Tag: reading

A Mentor I Only Met for Five Minutes

Can someone you’ve only met briefly be a mentor?

I was saddened to hear about the recent passing of Dr. Jim Shaddix. In addition to a family man, he was a pastor, a seminary professor, and a mentor to many. I would dare say he was one of my mentors, even though I only met him once for five minutes. 

The ministry of Dr. Shaddix became visible to me during a low point in my life in 2013. I was forced out of my first pastorate just before the four-year mark. Weeks stretched into months as I searched for a new place to serve through an endless supply of resumes. I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but one of those resumes landed at Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado – a church that Jim Shaddix had just served as pastor and a church that was way beyond my abilities. He went on to teach at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and I was intrigued by a pastor turned professor.

God was gracious and a door opened up for me to serve another church in Kentucky, just a few hours from where we currently lived. As I worked to hone my preaching craft, I came across Dr. Shaddix’s book, Power in the Pulpit, and I devoured it. Years later, I was asked to teach some students of my own through Southeastern Seminary’s extension program, and I was pleased to see that Dr. Shaddix was the principal teacher of that course. I enjoyed previewing his lecture videos before I share them with my class.

In 2023, I was pastoring my current church in Indianapolis, IN and I had the urge to offer my own course in sermon preparation and delivery. I had several men in the church, and two young staff pastors, who were eager for some instruction on preaching. I reached out to Dr. Shaddix by email to ask for his permission to include his materials in the course. Even though I wasn’t student at Southeastern Seminary, and he had never heard of my ministry (I’m sure of it), he sent me the kindest message in return. He gave me his permission as well as an offer to help anyway he could in the days ahead. I was proud to share his note with my Preaching Cohort during our first meeting – a note from a man that I considered as a mentor even though we had never met.

In 2024, the Southern Baptist Convention came to Indianapolis, IN and I was happy to see that Jim Shaddix was on the schedule to preach at the Pastor’s Conference. I don’t always get to listen to the preachers at the conference, but I made it point to be in my seat with my notebook open during his sermon. During a later, I waited in a long line at the Southeastern Seminary booth in the Exhibit Hall to meet him personally. I expressed gratitude for his recent sermon and for the influence of his book. He listened graciously and offered some encouragement. At one point, we were interrupted by another well-known preacher with an urgent message, but Dr. Shaddix finished our brief visit, and I was glad.

Mentoring can come in different ways. Sometimes it comes through a close, personal friendship. Sometimes mentoring a scheduled and structured and sometimes it happens organically. It can even happen from a distance as seasoned models and expert practitioners share their wisdom through all the channels we have today.

Here’s a link to Dr. Jim Shaddix’s obituary: https://www.brightfunerals.com/obituaries/Dr-Jim-L-Shaddix?obId=35207262

Should We Read the Psalms in Church?

Should we read out of the Book of Psalms together as a part of a public worship service? At first glance, they may seem hopelessly outdated or intended only for private study. Some of the Psalms contain sentiments that are so severe and malicious they are hard to square with Christ’s teaching about loving one’s enemies. When these shallow impressions are pushed aside, the Book of Psalms becomes a rich resource for gathered worship. Here are five reasons why.

The Psalms are part of the history of worship. The Psalter had a prominent place in ancient Israel and the early church. Paul calls first-century believers to “teach and admonish one another” with “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” in Colossians 3:16. In a world before the Contemporary Christian Music establishment, this is a clear reference to the Psalms of the Old Testament.

The Psalms are deeply personal. Composed by various authors and collected over many centuries, the Psalms were written as a response to Israel’s covenant relationship with God. They address a wide range of human experiences, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and they do so, often, in the first person.

The Psalms use evocative language. The poetic form and terminology of the Psalms draws the reader into a spirit of adoration. The vivid imagery and colorful language begs for a response. These passages of Scripture are meant for a worship setting, by design. 

The Book Psalms is organized into user-friendly parts. The 150 individual psalms can be organized into five books. These books contain passages that are all 50 verses or less, except for Psalms 18, 89, 78, and 119. Even these longer portions can be subdivided easily to be include in a public worship setting.

The Psalms are interconnected with the rest of Scripture. According to the Luke 24:44, the Psalms were considered the most important part of the Old Testament’s primary divisions: “The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” The 90th Psalm is based on the so-called “Song of Moses” in Exodus 15. The historical books of 1 & 2 Samuel provide the historical background for many of the psalms attributed to King David. The Psalms are quoted in the New Testament more than any other book. These links all show how central the Book of Psalms is to the rest of the Bible.

1 Timothy 4:13 says in part, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture.” This expression may take on many forms in a gathered worship service, but it can only be enhanced by reading the Psalms.

Introducing the “Three Things” Series

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Charlie “Tremendous” Jones” once said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Some have add, “the experiences you have” to Jone’s insight and I would agree. These are the things that have shaped me and they have inspired me to start a new weekly series called “Three Things.”

I will start the series with what I think are the three most important books to read on a particular topic. For example, three books someone should read once they get saved. You will notice that I will be pick categories that should matters to wide variety of believers.

The absolute importance of the Bible will be assumed in all my posts. I write, teach, and preach using the Bible all the time.  It is God’s inspired word and it gives us everything we need for faith and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16-17). At the same times, it can be a tremendous help to read how other people think about a particular topic.

You may wonder why just three things. Here are three reasons why:

  1. Focus. The number of choices in our modern world can be overwhelming at times. This includes books as well. The writer of Ecclesiastics warned, there is no end to the making of many books (Ecclesiastics 12:12, HCSB). A book in your hand that you will actually reading is more valuable than a whole bookstore worth of books.
  2. Developement. Reading forces us out of our comfort zones and into a new world of possibilities. It helps us to develop and grew, even when we are defending our treasurer assumptions.
  3. Memorability. Three things stick together. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. They make an easy list to follow up on.

I will launch this series with three special posts over the next three days covering:

  • Three books to read once you’re saved
  • Three books to read on discipleship
  • Three books to read before you go to seminary