The Word and the Work: Thoughts on Preaching, Pastoring, and the Christian Life

It is a rarity for me to post two blogs in a week.  Heck it is rare for me to post two blogs in a month, but here I am.  I am writing here as someone who is just beginning to understand what God has in store.  Not just for me, but for us all.  God's plan is nothing short of miraculous every single day of our lives.  I would recount to you the examples of this in the last week, but I don't have the time nor the typing prowess to type that much.  God showed me something today in a very simple thing and that is miraculous. I am overwhelmed by how culture can effect our behavior even when we try to be on guard.  I had the pleasure of going to speak at a school today.  It was a Christian school and they asked me to bring a 10 minute chapel message.  Now, I wanted to get the kids attention so I took two Evangecubes I was planning on asking a couple of questions at the beginning and giving these 2 evangecubes to those who answered properly.  Anyways, I felt it was my responsi

I am the SENIOR PASTOR of Chestnut Grove Baptist Church.  Not that there is a junior pastor.  There is just me, but the title remains.  I am simply the pastor.  So, here I am 2 months into my first pastorate.  I probably know it all by now, right?  Not hardly.  Luckily, I was blessed with a salesman's brain so names are coming easy, which makes things much more smooth. So, 8 weeks in I was hoping to have some great pearls of pastoral wisdom to share, but again I say, not hardly.  Anyways, I will tell you a few things.  The first thing is that people here are amazing.  They have been a blessing to both me and my family.  We have been provided with a great home and much more. Secondly, I will confess that I love my job.  I know I am not supposed to call it a job, but it is that and a lot more.  It is a calling, a lifestyle, and really just a lot of fun.  I have had some great and not so great moments already, but I hope that in time everyone will be able to discern my heart.  I d

                                                                                                           But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Cor 7:32   Everyone loves to talk about discipline.  Discipline in schools, discipline for your kids, church discipline.  Right? Actually no one likes to talk about it.  I am only talking about it because God is convicting me of a lack of discipline in one area of my life.  For the official record. I have gained more discipline over the last year of my life than at any other time before.  It is a direct result of working under my Senior Pastor, one Dr. Daryl Harbin.  He believes in discipline, and because of him I have found out that I really do to.  I always thought I believed in discipline.  You know I try to discipline my children and those under my ministry if necessary, but through his guidance I have learned what is truly important.  Self Discipline.  I am now a d

I want you all to think about your pastor.I love my pastor.  I believe he is a mighty man of God that preaches truth. I am sure most of you feel this way about your pastor.  I have many men in my life that I look to as mentors and role models even in ministry.  Now, I want you to imagine that something drastic happened.  Imagine your pastor was caught doing something morally reprehensible.  I do not want to get into specifics but just tag him with the worst thing you can think of for the sake of the example.  No doubt about it he is guilty of this act.  Here is the question.  Does his action discredit wholly the message he preached? Will it end your walk with Christ because of what your spiritual leader did?  If it would cause you to walk away from your faith, then I want to tell you that you never had any faith to begin with.  Do not get me wrong, a pastor caught in sin is heartbreaking and it will shake a church, but it should not destroy it.  The problem with many Christians is th