Wade Stevens

[Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11]

Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.

In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione.

The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response.

This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end. The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb.

https://t.co/NrrnmBwAR1

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@zacselmon It’s time. Please, for the love of all that is good and kind, DO SOMETHING about baseball!

[Michelle Maxwell ™ @MichelleMaxwell]

This is hysterical 😆 Enjoy my friends ❤️

[Shane Pruitt @shane_pruitt78]

Something for us (45 years old & under) ministry leaders to consider.

Our volunteers shouldn’t outpace us in hard work. Often, as leaders we are pushing people to volunteer in our churches and ministries on top of a 40 to 50 hour work week. But, then at the same time we’re complaining about our own work hours that wouldn’t even be considered full-time in most places.

Sadly, I’m hearing more and more from older leaders that are having a difficult time finding younger leaders that will work hard and work full-time hours. Honestly, I believe that if you’re truly called, people shouldn’t have to push you to do it.

In fact, it makes me wonder if there has been so much focus in the recent years on soul care, sabbath’ing, and rest that the pendulum has over-corrected in a way that now some of us (in my generation of ministry leaders) are beginning to spiritualize laziness.

We definitely don’t need to burn-out, but we also shouldn’t sloth-out either. Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. But, also work hard for the glory of God.

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@BoosterChief Bush league

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@herbvincent @MLBNetwork @Paul_Skenes @SEC @MLB Then @SECOfficiating is even worse than we all thought.

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@SEC Baseball replay has been a joke all season. It’s an embarrassment to the league and the game. I’ve seen two of the stupidest calls of my life from your replay crew this season. Even your umpires know you’re horrible. Fix it.

[MHS Athletics @MHS_Chiefs_Ath]

Long day, good sweep! The Chiefs are advancing to the North State Semifinals vs. Simpson.
#ChiefPride

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@aaronfitt @11point7 It’s not the travesty that having that voice on the play by play is. Geez it’s unbearable.

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@wtva9news Run. It’s one run.

[Greg Stier @gregstier]

WHY FITNESS MATTERS IN MINISTRY:

As a 58-year-old preacher, I’ve become increasingly aware of my mortality and the ever-sagging effects of gravity.

Early in ministry I ballooned from 155 to 223 (see picture below) because, as they say, I let myself go.

My blood pressure spiked and my energy dropped. In the middle of the day, I began scheduling what I affectionately nicknamed “fat naps” to try to compensate for my lack of energy.

I coped with stress by eating. I coped with ministry frustrations by eating. I coped with the guilt I felt from eating by eating.

Although I came from a very health-conscious family full of bodybuilders, I had kind of dismissed all of that as “unspiritual.”

My body, I reasoned, was temporal anyway. Why would I spend time going through the pain of working out when I was going to get a new body in Heaven someday anyway?

But what I came to realize was that, if I didn’t do something soon, I was going to be in Heaven sooner than I had planned.

As church leaders, we rightfully focus on the importance of eternal values. But if we don’t stay in decent shape, our time on Earth to live out those values may be cut short due to a stroke or heart attack.

Here are 4 reasons for ministry leaders (and everyone really) to get and stay in shape physically:

1. Getting in shape builds endurance.

Ministry is hard. It’s mentally, emotionally, and spiritually taxing. So when you’re physically strong, it enables you to face these challenges with a sharp mind and strong body. There’s something about enduring the hardship of those extra sit-ups that prepares you for the pain you’re going to endure in that extended elders meeting.

2. Getting in shape fuels spiritual disciplines.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” 1 Corinthians 9:24

Guys like Paul and Peter and the other disciples didn’t need to work out. They walked hundreds of miles and ate fish, bread, veggies, and fruit. 

Paul seemed to understand the connection between spiritual disciplines and physical ones. This thread of connection reminds us that our bodies do matter.

Healthy bodies make for sharper minds. Sharper minds make for better study habits in the Word. Better study habits make for stronger sermons.

There’s a connection. We don’t want to overspiritualize the connection. But we don’t want to underestimate it either.

3. Getting in shape preps you to fight temptation.

Satan tempted Jesus when he was at his weakest physically (Matt. 4:1-3). Jesus had just completed a 40-day fast, and Satan attacked when he knew Jesus’s body was worn down. I’m sure he figured that if there was an ideal time to see if he could get Jesus to sin, it was when His body was at its weakest physically.

I’m convinced the Tempter does the same thing with ministry leaders. He knows that when we’re at our weakest physically, we’re most likely to let our guards down spiritually. Obviously, working out doesn’t give you an automatic victory over Satan’s temptation, but it does give you an advantage over your squishier compadres.

4. Getting in shape strengthens you for the mission.

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19

We need to be energized to Gospelize. Yes, most of this energy is spiritual. But some of it is physical. 

Jesus was strong enough to endure the most painful torture imaginable. Peter was healthy enough to swim a hundred yards to shore without falling over dead. Paul was fit enough to survive beatings, shipwrecks, a stoning, and much, much more.

These men were healthy enough to accomplish the mission God gave them. Are you you?

How can you get in shape? Start by identifying a few unhealthy foods and good ones you can swap in. Then schedule workouts in your calendar and guard that time. Try walking, and consider gradually progressing to running. Join a local gym.

Do something. Do anything. Start now!

Either that or get used to them fat naps.

[Chief Baseball Booster Club 🇺🇸 @BoosterChief]

Early look at the Chiefs 2024 baseball schedule with more to be added. Big trips to Dallas and Florida. We played 43 games last year (40-3) - hoping to get at least 50 in this season:

[Shad White @shadwhite]

I think one of our biggest long-run challenges as a state is finding a way to help the children born into broken homes succeed. We have a higher percentage of single-parent homes than any other state. And despite the heroic efforts of those single mothers, we know kids growing up without an engaged dad are much more likely to go to prison, end up in poverty, etc.

We’ve got to address this now.

And we know what keeps people out of poverty: smart choices.

If a young person

1) graduates high school

2) gets a full-time job

3) and gets married

BEFORE having children, then there’s a 97% chance they’ll never be in poverty.

We need to be pounding this message in our schools.

I think every Mississippi 10th grader should be able to recite those three choices from memory like it’s the Pledge of Allegiance.

[Shad White @shadwhite]

A few weeks ago a new book by Maryland economist Melissa Kearney was released. It's on the importance of fathers. This is particularly critical for Mississippi, because we rank second when it comes to single-parent households. Kearney's findings should be an alarm bell for us:

"Children from single-parent homes have more behavioral problems, are more likely to get in trouble in school or with the law, achieve lower levels of education and tend to earn lower incomes in adulthood. Boys from homes without dads present are particularly prone to getting in trouble in school or with the law." (from her piece in NYT)

My office found that the problems resulting from fatherless homes cost Mississippi taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in prison expenses.

Of course, the knives came out for Kearney as soon as she published this research (regardless of the fact that it's backed by a mountain of social science data and is the same exact thing Barack Obama said when he was President). I'm sure, like me, she was accused of being a racist and everything else.

But Mississippi cannot afford to ignore this issue because discussing it makes some folks uncomfortable. These "facts don't care about your feelings," to borrow a phrase. Finding ways to encourage two-parent families may be the most important policy challenge we face as a state.

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

Happiness is boarding a 12 hour international flight headed home and finding out you’re the only passenger on your row.

[Matt Wyatt @RadioWyatt]

Play him and tell the NCAA to kick rocks.

[Clay Smith @claysmith79]

I'm all for the, "let's have healthy rhythms and take needed breaks."

But I equally like to hear, "let's work hard and sacrifice our lives for something greater than ourselves."

[Baptist Press @BaptistPress]

Leading a church to be a discipling church—especially if that’s never been their focus—is not easy. You might, in fact, be learning that truth the hard way. Here are some obstacles to effective discipleship in the church:

https://t.co/FY0JdBz0ot

[Mississippi Baptists @MSBaptists]

New Article!
Mississippi Baptist worship and media leaders fill Longview Point, Hernando, for annual conference

Read full article here: https://t.co/9NClYMihJZ

[Wade Stevens @preacherwade]

@JKeithMcKinley @DrPaulChitwood I concur.