If you know me well at all, you know that Elder D.J. Ward is one of my favorite preachers on planet Earth. Well, usually I have to drive some distance in order to hear him. But this week he will be preaching right here in Nashville, so the folk at GCA will get a chance to hear and meet the man I most consider my pastor. In fact, he officiated my ordination, back on May 5, 2000. So, I have a great deal of affection for the man.
I have great respect for Elder Ward. He speaks frequently of his humble beginnings and the years of resistance he's endured preaching Calvinistic soteriology in traditional baptist churches throughout the South. Yet, without flinching, he holds firmly and passionately to the utterly sovereign God and the free and sovereign grace that leads to full redemption and salvation in Christ. And he preaches it with a gusto and emotional investment that rocked my entire view of preaching the very first time I heard him.
Several years ago my own personal life came apart. In my time of greatest need it was Elder Ward who reached out and talked with me, hour-upon-hour, assuring me that God had not fallen from His throne and even the worst events of our life serve to mold us according to the Potter's sovereign plan. As I've often quoted, he said, "Jim, never forget that this is the process through which God is making you into the man you are going to become."
Then, in a move that can only be desribed as boldly gracious, he placed me in his pulpit at last year's Sovereign Grace Conference. It was one of the most restorative moments of my ministerial life and I will never forget both the strength and the grace he showed me.
So, I'm looking forward to this week. Tom has suggested (and I believe I'm going to follow his advice) that we cancel this week's mid-week meeting to give everyone an opportunity to go hear a
real preacher. (Okay, the
real preacher comment didn't come from Tom, that's just my assessment of the situation.) :-)
So, there will be no mid-week service at GCA this week. Drive up to Nashville instead and hear my favorite preacher. Then, walk up to him, hug his neck, and thank him for the influence he's had on your pastor. Perhaps no one in my adult life has done more to push me forward and keep me focused on the vital importance of preaching of the word, in all its glory, regardless of the fiery darts that inevitably come our way.
And for that, I am eternally grateful.
