Salt, Pepper, Faith & Repentance

During one of my high school classes, we studied etiquette. My teacher always repeated the phrase “don’t divorce the salt and pepper.” Apparently, when someone asks for the salt, you are supposed to pass the pepper too. To do otherwise is considered rude (who knew?). It reminds me of what happens simultaneously at conversion: repentance …

Your Life Is About To Change

It seemed like I was living “the dream” for three months. From January through April of 2006, I was constantly hungry. I ate everything in sight –pizza, steak, ice cream, candy bars- you name it. Every night, I would wake up 5-6 times and raid the refrigerator. On one occasion I ate an entire chocolate …

A New Sword Drill For the Church

Growing up, I remember my Sunday school teachers having periodic “sword drills” where they would call out a verse of scripture and the class would have a race to see who could be the first to find it in their Bible (sword). Although its been quite a few years since my last sword drill, I …

Road Trip: Bono, Arkansas

Pastor Shawn Brandon is a “people person.” I could tell right away as he and his wife Janee’ greeted my son and me in the church parking lot. Shawn has pastored Herman Baptist Church for seven years now. He has a vibrant ministry as displayed by the enthusiasm of his people. Before the service, Shawn …

Road Trip: Three First Baptists

The best part of my job is being able to spend time one-on-one with pastors. Pastors are a gift to the church. They provide leadership, nurture, direction, teaching, counsel and care to God’s children. The Bible refers to pastors as “shepherds” (I Peter 5:2). Interestingly, this is the same terminology Scripture applies to Christ. In …

5 Things Your Pastor Would Love To Hear From You

Pastors are people. They are susceptible to the same emotional challenges everyone else faces. From time to time, they question their abilities, skills, direction and effectiveness. But unlike every other member of the church, most pastors do not have a pastor to counsel them through such challenging times. Life in the pulpit can be very …