Theological Status: DEAD ORTHODOXY / DECISIONISM
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: A compelling personal testimony about the call to ministry, yet fundamentally lacking the power to save.
Pastoral Analysis: Pastor Smith delivers a warm, biographical sermon that correctly identifies the posture of pointing to Jesus. However, the sermon critically fails to explain *why* we need to be pointed to Jesus or *how* that pointing saves. It presents a moralistic exhortation to look away from self without providing the Gospel mechanism of grace, resulting in a spiritually inert message.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Sardis — The sermon presents a 'name that it is alive, but is dead' orthodoxy. While it maintains a correct external focus on Jesus, it lacks the vital power of the Gospel message itself. By omitting the core doctrines of human depravity, substitutionary atonement, and monergistic regeneration, the teaching relies on human effort and moral exhortation rather than the life-giving power of the Gospel, resulting in a spiritually dead proclamation.
Big Idea: The core calling of ministry and Christian life is not self-promotion or judgment, but to point others to Jesus as the source of grace and salvation. [00:48:02 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: John 1:19-34
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - No errors detected regarding pulpit decorum.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented as the object of our focus and the example of humility, rather than the active agent of our salvation through His death and resurrection."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 16 | Referenced: 2 | Alluded: 1
📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud
-
John 1:19-34
[00:28:21 ▶️ 📄]
"by john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you he confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, I am not the Messiah. And they asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And by that they mean, are you one like Moses? They're referring to Moses there. Are you the prophet? He answered, no. Then they said to him, who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah nor Elijah or the prophet? In other words, where are you getting your authority from? John answered them, I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Let that statement sink in. Go back to that last one, last slide, verse 26. Let's sit with that statement for a minute. We'll come back around to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Who's John talking about there? Jesus. Now, we might want to make that statement. You might look at that statement and think about all these other people who don't know Jesus. But think for a second of how that might apply to me and you. Is Jesus ever standing among us and we don't know it? So there's the force of John's prophetic proclamation. We'll come back to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Go ahead. The one who is coming after me, I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal. In other words, I'm not worthy to even tie his shoes. I can't even tie his shoes. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the word of God for all people."
Key References: Isaiah 40:3, Habakkuk
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,068 words
📌 View 8 Key Topics Addressed
-
Testimony and Conversion
[00:32:50 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts traditional 'rock bottom' conversion stories with his own gradual, non-dramatic realization of faith and calling during a hymn at age 15. -
Divine Calling and Vocation
[00:37:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the specific moment he realized God was calling him to ministry, marked by physical tension that released upon acceptance, and the affirmation from church elders. -
Pride and Spiritual Maturity
[00:42:17 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor admits to a period of pride where he felt superior to others ('brood of vipers') despite his passion, linking his personal struggle to the character of John the Baptist. -
Identity in Christ
[00:36:41 ▶️ 📄]
> The sermon connects the pastor's personal identity questions to the biblical text of John the Baptist being asked 'Who are you?' by the priests and scribes. -
Ministry and Calling
[00:41:23 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts his early call to ministry, his initial misunderstanding of it as judgmental, and his eventual realization that true ministry is pointing to Jesus. -
Pride and Arrogance
[00:42:17 ▶️ 📄]
> He describes his teenage 'fire for Jesus' as actually being pride, where he felt superior and judged others, contrasting this with the humility of John the Baptist. -
Intellectual Pursuit vs. Faith
[00:44:28 ▶️ 📄]
> He discusses overcoming the false dichotomy between academic learning and faith, realizing they complement each other, though he was called to local church ministry rather than academia. -
Universal Priesthood/Call
[00:51:16 ▶️ 📄]
> He argues that ordination and degrees are not prerequisites for ministry; all believers are called through baptism to point others to Jesus.
🖼️ View 6 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:38 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares his personal testimony of growing up in Enochville, NC, and his conversion experience at age 15 during the hymn 'Victory in Jesus,' where he felt his soul 'click' and embrace the faith taught by his parents. He contrasts this with typical 'rock bottom' testimonies. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:37:37 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts a conversation at age 16 with a Sunday school teacher where he prayed for guidance on his vocation. He describes a physical sensation of tension in his neck and shoulders that vanished instantly when he verbally accepted God's call to ministry, confirming his decision. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:40:42 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares an anecdote from his sixth-grade confirmation class with a pastor nearing retirement. The pastor suggested the speaker might have a call to ministry, but the speaker's parents refused to discuss it, believing that if God called him, God would tell him directly, preventing him from feeling obligated. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:42:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor illustrates his own spiritual pride by comparing his past attitude to John the Baptist's harshness ('brood of vipers'), admitting he once felt superior to others and wanted them to think and feel exactly like him. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:41:23 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about a confirmation teacher in the 1960s who suggested he go into ministry, but his parents refused, believing God would call him directly if it were His will. He then describes his own arrogant phase as a teenager, thinking he was like John the Baptist in a judgmental way ('repent you brood of vipers'), before realizing his error and the true nature of John's ministry: pointing to Jesus. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:48:32 ▶️ 📄]
> He references specific paintings of John the Baptist, noting that older paintings often show John literally pointing to Jesus, and mentions a specific painting above his office chair showing John by the cross (biblically inaccurate but symbolically relevant) to illustrate the act of pointing to Christ.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is broken. The sermon omits the core doctrines of human depravity, monergistic regeneration, and penal substitutionary atonement. It relies on biographical narrative and thematic exhortation without substantively presenting the Gospel required for salvation. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon omits the mechanics of salvation (depravity, atonement, regeneration), reducing the Gospel to a moral call to focus on Jesus rather than a proclamation of His saving work. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | No specific errors detected regarding the nature or authority of Scripture in the provided reports. |
| Hermeneutic | ✅ PASS | No specific errors detected regarding the method of interpretation in the provided reports. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | No specific errors detected regarding the nature of God in the provided reports. |
| Sacramentology | ✅ PASS | No sacramental errors detected. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon relies heavily on personal anecdote and moral application, lacking deep theological exposition of the Gospel's objective work. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
✅ The Law And Wrath:
"I need to tell people why they're going to be judged by God." [00:43:14 ▶️ 📄]
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ The Cross And Atonement:
"here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" [00:30:38 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Critical Gospel Omission
Root Cause: Moralism
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor fails to substantively present the core doctrines of human depravity, monergistic regeneration, or penal substitutionary atonement.
Why It's Dangerous: The congregation receives a moralistic call to look at Jesus without understanding why they need saving or how Christ's work actually saves them, resulting in a spiritually dead message.
Biblical Correction: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Vulnerability | Authentic Personal Testimony
The pastor shares a genuine, vulnerable personal history, including his conversion experience and early call to ministry, which builds rapport and authenticity with the congregation.
Theological Posture | Correct Direction of Focus
The sermon correctly identifies the believer's posture as one of humility, shifting focus away from self-promotion and toward Jesus.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:00:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:01] Number seven. Do you see it moving? Is reader mic. Okay. Never mind. And then you'll be mad at me because I won't have the capo or you won't be mad but you'll be you'll be
[00:05:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:05:06] I feel like I wasn't capable on any song today. That's what's wrong with me. There's no capos. That's why I'm working. You'll get it. You'll hear it.
[00:05:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:05:17] The truth is this, that God has never been silent without you.
[00:05:24] From beginning to end, his word speaks identity.
[00:05:29] Not just who you are, you are chosen.
[00:05:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:05:56] Beloved, a holy nation, you are his dwelling place, the light of the world, a city on a hill, an ambassador of hope, a citizen of heaven, an overcomer, appointed, equipped, held, sealed, strengthened. You are not forgotten,
[00:06:17] not abandoned, not alone. You are blessed, protected, provided for, safe in his hands.
[00:06:25] You are a new creation, adopted, marked by mercy, made for glory. You are his now and forever and nothing nothing can separate you from his love church doesn't that make you want to clap
[00:06:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:48] nothing can separate you from the love of god amen amen amen welcome to williamson's chapel my name is carrie wright i am the worship pastor here and i am thrilled that you are here in the
[00:07:02] middle of your summer probably running to different vacations doing lots of things those with children running to camps, but this space. This is our home. This is our place to come back to, to reflect, to listen, to allow God to speak to us. If you are new here, welcome
[00:07:21] to worship with us. We are so grateful that you have chosen to be here this morning. For those of you online, welcome to worship. It's not just us in this space. We love that you are here too,
[00:07:35] coming to be together with this body.
[00:07:39] I invite you, if you are new or have you not been here very many times, or if you have and you want some more information, our welcome team is out at the cart afterwards.
[00:07:51] If you'll see them, you'll just go out there, right out in the North X and keep on going, and you'll find a cart out there with our welcome tag people who are excited to share with you
[00:08:00] the ministries of the church, excited to share with you ways that you can get involved and get connected because that's what being the body is all about.
[00:08:11] There are also ways that you can connect in on the screen.
[00:08:15] You should, oh, we don't have any screens anywhere.
[00:08:18] The QR code might come up on the screen.
[00:08:21] If it doesn't, you can go to the church app or online.
[00:08:24] There it is.
[00:08:25] Well, we have those amazing guys in the back.
[00:08:27] Thanks, guys.
[00:08:28] The screen is showing us now this QR code.
[00:08:32] Just scan that.
[00:08:32] that will send you to places where you can register for events. You can find everybody's name, see where you need to connect in because we are about worshiping together, about being in study together, about being in ministry and mission together. So our series right now is
[00:08:50] called, called. You can move to that screen that is our theme screen. We originally were thinking, what does it mean when you say, did you get the call? You're thinking that means, did you get a
[00:09:05] call about somebody who's probably in the hospital or something bad has happened, or maybe one of your friends sharing great news. When we're talking about a call from God and the dove on there for a Holy Spirit and the waters of baptism. So early in the gospel of Luke, we see and read
[00:09:25] about Jesus being baptized and the spirit of God descends upon Jesus and his voice you hear they hear this is my son in whom I am well pleased and then right after that Jesus moves off and
[00:09:43] into his ministry and first stopping by his home church and gets the chance to stand up in front of his home church and to say the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to
[00:09:54] proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:10:08] So each of us too has a calling. At our baptism, we've been called by God to serve. And I wonder, what is your call? During the weeks of June, the preachers are all sharing their call story.
[00:10:24] And you might say, well, a calling is fine for those who are called into ordained ministry, but not for me.
[00:10:32] But that's not true.
[00:10:33] God has called all of us, all Christians, all believers are called by God to do something.
[00:10:41] Some are called to teach, some to serve in ministries of justice, to work with children, to sing or play instruments, to care for the sick and the weak, to bury the dead, to heal the sick and the wounded. Some are called to protect the community. God calls all of us.
[00:11:02] So today we're listening. We're coming together to hear Pastor West share his call story, but also to allow ourselves to breathe in deep the Spirit to teach us and lead us in the ways that we are called. As we begin, we're going to sing a new song called Trust in God.
[00:11:24] trust in god all hail the power all hail king jesus i'm sorry that's right we still trust in god we're still trusting in god will you stand and sing with us all hail king jesus
[00:11:37] juan's gonna restart it because i messed up the song so we're gonna we're gonna start it again
[00:11:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:11:46] god forgives got it we got this fights went out victory of his life trust in god that i've been
[00:17:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:03] looking forward to. Let us sing together Trust in God is our new song this morning.
[00:17:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:17:35] Jesus is mine, washed in his blood.
[00:19:14] And this is my song Praising my risen king all the day long.
[00:19:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:19:32] I say he answered.
[00:20:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:20:44] That's why I trust him.
[00:20:48] I sought the love.
[00:24:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:24:32] What a privilege we have to sing those words and be reminded that our trust comes from you that is old solely.
[00:24:41] God, in all the things of the world, we try to put our trust.
[00:24:46] We try to put our trust in finances.
[00:24:49] We try to put our trust in good health.
[00:24:51] We try to put our trust in having houses and boats and cars.
[00:24:56] And we are reminded that those things can so easily go away.
[00:25:02] And our trust needs to be in you.
[00:25:05] You have never failed us.
[00:25:07] No matter what happens, no matter what phone call we get, all of the things, they all slide away to putting our trust, our focus in you because you have promised. God, you have been there and you will be there
[00:25:25] and you guide and move and care and comfort. God, you have never failed us. In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:25:36] Amen. You may be seated. Good morning, church.
[00:26:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:26:04] um okay just a couple things before we read this morning's scripture um just for full disclosure pastor tony ruth was um slated to preach today um but this morning uh something came up she is not
[00:26:26] feeling well enough to preach and so the question to me was wes can you preach and i am in fact a preacher. And so the answer to that question, well, was, uh, okay. Um, and I guess it says,
[00:26:48] Paul tells, uh, Timothy in second Timothy four, be prepared to proclaim in season and out of season. And part of what kind of made me chuckle a few minutes ago, a few weeks back, somebody here
[00:27:04] at the church, I don't remember who it was said, I want to see you one time, just preach without notes. If you're here this morning, here you go. Here you go. And today and this week, pray for
[00:27:22] Tonya Ruth. It's not anything emergency or serious or just she's not feeling well. And, you know, as co-labors in the gospelism and as husband and wife, we support one another and we help each other and we take care of each other. Uh, so that's what, um, I'm going to do this morning.
[00:27:43] Our scripture, and by the way, my, my topic this morning and what I was going to be preaching about next week is my call to ministry. If y'all, if I can't spend 20 to 25 minutes talking about
[00:27:55] that, something's wrong. Um, so, but we're, we're our, our passage this morning that, yeah we did get on the screen didn't we is uh john chapter one um and it's actually we'll pick up in verse 19 so go ahead yeah there you go uh john 1 19 through 29 this is a testimony given
[00:28:21] by john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you he confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, I am not the Messiah. And they asked him, what then? Are you
[00:28:39] Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And by that they mean, are you one like Moses?
[00:28:48] They're referring to Moses there. Are you the prophet? He answered, no. Then they said to him, who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
[00:29:03] He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, why then are
[00:29:22] you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah nor Elijah or the prophet? In other words, where are you getting your authority from? John answered them, I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Let that statement sink in. Go back to that last one, last slide, verse 26.
[00:29:44] Let's sit with that statement for a minute. We'll come back around to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Who's John talking about there? Jesus. Now, we might want to make that
[00:29:59] statement. You might look at that statement and think about all these other people who don't know Jesus. But think for a second of how that might apply to me and you. Is Jesus ever standing among
[00:30:12] us and we don't know it? So there's the force of John's prophetic proclamation. We'll come back to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Go ahead. The one who is coming after me, I am not
[00:30:25] worthy to untie the thong of his sandal. In other words, I'm not worthy to even tie his shoes.
[00:30:31] I can't even tie his shoes. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
[00:30:38] The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the word of God for all people. Let's pray. God, may the words
[00:30:59] of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Okay. So verse 19 starts by saying, this is the testimony or this is the witness. This is the account. This is the testimony to what happened.
[00:31:25] And that word, testimony, has resonance, maybe for some of us, has resonance in my life.
[00:31:36] I heard it a lot growing up.
[00:31:38] I grew up about, as many of you know, about 30 minutes from here in the southwest corner of Rowan County in a little community called Enochville.
[00:31:47] I grew up at Bethpage United Methodist Church, and my parents still live in Enochville.
[00:31:52] They actually have a Mooresville address, which is pretty wild.
[00:31:56] but um grew up going to Bethpage UMC and some of you've heard me jokingly mostly lovingly refer to my home church as Methobaptist um it was just it was and is a more conservative United Methodist
[00:32:12] church perfectly fine that's okay that's just where Rowan part of southern Baptist theology is just in the air where I'm from that's all right I was formed and shaped in that and they these people told me about the love of Jesus and I learned how to love scripture and whatever but
[00:32:29] part of that what I grew up with was this focus on testimony do you have a testimony and somebody wanted to you know people would stand up and share their testimony and I did other things as a youth with organizations that would go to these different
[00:32:50] churches and do revival weekends and things like that. And inevitably somebody had to share their testimony. Anybody ever heard kind of those old school testimonies before? They tend to follow a pattern. Summed up really nicely by Amazing Grace, the song, by the way. I was blind, but now
[00:33:09] I see. And usually the pattern was I did all these terrible, horrible, bad things and hurt a bunch of people hurt myself hurt God and then I saw the light and God changed my life and sometimes I've
[00:33:28] heard people say I was in a hotel room at rock bottom and I opened the door and what they find in the bedside table the Gideon Bible and I opened the Bible and it landed on oh I don't know Habakkuk
[00:33:40] and I gave my life to Jesus and I'm like maybe more to it than that possibly but maybe not the spirit does what the spirit will do. But these testimonies of my life was this way. I met Jesus
[00:33:55] and my life was changed. So my testimony is not nearly so dramatic. I did not hit rock bottom.
[00:34:05] I don't have this whole long laundry list of all the evils I've done. God did not seemingly pull me out of this pit of sin and despair. I was 15. How much could I have done with two loving parents
[00:34:23] who were at times overly strict and deeply involved in the church? I've told my two kids, you may be preacher's kids, but I guarantee you I was in church far more than you were when I was
[00:34:34] a kid because my parents were actively involved. Neither one of them were ministers, but we were very active in church. So my testimony is as I was formed and shaped in the church, we were there
[00:34:44] every single Sunday and a lot of times multiple times during the week and we had one of these revival weekends when I was 15 and during the last hymn which was victory in Jesus during the last
[00:34:59] verse of that hymn when it said some sweet day will sing up there the song of victory Something happened in me.
[00:35:12] Something, I guess you could say it clicked.
[00:35:16] My soul said yes.
[00:35:19] And the room felt brighter.
[00:35:20] I felt taller.
[00:35:22] And I embraced for myself all that I had been taught by my parents and my church my whole life.
[00:35:32] And I owned it for myself.
[00:35:34] Now, I didn't cry.
[00:35:35] I didn't run to the altar.
[00:35:36] There was no, I didn't say anything.
[00:35:37] But my life has never been the same.
[00:35:39] because I claimed for myself that story that we are a part of, that story of God's redemption.
[00:35:51] I claimed God's grace for myself.
[00:35:53] And at that time, as a 15-year-old, this will surprise probably not many of you at all, at that time, I wanted to be a high school history teacher.
[00:36:08] Part of that was I had a teacher in high school, a world history teacher who was phenomenal.
[00:36:13] And some of you may have a similar experience.
[00:36:16] you have a teacher who's just inspiring and phenomenal and they make you want to teach and that's what I had in Mr. Jewell as a 10th grader for world history so I thought I wanted
[00:36:26] to be a a history teacher and then I began that God began working on me and that question that they asked John these priests and scribes and whoever asked John who are you that question
[00:36:41] began to nag at me. I was 15 and then 16 years old, and I remember having a conversation with someone. They said, you want to be a history teacher, right? I said, well, yeah. He said,
[00:36:52] public school? Yeah, I love public school. My mom's a public school teacher. I still have a lot of support and love for our public schools. He said, but how do you feel about teaching but not really being able to openly talk about your love for Jesus? Now, there's some
[00:37:10] complications there because you could still love Jesus and love your kids and all that as a public school teacher. But at 16 years old, that really kind of began working on me. And that question,
[00:37:22] who am I? Who am I? And one day in Sunday school, this was in April of 1994, I was 16, sitting in Sunday school class. And for the last year and a half, past year and a half,
[00:37:37] I've been grappling with this. And I called the ministry, asked people to pray for me, having conversations with my parents and the Sunday school teacher in that little class, there were about seven of us in that little class. She said, what prayer request do we have?
[00:37:52] The very start of class, what prayer request do we have? And I said, I just want you guys to pray for me. I'm not sure what God wants me to do with my life, which I look back now, like 16,
[00:38:03] who knows what God wants you to do with your life at 16. I wonder why, why was I seeking that kind of certainty but anyway I said I don't know God if God's calling me to be a preacher and as soon
[00:38:17] as I said that my shoulders and my neck got really tight just kind of like a lot of felt a lot of tension which I'd never felt that before and that whole class my neck my neck and my shoulders were
[00:38:31] tight and I had didn't have an explanation for it but right after class ended I went and found my mom in the hallway there at the church and i said mom i think god's calling me in the ministry
[00:38:42] and instantly that tension left instantly i everything all that tension in my shoulders my neck just disappeared and my thought was huh that's weird what's that about and so i just kind of went on and thought about it prayed about it felt right felt like what i was supposed to do
[00:39:06] And two weeks later at church, I decided I still felt convinced that God was calling me to ministry.
[00:39:13] And I went and talked to a woman in our church by the name of Miss Clark.
[00:39:18] Most churches have a Miss Clark or a Mr. Clark, a spiritual pillar.
[00:39:26] And churches I've been in, they're usually an older person who's seen a lot and experienced a lot and have basically got to the point where they're not worried about it so much anymore.
[00:39:36] they just want to love Jesus. That was Ms. Clark. And I told Ms. Clark, I said, I said, Ms. Clark, I've told my parents, but I haven't told anybody else in the church. And I wanted you to be the
[00:39:46] first person here at the church that I tell, I think God is calling me into ministry. And she looked at me and she said, oh honey, I've known that for years. I'm like, where are you going to
[00:39:59] tell me? I didn't say that, but just affirming what I had felt internally, that conversation with Ms. Clark. And here's the reason I chose John the Baptist. Conversation with Ms. Clark, what God had done in me, conversations I've had with several other people. You know, for example,
[00:40:25] I was in confirmation class in sixth grade. I was, you know, y'all know this, I've said this before, ADHD, impulsive, couldn't sit still, easily distracted. That was probably at its height, at its peak when I was a sixth grader.
[00:40:42] And I took confirmation class with a pastor who was about five days short of retirement.
[00:40:49] Like, this guy was ready to leave.
[00:40:52] And he was teaching us in an un-air-conditioned, hot Sunday school classroom in May.
[00:40:58] On a Sunday afternoon, which is prime video game time, y'all.
[00:41:04] And so I'm in this confirmation class.
[00:41:09] I don't remember much of anything except he used materials from like the 1960s and i found out years later he approached my parents after this confirmation class and said i think west might have a call to ministry do you want
[00:41:23] me to talk to him and thank goodness my parents said no but you laugh but there's their reasoning is great my parents said no don't talk to him because if god is calling him god will tell him
[00:41:41] and if we tell him or you tell him he'll think he has to and so these things that happen throughout my life kind of point up to me answering that call but here's the problem I was at that time
[00:41:58] as a 16 year old 17 year old kid I was this isn't the problem I was what they we called on fire for Jesus. I was on fire. But being on fire and being passionate, it's not a long distance to where you
[00:42:17] get to pride, right? To where you think, I'm really close to Jesus. I'm really on fire. Look at these people who are not. And I try to cover it up by saying, I just want to share the love of Jesus
[00:42:34] with them. In other words, I want to get them to think and feel and be like me because I think I have the answers, I think I'm right. And I thought I was like John the Baptist, but for the wrong
[00:42:44] reasons. That image of John pointing at people, maybe even John would have done this, but maybe doing this number, repent you brood of vipers. And that's, that's how I felt. Even as I went into college, I felt like, uh, I had the answers and I felt like, well, you know, I love Jesus and
[00:43:14] I love people, which is good. But then I need to tell people where they're going wrong. I need to tell people why they're going to be judged by God. Do you see how judgy that is? Do you see
[00:43:26] how I'm missing the point there? The problem is I was pointing at people instead of pointing to Jesus. I was condemning instead of inviting. I got John wrong. First of all, I'm not John the
[00:43:49] Baptist. John says I'm not worthy to untie, to tie and untie Jesus' shoes. I wasn't worthy even to look at the shoes of somebody like John the Baptist. Who do I think I was? I was an 18-year-old
[00:44:02] kid. As I went to college and seminary, I was fascinating meeting different people from different backgrounds, learning things, learning how to think critically. My life changed again when I took New Testament as a college course. It really opened up a different world for me. I found
[00:44:28] that I could take this thing I was passionate about, namely Jesus and my faith, and I can combine it with something else I was passionate about, learning and academics and intellectual pursuit. And I hadn't thought I could, I thought I'd been taught by some people that those things
[00:44:45] were in opposition. But I learned that those things actually complement and build up one another. And so I began thinking, maybe I want to be a professor. Maybe I want to teach. And occasionally in my ministry, teaching in Bible study, somebody said, you know, you'd be a really
[00:45:03] good professor. You should, you ever thought about being a professor? And I'm like, well, yes, I have.
[00:45:07] But God keeps telling me no. Because I keep telling God, God, wouldn't I be better over here?
[00:45:15] and God's like I called you to be in the local church I didn't call you to be in the classroom and y'all I keep trying I keep trying and God keeps calling God kept calling me back and so
[00:45:37] as I went through my journey went in through ordination went into first started off in youth ministry spent I've done like about 11-ish years doing youth ministry the youth I had in my youth groups now are all like approaching 40 and the ones I started out with now have kids and families
[00:45:58] of their own so that was a long time ago but I started in a youth ministry and then after ordination was appointed to a small church in Thomasville for three years and then Tony Ruth
[00:46:14] and I were appointed to serve together in Harrisburg and all throughout that call from God has been consistent called to the local church called not to point at people in judgment or condemnation but to point to jesus to point to jesus and that's what john um that's what john
[00:46:41] does and uh john is that statement he says among you stands one whom you do not know and i don't know if john is saying that i mean in the context of the text he's saying that to the pharisees and
[00:46:59] the enemies of Jesus. So there's an edge of condemnation there. But I wonder if we can read that also with an echo of invitation. Among you stands one whom you do not know. And we're right
[00:47:16] here at the beginning, even before Jesus' ministry. Among you stands one whom you do not know, but you're going to know him. He will make himself known, primarily by the cross and the empty tomb.
[00:47:32] and John says basically my job is to point to him my job is to point to him who I am compared to Jesus doesn't really matter it's my job to point you to the one who takes away the
[00:47:49] sin of the world to point you to the lamb of God and so I'm not like John the Baptist in the sense I thought I was when I was 17 18 years old but I want to be like John in this sense I want my
[00:48:02] ministry to point you to Jesus. I want my life to point people to Jesus. That's the job of ministry, pointing people to Jesus, to the source of life, grace, salvation, restoration, and redemption.
[00:48:20] So my ministry is about pointing to Jesus. And go back and if you look up on Google images, is paintings of John the Baptist.
[00:48:32] A lot of the paintings, especially older paintings, show John pointing, literally pointing to Jesus.
[00:48:44] There are a lot of paintings that, there's one in particular, it's above my chair in my office, that shows John the Baptist standing by the cross, which biblically makes no sense.
[00:48:55] But John is pointing at Jesus.
[00:48:57] That's the ministry of John.
[00:48:58] And so that's what I want to do with my life.
[00:49:05] That's what God has called me to do, to point to Jesus, not as a challenge, but as an invitation.
[00:49:12] Now, here's the thing about call and about pointing to Jesus and about inviting people to know Jesus, inviting people to receive for themselves the love and grace of God.
[00:49:26] Do you need a master's degree to do that?
[00:49:30] Do you need years of education?
[00:49:34] Now, I needed a Master of Divinity degree to be an ordained United Methodist pastor, which was fine.
[00:49:39] I would go to school the rest of my life if somebody paid me.
[00:49:44] But you need a Master's degree basically to become a United Methodist pastor.
[00:49:50] Did I need all that in order for God to call me?
[00:49:55] No.
[00:49:56] I didn't need years of schooling.
[00:49:57] Do you need to be ordained in order to point people to Jesus?
[00:50:04] No.
[00:50:07] God called me when I was a twerpy 16-year-old kid who didn't know a thing.
[00:50:14] And I thought I was the important thing.
[00:50:17] I thought I was unique and special.
[00:50:24] At that time, I was immature, as 16-year-olds are wont to be.
[00:50:30] And I could be a little arrogant.
[00:50:33] And one thing about dealing with immaturity and arrogance, actually experiencing life and being in relationship with people in an open way will cure you of that if you let it. So where I've landed, I think now, who I am and what I do and
[00:50:58] the gifts I have and the passions I have, that's not about me being special. That's not about me at all. That's pointing to Jesus. And you don't have to be a pastor. You don't have to have
[00:51:16] degrees. You don't have to have all the education, all that stuff. You don't have to be ordained to point people to Jesus. We are all called by virtue of our baptism, by virtue of the grace
[00:51:30] and love we received from God through Jesus Christ, and by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we are all called with our lives to point to Jesus. We are all called by
[00:51:41] God to say, I'm not the focus here, but I know one greater than myself. It's not about me. It's about what God is doing and has done in Jesus Christ. Yeah, in that sense, we are all called.
[00:52:01] Thanks be to God for that. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:52:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:52:09] Good morning. Thank you for joining us for online worship here at Williamson's Chapel.
[00:52:13] I'm so glad you're joining us. I am Monica Humble. I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and it is just a delight to welcome you. We are in the midst of a sermon series here that we're
[00:52:25] talking about our call to ministry. And the sermons you're hearing are from the five clergy here at the church where we're actually talking about our call to ordained ministry. But the The point of the sermons are not about necessarily being called to ordained ministry, although
[00:52:43] some people hearing the sermons may genuinely be called to ordained ministry.
[00:52:48] It's more about God's call on our lives to ministry in general, because most people are called to ministry outside of the world of the ordained.
[00:52:58] They're called to ministry to the world in general.
[00:53:02] All of us are called.
[00:53:04] We believe wholeheartedly that God taps us for powerful things and it doesn't matter who you are or what walk of life you are or where you are in your faith journey, God is always nudging and the Holy Spirit is always guiding.
[00:53:18] So today, Pastor Wes was talking about how when you answer a call to ministry, you're answering a call to point people to God.
[00:53:29] That was his call.
[00:53:30] he felt like he was being nudged to do to point people towards God. And in many ways, that's what pastors do, right? They stand in behind a pulpit and they're pointing people towards God. I mean,
[00:53:41] that's kind of the job, if you will. That's the call. But aren't we all as Christians called to point people towards God? I mean, don't they say that, you know, you don't want to have to tell
[00:53:52] people you're a Christian. You want people to know you're a Christian by your behavior, by your demeanor, by the words that come out of your mouth, by, by the choices that you make. So pointing people to Christ is important. It's a call we all have. So how are we all being nudged
[00:54:10] to do that? I invite us all to be thinking about that. Also this week, your five clergy are heading to annual conference at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. We are heading there. And as I mentioned
[00:54:21] last, a couple of weeks ago, I think, that Whitney Cassell is on her way to be ordained provisional deacon in the United. Good morning. Thank you for joining us for online worship here at Williamson's Chapel. I'm so glad you're joining us. I am Monica Humble. I'm the associate pastor.
[00:00:01] Number seven. Do you see it moving? Is reader mic. Okay. Never mind. And then you'll be mad at me because I won't have the capo or you won't be mad but you'll be you'll be
[00:05:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:05:06] I feel like I wasn't capable on any song today. That's what's wrong with me. There's no capos. That's why I'm working. You'll get it. You'll hear it.
[00:05:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:05:17] The truth is this, that God has never been silent without you.
[00:05:24] From beginning to end, his word speaks identity.
[00:05:29] Not just who you are, you are chosen.
[00:05:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:05:56] Beloved, a holy nation, you are his dwelling place, the light of the world, a city on a hill, an ambassador of hope, a citizen of heaven, an overcomer, appointed, equipped, held, sealed, strengthened. You are not forgotten,
[00:06:17] not abandoned, not alone. You are blessed, protected, provided for, safe in his hands.
[00:06:25] You are a new creation, adopted, marked by mercy, made for glory. You are his now and forever and nothing nothing can separate you from his love church doesn't that make you want to clap
[00:06:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:06:48] nothing can separate you from the love of god amen amen amen welcome to williamson's chapel my name is carrie wright i am the worship pastor here and i am thrilled that you are here in the
[00:07:02] middle of your summer probably running to different vacations doing lots of things those with children running to camps, but this space. This is our home. This is our place to come back to, to reflect, to listen, to allow God to speak to us. If you are new here, welcome
[00:07:21] to worship with us. We are so grateful that you have chosen to be here this morning. For those of you online, welcome to worship. It's not just us in this space. We love that you are here too,
[00:07:35] coming to be together with this body.
[00:07:39] I invite you, if you are new or have you not been here very many times, or if you have and you want some more information, our welcome team is out at the cart afterwards.
[00:07:51] If you'll see them, you'll just go out there, right out in the North X and keep on going, and you'll find a cart out there with our welcome tag people who are excited to share with you
[00:08:00] the ministries of the church, excited to share with you ways that you can get involved and get connected because that's what being the body is all about.
[00:08:11] There are also ways that you can connect in on the screen.
[00:08:15] You should, oh, we don't have any screens anywhere.
[00:08:18] The QR code might come up on the screen.
[00:08:21] If it doesn't, you can go to the church app or online.
[00:08:24] There it is.
[00:08:25] Well, we have those amazing guys in the back.
[00:08:27] Thanks, guys.
[00:08:28] The screen is showing us now this QR code.
[00:08:32] Just scan that.
[00:08:32] that will send you to places where you can register for events. You can find everybody's name, see where you need to connect in because we are about worshiping together, about being in study together, about being in ministry and mission together. So our series right now is
[00:08:50] called, called. You can move to that screen that is our theme screen. We originally were thinking, what does it mean when you say, did you get the call? You're thinking that means, did you get a
[00:09:05] call about somebody who's probably in the hospital or something bad has happened, or maybe one of your friends sharing great news. When we're talking about a call from God and the dove on there for a Holy Spirit and the waters of baptism. So early in the gospel of Luke, we see and read
[00:09:25] about Jesus being baptized and the spirit of God descends upon Jesus and his voice you hear they hear this is my son in whom I am well pleased and then right after that Jesus moves off and
[00:09:43] into his ministry and first stopping by his home church and gets the chance to stand up in front of his home church and to say the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to
[00:09:54] proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
[00:10:08] So each of us too has a calling. At our baptism, we've been called by God to serve. And I wonder, what is your call? During the weeks of June, the preachers are all sharing their call story.
[00:10:24] And you might say, well, a calling is fine for those who are called into ordained ministry, but not for me.
[00:10:32] But that's not true.
[00:10:33] God has called all of us, all Christians, all believers are called by God to do something.
[00:10:41] Some are called to teach, some to serve in ministries of justice, to work with children, to sing or play instruments, to care for the sick and the weak, to bury the dead, to heal the sick and the wounded. Some are called to protect the community. God calls all of us.
[00:11:02] So today we're listening. We're coming together to hear Pastor West share his call story, but also to allow ourselves to breathe in deep the Spirit to teach us and lead us in the ways that we are called. As we begin, we're going to sing a new song called Trust in God.
[00:11:24] trust in god all hail the power all hail king jesus i'm sorry that's right we still trust in god we're still trusting in god will you stand and sing with us all hail king jesus
[00:11:37] juan's gonna restart it because i messed up the song so we're gonna we're gonna start it again
[00:11:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:11:46] god forgives got it we got this fights went out victory of his life trust in god that i've been
[00:17:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:03] looking forward to. Let us sing together Trust in God is our new song this morning.
[00:17:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:17:35] Jesus is mine, washed in his blood.
[00:19:14] And this is my song Praising my risen king all the day long.
[00:19:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:19:32] I say he answered.
[00:20:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:20:44] That's why I trust him.
[00:20:48] I sought the love.
[00:24:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:24:32] What a privilege we have to sing those words and be reminded that our trust comes from you that is old solely.
[00:24:41] God, in all the things of the world, we try to put our trust.
[00:24:46] We try to put our trust in finances.
[00:24:49] We try to put our trust in good health.
[00:24:51] We try to put our trust in having houses and boats and cars.
[00:24:56] And we are reminded that those things can so easily go away.
[00:25:02] And our trust needs to be in you.
[00:25:05] You have never failed us.
[00:25:07] No matter what happens, no matter what phone call we get, all of the things, they all slide away to putting our trust, our focus in you because you have promised. God, you have been there and you will be there
[00:25:25] and you guide and move and care and comfort. God, you have never failed us. In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:25:36] Amen. You may be seated. Good morning, church.
[00:26:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:26:04] um okay just a couple things before we read this morning's scripture um just for full disclosure pastor tony ruth was um slated to preach today um but this morning uh something came up she is not
[00:26:26] feeling well enough to preach and so the question to me was wes can you preach and i am in fact a preacher. And so the answer to that question, well, was, uh, okay. Um, and I guess it says,
[00:26:48] Paul tells, uh, Timothy in second Timothy four, be prepared to proclaim in season and out of season. And part of what kind of made me chuckle a few minutes ago, a few weeks back, somebody here
[00:27:04] at the church, I don't remember who it was said, I want to see you one time, just preach without notes. If you're here this morning, here you go. Here you go. And today and this week, pray for
[00:27:22] Tonya Ruth. It's not anything emergency or serious or just she's not feeling well. And, you know, as co-labors in the gospelism and as husband and wife, we support one another and we help each other and we take care of each other. Uh, so that's what, um, I'm going to do this morning.
[00:27:43] Our scripture, and by the way, my, my topic this morning and what I was going to be preaching about next week is my call to ministry. If y'all, if I can't spend 20 to 25 minutes talking about
[00:27:55] that, something's wrong. Um, so, but we're, we're our, our passage this morning that, yeah we did get on the screen didn't we is uh john chapter one um and it's actually we'll pick up in verse 19 so go ahead yeah there you go uh john 1 19 through 29 this is a testimony given
[00:28:21] by john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you he confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, I am not the Messiah. And they asked him, what then? Are you
[00:28:39] Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And by that they mean, are you one like Moses?
[00:28:48] They're referring to Moses there. Are you the prophet? He answered, no. Then they said to him, who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
[00:29:03] He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, why then are
[00:29:22] you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah nor Elijah or the prophet? In other words, where are you getting your authority from? John answered them, I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Let that statement sink in. Go back to that last one, last slide, verse 26.
[00:29:44] Let's sit with that statement for a minute. We'll come back around to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Who's John talking about there? Jesus. Now, we might want to make that
[00:29:59] statement. You might look at that statement and think about all these other people who don't know Jesus. But think for a second of how that might apply to me and you. Is Jesus ever standing among
[00:30:12] us and we don't know it? So there's the force of John's prophetic proclamation. We'll come back to that. Among you stands one whom you do not know. Go ahead. The one who is coming after me, I am not
[00:30:25] worthy to untie the thong of his sandal. In other words, I'm not worthy to even tie his shoes.
[00:30:31] I can't even tie his shoes. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
[00:30:38] The next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the word of God for all people. Let's pray. God, may the words
[00:30:59] of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Okay. So verse 19 starts by saying, this is the testimony or this is the witness. This is the account. This is the testimony to what happened.
[00:31:25] And that word, testimony, has resonance, maybe for some of us, has resonance in my life.
[00:31:36] I heard it a lot growing up.
[00:31:38] I grew up about, as many of you know, about 30 minutes from here in the southwest corner of Rowan County in a little community called Enochville.
[00:31:47] I grew up at Bethpage United Methodist Church, and my parents still live in Enochville.
[00:31:52] They actually have a Mooresville address, which is pretty wild.
[00:31:56] but um grew up going to Bethpage UMC and some of you've heard me jokingly mostly lovingly refer to my home church as Methobaptist um it was just it was and is a more conservative United Methodist
[00:32:12] church perfectly fine that's okay that's just where Rowan part of southern Baptist theology is just in the air where I'm from that's all right I was formed and shaped in that and they these people told me about the love of Jesus and I learned how to love scripture and whatever but
[00:32:29] part of that what I grew up with was this focus on testimony do you have a testimony and somebody wanted to you know people would stand up and share their testimony and I did other things as a youth with organizations that would go to these different
[00:32:50] churches and do revival weekends and things like that. And inevitably somebody had to share their testimony. Anybody ever heard kind of those old school testimonies before? They tend to follow a pattern. Summed up really nicely by Amazing Grace, the song, by the way. I was blind, but now
[00:33:09] I see. And usually the pattern was I did all these terrible, horrible, bad things and hurt a bunch of people hurt myself hurt God and then I saw the light and God changed my life and sometimes I've
[00:33:28] heard people say I was in a hotel room at rock bottom and I opened the door and what they find in the bedside table the Gideon Bible and I opened the Bible and it landed on oh I don't know Habakkuk
[00:33:40] and I gave my life to Jesus and I'm like maybe more to it than that possibly but maybe not the spirit does what the spirit will do. But these testimonies of my life was this way. I met Jesus
[00:33:55] and my life was changed. So my testimony is not nearly so dramatic. I did not hit rock bottom.
[00:34:05] I don't have this whole long laundry list of all the evils I've done. God did not seemingly pull me out of this pit of sin and despair. I was 15. How much could I have done with two loving parents
[00:34:23] who were at times overly strict and deeply involved in the church? I've told my two kids, you may be preacher's kids, but I guarantee you I was in church far more than you were when I was
[00:34:34] a kid because my parents were actively involved. Neither one of them were ministers, but we were very active in church. So my testimony is as I was formed and shaped in the church, we were there
[00:34:44] every single Sunday and a lot of times multiple times during the week and we had one of these revival weekends when I was 15 and during the last hymn which was victory in Jesus during the last
[00:34:59] verse of that hymn when it said some sweet day will sing up there the song of victory Something happened in me.
[00:35:12] Something, I guess you could say it clicked.
[00:35:16] My soul said yes.
[00:35:19] And the room felt brighter.
[00:35:20] I felt taller.
[00:35:22] And I embraced for myself all that I had been taught by my parents and my church my whole life.
[00:35:32] And I owned it for myself.
[00:35:34] Now, I didn't cry.
[00:35:35] I didn't run to the altar.
[00:35:36] There was no, I didn't say anything.
[00:35:37] But my life has never been the same.
[00:35:39] because I claimed for myself that story that we are a part of, that story of God's redemption.
[00:35:51] I claimed God's grace for myself.
[00:35:53] And at that time, as a 15-year-old, this will surprise probably not many of you at all, at that time, I wanted to be a high school history teacher.
[00:36:08] Part of that was I had a teacher in high school, a world history teacher who was phenomenal.
[00:36:13] And some of you may have a similar experience.
[00:36:16] you have a teacher who's just inspiring and phenomenal and they make you want to teach and that's what I had in Mr. Jewell as a 10th grader for world history so I thought I wanted
[00:36:26] to be a a history teacher and then I began that God began working on me and that question that they asked John these priests and scribes and whoever asked John who are you that question
[00:36:41] began to nag at me. I was 15 and then 16 years old, and I remember having a conversation with someone. They said, you want to be a history teacher, right? I said, well, yeah. He said,
[00:36:52] public school? Yeah, I love public school. My mom's a public school teacher. I still have a lot of support and love for our public schools. He said, but how do you feel about teaching but not really being able to openly talk about your love for Jesus? Now, there's some
[00:37:10] complications there because you could still love Jesus and love your kids and all that as a public school teacher. But at 16 years old, that really kind of began working on me. And that question,
[00:37:22] who am I? Who am I? And one day in Sunday school, this was in April of 1994, I was 16, sitting in Sunday school class. And for the last year and a half, past year and a half,
[00:37:37] I've been grappling with this. And I called the ministry, asked people to pray for me, having conversations with my parents and the Sunday school teacher in that little class, there were about seven of us in that little class. She said, what prayer request do we have?
[00:37:52] The very start of class, what prayer request do we have? And I said, I just want you guys to pray for me. I'm not sure what God wants me to do with my life, which I look back now, like 16,
[00:38:03] who knows what God wants you to do with your life at 16. I wonder why, why was I seeking that kind of certainty but anyway I said I don't know God if God's calling me to be a preacher and as soon
[00:38:17] as I said that my shoulders and my neck got really tight just kind of like a lot of felt a lot of tension which I'd never felt that before and that whole class my neck my neck and my shoulders were
[00:38:31] tight and I had didn't have an explanation for it but right after class ended I went and found my mom in the hallway there at the church and i said mom i think god's calling me in the ministry
[00:38:42] and instantly that tension left instantly i everything all that tension in my shoulders my neck just disappeared and my thought was huh that's weird what's that about and so i just kind of went on and thought about it prayed about it felt right felt like what i was supposed to do
[00:39:06] And two weeks later at church, I decided I still felt convinced that God was calling me to ministry.
[00:39:13] And I went and talked to a woman in our church by the name of Miss Clark.
[00:39:18] Most churches have a Miss Clark or a Mr. Clark, a spiritual pillar.
[00:39:26] And churches I've been in, they're usually an older person who's seen a lot and experienced a lot and have basically got to the point where they're not worried about it so much anymore.
[00:39:36] they just want to love Jesus. That was Ms. Clark. And I told Ms. Clark, I said, I said, Ms. Clark, I've told my parents, but I haven't told anybody else in the church. And I wanted you to be the
[00:39:46] first person here at the church that I tell, I think God is calling me into ministry. And she looked at me and she said, oh honey, I've known that for years. I'm like, where are you going to
[00:39:59] tell me? I didn't say that, but just affirming what I had felt internally, that conversation with Ms. Clark. And here's the reason I chose John the Baptist. Conversation with Ms. Clark, what God had done in me, conversations I've had with several other people. You know, for example,
[00:40:25] I was in confirmation class in sixth grade. I was, you know, y'all know this, I've said this before, ADHD, impulsive, couldn't sit still, easily distracted. That was probably at its height, at its peak when I was a sixth grader.
[00:40:42] And I took confirmation class with a pastor who was about five days short of retirement.
[00:40:49] Like, this guy was ready to leave.
[00:40:52] And he was teaching us in an un-air-conditioned, hot Sunday school classroom in May.
[00:40:58] On a Sunday afternoon, which is prime video game time, y'all.
[00:41:04] And so I'm in this confirmation class.
[00:41:09] I don't remember much of anything except he used materials from like the 1960s and i found out years later he approached my parents after this confirmation class and said i think west might have a call to ministry do you want
[00:41:23] me to talk to him and thank goodness my parents said no but you laugh but there's their reasoning is great my parents said no don't talk to him because if god is calling him god will tell him
[00:41:41] and if we tell him or you tell him he'll think he has to and so these things that happen throughout my life kind of point up to me answering that call but here's the problem I was at that time
[00:41:58] as a 16 year old 17 year old kid I was this isn't the problem I was what they we called on fire for Jesus. I was on fire. But being on fire and being passionate, it's not a long distance to where you
[00:42:17] get to pride, right? To where you think, I'm really close to Jesus. I'm really on fire. Look at these people who are not. And I try to cover it up by saying, I just want to share the love of Jesus
[00:42:34] with them. In other words, I want to get them to think and feel and be like me because I think I have the answers, I think I'm right. And I thought I was like John the Baptist, but for the wrong
[00:42:44] reasons. That image of John pointing at people, maybe even John would have done this, but maybe doing this number, repent you brood of vipers. And that's, that's how I felt. Even as I went into college, I felt like, uh, I had the answers and I felt like, well, you know, I love Jesus and
[00:43:14] I love people, which is good. But then I need to tell people where they're going wrong. I need to tell people why they're going to be judged by God. Do you see how judgy that is? Do you see
[00:43:26] how I'm missing the point there? The problem is I was pointing at people instead of pointing to Jesus. I was condemning instead of inviting. I got John wrong. First of all, I'm not John the
[00:43:49] Baptist. John says I'm not worthy to untie, to tie and untie Jesus' shoes. I wasn't worthy even to look at the shoes of somebody like John the Baptist. Who do I think I was? I was an 18-year-old
[00:44:02] kid. As I went to college and seminary, I was fascinating meeting different people from different backgrounds, learning things, learning how to think critically. My life changed again when I took New Testament as a college course. It really opened up a different world for me. I found
[00:44:28] that I could take this thing I was passionate about, namely Jesus and my faith, and I can combine it with something else I was passionate about, learning and academics and intellectual pursuit. And I hadn't thought I could, I thought I'd been taught by some people that those things
[00:44:45] were in opposition. But I learned that those things actually complement and build up one another. And so I began thinking, maybe I want to be a professor. Maybe I want to teach. And occasionally in my ministry, teaching in Bible study, somebody said, you know, you'd be a really
[00:45:03] good professor. You should, you ever thought about being a professor? And I'm like, well, yes, I have.
[00:45:07] But God keeps telling me no. Because I keep telling God, God, wouldn't I be better over here?
[00:45:15] and God's like I called you to be in the local church I didn't call you to be in the classroom and y'all I keep trying I keep trying and God keeps calling God kept calling me back and so
[00:45:37] as I went through my journey went in through ordination went into first started off in youth ministry spent I've done like about 11-ish years doing youth ministry the youth I had in my youth groups now are all like approaching 40 and the ones I started out with now have kids and families
[00:45:58] of their own so that was a long time ago but I started in a youth ministry and then after ordination was appointed to a small church in Thomasville for three years and then Tony Ruth
[00:46:14] and I were appointed to serve together in Harrisburg and all throughout that call from God has been consistent called to the local church called not to point at people in judgment or condemnation but to point to jesus to point to jesus and that's what john um that's what john
[00:46:41] does and uh john is that statement he says among you stands one whom you do not know and i don't know if john is saying that i mean in the context of the text he's saying that to the pharisees and
[00:46:59] the enemies of Jesus. So there's an edge of condemnation there. But I wonder if we can read that also with an echo of invitation. Among you stands one whom you do not know. And we're right
[00:47:16] here at the beginning, even before Jesus' ministry. Among you stands one whom you do not know, but you're going to know him. He will make himself known, primarily by the cross and the empty tomb.
[00:47:32] and John says basically my job is to point to him my job is to point to him who I am compared to Jesus doesn't really matter it's my job to point you to the one who takes away the
[00:47:49] sin of the world to point you to the lamb of God and so I'm not like John the Baptist in the sense I thought I was when I was 17 18 years old but I want to be like John in this sense I want my
[00:48:02] ministry to point you to Jesus. I want my life to point people to Jesus. That's the job of ministry, pointing people to Jesus, to the source of life, grace, salvation, restoration, and redemption.
[00:48:20] So my ministry is about pointing to Jesus. And go back and if you look up on Google images, is paintings of John the Baptist.
[00:48:32] A lot of the paintings, especially older paintings, show John pointing, literally pointing to Jesus.
[00:48:44] There are a lot of paintings that, there's one in particular, it's above my chair in my office, that shows John the Baptist standing by the cross, which biblically makes no sense.
[00:48:55] But John is pointing at Jesus.
[00:48:57] That's the ministry of John.
[00:48:58] And so that's what I want to do with my life.
[00:49:05] That's what God has called me to do, to point to Jesus, not as a challenge, but as an invitation.
[00:49:12] Now, here's the thing about call and about pointing to Jesus and about inviting people to know Jesus, inviting people to receive for themselves the love and grace of God.
[00:49:26] Do you need a master's degree to do that?
[00:49:30] Do you need years of education?
[00:49:34] Now, I needed a Master of Divinity degree to be an ordained United Methodist pastor, which was fine.
[00:49:39] I would go to school the rest of my life if somebody paid me.
[00:49:44] But you need a Master's degree basically to become a United Methodist pastor.
[00:49:50] Did I need all that in order for God to call me?
[00:49:55] No.
[00:49:56] I didn't need years of schooling.
[00:49:57] Do you need to be ordained in order to point people to Jesus?
[00:50:04] No.
[00:50:07] God called me when I was a twerpy 16-year-old kid who didn't know a thing.
[00:50:14] And I thought I was the important thing.
[00:50:17] I thought I was unique and special.
[00:50:24] At that time, I was immature, as 16-year-olds are wont to be.
[00:50:30] And I could be a little arrogant.
[00:50:33] And one thing about dealing with immaturity and arrogance, actually experiencing life and being in relationship with people in an open way will cure you of that if you let it. So where I've landed, I think now, who I am and what I do and
[00:50:58] the gifts I have and the passions I have, that's not about me being special. That's not about me at all. That's pointing to Jesus. And you don't have to be a pastor. You don't have to have
[00:51:16] degrees. You don't have to have all the education, all that stuff. You don't have to be ordained to point people to Jesus. We are all called by virtue of our baptism, by virtue of the grace
[00:51:30] and love we received from God through Jesus Christ, and by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we are all called with our lives to point to Jesus. We are all called by
[00:51:41] God to say, I'm not the focus here, but I know one greater than myself. It's not about me. It's about what God is doing and has done in Jesus Christ. Yeah, in that sense, we are all called.
[00:52:01] Thanks be to God for that. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:52:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]
[00:52:09] Good morning. Thank you for joining us for online worship here at Williamson's Chapel.
[00:52:13] I'm so glad you're joining us. I am Monica Humble. I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and it is just a delight to welcome you. We are in the midst of a sermon series here that we're
[00:52:25] talking about our call to ministry. And the sermons you're hearing are from the five clergy here at the church where we're actually talking about our call to ordained ministry. But the The point of the sermons are not about necessarily being called to ordained ministry, although
[00:52:43] some people hearing the sermons may genuinely be called to ordained ministry.
[00:52:48] It's more about God's call on our lives to ministry in general, because most people are called to ministry outside of the world of the ordained.
[00:52:58] They're called to ministry to the world in general.
[00:53:02] All of us are called.
[00:53:04] We believe wholeheartedly that God taps us for powerful things and it doesn't matter who you are or what walk of life you are or where you are in your faith journey, God is always nudging and the Holy Spirit is always guiding.
[00:53:18] So today, Pastor Wes was talking about how when you answer a call to ministry, you're answering a call to point people to God.
[00:53:29] That was his call.
[00:53:30] he felt like he was being nudged to do to point people towards God. And in many ways, that's what pastors do, right? They stand in behind a pulpit and they're pointing people towards God. I mean,
[00:53:41] that's kind of the job, if you will. That's the call. But aren't we all as Christians called to point people towards God? I mean, don't they say that, you know, you don't want to have to tell
[00:53:52] people you're a Christian. You want people to know you're a Christian by your behavior, by your demeanor, by the words that come out of your mouth, by, by the choices that you make. So pointing people to Christ is important. It's a call we all have. So how are we all being nudged
[00:54:10] to do that? I invite us all to be thinking about that. Also this week, your five clergy are heading to annual conference at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. We are heading there. And as I mentioned
[00:54:21] last, a couple of weeks ago, I think, that Whitney Cassell is on her way to be ordained provisional deacon in the United. Good morning. Thank you for joining us for online worship here at Williamson's Chapel. I'm so glad you're joining us. I am Monica Humble. I'm the associate pastor.
