The long term pastor

Posted on August 24, 2015 | 7 comments

I’m starting my 21st year as pastor of First Baptist Church, O’Fallon, IL. We celebrated my 20 year anniversary with a reception, some ice cream (woo hoo!) and thoughtful cards and gifts. It has me thinking about the value of longevity for pastors.
Let’s face it. Some pastorates are short term for good reason. Sometimes the fit doesn’t work. Sometimes financial limitations or inflexibility or unwillingness to play nice ends relationships. Staying long term isn’t always best for the church or the pastor. I get that. But let me offer some suggestions about the benefits of long term pastorates for those who can make it work.
1. It builds Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Church, pastor

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Civil War Reading

Posted on August 12, 2015 | 2 comments

The Civil War wasn’t very civil. There were more American casualties than all the rest of our wars combined. It was ugly and brutal and lasted far longer than any had anticipated.

On summer vacation I read “Battle Cry of Freedom” by James McPherson. It won a Pulitzer Prize so I figured I should give it a try. And why, by the way, have my books been skipped over in this Pulitzer Prize thing? But I digress.
The book is less than 900 pages. Long, but much shorter than some others including Shelby Foote’s trilogy. It is well documented and well written. The well written part is really helpful, especially when there are 900 pages involved.

I note a couple of things that I learned or Continue reading →

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Posted in books, history, military, Uncategorized

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Why We Need the Military

Posted on July 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

I read a biography some time back on the life of Albert Einstein. There were some surprises. First, he was pretty smart. (It takes a genius to recognize one!) Second, when it came to family life and morality, he was no Einstein. A terrible example in some ways.
But there was one area where Einstein changed his views entirely. Early in his life, he was a committed pacifist. He was so committed to his view that he urged people to refuse to serve if drafted.
He changed his views. Can you guess why? Continue reading →

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The Positive Future of the Southern Baptist Convention

Posted on June 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

A friend of mine advises pessimism so that life is full of pleasant surprises. (Doesn’t that sort of defeat the point?) But I can’t help myself. I am hopelessly hopeful. (And I like a good oxymoron on occasion.)

When it comes to the Southern Baptist Convention we can certainly point to difficult challenges- and I have. But, there are many reasons to be “hopelessly hopeful” about our convention and I want to name a few just to put our future into perspective.

1. The emphasis on Continue reading →

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The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention

Posted on June 3, 2015 | 32 comments

I’m neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. That’s a bad start for confidence in my predictive powers. But let me speculate on the future of the Southern Baptist Convention with whom I have been associated my entire life.

In many ways I am describing what is more than what will be. Perhaps this is more of where we are than where we are headed. While it seems likely we will have more of what we currently have, God can change things dramatically. Perhaps we will have a great revival. Perhaps we will have ruin. But here is where it seems we are and where we are headed. (Keep in mind the “neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet” part.)

1. We will be less Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, evangelism, southern baptist convention

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Bad Ideas for Church Advertising

Posted on May 14, 2015 | 2 comments

While in another country, I saw ads painted on the sides of homes and buildings. It was a way for the home or business owner to make some extra income. So, I started thinking about churches. They have big walls and could use extra income. What if they used those walls for advertising? The ideas are endless- and bad ideas abundant. Here are some of those bad ideas for church wall advertising.

– Rogaine. It works for Pastor Bob.

– Dr. Pepper. The preferred soft drink for non-heretics.

– Youth Pastor Jimmy recommends Continue reading →

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Posted in Christian humor, faith, humor, outreach

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What Missionaries Need

Posted on May 8, 2015 | 4 comments

I’m not a missionary but that won’t stop me from speculating on what they need. And I might be right. After all, I know what most mother’s need– sleep! (Followed by a long nap.)
So, here are 5 things I suspect missionaries need from us. Feel free to suggest others.

1. Encouragement. Discouragement comes easily and sneakily. Being far from family, friends and culture can lend itself to this malady- and the interest rate on that loan is huge. Many Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, missions, Uncategorized

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4 Helpings of Birthday Cake

Posted on April 20, 2015 | 1 comment

Sunday was my birthday. I loved sharing my birthday with hundreds and hundreds of people at church. I love my church despite all the “humaness” that keeps us from being perfect. My church, like yours, is filled with people who have messed up and fallen. It is filled with people like Continue reading →

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Posted in blessings, Church, family, friendship, Uncategorized

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Bad Christian Tattoos

Posted on April 3, 2015 | 2 comments

There are many ways to go wrong with tattoos. Names of old flames, too scary, too colorful. Not to mention the faded tattoo of the girl on one’s arm done 50 years ago. She can lose her charm after 50 years. Just saying.

Sometimes Christians use tattoos as a statement of some sort. A cross, a bible verse in Greek- that sort of thing. But, just in case you are a Christian and thinking of a tattoo, here are my top ten bad Christian tattoo ideas to avoid.

1. A full color Continue reading →

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The Low-Down on Prayer

Posted on March 26, 2015 | Leave a comment

Thoughts on prayer from my praying wife.

Vickie Munton's avatarwateringcanblog

HERE IT IS:

Prayer is ESSENTIAL.

HERE’S WHAT IT’S NOT:

A token of appreciation.

A “go-to” when we’re desperate.

A “wish list” of our wants.

A poetic gesture with magical consequences.

IF IT IS ESSENTIAL, then why does it often feel like an anomaly?

anomaly [uh–nom–uh-lee]: “An odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.” [dictionary.com]

It doesn’t have to be.  The God of the Bible has given us this supernatural ability to communicate with Him, but unfortunately, it very often is a struggle and doesn’t come natural to us.  Because of our human condition we are desperately in need of this intimacy with our Creator, but find it difficult–often because of our own preconceived ideas.

There have been volumes written on this very subject, but I would like to simplify this very complex idea of communicating with God in a way…

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