“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." – Jesus

If someone were to ask you, “What’s the document that most reveals Hampton Park’s heartbeat as a church?” How would you answer that? You might first think of the mission statement. Or maybe the Statement of Faith. The mission statement reveals what the church is headed towards. A Statement of Faith reveals what a church believes. It’s hard to go much deeper than those. Maybe you thought of the Member Covenant. A good case could be made for the Member Covenant as well. It reveals how a church wants to live in light of its beliefs. The Member Covenant “fleshes out” the Statement of Faith in real life.

But I think there’s a really good argument to be made for yet another document being the most heart-revealing document of a local church. The document I’m thinking of is the church’s budget. Maybe this is surprising to you. But Jesus said something in the Sermon on the Mount that could make a strong argument for the Hampton Park budget being the document that most accurately displays what our church’s heartbeat is. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). More accurately, he said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That word “for” means that he’s using this sentence as the ground or foundation of what he just said in verses 19-20. Jesus said not to lay up treasures on earth but rather to lay up treasure¹ in heaven because your heart is going to follow your treasure.

Jesus grounds his command (vv.19-20) in a reality (v.21). The reality is that money and possessions are really powerful. So powerful, in fact, that your heart will follow where your money/possessions go. Ordinarily, we might be tempted to think that our money will go where our heart goes. Scripture often speaks in this way. For example, elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says that our words follow our heart (Matthew 12:34). And certainly, it is true that what we treasure reveals the state of our heart. But here, somewhat surprisingly, Jesus says that the opposite is also true: our heart follows our treasure. And this makes sense, doesn’t it? If you invest significant percentages of your money into a particular hobby/possession(s)/dream, it makes sense that over time that thing would begin to become your treasure. Therefore, if your heart is captured by your money/possessions, the answer isn’t simply to change your heart; the answer is to begin investing differently, to begin investing in heavenly treasure. And that very act—investing differently—will impact your heart.

While Jesus applies this principle personally, it seems to follow that it would also be true for a local church. Not only does our church budget reveal our church’s collective heartbeat, but our yearly investment in the church budget shows the direction in which our church’s collective heartbeat is headed. It shows what we see as valuable, what we deem important, what we treasure. In other words, this document should be very important to us as church members! We ought to be interested in where our church’s collective heartbeat is headed.

So, what’s your part in this? How can you help our church invest well in what matters the most? Let me give you three simple ways.

1. Pray. Much wisdom is needed in the planning of the church budget but also in the implementation of the budget. We don’t take this responsibility lightly. Because we view this document as a spiritual document, the responsibility increases. So, pray for us throughout the year. A couple years ago I heard of one church member who keeps a copy of the church budget tucked in his Bible and uses it in his daily prayer time, praying through the various lines and sections of the budget on different days. What an awesome idea!
2. Participate in the Process. During the budget process, look through the proposed budget, noting changes. Read the corresponding document with explanations for those changes. Read through the annual explanation document of changes to the Missions and Outreach section. Ask questions when you have them. Make suggestions, too. While every suggestion will not result in a tangible change, the conversations will help us to make wise decisions about what to prioritize. Additionally, prioritize our bi-monthly Members’ Meetings where we give regular updates on the budget and vote on the budget each May.
3. Give Faithfully. If God has blessed us with income, then we believe from God’s Word that our responsibility is to give faithfully to our local church (the place where we receive our normal courses of spiritual food, the place where we hear God’s Word taught most regularly). It can be potentially unhelpful to name a percentage, because God has blessed some of us in such a way that giving 10% of our income would not be giving generously or faithfully. And God has blessed others of us in such a way that giving 5% of our income would be giving generously and faithfully. But for the majority of members in our church, giving at least 10% is probably a good initial goal. If you’re not there yet, perhaps you could work to increase a percentage point each year until you get to that number or another one that you and your family believe to be generous and faithful.

As we invest individually and as a church in what God is doing both here and around the world, may our hearts be drawn to him and amazed by his work. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

 

¹ While laying up treasure in heaven certainly includes more than investing money/possessions in eternal pursuits, it at least includes these things, which is the focus of this article.

Almost everyone has some thoughts about who Jesus is. If someone were to ask you who Jesus is, how would you go about answering that? Many people explain who Jesus is based on what they want him to be like, a Jesus of their own invention. Others go to current scholars teaching at prestigious universities or seminaries to find out who Jesus is. But isn’t there a much simpler way? Why not listen to those who spent thousands of hours with Jesus while he was on the earth? Why not hear what his close friends have to say?

In this sermon clip, Pastor Conley makes this exact point. Watch and be strengthened in your commitment to search out what Jesus’ friends say about him. And share this video with your friends who are searching.

Matthew 27:51-53 – “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

Read those last two sentences of the above passage again! Do you remember reading that before? Does it seem random to you? Unexpected? Confusing? If you believe in the inspiration of the Bible (and you should!), then these words are true and really happened in history: “many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

This means that Jesus was not the only person raised on Resurrection Sunday. There were many other saints raised. Now, there are some things we do not know about this particular episode. We don’t know who they were. Though, they did appear to people who knew that they had previously been dead (see the final words of v.53). We don’t know if they were raised in their original bodies (to die again, like Lazarus) or in glorified bodies (and taken/transferred to heaven at some point). We don’t know if they appeared to only a limited/select number of people. And we don’t know how long they remained in Jerusalem after they were raised.

But we do know this. The resurrection of these saints clearly demonstrates that Jesus’ death was not a normal, everyday crucifixion. God intervened when Jesus died on the cross. The temple curtain to the most holy place was literally, physically split in two. The physical earth shook and real rocks split in two. And many of the dead saints were physically, bodily raised from the dead and appeared to people that they knew. And in this way, God’s message couldn’t be any clearer: in the death and resurrection of Jesus, He is making it possible to be raised from the dead.

Listen to Pastor Conley talk about these verses in a 3-minute clip from a 2013 sermon.

3-minute clip on Matthew 27:45-54

Additional Resources:

Listen to the whole sermon titled “Hand of God” from Matthew 27:45-54 here.

Here is an article at the Gospel Coalition that walks through this text.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 – “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.”

Do the final five words of this verse make you uncomfortable? They probably should to some extent. When you think of shame, perhaps you imagine someone intentionally belittling/mocking others in order to embarrass or silence them. This kind of vindictive spirit is not godly and ought to make us uncomfortable.

But Paul speaks in this text of a kind of shame that is actually helpful in someone’s life, a kind of shame that wakes someone up to the truth, to what really matters. We live in a culture where it is nearly unthinkable to take an action in order for someone else to feel a sense of shame. But if truth indeed exists and if sin indeed is a destructive reality, then shame might be used by God to wake someone up to the truth or to the reality of sin.

Notice that in this verse, the action taken is not shaming. Rather, shame is the result of the action (or even the intended goal of the action). The actions in this verse are (1) noting someone who has rejected the truth or by extension who has given themselves to sin and (2) stopping Christian fellowship with that person. We ought not act as if we have unified Christian fellowship with those who reject the truth or who live in open, unrepentant sin. That does significant harm to the gospel and confuses the world about what the true gospel is and does in someone’s life.

To try to make this a bit more tangible, if you were to catch some people shoplifting in real-time and yelled after them, “Stop! Bring those clothes back! You didn’t pay for those!” would you not be intending to cause them to feel a bit of shame for their wrong actions? To wake them up to the reality of what they were doing? In this instance of shoplifting, truth-telling is the action, and shame might be a powerful motivator as a result. Any shame felt shows that the God-given conscience is working. If the shoplifters stop, it is likely because their conscience kicked in and caused them to feel ashamed. And this is a good thing.

As Pastor Conley said in a recent sermon, “We need to be more afraid of sin than we are of shame.” Listen to the rest of his explanation of this verse below.

 

On January 8, 2023, as lots of children were making their way to the front of the auditorium during the Evening Gathering, Pastor Conley said this:

“You know, it does my heart (and actually it does the heart of the other people here) a lot of good to see all of you coming up here… And, in fact, if the truth were known, probably the favorite part of morning and evening service might be just now, and it’s in part because of you. And the reason it’s important is [because] sometimes we think that to serve God we have to be a grown-up. And the fact is, to serve God, you can be a kid. It’s all about whether you know Jesus or not and the light that he has given to you.”

This kind of heart reflects the heart of Jesus for children. Jesus said it this way:

“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Luke 18:16-17

Since it became a regular part of our Evening Gathering in 2018, Not Just for Kids has been a highlight for…well…not just for kids! And we don’t just do this so that kids have some wiggle time during our Evening Gathering (though that’s a side benefit, for sure!). We believe that it is a valuable thing to talk directly to the children of the church. And we see great value in the children of our church getting to know the teaching pastor of the church. We want to communicate to our children that corporate worship is for them, too. They do not have to wait to be an adult in order to be a meaningful participant in our services.

Since 2018, we have recorded over 120 episodes of Not Just for Kids. And now, all of these episodes (generally around 5 minutes in length) are available on our website for you to watch with your children. You can find them on the homepage of our website by hovering over the Members tab. Our hope is that these will be useful to you, parents, as you disciple your children, and that they will be useful to you, grandparents, as you spend meaningful time with your grandchildren. We’ve recorded over 10 hours of Not Just for Kids, and we’ll continue to add episodes weekly.

Some in our church might find these useful for family worship. You could watch an episode, discuss it briefly, sing a song, and pray in about 10-15 minutes. Certain episodes will address topics that you want to discuss with your child. For example, if you want to talk to your child about authority, you might want to go back to September 2, 2018, and watch “Awards and Authority” together. Or if your child is struggling with thinking that the world would be much better if he could just do whatever he wanted, you could watch “Traffic Lights and Humanism” from January 26, 2020. Or if you want to just stand in awe of how awesome God is, you could watch “Turkish Fabric and the Manifold Wisdom of God” from February 27, 2022. Of course, there will be all-time favorites, like when the life-size Roman solider showed up on February 5, 2023!

However you choose to use these, our hope and prayer is that they will serve you as you continue to pursue your God-given role of bringing your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In a modern culture that cares little for children, Christian families have a great opportunity to raise a generation of children who understand the truth, love the gospel, and serve the church and the world. May God do this in our church family.

…and that’s not just for kids!

Not Just for Kids

Psalm 16:7-8 – “I will praise the LORD who guides me; yes, during the night I reflect and learn. I constantly trust in the LORD; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (NET)_¹
Psalm 16:7-8 – “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (ESV)
Psalm 16:7-8 – “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” (KJV)

The first words of Psalm 16 (after the title) are: “Protect me, O God….” But after that appeal, the rest of the Psalm is absent of any more requests for help. Rather, the rest of the Psalm emphasizes that God has been and is the help of his people. Here’s a brief outline of the Psalm:

• Request: Help (1-2)
• Reality: Trouble and Security (3-6)
  • Trouble for Others: Idolatry (3-4)
  • Security for Me: Trust (5-6)
• Response: Worship (7-10)
• Recap: Joy (11)

Aside from the lament about some of God’s people (including leaders!) pursuing idolatry (vv.3-4), the Psalm is filled with affirmations of God’s help for his people.

• “You are the LORD, my only source of well-being” (v.2)
• “LORD, you give me stability and prosperity” (v.5)
• “You make my future secure” (v.5)
• “I will praise the Lord who guides me” (v.7)
• “Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (v.8)
• “You will not abandon me to Sheol” (v.10)
• “You will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit” (v.10)
• “You lead me in the path of life” (v.11)
• “You always give me sheer delight” (v.11)

In the middle of the Psalm, while responding with worship to God’s help, David uses quite a unique phrase: “yes, during the night I reflect and learn” (v.7b). Now, this phrase might not seem unique at first, but that is because it is a translation that has been smoothed out a bit. Literally this phrase reads: “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct me.” Yes, you read that right. What is fueling David’s worship is the instruction of his…kidneys. What a thought picture!

While this kind of language is foreign to us, it was not when this was written. Take Psalm 26:2 as another example, which reads literally, “Examine me, O LORD, and test me! Evaluate my kidneys and my heart!” (See also Psalm 7:9, 73:21, and Proverbs 23:16.) The kidneys pictured something for the followers of Yahweh. It pictured the place of their deepest emotions and affections. The talk of kidneys acknowledged that the truest part of them, their deepest reality, their motivator, was inside of them (not external to them). It doesn’t get much deeper than the kidneys.

So, what was David saying when he wrote/sung (remember, this is a Psalm!) this phrase: “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct me”? I believe the talk of kidneys is an acknowledgment that trust in God is not driven by things external to us. I ought not choose to trust in God based on my external circumstances: however the day went today, whether my interactions were difficult or not, whether my plans went the way I hoped that they would. I ought not sit at the foot of my circumstances to learn whether or not God is trustworthy. “How comfortable I am” ought not be my teacher on whether or not God is worthy of being my refuge.

So, what then should instruct me? David’s answer is this: look to the kidneys. I look inside of me for instruction. I look inside of me for guidance. I look deep inside of me to remember what I know to be true. I remember the truth that I’ve learned over and over again: God is faithful. When people around me are rejecting God or falling into idolatry (vv.3-4), I don’t assume this means God is not real or that I’m backwards/unintelligent for continuing to believe. Rather, I look to my kidneys (v.7). I sit at night in the presence of my God and rehearse the truths that I know, the truths that rise from within me, the truths I have affirmed over and over again. I remind myself of the faithfulness of God that I’ve experienced all through my life.

And what’s the result of all of this? Verse 8 – “I constantly trust in the Lord; because he is at my right hand [a good kidney truth], I will not be shaken.”

 

^{[1] Scripture references in this article, unless marked otherwise are coming from the NET Bible Translation.}

Terry Worley has been a member of Hampton Park for over 10 years. Throughout the last decade he has served as a Sunday School teacher and LifeGroup leader. In recent years, he participated in HP’s pastoral training, and this year was elected to his first term as a non-staff pastor. As Terry begins his time as a non-staff pastor, we wanted to ask him a few questions so you could get to know him a bit better.

Terry, could you first briefly share how and when God brought you to faith in Jesus? This seems like the best place to start.

I was born into a non-Christian home and grew up with a very worldly view. I put myself first even before family. After high school I joined the Navy and met a few Christians that were bold enough to tell me about the gospel. Even though I did not take them seriously the seed was planted and watered. While stationed in Gaum, my wife Cheryl and I decided to look for better people to hang around so we thought a church might be a good place to start. We heard the gospel, and both responded two weeks apart.

Praise God for orchestrating your path like that! So, after you were saved, what led you to Greenville, SC? And how did you end up at Hampton Park specifically?

There were many Christians that taught in the school associated with Harvest Baptist Church where we were saved. A lot of them were educated at BJU and this influenced our decision to come to Greenville. Cheryl wanted to go back to school so we came for her. I planned to work to put her through her education. On arrival in Greenville, God started working in my heart to attend BJU also. We both attended for a while, but once children started to arrive, it seemed that the smart thing to do for our family was to put schooling aside and pour our lives into our family. Although new creations in Christ, we both still had a lot of worldly mindsets that needed reshaping. We praise the Lord for the churches and ministries he had us involved in before we came to Hampton Park. They shaped us but also brought to light in us the ministry we desired to be in. Part of what led us to Hampton Park was a BJU chapel message by JD Crowley. When I walked out of the FMA, I knew we needed to move on from the church we were in, and that is when we found our home at HPBC.

When you first joined HPBC, did you ever imagine that you would be a pastor here? 🙂

No, and it humbles me that I am even considered.

1 Timothy 3:1 says, “This saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” When did you first begin to desire to be a pastor?

Well, to be honest, the desire might have been there sometime ago, but before being a member at HPBC, it was never a possibility due to how our prior churches handled me being a divorced individual.

Once taking over the teaching responsibilities of the Christian Living class and co-leading LifeGroup, the way Cheryl and I took on the opportunities to serve became more like shepherding than just one another ministering. I grew in my desire to see others live according to the Scriptures; so, teaching took on another level.

You’ve attended pastoral training here at HPBC for the past couple of years. What is something that you have learned or gained during that time that has been helpful for you?

To begin with I am very grateful for the time the pastors have shared with those of us who attend. The extra reading materials have been very much a blessing.

The openness from you all about how much is involved in being a shepherd for the flock has been helpful. I have been meditating on those nuggets of knowledge during this process of becoming a non-staff pastor. I am really enjoying the sessions lately on how multi-faceted it is to bring out what Scripture is actually saying and to guard myself from adding or taking away from what Scripture is saying.

The comradery with other men who aspire to proclaim the truth and have hearts for the body has also been encouraging.

How many years have you taught a Sunday School class? What is your favorite topic/book of the Bible that you have taught during this time?

Not long after being saved, God orchestrated that Cheryl and I would end up leading the cubbies class in Awanas. The valuable lesson that we gained and still hold onto is that no matter the audience you have when teaching or leading, you are the one learning the most. At our first church in Greenville, we led the 7 to 9-year-old Sunday school class. At the church that we came from before joining HPBC, we taught the 3-year-old Sunday school class (which was a prep class for the children to join their parents in the main service when they turned 4). We also served on a rotating basis in children’s church during the Sunday evening service time, co-led neighborhood Bible clubs, and taught in Front Line. After having been at HPBC for two years, we were asked to take over the Christian Living class which we have served in for the past 11 years.

I really enjoy the General Epistles with 1 Peter leading the way.

You and your wife often use your home for ministering to others. When did that start and why?

It started not long after being saved. The church in Guam has a school associated with it, and when we found out how much Christian school teachers made, we opened our house often to treat them to meals and other things that would be out of their budget (we were making a lot of money and had much to share). Now, we have a house with a pool in the backyard which we open up to a lot of people. In our last church there were a lot of home school families, and we gave them all keys to the gate so they could use the pool for recreation and physical education. Currently, we have a group of young adult women who use it when my wife is available to be there with them. Families come and enjoy it also. We have a fire pit in the backyard that we have had lots of fun and fellowship around. My wife has had wonderful conversations with those same young women who come for the pool and a nice evening fire. We try to host as often as we can, and we particularly like to have groups of people over who do not know each other yet. We love to mix in our neighbors with our brothers and sisters from HPBC. One of my favorite groups that we often try to have over for various occasions (e.g. Christmas) is a group of more mature single ladies in our church. To answer the why, we just have to say that we love our church family.

We also have had lost people live with us in the past. These are very interesting stories we could share sometime.

What do you most appreciate about Hampton Park?

How do I pick the thing I most appreciate when there is very little that I do not appreciate?

I truly do appreciate the focus on “Life by the Book” which we see being taught and lived out before us from our leadership.

What most excites you about being a pastor? What makes you most nervous?

Excites: I look forward to further reaching into our local body apart from Sunday School, LifeGroup, and those whom we sit near during a service time. I also look forward to working alongside the pastoral body with the opportunity to grow in my faith.

Nervous: The increased responsibility to shepherd those who fall under an appointed pastor.

How specifically can we pray for you as you begin?

Without the formal biblical education background, I find myself understanding that this is an area in which I really need to grow. Cheryl and I, although we have ministered and tried to serve whenever we could, are both a little nervous to say the least moving forward in a more formal way (with a title). With the increase of opportunities and responsibilities, we do not want to fail by trying to do it without God being in it. We ultimately want to be ever-faithful to God and His Word.

Terry, thanks for taking the time to answer these so that we could get to know you a little better. HPBC, let’s be faithful to pray for Terry and Cheryl as Terry starts his term as a non-staff pastor. And when you see him, be sure to encourage him and thank him for being willing to serve us in this way!

James Harris is finishing his second 3-year term as a non-staff pastor on December 31, 2022. When he does, he’ll be the first non-staff pastor in HPBC’s history to finish two full terms back-to-back. This means that he’s been serving as one of our pastors since January 1, 2017. And per our Bylaws, it means that he’ll be on his required Sabbatical during 2023, but we look forward to having him back, Lord-willing, in 2024. Since James will be taking some time off next year, I wanted to take some time to ask him some questions about his time on the pastoral body.

James, you’ve served as a pastor at HPBC since 2017, but your desires for pastoral ministry started long before that. When did you first start desiring to serve in pastoral ministry?

I have always had a deep love and heart for people. It was during my senior year of high school that the desire to serve God in pastoral ministry started to grow. Throughout my college years God confirmed this desire in my heart and through those around me that pastoral ministry was where He was guiding me.

How did God use your time here at Hampton Park (during your college years and after) to increase those desires and equip you for serving as a pastor?

After Angie and I joined in 2007, we were a part of the Singles Bible Study which I had the opportunity to help lead and teach for a couple years. It later morphed into what we know as LifeGroups today. Since that change, I have had the joy of leading a couple LifeGroups. Over the years, before becoming a pastor, I participated in Training in Ministry and other similar leadership training, spent time with a couple of the pastors who helped mentor me, and was active in teaching various SS classes and Bible studies. In 2015, I took on the role of lead teacher in the College SS and have been leading in that capacity since.

Six years is a long time! Do you remember that you had your second daughter the day before you began as a non-staff pastor? What was that like?!?

Those first couple months were hectic and joyful. There were a couple complications after Skylar’s birth that added to the stress and busyness of life coupled with the new ministry needs and taking on responsibilities with that. It was a time where we saw the love of God through His people, and that made the yoke of everything lighter. Being a part of a pastoral body who prayed and cared for us made the transition into being a pastor joyful and easier.

As you look back at the last six years, what do you most thank God for regarding your time as a pastor here?

I am thankful for the ways we have seen God work in our church family through the faithful preaching of His Word, the church becoming a community of believers that consistently show the love of Christ to one another, and for the opportunity to serve alongside a group of pastors called by God to pray and minister to our church family! I have also loved getting to know more of our church family, praying for them, and seeing God work in their lives, even as they walk through some dark valleys. 

What have been some of the challenges with serving in pastoral ministry with a young family?

Time is one of the biggest challenges. The meetings throughout the year that often take 3+ hours, the various discipleship opportunities both one-on-one or small group, and the late-night trips to the hospital or to a home to spend time with hurting or grieving members. That time can take away from family time. Another challenge that comes with what I just mentioned is the added burden and weight of ministry as you walk through some of those difficulties with members. You, as a pastor, naturally take those burdens on to a degree, and you shoulder that weight, grief, and heartache. It can be easy to bring that home with you, and it can overwhelm you if you are not resting and relying on God to lead or if you do not have a wife and family who are supportive. Praise God that Angie and the girls have been such a blessing in this and God has been so gracious!

We often get the question, “What do non-staff pastors do? How is it different from staff pastors?” How would you answer that?

I often answer that by saying we do a lot of the same work as a staff pastor, just without the pay. 🙂 Non-staff pastors have their own pastoral groups and work throughout the week to connect with our people, care for their needs, be there for them in trials and tribulations, and pray for them. We will also serve on any given pastoral sub-committee(s) throughout the year to work through various topics or ideas. This is on top of the regular (or unplanned!) meetings that take place throughout the year. The difference between the staff and non-staff is that the staff have specific areas of oversight that they have been called to by the church for daily attention (i.e. Youth Ministry, Missions, and Administration). The non-staff still will help out with that oversight alongside the staff pastors, but we do not necessarily have a specified area we oversee and lead.

What are some specific ways that Angie has been helpful to you in your ministry? Go ahead, brag on her!

Angie has been such a help to me over the past six years of ministry. She has cared for our family and been a rock on the home front. When I have had pastoral meetings, counseling, or late night hospital visits, she has been understanding and helpful to take care of things at home while I am away. She has helped out in different ways with ministry over the years, though because of our stage of life, her main ministry has been to our girls. She enjoys connecting with others in the church and has been a gracious hostess when showing hospitality to others. She has always been supportive of my ministry within the church and has been a great source of wisdom and advice when I needed her perspective on things. She is a great wife and a loving mother and I cannot imagine doing life, much less pastoral ministry, without her love and support!

If someone in our church reads this who is feeling a desire towards pastoral ministry, what wisdom would you share with him? 

First, pray for God’s clear leading. Purposefully seek out the pastors and “sit at their feet” to learn how to properly handle God’s Word as a pastor, glean wisdom from them on what ministry looks like day in and day out in the weeds, and learn what it means to bear the burdens of the people God has called them to. Pastoral ministry is not about having a position, but rather shepherding and caring for the people of God. It’s not glamorous but it is rewarding.

How do you hope to continue serving at Hampton Park during your Sabbatical year?

I will continue leading and teaching the college Sunday school class as well as leading the MacMillan LifeGroup. I will also continue to disciple, counsel, and care for those within our church over the coming year. I will continue to pray for our church family that God would lead us as we seek to live Life by the Book.

What most excites you when you look at how God is at work at Hampton Park right now?

I love the life-on-life that is happening within the community of our church family. All throughout the New Testament we see commands for believers to “one another” each other and to use their gifts for the sake of the church to the glory of God. I see that happening in so many ways here and pray that it continues. I pray that we would continue to be sensitive to the needs around us and not just wait for others to care for needs, but jump in and use the gifts that God has given us for the sake of others. I am also excited for the continued commitment to the faithfulness in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word and our commitment to keep the gospel pure.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions, James! When you see James in the coming weeks and months, be sure to thank him for his faithful service over the past six years. We’ll miss him on the pastoral body this next year!

Bruce Mizell has been a fixture of leadership at Hampton Park for the vast majority of the last half-century. Yes, you read that correctly! For most of that time, his leadership was over Hampton Park Christian School. But for the last decade, the church in particular has benefited from his service as both a staff and non-staff pastor. Since he is finishing a term and stepping down as a non-staff pastor at the end of this year, we wanted to take a minute to talk to him about his time on the pastoral body.

Alright, Bruce, I’m expecting this to be one of the shortest “interviews” I’ve ever done. You are not generally known for being long-winded. Why is that? Have you always been that way?

I think my mom was pretty direct in her speech, and I guess I tend to get to the point without a lot of beating around the bush. I’m not known for a lot of chit chat.

You certainly don’t beat around the bush! So, let’s jump in. What year did you first start working at Hampton Park? And how did you end up here? 

I attended some in the spring of 1972 because I was dating a cute little girl that was a member. I applied for a teaching position in the HPCS elementary school for the 72-73 school year and was hired. I taught sixth grade that year and married my wife Lisë on the last day of school in May of 1973.

For those who didn’t know you during your school administrator days, what was a favorite moment from your time as the administrator of HPCS?

I’m not sure about a favorite moment but I always received much satisfaction when one of my students finally understood a concept I was explaining. I also enjoyed coaching and seeing a team come together over the season.

I had a wonderful group of dedicated teachers and a servant-minded staff who were committed to the students. I was truly privileged to work with them.

And I was privileged to be a student under you and those teachers! Transitioning now to the church side of things, you’ve served now for 5 years (2016-2017, 2020-2022) as a non-staff pastor at Hampton Park. What is something that you learned about pastoral ministry during these years?

Shepherding is hard work, life is not easy, we’re all sinners helping other sinners to love Jesus more and to help one another in our daily walk with Christ.

That’s an excellent, succinct summary of pastoral/church ministry! What are you most thankful for during your time serving as a pastor at Hampton Park?

Faithful and knowledgeable men and women to work beside.

I’m sure there are many similarities and differences between being a school administrator (which you did for close to 40 years at HPCS) and being a pastor. What are a couple of those similarities and differences? 

Both are working with different groups of people and completing tasks in a timely manner.

In school work you are acting in the place of a parent to teach, train, and discipline young people to understand academic subjects and to learn the disciplines of homework and study.

In the church you invite and motivate to action but there are not any grades or parent teacher conferences to rate the progress.

Did you know that as of Sept 17, 2022, you have been a member of Hampton Park for 50 years? 

I know it now!

A half-century is a really long time to stay at one church. Not many people do that these days. What would you say has been the greatest benefit for staying committed to Hampton Park over the past five decades?

Being able to see second and even third generations serve Jesus. Also, being able to see the positive changes in church polity.

How do you hope to continue serving at Hampton Park now that you will not be a part of the pastoral body?

Active involvement in our life group and Sunday School. It has been exciting to get to know several young couples and encourage them in the rearing of their children. I’ll continue to sing in the choir for another year or two.

What most excites you when you look at how God is at work at Hampton Park right now?

I’m excited about the different gifting of our Pastors and the unity of leadership. The many couples with young children are the future of the church.

When you see Bruce, be sure to thank him for his decades of service to our church and school. We’ll miss him on the pastoral body, but we are thankful that he’ll continue to minister alongside us as a church member for years to come.