Matt Henslee's Blog, page 15
January 21, 2022
January 20, 2022
Pastors’ Conference Update: January
It is hard to believe we are already past the middle of January. Before we know it, June will be here. In fact, there are only 140 or so days until the Pastors’ Conference kicks off in Anaheim, California. Last month, we released the names of the men who will be preaching for us, and we had previously released the names of those who will be joining them as special guests, but we still have a few more surprises up our sleeves! Before we get to that, a few updates.
Fundraising.
We are excited to announce that North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, and Guidestone have linked arms with us as gold-level sponsors. They join our platinum-level sponsor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and folks like Samaritan’s Purse and Maranatha Tours as our key sponsors. A few more organizations or entities are finalizing their plan to partner, too, and we are so thankful, not only for their generosity but for believing in our vision.
Similarly, conventions like Kentucky Baptist Convention, Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, churches like First Baptist Orlando, Summer Grove Baptist, North Jacksonville Baptist, Greater Hills Baptist, and several individuals have given anywhere between $2 to $30,000. Like our own churches and our churches’ partnerships with the Cooperative Program, it is difficult to survive and thrive without faithful giving across the board––big tithers, small tithers; big churches, small churches––all combine to move the mission forward.
And so it is with the Pastors’ Conference. We cannot do it without key sponsors and significant gifts, but we also cannot do it without a large group of generous people, churches, and entities that simply believe in our vision. So, once again, I am asking for your help. Whether you can give a few dollars or a few hundred, every penny donated will help us put on a great Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us, and click here.
Site.
We have steadily increased our footprint on social media and are about to re-launch our website with the theme for the SBC Pastors’ Conference. On Twitter and Facebook, we continue to highlight encouraging articles, seek prayer requests, and inspire pastors in the hard work of ministry. Make sure you follow us on Twitter and Facebook but stay tuned to http://sbcpc.net and you may end up being the first to see the unveiling of our conference theme!
Announcement.
With those two things out of the way, I am thrilled to give you some breaking news. On any given Sunday, pastors stand behind large pulpits, small pulpits, pub tables, or music stands. Many of those pulpits, though, have a history.
I remember the first time I laid eyes on the pulpit at Mayhill Baptist Church, a small church in the mountains of New Mexico. I saw the worn edges, the scrapes from years of use, and realized I would stand behind a beautiful piece of craftsmanship with a long history.
That moved me deeply. Week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, that lil’ pulpit was the launching pad for countless sermons. And there I stood, behind that worn pulpit to proclaim the Word, joining a long line of faithful pastors before me.
As we planned for and dreamed about the Pastors’ Conference and our commitment to expository preaching, I knew the pulpit we used was not everything, but it sure was something. After a lot of prayers, I shot my shot. I reached out to Dr. Steve Gaines to ask about the “Bellevue Pulpit,” and Dr. Gaines and Bellevue Baptist in Memphis generously and graciously agreed to loan it to us for the conference.
Sure, most of us know Dr. Gaines used it after taking the helm from the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, both faithful expositors and past Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, but I also learned it was used by Dr. R.G. Lee and Dr. Ramsey Pollard, who were faithful expositors and past Presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention.
From the early 1950s to just a few years ago, the “Bellevue Pulpit” was the launching pad for countless sermons that proclaimed the excellencies of Christ and the Good News of Jesus. We are thankful for Bellevue Baptist’s generosity and willingness to allow us to add another page of history to their pulpit, and are excited for our preachers to stand behind it to proclaim the Word once again.
Pastor, please continue to pray for us, give if possible, and make plans to join us in Anaheim! Until then, persevere in your church for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom.January 13, 2022
January 4, 2022
December 30, 2021
You Can Date When You’re 35!
We can’t say from birth because we went the Insta-Family route in 2015 when we adopted a 4-year-old, 5-year-old, 6-year-old, and 7-year old. Still, for six or so years now, we told our girls they could date when they were thirty-five.
It was a joke, kinda.
While our girls had a traumatic past, and we’re undoubtedly protective, we encourage them to have a laser-like focus on their discipleship, education, and plans for the future.
Plus, as a pastor of over twenty years (over a quarter of which I spent as a student pastor), I have two decades of examples, illustrations, and anecdotal evidence about why middle/high school dating is often bad news.
Still, we’ve jokingly forbidden dating until 35 while instilling expectations and guidelines for when those “crushes” happen or blushing upon the mentioning of the name ________. They know 35 is a joke, but they know our own stories and understand the guidelines when that first guy comes calling.
A quick caveat.
As a pastor, I know the joys of first-year seminary students who come back to church to tell you everything you’re doing wrong on summer break. I also know those newlyweds quick to give marriage advice or pastors with less than a year of experience at their church penning how-to articles as if they’ve figured it all out.
So please hear me: I’m not an expert. We’re figuring this out. While we’ve read every book we could find and I have a lot of experience with kids and teens, please take the following as our approach, not THE approach.
1. Set expectations early.
Since our girls arrived and before this topic even surfaced, we started laying the foundation for future dating, and we handled it with care, humor, and clear expectations. In doing so, they trust us, are open and honest, and know the way forward.
2. Respect and courtesy.
I take all our daughters out for donuts each Monday and occasionally take one out for a “date,” if you will, rotating through each daughter. I open doors for them, put the phone away, and hang on to every word they say. In doing so, they know what a gentleman is like––he’s not looking at a phone or other things; he’s focused on them from the moment he opens their car door.
3. Submission to authority.
While we’re protective, we try not to be overprotective. If he desires to date one of my daughters, he will talk to me, share his intentions, and ask permission. I will ensure his parents are on board, too, but this builds in some accountability and gracious submission––she’s not his wife, she’s my daughter, and it’s my calling to protect her.
4. Participation in ministry.
All four of our girls are Christians, and there’s a clear expectation that their future boyfriends or husbands are Christians. What’s more, all our girls have expressed some varying sense of calling to some form of ministry or mission work. We expect a guy who will push her forward, not pull her down, so he must be growing in his faith, active in the student ministries at church, and telling others about Jesus.
5. Making plans humbly.
While few know precisely their future plans in their teen years, we expect suitors to have some idea of dreams and goals in submission to God’s will. If their focus is only on the here and now without regard to the future, there’s a problem. Think ahead, dream a little, and you can push one another forward, not back.
6. Commitment to honesty.
Relationships are built on trust; they need to trust each other, and I need to trust them. I will be honest with him, she will be honest with him, and he will be honest with us. There are no secrets, no hiding, just an open line of communication.
7. Obeying rules clearly.
We have our rules; you’ll have yours––but ours include things like being a gentleman, no touching, don’t make her cry, and so forth. Mistakes happen, and grace can be given, but this one is easier when guidelines 1-6 are followed.
I’ve seen the pictures of daddy’s little girls in their homecoming dresses next to a scowling father brandishing a gun. I get it, and I have guns myself. I’ve heard the stories of dads on the porch cleaning a shotgun as the boyfriend arrives to scare ‘em straight. I get it, and I have scores of pictures of me branding and castrating cattle.
That’s an approach, but it’s not our approach. We build ours upon early, open, frank, and honest communication, mutual respect, and clear expectations and boundaries. It may not be the best, there are undoubtedly others, and we’re hopeful ours works!
But if I could instill one thing I’m unwaveringly sure about, don’t wait until the boys start knocking on the door––lay the foundation early, build it on trust, pray for wisdom, and have an alibi.
December 27, 2021
We Have Today
Many years ago, I asked Santa for an Astros jersey for Christmas [queue the trashcan banging GIF]. On Christmas morning, I dashed to the tree to find…
A New York Jets uniform.
As I think about it, I’m not sure I knew who the Jets were, but I knew enough to see a helmet with a facemask wasn’t even the right sport, let alone my favorite team. I don’t recall my reaction, but I suspect it wasn’t, “Oh gee! Thanks, Santa––you’re the best.”
I remember seeing the Sears catalog near my mom’s chair in the living room. Always a sucker for a good book with minimal words, I started flipping, and that’s when I saw it—an ad for the football uniform that just ruined Christmas.
Santa not only got it wrong; he wasn’t Santa at all…
HE WAS MY MOTHER. Momta Claus had officially ruined Christmas if you will. Sure, I was young, immature, and apparently a little spoiled, but that was a Christmas I’ll never forget.
Fast forward to 2013 and another Christmas we’ll never forget. A few days before Christmas, the phone rang. It was our foster care agency and a request to take in three lil’ ones we called “kidlets.”
Of course, we said yes, which meant a mad dash to every known department store because kids were coming! On Christmas! Matt and Rebecca Claus had gifts to buy!
We had no idea what we were doing, but we gave it our all. Gifts everywhere, all wrapped to perfection for Christmas morning.
We were ready!
We woke N, J, and C on Christmas, and the magic started. Paper started flying, presents opened, and then our lil’ ones began playing with the boxes that held their toys.
In a sudden flashback, I remembered the Christmas a boy who had everything sullied the day with his reaction to a gift as these kids who had nothing found infinitely more joy from simple boxes, but I digress. It was a Christmas we’d never forget––it was wonderful.
A few months later, those three would leave us before the agency matched us with a sibling group of four we’d eventually adopt. Still, I will never forget our first Christmas as parents.
Christmas is often a mixed bag for folks.
For a kid, that might only revolve around Santa coming through or discovering he’s just your mom armed with a Sears catalog. For adults, it becomes more complex.
Loved ones die, family dynamics get weird, and the stress often goes to eleven. Our Christmas was a struggle-bus this year, and yours might’ve been, too. But whether it was good or bad, hard or sad, BEST DAY EVER or one you’re ready to forget, a word:
Look to the manger and see a young couple with all sorts of hopes and dreams in front of them change in an instant when they welcome the newborn King.
I know they didn’t have Target registries back then, but think about it––their whole life and all their plans changed. Wedding showers turned into baby showers as they discovered they’d be raising the Son of God…no pressure, right?
Look to that newborn King who’d live perfectly, die sacrificially, and rise victoriously. Look to that risen King, and remember He is coming again.
He is Immanuel, as prophesied in Isaiah, announced in Matthew 1, and repeated by Himself in Matthew 28, GOD WITH US. He’s with us in this good Christmases, He’s with us in those not so good Christmases––good days, bad days, and everything in between.
Look at a mirror and know that that King loves you and cares deeply about you. He knows what you’re going through, and you matter to Him.
Whether that’s something seemingly silly like a Jets uniform or something heavier like the loss of a loved one, He cares.
Look at your feet and remember Jesus has given you a mission to tell a lost, hurting, and dying world that He loves them and will save them if they turn to Him in faith.
We have today.Every day and every Christmas you’ve had is now in the past. We don’t know what tomorrow holds or even if we’ll have another Christmas, but we have today. Live it in the King’s service, and make disciples as you go, wherever you go.
Go with Him into this day, and the next, and everyday thereafter and make disciples. You’ll always have good days and bad days, just as there are good Christmases and bad Christmases, but you can never go wrong staying on mission.
