Thoughts of a Fellow Boat Rocker

Thoughts of a Fellow Boat Rocker…

During the late eighties and early nineties, my family and I served in ministry near Atlantic City, NJ. Immediately behind our house was beautiful Absecon Bay.

While spending countless hours enjoying the view over the bay and watching vessels of all shapes and sizes navigate their way by, I learned a valuable lesson:

It's easy to get off the ship and try to steer it by

throwing rocks at it, but it’s more effective to

stay onboard and try to turn the rudder

I have spent the past thirty-eight years of ministry as a “rudder-grabber”. This story has epitomized my ministry and still does to this day.

I have chosen to get into the boat of the Church and the Southern Baptist Convention, grab the rudder, and pull with all my strength to see the direction change toward a more true Christ-centered direction.

Many of my friends have jumped ship and decided they could make a greater impact outside and I certainly don’t hold that against them. My calling, however, continues to place me in a system that sometimes appears to be broken. In spite of everything, I believe the Lord still works through His Church and yes, even through the Southern Baptist Convention.

Do we have problems? Yes, but we will never get it right while swimming around in the bay throwing rocks at it. The hope of our denomination being a real player in the kingdom of God during this century is for more of us to grab the rudder and move this ship to the center of God’s channel and sell out to reaching this world with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Many years ago, I uttered a prayer that has cost me dearly. That prayer was and is that my life would be lived in such a way as to make the Devil uncomfortable.

A “boat rocker” is someone who is unafraid to do whatever it takes to move the ship of the Church and denomination toward making Satan uncomfortable.

If you’d like to hear the thoughts of a fellow “boat rocker”, stay tuned.