not have that opportunity in the next couple months.
• I love the people of Hammock First and I thank them for considering this matter.
• I hurt for the people of First Hammock – for years they have experienced great pain.
• I am sad that they fired their pastor a few weeks ago. I have shared very openly with their leadership my feelings on that matter.
• I have heard about what people at the church said about the vote today and I hurt for them. Some are very sad about where this leaves them as a church. The church is now running less than 20 – wow I wish that weren’t the case!
• I am not disappointed by the outcome. I truly believe God has something better in store for Parkview!!
• If the merger went through I had some strong concerns about a couple matters. I believe the Lord’s timing is perfect and His way is perfect. I see His closing this door being the potential opening to another door.
• The elders, staff and I will continue to seek God’s face about how to expand His Kingdom.
• Matthew 7:7 is in the continuous voice.
• I see multisite church being a great way to expand the kingdom and a great way to leverage resources.
• I love pastoring Parkview and this has been a tremendous weekend.
• I spent a good portion of the afternoon with a church planter and his wife who visited Parkview and I was privileged to share with them what an honor it is to serve at Parkview.
• I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in the near future.
• Let’s remember our mission – Guiding People to Life Change in Jesus Christ!