Light In The Valley

Usually this blog has an intended purpose of taking some event or situation in our culture and reminding us of the Biblical truth. Generally, the hope is to say: this is the situation we are seeing on the news but this is what the Word of God has to say about that. The hope is that we would be able to put Biblical light into a situation or event and remind believers of the sovereignty of God. This week though, I changed the topic - this morning - which is very much against

Currently, we find ourselves right in the middle of the season where school and grades and projects and tests seem to dominate much of the conversation at our home. We have children ranging from college age, down to lower elementary, with two high school age kids and one in middle school that we are currently navigating life with. First, let me say that I don’t envy the teachers in our education system or administration in the slightest. This is not a "bash the teachers" ty

I love to write! Always have and hopefully always will. I’ve liked writing for as long as I can remember - creative writing, persuasive writing, and my favorite of course, expository or teaching in my writing. It’s never been an issue. I think it allows me to maybe get the millions of things in my head and put them somewhere before they drive me crazy. It is a part of my life and in a way therapeutic for me. Imagine my issue when the words just wouldn’t come for a few w

Lately, I have found myself feeling overwhelmed trying to get jobs bid and make sure we have guys available for all the work we have at Steve Mull Plumbing. There are estimates to finish, schedules to arrange, and responsibilities that follow me home even after the workday is over. But somewhere in the middle of all of that, I began to remember something. There was a time when I was praying for opportunities to bid those jobs. As my dad moved out of running the business, I wo

The news of the White House barring several media outlets has stirred a great deal of conversation. People are asking whether it is right to restrict who can report from the White House. Those are questions worth asking. But as I thought about restricted access, my mind went to believers in other parts of the world who memorize Scripture because owning or reading a Bible openly can put them at risk. Here in America, I can keep a Bible on my desk, carry one in my truck, open o

As the midterm elections approach, the promises are already beginning. Some of them obvious pandering and others rooted in truth and hope for improvement. Candidates promise relief. Parties promise change. Leaders promise that, if we will give them our vote, they will protect what matters, correct what is broken, and lead us toward a better future. A few promises rest totally in giving benefits directly to us! Some of those promises may be sincere. Some policies may genuinel

We have never had more information available to us—and I sometimes wonder if we have ever taken less time deciding what we actually believe. Something happens in the world, and within minutes our phones are filled with opinions. A headline flashes across the screen. A thirty-second reel explains what supposedly happened. An influencer tells us what we should think about it. Someone we respect shares a post. Someone else stitches a video explaining why that person is wrong. An

The Lindsay Clancy case has once again placed an unimaginable tragedy in front of the public, and with it has come debate over mental health, responsibility, justice, and the value of human life. But as I have watched some of the discussion, I keep coming back to a concern much larger than one case: What happens to a culture when we lose a biblical understanding of the value of human life? Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created mankind in His own image. That means human value

I had a realization this week that honestly blew my mind a little bit… Last Tuesday marked our 100th blog post at Rocky Valley. When we started doing these, the goal was pretty simple: find another way to take what God is doing in our church beyond the walls of our building and into the everyday lives of people. Every Tuesday, Echos from the Valley gives us an opportunity to revisit the sermon from the Sunday before. It isn’t meant to simply repeat the message, but to pull ou

I knew this week was coming. I just didn’t realize how hard it would hit when it actually got here. In the span of one week, my first son moved away to college and turned 18. And as proud as I am of him, there’s a part of this dad that doesn’t like it one bit. For 17 birthdays, he was here. I could walk into his room, hug him, tell him happy birthday face to face, aggravate him a little, and remind him how proud I am to be his dad. This year, he’s in Cookeville. I keep thinki

This morning, I was sitting with my coffee when my in-laws’ dog, Henry, came to see me. Henry is a great dog. He’s fun, full of energy, and always ready to play. But there’s one thing you need to know about Henry: He loves to play ball. Not just occasionally. Not just when you feel like it. Henry believes that if there is a ball nearby, somebody ought to be throwing it. He will bring it over and drop it right in your lap. You can ignore it. You can leave it sitting there. You

As election season has picked up, my phone has too. Calls. Texts. Voicemails. Mailers. Candidate after candidate wanting me to know who they are, what they believe, and why I should support them. If I’m honest, I’ve hung up on more than a few before they ever finished their pitch. But here’s the interesting thing—I still learned who some of those candidates were and what they stood for. Their message made it through, even when I wasn’t particularly interested in hearing it. T

One of the saddest trends in Christianity today is the growing belief that you can thrive as a follower of Jesus while remaining disconnected from a local church. Some have been hurt by churches. Others have watched a few people act in ways that were anything but Christlike. Those wounds are real, and they shouldn’t be dismissed. But the failures of a few believers should never cause us to reject God’s design for His people. Last night, I experienced a beautiful reminder of w

There is a question from Jesus that has challenged me this week. In Luke 11:23, Jesus says: "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." (NKJV) Notice that Jesus doesn't leave room for neutrality. He doesn't divide people into those who are passionately following Him and those who are simply uninvolved. Instead, He says there are only two directions: gathering or scattering. That has caused me to ask myself a hard question: Is my life ga

This morning it would have been easy to write about the news. The deaths of public officials and the reactions flooding social media would probably be the “softball” topic—the one everyone is already discussing. Instead, my heart is somewhere else. This weekend our church family is gathering for our annual Marriage Retreat, and I couldn’t be more excited. One of the convictions we have at Rocky Valley is that the health of a church is deeply connected to the health of the mar

I was talking with my Uncle Terry the other day about an old table he had just finished restoring. It had belonged to my wife’s great-grandmother. By all appearances, it was headed for the trash pile. Years of use had left it scarred, faded, worn, and forgotten. But he saw something worth saving. With patient hands, he stripped away the old finish, repaired what he could, and brought new life back into that old piece of wood. It is beautiful again. Yet if you look closely, th

The reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision allowing states to require athletes to compete based on their biological sex has been revealing. Much of the public conversation has been framed as though children have somehow been stripped of their rights or forbidden from participating in sports. But perhaps the more heartbreaking question is one we rarely ask: How did we reach the point where we believe telling a child they were wonderfully made is less loving than telling

One of the statements I hear often is this: “As Christians, we must always stand with Israel.” Before we repeat that, we should ask an important question: Which Israel does the Bible mean? I am not writing this because I oppose the modern nation of Israel. Like every nation, Israel has a right to defend its citizens, and like every nation, its government makes political and military decisions based on its own national interests. America does the same. But Christians should be

This week, a group of our Rocky Valley Baptist Church kids loaded up and headed off to church camp. As a pastor, it’s always a special moment. As a dad, it hits a little differently. For the first time, my youngest daughter climbed on that bus and headed away for camp. I’ll admit there was a little nervousness in my heart watching her leave. I know many parents understand that feeling—the excitement for your child mixed with the realization that they’re growing up faster than

Like many pastors across our convention, I don’t get the opportunity to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in person. Being bi-vocational, serving our local church, running a business, and raising four children means I have to be intentional about how I spend my time. While I may not be in the room, I do try to keep my ear to the pulse of what is happening because Rocky Valley Baptist Church is an SBC-affiliated church, and these discussions matter. The iss