About

He is like a tree planted beside streams (or canals) of water
that bears its fruit in season[
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:3, HCSB)

Marilyn and I had the opportunity to travel to Israel on a study tour in 2011. One of the things we learned was that the "tree planted by streams of water" was an acacia tree. Israel was a fairly arid place that imported most of their wood, and the Israelites were desert people by nature. The acacia was a tree they would have been intimately familiar with in the desert. The acacia has a tap root that can grow incredibly deep into the earth seeking water. That makes is very stable and able to resist long periods with no rain. It provides shade in the heat of the day, food for birds and animals, and wood for fire and building material. Acacia wood was used in the construction of the Tabernacle.

It is extremely hardy and resilient. The word for "stream" in this passage means "canal" and refers to a wadi. It is a dry riverbed that only has water sporadically and infrequently.

It was a little shocking because we had grown up seeing this verse paired with images of an enormous weeping willow overhanging a huge river. That image is one of extreme overabundance. Instead, the image is of someone who is stable and resilient because they have tapped into deep waters. Even when everything around them looks barren, they are able to stand and provide.

This is what Marilyn and I strive to be, acacias for those who need sustenance and shelter. It is the goal of this ministry that we develop the strength of acacias in the spirits of everyone who comes onto this property so that they can stand firm where God plants them.

Our story

Josh and Marilyn met in 1995 at seminary and were married the following year. They will celebrate 30 years of marriage in 2026. During those years, there have been many moves and many churches. In addition, Josh joined the Army National Guard in 2007 as a chaplain. There are many congregations that were wonderful in that time, but also many that were very painful.

Josh's last full-time congregation was the worst. What happened there was described by denominational and other national leaders as "the worst thing they had ever seen happen to a pastor." It nearly ended their marriage, Marilyn went into a deep depression, something we describe as a "spiritual and emotional coma." Josh begged God to let him die every month when he left for military duty. By God's grace, they were able to walk through that time and experience healing. Sadly, they had to do much of that on their own because of lack of funds and lack of resources.

In addition, Josh has had multiple deployments with the Army. Josh's first deployment was to OEF (Afghanistan) for most of 2010. He deployed with the 1-178th Field Artillery from the SC Army National Guard. Josh and Marilyn prepared the best they knew how for this long separation, but they were sorely underprepared. Josh came home believing that reintegration would be a breeze because he was a chaplain and God was on their side. Instead, the next ten years were some of the most difficult in their lives.

It is those experiences that led Josh and Marilyn to begin Acacia Ministries.

Josh is a priest in the Celtic Catholic Church, an ordained protestant pastor, and a chaplain holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. He directs Acacia Ministries full-time and also preaches, leads music, and leads conferences. He also is a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo and is a level three instructor. He is currently pursuing a doctorate studying the community that Acacia aims to reach.

Marilyn owns her own business, In Bloom. She designs and maintains flower beds and bushes for scores of clients. She received the Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award for her work with service members and families.

They have three children:

• Jesse works for a ministry called Kaleidoscope. He is completing his Master's in Counseling.
• Ruthie is also completing a Master's in Counseling. It is her intent to work with Acacia as a licensed professional counselor.
• Mikey is married to Cheyenne and they have one child, Eli. Mikey serves in the Army.

In 1984, Chuck and Pam White (Josh's parents) launched Covenant Families Inc. It was a ministry devoted to helping build healthy families who lived according to Scripture. Part of the ministry was the entire family traveling and singing at various churches of all different denominations. They also kept a regular rotation of people in their home, from teens in need to homeless families. The singing part of the ministry lasted a decade until the children began to get married and pursue their own ministries and careers. Chuck kept a portion of the ministry active until his death in 2025, doing marriage counseling and training pastors in Prepare-Enrich.

Josh felt a call to ministry when he was 16. He has been in vocational ministry for over 35 years. In that time, he has had some amazing positions, and some that created a great deal of pain. Marilyn married Josh in 1996 and has been along for most of that journey. One of the problems they had as they look back is they never really dealt with the trauma in the difficult churches. They just moved on.

In 2015, Marilyn and Josh moved back to NC and he became pastor of a dying church there. The congregation had gone from well over 200 to less than 40 in 20 years. In an assessment, the congregation gave themselves D's and F's in all of the nine areas identified in "The Autopsy of a Deceased Church." Ninety percent of them identified that the church was terminally sick or dying. Marilyn and Josh were ready to come alongside this congregation and help them be renewed.

One year later, the congregation had nearly tripled in size. Their assessment was now B's through D's, and everyone felt more hopeful. People were being baptized for the first time in years. Things were moving in a positive direction.

One year after that, all hell literally broke loose. The church mafia got together and literally tried to destroy them. Josh had made a promise to be there for 10 years, and the church had agreed in writing to 10 years as well. They didn't care. It ended with two deacons and a sheriff at their house with a termination letter. One month later, they took Josh and Marilyn to court asking to evict them from the parsonage and put them on the street that day. The experience was devastating and was described as "the worst thing we've ever seen happen to a pastor." It took a decade to really get to a place of true healing.

There were a lot of individuals who helped initially, but there was no formal help. Josh and Marilyn left without a salary package and he went without a full-time job for over a year. Their life was in shambles. Their marriage nearly didn't survive and their three children were suffering. Let's describe it this way: Imagine you and your family are in a terrible car accident. You are broken and bleeding on the side of the road. There are caring people who stop and provide first aid, water, and food. But then they say, "You'll get over this. God's got you. Trust in the Lord." And they leave. What does this family need?

A trip to the hospital.
Long-term recovery care.
Physical therapy.
Counseling.
People to show up and help with food, and cleaning, and watching the kids, etc, etc, etc.

This is the vision of Acacia Ministries.

There are many retreat-based ministries that provide a short-term respite during or after trauma for ministry and military families. There are counselors. There are other resources. However, it is often expected that families find and pay for these resources in the middle of their trauma. Families are expected to find their own help while they are emotionally and spiritually bleeding out.

Our family has been there. We have had to navigate congregational abuse mostly on our own. We have experienced the earthquake that military deployments and service can cause a family. We have walked through those dark valleys and have found healing and restoration. What we know is that if we had someone who walked through it with us and helped us through that time, healing might have happened much more quickly and completely.

Marilyn and I felt called to create what WE needed and provide it to others. We want to support you, believe in you, and help be a part of the restoration that God is going to provide. We want every ministry family to walk away healed and ready to continue to serve God in vocational ministry. We want every military family to experience healing and continue to maintain that health throughout their career.

We have been where you are and we see you.

FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

BLUF: We will serve any military or veteran family without exception.

We want to be clear that we serve through the lens of our faith as followers of Jesus. What that means is that we are going to use principles from the Bible as we serve you. We believe that God instituted principles regarding life that will lead to a life well lived. I know couples who are not believers who follow the rules when it comes to marriage and have great marriages, and I know church people who break all the rules when it comes to marriage and have horrible marriages. If all I do is eat fast food and drink soda and never exercise, I'm going to get diabetes. I can pray all day but if there is no action, then there will be negative results. You see where I'm going.

We want you to know that whether you have faith in Christ, faith in another god, or no faith at all, we will serve you and help you on your journey. As an Army chaplain, Josh has worked with people of all sorts races, colors, creeds, and sexual orientations. He carries that heart into Acacia.

If you want to know more about our specific religious beliefs, read on.

FOR MINISTRY FAMILIES

The body of Christ is large and diverse and encompasses many people and traditions. Although we hold specific beliefs in some areas that may differ, we affirm that the boundaries of core Christian doctrine are defined by the Nicene Creed and affirmed throughout the centuries by all streams of the Christian faith. The Nicene creed is as follows:

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

At Acacia Ministries, we practice theological hospitality when it comes to beliefs that fall outside of this creed. As a result, we will serve and commune with anyone who can affirm these core doctrines.