Author: Heath Lambert

Making It In Ministry: Lessons from the Life of John Sullivan

Written by Heath Lambert on November 20, 2023. Posted in First Thoughts.

Longevity In Ministry On Sunday, November 12, the members of First Baptist Church Jacksonville celebrated John Sullivan for his 68 years in ministry. 68 years is a long time to be alive—much less to be in ministry. For some perspective, I am 44 years old. That means that before I took my first breath of air in 1979, Dr Sullivan had been doing ministry for 24 years. That accomplishment is remarkable in its own right. But it is remarkable for another reason. I started in vocational ministry in the late 90s. If you made a list of the leading figures in evangelical Christian ministry at that time, you would discover that many of them didn’t make it. Far too many names on that list have disqualified and disgraced themselves through pride, abuse of power, sexual immorality, and financial scandal. I...

The Enneagram

Written by Heath Lambert on September 4, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

A fascinating topic on Marked by Grace this week. We’re talking about the Enneagram. The Enneagram is a really popular personality test right now. And if it is news to you, you need to know that it is a personality test. It is a personality test that tells you which of nine different personality types you are. That’s where the language of Enneagram comes from. “Ennea” means nine. “Gram” means a written form or a diagram. There are nine different personality tests on this diagram that consist of a circle with a design in the middle of it that creates nine points around the circle. And when you take the various different personality tests, it’ll tell you which of the nine types you are. Whether a reformer, or helper, an enthusiast, or a peacemaker. There are all different...

Should Christians Carry Concealed Weapons?

Written by Heath Lambert on August 28, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

Should Christians carry concealed weapons? That is the fascinating question that comes in this week. It is the very, very interesting and incredibly relevant question that comes in this week. And it comes in with another question. The question isn’t just should Christians carry concealed weapons? There’s another question right after it. And it is this, aren’t we supposed to turn the other cheek? So there’s a little bit of suspicion in the question about carrying concealed weapons because there is an assumption that if we’re doing what Jesus says and turning the other cheek, then it seems like carrying concealed weapons, we’re not doing that. So first, before we answer the question directly, let’s talk about this issue of turning the other cheek since...

Would God Ever Change the Past?

Written by Heath Lambert on August 21, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

We have a remarkable question on the podcast this week. It is a unique question. To be honest with you, a lot of the questions that I answer on the podcast each week are things I’ve heard before, maybe for years, things I’ve answered in other contexts. I have never been asked this question before. And it was really a thinker for me. I am happy to talk with you about it this week. And the question is, would God ever change the past? You start thinking about what we learn about this from the perspective of Scripture, and there are just so many passages that started springing to mind and thinking about how we would frame an answer to this, and I just realized I don’t have time to talk about everything that comes up in the text that is relevant for answering this question....

What Is a Stumbling Block?

Written by Heath Lambert on August 14, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

I am really excited to answer this week’s question on Marked by Grace; it’s a really important, truly relevant question for all of us. And the question is, what is a stumbling block? I love the way the question has been phrased. To me, it’s what is a stumbling block, really? What is it really? This person is suspicious of what they’ve been told about a stumbling block in the past. And they are asking me to really level with them and tell them what a stumbling block is. And so I’m going to really level with you this week and truly, really, honestly tell you what a stumbling block is. One of the reasons it’s a great question because a lot of people talk about being a stumbling block, and when I hear them talk about it, I don’t think they fully understand...

What to Do with an Accusation of Sexual Sin

Written by Heath Lambert on August 7, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

A very important question this week on the podcast is about what to do with an accusation of sexual sin. The context of the question is that this is an accusation of sexual sin on the part of a minister of the gospel. So not just somebody else. In the context of the question, we’re also not talking about abuse. So if we were talking about abuse, something illegal, we would say more and different things that I’m going to say this week. But this is a very specific question, not about abuse. What do we do with an accusation of sexual sin on the part of a minister? We need to be honest that this is very serious. It’s very serious because it’s very clear in places like 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1, it’s very clear that a pastor is supposed to be above reproach. He’s...

Can God Make a Rock Too Heavy to Lift?

Written by Heath Lambert on July 31, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

In the book of Job, the man Job learned some hard lessons about the sovereignty of God. After suffering in unbelievable ways in the early chapters, he then engages for chapters and chapters and chapters of debate with his bad counselors. And finally, the Lord kind of descends, and he takes Job and his counselors to school about who he is and the power that he has. And Job demonstrates that he learned his lessons. Well, in Job 42:2, the Bible says, “I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” I know you can do all things. This is a teaching in Scripture that faithful Christians drink in. And we know, and we believe, in fact, even for people who aren’t Christians, if you have any kind of belief in God, the only God worth believing in is a God who...

What Does It Mean to Be Judgmental?

Written by Heath Lambert on July 24, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

There is no unChristian in the world who needs to be told that Matthew 7:1 is in the Bible. It says, “Judge not that you be not judged.” That is the proof text for the repeated command from guilty people. Don’t you judge me? How dare you judge me? You don’t have any right to judge me. Don’t judge me. We all know that there is a command in the Bible not to judge. I don’t think as many people know that there are also commands in the Bible to judge. in John 12:57, Jesus says, “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” These are two verses. Listen, I’m telling you, I could fill up many, many, many podcasts with all sorts of Bible passages that talk about a right kind of judgment and all sorts of Bible passages that talk about a wrong kind of judgment....

Why Talk about What Happened at First Baptist?

Written by Heath Lambert on July 18, 2023. Posted in First Thoughts.

The Hard Years The years of 2018-2021 were difficult years of transition at First Baptist. Those years were painful for everyone at our church. I call them The Hard Years. In God’s great kindness, those years are now over, and our church is in a remarkable season of growth, health, and happiness. In August, I’ll release a podcast called What Happened at First Baptist. That podcast tells the story of the challenges our church confronted during the hard years and all the good things God did to restore a dying church. Hard stories are difficult to share, particularly when the story is yours. Why in the world would I talk about a season of difficulty now that happy days are here again? There is a very good reason why I want to tell this story and why I want to tell it now. But before I explain...

Should Pastors Meet Alone with Women?

Written by Heath Lambert on July 17, 2023. Posted in Marked By Grace.

This week on the podcast, we’re going to tackle a topic that just comes up perennially. This is just one of those things that we always have to deal with in ministry. And it’s the question of should pastors meet alone with women? Now, I want to say right at the very beginning, as you start this podcast, this is not just a podcast for pastors. On Marked by Grace, where I’m trying to talk to all sorts of Christians, all sorts of regular normal Christians who are trying to live their life by faith in Jesus Christ in a way that is informed and empowered by grace. I’m not just talking to pastors on this episode. In fact, everybody, every Christian, every church member has a stake in the answer to this question that is for pastors, pastors, what should you do? There are...