The Lighthouse Keeper

Jer 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

Yesterday, our family took a day trip to eastern Oklahoma. In Beaver’s Bend State Park, we came across a beautiful creek tumbling down from the mountain, with white water rapids and little waterfalls. We parked and began our exploration. I have often told my kids (and our Cub Scouts) during these outdoor adventures, “We aren’t the first people to come this way. Others have come before us and have already found the best ways to go, and the best things to see. Instead of blundering through the trees and thorny undergrowth, let’s see if we can find an old path to follow.” Sure enough, we found a path that took us way up into the valley, and directly to all the best spots along the creek. We did not need to blaze a trail; others – many others – had already worn out a clear path to the destinations we desired.

On the trail, we came across two old men and chatted briefly. They were fishermen decked out in all their fly fishing gear, and carrying two stringers of rainbow trout. These men, brothers, had caught their limit and were heading home. In my mind, I imagined Continue reading →

Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

The pastures used by shepherds would have been crisscrossed by many different paths leading to many different places. The shepherds would use these paths to lead their flocks from one good pasture to another. No doubt, David had these paths in mind when he said that the Good Shepherd leads us in the paths of righteousness. He knew by experience that these crisscrossing paths did not all go to the same place. The right paths would lead safely to the next green pasture. Others would lead towards cliffs, where a sheep could easily stumble and be killed; or into the mountains or wilderness, where the sheep would get lost and become easy prey to predators.

The valley of the Christian life is crisscrossed with many paths. They do not all go to the same place. Some paths lead to harm, heartache, and hardship. They lead

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The following is an edited excerpt of FROM ONE CHURCH PLANTER TO ANOTHER, available in its entirety as a PDF by clicking on the title. It is given here in hopes that it will be a blessing to a church planter/pastor somewhere who is going through some of the heartache we went through in the early years of our church planting experience:

A prominent church planting pastor in the Northwest said, “I have started seven churches in the last twenty years – all in the same location.”

Before we started Lighthouse Baptist Church (in 2000), my pastor, Dr. Bob Smith, told me that we would most likely start with one group of people but build with another. I did not want to believe that this was true, but I knew better than to question my pastor’s wisdom. Sure enough, on our church’s fifth anniversary there were only four original charter families remaining. The first group got us started, but they did not stay.

In some ways, starting the church was easier than pastoring the church that I had started.

Some men of unusual character, personality, and gifts have started churches and seen a steady (sometimes spectacular) growth every year. I respect and admire these men of God. But it does not always work out so. New churches can split. In a small church, one out-of-line member Continue reading →