Pastors Perspectives

Friend,

We have achieved another milestone in downloads from the Buzzsprout hosting platform to bring the total for the show to over 5000 when combined with the Omni hosting site we used when it was also a radio program!  This has been achieved through organic interest with almost zero dollars spent on ads or promotions.  We are hopeful that fundraising will allow some promotional opportunities later this year but good content is always the top priority.  Like the line in the movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come!”

This edition of the newsletter features two of my favorite pastors covering topics that we all begin each year ruminating over: Diets and Debts (both usually from excesses over the holidays)

Pastor Michael Tadlock and I met while he as on staff at Second Baptist Church in Houston over their Evangelism and Baptism Ministry.  He left Second to become the Worship Leader for Bethel Baptist Church in Jennings, Louisiana and has since become their Senior Pastor.  Michael shares his incredible story of miraculous healing after a near death experience and 40 days in the hospital for acute pancreatitis.  He recovers only to be diagnosed with diabetes a year later as a result of the damage to his pancreas.  He shares a very personal story of his anger with God over the diet he is forced to adapt to but soon realizes that it is pride that has been his real issue.  Like all of us he wanted control but when he surrendered to the Holy Spirit, going “all in” for every area of his life, he found himself abundantly blessed even more than he could have imagined with a Diet that Works.  This is a familiar story to those courageous enough to make the full surrender!

My pastor today at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas, is Dr. Ryan Rush.  He has been a guest on the podcast previously to discuss his book “Return to the Table” but joins on this episode to tackle one of the most vexing battles we all wrestle with daily in America: Covetousness vs Contentment.  He refers to 1 John 2:16 as the devil’s playbook with three temptations: the temptation to feel something (lust of the flesh); the temptation to have something (lust of the eyes); and the temptation to be something (the pride of life).  We discuss how to defeat these temptations and find true contentment through gratitude and generosity.

Both are terrific episodes with terrific pastors that I am extremely proud to put out there to help all of us with the significant wrestling matches we face in Q1 year after year.

Thank you to those who have supported the new nonprofit organization financially! These first fruits are being used to build out a new website launching early next month in March. As always I am eager to engage on topic or guest suggestions so please reply in email on via the website to submit any ideas.

In Christ,
David L Savage