It happened again several weeks ago, and it made me want to punch a hole in my computer screen. Thankfully, I had the restraint not to do so. Computers aren’t cheap. I was perusing my Facebook feed, and there it was—that link staring me in the face: An article at some blog talking about how pastoring is the most difficult thing you can do. Let me just state now to all you nurses, farmers, overnight factory workers, underpaid school teachers, etc., I apologize that such blogs exist. (I’m married to a nurse, I’ve pastored farmers and heard their stories, I know overnight blue-collar … [Read more...] about The Great Things About Being a Pastor
What Changed? (a question in light of Prestonwood Baptist’s decision to escrow gifts to the Cooperative Program)
Big news yesterday from the church of an ex-SBC president. Jack Graham said that Prestonwood Baptist has decided to “to escrow gifts previously forwarded to support Southern Baptist cooperative missions and ministries while the congregation discusses concerns about the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention,” according to Will Hall at the Baptist Message, the "news journal" of Louisiana Baptists. While each church has the right to determine how to support the cooperative efforts of the SBC, this particular decision takes on a more public light given Graham’s previous position as SBC … [Read more...] about What Changed? (a question in light of Prestonwood Baptist’s decision to escrow gifts to the Cooperative Program)
A Christian’s Response to President Trump’s Plan to Bar Syrian Refugees from Entering the United States
It was opening night of the Summer Olympics 2016. My then girlfriend, now wife, invited me to her apartment to join with some of her friends to watch the ceremonies and share a meal. Among those invited was a family, Syrian Kurds, who had been placed in Kansas City as part of the refugee resettlement program. Since they didn’t have a vehicle, we went over to their house to pick them up. As the ladies finished getting ready, the father talked about how grateful he was to come to the United States to get needed medical treatments for his children (the doctors they had been seeing in Syria had … [Read more...] about A Christian’s Response to President Trump’s Plan to Bar Syrian Refugees from Entering the United States
Be Excellent to Each Other (a call for a new year’s revolution)
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is one of those movies from my childhood that you would not typically think would be a source of wisdom. Yet, near the end, Bill S. Preston, Esq., utters a line that we need to hear today: “Be excellent to each other.” Funny how sometimes certain things in pop culture articulate a much-needed biblical truth…in their own way. Let’s face it, 2016 was a year of much vitriol, especially in a bitter political race. You had some Christian leaders seeming to question the spiritual maturity of those voting for one candidate, and others calling those not voting for … [Read more...] about Be Excellent to Each Other (a call for a new year’s revolution)
What’s your Bible reading plan for 2017?
Sixteen years ago, while in college, my church and Baptist Student Union challenged, encouraged, and held me accountable for something like no one had before: To read the Bible. I had been a Christian for 15 years leading up to that point. Along the way, I had bits and pieces of scripture embedded into memory. I would follow, in spurts, various reading plans that had a few verses here and a few there. But I had never actually devoted myself to read the whole of scripture, or even large chunks of it. And the spiritual illiteracy showed. But in the fall of 2000, that began to change. In that … [Read more...] about What’s your Bible reading plan for 2017?
O Little Town of Bethlehem (a Christmas meditation)
O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight The song O Little Town of Bethlehem speaks to the great thing that came out of seeming insignificance. This is the very thing that happened with the birth of Jesus. When God sent his Son into the world to be our Savior-King, he chose insignificance. Yes, for Jesus to be a descendant of David, he had to be born to one of David’s relatives. We get this in both … [Read more...] about O Little Town of Bethlehem (a Christmas meditation)
Tomorrow I will vote, and I will vote my conscience
Tomorrow is election day, and what a year it has been leading up to this point. If anyone back then had said that the two major candidates would be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the rest of us would have nodded in agreement to the first prediction and shaken our heads and laughed at the second. Yet here we are. To call this election “contentious”, even among evangelicals, would be an understatement. I think most of us are ready for November 9 so we can see the end of robocalls, political ads on TV, and Facebook posts about how civilization as we know it will come to an end if either … [Read more...] about Tomorrow I will vote, and I will vote my conscience
“Baptism now saves you”—a consideration of 1 Peter 3:21
We Baptists have historically believed, as we should, that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Yet, in maintaining these solas, we occasionally come across a passage of Scripture that makes us take pause. One such scriptures is Peter’s treatment of baptism in 1 Peter 3. There we read how Peter compares baptism to the great flood: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you…” We are quick to cry out: “Now this doesn’t mean that getting dunked into water actually saves you,” lest we be accused of holding to a form of baptismal regeneration which doesn’t … [Read more...] about “Baptism now saves you”—a consideration of 1 Peter 3:21
The Delight of God (a devotional)
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful song. ~Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT) God delights in his people. Let that thought sink in. It is sometimes a struggle we have when we think of God: How does God think of us? This struggle is especially real when we ponder the perfect holiness, righteousness, and goodness of God. How could we ever measure up? How could we ever be anything in his eyes other than a disappointment? Yet there it is, as we see in … [Read more...] about The Delight of God (a devotional)
Why go to a conference?
I’m not often a conference guy. I know some guys who would probably go to every church-related conference under the sun if schedule and wallet allowed, but that’s not me. I go to one, maybe two conferences a year—and I gotta say that I really like the one that has been on my schedule three years running now. In 2014, Midwestern Seminary launched their For the Church conference (complete with a change in school motto and website: ftc.co, which has many useful resources). I’ve been each year, and each year I’ve been able to convince more friends to come with me. There is just something … [Read more...] about Why go to a conference?