The Root: El Dorado

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06/24/2026

The Morning Good News
June 24, 2026

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1

————

Let me keep riffing on Freedom. Freedom is dangerous to preach. I didn’t realize it at first, but God, through our church, continues to test my willingness to believe what I say.

I preach about our freedom in Christ a lot. Because of Jesus’ finished work, we are free to take risks. We are free to explore ideas. We are free to fail. We are free to be wrong. We are free to disagree with the preacher. We are free to take a couple of months off from gathering with the church and spend time strengthening our families.

I say all of that stuff, and more, a lot. It’s a constant theme at The Root.

But here is the problem: the people of The Root are starting to act like free people. And that’s starting to annoy the crap out of me. I remember the first time I had to pray, “Well, Lord, I’ve been preaching freedom like you asked me to, but I didn’t think they would actually take us up on the offer.”

When you give people the freedom to stay home, they sometimes do.
When you give people the freedom to call BS on your ideas, they sometimes do.
When you give people the freedom to explore the theology and doctrine of other denominations, they sometimes do.

If you’re going to preach freedom, you better be willing to accept that people just may believe you. As my buddy TJ says, “If you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.” Well, preacher, time to toughen up.

I want you to know that you are free. You’re free to never read this morning rant again. You’re free to stop caring what others think. You’re free to doubt God and ask hard questions about the Bible. Why? Because God has loved you with a complete and perfect love. And you can’t get out of it. No matter what. You can swim in it, or drown in it, but you can’t escape the relentless flood of God’s amazing love.

You are free. So, go be free. And I’ll just have to learn to get over it.

Have a great day. Or not. Do what you want.

06/23/2026

The Morning Good News
June 23, 2026

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1

———

We talked about freedom this past weekend at The Root, and I just can’t get that conversation out of my mind. Freedom is funny. We say we want it, but often we are terrified of it. Even though Christ has set us free from slavery to the Law and slavery to sin, the unknowns of freedom have a way of making the comforts of slavery look attractive.

Paul understood this temptation, so he made sure to remind the Galatian church about the fear that accompanies freedom. The Galatians had been objectively set free from the condemnation of sin, yet they were running back to a system of law, performance, and religious scorekeeping. Why? Because freedom can feel unsettling. Slavery at least feels predictable.

The same thing happened to the Israelites as they escaped Egypt. The same thing happens to us. We know the Gospel declares us forgiven and free. We know Christ has defeated death and hell. We know there is no condemnation for those who are in Him. Yet we constantly feel pressure to measure up, perform better, look better, and prove ourselves worthy. We are constantly looking up, wondering if we are good enough.

Gerhard Forde said, "Sanctification is simply the art of getting used to our justification." That may be one of the best definitions of spiritual growth I've ever heard. We often think growth means climbing higher. Scripture suggests growth is remembering deeper. We move forward in our spiritual life by looking backward—back to the finished work of Christ. And what we see are the objective truths of the Gospel. You are already free. You are already forgiven. You are already accepted. You are already complete. You are already seated with Christ in the Kingdom.

The Christian life isn’t about pursuing new levels of progress. The upside-down truth of the Kingdom is this: spiritual growth is a matter of falling into what you already are in Christ Jesus.

Today, resist the temptation to run back into the slavery of performance-based spirituality.
Live as the free person Christ says you already are.

Have a great day.

06/22/2026

The Morning Good News
June 22, 2026

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-12

————

A layperson is someone in a particular discipline who is seen as an “amateur”—someone who dabbles in a certain area but doesn’t operate with a high level of skill or expertise. The professional, on the other hand, has the expertise to operate at a high level, and even be paid for their performance. While there may be a place for this division in certain parts of society (I most certainly want a professional surgeon operating on me!) there is no biblical basis for such a distinction in the church.

Eugene Peterson said this, “Within the Christian community there are few words that are more disabling than “layperson” and “laity.” The words convey the impression—an impression that quickly solidifies into a lie—that there is a two-level hierarchy among the men and women who follow Jesus. There are those who are trained, sometimes referred to as “the called,” the professionals who are paid to preach, teach, and provide guidance in the Christian way, occupying the upper level. The lower level is made up of everyone else, those whom God assigned jobs as storekeepers, lawyers, journalists, parents, and computer programmers.”

This does not mean that we don’t see leadership within the biblical model of the church. Any significant movement that makes an impact has definite leadership. But we shouldn’t confuse leadership with a call to participate in Jesus' redemptive mission. The Missio Dei is not set aside for some professional class within the church, but instead all the people of God are called and commissioned. Men and women. Greeks and Jews. In the New Testament there are no hierarchical division between clergy and laity.

Ephesians 4 tells us that when all the members are properly working together, the body grows up into maturity (4:15). Such maturity and fullness are not possible if only 10 percent of the body is exercising their gifting. In the church that Jesus built, everyone gets to play. In fact, everyone must play!

No matter your age, gender, race, or socio-economic background, if you are in Christ, then you are filled with the exact same Holy Spirit as was the Apostle Paul and Billy Graham. You did not get a lesser version of God’s presence. You are not a “layperson” in the church. You are a fully functioning minister and ambassador of the God’s Kingdom.

06/18/2026

The Morning Good News
June 18, 2026

So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
Hebrews 13:12-14

———

I’m going to finish off Hebrews this morning, then take a little break. I’ll be back Monday.

The author of Hebrews offers a beautiful invitation: "Let us go out to him, outside the camp." Oh, I love that thought. Religious people have often assumed that God lives safely inside the camp. Inside our doctrines, our institutions, our carefully protected boundaries and constitutions and bylaws and bricks. We create sacred spaces and then imagine we have contained the Holy One within them.

Well, I say this with all the GenX attitude I can muster..... “As if!” Jesus cannot be contained by anyone, by anything, or in any place. Jesus was crucified outside the city walls. Outside the systems of power. Outside the approved religious structures. Outside the places where people expected God to be. That is where God chooses to reveal divine love. Outside the camp.

The ego always wants a camp. A place of certainty. A place where we know who is in and who is out. A place where we can feel secure in our own righteousness. A place where we can wear our three-piece suits and boldly declare the winners and the losers. Yet Christ continually leads us beyond those boundaries.

Christ is not found in our changing opinions, ideologies, or tribal loyalties. Christ remains present everywhere, always drawing humanity toward union with God and one another. To follow Jesus means we often have to leave the familiar camp behind, like Abraham did. We have to walk toward humility, compassion, and mystery. We have to meet God in unexpected places and among unexpected people.

This world is not our permanent home. The spiritual life is not about building a permanent place. It is about learning to trust the Presence that accompanies us wherever we go. The great surprise of the Gospel is that when we step outside the camp, we discover that Christ was already there waiting for us.

Have a great weekend.

06/17/2026

The Morning Good News
June 17, 2026

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have.
Hebrews 13:5

————

The author of Hebrews tells us to be content with what we have and free from the love of money. That sounds simple enough until life starts getting expensive, uncertain, and uncomfortable.

Then the writer gives us the reason. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.'"

The way to be free from the love of money is not by convincing yourself that money has no value. That’s ridiculous. Especially for anyone who has been to the grocery store lately. Money has value. It’s why I go to work. They pay me in money.

We are supposed to be free of our love for money. And the way to be free from the love of money is by becoming convinced that God's presence is more reliable than money's promises.

Money promises security. God promises Himself.
Money promises comfort. God promises His presence.
Money promises control over the future. God promises that the future is already in His hands.

The writer continues, "The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?" At first glance, that seems like a strange question, because, umm, people can do quite a lot. They got gats and stones. They can slander us, reject us, sue us, mistreat us, and even kill us. Hebrews itself has spent chapters describing believers who suffered greatly. So what does the author mean?

They mean that people are not the decisive shapers of our future. God is. No person can separate us from the love of Christ. No hardship can undo His promises. No circumstance can remove us from His care. That doesn’t mean life will be easy. It means we never face life alone.

The freedom Hebrews describes comes from remembering the faithfulness of God. The bo***ge of fear is broken by truth. The love of money loses its grip when we begin to believe that the promises of God are better than the promises of wealth. The Lord is our helper. What else do we need?

06/16/2026

The Morning Good News
June 16, 2026

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
Hebrews 13:1-3

———

Most people think the Bible is primarily a book of commands. Do this. Don't do that. Try harder. Be better. While Scripture certainly contains commands, the overwhelming story of the Bible is about what Jesus has done for us, not what we can do for Him. That distinction changes how we read everything in the bible.

The author of Hebrews begins throwing out practical exhortations: love one another, show hospitality, remember prisoners, honor marriage, be content with what you have. But those commands are never disconnected from the promises of God. My favorite seminary professor used to say, “The imperative always flows from the declarative.” Meaning, we do things because of what has already been done. For example:

Because you belong to Christ, love one another.
Because you have been cleansed by His blood, show hospitality.
Because you cannot be separated from the love of God, live without fear.
Because Jesus has accomplished what you never could, live as a new human being.

The Christian life was never intended to be a desperate attempt to earn God's approval. It’s a response to a reality that already exists. We obey because we are loved. We serve because we have been served. We forgive because we have been forgiven.

The writer of Hebrews is calling believers to outrageous acts of risk-taking love, but those acts are rooted in something deeper than human effort. They’re rooted in the promises of God. They’re rooted in your identity. Who you are dictates what you do.

Jesus tells you who you are. He tells you what He has done for you. And then He tells you what you can do for your neighbor. That’s how the New Testament works. That’s how grace works. The Gospel gives us a new identity, and from that identity grows a new way of living.

Have a great day.

06/15/2026

The Morning Good News
June 15, 2026

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.
Hebrews 12:11-13

————

I remember this day quite clearly. My friend Tony and I were riding in the back of the station wagon while Mom drove us into town. Not the back seat—the back. The cargo area. There were no silly safety rules in the 1980s. We had the freedom to live our lives as dangerously as we wanted.

Anyway, as we floated down the highway, I was admiring Tony’s new BB/pellet gun. It was molded to look like an M-16, and it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. What I didn’t know was that it was also fully loaded, fully pumped up, and just waiting for a little encouragement from one of the ten-year-olds near it.

Just past the intersection of Thrill Hill Road and Highway 185, I shouldered that rifle, aimed at the passing billboard by Someplace Else Ice Cream, pulled the trigger, and instantly exploded the back glass of that silver Caprice Classic wagon all over the southbound lane. It was... spectacular.

I don’t remember getting punished for it. At least, not formally. There was, however, a lengthy interrogation that mostly revolved around one central question: “Douglas, are you stupid or something?”

But I can tell you this: that happened more than thirty-five years ago, and I still remember the lessons I learned that day. First, treat every weapon as if it is loaded. Second, always keep the weapon pointed in a safe direction. Third, never aim at anything you do not intend to destroy. And finally, number four: Mary Lou was an incredible driver. She managed to keep her composure while taking heavy fire from an unknown aggressor and safely brought the vehicle under control. That was some top-tier commando stuff, Mom. Well done.

Discipline doesn’t have to be punitive. In fact, the best discipline usually isn’t. Discipline is educational. Discipline makes disciples. It trains us. Shapes us. Purifies us. Sets us apart. Its purpose is not simply to punish but to form us into the kind of people God is calling us to become. To be disciplined by the Lord is to be welcomed into His family of disciples. We submit to His discipline because we trust that through it, and sometimes even because of it, He is making us more and more like Jesus.

So take a new grip. Strengthen your weak knees. Embrace the disciple-making process.
And always know where your barrel is pointed.

Have a happy Monday.

06/12/2026

The Morning Good News
June 12, 2026

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Hebrews 12:1-2

—————

Eugene Peterson once said that "discipleship is a process of paying more and more attention to God's righteousness and less and less attention to our own." I couldn’t agree more! When we fix our eyes on Jesus, and what He has accomplished for us in His finished work, then the things of the earth grow "strangely dim."

Growing up on the farm, there were a few tests that a boy had to pass to be considered an official member of the team. Some of the exams were simply a matter of natural human development. You had to be tall enough and strong enough to engage the clutch on a tractor and you had to be tall enough and strong enough to stack hay bales. Eventually, all of us boys reached those levels of development and passed those tests just by eating and sleeping. If you ever see one of our family photos, you’ll notice quickly that none of us had a problem with growing.

However, after we were big enough to drive a tractor, we were faced with another test. And this test, which came with copious amounts of ridicule and scorn, was an examination of our ability to drive in a straight line for hundreds of yards in an open field. We judged each other harshly on this because it wasn’t a matter of height, weight, or strength, but rather a matter of focus and ability. If you have ever driven by a corn field and wondered how the farmer made the rows so straight, the answer is teenage scorn and ridicule. **

**Editor’s Note: In 2026, when you see straight rows in an open field, the reason is likely a GPS guided, self-steering tractor. Technology has really taken the skill out of driving in a straight line. However, if you ever saw straight lines before 2010, then the reason was, absolutely, because of righteously earned teenage bullying.

What I learned, and rather rapidly I might add, is that focusing on the front wheels of the tractor will surely, and quickly, lead you into the chaos of a crooked path. Looking behind you to see how you're doing only made things worse. And trying to keep the steering wheel perfectly straight was an exercise in futility. The only way to drive in a straight line in the middle of an open field, and I mean the only way, is to focus on a fixed object somewhere near the horizon, keep your eyes glued to that spot, and go straight for it. Never take your eyes off that spot. It works every time.

Today, fix your eyes on that one fixed point on the horizon: to Jesus's perfect work and unshakeable love. Discipleship is a process of focusing on God’s righteousness, not your progress. Any attempt to look around and see how you’re doing, will only lead the chaos of a crooked path.

Have a great weekend.

06/11/2026

The Morning Good News
June 11, 2026

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Hebrews 12:1-2

————

It was for the "joy awaiting him" that Jesus endured the excruciating ordeal of the cross. The greatest love story and most heroic tale in history was made possible because Jesus pursued ultimate joy in fulfilling the Father's will.

Mankind craves pleasure and satisfaction. We even have a name for it in sociological and philosophical circles; we call it Hedonism. Hedonism, in simple terms, is the pursuit of joy. Hedonists make their own pleasure and satisfaction their ultimate goal in everything they do. I am quite certain that all of us have fallen into moments (or perhaps months and years) where we have pursued a hedonistic lifestyle. We may have never labelled our lives as such, but anytime we have made our own happiness and satisfaction our ultimate goal, we are behaving as a hedonist. To some extent, we can't help it. We want to be happy and satisfied. We want what we want, because that’s what makes us happy. It's that conflict of desire that led John Piper to his foundational philosophy of "Christian Hedonism," which he fully explores in his seminal book Desiring God. And you don’t have to subscribe to all of Piper’s theological conclusions to learn something valuable from his work.

He defines "Christian Hedonism" as follows: God's ultimate goal in the world (his glory and the praise of His name) and our deepest desire in the world (to be happy, joyful, and satisfied) are one and the same, because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

We are wired to seek satisfaction. We are wired to seek pleasure. We are wired to pursue joy. We just aim our pursuits in the wrong direction far too often. As CS Lewis said, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and s*x and ambition when infinite joy is offered us; like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

God is well pleased and glorified when we find our ultimate satisfaction and joy in Him. We were made for joy, and His deepest desire is for that joy to be firmly rooted in His glory. We were made for happiness, and God knows that our deepest happiness and satisfaction can only be found in His love, His mercy, His power, and His grace. So, go on! Pursue your joy and satisfaction. But don’t look to the world for that kind of joy, you won't find it there. You will only find ultimate joy and ultimate satisfaction by chasing it to its source: God Almighty

Have a great day.

06/10/2026

The Morning Good News
June 10, 2026

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
Hebrews 11:39-40

————

After recounting centuries of faith, suffering, triumph, and endurance, the author of Hebrews quietly levels the playing field. The heroes were not accepted because they were impressive. They were accepted because they trusted God.

That idea has been surprisingly difficult for me to accept. I’m only 47, so I still have time to figure it out. But I am constantly trying to justify myself in one way or another. I want to be admired. I want to be competent. I want people to think I am doing well. I want to be a “good” Christian.

But Christianity is fundamentally about the work of Christ, not the works of Christians. The Gospel journey begins with this confession: you’re not as awesome as you think you are. And strangely enough, that confession has been extremely liberating to me. Even if I forget it every day.

When we stop trying to maintain the illusion of our own greatness, we become free. Free from pretending. Free from managing appearances. Free from the exhausting burden of self-salvation. The saints of Hebrews 11 understood this. Their confidence was never rooted in their own performance. It rested in the faithfulness of God.

Here is the glorious truth of the Gospel: you are saved because of what Christ has accomplished. His life. His obedience. His death. His resurrection. His victory. It’s all about Him. That means your failures are not the final word about you.

We are far worse than we imagine, and far more loved than we dare believe. And the Church invites us to live inside that tension. We don’t have to earn God’s affection. We don’t have to build our identity on our successes, or despair over our shortcomings. And we don’t have to spin our wheels trying to impress God. I mean, good luck with that, anyway. He created galaxies, gold, and giraffes. What have you done lately?

Because of Jesus, we are free to live abundantly in the Kingdom of God.
We are free to be free.

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101 E Locust Street
El Dorado, AR
71730

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