JOSEPH LOUTHAN
1380 Gastineau Lane
Versailles, Kentucky 40383
cell: 817.707.1486
email: joe@theologic.us
twitter: @joelouthan
linkedin: joelouthan
youtube: Theologicus
podcast: Theologicus
Ministry Vision
Seeking to glorify Christ by serving his Bride by, first and foremost, preaching and teaching his word. My desire is to serve your church as an Interim Pastor in a bi-vocational capacity. I do this by faithfully preaching Christ crucified, teaching the Scriptures, and under-shepherd your congregation until God provides you with your next pastor.
Testimony
I came to saving faith when the Almighty God came down, took my heart, and in exchange, gave me His heart, and His Spirit.
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 (CSB)
It was then and only then that I was able to “follow His statues” and “be careful to observe the ordinances of the Lord.”
I first heard the gospel of Christ when I was 8 years old in a small independent fundamentalist KJV-only church in Oklahoma City. I praise God for that church because they had an incredible fleet of buses that would bring kids like me to church. Those old school buses would take me out of my sin-filled and depraved home, sung songs, memorize books of the Bible, attend Sunday School, and sit under the preaching of the word.
I remember clear as day, “Do you want to go to hell or heaven?” I had no desire to go to hell so I raised my hand and came forward. I wish I knew the Lord then. I wish my heart was turned then. But it was not. I have no doubt that little Suzy to my left or little Bobby to my right was saved by God at that moment. But I was not. I know this because I spent the next 24 years sinning all the more and never repenting of my sin not once to the God of the Universe. For the gospel of John says it clearly:
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
John 3:36 (CSB)
I did not believe Christ Jesus because I kept on sinning. I did not believe it because I thought that my repeating of words would keep me in God’s good graces as I spent my adult life working in the pornography industry. I have had people would suggest that I was indeed saved at a young age. I push back, “Tell me this: is there such thing as an unrepentant Christian? Could I unrepentantly work in an industry that supplied my depraved and killing addiction?” (You think the answer would be a quick and easy, “No” but I will spare you the number of times I have seen hesitation answering this question.)
The fact is I did not have eternal life. The fact is I had the wrath of God remaining upon me because I have rejected and disobeyed the Son of God. If I had died before that rainy Monday in April 2007 in Dallas, I know that I know I would burn for all eternity in the lake of fire.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (CSB)
And
For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
Titus 3:3 (CSB)
That was me. All of my life that was me. Foolish Worthless. Disobedient. Deceived. Enslaved to my own lustful addiction. Living in malice and envy. Hateful and hating everybody.
In other words, I was dead in my trespasses and sins against the Almighty God.
But God, being absolutely incomparable in grace and mercy, saved me. Not because I have done anything good in my life. I have done everything wicked in my life. But God, looked down on me, dead in my sins, took pity, and called me forth as Christ would call forth Lazarus out of the grave of the dead.
But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (CSB)
Do you see this? My heart turned towards him and had nothing to do with me activating the love of God. No! God made his mind up before the foundation of the world that the Father would send his only begotten Son to live and die to come to save my soul.
For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.
Ephesians 1:4-6 (CSB)
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (CSB)
The crucifixion of my only, only Lord Jesus Christ happened nearly 2,000 years before I was even born, let alone born again to love God. I did not activate the love of God but rather God loved me first.
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 (CSB)
And
You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.
John 15:16 (CSB)
God gave me His Son. God gave me His Spirit. God the Father has made his home with me (John 14:23).
What kind of love is this? It can only be the Triune God who is the only one and true God that saves:
The LORD your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (CSB)
It stands to reason: if God could save a wretch like me, then no one is outside the reach of his mighty saving arm:
Why was no one there when I came?
Why was there no one to answer when I called?
Is my arm too weak to redeem?
Or do I have no power to rescue?
Isaiah 50:2a (CSB)
It is like I ask my kids, “Does God have T-Rex arms?” Of course He doesn’t. He is the mighty one who saves.
Personal Values
ON GOD
He is the lover of my soul. My Beloved is mine, and I am his. (Songs 2:16) forever. The Spirit gives me new life in Christ and fills my soul (2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Romans 15:13); My Father and my Christ have made their home in me. (John 14:23)
He is my Lord and my God forever. And I love Him so much.
No pen, no words, no image can express to you
the loveliness of my only, only Lord Jesus.
Samuel Rutherford
ON THEOLOGY
My kids asked me once, “Papa, why do you have so many books on God?” To which I answered, “Most of the books on these shelves say the same thing over and over again, that, ‘Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.’”
If God is the lover of my new heart, should I not know just how much He loves me? More so, I need to be reminded every day of His love for me because I tend to forget.
ON SCRIPTURES
Sometime ago, I ran across an odd quote about the inerrancy and infallibility of the word of God by British theologian Lesslie Newbigin, who said (as I loosely quote), “Is the Bible without error and incapable of being wrong? That is asking the wrong question.” Modern thought asks the wrong question. Yet, Bible always trumps the philosophy of the age (Colossians 2:8-10) The correct question is, “Is the Bible perfect?”
How does the Bible answer that question?
The instruction of the LORD is perfect,
renewing one's life;
the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
making the heart glad;
the command of the LORD is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are reliable
and altogether righteous.
They are more desirable than gold —
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.
In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.
Psalms 19:7-11 (CSB)
When I was younger in the faith and perhaps a bit snarkier, I used to shockingly say, “I do not believe in the inerrancy and the infallibility of the Bible.” But the older I get and as I put my shock-jock days behind me, I simply quote Psalm 19 & 119, “The word of God is perfect.”
ON THE GOSPEL
In him thou hast given me so much
that heaven can give no more.
Valley of Vision.
No imperatives to fulfill. No commands to follow. No law to disobey. No glory to fall way short. Just the good news: God saves sinners.
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30 (CSB)
And this is the gospel: the power of God in salvation for those who believe. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith!” (Romans 1:16-17)
Do you see that? All by God. Nothing that we can bring. Yet, because God gave us his Son, we now have everything. (Romans 8:14-39; Hebrews 1:1-2)
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezekiel 36:25-28 (CSB)
If God has given you his own heart and placed His Spirit in you, it is only now that you are free and able to obey God.
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (CSB)
Now, as those saved by God, we have imperatives to fulfill. Because we are the children of God, we have commands to follow. Because Christ is our Lord and our God, we get to obey His law. For Christ’s works are your own. Christ’s life is your own. Christ’s life is yours! We have been justified, we are glorified! (Romans 8:30)
The gospel is the good news that God looked upon me as a wicked, depraved, weak sinner and sent his Son to live and die so that I might be truly alive and free by the power of his Spirit. (Romans 5:9; 1 John 5:1, Romans 8:14-17)
This is the gospel of Christ that I must preach so that all may know the love of Christ for their souls. Simply put, we are saved by no name other than Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12)
Ministry Philosophy
ON PREACHING
For anyone to believe the gospel of Christ is not based on nor dependent on the intellect, emotions, personality types, the bent of the will, the state of the heart but completely on the supernatural grace and mercies of the Almighty God. (John 1:12-13) For:
So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
Romans 10:17 (CSB)
and:
… so my word that comes from my mouth
will not return to me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do."
Isaiah 55:11 (CSB)
As a Christian, I can minister in all the ways. But I am specifically charged with one thing in life:
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:
Preach the word;
be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (CSB)
ON THE PASTORAL & COUNSELING
Because I have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelling in me (Romans 8:11), I get to depend on the Holy Spirit to minister to others. Like all Christians, I get to lift up others, encourage them, and continuously point them back to the gospel of Christ and his perfect word.
To that end, when I am ministering to a person who has been through trauma and when it is evident they need more healing and help, I will not foolishly claim to be an expert. If they are willing, I will gladly help them find a licensed therapist who counsels and cares from a Christian worldview and who is trauma-informed.
I have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because I have endured childhood abuse. Therefore, I take trauma seriously. Please know that I handle those who have gone through trauma with the gentlest care, for if I love the Lord my Christ, then I am to feed, card, and shepherd his sheep. (John 21:15-17)
I can minister to others because of Christ. We do live in a post-Genesis 3 world where everything is broken at the core and there seems to be no end to the destruction of sin. Yet, Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. He is the only God that heals because his grace is more.
No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still; with Jesus even in our darkest moments, the best remains and the very best is yet to be.
Corrie Ten Boom
ON ACCOUNTABILITY
Before knowing Christ, I lived a life that was emotionally alone and did not want people to know my real heart for it was terribly wicked. When I was saved by Christ, I had to fight to make sure I am truly known by those whom I love and who love me.
I have many friends I turn to (see References) in times of trouble. But, as you can see, most of them are out of state. Since moving to Kentucky, I pray to God to provide new friends and a new community. Joyfully, I see, in his steadfast love, continuously increasing His people around me. God will provide. He always does.
Ministry Positions
Reforming Truth Church, Lexington, KY
Layperson - Digital
Frontline Church South, Oklahoma City, OK
Intern, Community
Layperson
- Bible Study Teacher
- Small Group Leader
- Children’s Teacher
- Worship Presentation
Antioch Community Church, Norman, OK
Assistant to the Senior Pastor
Layperson:
- Bible Study Teacher
- Small Group Leader
- Children’s Teacher
Catch the Fire Ministries, Bedford, TX
Layperson
- Children’s Teacher
The City Church, Fort Worth, TX
Layperson
- Mentored by Ben Connelly, Senior Pastor
Gateway Church, Southlake, TX
Intern, Leadership & Discipleship
Layperson
- Embrace Grace (crisis pregnancy ministry) leader
- Bible Study Teacher
- Small Group Leader
- Mentored by Alan Smith, Pastor of Leadership & Discipleship
Vocational Experience
Project Manager at Red Hat, Inc.
Information Technology Administrator & Manager
United States Air Force Veteran
Ministry Development
Interim Pastor Training
Kentucky Baptist Convention
Louisville, KY
July 2022
The Institute for Expository Preaching (2021)
Dr. Steven J. Lawson
Oklahoma City, OK
August 2021
Internship, Frontline Church
Frontline Church
Oklahoma City, OK
September 2020 to May 2021
The Institute for Expository Preaching (2019)
Dr. Steven J. Lawson
Oklahoma City, OK
October 2019
On Preaching
Matt Chandler
Acts 29 Regional
2010
The Doctrine of God
Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
Reformed Theological Seminary
Dallas, TX
January to May 2010
The Need for Evangelism
Desiring God 2009 Conference for Pastors
Minneapolis, MN
February 2009
Internship, Gateway Church
Leadership & Discipleship Ministry
Gateway Church
January to August 2009
Skills
Expository preaching and teaching
Writing
Project Management
Writings
Here is Love: An Exposition of Romans 8
Praying Through: The Lord’s Prayer
Doctrine: Ordo Salutis or Doctrine on the Order of Salvation
Gospel Meditations in the New Testament: The Pastoral Epistles
Home Devotions in the Gospel of Mark
Westminster Confession of Faith: An Exposition
References
Jeremiah Hurt
Senior Pastor
Reforming Truth Church
email
David Starchman
Senior Pastor, Former
True Vine Church
Goldsby, OK
email
Dave Evans
Senior Pastor, Retired
Highland Baptist Church
Moore, OK
email
Holly Shockley
Licensed Counselor
Thrive Christian Counseling
email
Andrew Burkhart
Lead Pastor
Frontline Church South
email
Andrew Franklin
Senior Pastor
Mosaic Community Church Eastside
email
Other contact information and additional references are available upon request.