When it comes to addressing God’s truth from the pulpit, Pastor Josh Howerton of Lakepointe Church in Texas isn’t afraid to step on a few toes.
Two weeks ago, the senior pastor of the Texas congregation preached a provocative sermon that was titled “3 Things That Will Kill Your Marriage.”
“I probably did more sermon prep this week than in a long time,” he said back on February 22nd. “I agonized over this. What’s amazing is I love when sociology is always discovering what theology was already saying.”
In that message back in February, Pastor Howerton shared research that you’re 46% less likely to commit adultery if you believe in the literal Word of God. He also shared findings from a 14-year Harvard study that couples who attend church together regularly are 50% less likely to get divorced.
Pastor Josh also addressed the unbiblical practice of cohabitation, and in tackling it, laid out a blunt challenge.
“If you’re living with somebody that’s not your spouse, you’re sleeping with somebody that’s not your spouse, or you’ve actually already started a family and had kids with somebody that’s not your spouse, and you right now are coming under the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit that you need to honor God, bend your knee to Jesus,” he said.
He then added:
“Put a ring on it and enter into a covenant with a person that you’re already acting like you’re in a covenant with.”
This past Sunday, the Lakepointe pastor revealed that 52 couples had come forward and were married this past Friday in a joint ceremony and celebration.
“We never want to look down on somebody unless we’re giving them a hand up,” he reflected. “We called people who realized they were living outside of God’s design and they were like, ‘Man, we want to repent and honor God with our lives to step forward and put a ring on and get married and honor God.”
Over a thousand people from the congregation gathered to witness the ceremony and cheer on the happy couples.
James Moore and his fiancée were one of the 52 couples. He wrote Sunday on Facebook, “We had kept putting it off and making excuses, but [his] message really lit a fire under us to finally get it done. We’re very thankful for the message.”
That’s the convicting power of the Holy Spirit — and the power and reach of an inspired pastor delivering an inspired sermon.
The world warns about turning off individuals with strong and direct teaching from God’s Word. Some may feel like a pastor needs to shy away from tough and controversial topics. But what transpired these past few weeks at Lakepointe Church is evidence the direct opposite is true.
The bold pastor is the effective pastor. God’s truth may sometimes hurt and it often convicts — and that’s a very good thing.
Pastor Howerton acknowledged the Bible “says things about marriage, sexuality and divorce that are very controversial to the world … My response to that is, to who? To who? Because what the world says about marriage is controversial to Heaven.”
According to Pastor Josh, preaching difficult truth is akin to ridding the body of a cancer.
“It’s like a cutting tool,” he said. “What you need is a scalpel to get inside of your family and your life and cut out the thing that Satan will use to destroy your marriage.”
This past Sunday, the Lakepointe congregation gave the newlywed couples a standing ovation, just as Howerton had predicted.
“These people aren’t gonna be judging you,” Howerton assured them. “They’re gonna be cheering you on as you step forward into obedience to Jesus Christ. Welcome to Team Jesus.”
