Episode 1 - Why Proverbs 9:10?

          Welcome and thank you for tuning into to our very first Proverbs 9:10 Ministry Podcast, No Trash Just Truth! We’re your hosts and co-founders of Proverbs 9:10 Ministries, Chris Paxson and Rose Spiller. We probably should start our very first podcast, Chris, with telling everyone a little about ourselves. Who are we and why should anyone tune in to listen to us?

I agree so why don’t you go ahead and start doing just that. 

About 3 ½ years ago, after Chris and I had been teaching Bible Studies for over 15 years, we starting noticing all of the garbage that was being taught in the name of Women’s Bible Studies, and it both angered and saddened us. 

We felt the Holy Spirit prompting us to dig deeper ourselves so we could teach the Truth of God’s Word to others. We enrolled in Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary’s Dimension of the Faith Program – which we both graduated from, and began to write our own Bible Studies. To date, we have written 8 comprehensive, in depth Bible Studies – 2 of which are currently being turned into books, No Half Truths Allowed – Understanding the Complete Gospel Message, due out in early 2020, and the Bible in Six, an overview of each of the 66 books of the Bible due out later in 2020.

 Thank you, Ambassador International! Knowing that there is always more to learn, we continue our education by taking courses at Reformed Theological Seminary and from Biblical Training in their Institute Program. In August 2017, we felt God calling us to branch out beyond our weekly Bible Study classes we were teaching, so we set out to create  Proverbs 9:10 Ministries. Naming our ministry after a Bible verse seemed completely appropriate since our mission is to bring women to a deeper understanding of God’s Word. Proverbs 9:10 seemed like the perfect verse to explain that mission! “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

          Chris and I come from very different backgrounds. I was raised Catholic, although we were just culturally Catholic. We went to church on Sunday, made our first communion, and were expected to get married in the Catholic Church, but that was about it. There was absolutely no Christian (not even Catholic) instruction in my home. I even remember one time my father calling the Bible a bunch of fairy tales. My father died when I was 14, and since my mother and father’s marriage was both of their second marriages, the priest refused to come to our house or even talk to us. I found out later that even if they had wanted to, my parents were forbidden from taking communion, and my brothers and I were considered illegitimate. As a teenager, I walked around with a lot of anger directed at God. I acted out, drinking – a lot – and smoking pot. One of my favorite things to do is to look back and see all the seemingly ordinary things God used to make something extraordinary happen. Despite my constant partying, I still received straight A’s in school (although I kept it secret from everyone). Because of my good grades and the fact that we were poor, I received almost a full scholarship to Villanova University. Villanova is a Catholic University and taking theology was a requirement. It was in this class (taught by a priest) that I learned I had been angry at God for things that had nothing to do with Him, but were actually church rules. While I was rethinking everything, I met my husband, who was a Christian. He bought me to his Baptist Church and to Sunday School. I was 22, but had the Biblical knowledge and theology of a 4 year old. I was antagonistic at first, arguing about everything. Afterall, even cultural Catholics have it drummed in their head that if you are not Catholic, you are going to hell. But one day, a light went off and I realized everything I was being told was truth. I now know that was the Holy Spirit regenerating my heart and opening my mind and eyes to the Truth. I was like a sponge after that. I wanted to know and learn everything about the Bible and about God. Over 30 years later, that hunger has not diminished and has grown to a passion to teach truth to others. 

          In 1996, we switched to a PCA church and it was there that I was introduced to reformed theology. I balked at it and fought it at first, but the Holy Spirit was opening me up to Scripture where it clearly says over and over that God is Sovereign over everything. There was no denying it. Other than the saving knowledge of what Jesus has done for me, that truth has truly transformed my life. We will certainly delve into this more in the coming weeks, but Chris, why don’t you share your story?

          You are right, Rose, our stories are different, but we both ended up where we are now. . .So, I guess the place for me to begin is to say that I grew up going to a Presbyterian USA Church that my mother's family had always attended, and where as a child I sat in the pew with my grandmother who always had candy and gum – usually Hershey’s kisses and Chicklets! While I guess I was taking in biblical truth in Sunday school and in church, as I grew older I didn't have a great interest in going, especially when I reached my teenage years. But my parents made me go. One of the 1st things when it comes to the Bible that I remember from my childhood is that in 5th grade, my Sunday school teacher made mention of the fact that the Bible is a book that could be read like any other book. For some reason that stuck in my mind or stood out to me and I went home and tried to read it. Now when I say I tried to read it, what I tried to read was our huge King James Version family Bible that was in the living room! As you can imagine with the older language and being in 5th grade, even though I was a really good reader, I wasn't grasping much (if anything!) and quickly gave up. As I went through my teenage years, I still attended Sunday school and church although reluctantly. I went through the communicant’s class during that time and joined the church. I was certainly not living A Christian lifestyle in any way shape or form, and for many many years I had a one-sided relationship with God. I knew where to run when I needed help, and I would pray for help, but like I said, it was a very one-sided relationship because as soon as things got better, I really had no time for God. I wasn't praying on a regular basis to have a relationship with Him – I was only doing it when I needed something. 

          Although I was reluctant to go to church and Sunday school as a teenager, I was interested in some things that had to do with the Bible. One of those things was that my cousin's church showed the “end times” set of movies that was out at the time. These are the ones back in the 1970s or 1980s and I will try to think of the name of them, but for right now it's escaping me! They were kind of like the old version of the “Left Behind” series, and I don’t agree with the theology of those, but as a teen, they were interesting. And I have to say that in some way although I didn't have any desire to really go to church it did feel very comfortable to be in church. 

          I met my husband John, and we attended church with his parents which was another Presbyterian USA church not far from where we lived. While we were there, the Lord started to change some things in my life. One of those things was that my father in law started teaching a Sunday school book based on Timothy and Titus. This is probably one of the first real times I delved into a Bible study, and I thought it was really interesting. The most interesting part of the whole story at that point is that I was an Elder in the church, and as we went through the study, the Lord started convicting me that a woman should not be an Elder in the church and that was a huge change that absolutely had to be the Holy Spirit working in my life because I was staunchly feminist in my attitude and beliefs! Another thing that happened while we were at that church was we had an ecumenical service where they bring in pastors from different churches (all Christian – not from different religions), I heard a pastor preach a sermon and I remember thinking to myself “this is what is supposed to be happening every Sunday ! I am learning something about the Bible!” 

          It wasn't too long after that that our whole family left the Presbyterian USA denomination and started going to a local PCA church, which is the Presbyterian Church in America. We also started driving about 1/2 an hour away once or twice a week to hear some bigger named speakers who were preaching at A Bible retreat center on the Bay. While they (for the most part) didn't doctrinally or theologically lineup with everything we believed, the teaching was usually pretty good, and I found myself getting more and more interested in the Bible and in learning the Bible. Being members in the PCA denomination opened a whole new path to learning the Bible. All of the pastors in the denomination are extremely well trained and able to teach in an expository fashion which makes learning the Bible much much better and much more interesting! On one Sunday pretty early on in our membership, the pastor challenged everyone to read their whole Bible through in the next year. My husband did that year, I didn’t! So at the end of the year, when the pastor asked if anyone had done it, my husband raised his hand that he did had done it, and I got an overwhelming feeling when the pastor looked over at us that maybe I should start too, and my good friend Lisa was sitting beside me, and she leaned over and said “I think he’s looking at you, and I think you should do it next year,” which was really kind of funny at the time! But, on January 1 I started the same chronological reading plan that John had done the first year, and we’ve continued reading it yearly that way since! 

We've been in the PCA denomination for a long time because of their theology and doctrine, and some other things, one of which is the way they stress the importance of knowing the Bible. We’ve stayed in the denomination for 26 years, with a short stint recently in a non-denominational church which is basically what led to Rose and I starting Proverbs 9:10. 

          I can't say that I have an actual “conversion date” like a lot of people do! I just look back and see the Lord working throughout my life in different ways and I've just given you some of the points that really stick out to me. The Bible just kept getting more and more important and interesting, and so did things like listening to sermons from good pastors while I cook, or walk, or drive somewhere. It just kept becoming the thing I wanted to listen to mostly. I guess I would say that learning started becoming more and more important. Everybody’s story is different, but that is mine. 

          So that’s our stories, and as Chris said, everyone’s story will be different, but they should all begin and end with God’s sovereign work in our lives. This is another subject we will certainly touch on in an upcoming episode.

          “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” If you desire to learn and understand more about God, the Father, Jesus, our Savior, the Holy Spirit, our counselor, and desire to dig deep into the Bible, we invite you to subscribe to our podcasts and join us each week.

          We also invite you to check out our website, Proverbs910ministries.com, and follow us on facebook, Instagram, and twitter to see blogs, articles, and information on our speaking engagements and books. Feel free to message us or comment with any questions or feedback. We are always thrilled to hear from our listeners! Thanks for tuning in! Have a blessed day!