Walking with Jesus

Thank you, Jesus, for giving me strength to finish and for running with me. Thank you, Olivia, for believing in me and keeping me motivated. Thank you, Gracey, for waiting for me at the finish line (with Mommy). Thank you, Friends and Family, for your notes and your prayers. 4 hours, 43 minutes 2473rd of only 5813 runners who finished the full marathon. 20021 runners finished the half-marathon. About 5000 were not able to finish the race!

This morning, we're on our way to San Anotonio to run in the San Antonio Rock-N-Roll Marathon. This is my first marathon, and I'm excited about it. We've been training for over 6 months and I feel really good about it. So, this Sunday morning, pray for me as I run. Pray also for God to be glorified, because that is my hope for this. I don't know how that will happen, but I believe it is possible. Pray for Jesus to give me the right thoughts and prayers as I run. I'm running for Olivia. I'm running for myself. I'm running for the Lord. Maybe it should be the San Antonio GOD ROCKS Marathon!

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  * Ephesians 6:12 "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war , testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war . We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detr...

I think the most important thing a Senior Pastor does is equip the believers in his congregation to serve God. God has a purpose for his people. There’s a reason we are called to grow in Christ, discover our individual ministries, and even face opposition. God is on a mission to reconcile the world to himself, and he is inviting us to participate in that mission. In fact, he’s decided that our participation is critical to accomplishing his mission in the way that brings him the most glory and honor. A Senior Pastor leads others to join God in this mission by equipping them to serve God. Serving God involves acknowledging God as Holy, worshiping God for who he is, praising him for what he has done, revering him as Lord, trusting him as Savior, knowing him as Father, and obeying him as King. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service,...

There are several people who have influenced my theology and my philosophy of ministry. Dr. James Shields, my preaching professor at Hardin-Simmons, challenged me to test my calling to the ministry, to always give my best, and to communicate truth to God’s people with integrity, clarity, and God-fearing authority. Dr. H.K. Neely, my first Dean, taught me to see the Christian story as a whole, rather than just my own narrow experience of God’s work across the centuries. Another professor, Dr. Larry McGraw, introduced me to the rationality of the Old Testament and taught me the difference between a biblical translation and a paraphrase. Others have also influenced me over the years. C.S. Lewis’ depiction of Jesus as Aslan was a foundational image in my understanding of the power and grace of the Son of God. He later inspired my even more while I was doing my Thesis on the Christology in The Chronicles of Narnia and reading the bulk of his writings. Likewise, J.R.R. Tolkien’s creation ...

In college, I was blessed to be a leader in ministry, though I wasn’t always a good one. I participated in mission trips, led a fellowship ministry, and was chosen to lead a drama ministry. I was passionate about it, but I had a lot to learn. I learned that motivating volunteers is very different than instructing employees. I learned to humble myself before those I was tryng to lead instead of being heavy-handed. I learned to plan, organize, and execute worship services. And, I learned to always keep learning. In seminary, I learned how to prepare a sermon, exegete a passage of Scripture, and wrestle with theologically difficult ideas. I learned how to reach out to culture and recognizethe changing world of faith as the chruch loses its place at the center of the town square. I also learned how to stand for truth, love the Scriptures, and find common ground for worshiping the living God. In church ministry, I learned how to function as part of a team. I learned from experience how...

I was ten when I first accepted Jesus as Lord. It was early March 1984, about a month after my birthday. Until then I’d been a normal church-attending kid. I went to class, sang songs, and colored or pretended as I sat through the sermon. It seems I always liked church, but when I turned ten I was suddenly struck with the need in my life for a savior and the reality of who Jesus really wanted to be in my own life. We attended Abilene Bible Church at the time. It was still located on Butternut Street and I remember with particular clarity those few intervening Sunday mornings walking past the open stone Bible by the front door. I knew God was asking me to respond, and each time our family entered the church I was struck with uncertainty as I walked by that Bible. Likewise, I was filled with the shame and confussion of my rejection each time I left that building without responding to his call. The matter demanded urgency, but was too important and life-altering to be rushed into wit...

I want to thank Olivia for my new blog header. She worked really hard on it and I'm so thankful. She's so sneaky! " Thank you, sweet girl! "

" But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be he shepherd of my people Israel ." ~ Micah 5:2 In Jesus's day, some Jews believed that the Scriptures proclaimed that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. And, in those days when people did not move frequently (even for generations), it is no wonder that there was some confussion caused by Jesus' having grown up in Nazareth. Even Nathanael, " a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false " proclaims " Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (John 1:47) I've been reading John's Gospel, and I've been struck by how vital this issue of the Messiah's origin was to them. Apparently there were two camps: those who believe the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, and those who believed that no one would know where the Messiah had come from. Apparently, God is big enough for both of them to m...