Dr. Stephen Cutchins is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church North Augusta and serves on the Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree with an emphasis in Christian Apologetics, which he teaches at Fruitland Baptist Bible College in North Carolina.
Stephen is completing the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies program at Dallas Baptist University with a dual concentration in Higher Education and Ministry. He is the author of “Prove It – Defend the Christian Faith,” co-author of “Green Hearts – God’s Goodness in the Worst of Times,” and a contributing author for the 2016 Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook. Stephen’s first book, Prove It, is now available as an online course. Dr. Cutchins is a Christian leader who helps curious and growing people answer hard questions about life, leadership, and learning so they can know who they are and defend what they believe. “Know who you are. Defend what you believe.”
Stephen currently lives in the home of the Masters Golf Tournament, Augusta, GA, with his wife, Wendy, and his two daughters, Madelyn and Sarah. His hobbies include running, golfing, and traveling. He has completed three marathons as well as numerous half marathons. His passions are spending time with his family, teaching the Word of God, making disciples, and talking to people about God’s amazing grace. In 2020, Stephen and his wife Wendy launched a collaborative blog committed to regularly posting relatable content.
BACKGROUND
Stephen was born in Atlanta, GA. After graduating from high school, he earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Music Education from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Before becoming a Pastor, he was a Band Director for the Fort Mill School District in South Carolina and served as a part-time church music director. During that time, he was very active as a freelance trumpet player/instructor in the Charlotte, NC area. He also served as the adjunct trumpet professor at Wingate University in Wingate, NC.
In 2008, Dr. Cutchins completed a Master of Arts in Religion degree at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, NC, where he went on to complete his Doctorate of Ministry degree in 2012. While attending Seminary in the evenings, Dr. Cutchins served at Stough Memorial Baptist Church, where he was both licensed and ordained to the ministry. During his nine-year tenure at Stough, he held the positions of Worship Pastor, Elder, Youth Pastor, and Pastoral Director of the Grace Life Academy.
In 2012, Dr. Cutchins moved to the Asheville, NC area to serve as the Pastor of Worship at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, NC. While there, he began teaching both on-campus and online classes for Fruitland Baptist Bible College. In addition to teaching New Testament and Homiletic classes, Dr. Cutchins taught the first Christian Apologetics courses at Fruitland Baptist Bible College in the Fall of 2014.
In 2015, Stephen joined the Executive Team at Hyde Park Baptist Church of Austin, TX. During his time there, he planned and led worship for a weekly televised worship service as well as supervising a team of worship leaders and technology teams to lead worship services on multiple campuses. Dr. Cutchins also taught and preached on Sunday mornings and during mid-week services. His book on apologetics, Prove It, was published during his time in Austin, TX, and he also planned and led a two-day regional Apologetics Conference with over 500 participants in collaboration with Southern Evangelical Seminary. While in Austin, Stephen was accepted into the Ph.D. program at Dallas Baptist University.
Stephen first joined the team at First Baptist Church of North Augusta as Pastor of Discipleship. Not long after he arrived at FBCNA, the Senior Pastor position became vacant. After serving as the Interim Pastor for three months, Stephen was named Senior Pastor of FBCNA in October of 2017.
Do God’s priorities take first place in your life? Most of us would say yes while secretly struggling with the idea that God can and would use us. It is humbling to think that the Creator of everything would be interested in using us. Especially when you consider all the flaws we have and the mistakes we have made. Our spiritual resume must not be very impressive to God. Maybe you would say, “I’m completely on empty. I have messed everything up and am too far gone for God to help me.” I want to talk to people who would say that their power tank is on low. God cares for you and wants to give you the power to keep going. No matter how much you messed up, God’s grace can work it out.
David spoke of the universe as God’s finger work. It was as easy for God to create the heavens as it is for a human being to make something with their fingers rather than by using the arms and whole body. It required so little effort. Genesis describes God creating the whole material universe with just a few words. What God is doing takes priority over our power.
What are you planning? Have you taken the time to ask God for direction? I am serious about this, have you taken the time to ask God for direction? Nothing truly great can take place apart from God. Here is one way to have a great year. Figure out what God wants you to do and do it. There is no better place to be than in the will of God and no worse place to be than outside of the will of God. What God is doing takes priority over our plans.
I deal with a lot of people who blame God when things go wrong. But, here’s the deal. Don’t hold God accountable without giving Him authority. In order for God to draw a straight line, you will need let Him hold the stick. Are you architecting your own plans and then asking God to endorse them? Don’t expect the God of the universe to bless your mess without changing the plan to fit His design.