It’s something I have done since my first ministry. On Fridays I walk through the empty sanctuary, sit in each pew, and pray. I pray for the people who will sit there, whoever they may be. I pray that something happens to touch their hearts, strengthen their faith, or encourage them to live radically for …
I grew up southern. Even more significant, I grew up Virginian. The foothills of the Blue Ridge were my playground, the red clay of the Old Dominion was my sandbox, and the countless historical sites and landmarks were my classroom. I cut my teeth on the stories of the settlers of Jamestown. I can trace …
Ah, conventions. We church leaders love them. Leadership. Church Growth. Church Planting. Name the flavor and preachers, ministers, youth and worship leaders will flock to them. The best worship bands, well-known authors, preachers, and teachers will fill our minds with ideas and our hearts with zeal. And there in the seats we sit, with our …
I know, I know, I already wrote about the situation in Houston. And with several other bloggers writing about it, the proverbial dead horse has received his beating. So why another article? Because this could prove to be a watershed moment in American history concerning religious liberty, and the whole nation is watching to see … Continue reading
It sounds like something straight out of an Orwellian universe: government leaders demanding that clerics turn in their homilies to be inspected under threat of prosecution. But this isn’t some dystopian novel. This is modern-day America, and that is exactly what’s happening in Houston. The nation’s first openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker, is making a … Continue reading
It’s happened again. A well-known conservative makes a thoughtful and astute observation, and the supposedly more-tolerant left goes off the deep end. This time the conservative was reality show star Jessa Dugger. She decided to reflect on the deep impact visiting the Holocaust museum had on her, and she compared it to the practice of … Continue reading
She’s 4’7″ of spunky attitude. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of ten who owns every room she walks into and isn’t afraid of voicing her opinion, especially when it comes to her favorite team, the New York Yankees, or you, her favorite player. When it was time to choose jersey numbers for softball, she chose 2 … Continue reading
The past three weeks have done much to refresh me, prevent burn-out, and most importantly, allow me to draw even closer to God. I also learned some things while on sabbatical that can be applied to my life and ministry. Continue reading
We thought we were beyond this. We were supposed to be more civilized; more enlightened. Race riots were supposed to be one of history’s artifacts, tucked away in the attic of time right between steam engines and leisure suits. We thought we had buried the past. We were wrong. The events in Ferguson, MO over … Continue reading
I grew up watching reruns of Happy Days and its spin-off, Mork and Mindy. Mork from Ork was a suspender wearing, nanu-nanu-ing, drinks-his-beverage-through-his-finger alien that a five-year-old me found hilarious. Little did I know then that the actor portraying him would become a favorite. From family friendly films like Disney’s Aladdin and Jumanji to roles … Continue reading
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 We have traveled far to be here; we eighteen sojourners … Continue reading
There’s been a disturbing trend in Christian circles, and it’s been around for a number of years. It has ebbed and flowed, but with the explosion of social media in the past half-decade it is not only “trending”, it’s spreading like an epidemic among the evangelical world. What is this trend? It is a war … Continue reading
Lately I have been struggling with feelings of dissatisfaction. I’ve written blogs only to delete them. Sermon ideas get jotted down, only to be scribbled out. Movies get watched, only to be met with a dismissive shrug. Books get read, only to have a bookmark placed in them and shelved. Even my art, that lifelong … Continue reading
The Pondering Preacher 