A Personal Announcement

I am breaking my long hiatus from blogging to share an exciting personal announcement: I am being brought in view of a call to serve as the Director of Missions for Greene County Baptist Association in Springfield, MO! The executive board of GCBA will vote on me Wednesday, November 9.

Consequently, this also means that I am resigning as the pastor of Selmore Baptist Church - a group of people our family loves dearly, and always will. We will miss our Selmore family greatly, but we know God has a wonderful plan for them, and is already preparing His perfect man to serve as their next pastor.

Associational missions is something in which I have long had an interest.  I love pastors and local churches, and the possibility of serving (approximately 90!) of them in a city and area we call home is icing on the cake.  We feel so blessed for this opportunity.

To our friends from GCBA who are reading this blog to check out the new DOM candidate, good for you!  I would do the same thing! As you read old blog posts, just remember to extend a little grace as many were written when I was a much younger man.  :-)  As such, some have a little youthful angst, and others are just plain silly.  But I left all of them up for you to read.

God bless you, and I look forward to meeting many of you in person soon.

Greene County Baptists are Great Commission Baptists!

In Christ,
Josh

Wait on the Lord

When I was a kid and learning to fish from a canoe moving swiftly down an Ozarks stream, my dad taught me to scan the water ahead and hold my cast until I could put the bait right where I wanted it.  Otherwise, you run the risk of casting into a less desirable spot, only to be stuck reeling in while the current zooms you past the place to which you really wanted to cast.

Toward Better Health

Today, I am starting an eight week plan with a health coach.  He has devised a nutrition and exercise plan for me, and I am to check in with him daily.  Please pray for me, that God will bless my efforts and that I will make significant strides toward better health.  I have battled weight for most of my life.  I want to be the best I can be for my family and for my church.

I hope to blog a little more in 2020.  We will see.  It seems like most things get said on social media these days.  May God bless you and yours in the new year.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Holidays

Can I make a confession?  I have a love/hate relationship with holidays – particularly Christian holidays.  I love what (or rather whom) we celebrate – Jesus!  But I hate the additional stress and busyness that comes with them.

Personal Milestones

If you'll permit me a moment of self-reflection, 2019 is a year of personal milestones, and I would like to share them here as a testimony to the Lord and all He has done for me.

A True Evangelist

This morning I ran across a friend in ministry.  This man, a vocational evangelist, has recently had some serious health issues and is advancing in age.  Some of his health issues have made it a struggle for him to even read and comprehend. 

Profile of a Church Plant: Camino a la Cruz in Omaha, Nebraska

This week, three men from our church took a brief vision trip to Omaha, NE to scout out the potential for a summer mission trip.  While there, we met up with Angel Morales, church planter and pastor of Camino a la Cruz (Way of the Cross).  Angel, his wife Rachel, and their kids moved to Omaha a year and a half ago from Nixa, MO in response to God's call to minister to the 100,000 Hispanics living in the Omaha metro area.

Thanking God for Fender Chapel

The last couple of days, Rachel and I got to catch up with Martin and Amy Winslow, old friends from our college days at Southwest Baptist University.  Martin led a family/parenting conference at Selmore this weekend and did a fantastic job.  (I encourage you to check out his blog, nextgenerationfaithfulness.com.)  Our time with the Winslows got me reminiscing...

Pastors, Guard Your Sheep from Sexual Predators

The elderly man visiting our church was a little odd, a little quirky to be sure, but he seemed harmless enough to me.  Nevertheless, multiple ladies in the church (including my wife) didn't quite feel right about him.

Christians Must be Champions for Life

Like many Americans watching the State of the Union last night, I was struck by the number of congressmen (and particularly congresswomen) who showed visible disdain for the pro-life sentiments expressed by the president.