Since the emergence of COVID, I have preached in dozens of churches, and served as interim pastor of two. Sunday after Sunday I have seen partially filled worship centers and heard church leadership explain how many they had “prior to COVID.” Attendance seems to be down everywhere. In an attempt to serve their congregations, churches have…
One of God’s greatest gifts is that of memory. I spent much of my birthday last week attending the funeral service and burial for one of the finest men I ever knew – Dr. Jack MacGorman, Professor of New Testament and Greek for more than fifty years at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. He had died two days before…
The last week of December is my favorite week of the year. Beginning with Christmas on December 25, followed by my birthday on December 30 and New Year’s Day on January 1. Family, friends, food, gifts and giving, ending and beginning. I often reflect on the quote by author Bill Vaughan “An optimist stays up…
I was feeling unusually tired that morning. Maybe it was my age – since it was my birthday month. Maybe is was the fact that I had been especially busy in the preceding days. Whatever the cause, I was tired and I had a speaking assignment that day and a few miles to travel before the event. That’s when…
It had been several decades since I had ridden an Amtrak train, but I rode one recently. Some things were the same as the last time – the seats were all facing opposite of the direction of the train, so we saw where we had been rather than where we were going; scenes outside the…
For the last two decades and more, we have lived on Rota Circle. I have told many people that all the streets in our neighborhood have Spanish names, and in Spanish Rota means circle, so we lived on Circle Circle. I was assuming that to be true. It made sense to me – rotator, rotary,…
When I retired from the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Seminary in 2007, I said to anyone who would listen, ”I’m retiring from a position, not from a calling.” Since then, one of the things that has kept me busy fulfilling my calling is serving as “Spiritual Life and Leadership Mentor” for the WestCoast Baptist Association…
Willie Nelson wrote it and often sings it – “On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” This past weekend, I took my first flight in almost two years, for a wonderful weekend of ministry in Rapid City, South Dakota – speaking to Church Planters on Friday night; leading a…
I’ve finally reached that age – that age, where friends my age are dying. I’ve lost several over the past few months, another last week. Actually, I have not lost them. I know exactly where they are. With each new pain and with every visit with a doctor or specialist, I realize that my time of joining my friends…
A friend in another town, and I, had trouble agreeing on where to meet for lunch. I was offering to drive to his town, and he was, likewise, offering to drive to mine. Finally, we agreed on meeting at a well-known restaurant, located half-way between our two towns. At least we were biblical in our…