jasonedwindees

Nearly 2000 years ago Jesus challenged eleven men to get on mission with Him for the sake of His Kingdom. He commanded them to make disciples of people from every nation, to baptize them, and to teach them to obey the law of Christ. These eleven men had very few resources, they had little education, and they found themselves in the middle of a Roman Empire that wanted to destroy them, but they had the Holy Spirit and they were on mission. I am sure many sensible people told them that the task in front of them was impossible, but they were on mission. Many of them because of this mission traveled hundreds and even thousands of miles from their homes, many of them were crucified for their faith and their work for Christ, many of them were stoned, in fact in one way or another all but one of them were brutally murdered for their obedience to this command of Christ, but they were on mission. Nothing, and I mean nothing could stop them. Eventually, their number grew and other believers joined them in this mission, even Caesar, the most powerful man in the world, could not put them down. Jesus had promised that He would be with them and by the power of the Holy Spirit he was with them.
It is easy to forget that that is where First Baptist, and where your church came from. In a world where most of us had the Gospel at our fingertips from the time we were born, in a world where the most persecution we have ever faced for something we believed probably came from another person that called themselves a Christian, it is really hard to identify with the early disciples. It is easy to forget that like them we are on mission, we are on a serious mission, a mission that we have been called to by Christ. Today, we have a lot of resources, we have a lot of education, and we find ourselves in a country that is very sympathetic to the cause of Christ; and yet with all of this, the church in America is failing at the mission. Here nearly 2000 years after the Great Commission was given 40% of the world is still unevangelized, our churches are declining in numbers, and society is looking less and less to the church for answers. It is really easy for the church in this environment to hold on to what we have hoping that we do not lose anything else, but we cannot have this kind of attitude. We cannot afford to be safe, we cannot afford to sit still we have to be on the move, we have to get on mission. Church life can often be frustrating because it often seems that we spend more time arguing with one another about small things than we do making disciples. We have an enemy and it is not our brothers and sisters in Christ it is Satan and he is not sitting still, he is on the move and he wants to destroy the Church and the life of believers. If we want to move forward we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to take the Gospel forward. We have a great enemy and we must be relentless. My prayer for our churches is that we would be on mission, focused on what Christ has called us to do no matter what. We must all be committed to give and to remain focused on heavenly things not on earthly things. Therefore as a Christian leader in this community I want to publicly commit to throw off the things that easily entangle and to strain forward for the things of my Lord. I pray that you would join me in this and lets together, unified, get on mission to make Jesus great in all the earth, for the sake of his glory. Amen.

Well I got to see ole James Taylor a few months back and, as always with James Taylor, it was a great show. The man may be sixty-three but he can still rock. Thousands were there enjoying the beautiful night; they were out to have fun, and fun they had. As Mr. Taylor broke into “Sweet Baby James” the woman to my left sprung to her feet, put her hands in the air, closed her eyes, and with a smile on her face sang along. As I watched her in a moment of James Taylor Joy, I couldn’t help but think of some of the worship services I have been to where I have seen similar looking women and men with the same expression, the same hands waved in the air, and the same joy as they sung along. After these worship services I have heard people as they left saying things like “worship tonight was awesome,” or “now that was worship.” This is all very similar to some of the things I heard as I was leaving the James Taylor show that night, “James was awesome tonight,” and “now that was a concert.” So what is the difference between the James Taylor concert and Christian Worship? Now I am not suggesting that people who hold their hands up in worship services are disingenuous, but if Christian Worship is limited to singing along, with your eyes closed, and your hands raised, then why not go to a James Taylor concert? In recent years I have noticed a trend in the church to put an emphasis on giving people a great “experience” when they are in worship services rather than urging them to live Godly lives. My prayer for First Baptist is that we would measure the success of our worship services not on what people do when they are in the service, but rather on how they live when they are not in the service. Too many of our churches have bought into the lie that successful worship means feel good entertainment. I don’t want people coming to our worship services to feel good about themselves, but rather to feel good about the God they serve and the savior who loves them. As we learn to turn our focus away from seeking our own pleasures, to seeking the pleasure of God, then and only then will we find true worship and true joy. Let us encourage one another daily to live out “worship” as we learn and follow the will of our Lord. For the sake of his Kingdom, for the Glory of his name. Amen.

I am always asked this time of year, “What should Christians do with Halloween?” Now for most Americans Halloween is a fun night to dress up and eat candy, but it does have some connection to pagan ritual and is a holy time for neo pagans. Therefore many Christian families feel that it is inappropriate for a Christ follower to participate. So what is right?
A few years ago Mark Driscoll a pastor in Seattle wrote a wonderful article on the broader idea of how should Christians interact with culture? He basically concluded that Christians can do one of three things with the culture, we can reject it, we can receive it, or we can redeem it. I tend to agree with his conclusion and I believe his paradigm can apply to Halloween. There is no getting away from Halloween; it is a big part of what it means to be an American. So as Christians we can either reject it, receive it, or redeem it.
We can reject Halloween, pretend like it doesn’t happen, and keep our children sheltered from the notion, but let’s be honest; this is impossible and will likely lead to some resentment in your child’s heart for being left out. We can receive Halloween and treat it like a fun day that the whole country enjoys, but where do you draw the line on how much of Halloween you accept? Or we as Christians can redeem Halloween. The world has flavored this day in our culture to be a day of pointless costumes and expensive candy, how are we as Christians going to take back the flavor of this day. Rather than asking, “Should we celebrate Halloween?” I think the better question for parents to ask is, “How should we celebrate Halloween, or Christmas, or Easter or any other holiday?” In Christ we are not called to live some days for God’s glory, have a few days of sin, and then live a bunch of days somewhere in between; we are called to redeem every day, every hour, for the glory of God. So this October 31, while the whole world is dressing up and loading up on candy, how are you as a follower of Jesus going to redeem that day for his glory? I don’t think the answer is pretending like it isn’t Halloween.
If you are a parent and your child wants to “dress up” for Halloween, know that dressing up can be a great tool for teaching. But rather than letting them dress up like Justin Bieber, or Cinderella, get a warrior costume for your son and then read to them the account of Revelation 19 when the Christians go into battle with Christ. Another idea is to dress your son or your daughter up like a Bible character or someone famous from church history. An example here is a man or a woman from the time of the Reformation. After all it was October 31, 1517 that the Reformation of the church began, when Martin Luther hung the 95 Thesis on the church doors at Wittenberg.
If you want to take your child trick or treating make sure that they don’t waste the hours with the only purpose of getting as much candy as possible. An idea here is to have your child make a few cards with words of truth or encouragement written on them, for example, “Christ Jesus came to save sinners” or simply “God loves you.” Let your children write these cards and then have them give a card to every house they visit. This is a great way to teach your children about sharing God’s truth with everyone they meet.
Redeeming the culture isn’t difficult; it just takes some intentional thought and effort. Halloween is a big day in the life of children. I still remember being so excited about dressing up and going door to door to get my favorite candy. As a parent you have a golden opportunity to shape that energy of your child into something that is God honoring and eternal. Don’t waste this October 31st. Redeem that day for the glory of Christ.

It doesn’t take too many clues to know a lot about a church. I can usually tell you when a church was founded, where it is located in the town, and its demographic just by hearing the church name. In Baptist life if the church is a First church it is usually very old, dating back to the 19th or even 18th century depending on the region. First Churches are usually downtown and usually have an older, white-collar demographic. First Churches are also generally more liberal and intellectual in their theology. Then in the early 20th century there was a trend to name churches for Biblical places or markers like Ebenezer, Calvary, or Zion. These churches tend to be out of the town and have an older, blue-collar crowd, and the preaching is what I call “Good Ole Gospel.” When the 1950’s and 60’s came along naming a church for the road it was on was the trend. So you see churches like Thomas Road Baptist Church, or Whitesburg Baptist Church popping up. This era of new churches was trying to find a middle ground between the liberalism of the downtown church, and the fundamentalism of the blue-collar church. These churches tend to be program driven and are focused on ministering to the whole family. In the 1990’s contemporary churches were all the rage. So you saw a lot of contemporary churches starting named something like Crosspointe, or Northpointe. They are generally more “seeker friendly” and are a reaction to the “busy-ness” of the program driven church. The contemporary churches are staff or elder led and fall into a “Simple Church” model, focusing their ministry on the working family. Recently the trend in church names is what I call “hardcore adjectives.” Churches that have been planted in the past five years are usually named something like Journey, Elevation, or Ignite. Hardcore Adjective Churches do a good job reaching the younger generations, 35 and younger; and being new churches they tend to meet in schools, gyms, and even skating rinks. All of these different types of churches when they started were trying to be relevant and were on the cutting edge of reaching people. Eventually they all fell or will fall into a comfort zone and develop their own methodology and traditions.
I gave you this brief history lesson on the American church because I want to give you a little background on my vision for First Baptist in Covington. When I was in seminary and was observing the different eras and different types of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention it was always discouraging to me. The church of our Lord was so dividing by music, preaching style, and age demographics. It seemed like churches that had a heart for reaching the young and unchurched were all young. They had very little age and experience in their church body. Then the churches that had any measure of adults 60 and older had a void of youth and energy. I began to ask, “what if a church could be both?” What if there was a church where the older and more mature believers had a heart to reach the young, the edgy, and un-churched; and were willing to get out of their comfort zone to do so? What if there was a church where the young respected their more mature brothers and sisters and learned to lean on them for wisdom and strength? What if there was a church where people weren’t separated by age but united in one accord for the sake of the Gospel? That was my hope coming out of seminary and is still my hope today. That is my vision for First Baptist; that we could all realize that we are a part of a body that works together for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ. The local church is a picture of the Kingdom of Christ at First Baptist and I pray at your church that picture is becoming crystal clear. For the glory of Christ, Amen.

Well I found out a few weeks ago that I am having a baby girl and I am so excited. She is due in January and as it might be expected, a flood of thoughts have been running through my mind. The thing that has been most striking to me about having a child is just the suddenness of it. Any other accomplishment in life takes a lot of hard work, planning, and preparation, but not having a baby. With my career I had to go to school and train and prepare and get a degree before I could pastor a church, with marriage I had to pursue Paige, and buy her a ring, and go through this elaborate wedding in order to become a husband. But when you become a father, you just walk in the door after work one day and your wife tells you that you are going to have a child and in that one unexpected moment everything in your life changes forever.
Now, Lord willing, this little girl that is growing in my wife’s womb will be one of the greatest objects of my affection for the rest of my life, I will spend more time and energy with her than any other person on earth except for her mother, she will give me the greatest of joys and the deepest pains that I will ever feel, and it will be her that speaks at my funeral and settles my estate when I am gone. This little girl will do all of that, this girl that right now I could hold in the palm of my hand. I can’t wait to meet her in January, but right now all I can do is wait and pray, and hope that I will be the Father that she needs and that God desires me to be.
May the Lord bless her and keep her. May the Lord make his face to shine upon her, and be gracious to her. May the Lord life up his countenance to her, and give her rest. Amen.

Incarnation. God incarnate, God made man, God becoming a man; do you ever think about that? I mean really think about it, God the creator of the universe became a man and lived among us.
In the religious south so many of us have heard that so many times that it just kind of washes over us, but let that sink in. God became a man and lived among us. That is what Christmas is: a celebration of God living as a man, as a full man. As Christians we believe that Jesus was fully man, and fully God. How that is worked out was debated by the church for centuries and certainly won’t be fully explained in a 500-word article. But if the accounts in the Bible are true (and I of course believe they are) than the events of Jesus Christ are the most magnificent and significant in all of human history.
Jesus came as response to the sinfulness of man. God in Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) had created the universe perfect and without error, and God created Adam, the man, and Eve, the woman, to rule over all creation. But tragedy struck, the man sinned and the perfect harmony and rhythm that God had set in place was knocked out of order with the disobedience of man. Death, illness, natural disaster, abandonment, and heartache are all the result of this sin world that we live in, a sin world given the curse of death by a just God. Eventually though, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope when God blessed a man, Abraham. He told him that he would be the father of a great nation through which the whole world would be blessed. God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants that as they were obedient to God’s law they would receive blessing from Him. But the people were not obedient, even though God showed them great favor, they continued to fall into great sin and the hopelessness of the sin world continued. Until God in His great mercy, in perhaps the most unexpected event of history, came to earth as a man. God the Son, or Jesus, was the obedient follower of God the Father that Abraham and his descendants could never be, he never sinned and yet instead of being rewarded for his obedience, he was punished. See Jesus was punished on behalf of sinful men and women because the punishment that we deserve was applied to him, in order that the reward that He deserved might be applied to us. This is what the Reformer Martin Luther called “The Great Exchange,” and what an exchange it is! So this week take a few moments to reflect on the incarnation, that God became a man to save you; and that in Jesus, despite the sin world that we live in, know that you might find the forgiveness of sins and life in his wonderful name.

Most of the people I know were not alive on December 7th, 1941 but most everyone I know remembers what happened that day. And when people hear that date there is generally a feeling of pride that wells up in their hearts, not because of the horrible attacks at Pearl Harbor that our nation endured on that December 7th nearly 70 years ago now, but because of the way our nation responded to such an attack. America would emerge from the ashes of December 7, 1941 to become without any doubt the mightiest nation in the world. In the year 2071 most of the people that were alive the day our nation came under the attack of Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001 will be long passed away, but I pray that our nation would look back on that day with the same sort of pride for our nations response.
The past ten years have not been an easy time for America. In many ways I feel like we as a nation are still “responding” and how we will come out as a nation still hangs in the balance. Most obviously we are still responding militarily. Even while I write this article thousands of young American men and women are fighting to rid the world of terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, many of whom watched the events of September 11, 2001 on their 4th grade classroom TV. We are also responding in the realm of clashing worldviews. The debate over the “world trade center mosque” that was raging a year ago is evidence of this. The question, “How is America going to deal with a growing number of Muslims in America verses Islamic hostility towards America in the Middle East?” looms in the minds of many in the United States. Our economy is still responding. Will America continue to be the most economically stable nation in the world? Today this is a legitimate question, whereas America’s economic stability would have been considered a given 10 years ago. How America comes out of this season in many ways has yet to be seen and for these reasons our response to September 11, 2001 is not over.
The church is also still responding. In the past ten years the church in America has changed dramatically. The idea of a “Christian Nation” while still alive in the South and in parts of Rural America is all but dead in most of our nations great cities. American morality that had long been grounded in the Bible has now come into question and given way to an amoral postmodern worldview. The divide between the generations is also more obvious than ever in our nation’s churches with young and old refusing to listen to one another and work alongside each other.
I pray that in 2071 the world will look back at the events of September 11, 2001 and say it was a day made America stronger. I pray that in 2071 the church will see the events of September 11, 2001 as the day that began a series of events that led to great revival in this nation. But more than any of that, I pray that I would remember that day, and that I would respond by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God. I pray this that Jesus might be glorified in our nation and that in Him America would be strong.

Allow me to invite you attend the events First Baptist has scheduled for this September 11. On Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m., the First Baptist Family will gather with the entire community on the Covington Square to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001. The key note speaker will be nationally known author and speaker Sean McDowell. Sean will then be preaching at our 9:45 and 11:00 a.m. services at First Baptist. That afternoon at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. our choir will be presenting a special musical production called, “Sweet Land of Liberty.” This is an important day for our nation, our community, and our church and we would love for you to be a part of it.

One of my hopes for this town is that Covington would be a
benchmark in Georgia for integrity and righteousness. This will only
happen through the ministry of strong churches in our area. At First
Baptist we recognize that the problems of society run deep, all going
back to the fall of man through Adam’s sin. These are problems that
cannot be cured through business or politics, but only through
redemption in Christ. Hope for our community is not found in
elections or more job opportunities, but in the Gospel of our Lord.
Unless there are churches in Covington that believe and preach that
Gospel, our city and surrounding county is in trouble. I am grateful
for the churches that do hold fast to the truth of God’s word and I
mourn for the churches that have exchanged the Gospel for something
less.
If you are reading this article and are a believer in Jesus
Christ, I want to challenge you to expect your church to love God’s
word and believe in God’s truth. If you have a pastor that is
unwilling to preach the Gospel and the full council of God’s word, you
must challenge him or find another church where you and your family
can be fed. Your spiritual health and the health of your church
depend on this. If you are reading this article and are not a
believer, I want to ask you, “Where is your foundation? What decides
for you what is right and wrong or true or false?” If it is just what
you think or what the popular opinion of the day is, well then what
value does truth or morality really have? That is a dangerous
worldview and I would challenge you to submit to the supreme ruler of
the universe the Lord Jesus Christ. Find a church that preaches His
truth and invest your life there.
If the people of Covington and Newton County will submit to the
Lord and the truth of His word, this community has a bright future and
we will be that benchmark of integrity and righteousness for our
state. If not, we are destined to the go the way of the world and to
feel the effects of sin like never before. I pray that we would
continue walking humbly with the God of truth, for the sake of our own
lives, for the sake of our community, for the sake of our nation, and
for the sake of the glory of God.

Let me tell you about my heroes. The first is James Brown. No, I’m not talking about James Brown the singer, although when the mood is right and “Papas Got a Brand New Bag” is playing, I can really “Shake Em Down.” No, I’m talking about James Brown the vice president of a bank in Huntsville, AL, father of two, and proud owner of 7801 Fair Circle. Every morning he gets up, gives his wife a kiss good-bye, and faithfully goes to his office managing the tasks set before him with duty in his heart, skill in his hand, and a smile on his face. James Brown has never climbed Mt. Everest, he has never won a Super Bowl ring, and he has never raced the Number 20 car at Talladega. James Brown hasn’t done a lot of the things that usually make people “heroes,” but he is a hero to me.
Another one of my heroes is Calvin Blevins. Now Calvin much like James has never climbed a mountain (Well not unless you count Stone Mountain.) And just like James he is the father of two, and in fact owns a home just a few miles south of the Brown residence in Huntsville. Every morning he wakes up, kisses his wife goodbye, and faithfully goes off to work. Then every afternoon he comes home makes sure everything in the neighborhood in check, and proudly talks with his wife about their two lovely daughters.
How about my own father John Dees? He has been a pastor in Huntsville for eighteen years now. He has never written a book, he has never had a web page, and if we have to be honest, he has never even had an E-mail account. But everyday he wakes up kisses my mother (Sweet Nancy) and faithfully ministers to his congregation; pain after pain, joy after joy, day after day. These men are my heroes. And when I think about the kind of man I want to become, they are who I think of. I read a lot of books for young men; books that are full of adventure, and mountains, and rivers, and big blue skies; books that encourage you to dream big and then leave everything behind to chase those dreams; books that encourage you to buck traditionalism and be your own man. Now these books are fun and exciting and have some great things to say about “being a man.” But, these books are written by a bunch of young guys with soul-patches and thirty-dollar-a-week Starbucks’ bills. For me, the most important lesson that I learned about “being a man,” I didn’t learn in any of these books, and that is the value of faithfulness. I learned it by watching James, Calvin, and John. I have watched them understand the responsibilities and gifts God has given and faithfully stick to them. I have seen them be faithful to their job, their family, and their community. You ask what the world needs? You ask what God desires from a man?…One word, faithfulness. That is the true mark of a man, and I have been so blessed to have that modeled to me every day of my life… by my heroes.

The apostle Paul once said to his disciple Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” Paul was rightly reminding his young friend Timothy that there is nothing on earth as valuable as godliness. If God is real, if there really is a supreme ruler of the universe (and I believe there is) then our response to him is the most important thing about us.
This is a good time to year to think about godliness as many of you who are parents and grandparents are spending a lot of money and time getting your children ready to return to school. You are buying them new clothes, new notebooks, and new crayons; you are making sure they did their summer reading, and you are beginning to give those pep talks about how “this is going to be a great year.” All of that is important and has some value, but what have you done lately to instill godliness in your child’s life? Ultimately their school will only take them so far, but their relationship with God will have bearing on them for the rest of eternity. So the question for you as a parents, as one whom God has entrusted with this child, is how are you instilling godliness into their lives? This is the most important question you have to answer as a parent and one day when you stand before God to give an account for your life, that is the very question He will ask you.
In the hustle and bustle of getting back to school I want to encourage you parents to take a step toward training your child in godliness and I have a few very practical steps to help you lead your children in the way they should go before a Holy God. The first that is essential is that you need to be active in a Bible believing church. This doesn’t mean that you are a member and never go, this means that you are actively living out your faith with other believers. This is God’s vision and call for your life and the life of your child. The second is that you lead your family in a regular family devotional. This could be once a week but there is something sacred about a family sitting down together to read the bible and to pray. These intentional efforts of Bible study will leave lasting impressions on your child’s heart. Finally, I would encourage you to look for the teaching moments. When your children are doing math homework take that opportunity to say something like, “God is a God of order, he has ordered everything in this world in a way that we can measure and count it.” Just a small moment, but the more you as a parent can connect everything from math to baseball back to God the more your child will see God in the world.
God has given you a huge responsibility in raising your child. I pray that you would find favor and blessing from the Lord in this monumental task, and I pray that you would be intentional about doing the most important thing in parenting… training your child in godliness.