In case you are ever wondering about what is happening in the lives of our contributors, here is a little blog post to let you know what we’re reading, studying, how we are growing, and spiritually progressing. Enjoy!
Reading List – what are we reading or hoping to read in 2024?
Ben: Apart from required reading for school, I am hoping to read When People Are Big and God is Small (Welch), Friendship with the Friend of Sinners (Wilson), Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (Brooks), Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life (Lundy), Habits of the Household (Earley), Foundations for Soul Care (Johnson), and Christians in Culture (Bracey and Talbot).
Dustin: Last year, I read through Secularism and the American Republic (Forlines), yet decided to read through it more slowly to reflect and absorb the content more intentionally. Other theological and pastoral works on my list include, Five Lies of the Anti-Christian Age (Butterfield), The Pastor as Leader (Currie), Creating the Canon (Laird), and Local and Universal: A Free Church Account of Ecclessial Catholicity (Fields). I plan to read some fiction and personal growth material as well.
Matt: Apart from reading for sermon and teaching preparation, I’ve selected the following volumes to read in 2024: Faithful Endurance (Hansen and Robinson Sr.), God in Eternity and Time (Picirilli), You are What You Love (Smith), Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Perspectives on Costly Leadership ( Ed. Harley), Gentle and Lowly (Ortland), Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times (Steinke), A Praying Life (Miller), The Pastor: A Memoir (Peterson) and The Conviction to Lead (Mohler). I’m sure that there are other titles that will be added to this list and it is possible that not everything listed above will be completed.
Mike: Life Together (Bonhoeffer), The Reformed Pastor (Baxter), Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (Brooks), Thoughts for Young Men (Ryle), Teacher, Leader, Shepherd (Picirilli), Love The Ones Who Drive You Crazy (Dunlop), Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing (Leeman), Planting by Pastoring (Knight), The Compelling Community (Dever and Dunlop), Don’t Fire Your Church Members (Leeman), The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic (Phillips, Ryken, and Dever), The Church in Babylon (Lutzer), among others I am sure (graduate study reads are not included)! Some of these books I am reading again, but most of them are new reads. Maybe a few book reviews are in my future.
Personal devotions – what does our Bible intake currently look like?
Ben: One of the greatest realities that became a priority for me a few years ago was the necessity of Bible intake, regardless of a “plan.” So, I am not a “read through the Bible in a year” type of guy, though there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing so – what a great goal! I normally take a paragraph or so and try to read and meditate upon it as much as I possibly can on a given day, then pair it with a Psalm from Dane Ortlund’s, In the Lord I Take Refuge (Crossway, 2021). I am also planning to inductively study Colossians together with my girlfriend this year with the ESV Scripture journal and sermons from JT English at Storyline Church.
Dustin: This year, I am reading through a plan on YouVersion entitled “4+1”. The plan guides the reader to read in four different parts of the Bible each day and was provided by George Guthrie. In addition to that, I lead a weekly discipleship group and will be reading the New Testament with the men I lead once that group resumes in February.
Matt: I’ll be going back to the M’Cheyne One Year Reading plan again this year. Each daily reading includes two OT passages, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. Throughout the year, I will cover the Old Testament once and the Psalms and New Testament Twice.
Mike: Our church is reading through Psalms and Wisdom Literature this year as part of a 4 year plan that encourages more quality reading and meditation on the Bible. In addition, I am reading through the Bible in 2024, currently in the opening chapters of Genesis. After reading and jotting down a few takeaways from the text, I grab the Rejoice! hymnal and meditate on a hymn or two that accompanies my reading. My goal this year is to work through the hymnal in my personal time. The value of hymnody alongside Bible reading is indispensable! I conclude my personal time with the Lord in prayer, focusing on various categories of prayer (adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving). This is my general practice – prayer for illumination, read the text, reread the text, meditate on the text, write down takeaways from the text with application, sing a hymn, prayer for the day and various needs.
Preaching schedule – what does our preaching schedules look like for 2024?
Ben: My preaching schedule is shared with my dad who I pastor alongside at our church. So, currently we are preaching expositionally through Ecclesiastes on Sunday mornings, I believe we are starting Numbers on Sunday nights (still haven’t finalized that one yet!), and I am finishing 1 Peter for Wednesdays and beginning a study on inductive Bible study methods imminently.
Dustin: I share preaching opportunities with my lead Pastor (Daniel Edwards) and (Eric Pope). We are currently planning our entire year of sermons, but we are focussing on prayer at the beginning of this year.
Matt: While I don’t have the year of preaching planned out in terms of individual sermons for each week, I have begun the year in 1 John and will cover the three Johnannian epistles on Sunday mornings followed by a study through the book of Exodus. Sunday evenings typically will be focused on a supportive text from the Testament that was not covered in the morning worship gathering, although I plan to teach through the IX Marks of a Healthy Church (Dever) beginning in February and spend a significant amount of time covering passages on ecclesiology.
Mike: This year I am planning to preach (NT) Ephesians, (OT) Habakkuk, (OT) select Psalms, and (NT) Revelation 1-5 expositionally, and the IX Marks of a Healthy Church topically on Sunday mornings. Sunday evenings will focus more on theological or doctrinal topics led by myself or other members of our pastoral staff (Biblical theology, Church history, Baptist tradition, Chritian hymnody, Chrisitan ethics, biblical marriage/parenting, etc.)
Education – what are we currently studying in our educational pursuits?
Ben: I am currently one semester in for a masters degree in clinical mental health counseling from Houston Christian University. At this moment in time, I am still waiting to see which classes are next in the program, but I will be finishing this degree, Lord willing, in the fall of 2025. So be looking forward to some integration of psychology, theology, and biblical anthropology from me in the coming months for blog and podcast content!
Dustin: I finished my M.Div. in May of 2022. I am only studying things for fun at this time, in addition to my professional development studies I am involved in as a 911 dispatcher.
Matt: While I previously started on a Master of Divinity while working for Liberty University and have intentions to complete the degree, I don’t currently have any plans of working toward that completion this year. More than likely, I will make strides toward completing the MDiv. in 2025.
Mike: I am 15 graduate hours (5 courses) away from completing my Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree from the Welch College School of Divinity. The 2024 spring semester will feature advanced seminars in preaching and Baptist ecclesiology. The 2024 fall semester I will begin learning the Hebrew language.
Local Church – what are we most looking forward to in 2024?
Ben: In this season of my life serving in the local church, I am looking forward most to simply intentionally building community and fostering discipling relationships with other believers. I am also looking forward to diving deeper into why people do the things they do and how that affects their spiritual life by looking at biblical anthropology and biblical discipleship and community.
Dustin: I look forward to beginning the learning process of what it looks like to disciple my growing family. My wife and I are expecting our first child this May, so much of what I am looking forward to is teaching that young mind about our Lord, even in her youngest days. As a spiritual goal, I want to be more intentional about cultivating relationships outside the church and engaging in Gospel conversations with unbelievers.
Matt: In the local church I serve, I am excited to see our congregation increase efforts in intentional discipleship. This is an area I’ve emphasized in the three years I’ve been here and look forward to see the fruit of the emphasis. I also look forward to better balance the time that I spend serving the church and time at home with my wonderful family.
Mike: My top pastoral goal for 2024 is to be more intentional as a pastor. I want to be a better under-shepherd of the Chief Shepherds’ flock. I am excited about building and maintaining genuine relationships with my brothers and sisters in Christ as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am also anticipating some positive developments in our student and kids ministry for the year. What a privilege to be in on what God is up to!
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