I attended my first Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois when I was 8 years old. Needless to say, I have attended my share of conventions and enough for the share of some others. I enjoyed every one, partly because it was a place and a time to see friends, former students, past…
This week, the Southern Baptist Convention convenes for its annual meeting, There will be much discussion, perhaps another amendment or two, and then a vote on the issue of churches who have female staff members who carry the title of “pastor.” My feelings on the issue are forged by two experiences. The first goes back…
I recently spent more than three hours at a concert listening to old-fashioned, southern gospel quartet music. I have loved this style of music since my very early days in deep east Texas, where “quarterly singings,” sometimes called “fifth Sunday singings” were common. Last week was a journey back into those early days of yesteryear….
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. While such a day is not mentioned in the Bible, and in fact, only made it onto the U.S. calendar in 1914, many mothers are mentioned and honored. In fact, the sixth commandment says to “honor your mother” (Exodus 20:12). In honor and memory of mothers, here are a few of…
Last Thursday was America’s National Day of Prayer. I was reviewing my favorite quotes on prayer. Allow me to share ten of them with you. “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” – Oswald Chambers “True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It…
In 1952 the U.S. Congress passed a bill instructing the President to set aside one day each year as a National Day of Prayer. As the years went by this was observed rather sporadically and often without much advance notice as to the selected day. In 1998 the U.S. Congress passed another bill naming the…
Friends (and a few who were not friends) have commented on my sense of humor. Both of my grandfathers possessed great senses of humor as did my father, so I guess I inherited it. Nevertheless, it has kept me balanced and sane. William Arthur Ward, a Christian motivational writer said, “A well-developed sense of humor is…
During a March Spring Break week in the early 1970s a small group of university students from then, Pan American University, made their way to South Padre Island, where several hundred fellow college students had gathered. There was a difference in their purposes. The hundreds were there for the S’s – sun, surf, sand, suds,…
I didn’t cry much when I was young but when I did, someone was always there to care for me – grandmother, mother, aunt. As I grew older, my need for someone to respond to my cries decreased, even as my times of crying were reduced. I grew up with the philosophy of life that says, grown…
It happened again. I’ll spare the details. This time it was one of my former Seminary students, a winsome, deeply committed young man. He had risen too fast from the small church where he began to serve, to a larger church with too much responsibility for his age and experience. He remembered a classroom lecture…