Preparing for Mission in Japan – With Patience and Purpose
This fall, Joel Gearhart and Max Solensky traveled to Japan for a special Reaching & Teaching eventdesigned to shine a light on the enormous need for gospel ministry in this spiritually dark nation. As achurch, we’ve been prayerfully moving toward partnering with Max as he prepares—Lord-willing—tojoin the Vannings on the ground as part of their…
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Life from Death
In past the several months, I’ve attended nine funerals at my church. Twelve this calendar year. This is more than normal in a short period of time. But we’ve been through seasons like this before. The truth is, I count it a great blessing that I grew up in a church and now serve in…
Burn Brightly, Not Out
Faithful Servant, you likely stepped into ministry with a passion to burn brightly for the Lord. Be warned: that flame can flicker quickly under the weight of ministry responsibility. Burnout is not limited to pastors. Ministry workers across roles, such as worship leaders, missionaries, chaplains, and counselors, face rising emotional fatigue, loneliness, and unsustainable expectations.…
The King of Kings Movie Talking Points
The recent movie “King of Kings” by Angel Studios took the box office by storm this past week, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts or talking points as the Pastor for Children’s Ministries. I took my family to watch it last week, and I left both thankful for many aspects of the movie…
Rightly Responding to an Assassination Attempt
On Saturday evening, something happened in the US for the first time in over four decades: an assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate. While the world began to respond immediately via social media, more thoughtful Americans took time to think through what this meant, what it told us about ourselves and where we…
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Teach Them Diligently to Your Children (and Grandchildren!)
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk…
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Theology for Kids
“In matters of doctrine, you will find orthodox congregations frequently change to heterodoxy in the course of thirty or forty years, and that is because too often there has been no catechizing of the children in the essential doctrines of the Gospel.” – C.H. Spurgeon Right away, teaching theology to anyone sounds like a big…
15 Songs to Listen to at Christmas
Note: This article is the third in a series of articles on 15 songs for different seasons of life. Click here and here to see the first two. When does the Christmas season begin? For some, it’s right after Thanksgiving (and definitely not before Thanksgiving). For others, it’s once Advent begins. For many, it’s likely…
15 Songs to Listen to from the Psalms
Note: This article is the second in a series of articles on 15 songs for different seasons of life. Click here to see the first. The Psalms are some of the most relevant biblical texts to the Christian experience. Though all Scripture is realistic about the difficulties of life, the Psalms in particular present a…
John Lehman – Three Decades of Pastoral Ministry at HPBC
John Lehman has been a pastor at Hampton Park Baptist Church for the past 30 years. When John arrived at HPBC, Pastor Cruice was just a couple years older than Pastor Bates is now (just for some perspective!). As John’s time as a staff pastor comes to a close at the end of 2023, we…
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Housekeeping Matter or Important Doctrine?
2 Thessalonians 3:17 – “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.” Some of the verses at the end of Paul’s epistles can seem like mere formalities, sentences and phrases that are absent of any deep theological…
Gospel Hope in Psalm 63
Psalm 63:8 – "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:8 is a perfect summary of this entire Psalm. The first seven verses, in many ways, repeat the first half of verse eight: “my soul clings to you.” "earnestly I seek you" (v.1) "my soul thirsts for you" (v.1) "my flesh…
Godly Interaction with Politics and Politicians
We live in a jaded and cynical age, especially in how we view political leaders and those with civil authority. It’s understandable given how often power is misused. Even those who start well often end up corrupted if not crushed by it. But to think what we are experiencing today is some new development is…
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15 Songs to Listen to When You Are Discouraged
One of the greatest gifts that God has given us in this life is music, particularly music that pairs biblical truth with powerful melody, harmony, and instrumentation. The pairing of truth to music has the unique capacity to stir our emotions and affections in a Godward direction. Certainly, music has at times been used to…
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The Most Heart-Revealing Document in a Church
“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."…
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How Do I Know Who Jesus Is?
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…
Encouragement to Encourage One Another
What are some things you love to receive, but you don’t do so well giving those same things out? It might be praise, congratulating someone on a job well done. This can especially be hard if we or one of our kids lost a competition, but the winner played really well and deserved a compliment.…
Jesus (and Others!) Were Raised on Resurrection Sunday
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…
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Is Shame Always Bad?
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…
God’s Heart for Missions
Have you ever thought of missions as primarily a New Testament concept? I know I have. After all, the Great Commission is found in the Gospels and Acts. Also, much of the book of Acts and the following Epistles highlight and are connected to the missionary exploits of the Apostle Paul. The problem is that…
This Article is Not Just for Kids
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……
Music By the Book
Why do we sing what we sing? Why do our corporate worship services look the way that they do? Does the Bible say anything about this? What does the Bible say about music, and what does it not say? These are important questions. And we are blessed to have had lots of faithful teaching over…
Teaching Children to Hope in Christ
“Dad, there’s no hope!” I’ve heard those words come from the backseat a few times this school year as I drive my 8-year-old to school. We’ve been listening to the Green Ember Series by S.D Smith on Hoopla for the last several months on our daily trips to and from school. The Green Ember is an adventure series for kids…
Look to the Kidneys: A Meditation on Psalm 16:7-8
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)1Psalm 16:7-8 – “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs…
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Terry Worley – A New Way to Minister: Beginning as a Non-Staff Pastor
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…
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James Harris – First Non-Staff Pastor to Finish Two Full Terms
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…
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Bruce Mizell – Getting to Know an HP Leadership "Lifer"
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…
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Resources for Your Delight in God
Psalm 111:2 – “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” God’s works are amazing. We know this is true because we’ve experienced it over and over again. Each day we have a thousand reasons to give thanks to God. And at certain moments in our lives, God works in particularly significant ways…
Controversial Text? Or Divine Comfort for Grieving Saints?
Have you ever had the experience of trying to explain a matter to someone while watching them become distracted by a single word or phrase, thus missing the point? This happens when we listen to others for what we want to hear, rather than hearing what is actually being communicated. I’ve sometimes wondered what biblical…
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Submit Like People Who Are Free: Meditations on 1 Peter 2:13-17
“No!” my 19-month old daughter yelled as she ran away from me into the next room. I didn’t teach her that. She was born that way. But truthfully, she comes by it honestly because I feel the same sentiments inside of me when my authorities ask me to do something that I don’t want to…
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Husbands and Wives, Pray for One Another
Have you ever noticed how often the Sunday morning and evening sermons have themes that are similar or that fit together nicely? Pastor Conley often comments on this reality during our weekly staff meetings as he gives short previews of the passages on which he is planning to preach. This unity of sermon themes shouldn’t…
Andrew Bates – Entering Into Pastor for Student Ministries
This is the second of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the first, where we interview Joel, here. On December 6, 2020, Andrew Bates (and his wife Sarah) joined Hampton Park Baptist Church because they saw how God was at work here…
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Joel Gearhart – Entering Into Pastor for Missions & Outreach
This is the first of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the second, where we interview Andrew, here. For practically all of Pastor Joel Gearhart’s ministry life, he has been focused particularly on discipling teenagers and encouraging parents to do the same. He’s…
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I Will Give Thanks to the Lord…In the Congregation
Psalm 111:1-4Praise the Lord!I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,in the company of the upright, in the congregation.Great are the works of the Lord,studied by all who delight in them.Full of splendor and majesty is his work,and his righteousness endures forever.He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;the Lord is…
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Ten Reasons God’s Commands Are Not Burdensome
1 John 5:3 makes a provocative statement that at first glance seems out of touch with reality: “And [God’s] commandments are not burdensome.” Commandments not burdensome? For real? If this is your first reaction (like it was mine), then you probably see commands as almost inherently burdensome. That’s the whole point of commands, isn’t it?…
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Do You Pray Long Enough?
Prayer. We all know we should do it. But most of us feel guilty when the topic is brought up because we just don’t do it. One of the reasons that we don’t do it is that there’s not enough time, or at least we say. “Prayer takes time,” we say to ourselves. Long periods…
Starting Strong: Saying "Welcome" to Jennifer Martin
This is the second of two articles on the Women’s Ministry Director transition at HPBC. You can read the first, where we say “thank you” to Theresa Bixby, here. Women have always been an integral part of the ministry of Hampton Park Baptist Church. They are an indispensable part of the church family, uniquely gifted…
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Finishing Strong: Saying "Thank You" to Theresa Bixby
For more than a decade, Hampton Park Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministries have been led by Theresa Bixby. On June 30, 2021, she will finish serving in this role (in an official capacity) and begin serving God and the church through her retirement years. Theresa and I (Ben) have met together most weeks over the past…
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Made in God’s Image
What does it mean to be made a male or female in God’s image, to be made with dignity and purpose? There are few questions more important than this in our current day and cultural climate. In this clip, Pastor Drew Conley addresses this issue from a sermon on Hebrews 2:5-9 entitled "The Curse, the Cross,…
One Another Covenant
Serve One Another in Love Galatians 5:13-16 By the power of the Holy Spirit, we will serve one another in love rather than wounding and destroying one another with slander and malicious gossip as those dominated by the flesh do. Love One Another 1 John 4:7-12 We will actively, selflessly love one another as demonstration…
Instruments of Righteousness
Romans 6:12-14 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over…
Why Attend a Members’ Meeting?
Why attend a Members’ Meeting? This is a great question. Maybe your thought is: “with all the stuff that we already do on Sundays, why give up another hour to observe a meeting that doesn’t even include any singing or preaching?” Or maybe you feel like Members’ Meetings are boring. Or maybe you feel awkward…