I continue to be amazed at the level at which people share with me in counseling. It is a high privilege that people trust me and the other pastors on our staff with so much. It is also a deep responsibility. What does that combination of high privilege and deep...

In my early years of ministry I came across a preaching book by John Mason Stapleton called Preaching In Demonstration Of The Spirit And Power.  Not the catchiest title, but it does come straight from I Corinthians 2:4. Anyway, in that book, Stapleton goes to...

I have a confession:  earlier in my ministerial career I treated any conversation about church mission statements with the dreaded eye roll. "Not again," I thought.  "There goes someone pontificating about mission and vision, which if you ask me is just a...

Yesterday's message ... Began with a "mini-point" that was a stepping stone to the major point. I think that's allowed under the Simplify The Message method; Pointed out that adrenaline may make you stronger but it does not make you smarter; Included a testimony from...

Here it is: a photo from Spelman Hall on the campus of Princeton University on November 14, 1982. My 21st birthday. Julie had thrown a surprise party for me. I remember opening the door to her door and being greeted with the sights and sounds of tennis teammates,...

Many of you might remember Billie Jean King, a tennis heroine of yesteryear who won Wimbledon six times while also beating Bobby Riggs in 1973's "Battle Of The Sexes." What you may not know is that for all her accomplishments on court, King had a notoriously poor...

I admit it: I have been on a Dawes binge. Who -- or what -- is Dawes? A 21st century band, with a sound that echoes the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, and even, improbably, Big Tent Revival. A modern band with a lyrical...

Ron Dozier, who has been on our staff for 12 years now and recently became the Moss Campus Pastor, delivered the second sermon in The Trust Factor series. Contrasting Frank Sinatra with Proverbs 3:5-6, Ron's message landed here: My Way Destroys. His Way Delivers. Here...

One of our relatively new volunteer leaders got a job in another state recently, and moved there with his family. It happens a lot. Then on Wednesday, I got this series of messages from him: Hey Talbot hope all is well! We have been here for a couple months and...

My Tuesdays are fairly predictable: they start early in the office with prayer and meetings and sermon prep and meetings, and then I leave around 5 to work out at the Y, and then back home for a quick dinner and sermon prep. Julie travels most Tuesday, so I have this...