Mark Hallock

“As preachers and teachers, we are answerable to God for what we preach and teach, our people are answerable to God for how they hear. This is why we must earnestly pray not only for our own hearts, but for the hearts of those listening in the congregation.” - Austin Walker

I love these people! Each of our pastor-elders oversee a mini-flock that they are responsible to care for and shepherd. This morning we had a blast at our Fall mini-flock breakfast. Great food, some crazy games, lots of laughter….pure joy! Grateful!

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. - 1 Chronicles 29:11 My mouth is filled with your praise,declaring your splendor all day long. - Psalm 71:8

Reformation Day is today, October 31st. If you are interested in learning more about some of the key doctrines that shaped the Protestant Reformation and why they matter today, my buddy, Ben Haley and I wrote this book for you! Grab a copy for cheap on Amazon here: a.co/d/0i5Gtt0w

A good and true word from Ben Haley: “If you take a look at a church's website today, you will probably notice that their vision and mission looks very similar to many other churches…they all check many of the same boxes: Worship God. Make disciples. Be in relationship with others. And we ought to expect that. That's a good thing. Churches that are seeking to be biblical above all else shouldn’t be trying to invent anything new or overly original that isn’t found in the Scriptures. However, when it comes to a church’s personality, or what you might call a church’s "culture," this tends to differ greatly from church to church. If you’ve ever been church shopping, you know exactly what I mean. You might visit three churches that, on paper, have the same doctrine and some variation of the same basic mission and vision…but what you experience when you walk in the doors can differ dramatically. One church might be cold. It could feel lifeless, or judgmental, or cliquey, while another church might feel warm, inviting, and unified. The bottom line is this: Churches have cultures. And those cultures shape how their vision and mission gets lived out. What is the culture of your church like, really? How would people describe it? What do you want it to be?”

I am a big believer in, and fan of local church associations. I am also a big believer in, and fan of those who lead these local associations. This past week, I had the joy of attending two annual Baptist association meetings, First Coast Churches in Jacksonville, Florida, and our Mile High Association meeting in Denver. Both were such an encouragement to me. And both reminded me again just how important strong local associations are for the health of our churches and the advancement of the gospel. Reflecting on this past week, here are eight reasons I believe they matter now more than ever: 1. Pastors need friendship and encouragement. No pastor should have to walk through ministry alone. 2. Struggling churches need help and hope. We can work together to strengthen, revitalize, and replant churches. 3. Regardless of whether your church is really big or really small, we need one another and can learn from one another…this is God’s good design. 4. The mission Jesus has given us is bigger than any one church. We can reach more people and communities together than we can alone. 5. We need to plant and multiply churches. Every church, regardless of size, can participate in advancing the gospel. 6. Our communities need to see gospel unity. Cooperation over competition. Capital “K” Kingdom advancement over building our own kingdoms. 7. We need churches standing together on the truth of God's Word. Sound biblical doctrine matters! Our partnerships must be built on shared biblical convictions and a commitment to faithfully proclaiming the gospel. 8. Pastors and churches need loving accountability. We all have blind spots. We need trusted relationships where we can ask hard questions, speak truth in love, and help one another remain faithful to Christ and His mission. I believe the future of local associations can be incredibly bright, but it will require more than simply believing in their importance. It will require our involvement and investment. Pastors and church leaders, let me encourage you: Don't just belong to your local association. Be an active part of it! Build relationships. Show up. Encourage another pastor. Partner with another church. Invest in the mission. The gospel is worth working together for!

Character (def): Consistently demonstrating moral and ethical principles such as honesty, integrity, and respect for others. It involves making choices aligned with one's values, even when faced with challenges or temptations.

Pastors (and men in leadership), your first ministry is to your wife and family. Nothing comes close to this. If we’re not faithfully loving, leading, and caring for those God has entrusted to us at home, we have no business seeking to lead His church. Our ministry must never come at the expense of our family. Lord, help us to be faithful, Christ-like husbands and fathers before anything else. Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. 1 Timothy 3:4-5 - He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

We need to remember…the church down the street is not our competition. The pastor across town is not our opponent. The new church plant in our community is not our enemy. If they are faithfully preaching the gospel and making disciples, we're on the SAME TEAM…they are our brothers and sisters in Christ and we should praise God for them. We have an adversary, it’s not them.

What a blessing to attend the Mile High Association annual meeting tonight! So thankful for the leadership of Matt Olson and his team and all the ways they are serving and encouraging churches across Denver. My good friend and fellow pastor at Calvary Englewood, Jeff DeClue, did a fantastic job bringing the Word and challenging us to pursue greater collaboration and multiplication together as churches. Lord, would You continue to unite Your people and churches across Denver as we seek to reach those far from You with the hope of the gospel!

A few thoughts on being a sending church… One of the great joys of being a sending church is getting to see people you love step out in faith to help start or strengthen another church. It really is exciting to see what God is doing and to see people reached and lives transformed by Jesus! But there’s a hard side to it, too. You’re sending out people you love. Good friends, faithful leaders, kids you’ve seen grow up, families you’ve done life with. People you love worshiping with and serving alongside. And the thought of not seeing them every Sunday is genuinely sad. That part is very real. And it’s not easy….this is part of the cost of church planting. But it is more than worth it, and here’s why. Because we want to see more people come to know Jesus. More disciples made. More healthy churches planted, replanted and renewed. And if that means sending out some of our very best people, even when it hurts, then we must be resolved to make the sacrifice. I was sharing with a few people how after years of planting and replanting churches, the Lord continues to teach me so many things. At the top of the list is that being a sending church means holding people with open hands, trusting the Lord, and remembering that His kingdom is so much bigger than our one church. This is the truth and it must be a conviction. If it’s not, we will simply talk about the importance of planting and replanting without actually doing it. Lord, may we never lose the joy and privilege it is to be a sending church, even when it is hard and it hurts. This is Your church. Your will be done.

Such a joy being in Jacksonville, FL this past week for First Coast Churches’ Annual Celebration! What an encouragement to see the unity, friendship, and genuine collaboration among these churches and pastors. So much of this reflects the outstanding leadership of Bob Bumgarner and Darren Sullivan, who are doing a fantastic job bringing churches together for the sake of the gospel. I left encouraged and reminded once again of the incredible importance and potential of local associations. When pastors and churches work together, encourage one another, and pursue a shared mission, the kingdom impact can be tremendous! Grateful for what God is doing through First Coast Churches!

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! - Psalm 118:24

Church planting and church replanting are not competing works. We need both. We need healthy new churches planted in growing communities and unreached places. But we also need struggling churches renewed and replanted with fresh gospel hope. Across our nation, there are churches with faithful histories, strategic locations, and untapped potential that are not dead yet. By God’s grace, their story may still be unfolding. The work is different. Church planting often begins with momentum and building something new. Replanting usually begins with lots of tactical patience, wisdom, courage, and earning trust. One launches from the ground up….the other restores what is broken and helps bring renewal where discouragement has settled in. Both are hard. Both require faith. Both matter deeply to the mission of Jesus. This is not an “either/or” conversation. The Kingdom needs church planters and church replanters. Same mission. Same gospel. Same King. @sendnetwork @NAMB_SBC