Some of my earliest memories of music involve sitting beside my Mimi at the piano. My grandmother was the church organist at Hoboken Baptist Church, and when I was about four years old, she would get me home from church on Sunday morning and, before we had lunch, sit me down at the piano.

​My brother tells the story of inviting our Mom to go with his family on a trip to Canada. At the time, Canada didn’t require a passport from US citizens but did require two forms of identification. Mom’s birth certificate and driver’s license would suffice.

A few years ago, my beloved was asked to preach the annual sermon at the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s annual meeting. (He’s from Big Creek of Pike County. Neither of us saw that coming.) He would have the privilege of sharing a sermon with his preacher friends and peers from all over the state.

Last weekend, my wife, Edie, and I attended the Georgia–Florida football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. As you might imagine, the atmosphere was electric.

Before we can build a culture of evangelism in our lives and ministries, we must begin with an honest look inward. The first phase of this process is to examine: to ask ourselves, “How am I doing spiritually?” 

Technology entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is spending millions of dollars in an ambitious effort to overcome aging and extend his life. His elaborate regimen includes strict dietary restrictions, rigorous exercise, extensive medical monitoring, and experimental treatments. His Don’t Die movement even boasts, “We might be the first generation that doesn’t die.”

Wayne and I had a friend who recently passed away, totally unexpectedly. From what we were told, he was working on a church project and had a massive heart attack and died. We were talking about this, and Wayne commented on how short life is. He actually said we are on the downhill of our life, and he wanted to finish well, enjoying every day to its fullest.

I was born in 1961. The U.S. president at that time was John F. Kennedy. In that year, he issued a challenge to our nation. It was that we build a rocket ship, put men in it, send it to the moon, have them walk on the surface, plant our flag, and then return them safely to Earth. He called on the nation to accomplish this within a decade. This extraordinary, demanding, costly endeavor is known to history as Kennedy’s “moon shot.” 

 Life as a Christian carries with it many benefits. First and foremost, our sins have been forgiven as a result of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only does that provide eternal life in heaven, but the potential for an abundant life here on earth.

Man is inherently sinful. Ever since the Garden of Eden, every person on earth has been, by God’s standard, desperately wicked, with one exception: Jesus of Nazareth. We are every one of us sinful because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam.

We have been through the Jordan. When it was at flood stage. On dry ground. We have marched around Jericho. Seen the walls fall at the greatness of God’s Hand. We have seen the sun stand still because he asked God to do it.

In the previous article, we defined what boldness is and said that prayer, God’s presence, God’s power, and our preparation help us become bold in evangelism. In this article, we’ll cover the last four P’s.

We’ve heard the commandment—go and make disciples of all nations. We know the gospel, but we’re too scared to share it. We sense the Holy Spirit’s prompting but rationalize disobedience by promising ourselves that “we’ll share next time.” So what do we do about this fear? How do we grow in boldness?

I am so glad that Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice recently said on Fox News that he believed pastors needed to “step up” in the midterm political process.

While the U.S. Constitution is well known, not everyone realizes that each state has its own constitution, which is the supreme governing law of that state. Since an ordinary law cannot override the state constitution, Georgians are often asked to vote on constitutional amendments when they enter the voting booth in November. 

​When Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Aaron Ashby took the mound in the seventh inning of game four of the National League Championship Series, the Brewers had already defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers three times in the best-of-seven matchup.

For years, church attendance has been declining. Reportedly, it is beginning to increase among people referred to as “Gen. Z.” Hopefully that is true. At any rate, church attendance, if you are able to go, is very important and should be a top priority.

The women of Fitzpatrick are helping me with one of my New Year’s resolutions. In January, I made 15 goals for 2026 and have been working on them, keeping my list visible for motivation. Some have been marked off as they were completed/fulfilled.

Few things are more difficult for a pastor than watching people hurt. The number of times I have stood by when a loved one takes his last breath is too numerous to count. Bad diagnoses, broken marriages, rebellious children, abusive relationships, and significant losses are but a small sampling of the heartaches that seem increasingly common in our broken world. Hardships like these can leave us reeling.

We recently bought a new car. My 2017 Nissan had 196,000 miles on it and had seen its better days. My new car is taking some getting used to as it has so many different warnings. If I don't put my seat belt on right away, it will beep continually until I do. If I change lanes and another vehicle is in my blind spot, the steering wheel will vibrate along with an alert.

Tech leader Bill Gates is often quoted as saying, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.” The same could be said about five-year goals.  

Oh, look! Another artificial intelligence-generated church logo, promotional graphic, or meme. It looks clean — sort of. And anyone can type a few words and suddenly become a graphic artist. Think of how much time and money churches can save by using AI to create all the images they need.

I am the middle child in my family. I have two sisters on either end. The great thing about being the only boy was I usually had my own room growing up. The only drawback was that I also had the extra bed in my room. That meant when family came to stay with us, they bunked with me.

A church can offer evangelism training, host outreach events, and run community ministries without ever developing an evangelistic culture. Programs fill a calendar. Culture shapes a people. The difference matters.

C.S. Lewis called pride the utmost evil (Mere Christianity). He said pride leads to every other vice and is the complete anti-God state of mind. Pride has been the chief cause of so much misery in every nation and family since the great “fall” of man.