The Storyteller

The Holy Spirit has given me a prophetic vision for a new and culturally relevant way to spread the Good News. 

 

I call this new tool The Love Story and am actively engaged in its development.

 

Why am I doing this?  Because God has called me into the service that is commonly known as evangelism.  I don’t call it that.  Evangelist is a Scriptural, Biblical office of the church, but that office has been tarnished and corrupted so badly by big haired liars and greedy false prophets, that I will not use it.  I call myself a “storyteller.”  As a preacher and proclaimer of God’s Good News, I tell the greatest story ever: The story that God loves us and sent his Son to sacrifice himself so that we might be saved.

 

Some people today say the story should not be told anymore.  They say the old story is a myth used to comfort and control people who are too frightened, or too ignorant, to rely upon themselves.  Others say that the story has lost its impact and should be discarded.  They claim that God has already chosen who will and will not be saved and there is nothing that can, or should be, done for those he has not elected for salvation.

 

I don’t believe that.

 

I believe in the old, old story.  I believe in its truth and its power.  I believe that if the simple message that God created, loves, and provides a way for us, is told with the boldness and confidence of faith, it will have as much impact upon the hearts of the lost today as it ever has.  I believe that the Holy Spirit is still here convicting the lost and empowering those who dare take up the mantle of the soul winner.

 

I take up that mantle.

 

I am the storyteller…

 

Who will listen?

More Churches?

Why do we need more churches when the phone book is full of them?

I just read a fine article by Emil Turner, Director of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention, that nearly sys it all. 

We need more churches because if we really brought the lost to Christ, the current number would be WAY to small to handle the harvest.  We need more churches because frankly, older churches have ”histories” that keep people away.  We need more churches so that neighbors can grow together in faith.  We need more churches because people need to be able to find a place to plug in that suits their call and giftings.  We need more churches so we can show God’s love for us by word and deed.

Most of all, we need more churches because that’s the New Testament Model.

Believers were never meant to be alone.  We are to live relationally and worship corporately.  Look at the Acts of the Apostles and see how Paul and the others molded believers into effective and cohesive units of service.

That is the true Kingdom, it’s in a believer’s DNA.

Peace,

Walking Note:  Sore back, no walk today. 

Gardening Pictures Added

I’ve added the Flickr Widget to the right bar and uploaded several gardening pictures.  I’ll add more in a couple of days.  It’s a pretty interesting slide show if I do say so myself!

Peace,

Walking Note: 2 miles. Cloudy and 50 degrees.

Are We Christians?

The people of God must work to end global poverty because there are people dying. 

They are dying because they don’t have clean water to drink.  They are dying because they don’t have enough food to eat.  They are dying because they don’t have access to even the most rudimentary forms of healthcare.  

SHAME ON US! 

We are the people of God.  We are representatives of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  We are the embodiment of grace, mercy, and love. 

As such, we are to love our neighbours. 

Who are our neighbours? 

Every single human being on this planet. 

Are we loving them as we should? 

No.

Listen to what the Lord taught: One of them a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ”Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

 ”This is the great and foremost commandment.”

 ”The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus is saying that all Scripture, indeed the whole faith, is based on loving God with everything we have; and then loving others the same way [with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength].

Do you love others like that?

I don’t.  I wish I could say I did, but if I’m honest, there’s little I love more than myself.  I spend my time worrying about paying my cell phone bill [so my kids can send text messages to their buddies] while in the Sudan, parents are looking for sticks to scratch out shallow graves for their children.

Where is my love?

People say we can’t end poverty in the world.  I say they are wrong!  My Bible tells me that with God all things are possible.

America is the richest, most powerful, and technologically advanced nation in the history of the world, yet people starve in Hati [less than 1500 miles from Florida].

Three BILLION people in the world live on less than $2 a day.

And over ¼ of a billion people in the U.S. alone call themselves “Christian.”

If we were true followers of Christ, if I was a true follower, we would be sending billions of pounds of food and millions of missionaries to the suffering.

Jesus called us the Kingdom of God.  The purpose of this kingdom is to do the work of setting the world to rights until the Saviour returns and finishes the job.

As the old hymn says, “To the work! To the work!”

Peace,

 

 

 

Pray for China

Most gracious and merciful God, we thank you for your love.  Father, we pray today for the people of China.  Lord help the injured, homeless, and grieving souls in that nation.  Shield and protect the rescuers and caregivers with your sheltering wings.  Father we wonder at this kind of devastation and our minds recoil at the horror.  We know Lord that all things are under your control, and that all things work for good, but we cannot understand why these things happen.  Increase our faith.  Let your glory be seen through this tragedy.

Father, we pray that we would have the opportunity, the wisdom, and the will. to assist these in distress. 

Give us strength Lord.  In Jesus’ name… 

Amen.

Peace,

Walking Note: 2 miles.  47 degrees, clear and calm. 

Added Features

The tabs across the top have content now.  Check them out, they describe the various facets of my ministry and have some personal testimony.  I’ll add pix when I get a chance.

About Me

Here is a short history of my life and ministry:

I am a slave of the Lord Jesus, husband and father of three beautiful kids, ordained Baptist minister, animal lover, gardener, outdoorsman, and St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan [in that order].

 

I have lived in rural Northeast Arkansas my entire life.

 

I was born and raised on a small [40 acre] farm.  My family didn’t farm, both my parents were factory workers, but we always had a large vegetable garden.  I grew up hunting, fishing, and exploring.  I attended Westside High School [which later became famous for a terrible shooting] where I played football and was a champion shot-put and discus thrower.

 

My whole life I wanted to be a soldier, so as soon as I turned 18 I joined the Army Reserve with the aspiration of becoming a Regular Army officer.  After I graduated from high school, I went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and advanced training at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. 

 

After I completed my training I returned to Arkansas and my life fell apart.  In less than a year my parents divorced, my dad lost his job and withdrew into a deep depression and my mother became an alcoholic. Times had always been hard for us financially, but the mid-80s were a killer, and we lost what little we had.  I bounced from one minimum wage job to another, started partying all the time, and ended up missing so many Army Reserve Drills that I was placed in the Inactive Reserve. 

 

Just when I was about to give up, I met a beautiful girl, and she saved my life.  That girl became my wife 2 ½ years later and she has been my strength every since.

 

I never went to college.  I worked in a factory for about 6 years, quit and went to nursing school, worked as a nurse for 4 years and finally ended up working for an automotive dealership group.

 

I accepted God’s gift of Salvation when I was 9 or 10 years old and began to feel the call to preach when I was about 13.  I think one of the reasons I turned to drinking and partying was because I was running away from my call.  I finally surrendered to the ministry in 2003 and began my first pastorate at the First Baptist Church of Cash, Arkansas in June 2004.

 

My family has always struggled financially, but not like most of the people in Cash.  God showed me their suffering and hopelessness and I gained a heart for them and their plight.  In 2005 the Holy Spirit gave me a vision for planting a large vegetable garden on the church property, and with a lot of prayer and support we had a very successful garden in 2006. 

 

In spite of my checkered past, and even though I fall [very] short every day, God has blessed me and is doing a great work in my heart, life and ministry.

 

Blessings and Grace to you,

 

bt

 

Cash, Arkansas

May 10, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

A New Home

Hi.

Welcome to my new home.  I’m still moving in, so pardon the mess while I get things arranged.  This site isn’t just a better platform; it’s an evolution in my ministry.  This new blog is going to be a lot more focused on the great things God is doing in my life and ministry, and less on my personal struggles.  Yeah, I’ll still put in the tears of joy and sadness, but there’ll also be a lot more of my day to day ministry activities as the Lord uses me to work in His Kingdom.

When I first started blogging, I was a newly ordained Southern Baptist preacher, just starting in my first church; now four years later I am tempered and ready [I hope!] for the Maker to use.

Welcome and God bless you.

Peace,

 Walking Note: 2 miles. 61 degrees and clear.

 

 

Prayer For Burma…

Join me in prayer for the people of Burma:

Our dear Heavenly Father: Lord we thank you for the goodness of your creation. Father, we don’t understand why these terrible calamities occur. It is perhaps not our place to know. Lord we do know that you are good, and we know Father, that you, are in control… Lord, that no sparrow falls beyond your sight! Father we feel people in our world who are suffering, dying and grieving.

Lord we grieve with them!

We share the pain as best we can, and Lord we seek a way to help relieve the suffering. Father you have blessed us. You have saved us, and you have charged us to go to the ends of the very Earth to care for others.

Increase our faith Lord!

Give us the compassion and the strength to help our brothers and sisters in this time of immense tragedy. Let your light shine out from us as a beacon of hope.

Hold the people of Burma in your mighty hand Lord, and shelter them beneath your mighty wings…

In the name of your Son I pray,
Amen.

Walking Note…

Walking Note: 2 miles. 58 degrees and calm with a low mist hanging over the wheat fields.