The blog that follows is drawn from my sermon preached the Sunday after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. If you’d like, you can listen to it here.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk hit me hard. He was close to me in age, stage of life, and conviction—yet he carried a confidence and courage I often long for. I believe he was killed not for politics, but for his faith and his voice. In that sense, he was a Christian martyr.
Charlie was a husband and father who tirelessly pointed people to Christ. He spoke with clarity about timeless truths: marriage as God designed it, children as a blessing, life beginning at conception, men and women fulfilling their God-given callings, the reality of male and female, the value of character over race, and the gospel as our only hope. None of this is radical or new—it’s simply biblical Christianity. But in today’s cultural climate, such truths provoke hatred. Charlie spoke them anyway.

Through his voice, millions—especially young people—heard the call to repent and believe in Jesus. And now his death confronts us with a sobering reality: following Christ faithfully, even in ordinary biblical ways, may cost us everything.

Ordered Loves: Faith, Family, and Flag
My sermon that Sunday was a simple message on ordered loves. In traditional Baptist fashion, I alliterated the points: faith, family, and flag.

• Faith – As Christians, we must love Jesus above all else (Deut. 6:4–5; Exod. 20:3; Ps. 73:25–26; Matt. 22:35–37; Phil. 3:7–8).

• Family – From that love flows a proper love for our neighbor, beginning with our own households (Matt. 22:37–39). New life in Christ does not erase the natural family or the duties we owe them (Exod. 20:12; Eph. 6:2; 1 Tim. 5:8).

• Flag – In concentric circles, we move out to the nation. Acts 17:26 reminds us that God “made from one man every nation of mankind…having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God.” Our nation, then, is not a cosmic accident, but the Father’s gift to us.

For years, I thought any allegiance to place or nation was tantamount to idolatry. I told people that honoring the American flag was unspiritual. But I’ve repented of that posture. God himself places us in a particular time and location. To recognize that, and even give thanks for it, is not idolatry—it is gratitude. Deep roots do have their place, so long as they grow in Christian soil.

Sadly, part of the reason our nation has slid deeper into sin is that the Church too often ceded the public square to secularism. We confined preaching to “spiritual matters” and let others dictate what love of neighbor should look like.

A Turning Point
Yet even through tragedy, God is at work. Millions saw the gospel displayed when Erika Kirk publicly forgave her husband’s murderer. That kind of grace cannot be manufactured—it can only come from Christ. As I have often preached, the world sees Jesus through the way we live are lives. 

So let’s pray. Pray that many would repent and believe the gospel. Pray that they would find a faithful church, join it, marry, raise children, and rejoice that God has planted them in this land.

And as we do, let us not shrink back. The world does not merely dislike biblical Christianity—it hates it. But our calling is clear: to love Christ above all, our families as God designed, and the nation God has placed us in, all for His glory.

My next article (and sermon) will focus on why we should also pray that our government would pursue justice in this time. Though the Lord calls on us as individuals to love and forgive our enemies, He does not call the civil magistrate to do the same.

1. Engage in gossip but call it sharing prayer requests. Better yet, call it sharing concerns.
2. Make it all feelings, no truth. The key to this is empathy. As long as we are all feeling each others feelings without an objective frame of reference for what is good, true, and beautiful, then we can call it compassion without actually being compassionate. 
3. Focus more on the aesthetic since women only care about the looks of a thing. This, of course, is why women’s Bible study material has for the most part been a thing of fluff. Books with more attention given to the cover design than to the content. 
4. Divide it by age group since they only know how to engage with people their age. Everything else in life is like this right? Daycare, school, Sunday school? When the ages are divided, wisdom of the ages is lost.
5.  Lead with one-up-(wo)manship since no one has it as bad as the other. To accomplish this, women must come prepared having recalled not the goodness of the Lord but the miseries of carrying the weight of the curse. Each must count not their blessings but all the ways they have been slighted. 
6. Center the discussion on how they don’t need a man and that girl you are enough. This is the feminist spirit of our age and so not much else needs to be said here.
7. Put the loudest one in charge since they have the gift of ministry. We don’t need women who are quiet, submissive to their own husbands, and humble before the Lord. We need women in charge of the home, church, and society. Aren’t the men loud? And haven’t they led enough? The only cure to match the inherently deep voice of the men in charge is with a woman who is slow to listen and quick to speak. 
8. Advertise it as mom’s night out because she deserves a break. Am I right? The men need to pull their share, do the dishes, fold the clothes. Why should women be working all day in the marketplace and still be expected to be the one shouldering the load at home? Women’s ministry needs to be the place where women can let go and be free, if only for just a few hours.
9. End the night with no challenge, no call to action, and no change needed because obviously nothing needs to change. The heart of women’s ministry needs to be only and always encouragement and never edification. Do not build them up by speaking strong words. Again, reference point 3.
10. Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, say, imply, allude to, convey, or hint at the fact that they are women with a distinctly female nature, including but not limited to: 
    1. The desire to grow things such as plants, sons, and daughters, 
    2. the ability to build up their men with their words (obviously men are only encouraged by nagging of the repetitive sort), 
    3. and the instinct to fill their homes with a warm, inviting, and hospitable atmosphere.

Or on the other hand, if you want to have a Biblical Women’s ministry, simply follow the scriptures


In other words, the Bible’s vision is the exact opposite: women teaching women to love, to build, to bless, to train, to endure—so that the word of God may not be reviled.

This article was inspired by Tilly Dillehay’s book My Dear Hemlock, which uses CS Lewis’ framework from The Screwtape Letters, wherein a wiser, more mature demon teaches a younger demon in the art of how to properly tempt us. Dillehay’s book is meant to show us all the peculiar sins of women and how we can overcome them through the Gospel by using humor, imaginative storytelling, and a love for the Lord.

Our women’s ministry will begin journeying through this book this evening (8/28/25) at the church.

If you’re longing for something deeper than fluff, louder than the culture, and stronger than one more ‘girls’ night out,’ join us tonight at 6pm.

Last week we had our mens bible study like we do every month. Though the group was the same 3 or 4 guys it is every month, this time the tone and tenor were different. Honestly, I was feeling uninspired the days leading into the meeting. It felt like I was pouring time and energy into something that didn’t matter.

But then I listened to a recent episode on the This is Foster podcast which led me to rethinking the entirety of how we do Men’s Ministry at Calvary. As I thought more about it, I realized part of the struggle is that men’s ministry often gets stuck in one of two ditches.

The first is the duplication of women’s ministry. This is the model I have seen the most in my experience. Forcing a women’s ministry model onto men ignores how men actually operate. Women often thrive face-to-face in circles of deep sharing, prayer, and encouragement. That is good and godly.

But men are wired differently. They tend to open up best shoulder-to-shoulder—when working, driving, or striving toward a shared goal. When men’s ministry assumes men are like women, men stop showing up.

If one ditch assumes men are like women, the other ditch swings the opposite way—into brotherhood without a backbone. It's the idea of brotherhood apart from a deep devotion to the scriptures or maturation. This will often look like mens outings at the shooting range, fishing tournaments, hunting adventures, or just getting together for a bonfire.

While these are good and well, they can’t be the backbone of a flourishing men’s ministry because it lacks a proper destination. What is that ministry aiming for? What’s the mission? If you can gather a bunch of men together but fail to aim them at the right thing what have you actually accomplished?

So if both of these approaches fall short, why bother with men’s ministry at all?

Why does Men’s Ministry Matter?
Because men matter—and the stakes couldn’t be higher. God has uniquely called men to lead, to protect, to build, and to sacrifice (more on these in future articles). And when men fail to step into that calling, families suffer, churches suffer, and whole communities suffer.

Our culture is actively discipling men every day — telling them what to love, what to chase, and how to live. If the church doesn’t disciple men, the world will.

That’s why men’s ministry matters. It’s not about creating another program. It’s about raising up men who bear the weight of responsibility with joy, who reflect Christ in their homes, workplaces, and church. Men who finish well and pass the baton to the next generation.

How We’re Changing at Calvary
If this is what’s at stake, then we can’t settle for shallow answers. So how should we do men’s ministry differently?

At Calvary, here’s the vision we’ve committed to:

1. Biblical Character as the Foundation.
   "Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness." Titus 2:2
   
   
   The scriptures give us the blueprint for the kind of men we should be becoming.
   • Sober-minded — clear-headed, not ruled by impulse or distraction.
   • Dignified — carrying yourself with the weight of character.
   • Self-controlled — not letting your passions or habits rule you.
   • Sound in faith — healthy, grounded in truth.
   • Sound in love — committed to people, not just principles.
   • Sound in steadfastness — not quitting when it gets hard.
     
     
2. Spiritual Fathering is the Method
   "Urge the younger men to be self-controlled." Titus 2:6
   
   
   The idea that growing into manhood is caught and not taught is evident in the scriptures. This is why Paul urges Titus that the older men should teach the younger men.Timothy had Paul. Elisha had Elijah. Joshua had Moses. The disciples had Jesus.
   
   
   This means that our men’s ministry must be highly relational and not just informational. Discipleship is not a class that you take but a path that you walk, should-to-shoulder, with other men. This is the call to all the men of Calvary, both old and young. The brothers need you.
   
   
3. Multiplication is the Goal.
   "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."  2 Timothy 2:2.
   
   
   If one man invests in another, and that man invests in another, the influence multiplies far beyond one gathering, one ministry, even one lifetime. The goal is not to have another program on the calendar for men, but to raise up generations of husbands, fathers, workers, and leaders who reflect Jesus.

That’s the framework—character, fathering, multiplication. But it won’t mean anything unless you step into it. So here’s your invitation.

We aren’t looking for a crowd, we are looking for brothers who want to join together in brotherhood to be forged into Godly men. Brothers who will carry the weight of responsibility with joy, invest in other men, and leave a legacy that outlives them.
 
What are you waiting for?

Ever since I became pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, I’ve wanted a way to connect with you beyond Sunday mornings. Preaching is my main calling, but I also carry a shepherd’s heart—and sometimes that means writing things down that I can’t fit into a sermon. That’s why I’m starting this blog.

I have 3 things I want to accomplish by this writing ministry:

1. Discipleship - This is my primary aim. I want to help our church think in Biblical patterns so that we can follow Jesus more faithfully. This will be more content and practice-driven with teaching the Bible and applying God’s truth to our lives.
2. Local - The Lord has given the church many wonderful resources via the internet and large ministries. Yet, those ministries and resources aren’t answering questions for our local church context. This blog will be focused on issues that we face and must think through for ourselves. Some of what I write will be helpful for those outside of our church, but it is not for them that I write. It is for you.
3. Shepherding - As your pastor, I carry a burden for your souls (Heb 13:17). This avenue allows me to extend pastoral care beyond the pulpit by writing as one who walks with you, prays for you, and desires to see you grow in Christ

My aim in all of this remains the same as my aim in preaching - pointing us to Jesus, who is our Good Shepherd.

The name of this blog speaks for itself. The Calvary Shepherd. The most well known imagery the Bible gives us of the work of the pastor is that of a shepherd.

God promises in the Old Testament that he will give his people faithful shepherds after his own heart:

Paul charges the Ephesian elders:

And Peter says the heart of pastoral shepherding is caring for Christ’s flock:

My prayer is simple: that God would use these words to build us up in Christ together. This won’t replace preaching or our gathered worship—it’s just another way to walk with you, pray for you, and point you to our Good Shepherd.

In the weeks ahead, I’ll be writing about discipleship, about how we respond to cultural questions in our day, and about what it means to follow Christ together as a church family. I’d love for you to come along on this journey.


Pastor Matt