Beeson Podcast, Episode #688 Josh Hedrick Date >>Announcer: Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your host, Doug Sweeney. >>Doug Sweeney: Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I am your host, Doug Sweeney and I am here today with a wonderful Beeson student and good friend named Josh Hedrick. Josh is going to be graduating later this year with a M.Div. from Beeson Divinity School. He has been serving this year as the president of Beeson’s Student Government Association. There’s all kinds of things the Lord has been dong in his life before he ever arrived at Beeson and during is time and Beeson. And we’re looking forward to asking him all about these things. Josh, thanks for being with us today. >>Hedrick: Thank you for having me Dr. Sweeney. >>Sweeney: Why don’t we begin by introducing you to our listeners. What we’re going to end with is, you know, what’s the Lord doing in your life these days and how should our listeners be praying for you. So, let’s let them get to know you a little bit. Tell us a little bit about your life before Beeson and most importantly, how did you come to know the Lord, and know that He wanted you to go to seminary? >>Hedrick: Well, I grew up in a town called Christiansburg, Virginia. And by God’s providence, had two parents that loved the Lord and taught me to love the Lord. I’ve told several people recently that I think the biggest blessing, just in my growing up experience in years, were Jesus wasn’t taught in my home but that was lived out. >>Sweeney: What a blessing. >>Hedrick: And so, that was a reality that was pervasive in my house. My dad was a music leader in church and so, I was very close to church ministry kind of directly through him. My mom homeschooled me K through 12, bless her. Which is a long time to stick with me and all my- >>Sweeney: Hope you were a good student. >>Hedrick: I did my best. But she was really devoted to us and I’m grateful to her for that. And my papaw pastored the church that we were at all of my growing up years. Papaw pastored that church for 42 years, faithfully. And I learned so much just from observing his ministry and I think, I tell people this often, but papaw was the same person for me, just in my relationship with him as a grandson, as he was to his ministry with people in the church. And so, that spoke volumes that I didn’t even realize then at the time. And the Lord, when I was really young, did work in my life and when I was about four years old, I prayed to receive Christ. Me and my older brother, Jonanthan, did that on the same night. And then we were baptized the same day a couple years later. And so, that was really the fruition of both a ministry there in the home and then also through my church family. And then, I just continued walking with Lord as a boy and the Lord just started to put a burden on my heart for ministry at an early age. And when I was 10, or there abouts, I started to really sense a real love for the church and that the Lord was wanting to use me in pastoral work in some capacity. >>Sweeney: So, let’s stop there just for a second because that’s a special thing. And not many 10-year-old kids know the Lord’s doing that in their lives. What was that experience like for you? How did you know that was going on? >>Hedrick: That’s a really good question. I think it was mostly just a growing recognition of both love for the Lord, love for His word, a desire to go deeper in His word. A tenderness, I think, towards, in particular, I remember around that age just loving a lot of the older people in my congregation, and loving conversations with them, and learning from older saints. And then, just, I think receiving from even just some of my Sunday school workers that I remember fondly from my young boyhood that poured into me. And so, I think it was just a flourishing of all those things together that made me begin to sense that I had a hunger for this. And so, I went to my papaw around that time, and I was like, hey papaw, I think I, I think I want to be a pastor. And I’m still so shocked to this day that he didn’t like, turn me away or just kind of laugh it off and be like, okay, well, come back to me in a couple of years or, you know, five years, or whatever and we’ll talk about this seriously. But he took it as an opportunity to prepare. And because I was homeschooled, I had the opportunity to go with him on visitation on Tuesdays and so I would accompany him, and we’d do a Bible study. It wasn’t every Tuesday, but pretty frequently. And was really just in those tender years of kind of following in his footsteps that the Lord was cultivating that pastoral desire and longing, I think, in my soul. >>Sweeney: He must have been using some of the other folks who were being visited in similar ways, right. Because it’s unusual to have a 10-year-old boy come along with the pastor and do that kind of thing. You need a, you need a parishioner who thinks that’s a sweet thing that they should help with. >>Hedrick: Yes, yes. And we had some dear, sweet older folks all, by this point, are folks that have gone on to be with the Lord. And I can, I have some fond memories of some of those meetings. I remember having my first experience of eating some apples that had salt on them at an older widow’s home. And papaw was like, I hadn’t had that before, I thought it was a strange combination of the salty and the sweet, and papaw was like, don’t you say anything about that. >>Sweeney: It’s a good ministry lesson right there. >>Hedrick: It was. It was. But just some really good times of praying with people in their homes and ministering to them. >>Sweeney: Alright. So, you’re sensing a call to ministry. Is that too strong at age 10? What were you sensing and how did you get from there to saying to yourself, you know what, I should consider seminary? >>Hedrick: Yeah. That part of the story is a longer saga that has different, different points to it. But I think the big thing is that between like, ages 10 and 15, I kind of continued to go down the route of preparation for ministry or thinking and visioning myself doing pastoral work and seeing that in my future. But then, me and my older brother both got an interest in film and so, for a period of about seven years or so, we had a little stint in the world of Christian film making. And me and my brother have always been good friends and so, getting to do that together was a real joy and it’s still, I think it was real formative in our relationship. And so, I think the thing that kind of began to turn the tide was my brother decided to go into physical therapy school, which meant that I would be operating a solo business, at that point, in film. And at that time, I was getting to know my now wife better and we were getting closer to the point of engagement. And the jobs that we were working, while fun, weren’t very consistent in terms of pay and so forth. And so, it was around that time that I then decided, if I’m going to move in this direction, I kind of need to commit to it. And if I want to get married, I need to have something that’s a little bit more settled. And so, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to serve at my church and I served there for a little over four years in an administrative capacity. And then, out of that season, the Lord began to make it clear that seminary is the next step for me in getting ready for ministry. And I had a few people who had made me aware of Beeson that I knew. One was a mentor in the area who had some personal connection to Beeson. And then, my brother-in-law, who oddly enough is now, in God’s providence, is here now at Beeson. He was also familiar with Beeson. And so, our antennas were kind of up, we were just watching various things that were coming out of Beeson and just feeling like the Lord was inclining our hearts in that direction. And I just ended up being the one to come ahead of him. And that, should I go ahead and maybe talk about just that experience of coming here to Beeson? >>Sweeney: Yeah, yeah. >>Hedrick: I came for preview day in March of 2020, which was right before covid hit. And at that preview day, the Reverand Dr. Charlie Dates was preaching. And he preached a really powerful message on the grass withers, but the flower falls, but the work of the Lord endures forever. It was striking for me. It was also just a really personal message that was resonating with both me and my wife, Effie. She was here with me for that preview day. And the whole rest of the day was just a day of real personal connection with folks at Beeson in ways that we hadn’t experienced community before. And it made such a huge impact on us that when we left preview day that day and were walking down the stairs coming out, Effie turned to me and she said, “Josh, if you’re going to go to seminary, this is the place that you need to go.” And so, at that point, we had only looked at one other school and we didn’t look any further. >>Sweeney: Wow. Alright. Well, so, fast forward a little bit. You pick up roots and you move to Birmingham, and you enroll. Effie become active on campus as well. Was it what you imagined it would be based on preview day? What was different? What was similar? What was the experience like when you were actually here? >>Hedrick: It ended up being even better than what I thought it was going to be. And we’ve been loved and ministered to by this community in some really powerful ways. I think that, just in my own walk with the Lord, I continue to encounter just the amazing reality that the Lord longs for relationship with me and He pursues me. And I’ve seen that just in my interaction with people here. You can’t hide at Beeson. >>Sweeney: That’s true. >>Hedrick: And I think that’s a really good thing. There’s days where I think, just even with my own personality, I tend to be more of an introvert- >>Sweeney: You wish you could hide. >>Hedrick: You wish you could. But people really want to know you and the things that that’s told me about the Lord and His own pursuing of me has just, has ministered to me deeply. And I think one thing that’s really amazing about Beeson is you can ask any student here what they’ve loved about their time at Beeson, and you get some answers to that that are pretty common across the board. And then you get the answers that are kind of unique to their own experience and to their own situation. And so, I would give a hardy amen to all the things that make Beeson unique, that make Beeson special, like it’s interdenominational aspect, the way its curriculum is set up with the history and doctrine sequence are priority on language study and everything. But one of things that continues to amaze me class after class after class is that I’m being taught the gospel at Beeson and what it means that Jesus has been given for me and therefore I have something to give others. >>Sweeney: You do. >>Hedrick: And… >>Sweeney: The most important thing. >>Hedrick: Yeah. And so, that has really stuck me, and I think even just opening up, opening up my Bible now, by virtue of being here, you know, I’m hearing the voice of Dr. House kind of guiding me through some things in the Old Testament. I’m hearing the voice of Dr. Thielman reminding me about some important themes in the New Testament. I’m hearing Dr. Linebaugh reminding me about the grammar of the gospel. I’m giving thanks for the fact that Dr. Park has made it possible for me to read Greek. And I just think that that’s something really unique and special about the personalness of Beeson’s training and preparation, that you have those relationships and that it then just translates into both our study of God’s word and then how we’re actually doing ministry with people. >>Sweeney: What do you think, I mean imaging the future, imaging five, ten years out, you’re serving as the pastor of a church somewhere and you’re looking back on your time at seminary. What do you imagine are going to be the most important things from your time at Beeson that are still shaping you and your faith and your ministry then? I have in mind people who are listening to this who are wondering about seminary. Wondering whether they need it. Wondering what difference it might make. What do you imagine, as you head out into ministry, the difference is going to be that a seminary like this has made for you? >>Hedrick: I think one strong thing is that I know that the word of God is the word of God. And that that is what has the power to transform lives. That’s what has the power to impact ministries, to take broken relationships, broken situations, and bring hope. That power doesn’t rest in me and I think I’m going to remember that in five years. I think I’m probably going to be facing situations in ministry where I’m going to be feeling the pressure to perform or the pressure of, you know, is this on me to have, you know, to have the stuff, so to speak. And I’m going to need to remember that it’s God’s word that does work. And it’s God’s spirit along with His word that brings about that transformation. And I kind of have to lean upon that and trust in that and be a vessel. >>Sweeney: Another thing that lots of the students around here talk about that they really like about Beeson, and that you’ve referred to already, is the kind of life together spirit here at Beeson, the way in which we’re kind of all in this together, encouraging each other, challenging each other, sharpening each other, praying with each other, studying hard together, and so on. You have played a role in facilitating that, of course, as the president of the SGA. So, let me ask you just about your experience there too as a student leader. What has that experience been like for you? And then maybe, like, what’s the SGA, just in case anybody wants to get really practical, they’re thinking about coming to Beeson, they want to know about the SGA. What do you guys do? >>Hedrick: I’ll answer that question first. The SGA is the student government association at Beeson. And basically, I think in a nutshell, the SGA kind of represents the student body and some of their cares and concerns with the faculty and the staff, and just helps to look for ways to minister to the student body. And that can come by way of lectureships and things that we do here on campus, hosting those on different topics of interest, and then also just helping to care for the student body. And I think for me, and this was something I alluded to earlier, I’m again, more introverted in nature and I think that this has been part of God’s own sanctification in my life in kind of- >>Sweeney: Turning you into a big man on campus. You’re not used to that. >>Hedrick: I’m not used to that at all, Dr. Sweeney. But it’s been, it’s been an amazing opportunity and it’s allowed for a lot more connection, not only with my own class, but then to actually get to know these other students that have come in and people that I don’t think I would have been able to develop relationships with otherwise. And the thing that we’re really focusing on this year as an SGA is spiritual formation. So, and kind of along with that, friendship and really wanting to go deep, both with the Lord and with one another. And so, to that end, we have planned a retreat, a spiritual retreat. It will be hosted at the Benedictine Sister’s Monastery on March 15th through the 16th this year. And so, any students listening to this right now, before that time, sign up. It should be wonderful. It’s been graciously sponsored by Beeson and so, it’s free to any of you students who are listening. And I think we really hope that it will give both a time for personal retreat, but to do that in a way that’s within community still. So, we’ll have some opportunity for some larger group time together and some worship and fellowship. But then also some time for solace and as well as learning some spiritual disciplines that might help us grow into more fruitful Christians. >>Sweeney: Yeah. Sounds wonderful. So, I’m still thinking about our listeners here and imagining that some of them are thinking about going to seminary or they have loved ones who are thinking about going to seminary. And Josh, of course I know you very well, and I know your dear wife, Effie, well, and your daughter, Elliana, well. And the thing I want to ask you about is what’s it like picking up roots, going to a life together seminary with a family, being married, being a dad, and not being wealthy, you know? How does that go? How hard is that and how have you managed to do it? >>Hedrick: It’s super hard. And that was, honestly, one of the reasons it took me so long to settle on coming to seminary. I could not, for the life of me, picture myself in seminary or picture what life would look like. I couldn’t catch a vision for how am I going to work all these hours and financially provide for a family while also, you know, completing all the requirement for school. And so, it took a long time to get to that point. And ultimately, God didn’t really show me what it was going to look like. He just asked me to take a step. And we took that step as a family. And I’d say that’s one of the greatest blessings for me was just having a wife and amazingly, a three-year-old little girl, at that time, who was supportive of daddy going off to do this thing that she didn’t quite understand what it was. >>Sweeney: Well, one of the blessings of little children is they don’t, they don’t really know what they’re in for. >>Hedrick: They don’t. >>Sweeney: As long as they got dad and mom, they’re ready to go. >>Hedrick: That’s exactly right. >>Sweeney: It’s dad and mom who bear all the stress. >>Hedrick: Yep. And that’s what we were dealing with. And so, yeah, He just, He asked me to take that step. >>Sweeney: Has it been a killer? Are you glad you did? You know, give some advice to people who are listening who are thinking, I don’t know if I can do that. And be honest. Don’t just give us some kind of snow job. >>Hedrick: Yeah. No, I’m very glad that we did. I don’t think, if I had done seminary, and I think this is unique to each person’s situation, so everyone has to kind of weight that for themselves, but I think for Josh, if I had done seminary online and just kind of stayed there, stayed at home, it would not have had the transformative effect on my life that being at Beeson has had. I think ministry is deeply personal. We have a deeply personal God who has moved towards us and has then called us to then move towards others and to be involved in their lives, and to share in their stories, and to participate in helping to tell their stories back to them. And you just can’t do that well in an online format. And so, on that preview day that we were here for, I’ll never forget, Corey Savage, at the time, he was on the preview day panel, and he had advice for- >>Sweeney: And he was a student at the time. Just helping our listeners here. He’s a pastor not, but at the time he was a student. >>Hedrick: Yep, he was a student at the time. And his advice to parents out there was, if you’re coming with your kids, make sure that at graduation day, they know what daddy’s actually graduating for. And he did that with a lot of heart and a lot of tears, and it really resonated with me and Effie and we’re like, if we’re going to do this, then we want to do it as a family. And so, we resolved then like, we want to be all in as a family. And so, we’ve tried even to being Elliana, as she can, to chapel and to just kind of bring her into the life of seminary. And that little girl has, she’s taught me so much as I’ve gone through seminary. And I think it kind of helped to keep a lot of this grounded too that I’m learning. Because I’m having to go back home, and I have to talk with her about what the trinity is. >>Sweeney: Yeah. That’ll make a theologian out of you right there. >>Hedrick: Right. So, you know, taking all those things from Dr. Beckwith’s class, who was my professor at the time talking to me about the trinity, and relating that to a young girl and you know, teaching her about Jesus, I think it’s really helped to make all of, all the things that I’m studying immediately, immediately brings them into a ministry context. So, if you have a family, I think there’s a great blessing there in what you’re actually able to do with your studies and interaction with your family members. And I think another blessing for me, and this is depending on personality types for those listening, but my own personality type tends to be a bit of a perfectionist and I’ll tend to exert myself beyond the point where I realize I should stop. And so, having a family has been, I think, kind of a sanctifying experience in school because it’s helped me to set up boundaries to my studies to say, you know, between five and eight thirty, you know, I’m dad and I’m husband and I’m just here with the family. And I think that’s helped to establish more healthy long term rhythms for ministry, knowing when to quit, knowing when to hang it up. And so, for anyone listening who does have a family, I think that, I think that there’s great, great blessing to that in your seminary experience. >>Sweeney: Alright, so where is God taking you as you wrap things up at Beeson and you think about moving out and following Him into the future? I mean, it’s an act of faith. I’m not asking you to nail it, but where do you think He’s taking you? >>Hedrick: Well, in the course of my studies and of course, I’ve had a lot of conversations with you about this, Dr. Sweeney- >>Sweeney: Yeah. Listeners, I already know the answer to this particular question. >>Hedrick: The Lord has been leading me into Lutheran ordination and so, that’s been a transition denominationally for me. I grew up Baptist. And just comfort for anyone listening, Beeson isn’t out to like, to make you turn into something else by being here. >>Sweeney: That’s right. >>Hedrick: But one of the blessings, I will say, of Beeson is we’re in this environment together, of learning together, and doing life together, and it gives a lot of opportunity to then ask questions and to learn from those who are within different denominations. And the Lord just made it really clear to me that the language that has been resonating with me about both the gospel and about God’s work in my life, just finds its home closest in Lutheranism. And then as I began to envision myself doing ministry, I could see myself as a Lutheran pastor doing that. >>Sweeney: I could see it too. >>Hedrick: So, that’s, my next steps are to pursue my ordination process in the Lutheran church, specifically in the North American Lutheran Church. >>Sweeney: Wonderful. Alright Josh, thanks for this gift of time. Time’s about up. You know well because you work sometimes in the media lab and you listen to a lot of these podcast interviews, we always end by asking our guests what the Lord’s doing in their lives these days. Now, you’ve been talking about that already, so maybe we kind of segued in this direction already. >>Hendrick: Yeah. >>Sweeney: But what’s God teaching you as you wrap up seminary that might edify our listeners? >>Hedrick: That I’m profoundly weak and that the Lord’s mercy and grace are constantly reaching out to me, even when I’m not reaching for it. I’ve seen that again and again, just day after day as I come before the Lord. I think for a long time in my experience of walking with the Lord, there was this sense of that I’m, in coming to Him, I’m trying to pry open his hands in order to get what I need or to receive mercy or grace. And through my time at Beeson, I’ve experienced the Lord’s kindness and His goodness towards me in ways that are pursuant of me. And I’ve been realizing, you know, it’s Him that’s actually prying my hand open to receive from Him. And that with Him is abundance and that His very character and His very being is to be faithful and to prove and to show Himself faithful, and He longs to do that. And so, as I’m coming to Him in weakness, you know, that’s His territory to show just how strong and how faithful He is. And so, that’s a lesson I feel like I’m learning in so many different ways right now, that I have been learning since starting here. And I know that He’ll continue to give me what I need. >>Sweeney: That’s a good Bible lesson. But it’s a good Bible lesson that’s learned the best through a little bit of hardship in life, through a little bit of suffering. When we’re made to feel that we’re as weak as we always knew, at least intellectually, we really are, and then it’s just demonstrated so clearly for us that God is strong. We are weak, there’s a children’s song about that, right. We are weak but He is strong. That’s straight from the beginning of First Corinthians. God loves to show forth His strength. >>Hedrick: Yes. >>Sweeney: And He does it when we recognize we’re not the ones strong enough to affect salvation in people’s lives. >>Hedrick: Right. And it’s not my ability to control, you know, or manipulate situations and I think that there’s, I think we all, to some extent, have a tendency to want to think that we can manipulate God or manipulate others to get what we want, and even if we don’t recognize that kind of on the nose. And the Lord’s been showing me that, you know, Josh, if I am good, and He is, then I’m committed to your good, and you know, that involves suffering. But He’s going to be with me in that. And so, there’s a lot of trust in that posture and there’s a lot of release, and a lot of relief that comes from that. Yeah. >>Sweeney: What a great way to end. What a great lesson for a pastor to learn. God is strong and He’s faithful. He does what He says He does in His word. Listeners, this has been Josh Hedrick. Josh is one of Beeson’s finest. He’s graduating in the not-too-distant future, headed out to pastoral ministry. He’s been serving as the president of Beeson’s Student Government Association. It’s been a delight, Josh, to have you on the program. >>Hedrick: Thank you, Dr Sweeney. >>Sweeney: And listeners, it’s been a delight to share this time with you as well. Please be in prayer for Josh Hedrick and his wife, Effie, and daughter, Ellie, as they head out and serve the Lord in faithful pastoral ministry for many years to come. Thank you for joining us. We love you. We’re praying for you. And we say goodbye for now. >>Rob Willis: You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast; coming to you from the campus of Samford University. Our theme music is by Advent Birmingham. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our engineer is Rob Willis. And our show host is Doug Sweeney. For more episodes and to subscribe, visit www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast. You can also find the Beeson Podcast on iTunes and Spotify.