This past weekend proved to be a historical event in the lives of our family.  It was the final tournament of our basketball season!  It has been a long season, and we were all happy to walk away with a trophy and a strong showing in the final game! These guys gave it their all, and I am proud of each one of them. Like most tournaments, the refs took the blame for many of the mishaps and losses.  They made some good calls and some bad ones. Usually, when a bad call is made, the crowd of the penalized team will voice their displeasure. To counter that, one ..read more

The Southern Baptist Convention (the largest protestant group/denomination in the United States) just released some staggering statistics that would behoove all of us to consider. From 1946 to 1972, the number of Southern Baptists more than doubled, from 6 million to 12 million. Then the membership figures continued to rise, peaking at 16.3 million members in 2006. But things are changing. In total, the SBC has lost more than 1.3 million people in just three years.   As you can imagine there has been much speculation and talk of why the decline. One does not have to look deep into th ..read more

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalm 19:1   I am sure we all have seen some beautiful places on this earth.  Places that seem to emphasize God’s glory more than others. Living in “almost heaven,” I see them every day!  But before I begin describing another almost heaven, I would love to hear about  a place you have seen that fits the Psalm 19:1 description.  Please leave a comment and let me know.    One such place for me was Maui.  It has been over twenty years since I was there, yet its beauty and gr ..read more

My friend, Dr. Chris Sanchez, shared this article by James Scott regarding areas where pastors are failing their churches.  I will add my thoughts to his article, but my focus will not only be on the failure of pastors but of leaders. After twenty-four years of being among and around leaders all over this country, and writing this article from the home of West Virginia University, I have learned a lot from observing an array of leaders. What other failures need to be avoided for our church leaders and leaders of other organizations to help succeed in 202 ..read more

October is over and I already feel under appreciated!  Honestly, I usually feel lower during “pastor appreciation” month than I do any other time of the year.   Don’t get me wrong, the notes of appreciation are welcomed but often feel forced.  One appreciation card I received proved this very point.  It said, “Don’t get too excited about this card, the youth pastor made me write it.”  The cards read much like the “I appreciated that message” comments from people as they walk out of church.  Comments that most likely would never be made if I wasn’t standing there ..read more

Here in the States, we tend to name creatures and creations in a way that many other parts of the world do not. I am sure this seems strange to our international friends. For instance, I have a dog named Tucker. I have friends in other countries who would call him “Supper” ( if you know what I mean). We have cars that we nickname. I have a chair in my living room we call the “Kings Chair.” Oddly enough, much of the world has called on their phone by the name “Siri” even though we don’t fully understand who “Siri” is. In I Samuel we see where Solomon does the same. He gave two names to two ..read more

Over the past month, two different parents approached Carrie and I with admiration for our kids not having cell phones. They commended our unconventional approach, and praised our parenting prowess.  As the praises poured out on our parenting abilities, we eventually had to reveal the truth: our kids did have cell phones, we just have a unique approach that limits their usage.   In an era where teenagers seem glued to their screens, it’s hard to ignore the overwhelming dominance of technology. Studies and surveys abound, highlighting the alarming statistics about teens’ constant phon ..read more

Zechariah was a prophet to the remnant who returned to their land after the seventy year captivity. Through Zechariah’s eight visions of the night God discloses how Israel’s foes will be destroyed, her idols removed, her city and Temple restored, and her Messiah revealed. Haggai and Zechariah labored together as prophets in the rebuilding of the temple, and tradition tells us they were buried in the same grave. In the first four chapters of Zechariah four different trees are mentioned. The first tree mentioned is the Myrtle tree (1:10-11). It is one of the prophetic pictures of God’s promised ..read more

If you could ask Jesus one thing what would it be?   Imagine if Jesus showed up in your home this afternoon and said, “OK, I’m giving you one question.” What would you ask Him? A young man in Mark 10 knew exactly what he wanted to ask. He came to Jesus looking for help. This young man held every standard imaginable. He set up boundaries and guidelines that he would not cross. But he came to Jesus looking for more. He knew something was missing he just didn’t know what. He did everything right. He was commended among his peers for being such a solid, sincere, saint. He was well known ..read more

Despite being in the mountains of West Virginia we are everything but excluded from people. Everywhere we turn, look, or move there are people. In Morgantown, there are people, when students are back, lots of people. My guess is there are lots of people in your city as well, and with those people come problems.  Lots of problems. But does it have to be this way?   Our churches and ministries are full of people who see things differently. We all come from different backgrounds and beliefs. At Faith, we have people from all different backgrounds, ages, and churches. Doctrinally we ..read more