Sometimes the most faithful way to communicate a hard decision is simply to tell the truth. When a pastor knows it’s time to leave a church, there’s no perfect way to make the announcement. People may feel hurt, confused, or even wonder why they weren’t enough. Dr. York encourages pastors to resist the temptation to over-explain or try to control how people respond. Be clear about where the Lord is leading you. 🎧 Listen now

"Whatever storm you're in, He cares." ㅤ In today's chapel, Pastor Bruce Chesser, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, preached from Matthew 8:23–27 on Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. ㅤ The storm came while Jesus was in the boat with His disciples. Christ has authority over every storm, and He is just as able to quiet our hearts as He is to quiet the sea.

The Path to the Pulpit: Four Ancient Questions for Faithful Preaching by Andrew Hébert and Mitchell L. Chase is available now! Faithful preaching begins with faithful interpretation of God’s Word. In The Path to the Pulpit, Andrew Hébert and Mitchell L. Chase draw from the rich history of Christian interpretation to offer pastors and ministers a practical framework for sermon preparation. The authors guide preachers through four essential questions: What does the text say? How does it connect to the gospel and exalt Christ? How does it shape me as a disciple? How does it stir hope for the future? By asking these questions, preachers can better understand the meaning of Scripture, see its connection to Christ, apply it to their own lives and congregations, and proclaim the hope found in God’s promises. This book offers a time-tested path from the biblical text to faithful proclamation. ㅤ 📚 Available now at The Bookstore at Southern and where books are sold.

The hardest counseling conversations in the church rarely happen on a stage. They happen in a pastor’s office, a hospital room, a kitchen table. ㅤ This past week, men who carry those conversations every week came to campus for the Pastoral Counseling Workshop: three days of biblical teaching, honest conversation, shared meals, and time to slow down with fellow pastors who understand the work. ㅤ Thank you to Dr. Matthew Haste, Dr. John Henderson, Dr. Robert Jones, Dr. Jeremy Pierre, and Dr. Colin McCulloch for pouring into these men, and to every pastor who set aside time away from his church to be here. ㅤ We’re praying they return home better equipped, more refreshed, and ready to walk with their people through life’s hardest seasons.

"Our faith is either going to rest in the wisdom of men or in the power of God." ㅤ In today's chapel, President R. Albert Mohler Jr. preached from 1 Corinthians 2 on the message of the cross, which sounds like foolishness to human wisdom but is the power of God for salvation. ㅤ Our problem is sin, and God's remedy is the cross. We sing it gladly, but we must never forget how it sounds to a world hoping for something else. The message of the cross is all we have, and it is enough.

“What is preaching? It’s theology on fire.” ㅤ Today in chapel, we celebrated the life and ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who preached for thirty years from the pulpit of Westminster Chapel in London and called a generation of preachers back to the faithful exposition of God’s Word. ㅤ Unlike Luther, Calvin, or Spurgeon, we can still hear Lloyd-Jones preach. We’re grateful to the MLJ Trust for preserving his sermons and making them available to the church, and for partnering with and for partnering with us to help a new generation of preachers keep learning from his ministry. ㅤ Listen to his sermons at mljtrust.org.

The Islam and the West trilogy by Dr. A. S. Ibrahim is available now! In this three-volume series, Dr. Ibrahim examines the rise and reach of political Islam across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Drawing from primary sources, Islamic texts, and contemporary events, Ibrahim distinguishes political Islam as an ideology from Islam as a faith while exploring its influence on public life, institutions, governance, and foreign policy. Together, these volumes provide a historical and contemporary examination of one of the defining questions shaping the relationship between Islam and the West. 📚 Available now at The Bookstore at Southern and where books are sold.

For our online students, this week meant class discussions, hallway conversations, and lunch with their professors. ㅤ Students spent three days on campus studying with Dr. Jim Hamilton in “Old Testament I,” Dr. Jarvis Williams in “Greek Exegesis: Galatians,” and Dr. Stephen Wellum in “The Doctrine of the Person of Christ,” along with chapel and campus life through our Experiential Modular courses. ㅤ Studying online doesn’t mean studying alone. Thank you to every student who traveled to Louisville to be part of this week. ㅤ Want to join us for a Spring Modular? Registration opens October 31.