Photo credit: cnn.com I typically find most commencement speeches cliché ridden and filled with flawed and superficial advice. But on June 3, 2017, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delivered an admirably unconventional commencement speech

After over 25 years of pastoral ministry shepherding people through the problems and challenges they face, there are a few things that I’ve noticed that have stood the test of time.  The problem someone brings

Confession is simply agreeing with God about our sins and saying the same thing he does aboutsin. The result of confession and the believer’s life is to likewise agree with God about hisgospel. It is

One of the things I love about Christmas is that it reminds us that Christianity is an embodied religion. It’s a religion rooted upon the reality that God himself came into the world, took on

I love the church, not just the notion of an ideal church or the idea of the church. I love my church. The flesh-and-blood, blood-bought, messy assembly called Ashland Avenue Baptist Church.  The local church

Recently, at the recommendation of Dr. David Prince, I have been listening to a podcast entitled Alabama Astronaut. The mission of its creators is to capture the hitherto unknown songs of Appalachia that are uniquely tied

It has been about six years since I have written anything about Andy Stanley. Previously, I was concerned about his significant voice and following in evangelical and Southern Baptist circles. At the same time, it

I am not usually much on surveys and statistics, but one stat that has remained consistent for over a decade is how little professing Christians in America (including pastors) read the Scripture. Barna’s 2020 report

I have worked with the high school men from our student ministry (Veritas Student Ministry) for six years. I have the privilege of leading their small group. So, I am invested in the student ministry.