Elder Ward's Memorial Services

I have just returned from Elder D. J. Ward's Memorial and Home-Going Services. The world seems a little emptier now.

Anyone who knows me knows that I counted Elder Ward as my friend, confidante, and pastor. I'll miss being able to pick up the phone and add new "Wardianisms" to my lexicon. He was a rare gift.

It was almost-exactly 8 years ago that Elder Ward and David Morris placed their hands on my head and officiated my ordination (May 5, 2000). I feel honored and grateful to have had a man like Elder in my life. His influence is far-reaching and undeniable. He is the man who, more than any other, taught me how to be a pastor.

Still, God is on His throne, doing whatever seems good to Him. Christ is still building His church and the gates of Hell have yet to prevail against it.

We probably will not see the likes of Elder Ward again on this planet, but "on that great gettin' up morning" we'll gather with him and all the saints around God's throne, praising our Lord for the wisdom and grace that led us, protected us, and blessed us with men like our dear Elder.

The services were beautiful, respectful, dignified, humorous, glorious, and heart-breaking. In other words, they were a perfect reflection of the man we had gathered to honor and remember. And his wife, Sister Brenda Ward, displayed remarkable grace, dignity, and kindness to us all. She is a shining example of what it is to be a God-fearing, Christian woman and servant of the gospel of God's grace.

But, now Elder's gone ... at least for a while. As Elder Spotts said, "We lost our safety net." I guess we will have to learn to rely on one another. But, I sure did love that man.

To God be the glory.

Elder Ward's Home-Going

I've always liked this picture of Megan and Elder. Not only can you see their genuine kindness and affection toward each other, but Spurgeon's looking over their shoulder. This picture was taken in Elder Ward's study during the 2006 Sovereign Grace Conference. This is how I will remember him -- full of life and warmth.


My dear friend, beloved brother, trusted confidant -- the man who most taught me what it means to be a pastor -- went to his reward on Friday, April 25, 2008. He succumbed to lung cancer after fighting valiantly and went out doing what he loved to do -- preaching.


As many of you know, Elder Ward and David Morris officiated my ordination in May of 2000. Elder was a pastor's pastor, which is why so many of us called by the affectionate and respectful name "Elder." Those who were closest to him just called him "Pop."


Elder Ward was a bold preacher who was committed to extolling the virtues of grace. He had a profound influence on everyone who knew him. He was loved dearly because he loved fiercely. This picture was taken at the Chattanooga conference in March, where Elder preached for three days, teaching a room full of pastors and elders. On Friday we all gathered, prayed over him, laid hands on him, and wept collectively. Afterward, I said to Marlon, "I hope someday to be loved that way." Without missing a beat, Marlon replied, "He has always loved that way." Lesson learned.



His influence was far-reaching and he will be sorely missed. This August will be the 25th anniversary of the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. This will be the first conference without him. But, every man who stands in that pulpit knows that he is standing in the shadow of a giant. (Info here)



Elder will lie in state this Thursday, 5/1/2008 from noon to 5:00pm. His wake (where the family will receive and greet guests) will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm Thursday. A memorial service will begin at 7:00pm Thursday evening. His home-going service will be Friday at 1:00pm.



I look forward to the next time I can look into his eyes, hug his neck, kiss his cheek, and thank him for his many years of leadership and friendship. In the meantime, I will continue doing the one thing he always adjured me to do -- "Preach the word."



Good-bye, my beloved friend. I'll see you soon.

this, that, and some other things ...

Hello there! How've ya' been? I've been just dandy ... albeit a little busier than normal. No wait ... come to think of it, busy IS normal for me.

I just wanted to bring everyone up to date on several things that fall into the category of "odds and ends."

First off, after several requests, we've added an "events calendar" to the GCA website. While the site serves people around the globe quite effectively, we have been remiss in using it to its full potential for the our local congregation. Lately, between conferences, viruses, holidays, and schedule conflicts, we've had to cancel the occasional mid-week meeting. But not everyone got the news and some folk showed up to an empty building. I hate it when that happens. So, we're going to attempt to keep the calendar up to date and post announcements there whenever something interrupts our regular schedule, as well as let people know about upcoming meetings and times of fellowship.

You can view the calendar via the link on our website, or just click here:

http://www.gcaarchive.com/calendar.shtml

Secondly, I want to thank the folk at Reformed Voices for continuing to produce videos from clips of our preaching and posting them on their site (as well as on YouTube). You can check out the large-and-still-growing library of videos via their site --

http://www.reformedvoices.blogspot.com/

Or via their YouTube page --

http://www.youtube.com/user/diligentile

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=diligentile

There's plenty of material on both of the those pages that you can all benefit from. While you're there, take the time to leave Philip (the man behind Reformed Voices) an encouraging comment. His dedication to sound doctrine is obvious and undeniable. And his approach to spreading the gospel of grace via the Internet and the latest forms of media is both encouraging and inspiring.

Lastly for now, after years of waiting, we have finally procured the URL's that contain our actual name. You can now reach our website via any of the following:

www.salvationbygrace.org
www.salvationbygrace.com
www.gracechristianassembly.org
www.gracechristianassembly.com

However, my email address remains the same:

Jim@SalvationByGrace.org

And, as always, I look forward to hearing from you.

The weather here in Middle Tennessee has taken a turn toward Spring. Cold and Flu Season is finally subsiding. The dogwoods are blooming, the pollen count is rising, the school year is starting to wrap up, God is on His throne and it's all good.

This is the day that the Lord has made, so remember to be glad and rejoice in it.

And that pretty much covers this, that, and the other things ...

Homecoming Weekend Info

You are cordially invited to join us for GCA’s 3rd Annual Homecoming Weekend!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

4:30 pm
Service and baptism at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
437 Coventry Dr.

Nashville, TN 37211

(615) 837-4625

7:00 pm
Dinner at the Smyrna Towne Center
100 Sam Ridley Parkway

Smyrna, TN 37167

615.459.9710

Sunday morning, March 23, 2008
10:30 am
Communion Service at Grace Christian Assembly
904 Hazelwood Dr.
Smyrna, TN.

Followed by potluck foods, refreshment, and fellowship.

Directions to Sovereign Grace Baptist Church:

On Nolensville Road, just north of Harding Place, on the west side of the street, is a McDonald's restaurant. The street next to that McDonald's is Welshwood.

Take Welshwood until it dead ends at Corning Dr. Turn left. Take Corning drive until it dead ends at Coventry Dr. Turn right. The church building is on the left side of the street and looks like this --

It may help to use Google maps, or MapQuest, to visualize the trip from your starting location.

We hope to see you there!

It's Cold & Flu Season ...

... and don't I know it!

By the time I was finished working on an all-day video shoot on Saturday, I realized that what I thought was a mere cold had morphed into the feverish, achy, head-swelling flu that's going around. I called Jeff Saturday night and told him he was going to have to fill in Sunday morning. And, being the theological trooper he is, he conducted our Sunday meeting with grace and aplomb. I'm told that he offered a compelling survey of the first few chapters of the book of Hebrews. BUT, the bad news is that there is no recording of it. So, the folk on the Internet will just have to imagine how enjoyable it was.

It's been a long, long time since I've missed two Sundays this close together, but God did not topple from His throne. The saints still gathered and the word went forth. So, I'm grateful to Jeff (pictured here) for his willingness to stand up and teach.

Despite rumors to the contrary, he's a good man. :-)

And, while I'm at it, our other keyboard player was also out sick, so Tom (pictured below) soldiered on, leading song service with just his electric guitar. Tom and I have been playing music together since 1984. And, by God's good and gracious providence, we're still playing together today. So, I'm grateful for his fortitude and willing service to GCA.

We are a blessed congregation to have capable and willing folk who can serve in the ministry of the gospel while also allowing their pastor time to heal. I'm a fortunate fellow.

(cough, sniff ...)

Sovereign Grace Bible Conference

Back in August, while attending the Annual Sovereign Grace Bible Conference, Andrew Doss began talking about creating a website devoted to the conference, especially in light of its impending 25th anniversary. Well, after a few quick discussions, we went to work on it. The site is now up and running and Andrew's done an excellent job with it. You can watch video clips of the preaching and singing, and every message from the conference is available in mp3 format.

This August the conference will convene for the 25th year in a row. All the necessary info is at the website. If you have an opportunity and would like to be among some of the most loving, enthusiastic Calvinists you'll ever meet, make the trip to Lexington.

To see the new site, click here:

http://www.sovereigngracebibleconference.org/

The Sunday morning white board

As you are listening to this morning's message, entitled "And That Not Of Yourselves" -- you'll hear me writing on the board and making reference back to it. Here's a picture from Meg's camera phone to help you envision what was on the board so you can better follow along.

Thanks to Meg for her quick camera-phone trigger finger!

Plank of Wood Rocks!

At long last, after much cajoling and anticipation, the new "Plank of Wood" line of products is available through CafePress!!! This picture is of the new mousepad --- is anything cooler??!!

Click this link and fill your wardrobe with the latest GCA shirts and stuff, from hoodies to T-shirts. There's even a "Plank of Wood" teddy bear (for which I have no explanation).

You can see it all here -

http://www.cafepress.com/plankofwood

Thanks to Andrew D. for his design brilliance.

(These products are sold through CafePress, not GCA. We do no profit off these products. They are made available at competitive prices for your convenience and enjoyment.)

More GCA on YouTube

Once again the folk over at Reformed Voices surprised us with a new video upload to YouTube. This time they've posted the message "What Is The Point Of Hell?"

You can check it out for yourself here:

GCA on Reformed Voices

How many times can I say thank you to Philip and his gang? I'm genuinely humbled that they've not only found value in what we preach, but have joined us in promoting the theology of Sovereign Grace via the various means available on the Internet. It's good to have like-minded brethren in the gospel field with us and we're certainly grateful for their kindness and the effort it takes to create and distribute these video files.

It's just plain cool. (I remain the master of understatement.)

Theology Talk on YouTube

I recently mentioned the good folk at Reformed Voices who have very kindly featured GCA on their blog and provided a link to our site. I'm always grateful when people find our teaching beneficial and encourage others to come by to visit. But now they've reached "above and beyond" status in my book (which is, by the way, a fairly thin book).

Unbeknownst to me, they took it upon themselves to create a video-ized version of Theology Talk and posted it on YouTube. Jeff dropped me a link two days ago asking me if I had seen it or was aware of it. What a happy surprise!

Jeff and I are humbled and most grateful for their efforts and I hope the Lord uses it to His glory in bringing more folk to understand the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace.

If you'd like to check it out, you can see the programs here:

Theology Talk at Reformed Voices

It's good to know that the Reformation is still alive and well. I can't wait to read the comments. :-)

New Q&A's

There are three new Q&A's posted on the GCA site. Two of them deal with questions we're frequently asked concerning our position concerning New Covenant Theology and whether we are affiliated with Sovereign Grace Ministries. The third is called "A Question of Fairness"and it seeks to answer the criticism that questions God's love and fairness when He chooses some people for salvation and leaves others in their sin.

You can find them listed on the Q&A page or just check out the "What's New?" page here --

What's New

Thanks again to all the folk who continue to communicate with us from around the world. Your questions are always welcome!

GCA at Reformed Voices

A quick tip o' the hat to the good people over at Reformed Voices. Not only do they provide interesting reading and occasional video clips, but on Dec. 13 they featured GCA, including links to our site and to our archives. You can check them out here:

http://reformedvoices.blogspot.com/

It's nice to see a community of Reformed believers forming via the 'net and I'm grateful for the mention, which will open new avenues and hopefully send interested listeners our way.

So thanks!

Suddenly, it's December!

Yes, yes ... this blog is still very much alive. But between email, new Q&A's, and preaching twice a week, it's not as if I haven't been communicating. :-)

I'll post links to the latest Q&A articles once Jeff gets them up on the site.

In the meantime, I've uploaded a new photo album full of smiling faces and kids playing during a couple of recent GCA meetings -- pictures from Robin's birthday and our Thanksgiving fellowship meal. You can view the photos here:

GCA Thanksgiving Pix

Enjoy!

Murfreesboro Post Article

Murfreesboro is a neighboring city to Smyrna. It's home to MTSU and a thriving, growing community. The local newspaper is the Murfreesboro Post, who printed our article "What's the Big Deal With Jesus?" in November of 2006. I was recently contacted by their editor saying that they were looking for new submissions for their Sunday Morning Message section, so I sent them "Theology Matters," which had recently run in the Smyrna A.M. paper.

The article ran in yesterday's paper and is available online at their website. Here's the link:

Theology Matters

Also, if you're interested in reading our previous article, it's here:

What's the Big Deal?

Thanks to both the Murfreesboro Post and Smyrna A.M. for allowing us to reach out to the local community and advance the cause of the gospel. We have several new members at GCA as a direct result of these articles and we're always grateful for the opportunity.

Where I Plan to Retire

Man, have I got a sinus infection. My cheeks feel like someone took a jack-hammer to them. But, as I was sitting here in front of the keyboard sending out notices that tonight's meeting at GCA has been cancelled, Jeff dropped me a link to a story in U.S. News and World Report, listing the Top 10 Retirement Spots in the country. And there, among the better-known cities, like Prescott, AZ. and San Francisco, is Smyrna, Tennessee! Yep. Little Smyrna, home of GCA, is getting national attention.

What I did not know was that our town is named after a Presbyterian Church (which explains the reference to one of the seven churches of Asia listed in Revelation 1:11 and 2:8) which used to sit where Sewart Air Force Base and Smyrna Airport now reside. Once again, we see the influence of Christian life and culture on our community.

So, if you're thinking about retiring, or you'd just like to live near like-minded Sovereign Grace folk, check out Smyrna, TN. I mean, we're in the Top 10. How can you argue with that? :-)

Here's the link:

Best Places to Retire