As the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, I’ve only ever known Southern Baptist life. Our family vacations often included the SBC annual meeting, many of which I still vividly remember. As a child, I naively believed all Southern Baptist churches were alike. In my childhood simplicity, I thought every SBC church looked and sounded just like mine. As I grew older and became a Southern Baptist pastor, I’ve realized our convention isn’t evenly uniform. The truth is, we’re different in lots of … [Read more...]
What is success in ministry, life?
If I were to ask you, “What is success?”, how would you answer? Would your answer include something tangible, like possessions or gadgets? Would it be quantifiable, like income or position? Would it be relational, like praise and affirmation from others? Would it be generational, as in legacy or notoriety? We all live with a guiding metric for success. What we believe to be true success guides, motivates, and drives us. Our decision-making paradigm comes from our understanding of success. … [Read more...]
Christian, don’t give up!
Do you feel like you’re barely hanging on? Maybe you thought you had figured everything out, only to run headfirst into unexpected hardship. Life was pleasantly coasting by until you careened over the cliff into heartbreak, sorrow, and pain. If you’ve recently felt weak, wounded, tired, and weary, Christian, I urge and encourage you—don’t give up. None of us prefer hardship, but we are reminded of its inevitability. Jesus promises that the world will hate us just as it hated him (John … [Read more...]
What is truth?
“What is truth?” I’ll never forget the first time I was asked that question. I was at a Christian University’s Welcome Weekend hosting a church booth and had a sign that said, “We’re serious about truth.” After the students and noise died down and I started packing my things, a janitor timidly meandered over to my table and asked me an unforgettable question—“What is truth?” How would you answer this epistemological question? To a certain degree, everything in life depends on our … [Read more...]
How should Christians respond to Pride month?
I should have seen the wave coming. Like a yearly tsunami, I naively opened social media on June 1 and was hit with a wave of rainbows. Living through June forces the inevitable—our society overwhelmingly celebrates sin. Pride Month is a yearly challenge of how Christians ought to respond to LGBTQ issues. We can’t ignore it; it’s blatantly all around us. We can’t give in to despair; God calls us to always be filled with hope. And we can’t angrily treat people unkindly; we’re called to be … [Read more...]
How to pastor well during an election year
Presidential election years are a strain for pastors. Pastors cannot escape the God-given responsibility of faithfully shepherding Christ’s flock through every season—including election season. Pastors often weary from political pressures and uncertainties even within the church. If honest, most pastors are ready for the presidential political cycle to quickly conclude so we can move on with ministry life. Pastor, I would encourage you to view this upcoming presidential election season as a … [Read more...]
Do we live in gospel disconnect?
Is Christianity just for Sunday mornings? Or is the Christian worldview meant to pervade all aspects of human life? In my nearly seven years serving as a senior pastor, I have encountered what I call “gospel disconnect”—the lack of applying the gospel to all areas of life. My sense is most Christians have no problem listening, talking, and applying the gospel at church on Sunday mornings. But what about the rest of the week? What about in the areas of our life not normally associated with … [Read more...]
Why do people deconstruct their faith?
A recent phenomenon has hit evangelicalism. People who grew up attending church and expressing faith early in life are walking away from their previous professions. The inevitable result is young millennials either completely rejecting Christianity or severely wavering in what they still believe. The movement is called faith deconstruction, the process of unpacking, rethinking, and reexamining previously held beliefs. With such a significant shift taking place in our churches, how should … [Read more...]
Why do humans instinctively pray?
One of the most disconcerting moments in a football game recently occurred when Damar Hamlin suddenly collapsed. For the next ten minutes, he received life-saving CPR before being rushed to the hospital. Though the scene was astonishing enough, a secondary event simultaneously occurred on the football field that Christians should note—an entire football team (and likely majority of viewership) knelt to pray. Even the next morning a football analyst prayed on live television as he and his … [Read more...]
What does the Bible say about marijuana?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Read more about this issue here and here and here. On Nov. 8, Missouri voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana possession and use. Christian proponents argue that marijuana should be decriminalized because it is naturally created by God and allows for freedom of conscience. As Christians, how should we view the legalization of marijuana? Does the Bible speak to cannabis use? Though the literal words for marijuana aren’t in Scripture, the applicable principles are. … [Read more...]
The gospel and student loan forgiveness
The federal government recently moved to forgive some portion of collegiate student loans for qualified borrowers. Though this policy ought to be analyzed from an economic and political viewpoint, Christians would be wise to consider it from a biblical standpoint. Should Christians support this policy because of the gospel, as some have suggested? Is student loan forgiveness an accurate application of biblical grace, forgiveness, and justice? More important than getting a federal policy … [Read more...]
What does the Bible say about abortion?
When the Supreme Court recently reversed Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion exploded into the national consciousness. Now, more than ever, Christians must be clear that abortion is a moral question rather than a political one. As a moral issue, we must confidently know how Scripture addresses it. As Christians, our authority on abortion comes from the Word of God. God is not silent on the value of life, and we need to know what He says about it. Scripture offers three general principles to … [Read more...]