Thread by @cuatronelson

Today is my 36th birthday. Given we are waking up in Anaheim, CA on eve of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, a crucial meeting for southern baptists, I thought I'd write a 🧵 a/b how my birthday has put @tomascol’s faithfulness as a pastor into perspective…

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You see, in June 1986, in His providence, the Lord was coordinating two events that are quite important to me! One was my own healthy delivery in Killeen, TX. The other i wouldn’t know until a couple decades later: Tom Ascol becoming pastor at Grace Baptist in Cape Coral, FL.

So while I was learning to walk and talk and as I traveled around as a young boy with my mom and dad doing rodeos, Tom Ascol was faithfully shepherding God’s people.

When we moved to Arkansas in 1991 and when I started Perryville Elementary School and was making new friends and playing Pee wee sports, Tom was pastoring. When I became a Christian in 1996, Tom had pastored at Grace already a decade.

As I entered into Jr. High and began understanding the Christian faith better and got baptized as a sophomore in 2001, Tom was faithfully plugging away. When I graduated in 2004 Tom had pastored 18 years at Grace. And when I finished my undergrad Tom had made it 22 years.

All those young years figuring out who I was in Christ, growing in understanding the faith, failing my Lord too often, Tom was faithfully, week in and week out, shepherding God’s people. Preaching the Word. Trusting the Book. Sharing the gospel.

In 2006 @stephnelson4 and I got married. 20+ years for Tom. From 07-17, 5 kids born. Dr. Ascol kept standing for & preaching the truth. In 2010 I began my first pastorate. 24+ years for Tom. In June 2016 I began pastoring at Perryville 2nd. Tom had pastored 3 decades ar Grace!

What I am trying to communicate is that 36 years has been some journey for me as a boy, and young man, and Christian, husband, father, & pastor. But during that *entire time*, Tom Ascol has been a man of conviction to God’s Word and devotion to God’s ppl in the local church.

It’s just really put in perspective for me how long such a pastorate has been! The Southern Baptist Convention is blessed to have men like Tom Ascol in it. And we are particularly blessed to have the opportunity to vote for a man like Tom tomorrow as the nxt president of the SBC!

Dr. Ascol has stood a great test of time. As I was growing physically and spiritually, Tom was resolute in his convictions, pastoring away. As the New Calvinist movement liked Tom and now 15ish years later doesn’t like Tom, he hasn’t moved, they have.

As some who once kept Tom at sort of arm’s length of SBC leadership have now come to truly see the type of faithful brother that he is, Tom hasn’t been changing or politicking. He’s just kept going. Kept preaching. Kept standing on God’s Word. No matter the cost.

It’s all been amazing to see. And the SBC, by God’s mercy, has an opportunity to really #ChangetheDirection tomorrow. To signal that we’ve grown long weary of SBC shenanigans. To repent before the Lord and put things like the fear of God and trust in His Book as our priorities.

We have the opportunity to elect a man who has faithfully pastored one local SBC church for 3.5+ decades and has consistently called southern baptists to the very tings we have needed all this time. I hope we are willing to listen to @tomascol now!

So…

Southern Baptists, I hope we will take the opportunity God has given us and rally around Tom Ascol for president tomorrow. If you’re not SBC I hope you’ll pray that the SBC will remember #WeHaveaBook and that we must trust it and follow it! #SBC2022 #sbc22 #savetheSBC

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