We're Not The Enemy

I want to address something that has been heavy on my heart the last couple of years, and has been even heavier over the last several weeks.  I am very disturbed by what see by many of my Independent Baptist brethren and other Fundamentalists concerning those that aren't Independent Baptist, or those that don't hold to the same convictions and preferences.  I am seeing Christians treating other Christians like they are an enemy rather than their brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are supposed to be in the same family; we are going to spend all of eternity together with each other and with Christ.  So, why then do we see Christians treating other Christians like they are the enemy?

I would like share my own personal experience concerning this very subject.  I was saved, baptized, married, called to preach, and called to the mission field in the same Independent Baptist church.  Until 2008, I had only known this one church.  I had several big name IFB pastors on my ordination council like Dr. Bobby Roberson and Dr. Melvin Aiken.  In 2010, God called me to be the Pastor of Fairystone Baptist Church, which is a Southern Baptist church.  It was interesting how much things with "the brethren" changed, even though my doctrine had NOT changed, simply because I was now the Pastor of a Southern Baptist church.

Over the last several weeks I have seen many Christians criticizing and blasting other Christians simply because they do not have the same preferences that many have elevated to the level of doctrine.  I have seen Christians having a self-righteous attitude like the Pharisee from Luke 18 instead of having the attitude of the Publican.  It grieves my heart to see Christians condemning other Christians just because they don't have the same preferences or convictions.  Even more, how it must grieve the heart of Christ and please Satan, that the Body of Christ is so divided.

I would love nothing more than to be able to fellowship with many of my IFB and other Fundamentalist brethren, but I have found that they don't want to fellowship with me.  I am not living in sin or out of fellowship with God; I just happen to have different preferences and convictions.  I am not your enemy; we are supposed to be on the same side in this battle.  As a Southern Baptist Pastor, I would like to say that it is very hurtful that many of our IFB brethren look at us and treat us like we are the enemy, even though doctrinally we are no different on the fundamentals of the faith.

I asked the question earlier, why do we see Christians treating other Christians like the enemy?  The only answer that I can come up with is that their heart is not right.  God help us and forgive us!

Is Christ Central?

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." - Ephesians 1:7

‎"If the Lord Jesus Christ is not crucial, central, vital, and occupying the very center of our meditation and our living, thinking, and praying, we have no right to look for revival." - Martin Lloyd-Jones

Here is a question for us to ponder today: Is the Lord Jesus Christ really central in our lives?  It is amazing how many people you can talk to that profess to be Christians but yet you never hear them mention the name of Christ.

Is Christ crucial, vital, and central to your life?  Is Christ at the center of your meditation, living, praying, and worship?  I know that many times I fail to make Christ central in my life.  I might say that He is with my words, but I deny it with my actions.  Could it be that the reason we are not seeing revival in our churches and in our own personal lives is because Christ is not central?  When you and I make Christ central in our lives it will make a difference!

There is a great deal of so-called Christianity that is quite Christ-less.  We must remember that it is all about Jesus Christ, and Him alone!

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, may I remember and never forget the centrality of Christ in all things!  Forgive me for denying Your centrality in all things by my actions.  May You occupy my every thought, meditation, and prayer.  Help me to see that You are crucial, vital, and central to my life.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Do We Really Trust Him?

"And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.  And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece." - Luke 9:2-3



Most of us at some time or another have made the statement "I am trusting the Lord."  It seems to me that we make that statement flippantly, without giving it a whole lot of thought as to the gravity of what it actually means to trust the Lord.  My question for us is, do we really trust Him?

Notice that as Jesus sends out His twelve disciples He tells them to take nothing with them - no staff, no bread, no money, and no extra coat.  How many of us would be willing to take a trip like that?  Do you trust Christ enough to do that?  Modern day "American Christianity" would say that it is ridiculous to take the words of Christ so literally, but is it really?

We are left with the question of why Jesus would require this of His disciples, why would He not simply let them go home first and pick up a few things to take with them?  The answer is simple, Jesus was forcing His disciples to trust Him.  Christ would have to come through for them because they had nothing else to fall back on.  Unfortunately, "American Christianity" knows nothing of this kind of trust.  We have it burned into our minds from the time we are children that we need to have something to fall back on in case it doesn't work out. Now please don't misunderstand me, there is a fine line between faith and stupidity.

I want to share with you a quote from Francis Chan's book Crazy Love:  "This place of trust isn't a comfortable place to be; in fact, it flies in the face of everything we've been taught about proper planning.  We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide.  But when Christ says to count the cost of following Him, it means we must surrender everything.  It means being willing to go without an extra tunic or a place to sleep at night, and sometimes without knowing where we are going."

Again, modern day "American Christianity" knows nothing of that kind of trust.  We all have way too much in the way of material possessions and we all spend way too much money on things that have no eternal significance.  How many of us are willing to downsize our incomes and our lifestyles to get to the point where we have nothing to fall back on except Christ Himself?  Would you be willing to give up some of your luxuries and conveniences so that you might give more money to missions or so that you might be able to help the poor in your community?  One of the things that our family gave up was our satellite television.  We were spending about $90 per month on satellite.  We decided that it was more important to take that money and invest it in eternity by using it to support missionaries financially each month.  Now I am not saying that you have to do exactly what we did, but I would ask you to pray and ask God what you could surrender to Him so that you might invest in eternity.

I pray that you will allow God to speak to your heart about surrendering ALL to Him and coming to the place where you have nothing else to fall back on but Jesus Christ.  Are you willing to come to the place of total trust in Christ?  Do you really trust Him?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me to come to the place of complete and total dependence on You for my needs.  May I not trust in my abundance or what I have to fall back on, but may I come to the place where You are the only One I have to fall back on!  Help me to be willing to surrender everything to you!  In Jesus name, Amen!

Taking Up Your Cross

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." - Matthew 16:24


Several days ago, I shared some thoughts about denying yourself.  I would like to share a few thoughts about what comes next after denying yourself, taking up your cross.  Again, this is not something that we like to talk about because it does not sound as appealing as John 3:16 to our flesh.

Do you realize that "your cross" is God's will for you, regardless of the cost?  The sad reality is that this message of Christ has been lost in our modern day contemporary Christianity.  We try to tell people that they can follow Christ without having to first deny themselves and without them having to take up their cross.  Taking up your cross is not an option if you are going to truly follow Jesus Christ and be obedient to His Word.

I'm afraid there is also confusion today about what constitutes taking up our cross for Christ.  Modern American Christianity says that taking up your cross could involve having health problems, a rebellious child, financial pressures, or even the consequences you face as a result of your actions.  However, these things are not the cross that you and I have to bear.  The cross that we are to bear is the voluntary participation in Christ's sufferings.  Notice what Paul says in Philippians 1:29, "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake."  Then in Philippians 3:10 Paul writes, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death."

Many Christians also have the tendency to go from denying themselves to following Jesus, but they leave out taking up their cross.  We can never truly follow Jesus Christ until we have denied ourselves and then taken up our cross first.  Just as Jesus Christ had to suffer and die on the cross to bring salvation, you and I may have to endure suffering for God to bring salvation to those around us.  Something else very interesting is that Jesus did not talk with the disciples about the cross until they had come to know He was the Christ.  You will never be able to endure the suffering of your cross unless you are convinced that Jesus is the Christ.

I'm afraid that contemporary, modern, American Christianity has forgotten this message, but there can be no Christianity without the cross.  It does not sound appealing, desirable, or glamorous but God's will for you and I involves a cross.  If you and I are going to truly follow Jesus Christ, then we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.

Are you willing to bear your cross?

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, give me the strength to not only deny myself, but give me the strength to take up my cross and follow Christ.  Lord, may You be glorified through my bearing of this cross and may it point others to the Savior.  In Jesus name, Amen!

Vagabond Christianity

"When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." - Genesis 4:12


This coming Sunday morning at Fairystone Baptist Church I plan to preach a message entitled "Vagabond Christianity."  I do not want to give away my entire message, but I just wanted to share a quick thought with you.  I was very intrigued by the word "vagabond" as I was reading through this chapter.  After Cain murders his brother Abel the Lord tells Cain that he will be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth.

What does vagabond mean?  How is that significant to us in our walk with Christ?  Websters 1828 Dictionary defines vagabond as someone wandering, with no settled habitation, no certain direction, and driven to and fro. Do you see the relevance and significance now?

I can help but wonder how many people we have in our churches that are simply vagabonds.  They are wandering, they have no settled habitation, they have no certain direction, and they are driven to and fro.  Does this describe you?  Is this an accurate description of where you are spiritually today?

There are so many people in our churches today that are simply existing, they are wandering into the middle of nowhere in their spiritual life.  They literally are floundering and starving to death spiritually because they are vagabonds.  I'm afraid this is why we are not seeing the spiritual growth in our churches like we should is because of this very thing.

If you read on in Genesis 4, you will find one of the saddest statements ever made.  The Bible says that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.  Unfortunately, that is the end result of "Vagabond Christianity."  Examine your heart today and ask God to show you if this describes in you spiritually today.  Are you a "Vagabond Christian?"

Prayer For Today:

Lord, please help me today to examine my heart to see if I am vagabond in my spiritual walk with You.  Help me Father to be rooted and established in Your Word everyday.  I desire to grow closer to You each day and to have a higher level of intimacy with You than I presently do.  If I begin to wander and stray towards being a vagabond, I pray that You would open my eyes and show me through Your Word.  In Jesus name, Amen!

10 Signs A Church Is In Trouble

Yesterday on The Pastor's Perspective we discussed a study done by Thom Rainer called "10 Signs A Church Is In Trouble."  Here is the list.

1. If the pastor does not have adequate time to be in the Word or if he chooses no to do so.
2. If the members are spending time arguing about how money should be spent.
3. If none or only a few of the key leaders are actively sharing their faith.
4. If there is no clear process of discipleship in place, just a plethora of programs and activities.
5. If corporate prayer is not a major emphasis in the church.
6. If church members are arguing about worship styles or worship times.
7. If church members expect the paid staff to do most of the ministry, instead of the staff equipping the members to do the work of the ministry.  ("Why didn't he visit me in the hospital?")
8. If there are ongoing disagreements about matters of the church facilities.
9. If the church has more meetings than new disciples.
10. If the leadership of the church does not have a coherent plan for what is taught in small groups and Sunday School classes.

Mr. Rainer said that if four or more of these signs were present he would let the leadership know that remedial efforts were in order.  He said that if six or more signs were present then the congregation was in immediate trouble.

Do you see any of these signs in your church?  

Welcome to The Pastor's Perspective!

I would like to welcome you to my blog!  I am the pastor of Fairystone Baptist Church here in Stuart, Virginia and a former missionary to Paraguay, South America.

The primary purpose of my blog is to share Jesus Christ with others.  I also want to share things with you that the Lord has shown me so that others might be encouraged and that they would be drawn closer in their walk with Jesus Christ.  The Word of God is my final authority on everything.  There are going to be times when I do step on toes, including my own!  It is my desire to share thoughts on the Bible and current events from a Biblical perspective.

I pray that you will find my blog to be a blessing and help!  Our Christian walk is a journey, and it should be a time of us growing closer to Christ.  This is something that is desperately needed among Christians and in the Church today!  I also welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of the topics that I share.  I hope that you will visit often so that we have the opportunity to walk and grow together!

God Bless!

1 Corinthians 9:16
Pastor Clint