3 Things to Think about before You Speak

Pastor John E. Smith understood the burden of his words, and he selected them very rigorously when he met Ben Hooper. He would go on to turn out to be the best influence in Ben’s life. He became a friend and a mentor. Pastor Smith was a living example of Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens one other.” His words helped shape Ben’s attitude and work ethic, which eventually led him out of poverty. Ben would go on to attend and graduate from the University of Tennessee. At the age of forty-one, Ben Hooper became the governor of the nice state of Tennessee from 1911 to 1915. 

God gave Ben Hooper eighty-seven years on this earth. He died on April 18th, 1957. They were eighty-seven good years because someone cared enough to decide on their words rigorously, and it shaped the remainder of his life. Don’t miss your opportunities. Look around on the people God has placed in your path and speak life into them. 

“Therefore, encourage each other and construct each other up, just as you might be doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Thomas Barwick

Chad Roberts is the founder and lead pastor of Preaching Christ Church. He is the writer and Bible teacher for Awakened to Grace. He has authored Calling on the Name of the Lord, Awakened to Grace, and He’s within the Waiting. He has traveled through forty countries, sharing the Gospel, and training leaders. When the unexpected storm of blindness slammed into Chad’s life in 2018, he had a choice to make. He could resign to the lifetime of disability or he could go forward trusting God with the unknown. He couldn’t have continued on without the support of his amazing wife of over fifteen years, Sadie. Their 4 children, Piper, Emmy, Hudson, and John Mark, are their best joys. They live just outside the Great Smoky Mountains in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Chad’s pastoral profession has not been defined by blindness. Rather, it’s his clear, biblical teaching that continues to grow an audience. He has traveled through forty nations, training pastors and strengthening churches.

Today, Chad teaches people to trust a God they can’t see. His days are full of the things he loves most: leading, speaking, writing, and in fact, coffee! He is a spiritual content creator. By God’s grace, he’s emerging as a trusted spiritual voice in people’s lives. Chad can have blindness, but blindness doesn’t have him.