Matt Henslee's Blog, page 34
August 1, 2020
THRILLED to announce the arrival of Text-Driven Invitation:...
THRILLED to announce the arrival of Text-Driven Invitation: Landing the Plane Without Leaving the Text!
It’s FREE on #Kindle Unlimited (or $4.95) and the paperback option is $6.95 on #Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DSR7KR3
July 30, 2020
July 29, 2020
For the Love of...the Good News - One Disciple
My latest for One Disciple.
July 26, 2020
The Wrath to Come
An exposition of Nahum 2:1-5
Leading With Truth and Love - One Disciple
My latest for One Disciple
Destruction and Deliverance
An exposition of Nahum 1:9-15
July 18, 2020
Beginning a New Chapter
Four years ago, I was in the process of interviewing with Mayhill Baptist Church. One of the search committee members said, “Now if you go and google Mayhill, you’ll probably see some stuff about a store in town. We just want you to know that doesn’t represent us.” I had already searched.
And it wasn’t good.In church revitalization, kinda like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. And generally speaking, there’ll always be some measure of repairing the church’s reputation to outsiders and those in the community. That is even harder when the community’s reputation is bad.
In other words, with signs like “BRING BACK THE KKK,” “KILL OBAMA” (in giant print with a tiny “care” on the bottom), “MUSLIMS NOT WELCOME,” “COLIN KAEPERNIGGER,” and worse, why would anyone want to make Mayhill their home, let alone Mayhill Baptist? It had become a stain on this wonderful town, or as one resident called it, “a noose strangling the life out of Mayhill.”
Lead him to Jesus.Undeterred, unwilling to let a few signs scare us away from God’s call to Mayhill, we soon accepted the call to pastor MBC, and I made it my goal to lead that man to Jesus. After all, as sickening as the signs are, they revealed his biggest problem wasn’t his hate for women, Muslims, immigrants, or digging up graves, but for Christ. Jesus was (and is) his greatest need. With every encounter, that was my goal.
Shortly after I came, I went out running. As I ran by, a young mom heading to Holloman Air Force Base (40ish miles away) was being yelled and cursed out of his store. I made a turn to see what was going on and discovered her one-year-old daughter had gotten carsick on the drive up the mountain.
In tears, she told me she had only gone in to see if she could get some tissues or paper towels from the bathroom to clean her daughter. Whether her crime was not seeing the “NO PURCHASE NO BATHROOM” sign, the color of her skin, or a mixture of both, it pained me to see a wife of a man willing to defend our freedom (or any person) treated so terribly.
I took her to the Mayhill Café next door, where she could clean her daughter up and get back on the road. I then went to the convenience store to share how uncalled for this was, and the poor witness it was for our community. I begged him to remove the signs, try kindness, and to turn from his hate and embrace the love of Christ by faith. I was sent away.
Years later, it was inappropriate letters sent to a local business’ employee. I was called on by their boss to intervene and had a similar result. Once, after the signs had suddenly come down, I stopped in to thank him and share the gospel. The terse response began with “get,” ended with “out,” and had a few more colorful words in between.
As an evangelist, I wasn’t (and am not) going to give up. As much as I hated those signs and what it did for our community, my biggest fear was him spending an eternity in hell. Nevertheless, as a community leader, something had to be done with the signs. After all, if you have to be warned about them by the search committee or are welcomed by angry voicemails from travelers because of them, there’s a problem.
That’s now history.In 2017 it was his signs that seemed to threaten President Obama. In 2018 it was the signs banning Muslims. In 2019 it was the signs banning immigrants. The latter was the straw that seemed to break the town’s back as angry reviews and threats landed on our church and the local Mayhill Café.
Now they’re gone. Why? Because in 2020, a new chapter has begun. The Mayhill Convenience Store was sold to a sweet lady who loves Jesus and wants to love and serve the community. She has since renamed it to the Mayhill Country Store, which will serve homemade lemonade, fudge, burritos, and more, in what’ll be a quaint grocery store that’s welcome to all.
Our girls are already smitten after meeting her on July 16. Her joy is infectious, her love is unconditional, and she hopes to share the love she has in Christ with all who pass by. Previously, the store made most drivers hit the gas when they entered the town. Now, I hope it makes them pump the breaks, stop, and stay awhile to know some of the finest, most loving people on the planet.
I want our town to be known for the love of Jesus more than the hate on some signs. That chapter can now begin, and the community is behind this new owner and new culture 100%. The previous chapter was told as far as the UK and on every major national news network. I don’t know how far this new chapter will be read, but I do know it’ll be read by every visitor and welcomed with joy.
July 13, 2020
Live With Eternity in Mind - One Disciple
My latest for One Disciple
July 12, 2020
July 6, 2020
The City That Lost Its Way
An exposition of Nahum 1:1
