christian life

Friends are friends forever…

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

I don’t know how many times Bobby and I have prayed together through the years, but it’s been a lot.

Whatever season of my life for the past 25 years, Bobby has been there. The best of times, the worst of times, and a lot of times spent together on the way up or down.

We have acted in variety shows together, preached funerals together, talked baseball together, spoke on sermon series together, whitewater rafted together, hosted Bible studies together, survived multiple Fourth of July weeks in Mississippi together, traveled thousands of miles in his Ford Ranger together, and damaged at least one church van together.

Bobby (and the people I met through Bobby) influenced my faith, my college choice, and many of my personal and professional opportunities. As I grew up, we grew from teacher and student, to mentor and encourager, and then to partners in ministry and friends as equals.

We were sitting in line at the Wendy’s drive-thru in Huntingdon, TN one Wednesday night in 2015 after traveling to a summer series together when Ann Marie texted me to confirm plans for our first official date. I told Bobby, “Something just feels right about this.” Less than two years later, Bobby officiated at our wedding.

Bobby and I are different in many ways, but in one accord and complimentary in the things that matter most. I think sometimes we need people in our lives who love the same things, but love them in different ways or from difference perspectives. Rather than fostering competition, this tension actually creates a more authentic balance by encouraging both people to keep rethinking and stretching in life and ministry.

I am grateful for Bobby and our friendship, and I am so thankful that Freed-Hardeman University shared this photo from one of last week’s chapel services during the Bible Lectureship. Bobby’s son Will, now a student at FHU, is seated on the other side of him removing his Ole Miss cap as we begin the prayer.

Friendships shape who we are, and they also shape our views on every other aspect of life- family, business, politics, hobbies, sports, and, of course, faith. I hope we can all lean into the friendships that shape us into better, more faithful people who are seeking to encourage one another even as we imitate Christ.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
-Proverbs 27:17


Making It Look Effortless?

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Recently I heard an older woman praising a young mom’s ability to manage multiple family, work, and social responsibilities with the exclamation, “You just make it all look so effortless!”

We understand what she actually meant: “You are so talented and skilled at difficult things that it seems like you don’t even have to try very hard. You’re great!”

We know this compliment is intended as praise- the young mother appeared so skilled at managing multiple challenges that her busy life appeared to others to naturally flow with ease and grace. In reality, the busy mom was no doubt getting up early, dealing with stress related to her children and job, facing the daily struggles of life, relationships, and faith even as she “made it look easy.”

Appearances and reality are often not completely congruent- what others see may not be the entire truth of what we are experiencing as we live out our lives. Some folks around us seem to have it all together, but may actually be falling apart. Others are facing extreme outward challenges with their health, finances, or relationships, but may, in reality, have a deep sense of peace abiding within.

In a passing moment, our perceptions of others are often inaccurate and incomplete.

When we think of Moses, we think of a strong, fearless leader standing before Pharaoh demanding freedom for God’s people, but Scripture goes out of the way to show he was reluctant to accept his call to leadership and consented only once his more eloquent brother Aaron was allowed to be his spokesman. Elijah, who projected prophetic strength in public, was often despondent and discouraged before God. Paul confessed that his many persecutions and concerns for the churches he had planted were sources of anxiety for him and would have overwhelmed him had Christ Himself strengthened and sustained his ministry.

No one is quite as “together” as they seem to the watching world.

In Scripture, women often shine as examples of understated strength. In a culture where they were often in the background, women rise up and are held out to us as heroes of faith.

Rahab, a foreigner with a questionable line of work, becomes the lifeline for God’s people as one who acted in faith and whose name is eventually found in the genealogy of Jesus. Ruth, also an outsider, demonstrates the ability to care for an aged mother-in-law, to be the breadwinner of her household, and to secure a future for herself and her family with her godly character. Esther stands up to law, custom, and the whims of a fickle husband to intercede for her people in their darkest hour. Women are present throughout the ministry of Jesus and the remainder of the New Testament- hosting, financing, worshiping, teaching, and connecting the congregations of the early church.

A faithful life is never effortless for anyone regardless of what appears on the surface. The life of faith is an active one as we seek to grow in grace and serve others, but such commitment is worth our energy and effort as we seek to live for Christ.

May we look for faithfulness in unexpected places this week, and praise it when we find it.

May our own focus be more on building our inner character over maintaining our outward comfort.

When we willingly press further into God’s service by making an effort to use the gifts He provides, He gladly gives us the strength to joyfully live by faith.

The everyday nature of greatness…

/ Will N. / Leave a comment

Image credit: National Archives. Crossing the Rhine under enemy fire at St. Goar- March 1945. ID: 535978

The Second World War ended almost 80 years ago. While thousands of books, films, and accounts of the conflict have been recorded, each day fewer people who experienced combat and their loved ones who lived through the conflict on the home front remain. Only a few years at most remain until the last members of America’s “greatest generation” pass from this life.

These brave men and women did more than protect the dream of democracy and liberate the world from tyranny- they also form the last living link with the devastation of the Great Depression and the economic rebuilding and social restructuring of America. Many of these same individuals became our social, political, and religious leaders who impacted the following decades through the Civil Rights era, the space race, and the explosion of new cultural movements and technological advances. People who were taught in one room schoolhouses saw the results of the atomic bomb, watched a man walk on the moon, and now can FaceTime their great-grandchildren on the other side of the world in an instant.

Every nation and every community have larger-than-life figures who tower over their history. Sometimes these men and women are politicians or war heroes or long-serving monarchs. Communities of believers have these people turned legends as well. Augustine, Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy Graham- such names evoke powerful memories among those who study church history. While such men and women were far from perfect, they each left a legacy that impacted the spiritual lives of millions. While it is unlikely that we will never achieve worldwide recognition, none of us is without influence. As we live from day to day, we are each crafting our personal legacy of faith.

Are you caring for a preschool-age grandchild a few times a week? Your attitude and influence will shape that child forever. Do you teach a Bible class to a half dozen seemingly-disinterested teenagers each Sunday morning? Some of those young people will grow up and remember not just the facts you shared, but the memory that you showed up week by week and sought to share the love of Jesus with them. Our impact is not always seen instantly or even measured in the course of our lives, but it touches eternity.

While we do not all have the measure of ability, each of us is charged with serving faithfully wherever he or she is planted.

You may not be gifted for greatness in the kingdom, but you are gifted for faithfulness- and faithful is what we are ultimately called to be.

Whether we are preaching to thousands from a prominent pulpit, influencing millions from bookstore shelves, or showing up to patiently love and minister to the handful of saints gathered in a rural congregation, it is not the size of the crowd, but the condition of the heart that determines faithfulness.

We do not look upon the photographs of D-Day or Iwo Jima, see the bravery there, and say “Well, those guys weren’t the generals or admirals or presidents or prime ministers, so they really didn’t matter.” Such a pronouncement would be blasphemy. It would disparage the faithful service of the very people who directly sacrificed the most in a vital moment in the world’s history. While political officials and military commanders were essential, the masses of the almost unknown soldiers were the key to lasting victory.

In the same way, God looks at His kingdom and sees value in each person. No one is nameless or small or insignificant in the kingdom of God. Honored professors, beloved authors, and celebrity preachers have their place, but the vital work of discipleship and ministry is most often carried out by unknown believers in overlooked places never seen by the majority of the watching world.

May we remember the truly great people that helped shape us into we are, and may we seek to use our gifts, whatever their shape or size, to pass on our blessings. We should never forget that our gifts, which may seem to us so very small, can be used for great good when we are willing to yield them faithfully in service to Christ.