The theme of my preaching ministry Sunday from Augusta to Hattiesburg was God’s love for his sheep. “The True Messenger,” 2 Peter 2:1-3, showed God’s zealous love for his people’s protection by warning against false teachers who would undermine or even obscure the gracious instructions and promises he provides in the Scriptures and seals to us by the blood of Christ. Never in my ministry have I been more concerned for my people to be biblically discerning. Primarily because of the internet, we can gain access to more ideas more quickly than ever before, making it much easier for false teachers to proliferate their concepts and appear to be mainstream. Furthermore, the emotionalism of our culture together with our reliance on visual images makes us more vulnerable to deception (remember Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death). One of the primary responsibilities of a pastor is to help his people think biblically so that they might discern between truth and falsehood. Eugene Peterson states it this way: “Pastors are in charge of keeping the distinction between the world’s lies and the gospel’s truth clear” (The Unnecessary Pastor). It is just one more reason I am attempting this blog—because I want God’s Word to be clearly understood and helpfully applicable to you so that you may “walk in the truth” which provides the greatest joy for a pastor (3 John 4).

Thanks to the faithful prayers of God’s people, the ability to run and Deacon Sam Acevedo’s ability to drive “efficiently” I made it to First Presbyterian Church of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in time to preach at Dr. Sean Lucas’s installation there. He is only the eighth pastor of that church in 127 years of history! His predecessor was Dr. Andy Sillman, a son of FPC, Augusta. My text was Hebrews 13:7-21 (“A Real Love Affair”) and I charged the congregation and Sean to love each other in such a way that outsiders could clearly observe the gospel through them; that is, the love between Christ the Chief Shepherd and his people. Repeating this theme to pastors and congregations is my passion, having experienced it so vividly at Covenant Church, St. Louis, and now at FPC, Augusta. My family and I have been well-loved and our congregations have made it easy to love them.