The Notebook

Yes, I am one of those Southern Baptists that “was a Southern Baptist nine months before I was born.” I have been a part of this great denomination most of all of my life and am proud of the heritage of my background. I was in Royal Ambassadors and Sunday School. I taught Sunday Schools,...

Who’s in control of your life? God gives you the option. He doesn’t force Himself on anybody’s life. You have two options — either you can be in control of your life or you can let God be in control of your life. If you are in control of your life you’re playing God. Pl...

Money really does speak, even in the SBC. It seems that the pastor whose church gives the most (percentage wise) to the cooperative program has the best shot at getting elected President of this great denomination. Yesterday, Frank Page was elected President for a term of one year and it ws primaril...

I am writing an article on this subject and would like your thoughts on how we believers in America have twisted Christianity theology to fit our culture. The key word is theology. I am also interested in your take on methodology. An example would be that you have to wear suits and ties to church [&...

C.S. Lewis may not have coined the term trilemma, but his thought process brought about what we know as the term trilemma. Lewis, after examining the validity of Christianity astutely remarked that one must decide for themselves if Jesus, “was a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.” Lewis prese...

Brad Graves has posted great post “Young Leaders or Young Bloggers” at http://www.churchlaunchers.blogspot.com/ in which he examines the young blogger phenomenon in the SBC. As I read many of these blogs, I too wonder how many of these guys are pastoring a church. Blogging has become a g...

Maybe the title of this post grabbed your attention and you wanted to see the lies that are in the Bible. I guarantee that there are lies in the Bible, but they are not spoken by God, Christ, the apostles or the prophets, but the Bible is full of lies. The first lies can be […]...

About two years ago, I got a call from a guy I had never heard of named Ed Stetzer. Ed called me up to say that he was planting a new church in Atlanta named Lake Ridge Church. It just so happened that I pastor a church in the Cleveland area named Lake Ridge Church […]...

In two weeks the annual convention of Southern Baptists takes place in Greensboro, NC. For those of you attending the Pastors conference, you will be treated to a debate between Al Mohler, and Paige Patterson on the topic of election. This should prove to be one of the highlights of the Convention f...

I have had the opportunity to read some wonderful books lately which include Erwin McManus’ The Barbarian Way and just recently Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. When I first started reading Blue Like Jazz, I thought, “Oh great, another flakey Brian MacLaren type that calls himself a Chri...