Let’s talk first about the parables series. Part of it may be that we’ve all been meeting together for these weeks, but there’s been an energy to this series. People have mentioned that they are taking a lot from it. What have you been hearing from God as you’ve been preparing and preaching these sermons?

One of the roles and responsibilities of preaching is to take the words of Jesus and then conveying to the congregation how we apply our life to them—not how we apply the Word to our life, because then we pick and choose—but how we truly apply our life to these teachings of Jesus, which many of us have heard time and time again throughout our lives. And so the entire goal of this series is to shed some light, and to clarify any question that these parables may have presented. And how we rightly apply our lives in 2024 to what Jesus said 2,000 years ago.

I think where the energy and excitement is coming from— yes, of course, being together as a church family, worshiping together in this way. But I also think that the Holy Spirit is bringing about unity and an energy within our church family as we continue to dive into some of these passages.

What’s something that’s spoken to you specifically from the parables series that maybe you didn’t see before?

One of the things that was really convicting to me as we looked at the parable of the 10 virgins was the idea that 50 percent of those guests who were part of the wedding party weren’t in the actual banquet. They weren’t part of the celebration itself. And that’s a scary thing for me as a pastor. The Holy Spirit has convicted me to give me the courage, the boldness, to say some unpopular things. Hopefully to say them with grace, but also to be bold and courageous in that way. To call the church to be ready. To call the church to ask, where do you stand in your relationship with Jesus? Because you can be in the church and not be in Christ. You can walk with other believers even though you’re not walking with God.

So it’s really about us getting away from the idea that just attending on a Sunday morning means that I’m going to heaven. No, that’s only through the blood of Jesus Christ and being in Christ. So, I’ve just wanted to call attention to that. That idea of a litmus test in my own life to say, “God, is there oil in my lamp?” It’s easy for us to fake following Jesus. If we can speak Christianese and we’re involved in the events and programs, we’re involved in a life group, it’s easy for us to go through those motions. But really to ask, Lord, is there oil in my lamp? Am I living my life by the guidance and the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Word of God? Or am I one who can go through those motions on Sundays and Wednesdays, but the rest of the week I’m not living the way that is pleasing to the Spirit and to Jesus?

There’s a line you have to walk as a pastor, right? You don’t want everybody running around questioning their salvation all the time.

Yeah. That’s one of the things the Holy Spirit convicted me of at the end of that sermon. I wanted to clarify some things, some markers that others and hopefully we ourselves are able to see in our own lives. My heart, especially in that sermon, was not that we have the church family leave, questioning whether they’re saved.

But it’s really that reminder of a call—of what it truly means to live the life that Christ died for us to live. For me, it means I’m going to deny myself, take up my cross daily and follow him. That’s not popular. It’s not easy. And other people aren’t going to get it.

And so if you’re one who’s doing that in your walk and following Jesus, I would encourage you and say, keep going. Keep doing that. Keep finding your identity in him rather than elsewhere in a world that wants you to find your identity in your sexuality, in your politics, in your career. Continue to place your identity in Christ and move forward in confidence and live into that truth.

You made an intriguing statement during a sermon recently when you said First Free Rockford is a five-talent church. What does that imply for us?

In our own minds, it’s very easy, as we read through that Parable of the Talents, to equate it with materialistic things. While that is certainly true, I also believe that there are other time, talents, treasures and resources that the Lord has given us. And often in our own way we bury them and don’t fully use them. As we head into fall, it’s a perfect example. I would ask the church family to say, “Am I using the spiritual gifts the Lord has given me?” Or are you one who’s saying, “Well, someone else is going to fill that role and do that service within the church.”

Or even outside the church building. What about our community? There are so many great organizations within our community that need volunteers. Whether it’s Carpenters Place or the Rescue Mission, Rock House Kids, fill in any number of blanks. So even if it’s not inside the walls of the church building, as the church, are we serving out in our community?

But then also, I believe historically, the Lord has blessed First Free with financial resources. How are we using those? How are we stewarding those well, to advance the gospel here in the community of Rockford and around the world?

So it’s really asking that question again, “Are we being good stewards with the resources that God has given us as a church family?” It’s a challenge to all of us.

That has felt common with all of these parables. They challenge us about our faith—do we mean it or not?

Exactly. It’s that doubling-down moment, that sifting. Are you in or are you out? Because if you’re in, you need to be totally in. And if you’re out, just know that Jesus wants you to be in.

That challenge may be a blessing we can find in the midst of our lost culture, where God is calling us to something deeper.

It is. There’s no more bland middle on things. And to be clear, I’m not just talking about politics. Everything really is making you decide, where are you in this? What do you believe as it pertains to your walk with Christ? Do you really believe it? Because if you really believe it, then it’s time to start living like it.

Which I guess leads us to Habakkuk, the next sermon series. How did you decide to go that direction?

Yeah, the subtitle is “Trusting God in troubling times.” Troubling times are something that we all face. It’s not a matter of if but of when we go through troubling times or suffering. As I was thinking about that and thinking about this fall, this upcoming election cycle, along with the hurt, the pain, the suffering that people are experiencing in their daily lives … I thought back to the prophet Habakkuk, who at that time was crying out to the Lord: “God, do something. Do anything.” And seeing the unwavering trust that he had, even when he didn’t like how God answered. We’re going to get into that—the fact that God says “Not yet” to Habakkuk’s cry for help, and instead, he answered a prayer that Habakkuk didn’t pray and said, “Instead of me doing this, Habakkuk, I’m going to do this. And I want to see how you respond to it.”

And in Habakkuk, we see this unwavering trust. Not that he didn’t have difficulty with it, not that he didn’t wrestle through it with God. But at the end of the day, he had this unwavering trust that God would set him on this high mountain, even in the midst of it.

So, it’s something for us as a church family. Hopefully, it’s a timely series—a small, three-week series as we head into fall. Hopefully, it’s timely and helpful for people who are in suffering or troubling times. And for those who aren’t, hopefully, it’s one they can tuck in their back pocket and pull out when troubling times and suffering come.

I’ve noticed you reference pornography several times in sermons lately, more than usual. I think we all know it’s a big problem in the church and in the culture. What’s your thinking there?

It came to that point of conviction. Growing up in church was one of those things that most people knew about, as well as some of the statistics. I think it was close to 80 percent of people, both inside and outside the church, engaging in it. And yet, I rarely heard the church talk about it. Growing up, it was one of those no-no topics that the church didn’t spend much time on. Granted, it wasn’t as prevalent nor as easily accessible then. 

Even today, as those numbers continue to go up and we see the damage it does, we need to call it out as a church family. When you call something out, you’re shedding light on it. Hopefully, anyone who’s caught in that is able to walk out of it through the blood of Christ and step into the light.

As a church family, we have resources available for that. We have an organizational membership to accountability software called Accountable2You. We as a church said we want to invest in this area. So there’s a discounted membership. To me, $7.20 a month for something like that—for the family computer, your kids, all that kind of stuff—seems like a no-brainer. I use it. I have an accountability partner, my mentor. It’s not shameful to use it at all. So I’d encourage people— if you view using that as a weakness, it’s the opposite of that. And I’d encourage anyone to sign up.

[NOTE: Our church partners with Accountable2You. Sign up at: firstfreerockford.accountable2you.com. The individual plan costs $7.20 a month and covers up to six devices. The family plan costs $11.20 a month and covers up to 20 devices.]

It’s such a powerful thing to name something like that openly. Any sin, not just porn.

When you name it and take a stand against it, we as a church family can double down on it and say we want this area, among all areas, to be healthy in our church family.

How can we pray for you and for our church?

As we head into fall, there are lots of things that I’m excited about. Continue to pray for (executive minister) Steve Ralph as he finishes well from his 15 years on staff here at the church and several more when he was church chairman, and he and Bev led Awana and more. Pray for him as he finishes out in September and then deals with health issues.

With that, please pray for Dean Senglaub as he’s learning the ropes and is in that seat now. Pray for him as our executive minister as he looks to the future and health of our church.

For me personally, you could pray that, as we head into the fall, the Lord would continue to lead and guide me and that I would be responsive to that—in sermons, vision, and creativity for the church family.

Finally, continue to pray for our open staff positions. Many staff members are feeling overwhelmed by this situation. Pray that we fill these positions with the right people at the right time and that we wait patiently for the Lord’s guidance.