Matt Capps

Husband | Father | Pastor @FairviewBC | Author | MDiv @SEBTS | DMin @GordonConwell | PhD(c) @CollegeRidley | Adj. @SEBTS | @CSBible Amb.

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Salvation is surrender.
Sanctification is war.

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

As a teenager, I would mow my neighbors' yards in Charlotte for $20 (It was the late 90s). A group of men lived in a house a few doors down from us. They rarely cut their grass. They also kept to themselves.

One day, I knocked on the door and offered to take care of their yard every other week. My neighbor took me up on the offer but said, “I’ll pay you $20 to cut the front yard. Don’t worry about the backyard.”

I didn’t ask any questions. Full price, half the work. I cut their yard as often as needed.

A few years later, in July of 2000, I was awakened at 6:00 am, looked out the window, and saw a lot of commotion around my neighbor’s house. I sat on our front steps and watched the FBI, ATF, and local police raid the house. They took all the men into custody. They also confiscated guns, ammunition, and other types of evidence.

I found out later that my neighbors, for whom I mowed the grass, were a sleeper cell for an international terrorist group. I had no idea.

The FBI had been monitoring them from a rental house across the street. I’ve always wondered if there is an FBI file somewhere with pictures of me talking with the cell group leader on the front porch.

Either way, I tell this story today (9/11) to express thankfulness to the intelligence agencies, military, and first responders who monitor these activities for the purpose of keeping our country safe. Most of the time, we don't even know these things are happening. #neverforget

Note: You can learn about this operation by looking up “Operation Smokescreen.” CNN’s documentary “Declassified” has an episode on this operation titled “The Terrorists Next Door” (Season 3, Episode 3).

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Had*

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ—but who exactly is this Christ who came? In this four-week series at @FairviewBC, “Christology for Christmas”, we will consider the biblical truths about the person and work of Jesus. Each passage gives us a different window into the wonder of the incarnation. The more we understand who Christ is, the more we will marvel at why he came.

November 29 – 1 John 3:1-5
December 6 – Galatians 4:4-7
December 13- 1 Timothy 3:16
December 20 – 2 Corinthians 8:9

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

I had the privilege of lecturing in a Pastoral Ministry class at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary tonight. I stopped by the new Akin Student Center while on campus. It looks fantastic! Even more encouraging, the many students studying around campus and the next generation of pastors in my class.

[Kevin Vanhoozer @VanhoozerKevin]

My latest Outreach magazine theology column:

https://t.co/95eudKPvW1

[MICHAEL LEE WOMACK @WomackPoetry26]

The paperback version of Drawn by Beauty: Awe and Wonder in the Christian Life by @MattCapps is ON SALE for $15.48

"For much of the modern age, art and aesthetics have been relegated to the church basement. It is encouraging to find our old friend beauty being taken out of the storage box, dusted off, and set in a proper place: at the forefront of Christian thinking and spiritual formation. Draw by Beauty is a study written for those who are longtime adorers of beauty, and for those who only love her as of lately. This book, and the beauties it looks upon, will draw readers closer to the ultimate source of all beauty". - @ksprior, PhD, author, and lecturer

"For believers living in an age drowning in entertainment, but still diminished in wonder, Matt Capp's Drawn by Beauty is a course corrective with deep discernment and a keen understanding of Christianity's theological heritage of aesthetics. This book is as challenging as it is compelling, and it will draw readers into a more resonant faith, one that more gloriously adorns our glorious GOD". - @jaredcwilson, assistant pastor of pastoral ministry and author in residence at Midwestern Seminary; pastor for preaching at Liberty Baptist Church, Liberty Missouri

purchase link: https://t.co/jlSJ4i9dw8

@BHAcademic

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Pray for our @FairviewBC members heading to serve in Romania on a Medical and Dental team! #onmissiontogether

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Grateful for @DaveKiehn’s encouragement today at the South Wake @pillarnetwork lunch.

[Ronni Kurtz @RonniKurtz]

What an excellent article from @jvfesko over at @Themelios_TGC / @TGC. Retrieving theology is fine but it must be adorned by retrieving virtue and godliness.

https://t.co/KSk5pm0YXv

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

@DS17_FG Welcome to NC!

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Preaching John 9:1-41 at @FairviewBC Sunday. This is one of the most beautiful healing pericopes in the gospel accounts. It's comedy. It's tragedy. It's a deeply moving encounter that reveals Christ's heart.

[Ronni Kurtz @RonniKurtz]

Major congrats to some great friends, @travisjmont and Joseph Lanier, on their new book with @BHAcademic. It looks stellar and I'm sure will be a gift to many.

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

“We want to advance the global church by serving the local church.” - @rscott_pace

I love this vision for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. #onmissiontogether

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Back to school at @pinespringsprep for the girls! Ruby in 7th! Abby in 5th!

[Ligonier Ministries @Ligonier]

All of @RCSproul’s teaching series are now free—forever.

• 170+ series from Dr. Sproul’s decades of ministry
• 1,400+ messages on the Bible, theology, and more
• 500+ hours of teaching to help you grow in your faith

Stream all his teaching series in the Ligonier app: https://t.co/yTCZ385Tx9

[Matt Capps @MattCapps]

Don't miss this one-day conference at @FairviewBC with @ThomasSKidd, @NeilShenvi, and @DwayneMilioni. It's only $20. Includes coffee, lunch, and several books! More info here: https://t.co/ZMzlha2igS

[Travis Montgomery @travisjmont]

Prudence, Justice, fortitude, and temperance. Christian theologians followed Scripture’s lead in reframing these four cardinal virtues as an extension of Jesus’s Great Commandment.