While piloting a single engine aircraft, my pastor friend, Forrest Pollock and his son, Preston, were  tragically killed. Although missing on May 12, their bodies were discovered yesterday near Cold Mountain in North Carolina.  Forrest has served as the Pastor of the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida, a large, growing, evangelistic body of believers. Forrest (and his son Preston) are survived by his wife, Dawn, and five children.  Forrest was 44 years of age, and his son Preston was only 13.

I met Forrest Pollock years ago while speaking for a conference he began for pastors. He had asked me to speak at their meeting at the annual Southern Baptist Convention.  Forrest Pollock was a great communicator, a gifted leader, and had dynamic personal skills.

Forrest and I spent several minutes together recently at a conference in Florida. He was quizzing me about television ministry, as well as other matters.  He was always a learner, ready and willing to do whatever it took to reach his city for Christ.  We had dialogued days before that as well via email.

We must lift up in prayer the family of Dr. Forrest Pollock as well as the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida. The loss is extremely tragic for all, especially his family and church family.  All of our hearts hurt for them.  This is one of those difficult things that has no explanation.

May God grant Dawn, their children, and church family the grace to walk through this deep valley. We find ourselves walking by faith in the promises of God.

Today is Jeana’s birthday, so “Happy Birthday Jeana!” I love you and am blessed you are my partner for life. I will not tell people how old you are, because they would not believe me if I did. You are a beautiful woman inwardly and outwardly. Have a great birthday!

Last night, we celebrated Josh’s birthday, his 28th. After getting away from the office and Josh finishing spring ball practice, we met for a late dinner with he and his family at Chili’s. We are blessed by Josh’s life during these 28 years and Josh, “I love you.”

On the 24th of the month is our little granddaughter’s first birthday, Reese Caroline. She is a little sweetheart who we all like to squeeze, hug, and kiss. What a joy she is to our lives.

May birthdays in our family will make you feel like it’s Christmas.

Most grandparents have heard the saying that if we’d know how great grandkids were, we’d have had them first. But, the truth is, it just doesn’t work that way. I wouldn’t trade one for the other if I could! We have our children first-raising them with the prospect of grandchildren coming at a later time. It’s hard to believe I’ve reached the age of “grandparenting,” but I can honselty say, I love every minute of it. And yes, I also understand why the good Lord gives us children while we are young. After keeping my granchildren-one, two, or all three of them-it is the best exhaustion I’ve ever felt.

I’ve loved every age and stage of my children’s lives. I am grateful for the years the Lord gave me after my cancer diagnosis to see my boys grow up and become adults. Whatever stage they were in has proven to be the “best”- and that “best” now includes married children and precious grandchildren. The prayers I pray for my own chlidren have changed now-no less fervent, but differnt petitions as they have become married adults and now entered the stage of parenting themselves. The prayers I prayed for my children have been revistited for my grandchildren’s lives-for their salvation, their future mates, and to love and serve Christ all their lives.

I think both of my daughters-in-law are better mothers than I was-how great is that? I have been reminded of how endless the task of mothering is as I watch them selflessly care of their babies. I have been reminded of sleepless nights, ear infections, and scattered toys. I’ve even been introduced to the malady of Respiratory Syncytial Virus-seems many babies these days have RSV-ours probably did too, we just didn’t know what to call it!

I’ve loved being a mom and now I love being a “Gigi.” I love watching my adult children parent their children. And honestly, I’m glad it’s their turn to raise their children, because I have a hard time keeping up with those precious little ones!

Mothers and grandmothers, I hope you enjoyed your special day. Your job is important and your efforts are appreciated-you are a priceless part of your family and our church family.

Jeana

P.S. Happy Birthday to our son Josh! We love you.

May is a month of celebration in our family. I mean, we have much to celebrate:

• Mother’s Day
• Josh’s birthday on the 12th
• Jeana’s birthday on the 13th
• Jeana’s Dad’s birthday (before his death) on the 14th
• Reese Caroline’s 1st birthday is on May 24.

Wow…what deal!

Speaking of celebration, this coming Sunday, I will conclude our message series Come, Celebrate the Cross. In fact, the word I am going to give you as your word for the week, the word I want you to think of every time you see, read, or think of the cross, is the word celebrate. I do believe there is much to celebrate about the cross of our Lord.

We also have another reason to celebrate on Sunday-to all of the Moms who read this blog, Happy Mother’s Day! What a privilege God has given to you, entrusting you with children. While they may be challenging at times, don’t forget, they are blessings.

This week I stood beside a broken hearted Mom and Dad to be, who lost their first baby at 20 weeks into the pregnancy. I was reminded of the blessing of parenting. This week I also stood beside another Mom and Dad praying over their son who had a major brain trauma injury. As they yearned for God to raise their son back into complete health, I was reminded of the joy of parenting.

Their tears should remind you of the God-given privilege that many of you are experiencing today. No one works harder than moms, especially mothers of preschoolers.

This weekend we honor and celebrate Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

We have been on an 8-week journey about the cross of Jesus Christ. Sunday will mark the 8th week of Come, Celebrate the Cross. This has been a very interesting journey, one that will impact our church for a long time.

I have grown in the Lord during this series. I am greatly encouraged that God led us to do this series and equally encouraged by my own growth through it. Come, Celebrate the Cross has been challenging to prepare and wonderful to communicate. As a preacher/teacher/pastor, I am convinced that I am different because of this study.

I trust you have grown in this sermon series on the cross. There is a real desire on our people’s part to learn and to grow. We have all been surprised at how much there is about the cross and equally surprised at its influence in our lives as Christ-followers.

This Sunday, we will begin to offer the 8-week series on CD. The CD version does not include any music, only the sermons. You can pre-order the DVD version; it is not yet ready for purchase. The worship songs that have been written for the series will be offered, but not yet. With music, much has to be done and we project it will be offered to you in September.

This Sunday, do not miss our last message and moments on the cross of Christ.

I had a very interesting time in Memphis last night.  I spoke at an event called “The National Prayer Dinner for Israel.” Probably 40% of the audience was Jewish, consisting of Jewish Rabbis and Holocaust Survivors. The rest were Christians, including a few major Christian leaders in Memphis.

I enjoyed the evening and had the privilege of being the Keynote Speaker for the event. I have never spoken at an event like this, but I really enjoyed it.  The crowd was highly responsive, even kind enough to give me a standing ovation at the end.  Usually my standing ovations occur when I dismiss the audience.

This is a huge month and year for the nation of Israel as it celebrates its 60th year as a nation. Without question, God has raised up His people.  In 1948, less than 1 million people lived in Israel. Today, almost 7 million people live there, of which 5.6 million are Jewish.

I was reminded last night of the importance of doing events that are different than the norm. When God lets you expand your territory, you need to take it.  I did that last night and was blessed.

Be blessed today.

On Sunday, the Lord issued a major call to each Christ-follower, “Change the World!” The Holy Spirit visited us in power as we centered on a Christ-centered, Cross-centered message. The Lord Jesus was a world changer. We are to be world changers.

This coming Sunday will be the final Sunday in our “Come, Celebrate The Cross” series. It will be the 8th message in this series. May the Lord ignite the hearts of all of us like never before when we bring conclusion to this message. My friends, it is time to change the world.

Please understand the power of Jesus is upon us to rally others into a relationship with Him. I hope you will join me in doing this. God has issued a great call not only to us personally, but also to our church. As we join Him in expanding the Kingdom of God, it is time to understand the urgency of the moment.

Please pray this week that you will become a world changer. If you missed this past Sunday, subscribe to our podcast to listen to the message. It will help you understand the context and heart of this blog today.

Go, and change the world!

Today, we have the privilege to observe the 57th anniversary of The National Day of Prayer, a day set aside for us to pray for our nation. I had the opportunity to open the Rogers’ Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast early this morning. There will be many opportunities for you to engage in this special day, so please take time to pray. Both of our campuses will be open for prayer and solitude, so you are welcome to come to our Worship Centers today.

We have spent the past six weeks in our series, Come, Celebrate the Cross. We’ve studied aspects of the cross like the plan, death, victory, freedom, unity and life that the cross brings. We’ve also immensely enjoyed the songs written for each sermon by our own staff. I strongly encourage you to join us the last two weeks of this series. They will be worth attending!

Please take time to consciously think about who you will invite to come to church with you on Sunday. Many times, people are simply waiting for an invitation. You may be surprised how willing your friend or acquaintance may be to join you in church. And the result just might be eternal.

Finally, as you pray, remember to pray for Sunday. God can do so much more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime. Let’s join together, asking Him to do great things in our midst on this next Lord’s Day as we continue our series on the cross. Have a wonderful weekend. I will see you on Sunday!