Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright. He thought that and he said that. And I remember that. I'll never forget that.
And I wasn't, it didn't, it's not the kind of thing that caused me to be in any way puffed or any pride. It was like a dad affirming the call in my life. It was powerful. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in this series Increase as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now available to you for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org or call 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching.
Here is Alan Wright. It's not just teaching. It's not just giving tidbits of advice or instruction.
It's where there's life-on-life discipleship and relationship. And this is what changes people. And y'all, our country is in a massive crisis because of the attack against our families. And there's been particularly attack against dads.
And the whole attack against the simplicity and beauty of God's design of making us male and female and to put us in homes where there's a mother and father, the most basic and important thing to all of human health is under attack. Some years ago when we were pastoring our church in Durham, there was a couple there, Ernie and Jenny Ruckert, and they wanted to go to orphanages. That was what they felt like their call was in their retirement was to go to orphanages and just minister and mentor kids and be with them. And they found that the kids were having a hard time opening up to talk to them.
A lot of them were just really clammed up. And so what Ernie and Jenny came upon was to start inviting the kids to write poems and they would write down these poems. And many times those poems were just rich and they would open up some discussions. And then Ernie and Jenny started collecting those poems and they put them into a series of little books. And the most haunting of all of those is a poem I've referenced sometime in the past is called The Want of a Mom and Dad.
It was written by Juan. It goes like this, moms and dads are wonderful for those people that has a mom and a dad, parents that guide you and teach you the right way, not the wrong way. As for me, I never knew my mom.
My dad drunk all the time. I don't know what it's like to have a mom and a dad, a dad to wrestle and play with, a mom to tell me everything's okay when something's wrong, parents that really care for me, ones that will help me, not abuse me. I wish I had a mom and dad.
Why can't I have a mom and dad like all the other kids? And Juan's poem haunts me because it's I think at the soul of a nation, this longing for a mom and a dad. Isn't that just profound?
A dad to wrestle and play with, a mom to tell me everything's okay. It is touching upon one of the deepest truths, both biblically and philosophically that we could ever understand is that we need both the maternal and the paternal. We need this in the same way that we need grace and truth. We need this in the same way that we need both comfort and exhortation in our lives. It is the will of God. It is the plan of God that we would have a place of nurture where we have from the time that we emerge from the womb, that we'd have the soft touch of a mother who is comforting and who connects with us and attaches with us and attunes to our deepest needs so that when she says it's going to be okay, that something inside of us is comforted.
But Juan's right. We need a dad to wrestle and play with that in the interaction of coming up against paternal strength and masculine encouragement, that there is a push and a pull and there's a calling up, you know, there is a way in which, you know, and the life of our family, we could see it so often where there just were things that our kids would go to mom for. And then they go to dad for. And it's so funny because here they are grown and, and Bennett, of course, with a baby of his own.
And they still, they have different reasons for coming to us. If my, if the phone rings and it's my daughter from Washington, DC, it's fairly predictable what it's going to be about. And it might be dad, my car registration, I think is going out.
How are we going to get that fixed? Or it might, it might be, you know, I've got an important interview coming up and our assignment at work. I wanted to talk about something like that.
And if it's, if it's, she's going through a sad moment, she probably calling mom. It just, it just doesn't really change that much because we need so much. And it's not just gender stereotype and say that only moms are nurturing or only dads are strong.
It's not to say that at all. It's to say, we need this. We need all of this y'all. And, and when we don't have it, there's something that not nurtured inside of us. Look again at what Paul said in first Thessalonians 2 seven, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother, taking care of her own children. He's describing spiritual mothering. He's saying that as soon as you come into the kingdom of God as a babe, the first thing that you need and you need it for the rest of your life is you need unconditional love. You need comfort. You need gentleness.
You need those that are patient with you. But he also said just a few verses later, verse 11 and 12 for you know how like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God. You know, that there's like, there's this sense in which when you, when you, if you're going to grow up in the Lord, you need both the nurture of grace that says, you are safe, you are loved, you are radically accepted and you are forgiven. And, and, and, and you can be comforted, but you also need a voice that is saying, and you were made for more and you were made for something. It is to say that there's a way in which there is a really important place for the empathy and the shared tears. But there's also a place where it's really important that there's another voice that says, okay, we've cried long enough and now we've got a mission in front of us.
Let's get up and do it. Gordon Dalby, who I'll mention later tells a story in Healing the Masculine Soul about a father that he knew that overheard a conversation between his little boy and the mom. Little boy had some toy trucks and he was in his room and he was going, you know, little boy. And the mother went in and said, sweetie, those toys, you need to take care of them and trucks aren't made for crashing.
You know, they need to play nicely next to each other. And the dad overheard this whole conversation and it was a good dad moment. He went in very politely and he said, Johnny, he said, excuse us just a minute. He said, mommy and I need to talk for just a minute. And he stepped out of the room with her and he said, honey, I really appreciate that you want to teach the good stewardship of toys, but I need to explain something to you. With boys, trucks are for crashing.
We need both. And I guess I had a sense of this early on. My dad left home when I was in fourth grade and so I didn't get all of that that I needed from him. So my mother who came to know the Lord shortly thereafter and got invited into a great church, she found the godliest man in that church, he and his wife, the pillars and patriarch of that church. And she would take me and my two older brothers over to him regularly just for him to lay hands on us and bless us and pray. Everybody needs a mom and a dad. And we're the body of Christ and we are full of spiritual moms and dads.
So there's no reason that anybody should go without. Brand new six-week video series called Made for More. You'll discover the power of your lasting legacy as he leads you through a simple process to clarify your family core values and God-given purpose in the world. Pastor Alan will also help you dream to imagine your 100-year impact.
The video series is accompanied by a practical study guide with templates and worksheets. You'll also receive the full-length preaching series Increase that exposes the biblical principle of generational blessing. Make your gift to the ministry today and get your Made for More audio video bundle as our thank you for your partnership. Contact us today and discover the power of your lasting legacy. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.
When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Today's teaching now continues.
Here once again is Alan Wright. Some years ago, we got impacted here and I got impacted by a man named Jack Deere who came and visit our church a number of times, a wonderful author and communicator. And so he really helped disciple some. And one time I was asking Jack, I said, well, who's your favorite Bible teacher? And he said to the top of his list was a man named Dudley Hall.
And I said, well, that's interesting. He said, my mom just had Dudley Hall at her church in Greensboro and loved Dudley Hall so much. And so I got in touch with Dudley Hall. Dudley came over and he spoke at our church. I think we did a men's retreat and I loved Dudley and started getting to know him and he started sharing his wisdom. He was a spiritual mountain of a man, old Baptist revivalist and evangelist, had wonderful encounters with the Holy Spirit, was welcomed by his denomination to leave and start a new ministry. And he understands and articulates the gospel as well as anybody that I know. And Dudley was willing to listen to me and to talk to me on the phone and to give me counsel and come alongside.
You know, we never reached any like an agreement. It's not like you sign up and say, okay, I'll be your spiritual son. You be my spiritual father.
It's not like that. It's just something that can emerge where there's trust and it seems like there's a relationship that developed. And so somewhere along the way, I realized that Dudley had become a spiritual father to me. I didn't even realize how much I would cherish having that kind of fatherly presence in my life until I had one.
And really good fathers, they have a way of not only strengthening you by being there for you, but they have a real way. And I think this is part of what fathers do. They have a way of calling you up, calling you up.
I think this is the big absence we've got in our country today. It's like the spiritual father's calling up the younger men. And Dudley was like this for me, but let me tell you how it happens. This is the way it happens. That it's not this, it's not, let me understand about spiritual parents. It's not like a controlling type relationship. Are you giving somebody things they ought to do?
It's not that sort of accountability. It's a relationship. This is the way it happens. You know, it was interesting. I've mentioned some about my dad and recent messages because I've been going through a lot of reclaiming of generational blessing, not least of which was so fascinating that he started his career in radio and then he became a TV newsman. And how ironic that some years ago we started a radio ministry that started on five stations and now we're on 400 stations. So what we preach here and what happens here, eventually tens of thousands of other people were here on all these radio stations. And I remember when these men came to me and said, we think that your message ought to go on the radio.
Can we start trying to make that happen? And we started working on that. And then we went through all this long preparation to get it, get it going.
And, and, and I remember the week that that got launched on those first five stations. And I went to visit my dad who by that time was in a skilled care facility because of neurological problems and dementia. Most of the time we didn't have much we could talk about. And, but every time I go to see him, I just, I just, if the weather was nice at all, I always like to take his wheelchair and push them out into this outdoor courtyard just so he could feel the sunshine and feel some, some breeze on his face.
And so we did that as usual. And, and he wasn't very conversant that day, but I just had to tell him, I said, dad, I said, you know, I've thought a lot about how you started your career on radio. And I just, you know, I would just talk to him like this, you know, sometimes like if you're visiting someone who's got maybe limited mental capacity, you don't really know what's going on in their spirit, right?
So I don't care if a person is totally unconscious. I just go talk to them, just go talk to them, tell them stories about your life, tell them good things. You know, you never know what somebody's spirit's picking up. And so I just go talk to them. I'd tell them stories.
I'd tell them what's going on with the kids, you know, and he wouldn't be able to say much. But on this day, I just said, dad, and I said, you know, we are really excited about something. So we just launched our radio program on five stations and all of a sudden he picked his head up and he said, that's great. And I took that. I took that. I took that in. Now did I wish there was more?
Yeah, I did. I wish that my father could have stood up from that wheelchair and with strong voice and strong spirit laid a hand on my shoulder and said, you're my son in whom I'm well pleased. And I see gifts of communication in you.
And I can envision you speaking to many, many people and thousands of lives being impacted by the gospel coming through you. And I bless you my son. But he didn't have the strength. He didn't have the spirit for that. He didn't know how to do that.
So where was I going to get that? Sometime Dudley Hall invited me to come and speak at his conference, his national conference he did every year. And when he introduced me, this man that I respected so much, and he said, I'm excited to have Alan Wright preach. And he said, I think he's one of the finest communicators of the gospel in the nation.
It wasn't about whether that was truth. And I think of all the incredible communicators of the gospel in the nation. It was a, he thought that, and he said that. And I remember that.
I'll never forget that when I got up to speak and I wasn't, it didn't, it's not the kind of thing that caused me to be in any way puffed or any pride. It was like a dad affirming the call in my life. And it was powerful. Some time later, his son, David was being wed to a woman that was from North Carolina. And so they held the service here at Rinaldo and this village worship center. And I helped co-officiate David's wedding along with Dudley.
And they had a big reception across here at Graylin Conference Center. And it went into the night and I eventually left the party because I was preaching the next morning. And I went home to review the message that I had for the next day. And it so happened that this message that was in the midst of a series about how we're made new in our minds.
And it was on Jacob blessing his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh. And I remember looking at that message that night before going to bed. And I looked it over and I thought, this is just not that revelatory. It's not my best.
It's not really. And then the thought came that my spiritual father is going to be sitting on the front pew tomorrow. And so I just kissed my wife good night. And I went back down to my study and I said, Lord, I think there's more here. And I stayed up until the wee hours of the night and worked on that message again. And it wasn't because my spiritual father would be in church the next day and I wanted to make him proud.
It wasn't that. It was that my spiritual father would be in church the next day and he was already proud. I'm talking about what a dad does. I'm talking about the power of a blessing of a spiritual parent that calls you up. It's not a calling up by shame that says if you'll do more than it's the calling up by the deepest sense of a fatherly insight, motherly nurture that sees into the essence of someone who they are and what they can be and interacts with them on that basis. And it brings you up and we all need it. Every single one of us needs it. This power is not just for those who've missed having a mom or dad at home, but it's for, it's for all of us. Allen Reich, today's good news message titled The Importance of Spiritual Mothers and Fathers in our series Increase. Pastor Alan is back with us in the studio as he shares his parting good news thought for the day.
Just a moment. You're made for more than your span of years on this earth. What might happen if you start taking the long view of your impact? We need to know what matters most to us so we can pass down our values on purpose. And Pastor Alan writes brand new six-week video series called Made for More. You'll discover the power of your lasting legacy as he leads you through a simple process to clarify your family core values and God-given purpose in the world. Pastor Alan will also help you dream to imagine your 100-year impact.
The video series is accompanied by a practical study guide with templates and worksheets. You'll also receive the full-length preaching series Increase that exposes the biblical principle of generational blessing. Make your gift to the ministry today and get your Made for More audio video bundle as our thank you for your partnership. Contact us today and discover the power of your lasting legacy. The gospel is shared when you give to Allen Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.
When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Allen Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.
That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, pastorallen.org. Back here now in the studio to share Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day and the importance of spiritual mothers and fathers. And you pulled this from First Thessalonians, right? There's a beautiful few verses where in First Thessalonians 2, in a matter of just a few verses, Paul compares their ministry both to mothering and to fathering.
Yeah. We were gentle among you like a nursing mother taking care of her children. Affectionate, comforting.
He also says that we were, in verse 11, like a father, exhorted you, encouraged you, charged you to walk in a manner worthy. So, you know, there are different ways that we receive from natural parents, right? We're made for a mom and a dad.
When we don't get it, you know, there's something that's missing. And so whether you had a healthy family upbringing and you had a mom and dad present or not, I still think that we all need spiritual mothers or fathers. And it means that we need those people that are comforting to us and nourishing to us. And we need people that are challenging to us, but that really love us in that way. And each one of us is called to that type of ministry.
And I think that there are one or more people that God would want to put into each of our lives to say, hey, this isn't your natural child, but spiritually, yes. Sometimes that child is one that you've been helping to love and shape in a spiritual way from early on and maybe have been the instrument through which they came into the kingdom. Maybe you shared the gospel with them in the first place, or maybe somewhere along the line, God put them in your path, but you just knew that you had something in your heart for them and they were able to receive and grow from that. These are powerful, legacy-leaving, generational impacting types of ministries that we have that are ongoing. This isn't like just, oh, you taught a class and you teach somebody, or that you happen to have a chance to be a blessing in several different ways to somebody. These are people that you have in your heart and you're with them, usually over the long haul.
You make a difference in their life, and then every life they touch is part of the multiplication of what you've given to them. That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org. That's pastorallen.org. Today's good news message is a listener-supported production of Allen Wright Ministries.
