Dr. Clarence Sexton (1948-2023)

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This evening I learned of the passing of Dr. Clarence Sexton, the founder of Crown College in Powell, TN. His family released this statement:

Our beloved Pastor’s faith has now become sight. He is in heaven in the arms of his Saviour.

Our church family has been wonderful over the last several months by showing your concern for us, praying for us, encouraging us, and expressing your love to us.

We respectfully ask that you would give Mrs. Sexton and the family the time they need to process and grieve their loss before you reach out with compassion and understanding.

Pastor Sexton loved the families of the church, college, and academy. He could not wait to get back to see everyone, and though we prayed for his healing on earth, God has chosen to provide his healing in heaven.

God’s ways are above our ways, and though our hearts are hurting, we choose to believe that God is still good.

The family is grateful that he is in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ where there is no sickness or sorrow.
Funeral arrangements will be made in the coming days and we will keep you updated.

There is no way that we can adequately express our thanks for your love and prayers at this time. God is with us, and we trust Him to help us in the days to come.

I was a student at Crown College back many years ago. While I would no long consider myself an Independent Fundamental Baptist, I still appreciate the great impact he had on my life. I wrote about him here on this blog. 

What I remember most about Dr. Sexton was his vision. This man was never content to let things stay the same or to merely maintain. No, he wanted to do great things for the Lord. He was always thinking of new and innovative ways to reach the World for Christ without compromise. He was quite methodical in his thinking. He taught us the nuts and bolts of ministry right down the the mundane things we never considered before, such as why Temple didn’t have pew Bibles or the role of ushers. 

Read the entire post here.

Yes, I am Pro-Life

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Years ago my mother was encouraged to have an abortion.  She struggled with her health.  She had two previous pregnancies.  Her first resulted in a child with severe mental handicap and her second resulted in a miscarriage.  This new pregnancy would certainly be difficult and the doctors could not guarantee the health of the mother or the child.  Yet, here I am.  Everyday I thank the Lord that my mother believed in the sanctity of human life, even if it meant her own life.  She loved me enough to risk everything just to give me a chance at life.  

Yes, I am Pro-Life.  I want every child to have the chance at life that I was granted.  I make no apologies for that.  I stand for life.  Every child is precious.  Every child is made in the image of God and therefore has purpose, value and worth.  Every single child.  Every single human being without exception.  

I also am not ashamed of the fact that my pro-life views are deeply rooted in Scripture. The Bible is the ultimate standard of truth, it is the standard by which all things are judged.  So, let’s take a very brief look at what three principles the Scriptures teach.  

Number 1 – Children are A Gift from God

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. – Psalm 127:3

Children are not accidents or punishments.  Children should be seen as precious gifts from the Lord.  In our fallen world, this may be difficult to grapple with.  When we consider economic struggles, shame, rape, or incest, it hard to see something anything as a gift in some situations.  But the Word of God is still true.  The blessing of a child often overcomes such struggles.  I have spoken to many moms who thank the Lord that they were able to make the right decision in a bad circumstance.

By the way, church, this is where we come in.  The birth of a child is commitment.  We are insisting women carry their pregnancies to term, we ought to be the first to place our arms around them and help as much as we can.  Let’s make sure daily needs are met along with spiritual and emotional needs are addressed as well.  This means real ministry in awkward situations.  It also means getting to know those around us instead of merely hanging out in our holy bunkers hiding from the rest of the world.  Loving your neighbors first involves knowing your neighbors.  

Number 2 – Life in the Womb Comes From God

Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you –  Isaiah 44:2

No one is an accident.  No child who is conceived is an accident.  What a horrible thing to say.  Every child is a creation of God – a purposeful creation of God.  God does all things through His own will.  Children are created by design and purpose from God Himself.  We are also promised His help.  I understand that not all children are born into ideal situations.  But we do have the promise of God’s help.  Every child has hope.  No child has to grow up thinking he or she is trapped in a particular situation.  

Again, church, this is where we come in.  I grew up in less than ideal situations including poverty and abuse.  But there were many within my local church who took an interest in me and invested their lives into mine.  That was what made all the difference.  Let’s get into our communities, congregations and spheres of influence.  We can drop the judgmentalism and show some compassion and genuine love.

Number 3 – Those in the Womb are Called Children

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, – Luke 1:41

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 1:18

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. – Ecclesiastes 11:5

The baby.  The child.  When Scripture refers to what is inside the womb it always uses human terms.  This world will tell you this merely a clump of cells or a fetus or something less than actual human life.  The Bible rejects all of that.  We are talking about real life.  When a mother miscarries, there is oftentimes great sorrow and mourning.  Why?  These women are not mourning a mere clump of cells.  They mourn the loss of a child.  

Of course this little blog post barely even scratches the service of a very deep and complex issue.  There are many great resources out there for those that want to dig a little deeper but I thought I would at least put a few thoughts down here to get the ball rolling

Come Join the Party

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This morning in church, one of our pastors gave us a familiar reminder from Scripture – all are welcome into the body of Christ.  Alluding to Luke 15, he reminded us all that no matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been or what you have gone through, Jesus invites you to be with Him.  At the end of each of the parables in this chapter there is rejoicing over finding that which was lost.  In the parable of the prodigal son we see rejoicing over the sinner who has come back to the father.  All are welcome to the party.  Like the angels in heaven, let’s rejoice over sinners coming to the Lord.  Don’t let your past, your addictions, or poor decisions or anything else hinder you from this party, so to speak.

That’s the great news of the gospel.  The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.  Anyone who will confess their sin can experience the faithfulness and justice of our Lord and will be cleansed from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).  Anyone who is weary can come and cast their great burdens upon the Lord (Matthew 11:28), much like Christian from the classic book, Pilgrim’s Progress.  Of course we can do this, because – wait for it – He CARES about YOU (I Petter 5:7).  Not only does God love you, like He does with everyone else in a general way – but he actually cares about you in particular and wants you to talk about and give Him what is bothering you most.  What an incredible God we have.  

But, in the midst of this reminder, I felt the Lord directing my thoughts elsewhere.  I’ve been in church most of my life.  There’s never been a time I have denied Christ or denied the existence of God.  I’ve never done drugs.  I’ve never been drunk.  The truth is, while I am a great sinner – my sins are not the spectacular ones that comprise the fascinating testimonies we all love to hear.  I’m a sinner of a different sort.

Here’s the truth – I’m old.  I have come to embrace the fact that I am a curmudgeon.  Many of my sentences are prefaced with the phrase, “Kids these days…”  I don’t enjoy modern music and am not able to recognize the stars of most of the movies currently hitting the big screen.  I haven’t yelled at kids riding their bikes on my lawn yet, but I have been confused by new technology more times than I would care to admit.

Of course, this mindset has crept into my spiritual life.  I long for the day when we used to sing hymns in church – only hymns.  Hymns with five million verses to them (even though we only sing the first, third and last stanzas).  For that matter – forget projections – give me a hymnal. I like things the way they used to be.  It feels weird for me to lift my hands in praise during a particularly moving worship song.  My hands are just fine in my pockets, thank you.  I want my sermons long, in-depth and maybe a bit dry.  I even find myself wanting to sit in a pew once again.  Oh, and none of this charismatic stuff.  If the Reformers didn’t say it in the 1500’s – I probably don’t need to hear about it today…  Forget about skinny jeans, any attempt to be cool/relevant, or dismissing before noon.  Don’t even get me started about Saturday evening services…

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of valid criticisms about the modern church.  Many of these are well-grounded in Scripture and deserve your attention and thought.  But if I am honest, most of my problems are not grounded not in the Word, but in my security – or insecurity as the case may be.  As a typical church-goer, I like tradition.  While I’m very quick to judge the Catholic Church for lifting tradition to the same level as Holy Scripture (and I’m sola scriptura all the way – and for good reason), I also am quick to raise my own personal preferences and “the way we’ve always done it” to an unhealthy level of importance.  

Even in my own church, I find myself often uncomfortable with some of these things.  I am a church curmudgeon.  But, more than that, I am an older brother.  Let me return back to Luke 15.  While we are right to focus on the joy of the prodigal returning, there’s more to the story.  The penitent rebel who made a mess of his life was not the only one invited to the party.  In the midst of all the rejoicing – there was someone missing.  The older brother was noticeably not at the party.  The father would head out into the field to find his other son complaining about all the ruckus being made.  The kid actually had a good point.  He wasn’t necessarily wrong about his lot in life.  For many years he labored faithfully without reward or recognition.  But he was missing the bigger picture. His pride prevented him from sharing the heart of his father.  As a brother, he should be rejoicing as well.  But he was too focused on himself and missed out on the joy he could have been experiencing.  

Here is where I begin to feel convicted.  Many of my complaints are valid, but I am guilty of missing the bigger picture.  The body of Christ consists of more than just people who think like or have the same background as me.  While I am certainly not willing to compromise the gospel or any single verse of Scripture, I need to thaw out my heart and think of my other brothers and sisters more than my mere preferences.  Instead of being the old curmudgeon set in my ways, I must be able to move past my own experience and embrace what the Lord is doing all around me – even if that means taking my hands out of my pockets.

I tend to be overly skeptical of anything different from what I’m used to.  I am often guilty of a bad attitude and an unwillingness to leave a comfort zone of my own building.  Yes, I’m an old grouch.  But here’s the great news – the gospel is for me as well.  I still have an invitation to the party.  Just as the father in the parable was not content to have a party without the older brother, the Father still wants me in His kingdom.  There is room in the body of Christ for a person like me.  I am welcome.  He wants me there.  Warts and all, the church needs people like me.  The truth is – I need them as well.  I need to be around skinny-jean-wearing cool kids who talk about the Holy Spirit more than I’m accustomed to and sing worship songs that might be more emotional than I want.  I need them and they need me.

All are welcomed around the table of Jesus.  If you have made a mess of your life, come and eat.  If you are an utter failure, come and eat.  There is an invitation for the drunk, the glutton, the whore, the idolater and pridefully arrogant people like me.  Come, join the party.

Book Review – Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr

Kevin Thompson 1 Comment

51xywxv42ol-_sy416_bo1204203200_Title: Martin Luther
Author: Simonetta Carr
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Publishing Year: 2016
Pages: 63
My Rating: 5 out of 5 (1 meaning I hated the book, 5 meaning I loved the book)

Ever since Tony and Tommy came into my life, I am constantly on the hunt for good children’s books.  Not only do I want to instill a love for reading into their lives, but my greatest desire is to create opportunities to enrich their faith.  Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr is just the book to open that door.

As a teacher, I’ve come across quite a bit of children’s biographical material.  Much of it is ok and basic.  They give you the basic story and throw in a few helpful lessons along the way.  But my concern has been that they are moralistic tales that leave one with a heroic appreciation of the achievements of that individual and that’s about it.  I’m glad to say this is not the approach of Simonetta Carr.

Martin Luther is more like a theology book told from a biographical perspective.  As I read this with my oldest son, there were ample opportunities in every chapter to stop and talk about spiritual truth.  The gospel is a clear emphasis all throughout these 63 pages.  I loved exploring this with Tony, that is once he got past the fact we were talking about Protestant Reformer Martin Luther and not civil rights champion Martin Luther King…

While the theology is rich and deep, Carr is does not sacrifice historical accuracy.  The story of Martin Luther is one that captivates me and one I’ve studied quite a bit.  Yet, even I learned a few new things from this children’s book.  I also found her story-telling ability to be fantastic.  She tells a gripping tale that has you wanting to know more and keep on reading.  My son never wanted to put the book down.  I’ve already begun looking into other titles in this series.

The only real complaint I would have is that Carr is a little too historically accurate.  When writing of Luther at Worms, she leaves out his famous words, “Here I stand.”  While I recognize that historians tell us he probably did not say these words, I still like to imagine it.  Oh well…

This is a great book for both children and parents alike.  It’s accurate, reliable and interesting.  This is a great tool not only to introduce your child to Church History but also provides teachable moments to have meaningful conversations about the gospel and theology.  I only read it with my oldest son (9) as I thought it a little advanced for my five year-old.

This would be great to read next Reformation Day in October, but might also make a spectacular Christmas gift next week!  You can purchase the book here.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

tonymartinluther

Book Review – Refresh: Spiritual Nourishment for Parents of Children with Special Needs

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51s1knwpjtl-_sx321_bo1204203200_Title: Refresh:  Spiritual Nourishment for Parents of Children with Special Needs
Author: Kimberly M. Drew and Jocelyn Green
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Publishing Year: 2016
Pages: 280
My Rating: 5 out of 5 (1 meaning I hated the book, 5 meaning I loved the book)

In recent years, I have been encouraged to see the church growing in its awareness of problems previously swept under the rug or ignored altogether.  Families with special needs children, I believe, have fit into that category.  Growing up with a severely autistic brother made me painfully aware that many within the church have no idea how to encourage these struggling families.  It has never been that no one cared, it’s just that no one knew how to handle it.  It was awkward.  What do you even say?  How could you really help?  It’s been my joy to see that beginning to change.

Refresh:  Spiritual Nourishment for Parents of Children with Special Needs is a daily devotional that will be a benefit to people you know. I wasn’t sure what to think when I first signed up to review this book.  Sometimes books of this nature can just be corny – filled with happy thoughts twisted away from simplistic understandings of commonly misapplied Scripture.  I am overjoyed to say that is not the case with this book.  The authors use Scripture to encourage the soul, rebuke sin, and point weary parents to the Cross of Jesus – just what a devotional ought to do.  Frequent quotations from authors I trust such Gillian Marchenko and Ellen Stumbo give this book an extra dose of weight and credibility in my mind.

What families with special needs children are going to see as they open this book is much they can identify with.  Page after page will detail stories, events, feelings and admissions that you will shout a hearty “amen” at.  This book is intensely relatable.  At the same time, this book will speak truth to your life, even when you may be tempted to wallow in self-pity.  Yet, they will not leave you down as they encourage you with the Word and the knowledge that others are traveling this road with you.  This book would serve as a good, daily dose of inspiration that will help you through the day.

Yet, this book would also benefit the friends, loved ones and pastors of families with children with special needs.  There’s much that just goes uncommunicated.  That’s by design.  Many parents in this situation find themselves frustrated and even embarrassed.  There’s much they just don’t want to say, but wish you could know.  This book will guide you into a world you never knew existed.  It will give you insight into how to minister and love more effectively.  This book would be well worth the cost just for that alone.

Purchase the book for yourself here.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.