Meet Pastor Andy
Pastor Andy has been the pastor of FBC St Paul, VA since 2020. He graduated from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in 2016. Prior to moving to Saint Paul, he served as the men’s ministry pastor at Menchville Baptist in Newport News, VA and youth pastor at Meadowridge Baptist in Zion, IL.
Prior to going into ministry, Andy served 22.5 years in the US Navy, retiring as an Electronics Technician Senior Chief. He sailed onboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), USNS Apache (T-ATF 172), USS Mahan (DDG-72), and USS Cole (DDG-67). His shore tours include RTC Great Lakes as a Recruit Division Commander, the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and Afloat Training Group Norfolk.
Dania and Andy have four children ranging from full fledged adult to middle schooler. They have been partners in leading youth ministry for the last two decades. In addition to kids, they have plenty of pets including two dogs, two fish tanks, and one cat.
In his free time, Andy likes to read, drink black coffee, lift weights, play video games, and tell sea stories.
PASTOR'S BLOG
God is on the move! There is an incredible phenomenon happening within the universal church. According to a Barna study conducted in September of 2025, for the “first time in decades, younger adults -Gen Z and Millennials are now the most regular church goers”. As good as that news is, the same study also reports that regular attendance is NOT weekly for these generations.
Prayerfully, attendance will become regular rather than sporadic. As believers, we are better together. “And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Church attendance is not something we have to do, it is something we GET to do!
It is good for us to gather regularly to edify one another and worship as a corporate body. My hope and prayer is that we have fun when we come to worship and give praises to the LORD. This time of worhsip gives us time to act as the body of the church and have Christian community. This community is important. It helps keep the flame going.
The Manly Men Group sits around the fire pit at most of their meetings these days. To get the fire going, we use some of the starter material and kindling. Once the kindling is going, we add the big logs. The more logs on the fire and the closer those logs are to one another, the bigger the fire roars. As long as we keep logs on the fire, the heat is maintained, and there’s plenty of oxygen, the fire keeps going. When it is time for us to conclude, we separate the burning logs. This cuts down on the heat and the log is on its own to burn. This dramatically slows the fire down.
So it is in the life of a believer. The more we are immersed in the Bible, prayer, and worship, the more on fire we can be. The longer we stay away, the cooler we may become. If we want to keep our fire and our passion going, we can regularly pray, read our Bibles, and gather with the body of believers for worship. God is GOOD and worthy of all our worship and praise!
BLOG ARCHIVES
A Non Political Post
I do not like to dabble in politics. However, at the time of this writing, we still do not know who
the next President of the United States will be. Many Americans are asking who will be in charge.
***Note: Haha, egg on my face. About an hour after I posted this on Facebook the AP reported
we do in fact have a winner in the last presidential race.***
Ultimately, it does not matter who winds up taking charge on the earthly plain. God in heaven is
still in charge and He will bring things about for His glory. As believers, our ultimate leader is
Jesus Christ.
In Israel's beginning, they had Moses to lead them on earth. This led to the period where Israel
was governed by Judges. Then in 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites become restless and in verses 4-5,
they go to Samuel and demand that he establish a king to judge them just like all the other
nations have. Then we are told: When they said, "Give us a king to judge us," Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he
prayed to the Lord. But the Lord told him, "Listen to the people and everything they say to you.
They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king. They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to Me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning Me and worshipping other gods. Listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them
and tell them about the rights of the king who will rule over them." (1 Samuel 8:6-9)
From there, Israel has a history of kings that ruled over them. Some were good, some were bad.
The installation of kings eventually led to the division of Israel into two kingdoms and
contributed to their exile. It is a series of ups and down as we read through 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
At the end of it all, God restored them to Israel. Then, God sent His only Son to die on the cross to take away the sins of those that believe upon Jesus as Lord and Savior. God is still in charge for eternity, regardless of who is in charge temporarily on earth. In these politically charged times and with the division we see among political lines, our hope
remains in The Lord. We are called to be His people regardless of who has the title of King,
President, Czar, etc. As believers, we are not called to unity under a political party. Instead, we
are called to make disciples of all nations and unite at the feet of Jesus, the King of Kings.
Fatherhood
Most of you have this parenting thing figured out. I on the other hand, certainly do not. I am
blessed to be the father for four great kids. (Technically one is an adult now, but Dania and I
have to remind her that she is "adult-lite").
I have done some scary things in my life. I have stood on the Landing Signal Officer platform as
F-14s landed on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis. I jumped off a cliff in Hawaii. I
even jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Yet none of that has been as terrifying as being a
father. Don't get me wrong, I would not give up my family for anything. It's just that in all the
other scenarios where I had been in some level of danger, it was only me that would be affected
if something went wrong. That is not the case with fatherhood. When it comes to raising my
kids, if I mess up, it doesn't just affect me. It affects their future and their future relationships.
Deuteronomy 5:9 says: I, The Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the
sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. (NIV)
Kids emulate the behavior set before them. If I mess up in how I act and don't correct it in
myself, I can only assume they will carry it on into their adult life. It seems simple, but Lucy
bites her fingernails. She learned that from me. I learned that from my mom. The three of us
have a bad habit that we are all responsible for breaking ourselves. However, I began because
when I was little, I figured it was the adult thing to do because my mom did it. When I get on
Lucy for biting her nails, she looks at me and says, "But you do it." If she is watching me bite
my nails, she is watching me do other things as well.
My goal is to walk in a way that I want my kids imitating when they leave the nest.
Back Where It All Began
I know it's not the best picture. The man in the recliner there, affectionately known as P-Rob,
was one of my earliest mentors in ministry. He gave me the first opportunity to speak in "big
church" when I felt the call to ministry. He was also the officiant at our wedding. He has been a
big influence in my life.
I am back at Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes in lovely Great Lakes, IL. Over
two decades ago, I landed at O'Hare airport in early March with a bunch of snow on the
ground. I was shuttled up to RTC for the Navy Boot Camp. Since I have been back, I have seen
most recruits wearing sneakers. I guess we should call it sneaker camp! (That's a whole different tirade, though.)
As I drove in the other day, I came up 94 and took the right on Buckley Avenue. some of my old haunts from when I was just a baby in the Navy, I felt all of the bad decisions in my life rear their ugly head and I was hit with a "what was i thinking" moment. As I passed by
They were feelings of regret. Those feelings did not last long.
In addition to my time here as a recruit and then subsequent follow on training, I reported here in
2005 as a Recruit Division Commander. Dania and I were dating at the time and a new phase of
my life was about to start. Up to this point, I was Navy all the way. I told Dania when we met I
planned to stay in as long as I possibly could, 40 years if they would let me. If you had told me
22 years ago that I would wind up retiring from the Navy, I would have thought you crazy. If
you had told me 15 years ago that I would go on to become a pastor, I would never have believed
you. My how times have changed.
After I got my base decal to get on the installation, I started driving up Green Bay Road. As I
drove along, I was hit with all the good stuff that has happened since I last reported here. I drove
by and saw the old church Dania and I were married at. I went by the Jelly Belly factory, the old
apartment complex, Dania's favorite restaurant, and the old Chinese restaurant Nicole and I used
to go to. There is a lot more for me to see while I am still here. Those were just a few regular
places from the last time we were here.
Then I made my way over to P-Rob's house and had several hours of fellowship and just shooting the breeze.
It got me to thinking, if I had not joined so many years ago, there is no telling what my life
would have become. So, even as the old feelings of 20 year old Andy getting yelled at because
he didn't fold his underwear properly came flooding back to me, all of the positive and great
memories I have quickly quelled the wave of regret.
Sometimes the actions we take that everyone else thinks are crazy send us on the adventure of a
lifetime. I am sure Abraham approached the idea of leaving his family and everything he knew
at The Lord's behest in Genesis 12 with a certain amount of trepidation. I am sure there was
some fear and concern about the way ahead. Abraham overcame these fears, was faithful to his
calling, and was greatly blessed by The Lord.If God is calling you to do something, then I suggest you do it. You don't know how it will turn
out right away, but as long as He is directing you, it will be for your benefit. It might start out
rough for us but at the end of it all, we will look back and see more good than we do bad.
Be Excellent to Each Other
One of my very best friends (other than Dania) sent me a text to let me know that the new Bill
and Ted movie is out. Yes, I have been watching Keanu Reeves movies since before he was a
household name. I have seen Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted's Bogus
Journey plenty of times. In fact, Brad, the friend I mentioned earlier, and I would spend a lot of
our underways and watches giving each other obscure movie quotes and often those two movies
would pop up in our discourse. When you are stuck for five hours looking at a RADAR repeater,
it is always nice to have a little entertainment.
In the first movie, Bill tells a packed theatre to "be excellent to each other". This sounds pretty
familiar. This is not the Gospel according to Bill and Ted (though I was seriously tempted to call
it that), but it does bring up a good point. We should be excellent to one another.
One thing my generation has been great at is honing in on the nostalgia. They have been
remaking the toys that I grew up with and the natural tendency for me is to go out and buy those
pieces of nostalgia for my kids to enjoy.
Unfortunately, even though Bill's line comes from a piece of my generation's pop culture, I think
that somewhere along the lines a lot of people have forgotten how to have a good civil discourse
with one another. Society seems to be brimming with keyboard warriors that have no problem
lashing out at the entity on the other end. Those faceless names that are getting lashed out at do
in fact have a face and is loved by God.
What is worse is that we have seen violence erupting all over the place over the course of the last
few months All from the folks that were told by Keanu Reeves to be excellent to one another.
Really, that's not far off from the golden rule. the second command that Jesus gives in Mark 12: 31
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
In fact, we could say that this is a paraphrase of
Who doesn't want to be treated excellently? Plenty of folks want to quote the golden rule and
they want the golden rule applied to them. Truly we should follow that sound
guidance. However, a lot of the time people forget what the first commandment was in v. 30
Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.
I think maybe that is why the second commandment is so difficult to follow these days. Many
want to have Christian values, but remove the Lordship of Christ as they try to practice the
second command. I humbly submit that if we are all loving The Lord God will all of our hearts,
minds, and souls then loving our neighbor as ourselves will not be nearly as hard as some people
make it out to be. If we love God like that and remember that He sent His Son to die for us, our
friends, our neighbors, our coworkers, and even our enemies because He loves all of us, then it's
a lot easier to love them like we are supposed to.
I realize that the majority of folks reading this post are doing their best to maintain those twocommandments. God bless you for it! These are dark times that we have headed into. Our Lord
headed into dark times as well, but He kept loving those around Him no matter how much they
hated and rejected Him.
God bless you! Keep up the good fight!
Consider it Pure Joy
This one makes me laugh out loud. Dania and I have an annual tradition of going to Busch
Gardens on our anniversary. We were married on New Years Eve, so they are always in the
throes the "Christmas Town" celebration.
We had this one made up on our last anniversary. There was a vendor there that had these neat
wood cutouts and he showed us his retirement plaque that he made for his Coast Guard
service. My retirement paperwork was in. Dania and I were confident about the future. The
retirement paperwork had been approved and we were ready for the next step, so much that we
had it engraved in wood. That was only seven months ago, but it feels like a lifetime. Initially, I
was supposed to be retired by June 2020 and set out to do my own thing after 21 years of service.
Then Coronavirus. I am sure that plenty of us have stories about what we were going to do, but
then "coronavirus". Due to the manning shortfall caused by the coronavirus, many people are
finding themselves serving in a non-volunteer status in the "all volunteer" forces. With the
current manning policy, I will have to do one more year. It's okay, though. I know that God has
it all in control. In the midst of all this, I have been pressed on all sides from my military
counterparts and it can be upsetting to say the least.
James 1:2-4 tells us, "Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various
trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its
complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." (HCSB)
This new period of waiting is going to be used for something. I can either be bitter about it, or
focus on the positives. I have much to be thankful for. In the midst of the manning process, my
Navy job is changing from one I don't care for to that of a Recruit Division Commander (RDC),
our version of the drill instructor. I enjoyed being an RDC much more than the one I currently
fill. It also places me in the same town as one of my first ministry mentors and I look forward to
spending time with him again.
I will admit that I sometimes feel beat down because it honestly feels like the rules are changing
constantly and I am regularly playing catch up. There is plenty of adversity I have been dealing
with up to this point, but I would rather not focus on that since it would only come off as
complaining. I know that God is going to use these trials for my good or someone else's down
the line. I also contacted the guy that made the engraving and he said he can engrave the other
side. So, many years from now when my great grandchildren are going through my old military
stuff they will look at one of my children and ask, "Why are there two sides with two dates?" At
least it will leave a story behind.
I know adversity is not unique to my situation. It is something we all face. I guess the best way
that I can look at it is that at least we are facing adversity because of who we belong to. As
believers, we belong to The Lord Jesus Christ and He will see us through these trials.
Keep the faith, my brothers an
Don't Rush to Judgment
Reading through Acts 9, it speaks of Paul's conversion. He was on the road to
Damascus when he was abruptly interrupted by The Lord. Paul was blinded and
the men who were with him had to lead him into Damascus.
Ananias, a follower of Christ, was sent by God to Paul in order to lay hands on
him and heal his sight. Ananias is at first resistant. Why?
Paul up to that point had been persecuting people that were following The
Way. He was there at the execution of Steven and was known as the persecutor
of Christians. Naturally Ananias was afraid to engage Paul in conversation, let
alone place hands on him. After all, it could have meant imprisonment and
death.
Home is Where the Heart Is
It is official! There is now 75 percent of the Wood family residing in St. Paul, VA. Many
thanks to all of the people that helped unload the truck, helped unpack, brought dinner, and ran
errands. We cannot thank you enough for helping our transition go smoothly.
I am back in Newport News with Nicole. think she plans to visit with her Nana later this week. house" ready for sale.
She will head out to JMU this weekend, though, I
I will sit here and work to get the "old
I have started referring to this place as our "old house". Surely, I do not belong to Newport
News anymore, nor will I belong to Great Lakes, IL when I execute those orders to be a Recruit
Division Commander (navy version of a drill instructor). The majority of my family and my
heart are now comfortable and safe in St. Paul. As a result, when people ask me where home is,
I can now say unequivocally that St. Paul, VA is my home.
Yes, there is also another big draw to getting out there. There is a fantastic body of believers that
I cannot wait to worship with in a "non-hybrid" capacity! Thankfully, every day that passes by,
is a day that gets me closer to Dania, the kids, and you all out there.
Dania, the kids, and I are used to long periods of separation. Prior to my deployments, we would
start to talk about the "big long trip" that I was getting ready to take. Unfortunately, at sea there
is very limited bandwidth, so I was seldom able to call home, Skype, or FaceTime. However, if
we hit the timing just right, Dania and I could have a "real time" conversation on Facebook
Messenger. Praise God that this time around we can get ahold of each other with relative ease
since I am remaining ashore.
Even if that was not the case, God has equipped us to be separated from each other. God brought
us together and has bound us in love. That love does not know any limit. So no matter how long
we are apart or how far away we get from each other, our love is big enough to stretch out and
remain intact.
As great as our love is for one another, God's love is greater. God so loved the world that He
sent His only Son to die on the cross so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have
everlasting life. God's love is greater than any force out there. All praise and glory to Him!
An Observation on Social Distancing
It has been interesting to watch how everything is playing out with the onset of Covid-19.
In this world where the majority of us have social media accounts, this time of social distancing
is proving that social media does not compare to the real thing. As humans, we are driven to be
social. It is the way God made us. In Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness." (HCSB) From the very beginning of creation, God shows us that
He is relational. As His creation, it only makes sense that we would have that same
characteristic.
Prior to the rules of social distancing and Executive Order-55, there were plenty of folks that I
knew that complained of how they disliked people and wanted away from them. Many of them
would also spend their time in the same room as their friends while attending to Facebook or
other social media.
Now I am finding that a lot of these same people are getting on the same social media platforms
complaining about being away from people and how bored they are. My prayer is that this time
of social distancing will teach a lot of us in the "Social Media" age that there is no substitution
for the real thing. My prayer is that when we get beyond our current social situation, we will
spend our time with our friends and family intentionally investing in them.
Please do not get me wrong. I am not bashing social media by any means, especially since we
are in a time where the majority of our relationships are now online. However, when folks get
wrapped up in creating their online persona, trying to impress their internet friends, real
relationships can often be left by the wayside.
My hope is that when this is all over and done with, we will continue to develop our
relationships not only via social media, but by proxy.
I am praying for you all! Have a wonderful day!
Easter is Here, Now What?
Christ is risen from the grave. to be His people.
Death could not contain Him. He has authority. We are blessed
Now what do we do as a body of believers? It took a while for the disciples to get moving with
the message. In fact, it's not really until Pentecost that they head out and take the message of
Christ's resurrection outside of Jerusalem. Thankfully for us, we do not have to wait for the Holy
Spirit to come upon us after we confess Jesus as Lord. He comes to immediately after
acceptance.
As His people, we can continue doing what we are doing and loving our neighbors. It is difficult
to get out there and do a lot for our neighbors in this time of distancing. Maybe it is time to flex
on how we can show that love.
It’s Okay to Unplug
It has been months since social distancing mandates took effect. Thankfully, Virginia is in its
infant stages of reopening. We are unsure of when we are opening the church building back up
for physical services, but we know that time is coming! Praise God!
I just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing during this time. months have proven challenging in many areas of our lives. way of life and hardships because of these mandates.
These last couple of
Many of us are experiencing a new
Dania and the kids have had a somewhat rough time with it. For me, though, it has been kind of
similar to being underway. When you are on a 500 foot ship in the middle of the ocean, there are
very limited activities and social gatherings to attend. I told Dania a while back, "this is the best
underway I have ever been on." I know that is not the case for most people, though.
With the prolonged isolation from the "real" world, I have spent a lot of time in the cyber
world. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but yesterday, I finally realized I was spending too
much time on the screen and had enough of being online. I put away my phone and computer
and went out to our backyard oasis. The kids and I tossed a frisbee, then a football. Reagan tried
to jump off of an eight foot ladder onto the trampoline. (Yes, I stopped him when I saw what he
was trying to do, though part of me is curious what would have happened if I had let him. If he
was successful, the bounce off the trampoline would have been epic, but I am pretty sure it
would have resulted in a trip to the hospital.) We wrapped up the evening at our little fire pit. It
was one of my best days in the last couple of months.
In this time of social media, it is okay to unplug for a bit and reset. Take as much time as you
need. The work and the posts will still be there when you come back to it. Take care of you and
your needs.
My hope and prayer is that you are able to get some peace of mind and respite during these
strange times. God bless you.
Know Your Worth
This is it, the house is on the market. Within a couple of hours of being listed, we already had
people wanting to see it. Praise The Lord we received a full amount offer within 12 hours of
listing the place. Prayerfully there are no hiccups as we move into closing on it.
Dania and I put a lot of time and effort into this place over the last 12 years. It stores a lot of our
memories. The majority of our kids took their first steps in that house. That tree in the front is
known as the Whitworth Tree. It was only six feet high when we planted it, but now it is a lot
taller! It was at that home where the tradition of spending Christmas Eve with Dania's mom and
dad became a thing. Long story short, we were going to have Christmas Eve at home and then
drive up Christmas morning. We ditched that plan at around 7:00 P.M., drove to their house in
Woodbridge, and that became our new normal for pretty much all of the holidays.
I will miss this home for sure. I know the kids already do because every time we FaceTime, they
ask if we can please keep the house.
Our realtor is awesome and came up with a good price. account for the value that it has for Dania and me. owned this place almost as long as we have been married. As good as the asking price is, it won't
It's not just a house, it's our home. We
You can't really put a price on that.
Which got me to thinking: Do we know our value as people? In romantic books and plays, often
the male lead declares that his love is so great for the woman that he would die for her.
Well, that's exactly what God did to show His love for us.
We are loved so much by God in Heaven that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross
so that we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. That is how much we are valued by
God. That is how much He values His creation. Know your worth.
God bless you! Keep up the good fight!
Levitical Law
It's July 4, 2020 and I do not think any of us saw where the year was going to take
us. This year has not been for the faint of heart and it seems like every turn we take,
there is a new issue creeping around the corner. The future is unknown to us, but God
knows what He is doing. He holds the future. We need only to trust in Him. He will
get us through.
While I was going through Leviticus as part of my Bible reading plan, I came across
the flying animals the Jews were forbidden from eating. In verse 19, they are told to
not eat the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat. Still advice I think we can
use today.
It got me to thinking, though, how good is God for preserving His people by giving
them an extensive list of what to do and what not to do to maintain holy
living? Surely, one reason for the Levitical Law was so that the people outside of
Israel could see how a holy and set apart people were to interact with the One and
Only God.
However, it goes further than that. The Lord forbids them to eat pork, not because
pork isn't delicious, but back then swine lived off of trash and would likely poison a
person if it was not prepared correctly. He forbids the consumption of birds of prey
and carrion birds because they feed off of dead animals, increasing the likelihood that
the consumer would ingest some form of toxin from the animal. God even forbids
eating fish with no scales and shrimp. I believe, the reason for this is that these
animals were all bottom feeders. The restrictions on the diets were not to deny them,
but for preservation of God's chosen people.
True enough, Jesus rescinds these ordnances when He fulfilled the law. It's not just
food that the Levitical Law covered, though. The Lord gave them practical
instruction on what to do when it comes to mold growing in the house and a variety of
skin infections. God was giving instruction on what they needed to do to keep
themselves safe.
When God denies us something that we think we want, He has good reason for doing
so. He will not give us what we want if it is going to lead to our ruin. God gives, but
He also denies. When we are denied what we think we wanted, it's often because that
would have led to our destruction.
March 2020
We are still incredibly excited to be making our way out to St. Paul, VA. day was wishing that could be out there right now! Frankly, that is how we all feel.
Our youngest the other
In the meantime, the moving process has begun. As a former Navy family, we are used to
packing up and moving every few years. This time it is different, though. If The Lord wills, this
will the our last move and so we are approaching things a little differently than we have in past
moves.
One thing that is abundantly clear is that we have way too much stuff. In fact, some might say
we suffer from TMJ: Too Much Junk. We are in the process of purging things that once we
thought we needed. It has moved with us from Illinois, to Newport News, to Woodbridge, and
back to Newport News. For all intents and purposes, it was dead weight and we brought it along
with us nevertheless.
The same can be said if we hold on to guilt from our past sins and mistakes. Thankfully, The
Lord Jesus Christ came so that we could be forgiven of our sins. He suffered, died on the cross,
and rose from the grave so that we could be forgiven of our sins so long as we believe in Him as
Lord and Savior. In John 10:10-11, Christ tells some of the Pharisees, "I have come so that they
may have life and have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down
his life for the sheep." If we have confessed our sin to Christ Almighty and asked His
forgiveness, we are forgiven. There is no need to carry that guilt and shame. It is just dead
weight and it doesn't bring any benefit. If He no longer convicts us of what we have done, we do
not have to either.
Our pasts do not have to define us. We can not change where we have been, but we can change
where we are heading.
I look forward to being out in St. Paul with you all the weekend of March 20!
God Bless You!
Make Much of Time
Most of my adult life was dedicated to the Navy. My dad also spent 23 years in the
Navy. Needless to say, I am very familiar with the service and the sea.
When I was 10, my dad received orders to London, England to the Naval Communication
Unit. We lived in a little village outside of London for three years. Unfortunately, the unit has
since been shut down, preventing me from being able to take orders there and take Dania and the
kids across the pond.
My brother and I went to DOD schools while we were there. My sixth grade teacher had
majored in English and she introduced all of her classes to Shakespeare. I remember one day she
was "over the moon" with excitement when excavators found what they thought might have been
the original Globe Theatre. I remember thinking "How did they lose a building?"
After many years of diligent study and excavation, the experts came to the conclusion that they
had in fact found the location of the theatre and set out to make a replica.
Fast forward 30 years. I was sent to Plymouth, England to assess one of our ships home ported
out of Rota, Spain. My team was there for two weeks. I was reintroduced to all of the candy that
I enjoyed as a kid. (Cadbury eggs are available year round out there and you can get the Kinder
egg as well.) Our final day in England, we left early for Paddington Station so we had plenty of
time to explore before hopping on another train for the airport.
Our first destination was to The Globe theatre. None of us had seen it before. We took the tube
to the closest station to the theatre. We only got photos of the outside because the tours were
sold out for the day. From there, we proceeded on a five hour walking tour taking as many of the
sites in as we could.
I don't know if I will ever make it back to the UK and I am okay with that. I am glad that we
maximized our time in London otherwise there may be regret for not being diligent with my
time.
My prayer for all of us is that we will make use of this time that The Lord has given us here on
earth. Eventually, we will move on to be by His side. Let's make the moments that we are here
count.
On the Death of a Legend
Sir Sean Connery passed away yesterday. He was 90. Sir Connery was the first actor to play
James Bond. In addition to that role, he played many others, including Indiana Jones's dad, a
Russian submarine commander, and many more. He also served in the Royal Navy.
He always seemed like the kind of guy that was ageless. With as many movies as he had been
in, I just kind of figured that he was always going to be with us. He is certainly not the first
celebrity to pass in 2020, but for some reason, his passing stuck with me more than the others.
Death is tragic. When celebrities pass, there is more press and a collective mourning takes place
amongst the celebrity's fan base and others. It is grieving on a larger scale. However, regardless
of a person's social status, it is tragic when they are lost.
In Meditation 17, John Donne proclaims that "no man is an island." God has developed a sense
of community into our being. We are social beings that are supposed to interact and fellowship
with one another. Donne goes on in his meditation to say, "Each man's death diminishes me, for
I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for
thee." Because of our connection, when we lose someone in our community, we feel it.
Why? From early on we are taught that nothing lasts forever. It is said that there are only two
things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. Why the mourning and weeping when we lose
someone? I did not know Sir Connery personally. Why would I feel grief when any public
figure passes away?
Animals do not bury their dead. If a bird falls out of the sky, other birds do not gather around for
a wake and ensure they lay one of their own to rest. We are different, though.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put
eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end."
As humans, as God's special creation, we have eternity written into our DNA. don't understand death when it occurs in the public and private forum. sense to us because we are eternal souls in jars of clay.
That is why we
Death does not make
As we go about our day to day, we can have peace in knowing that this is not our final
destination.
God bless you!
On the Move
It is starting to get real. We have packed up the majority of our possessions. Now we wait for
the moving container to show up. We have some gracious friends out here that are willing to
help us load everything in the container. As you can see, we have a lot of stuff, but then again,
there are a lot of us.
I have moved plenty of times in my life, but this time it is different. My dad was in the Navy so
we moved around a lot when I was a kid and then I joined up and did some moving myself. I
never thought that Hampton Roads would become such a mainstay in my life. I remember when
I was in High School and my family traveled from Northern VA down to Norfolk to attend a
friend's wedding. I remember dealing with the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. Never in a
million years did I think that I would drive over that thing almost every day for ten years. I
vividly recall when my roommate at Tech wanted to go visit his sister at William and Mary one
day so we set out to Williamsburg. I never would have thought that Williamsburg would have
become my hang out place. Around the same time in my life, I remember watching a reality TV
show about a young police officer that had to wake up at 5:00 A.M. every day just to get to work
on time and thinking to myself, "I never want to have a job where I have to wake up that early."
The Lord delivered. Instead of having to get up at 5:00 A.M. I got a job that required me to get
up at 3:30 A.M.! (Sometimes we need to be careful what we wish for.)
Anyway, the reason this move feels different is that this will be the first time I am moving to a
new town that has absolutely nothing to do with the military. If The Lord wills, it will be the last
move I ever make. I am trying to take this one in stride and enjoy the process as stressful as it
has been.
It is funny how God guides and directs us. Twenty years ago if someone had told me I would be
finishing up a career in the Navy and moving to St. Paul, VA, I would have told that individual
to get their head checked because it was just not going to happen. Here we are, though, and I
couldn't be more excited!
In life, it is best to keep our minds open to what God wants us to do. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us:
Trust in The Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; think
about Him in all your ways, and He will guid you on the right paths. (HCSB)
God's direction is always best. He knows what He is doing. Sometimes we just need to sit back
and enjoy the ride. When I fly, I trust the pilot to get us to our final destination. If I can havefaith in a pilot, I surely should have faith in the God of the Universe and trust Him to take care of
me.
Keep the faith! Keep fighting the good fight!
Passover Bread
Passover Bread
As we prepare for Resurrection Sunday, we also prepare to celebrate The Lord's Supper.
The first Lord's Supper happened on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Good
Friday. Christ and His disciples were celebrating passover. Since they were celebrating the
Seder, it is understood that Christ and His disciples used unleavened bread.
This Resurrection Sunday will be different for a lot of us since we will be streaming
everything. The church will stream a celebration of The Lord's Supper on Sunday after the
sermon. Larry Marshall, Charlie Willis, and several others have been great about making sure
that members of the church family and other folks in the community receive the elements prior to
the service on Sunday. If for some reason, you are unable to get ahold of the elements, I have an
easy recipe for Matzah bread. SEE BELOW
As far as the grape juice is concerned, I am sorry, I don't have a recipe for that. I'm guessing
grapes?
Thank you all for checking in. I pray for you all and the town of St. Paul daily. We are so glad
to be a part of your community.
INGREDIENTS:
Flour for dusting
Olive oil
Salt
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup of water
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 475. Place a cookie sheet near the top of the oven while preheating.
Place one cup of flour in mixing bowl. With a fork, mix water in one tablespoon at a
time. When a dough ball is formed, divide the ball into four even dough balls. Cut the dough in
half to yield eight equal size dough balls. Flatten the dough into five inch cakes on a flour dusted
surface with a flour dusted rolling pin. Poke the cake 25 times with a fork. Flip it over and poke
it another 25 times. Place cakes on the preheated pan and bake for two minutes. After two
minutes, flip cakes over and bake an additional two minutes. Place the baked cakes on a cooling
rack, brush with oil, and salt to taste.
(Please note, this is not a kosher recipe, however, modifications
can be made to ensure it is kosher. Please email me if you would like the kosher version.)
Pride Goeth Before the Fall
This post doesn't have much to do with a ship. I only put the picture of the ship on there because
this is where my particular pride example occurred. There are many more, to be sure. I am not
immune to the folly of pride and what comes along with it. Proverbs 11:2 tells us, "When pride
comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom." (HCSB)
The USS Mitscher was going through her Air and Surface assessments and I was assigned to
conduct electrical fire and other casualty response training. Upon completion of this training, I
then evaluate the Sailors' abilities to handle the various issues that get thrown at them throughout
the event.
To keep score, I have a binder full of score sheets along with notes from all the other vessels I
have conducted this training on. These days can be long, so I went into the Chief's Mess for
lunch. In the corner of the Mess is a void that houses a ventilation fan coil unit. Most Chief's
Messes have a top on their void, so people tend to store their things on top when they visit. The
Mitscher is different. They do not have a cover on the top. I took my binder, threw it on top of
the void and the binder disappeared like magic.
Here is where my pride got in the way. I did what I could to help myself in getting out, but that
thing was gone. Rather than ask one of my fellow Chiefs for help, I left it alone for the rest of
the day. I was prepared to rebuild another binder.
The next day, though, I decided to let go of the pride and asked one of the Chiefs for help. I
caught a little garbage about it (because that is what we do to each other). However, every
person that was down there reassured me that "everyone drops something down there at least
once. I'm pretty sure we are the only Mess that doesn't have a cover for this". They helped me
get the right folks to retrieve the binder.This might seem a little silly as far as an example goes. On a greater scale, pride can affect our family life, work life, church life, etc. The quicker we are to admit when we commit a faux pas
or something more egregious, the quicker we are to gaining ground and recovering. If we choose
to ignore our faults in the hopes that others won't notice them, then we cannot grow as people. If
we stop growing in that regard, are we really living?
Rendering to Caesar
In Luke 20 v.22, the chief priests, scribes, and elders go to Jesus and ask Him if it is lawful for
them to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus, being ever so wise, simply tells them in v. 25 "Give
back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." (HCSB)
As Christians, we have an interesting duality. On the one hand, we are bound for the promised
land when we leave this world. On the other hand, we are also in this world and subject to its
rules and rulers. We still have to pay our taxes, just like everyone else. We might not like it, but
that is what we must continue to do. Otherwise, there will be consequences. While it is certainly
a worthwhile endeavor to start a prison ministry, I dare say it would be better to do it voluntarily,
not as a resident.
Make no mistake, God has the ultimate authority over our lives and He will ensure that His will
for our lives will be done. However, there is a delicate balancing Christians find themselves in;
we are not of the world, but we are in the world.
Often, I want to give up on the things of this world, but every time I think about allowing slack, I
am reminded of Colossians 3:22 "Don't work only while being watched, in order to please men,
but work wholeheartedly, fearing The Lord." God is always watching me. He knows me better
than I know myself.
So let's get everything out there and do it unto the glory of The Lord. God bless you.
A Time to Remember
This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day weekend. It is often known as the start of summer. the Navy we do training on the "100 Critical Days of Summer" prior to going into the three day
weekend. This training is so important, it was sent out to us electronically this year since we
have not been meeting in the office.
In as fun as this all is, Memorial Day weekend is a time to remember the men and women that paid
the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation. I chose not to really talk about it much at the
service this morning because I tend to get emotional when on the topic of remembrance.
Confession time, when I joined the Navy back in 1999, I never once thought about the possibility
of giving my life up for the country. It was pre-9/11 and no one was really tracking any potential
war breaking out. After 9/11, the reality hit that I was exposing myself to harm, but it did not
faze me too bad. I continued on undaunted. One thing about being in the military, a lot of us like to use the expression "getting out". Long underway periods and hard working conditions, it is common to hear a Sailor say "when I get
out, I am going to ..."
Unfortunately, as much as we all think we are going to "get out", not all of us do. Through my
career, death took some very good friends of mine. My buddy Gary was a great Christian guy
and one of the best liberty buddies a person could ask for. I miss him to this day. I also lost my
friend Mike, he and I did regular brig (Navy prison) runs down to Chesapeake when we were
stationed on the USS Mahan. Their deaths were heartbreaking, but a little more palatable than
when I buried a 19 year old Sailor. Losing peers and friends was hard, but I dare say losing a
junior was harder. Though the doctors assured me I did everything I could to save him I still felt
like I had failed him. After all, what good am I as a leader if I can't save one of my
subordinates?
So when it comes to Memorial Day, these are the folks I remember. tribute to those that I did not know and gave their lives in service to this nation. focus on my fallen brothers and remember the good times.
I also pay my respects and
It is not all sad, I in that remembrance, I am also reminded that these men never had the chance to "get out". Life
is uncertain. None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. James 4: 13-15 tells us: Come now, you
who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and
do business and make a profit." You don't even know what tomorrow will bring - what your lifewill be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
Instead, you
We have no guarantees in life. because it is uncertain. Let's not waste them by putting our to do list in the future
Life is short, my brothers and sisters. Let's live our lives like we mean it.
God bless you!
The Greatest Commandment
2020 has been quite the year. It seems that every month, we have had some sort of disaster
coming for us. Currently, the nation is divided. Frankly, I do not understand why. I completely
understand why people are mad and they have every right to be. What I do not understand is
why we are still dealing with such division. I do not understand why the root of the problem still
exists.
In Matthew 22: 36 the Pharisees ask Jesus what the greatest commandment is. In vv. 37- 40
Jesus tells them, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your
neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets depend on these two commands." (HCSB)
Jesus does not qualify what a neighbor is and for good reason: everyone is our neighbor. Just as
The Messiah came to earth to die for everyone's sin, we are called to love everyone and make
disciples of all nations. It does not matter what they look like, where they are from, what they
believe. None of that matters. We are called to love them regardless. We will never look into
the eyes of someone that God does not love.
I know that within First Baptist Church St. Paul, we acknowledge these truths and I believe
Christians throughout the world understand this concept and live by it as well. I thank The Lord
for that. Unfortunately, in times like these, the message bears repeating.
So what are we to do? The best thing we can do is pray. In 2 Chronicles 7:13, The Lord tells the
people, "If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the
land, or if I send pestilence on My people, and My people who are called by My name humble
themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven,
forgive their sin, and heal their land." (HCSB) The message is not delivered to people outside
of the faith, the message is delivered to people OF faith. As believers, WE are called to pray.
So, let us pray and love. It is the best thing we can do in times like these.
May God bless you this week.
The Rush to Easter
We have almost made it through Holy Week. It began last Sunday when we remembered the
triumphal entry. After that, there was Maundy Thursday and then the dreaded Good Friday.
As a father, it is difficult when my children look to me with forlorn looks, upset about Christ
being crucified and buried. I don't want them to be upset so I am quick to say, "It's okay, we
know how this is going to end. Sunday is coming and He will live again."
Maybe we should not rush to get to Easter, though. Maybe we should focus on Holy Saturday,
the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Certainly, focusing on Holy Saturday is
not the norm. Even the Gospels are silent on the subject. They jump from Friday to Sunday. To
be sure this is because there is great importance to Christ's victory over death.
Rushing to Resurrection Sunday allows us to "return back to normal". When a trauma disrupts
our lives, we want to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, after certain
events our lives never return to the same and we must adjust to a "new normal". The death of
Christ was a traumatic event in the lives of Christ's disciples and other followers.
The disciples in their grief were destitute and things were grim. They were afraid, ashamed, and
felt helpless in their "new normal." Though the sting of Christ's death was still fresh, they too
would have wanted to get back as close as possible to normal as before Good Friday. Imagine
how sweet it was for them when they found out that the grave could not contain Jesus. Their
new normal was superior to what they ever could have imagined.
Can we remember what our lives were like before Christ? Some of us have been following for
so long that it is hard to remember what life was like without Him. The few memories I have of
my life before Jesus are of how empty and futile it seemed. This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 1:2-
4.
"Absolute futility," says the Teacher.
"Absolute futility. Everything is futile."
What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?
A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.There is no futility when we follow Christ. My prayer this season is that we remember that the
normal we experienced after accepting Christ as Lord and Savior is far better than our lives
without Him. May The Lord give us strength as we go out and seek to do His will.
God bless you all. Have a wonderful day.
Which Way
There were three Sailors on a small boat trying to get back home in the cover of
night. Unfortunately, none of their navigation equipment was operational. They could not
navigate home by the stars because of a dense cloud cover. The lighthouse was nowhere nearby,
so they did not even have that point to lock on. Finally, one of them said, “I’ve got a great
idea! Let’s put our lantern on the bow of the boat and we can navigate home with that! That
light will keep us on the right path.”
The Sailors continued drifting to sea and never made it home.
We are living in a world where more and more people are navigating by their own light. Rather
than follow objective morality, many have fallen for the lies of subjective morality. They live
under the guise that if it feels good and they like it, then they should be able to do it. Subjective
morality is attractive to people because it means they can never be wrong. Most folks do not like
to be wrong. I know that I do not. Just ask my wife and kids. Unfortunately, subjective
morality causes far more problems than it solves. We cannot just follow our hearts and expect
that everything will turn out right. The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable-
who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9.
Our own hearts will lead us astray. A two year old child does not need to be taught how to be
selfish. The child already has a deep and innate sense of self fulfillment. There is no need to
show them how to look out for number one. Instead, they must be taught how to share. They
have to learn how to put others before self and take care of those around them. This is true of a
lot of adults as well. There are plenty of people out there that will easily look out for number
one, putting themselves ahead of their spouse and children. It is no wonder Jesus spent so much
of His time on earth teaching about service to others and putting the individual self last.
Somehow, we got to the point where people believe that other people merely exist to ensure that
they are happy and taken care of. A person becomes a means to an end in someone’s
mind. People are raised to believe that the individual is the ultimate authority. The veneer of the
internet further complicates this mentality due to the one sidedness of internet interactions with
other very real human beings. The screen allows people to treat others as if they are fictional,
causing them to behave in ways they would not dare in a face to face situation.
Just like those Sailors, our society is lacking direction. As proof, we need look no further than
the atrocities we see reported on television. Man made tragedies abound. People go the waythat they want to go, whether they should or should not. They do what they want with no care for
how it affects others. They do not know which way is up and which was is down. It is nothing
new. The book of Judges has a common refrain “In those days there was no king in Israel;
everyone did whatever he wanted”. We are living in similar times. There is a government that is
over us, but this government is not necessarily comprised of moral people. This issue of
selfishness cannot be solved by politicians because many of them do not know the right way.
Generations are being raised to believe that they can live however they want. Further, they are
taught that if their lives are not picture perfect, then it is due to some kind of exterior issue
preventing them from being fulfilled. Far be it from today’s world to have personal
accountability. Instead the onus is put on everyone else. Though the confusion is rampant, the
truth remains the truth, no matter what. It is still true whether we want it to be true or not.
There are laws within the world that we must obey. The law of gravity is just one example of
that. Gravity is used to our advantage as long as we are on firm ground. If we are falling off a
ladder, the law does not seem as beneficial. The law remains in effect whether we like it or
not. We cannot defy it.
To get our world back on track, we have to identify the truth and go from there. We must
identify the standard and work to get there no matter how far we have deviated. It all starts with
orienting ourselves. Many years ago, I was being sent from one ship to another via helo (Navy
for helicopter). When we were going through our safety brief, we were told that if the helo
crashed into the drink (the water) the very first thing we had to do was get out of our
straps. After that, we had to figure out which way was up and which way was down. Odds are if
we had fallen into the sea, then we would be too disoriented to know at first. How were we
supposed to figure out which way was up? We blew bubbles and saw which way they went. If
they went above our heads, we would know we were right side up. If the bubbles floated toward
our feet, then we were upside down.
Perhaps one of our issues these days is that too many of us are upside down and don’t realize
it? When we raise up generations of people to believe that other folks are here to serve them,
what results do we expect? Can we really expect peace when people are mainly focused on
what is in it for them? Should we really wonder why there is such devastation meted out
throughout the world? Could we really think that world peace can exist when the individual “I”
is the sole reason for existence?It’s time for us all to return to the truth. The truth is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. The
only way we are going to experience true peace on earth is for everyone to submit to His
authority. Jesus is not our last hope, He is our only hope. Until we have a standard objective to
measure truth from, then we can expect more problems. This is why my fervent prayer is that
there will be a great awakening throughout the world. I hope that you will join me in that
prayer. Let us keep praying that God will send revival to our corner of Southwest VA and
throughout the world!
Worry & Stress
Since I am still in the Navy, I have the pleasure of going onboard ships to conduct assessments
on training teams. I had the pleasure of being able to speak candidly with one of the Lieutenants
on board. He was stressed and worried because things were not going the way that he thought
they were going to. He was seriously stressed out. I felt bad for him. I know the "battle of
Norfolk" all too well.
I was reminded of the sailors onboard Jonah's ill fated ship. Jonah was fleeing from God's
direction and he hitched a ride to Tarshish. As a result, a great storm came up and threatened the
ship. Jonah 1:5-6 tells us, "The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw
the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest
part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. The captain approached him
and said, 'What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will
consider us and we won't perish.'"
Notice the first thing the other sailors do is to cry out to their gods. Jonah on the other hand lays
below deck to have a nap! At the first sign of trouble, the sailors following false gods had the
instinct to take it to their deity. Meanwhile, the guy that followed the One True God did not
consult The Lord God Almighty.
Can we fall into that trap? Can we get to the point where we don't feel like we can bother God
with our problems because they seem too small? There is no problem too small or too great for
The Lord. In fact, since He is the God of the Universe, He knows what you are dealing with
already. So why not take it to Him and lay out your heart in prayer
The End?
I figured that would probably get your attention. an update. Thanks for checking back in.
I know it has been a few weeks since I last did
When the news of COVID first came around, within certain theological circles there were plenty
of folks coming out saying that we were in the "end of days." Certainly, there are going to be
plagues and other devastating things that will come, but do they necessarily mean they are
leading to the end of the world as we know it?
When the pandemic broke out, I did not fall onto the group of thinking it is "end times" prophecy
being fulfilled. Then the riots started and we saw the nation's division grow larger.
Still, I do not think that we are at the end. I could be wrong and I am not ashamed to admit
that. However, I have always been leery of people that try to discern the exact moment that "the
end" will happen. The main reason for my suspicion is found in Mark 13:32. Jesus tells Peter,
James, John, and Andrew, "Now concerning that day or hour no one knows - neither the angels
in Heaven nor the Son - except the Father." (HCSB)
Since Jesus denied knowing it Himself, then I must draw the conclusion that finding the exact
date is not important for me to know. What is important is that I prepare myself. I certainly do
not know the day or hour. I could be taken by The Lord at any moment, so I should do what I
can to be ready and vigilant.
Thankfully, God knows what He is doing. Revelation 1:8 tells us, "I am the Alpha and the
Omega," says the Lord God, "the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty."
(HCSB)
He was there in the beginning, He is here now, and He will be there at the end. The end date is
not so much what is important. What is important is whether we or not we are with Him.
God bless you.
