Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

Habemus Papam (2013-3-15)

As I was driving yesterday, I found myself in one of those rural areas where the only radio stations I could pick up were the six NPR stations on the far left of the dial (I know, ironic isn’t it?). It was the top of the hour and I wanted to listen to the [...]

Touched by a Virtual Stranger (2010-12-7)

I officiated at a funeral today for a man whom I had visited in the hospital but did not have a chance to know well.
As I visited with his family to prepare for the funeral, two things genuinely touched my heart.
One was a story that his daughter told of her father’s last moments.  She had [...]

A Most Wonderful Mistake (2010-11-22)

Last night after a church meeting, I was standing around talking with some of the good people here at FBC Barnwell.  The conversation turned to Don Sanders’ yard decorations.  Apparently, it is something to see.  He said, “We make no apologies for being tacky.”  I began to get more of a mental image when he said [...]

John and Jamie Miles (2010-11-18)

Yesterday, I attended a funeral for Andrea Williams’ father in Buford, GA.  The return trip put me in Madison just about suppertime, so I called my friend John Miles to see if we could connect for dinner.  We did, and I’m so glad we were able to get together.
John and I practiced law together in [...]

Come to the Quiet (2010-8-2)

Since being called to serve First Baptist Church of Barnwell, SC, life has been a whirlwind.  There have been so many things in Barnwell that needed attention — housing, setting up new office space, learning new names and faces, building new relationships, adjusting to the peculiar needs of a new congregation which I’m only beginning to [...]

The Wounded Pastor (2010-7-1)

I’ve been invited to candidate for the pastorate of First Baptist Church in Barnwell, SC, which I will do on July 18.  This appears to be a wonderful opportunity.  The right time for my family, the right location near my father, son and grandson, and the right church, full of good people with good leadership [...]

Mark Altrogge (2009-11-18)

I had the privilege yesterday of sitting down to lunch with Mark Altrogge.  He is pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Indiana, PA, and the author of hundreds of contemporary Christian songs including I Stand in Awe, I’m Forever Grateful, and One Pure and Holy Passion.  I list those because they are my three personal [...]

A Welcome Day (2009-9-12)

“This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118.24
A Welcome Day
This is a day of hope, a day of light.
A golden sun has driven off the night.
And darkest fears can cause me no more fright,
Nor deepest tears in this day blur my sight.
How can this [...]

A Meaningful Dream (2009-9-9)

I pay attention to dreams.
I think I should.  “For God does speak—now one way, now another—though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn [...]

And No Religion, Too? (2009-8-24)

When I was a child, John Lennon’s song “Imagine” was very popular.  He is asking people to imagine Utopia, a world in which all is well with everyone, a planet engulfed in world peace. It’s the kind of world that Christian’s anticipate in the restored earth—only without Christians.
            Imagine there’s no Heaven.
            It’s easy if you [...]