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 …
What if Christians were more like Christ? What if we lived zestfully, gave sacrificially and loved unconditionally? What if instead of complaining about rights lost, we loved those who wish to wrong us? What if we practiced turning the other cheek? What if instead of seeking legislation to protect our rights, we laid our rights … Continue reading
The Sunday School class I teach has been going through the opening chapters of Genesis which means we are encountering the great themes of Creation, the Fall, Judgment and the Promise of Redemption. With each story we have been constantly reminded at how man excels in all the wrong areas. Whether it’s Eve eating the … Continue reading
Recently a well-known Christian author admitted that he doesn’t go to church very often. His reasoning was that he doesn’t learn through listening to “lectures” or “connect” through music (you can read more of his reasoning in a follow-up article here). As I read through his reasoning and the follow-up comments, both on his blog … Continue reading
The much anticipated creation vs. evolution debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye finally took place and it did what I expected it to do: it gave internet trolls on both sides the chance to yell at each other about how right their particular view is. The hashtag, #creationdebate was even trending on Twitter last … Continue reading
Let me begin by saying parenting is hard. Anybody who says otherwise simply is not a parent or they are doing it wrong. Thus when I see an article about parenting written by a parent who is trying their best to “bring up a child in the way he should go” I am very reluctant … Continue reading
It’s that time of year again where we set goals, make resolutions and try to figure out how to improve ourselves in the upcoming year. I’ve never been a resolutions type guy, but I do like to set goals, so here’s some of my goals for 2014. 1. Use Social Media to Encourage, Edify and … Continue reading
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,200 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it would take about 53 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the … Continue reading
It will happen again tonight the way it has happened for at least the last 53 years. A family will gather around a tree, and before the presents are handed out and before the first gift is opened, one of the children will open the December, 1960 edition of the Wilson Certified News and read … Continue reading
It’s happened again. A well known Christian gives an interview and espouses his Christian worldview and then the world acts surprised and calls for his head. It happened with Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A, with Stephen Broussard of ESPN, and now it has happened to Phil Robertson of A&Es mega-hit, “Duck Dynasty”. In an interview with … Continue reading
“Daddy, I want to change my name.” “Oh really?” I replied, my curiosity piqued by the precocious 9-year-old in my rear view mirror. The sparkle in her blue eyes was hardly diminished by her wire-rimmed glasses. I could tell this was going to be good. “And just what do you want to change your name … Continue reading
The Pondering Preacher 