• Just Plain Vows

    Just Plain Vows

    I do not favor custom marriage vows, and I think ministers everywhere should discourage them. Instead, I believe there is something to be said for out-of-the-box, boilerplate vows recited by every couple. It may seem like a small thing to have an opinion about, but this is something I’d like you to give some thought…

  • Can Christ Restore?

    Can Christ Restore?

    Last week, candidate for President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Willy Rice, announced he is no longer vying for the role. Reverend Rice has been pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, FL, since 2004. Controversy arose around his candidacy for the top position in the SBC echelon when someone publicized his church ordained a man…

  • “Mickey-ing” Around with Our Children

    “Mickey-ing” Around with Our Children

    Disney has finally said the quiet part out loud, haven’t they? The tension between The Walt Disney Company and Christians has been palpable for at least two decades. It all seemed to start when they permitted gay-pride week in their parks. A move perfectly within their right. But recent revelations should give Christian parents pause…

  • Life For Life

    Life For Life

    On November 26, 1981, in Leetown, MS, James Billiot killed his stepfather, mother, and 14-year-old stepsister with an 8-pound sledgehammer. It was a gruesome crime. The State sentenced Billiot to death in December 1982. Today, 40-years-later, he is still on death row. Billiot is one of thirty-five folks on Mississippi’s death row. They’ve been there…

  • Singing the Songs of Zion

    Singing the Songs of Zion

    Music is a powerful instrument. As a teenage driver, certain tunes seemed to make my foot a little heavier on the pedal. As a father, I sang to my young children to usher them into the land of Nod. Music has the power to transport us back in time and to other places. It can…

  • Tender Love

    Tender Love

    As the father of four, no one has ever asked me why or if I love my children (and I’ll never admit to having wondered that myself). That parents will love their children is just assumed. But, some parents don’t. I read once of a woman who left her newborn child in an orange grove…

  • Brand Ambassador or Christ’s Ambassador?

    Brand Ambassador or Christ’s Ambassador?

    Is a pastor a brand ambassador? Christ calls every pastor to a specific work in a specific church. God calls him to minister to a local body, to serve as the shepherd to a definite membership roll. In the apostolic era, the name of your church simply matched its geographical location. We have letters to…

  • God is Good

    God is Good

    I was standing in a friend’s backyard recently when he turned the conversation to God – a topic he does not particularly enjoy discussing. According to him, preachers are nothing but storytellers and church-goers hypocrites. His biggest problem with God’s existence, though, is that the world is full of suffering. If God existed, in other…

  • White Elephant Worship

    White Elephant Worship

    Have you ever bought a gift for someone and been disappointed by their reaction to it? You thought your gift would make a big impression, and instead, the person didn’t want such a gift at all! In fact, it might come back to you at next year’s white elephant party. I’d encourage you to think…

  • The Christian Myth

    The Christian Myth

    “You are enough!” That’s a popular mantra among many Christians. However, the problem is that it does not come from the Bible and further demonstrates that Christians are operating with a non-biblical worldview. Why do Christians believe falsehoods like this one, and what should they believe? We could offer several reasons why Christians might believe…

  • Lost in Thought

    Lost in Thought

    Only 6% of the American population has a Christian worldview. Christian sociologist and researcher George Barna disclosed this stark finding in a recent presentation. When concentrating on the church, the percentage rises to only 21%. Put another way, for every five evangelical Christians that walk into the church, four of them have not adopted a…

  • The Origin of Coronavirus

    The Origin of Coronavirus

    Where did the Coronavirus originate? We have been obsessed with that question since the pandemic fanned to a flame. Was it rotten bat meat from a Wuhan wet market? Was it bio-engineered by a lab in the same city? The answer to that question is important because it may be a matter of justice. Certain…