I first met Jim Essian when he played 3rd base for the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team and I worked with the team Chaplain. I next met him years later as he was starting a church in downtown Fort Worth. Many church plants don’t make it seven years, but many are not started…
I’m not sure I’ve ever known anyone who loved their pastor more than my wife loved hers. Joanne grew up as a member of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio where Buckner Fanning was her pastor. I learned a lesson early in our marriage, that led to a decision that, partially at least, shaped my…
Growing up I lived with my grandparents in Bellmead, Texas. It was during World War II and my Dad was in Germany. My mother had contracted Tuberculosis, and was in a sanitarium in west Texas. My grandfather worked hard six days a week, but Sunday was our day. We went to church, followed by lunch,…
When Jacob was finally made aware of the location of his son Joseph, he was allowed to take his family to Egypt. Upon arrival, Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?” (Genesis 47:8). In most cultures, this is a question that is considered rude to ask. Most older people don’t want to give their age….
Here’s a Christmas word for you. The oft-read “Christmas Story” from Luke 2, contains a wonderful word, largely a lost word in our vocabulary – “ponder – “to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate; to weigh carefully in the mind; to consider thoughtfully.” “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart”…
I speak in a lot of diverse places and under a variety of circumstances. Sometimes the welcome is warm and cordial. Other times, not so much. This time, I had completed a Sunday evening assignment of speaking in a church located not far from my home. I make it a practice to know as much…
Tis the season for graduations. Many years ago, at my Seminary graduation, the commencement speaker spoke on the subject “Don’t Forget the Lily Work” from 1 Kings 7:15-22. Hiram finished the construction of Solomon’s Temple with two pillars, each one 27 feet tall, topped with two capitals, each 7 ½ feet high. Then 34 ½…
Have you ever judged someone only by their appearance? Samuel took one look at Eliab and came to a conclusion – “He looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” (1 Samuel 16:6) but God corrected Samuel’s opinion. With every semester that I taught, I looked over my students and resisted…
Early in my tenure on a seminary faculty, I attended an annual academic meeting of national scholars, similar to the one that attracted 10,000 persons last week in Boston. From the time I graduated (the first time) from Seminary, until my retirement, my ministry related to campuses – fifteen years to three University campuses and…
Sometimes preachers have thoughts during their sermons that did not occur to them during the preparation time. It happened to me several years ago on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. As expected, I was preaching on being thankful, using the example of the one leper out of ten who returned to thank Jesus for healing (Luke…