For a time, I was the reigning champion in my church for making scratch biscuits and gravy. Every month, when the men gathered for our leadership meeting, I would go early and, with the help of a good friend, provide biscuits and gravy for all. I was doing pretty well until one Saturday morning. I was putting my secret recipe in a stainless-steel mixing bowl and discovered I was missing one critical ingredient. In a panic, I substituted something off the shelf in the hope it would … [Read more...]

Ever been to the beach and swarmed by sea gulls? You look around and some guy three beach towels to your right is throwing stuff in the air and the gulls are having a party. He throws something in the air like bread or pretzel bites or chewing gum wrappers or left-over foil from the cook-out the night before. The gulls just swoop in and gulp down the item without thinking through the ramifications of what they have consumed or what it might do with their system. Reminds me of the … [Read more...]

A few years ago, I shared this story told by Zig Ziglar after his 44th wedding anniversary. One day his wife looked at him and said, “Honey, I wish I was younger.” “Why?” Zig replied, thinking about the adventure of four decades of marriage to the woman of his dreams. “If I was younger, I could be married to you even longer,” she answered. Amazing story about a couple that loved each other through some of life’s very deep valleys. Is this the kind of marriage relationship people only … [Read more...]

For more than seven decades, my dad has helped people. It has always been his nature to lend a helping hand, and it was always right on time. He had this uncanny way of knowing how to fix anything mechanical. When someone would ask, “Henry, I can’t get this to work,” he was super-motivated to help. Over the years, I observed there was nothing mechanically broken that he wasn’t willing to tackle. Read the instructions? Never! Most of the time, with some thought, some planning, some … [Read more...]

Joining thousands in prayer for the International Mission Board’s recognition of its 175-year history has been a joy in 2020. For seventeen and a half decades, Southern Baptists have maintained an uninterrupted witness among the nations, in spite of famine, plagues, domestic and world-wide wars, presidential elections, economic downturns, depressions, recessions, inflation, and civil unrest. This commitment has not come without sacrifice. Strike the flag to half-mast! During the course of … [Read more...]

Periodically, someone places a few words in print that strike to the core. Steven Strauch, director of missions for the Laclede County Baptist Association in Lebanon, Mo., is battling for his life against cancer. When I saw these words, I shared with him that it is not unusual for someone facing a life-threatening illness to articulate something incredibly profound. In the context of Thanksgiving, I knew I needed to share these words with Pathway readers, so I asked for, and received, his … [Read more...]

Missouri Baptists are incredible people. The practices of the vast majority of our churches demonstrate incredible qualities that point people to the King of kings. Who or what can be compared to our Lord Jesus? When Missouri Baptists convened to hear great ministry reports, vote on cooperative budgets and policies, elect trustees for our entities, express perspective through resolutions, hear great preaching and fellowship with colleagues from across the state, we always pray for and … [Read more...]

For decades now there has been a concerted effort in October to express appreciation for the minister in your life. Perhaps 2020, with its COVID-19 cancel culture, face shields, and social distancing, frames the need for expressing appreciation for your pastor and other ministers more acutely than at any time in history. Plenty of studies are rolling out that speak to the pressures leaders are experiencing with the many facets of COVID-19 and their impact on life as we know it. As Sharon … [Read more...]