What does it mean to be a strong witness for Christ? What does it really mean to be a strong witness for Christ? Throughout my life I have often heard preachers, youth ministers, evangelists and countless others encouraging their hearers to bear a strong witness. How does one do this? Often a “strong Christian witness” is…
Category: Random Thoughts and Ramblings
Biblical Leadership
Are you sick of the Presidential debates yet? Oh, just wait until we get closer to the general election! As a pastor, I don’t feel that it’s appropriate for me to tell you which candidate or which party to support. Non-Profit status concerns aside, I simply do not believe that’s what the sacred desk is…
Going Across the Pond
Today was a day that I thought would be fairly typical. Instead, today turned out to be a day that I received some unexpected good news. Every year, Discipleship Ministries – an agency within the United Methodist Church – sponsors a pilgrimage to England where pilgrims are immersed in early Methodist history. Places such as…
Lent
Recently I was having a conversation with one of my fellow student pastor seminarians about liturgy. I grew up in a church that did not follow the liturgical calendar very closely and that didn’t practice special days and seasons such a Ash Wednesday and Lent. As I expressed to my friend, since I became a…
Tired
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” Isaiah 40:39 (NIV). On Sunday morning, I will stand behind the pulpit at Shiloh United Methodist Church and preach a message of hope on this second Sunday of Advent. Before I do that, I will help the congregation sing some wonderful songs…
Mental Illness from a Christian Perspective
Over the weekend we got the news that Rev. Rick Warren’s son, Matthew, committed suicide. Most of us know Warren as the author of The Purpose Driver Life and several other books as well as the pastor of Saddleback Church. I was not aware that Matthew had been fighting mental illness “since birth” as Warren states….
Graduation Reflections (or: An Open Letter to Recent Graduates)
Tonight I attended graduation at the school where my wife teaches. I want to say congrats to everyone in the class of 2012, no matter where you are! During the ceremony as I listened to the speeches by salutatorians and valedictorian, I reflected upon my own graduation. I graduated high school in 1999 so it’s…
My Testimony
The following is a testimony that I’ve typed out. At the request of a couple of my Twitter followers (speaking of Twitter, you can find me here), here it is in blog form. God bless! Many of my earliest memories involve church. From as early as they could, my parents had me in church as…
A Pastor That Leads
Today I heard one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard in any church that I’ve ever had the privilege of worshiping in. My church – Central United Methodist Church of Meridian, MS – has decided to undertake a very bold and brave experiment in order to find ways to help the church grow. Before I go…