On Easter Sunday morning 1973 my wife and I went back to New Zion General Baptist Church, and I recommitted my life to Christ. I was saved when I was six years old but had drifted from the Lord. For several weeks I had been dreaming of me preaching but I knew my life was not pleasing to the Lord. I went that Sunday to confess to the church and to the Lord my wayward living. From that moment on the Lord had his hand upon my life. A few months later I answered the call to the ministry and my life has not been the same.

While ministry is not easy and while many have told horrific stories of trauma and pain they have endured in the ministry, I want to take a moment to talk about the blessings of ministry. God’s call upon my life has been the greatest blessing I could receive. There have been times when I wanted to quit, but always waited until tomorrow to quit. There have been low points, times of doubt and despair but there have also been times of great joy and happiness and a sense of fulfillment as I have sought to fulfill God’s purposes for my life.

Seeing someone walk the isle and surrender their lives to Christ is one of the greatest joys in life. Or to see someone who has been in a lukewarm relationship with Christ make a 180 turn and get on fire for the Lord is a great blessing. Holding a newborn baby and standing next to new parents whose hearts desire is to raise their child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is a great blessing. Hearing someone share how the Lord has used a message to turn their life around is a joy that never gets old.

Walking through life with a group of people who understand the value of a shared ministry and a shared life is a blessing that I have been privileged to experience while in the ministry. Knowing that I am doing God’s purpose for my life give me a sense of joy and peace. It is a blessing to know that I do not do this alone but there One who walks beside me, who guides me and helps me in my weakness.

One of the greatest blessings I have experienced is hearing a young man say he is called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and watching that man grow in the Lord and observe how the Lord is using Him for the Kingdom. Knowing that maybe I played a small part in making a difference in that person’s life gives me a sense of wonder and amazement. God surely uses vessels of clay to accomplish His purpose in the world.

Walking with a family through tragedy and watching how God can take a few words from stumbling lips to make a difference; to see that family recover and go on brings great joy to my heart. Discovering how God can use me to help others see Jesus more clearly or take my words to affect a broken heart, or discouraged soul is humbling and rewarding.

I have been privileged to be a counselor, confidant, spiritual leader, friend, and fellow traveler with several congregations during my ministry.  In each church I found friends who helped me, called me out, encouraged me and prayed for me. I have been blessed to have deacons who helped me lead, who labored shoulder to shoulder with me and who loved me not only as a pastor but a brother in Christ.

There were times when I didn’t think I could go another mile. In those times the Lord proved to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother. His promises are real, and His presence is guaranteed when we walk in the path He has chosen for us. This year marks 50 years of ministry for me. I look back and recall with great joy the journey I have been on. There have been mountain top experiences and there have been many times in the valley. But through it all the Lord has been faithful. 

A lot has changed in ministry since I started. But the need of people to have a shepherd is still the same. People need to hear the gospel. They need to know they are loved and cared for. They need to be reminded of the truth of God’s word and their responsibility as believers. People need a pastor. They need someone who will answer God’s call into the ministry. It will not always be easy. There will be times of discouragement and even times of failure, but the Lord will see you through.

I am glad that God has chosen this path for me. It has kept me on my knees. It has kept me in the Word. It has kept me humble, and it has caused me to keep my eyes on Jesus. I pray that at the end I will hear Him say “Well done.”

About the Author: Don Key is pastor of Macedonia General Baptist Church in Franklin Kentucky.  He is dad to Janet, and Papa to Preston and Maura.  He is expected to be a great-grandfather in April 2024.

Obedience is God’s love language.

Obedience..Let’s be honest, it’s not the most exciting word. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance you are tempted to quickly tap on the little red “x” at the top of your browser, or “accidentally” strike the escape button. Don’t do that. Hang with me for a couple of minutes.

It was about three years ago when I began to notice a major stirring in our household. My husband and I, married at the ripe age of 21, had spent our entire marriage building. Most of the building was in our careers. Having married while I was still in nursing school (10/10 do not recommend), we worked long hours to simply survive in the beginning. We threw all of our time and energy into building ourselves a future and a home.

Life was moving at a rapid pace. We had children almost immediately, climbed the corporate ladder quickly, built our forever home, and I left my nursing career to operate my own business. Finally, we had “arrived”….Or so we thought. That’s when the stirring began.

There was a restlessness. I saw it in my husband and in myself. I noticed the more time I’d spent in the word, the hungrier I became. Conversations with the people around us suddenly included rumblings of “What if God is asking more from us?” I spent hours trying to rationalize how or why we’d ever pivot from the life we had built to something imaginary and less secure.

Even having parents and grandparents in full-time ministry, I still didn’t have the eyes to see it yet. Surely, the Lord wasn’t nudging us to walk away from everything WE had accomplished…I mean, everything he had just blessed us with…

I’ll spare you the long version of this story because it’s quite layered. Ultimately, God was asking for our obedience. Per the recommendation of my former pastor’s wife, we picked up the book “Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge” by Mark Batterson and intentionally created a circle around us to intercede on our behalf. We didn’t even know what we were praying for. There was no indication of “what” God wanted us to step into. We just prayed that God would reveal His first step to us.

On the morning of day 40, my husband was announced to have joined the staff at Center Point Church in Hendersonville, TN. That’s the polished way of saying he said yes to leaving his six figure job in corporate America for a part-time position in our church with a milelong job description. Welcome to ministry!

Here’s the thing. I’ve been taking notes over the last three years…a lot of them. I could tell you story after story of what God has taught us. I could show you how He’s been faithful to us financially when it made absolutely NO sense on paper. I could share a lot of wonderful things we’ve seen God do in and through the people of our church. I could also shed light on the pain, grief, and loneliness of entering ministry with very little mentorship. But this season of our story started with an act of obedience.

What’s your love language? Personally, mine floats between acts of service and quality time. Obedience is God’s love language. John 14:15 says “If You love me, obey my commandments.” What He’s asking from us, and for us, is right there in scripture. Eccelsiastes says in the conclusion to “Fear God and keep His commandments.”

Obedience > Outcome.

Oftentimes, I think we overcomplicate Christianity. We forget to teach those coming behind us that it’s not our job to control our lives, but to be in relationship with the Lord of our lives. That first “yes” of obedience our family took into full-time ministry was the EASIEST act of obedience yet. To the world, it made no sense. And by world, I mean we had family and friends we love who didn’t understand or fully agree.

I am beyond thankful the first “yes” was confirmed in so many ways because it gave us laser focus clarity. Without that, I think there would have been many times we would have questioned the call. Can I tell you why? Our big acts of obedience don’t usually compare to the difficulty of walking out our everyday obedience.

Obedience is hard because holiness is hard. Obedience is what keeps us in the word each day. It’s asking God to search our hearts and prune us, even when it hurts our pride. Sometimes it looks like continuing to show up and steward the ministries He’s given us when we feel worn out, defeated, or even lost.

Practically speaking, it’s not responding to a text message the way our flesh wants to when someone gets us wrong. Or waiting to have a hard conversation until after you’ve prayed about it. We walk out our everyday obedience because that’s how God feels loved. It’s mesmerizing to me that the pages of His word are infused with a beautiful love story where the God of the universe is saying “I created you because I love you! And I just want to be loved back!” He makes it clear. If we love him, we will obey him.

Here’s the caveat. The level we obey him, is based upon the level in which we believe the above is true. Do we believe we are incredibly loved by God? Are we leading our teams and churches from this place of love and security, or from our own doubts, insecurities, and fears? If we want to walk out an obedient life, we have to ask ourselves the hard questions. So let’s ask ourselves:

What part of God’s character am I struggling to believe today? How is my unbelief affecting my obedience to Him? Take some time to wrestle with these questions, and then be obedient to what God reveals to you.

About the Author: Lauren Pugh, and her husband Thomas, serve on staff at Center Point Church in Hendersonville, TN. They have a hunger to seek the presence of God and to make Him known.

In Joshua 1 we find an interesting beginning to the book. God makes the statement that Moses is dead. Immediately Joshua seems to be distraught and begins to question his capabilities and his calling. God tells Joshua in the first nine verses of the book that he needs to be strong and courageous a total of three times. God also made a promise to Joshua that if he would stand firm for God’s kingdom and meditate on His word, then God would in turn be with Joshua just as he was with Moses.

Undoubtedly, the last few years have been tough for all of us. Covid-19 made a huge impact on the entire world and the church world was not spared from its ramifications. Yet, this new season of life has presented itself with fresh perspectives, various ways to evangelize to people, and the opportunity for many churches and pastors to reevaluate their methodologies. My friends, I share with you a comforting message. In the New Testament, Jesus says that He has overcome the world. That tells all of us that there is never a time to throw our hands up in dismay or hang our heads in defeat.

Instead, spark new life into the church and your local community. This might be a time when it would be good to launch a discipleship program or challenge the Timothy in your church to branch out for God’s kingdom. Whatever your church decides to do will be a positive step forward. Just as Joshua allowed God to lead him during one of the most uncertain times of his life, we too should shift our focus to what God is leading us to do. Just as Joshua found out time and time again, there is nothing impossible when God is in control. 

Keeping up with the recent emphasis across our denomination that has been placed on calling, my family has answered the call to become missionaries to the Philippines after spending the last four years in Saipan. This new journey has begun with the deputation process. We would love to have the opportunity to speak with you and your churches. Please consider praying for us and supporting financially as God leads. You can contact us at justin.cook@generalbaptist.com. All offerings made toward our ministry should include “Cook Philippines” in the memo line.

May everyone be blessed by the continuation of their involvement in God’s work locally, regionally, and around the world. 

About the Author: Justin Cook and his wife Carolyn have served the past 4 years in Saipan. They have recently answered a call to become missionaries to the Philippines, where Justin will be serving as a professor at the General Baptist Bible College in Davao City. Justin’s passion is helping young men and women discover the call God has on each one of their lives.