Scott's Thoughts
Click title to jump to a section and ^ TOP ^ to return. Or just scroll like a normal person. And apologies for links that make getting back here annoying. We’re annoyed, too, but it’s an app limitation. And yes, Scott once had hair that could be combed.
A Few Updates, Reminders, Heads Ups, & FYIs
^ TOP ^
^ TOP ^
Good Friday & Easter Follow-Up
Bigtime thanks to our Residents and many volunteers who pitched in extra to make a great weekend of corporate worship happen! Attendance at our Good Friday service at our Greeneville campus was around 275 and our Easter Sunday service at Tusculum University was around 750. This weekend is always one of our occasional all-hands-on-deck moments that requires some sacrifice worth publicly acknowledging—so thank you; it was great to be together as a church!
Men’s Retreat at Longview, Fri-Sat, May 29-30: “Be A Man Of The Word In Your Sphere Of Influence”
In a world of Biblical illiteracy, cultural confusion, and passive, disengaged manhood, we need to be a church that continues to build men of the Word. We are partnering with Longview Camps & Retreats again, integrating our own Pastors and Staff as teachers, in order to disciple and equip our men with practical, everyday handles for knowing, interpreting, and applying Scripture in their sphere of influence. Last year we had 55 FCC men, and we’d like to build on that every year, so please come join us for what will prove to be a great time gathered around some good guys, good food, and good teaching—not to mention cool outdoorsy things like horses, paintball, skeet shooting, things that go boom, etc. More info and link to registration are on the app or at fccgreene.org/mensretreat.
Interesting & Important Stuff You May Have Missed In Relatively Recent FCC News Items And Scott’s Thoughts
Since we are always adding new folks and I am under no illusion that our regular and veteran FCCers keep up with all the goings on, here are some recent items worthy of note:
Bigtime thanks to our Residents and many volunteers who pitched in extra to make a great weekend of corporate worship happen! Attendance at our Good Friday service at our Greeneville campus was around 275 and our Easter Sunday service at Tusculum University was around 750. This weekend is always one of our occasional all-hands-on-deck moments that requires some sacrifice worth publicly acknowledging—so thank you; it was great to be together as a church!
Men’s Retreat at Longview, Fri-Sat, May 29-30: “Be A Man Of The Word In Your Sphere Of Influence”
In a world of Biblical illiteracy, cultural confusion, and passive, disengaged manhood, we need to be a church that continues to build men of the Word. We are partnering with Longview Camps & Retreats again, integrating our own Pastors and Staff as teachers, in order to disciple and equip our men with practical, everyday handles for knowing, interpreting, and applying Scripture in their sphere of influence. Last year we had 55 FCC men, and we’d like to build on that every year, so please come join us for what will prove to be a great time gathered around some good guys, good food, and good teaching—not to mention cool outdoorsy things like horses, paintball, skeet shooting, things that go boom, etc. More info and link to registration are on the app or at fccgreene.org/mensretreat.
Interesting & Important Stuff You May Have Missed In Relatively Recent FCC News Items And Scott’s Thoughts
Since we are always adding new folks and I am under no illusion that our regular and veteran FCCers keep up with all the goings on, here are some recent items worthy of note:
- Recent H7 Stories
- Becoming Pillars Retreat
- Summer Camp 2026 (Links therein take you to details re each camp.)
- Additional Resources Re Recent Sermon On Hell
- Did You Know Our Tech Team Regularly Does A Ton Of School Outreach?
- Update Re Last Scott’s Thoughts: Recent (And Not So Recent) Theological And Sociocultural Thoughts You May Have Missed
- A Few Words Re Preaching Goals & Methods, Listening To Preaching, The Manuscript, The Study Guide, Etc.
- Upcoming Sermon Series
Another FCC Bible Reading/Study Resource: “Dad’s Daily Devos—A Hermeneutical-Devotional Commentary Of About 500 Words” (& Maybe Getting Other Dads On Board With Their Own?)
^ TOP ^
^ TOP ^
In the last ST, I mentioned that I’d be posting my daily devo at fccgreene.org/ddd. This link goes to a “Substack,” a writing/publishing platform where you can subscribe to receive DDD via email (and soon, non-FCC-specific Scott’s Thoughts blurbs); or just click on “No thanks” to go to the DDDs/STs. I’m working on finishing the whole Bible, one day-and-chapter at a time. (Only 923 more to go, of 1,189 total.)
What was initially a sentence-or-two of Biblical encouragement and prayer to my family has morphed into a 500ish words mini-commentary that we include in our Study Guides. Here is the gist of the whys and hows of DDDs, condensed from a longer and more formal intro I’m working on:
One reason I mention all this is because I am developing a small booklet to help guide dads through writing their own DDD for their own family. In fact, version one will be one of our sessions at our upcoming Men’s Retreat. I want to teach and encourage others to use their own DDD to help reclaim their God-designed role of being a Man of the Word in one’s own home. So, men, join us at the Men’s Retreat and learn some basic handles for interpreting the Word. And while I’m thinking about it, single moms, grandparents, or other folks trying to raise their kids in the Lord without a godly Dad, feel free to literally copy-and-paste my DDD and send it to your kids. (Granted, it’s not exactly written at a super-kid-friendly level anymore, so condense and summarize it yourself, if you’d like.)
Anyhoo… Here’s today’s Luke 5 entry, for example:
What was initially a sentence-or-two of Biblical encouragement and prayer to my family has morphed into a 500ish words mini-commentary that we include in our Study Guides. Here is the gist of the whys and hows of DDDs, condensed from a longer and more formal intro I’m working on:
In a world of devotional material that often settles for sentiment over substance, these Dad’s Daily(ish) Devotionals aim to help ordinary Christians read the Bible carefully, devotionally, and obediently—one chapter at a time, in about 500 words or fewer. Each entry links to the ESV text and follows the flow of the chapter, anchoring readers in key words and phrases so Scripture itself sets the agenda. Every DDD concludes with a “Redemptive-historically…” sentence to locate the chapter within the unfolding story of God’s saving work in Christ, and a “Hermeneutical nugget for Scripture and life…” to teach how the Bible actually communicates and applies meaning. The goal is to train the mind and engage the heart—so that as we learn to read Scripture rightly, we also learn to let Scripture read us, shaping what we believe, how we live, and whom we trust.
One reason I mention all this is because I am developing a small booklet to help guide dads through writing their own DDD for their own family. In fact, version one will be one of our sessions at our upcoming Men’s Retreat. I want to teach and encourage others to use their own DDD to help reclaim their God-designed role of being a Man of the Word in one’s own home. So, men, join us at the Men’s Retreat and learn some basic handles for interpreting the Word. And while I’m thinking about it, single moms, grandparents, or other folks trying to raise their kids in the Lord without a godly Dad, feel free to literally copy-and-paste my DDD and send it to your kids. (Granted, it’s not exactly written at a super-kid-friendly level anymore, so condense and summarize it yourself, if you’d like.)
Anyhoo… Here’s today’s Luke 5 entry, for example:
Sun, Apr 26– Luke 5: Follow The Master Who Forgives Sinners, Cleanses The Unclean, And Creates Joy Old Wineskins Cannot Hold
Read Luke 5 first! // Luke 5 advances the Galilean ministry (4:14-9:50) by showing that Jesus does not merely proclaim the kingdom—He gathers a people for it, beginning with fishermen, lepers, paralytics, and tax collectors who recognize they are sinners in desperate need of His forgiving authority. After commandeering Peter’s boat as a floating pulpit, Jesus commands him to “put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (v 4); the seasoned fisherman protests, “we toiled all night and took nothing!” yet submits, “But at your word I will let down the nets” (v 5). The catch is so massive their “nets were breaking” (v 6) and the boats begin to sink, prompting Peter to fall at Jesus’ knees with words echoing Isaiah’s temple vision: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (v 8; cf Isaiah 6:5). Jesus answers Peter’s admission of sin with commission for service drawn from Jeremiah 16:16’s promise of fishermen who will gather God’s people home, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (v 10). So Peter, James, and John “left everything and followed him” (v 11). Jesus then does the unthinkable: He “stretched out his hand and touched” a leper “full of leprosy” (vv 12-13), reversing the normal flow of contamination so that instead of uncleanness defiling Jesus, His holiness cleanses the leper. Conflict with the Pharisees ignites when four men lower a paralytic through the roof and Jesus declares, “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (v 20). The scribes correctly recognize that only God forgives sins, but they miss the staggering implication that He is exercising God’s own authority. Jesus then proves it: “that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (v 24)—invoking Daniel 7:13-14 and healing the paralytic on the spot. Then Jesus calls Levi the tax collector with two words—“Follow me” (v 27)—and Levi, “leaving everything,” “rose and followed him” (v 28), then threw a feast for fellow outcasts. When the Pharisees grumble about His table fellowship with “tax collectors and sinners” (v 30), Jesus replies with the doctor-and-patient principle, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (v 32). The chapter closes with Jesus explaining why His disciples feast rather than fast—the “bridegroom” (v 34) has arrived, the messianic banquet has begun (cf Isaiah 25:6-8), and His new wine cannot be poured into “old wineskins” (v 37) because the kingdom’s joy bursts every self-righteous container. Redemptive-historically, Jesus is the divine Son of Man with authority to forgive, the bridegroom whose presence inaugurates the long-promised feast, and the Great Physician who fulfills Ezekiel 34:16’s promise to seek the lost and bind up the broken (cf Isaiah 53:5; 1 Timothy 1:15). Hermeneutical nugget for Scripture and life: Luke clusters these scenes—the catch, the leper, the paralytic, Levi, the bridegroom—to teach us that Jesus’ authority always flows in one direction, bringing cleansing to the unclean, forgiveness to the guilty, and joy to the dead-hearted, and the only people excluded are those who think they don’t need Him. So today, stop pretending you are righteous, fall at His knees like Peter, and come to the One who still cleanses the unclean, forgives the guilty, and calls sinners to follow Him.
Miscellaneous Musings
^ TOP ^
^ TOP ^
Heterogenous Harangues
Sometimes Being Unrecognized Means You’re Being Faithful (Or Vice Versa—Maybe It’s A Chicken-Or-Egg First Kinda Thing?)
I’m growing increasingly weary—and wary—of people trying to look exceptional. Like their whole persona is curated for applause. And while I realize the following question comes in part from me being an extraverted performance-based people-pleasing perfectionistic nutjob with 30 years of living in the fishbowl of church ministry, I can’t help but think: Out of the 8.2 billion people on the planet, if only a few dozen or hundred people really know us, for whom exactly are we trying to look exceptional?
My AI-assisted search tells me the average person can maintain about 150 stable relationships tops. (That’s called “Dunbar’s Number,” for those keeping score). And here’s the big payoff: this means most of us are known only to a tiny sliver of the world. That’s not a flaw—it’s a feature. That’s the human experience. And for the Christian, that small circle of being known is not a limitation but a God-designed context for faithfulness before Him rather than performance before the world.
Maybe that’s where faithfulness actually happens—quiet, hidden, unnoticed. In the long obedience of putting your kids to bed. In praying with your spouse when you’re tired. In encouraging a co-worker, teaching a class, folding laundry, or showing up for someone who’s grieving. Faithfulness doesn’t trend because the Christian life isn’t a platform—it’s a slow and steady path. (And in a momentary defense of our Team Code, it is often “boring” and unrecognized by others. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t use it and it isn’t a blessing for the obedient; it just means that, if you’re largely living on enthusiasm and plaudits, your obedience won’t endure.) And when fruit starts showing up on someone else’s tree because of seeds you planted quietly, without recognition, that’s grace. That’s glory. That’s the gospel working underground.
So: be faithful. Be ordinary. And leave the results to God. And if there’s fruit, praise Him for His grace, not your platform.
Why Vomiting On Social Media Is Mostly Useless And Proves That All Real Ministry Is Personal
Basically, I’m convinced that, unless you are famous because you’re a singularly elite talent worthy of worldwide recognition and you’ve built a legit online platform—and notice the “and”—then that social media post is basically statistically pointless. Sure, sometimes what we say or share online can gather positive communal momentum—though almost exclusively around things like warm family moments—but why do we say or share inflammatory things through a medium designed to deceive us into thinking ourselves important, with people over whom we have no influence, and that almost exclusively stir people up, instead of speaking into the actual face-to-face relationships where we do have influence? I don’t get it. Online “relationship” isn’t actual personal relationship, and it shouldn’t carry the same emotional or spiritual weight. Real ministry happens where people actually know you, trust you, and can look you in the eye. Everything else is mostly noise.
Raw And Unformed Thoughts On How Some Of My Role As Lead Pastor At FCC Keeps Slowly Morphing
First, please know that I love people work. Frankly, it’s the easiest, most natural-to-me, and most enjoyable part of my job. Truly, I love people work and I gladly give myself to it. But not only do I increasingly sense that God has gifted and positioned me to teach and write, I feel God’s pleasure and like my life is worship when I have the space and time apart from the everyday people and admin pressures to carefully and slowly exegete Scripture, teach its truths, and apply it to our lives. But frankly, part two, it seems terribly self-centered and presumptuous to think that people should want to hear me teach, let alone read what I write. All that is to say—for the 6 who got this far into today’s Scott’s Thoughts—thanks for being willing hearers and readers.
The Intellectual Anxieties That Can Lead To Settled Faith
As a pastor charged with handling weighty and eternal truths under stricter judgment (James 3:1), I am almost constantly wrestling with anxiety sparked by troubling cultural developments, a heavy conversation, hard questions from honest seekers, and especially by wrestling with God’s Word under the weight of the Sunday pulpit. It robs me of sleep, of joy in God’s blessings, of being fully present with my family, and of rest in the very gospel I preach to others. So, I commend this helpful 32-minute video from Gavin Ortlund called “How to Overcome Intellectual Anxiety”.
In it, Ortlund reviews the basics of Soren Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Anxiety, where he posits that, if viewed rightly, anxiety can be a catalyst for settled faith—“the labor pains of the formation of your soul” (11:27). For many, the struggle is the dizzying weight of standing before infinite possibility, where every path seems to echo into eternity and no human reasoning can bring rest. Of the one caught in this vortex, he writes: “Now the anxiety of possibility holds him as its prey until, saved, it must hand him over to faith. In no other place can he find rest, for every other place of rest is mere chatter, although in the eyes of men it is sagacity.... Whoever is educated [by possibility] remains with anxiety.”
A caveat: Kierkegaard isn’t a guide on every point—his category of “faith” needs to be tested against Scripture’s, where saving faith rests on the objective person and finished work of Christ, not on the existential resolution of the dread. But his diagnosis is sharp, and Ortlund handles him with care. Even if “intellectual anxiety” isn’t exactly your struggle, the principle holds: the very tensions that unsettle us are often the means by which the Spirit leads us to the only Rock where rest is found (Matthew 11:28-30)—it’s worth a watch!
- When Being Wronged Becomes An Excuse For Trusting In Self – Many sanctify their selfish desires and behaviors because of the sin of others against them when the truth is they simply love control and trust only in themselves.
- The Value Of Studying History – Can’t remember where I first heard this, but it has long been well said in church history circles: be careful with new insights because they’re often just old heresies.
- Don’t Judge God By Your Circumstances—Judge Your Circumstances By God – I’ve said a version of this before, but was thinking about it again and figured I’d revisit and rejigger: Part of why the special revelation of God’s Word matters for us day to day is that we make a basic category mistake when we judge God’s eternal character from our limited circumstances, instead of interpreting our circumstances through the unchanging character of God revealed in Scripture.
- Why Everyone Needs A Pastor Who Isn’t Beholden To A Platform Or Product But To You And Your Health – Worldly defining externals like clicks, views, follows, brand growth, and monetized influence—many of which can be quite “spiritual” sounding—cannot be the thing that defines spiritual authority and care, which is why everyone needs an actual human shepherd with whom they can have actual relationship. An online “Pastor” or spiritual guru or source of content cannot you, cannot shepherd you, or hold you accountable. So please—stop letting your screen guide your soul.
- Counting Down To Retirement… Learning Endurance… Hopefully Both? – On a recent day when I was at the end of my emotional rope—What day isn’t that?!—I began wondering how many years I’ve got until I reach my maximum social security payout benefit. And then I wondered, at what age does daydreaming about years until retirement become sin? (Hopefully not at the age when I’ve got 6,213 days left to go!) Makes me think of Hebrews 10:36, one of our recent sermon Memory Verses: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Indeed, Lord, I have need of endurance.
Sometimes Being Unrecognized Means You’re Being Faithful (Or Vice Versa—Maybe It’s A Chicken-Or-Egg First Kinda Thing?)
I’m growing increasingly weary—and wary—of people trying to look exceptional. Like their whole persona is curated for applause. And while I realize the following question comes in part from me being an extraverted performance-based people-pleasing perfectionistic nutjob with 30 years of living in the fishbowl of church ministry, I can’t help but think: Out of the 8.2 billion people on the planet, if only a few dozen or hundred people really know us, for whom exactly are we trying to look exceptional?
My AI-assisted search tells me the average person can maintain about 150 stable relationships tops. (That’s called “Dunbar’s Number,” for those keeping score). And here’s the big payoff: this means most of us are known only to a tiny sliver of the world. That’s not a flaw—it’s a feature. That’s the human experience. And for the Christian, that small circle of being known is not a limitation but a God-designed context for faithfulness before Him rather than performance before the world.
Maybe that’s where faithfulness actually happens—quiet, hidden, unnoticed. In the long obedience of putting your kids to bed. In praying with your spouse when you’re tired. In encouraging a co-worker, teaching a class, folding laundry, or showing up for someone who’s grieving. Faithfulness doesn’t trend because the Christian life isn’t a platform—it’s a slow and steady path. (And in a momentary defense of our Team Code, it is often “boring” and unrecognized by others. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t use it and it isn’t a blessing for the obedient; it just means that, if you’re largely living on enthusiasm and plaudits, your obedience won’t endure.) And when fruit starts showing up on someone else’s tree because of seeds you planted quietly, without recognition, that’s grace. That’s glory. That’s the gospel working underground.
So: be faithful. Be ordinary. And leave the results to God. And if there’s fruit, praise Him for His grace, not your platform.
Why Vomiting On Social Media Is Mostly Useless And Proves That All Real Ministry Is Personal
Basically, I’m convinced that, unless you are famous because you’re a singularly elite talent worthy of worldwide recognition and you’ve built a legit online platform—and notice the “and”—then that social media post is basically statistically pointless. Sure, sometimes what we say or share online can gather positive communal momentum—though almost exclusively around things like warm family moments—but why do we say or share inflammatory things through a medium designed to deceive us into thinking ourselves important, with people over whom we have no influence, and that almost exclusively stir people up, instead of speaking into the actual face-to-face relationships where we do have influence? I don’t get it. Online “relationship” isn’t actual personal relationship, and it shouldn’t carry the same emotional or spiritual weight. Real ministry happens where people actually know you, trust you, and can look you in the eye. Everything else is mostly noise.
Raw And Unformed Thoughts On How Some Of My Role As Lead Pastor At FCC Keeps Slowly Morphing
First, please know that I love people work. Frankly, it’s the easiest, most natural-to-me, and most enjoyable part of my job. Truly, I love people work and I gladly give myself to it. But not only do I increasingly sense that God has gifted and positioned me to teach and write, I feel God’s pleasure and like my life is worship when I have the space and time apart from the everyday people and admin pressures to carefully and slowly exegete Scripture, teach its truths, and apply it to our lives. But frankly, part two, it seems terribly self-centered and presumptuous to think that people should want to hear me teach, let alone read what I write. All that is to say—for the 6 who got this far into today’s Scott’s Thoughts—thanks for being willing hearers and readers.
The Intellectual Anxieties That Can Lead To Settled Faith
As a pastor charged with handling weighty and eternal truths under stricter judgment (James 3:1), I am almost constantly wrestling with anxiety sparked by troubling cultural developments, a heavy conversation, hard questions from honest seekers, and especially by wrestling with God’s Word under the weight of the Sunday pulpit. It robs me of sleep, of joy in God’s blessings, of being fully present with my family, and of rest in the very gospel I preach to others. So, I commend this helpful 32-minute video from Gavin Ortlund called “How to Overcome Intellectual Anxiety”.
In it, Ortlund reviews the basics of Soren Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Anxiety, where he posits that, if viewed rightly, anxiety can be a catalyst for settled faith—“the labor pains of the formation of your soul” (11:27). For many, the struggle is the dizzying weight of standing before infinite possibility, where every path seems to echo into eternity and no human reasoning can bring rest. Of the one caught in this vortex, he writes: “Now the anxiety of possibility holds him as its prey until, saved, it must hand him over to faith. In no other place can he find rest, for every other place of rest is mere chatter, although in the eyes of men it is sagacity.... Whoever is educated [by possibility] remains with anxiety.”
A caveat: Kierkegaard isn’t a guide on every point—his category of “faith” needs to be tested against Scripture’s, where saving faith rests on the objective person and finished work of Christ, not on the existential resolution of the dread. But his diagnosis is sharp, and Ortlund handles him with care. Even if “intellectual anxiety” isn’t exactly your struggle, the principle holds: the very tensions that unsettle us are often the means by which the Spirit leads us to the only Rock where rest is found (Matthew 11:28-30)—it’s worth a watch!
Posted in Scotts Thoughts