thehillsnashville.com

i started full-time ministry at 17
[which was way too young but that is how we did it back then]
i have seen and experienced many things in 25 years and as this milestone approached
i felt like i should share some of the things that i have learned along the way

so i began writing a post entitled
“25 things i have learned in 25 years of ministry”

after weeks of compiling thoughts
i realized that i was bored out of my mind writing them
which meant most folks would be bored out of theirs reading them

i also began to see a pattern
every thing i wrote came back to 2 themes

so instead of boring you with 25
here are the 2 things i have earned in 25 years of ministry

1. love Him
2. love them

learn to do these
and the rest of it will all work out

best blessings,

john

“John, you have got to meet Dr. David Foster
you two will love each other”

he began to tell me about the pastor of this church that he had just attended
he shared Dr. Foster’s sermon from that sunday
and then the next sunday
and the next
i would get a call every week with a sermon update
i felt like i was attending Dr. Foster’s church

this was an answered prayer

Joshua was sick & tired of church
but He loved Jesus
Dr. Foster helped him reconcile the two
his message of hope and acceptance helped my brother find his faith again
and i believe with all of my heart
he is a huge reason that my little brother is in Heaven today

after i moved to Nashville
i happened into the Cool Springs Starbucks
[what i later learned was his second office]
and there he was
i introduced myself
he completely engaged me
i felt like i had known him for years
and even more impressive
i felt like he knew me

a few days later i sent him a message
asking him if he would like to have coffee
his reply was instant and to the point
“sure. tomorrow. cool springs starbucks. 1pm”
that meeting proved to be life-changing for me
i hung on every word
i took as many notes as possible
and those notes have saved me many years of misery in ministry

when God called us to plant a church in Nashville
Dr. Foster was one of the first people i called
we began meeting more frequently
and each time i walked away a better man and minister

when The Hills • Nashville was still meeting on sunday nights
he surprised us by showing up to one of our gatherings
it was one of those services
where everything that could go wrong went wrong
i did not want to be there
much less have someone like Dr. Foster in attendance

after the service i emailed & asked him what we could do better
he replied “it was great. i wouldn’t change a thing.”

later on he explained what he meant
“you are a good guy
you love people
you love the gospel
keep preaching like you are at a Billy Graham crusade every sunday
the folks that attend will tell others
down the road when those folks lives are falling apart
they will come”

he was right
and Joshua was too
i met Dr. David Foster
and
i loved Dr. David Foster

now he and Joshua are together
and i can promise you
Heaven will be better because of it

John Ragsdale
Pastor – The Hills • Nashville