This book was loaned to me by some members at Lebanon Road. They had asked if I owned Batsell Barrett Baxter’s autobiography. When I said I did not, they let me borrow the book, for they knew and loved brother Baxter and wanted me to see why. I know why after reading this brief volume. As an autobiography, there are several anecdotes from childhood and the school years that some readers may not find all that interesting, but there are not many, so the reader does not get bogged down in those. Once we see brother Baxter’s life as a preacher and school teacher, though, we see why he continues…

Another spiritually uplifting day, with a great number in attendance (wait until you see this number!). Things are going so well, and we know this is an exciting time at Lebanon Road. First, the best news of the day was that Sophia Bacon put Christ on in baptism last evening. Before our worship last night, I was told that she would be responding, so, when she did, I told everyone that this was the reason I talked so fast during my sermon! She requested that our youth minister, JD Buckner, baptize her, and he did a great job with that honor. Sophia will be a tremendous asset to the Lord’s…

It’s Saturday evening, and some of you are wondering what I’m doing blogging instead of looking over sermon notes. I can stay up later doing that, because it was a beautiful evening and I needed to spend some time with my kids on the night before Father’s Day. When you’re a preacher, Father’s Day isn’t all that relaxing! We have a small park in our neighborhood and the kids love it. I thought I’d share some pictures from our evening at the park. Enjoy! My family even made “Father’s Day Eve” special with this little trip. I’m blessed because I had a great father, and I’m blessed with a wonderful…

I think Father’s Day is too overlooked. I’m excited to be preaching Sunday morning on fathers. It will be helpful to me, as I attempt to be a good father. Often, we focus on Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day becomes an afterthought. In a nation that sorely needs Godly fathers, let’s make sure we focus on this holiday, too. On to the links for this week: 1. I love Barnabas. While not in the Bible much, he stands as an amazing man. Rex, over at For Sinners Only, posted this brief article about the Son of Consolation. 2. Many preachers pull out sermons about modesty this time of year, as…

This video is really cool. I hope you dads enjoy it! My favorite part is the diaper instructions. Now THAT I could have understood!

No, I’m not starring in an upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I just had a frustrating moment last night, and thought I’d share my moment so you could laugh (or feel sorry for me…pouts). Anyway, Leah and I are really trying to do better about saving money while grocery shopping. We are clipping some coupons on items we use often, and we are comparing sales papers. We live very close (less than 5 miles) from Wal-Mart, Kroger, CVS, Walgreen’s, Dollar General Market, and Publix. Comparison shopping is not a problem! Yesterday was the last day of a sales paper for Publix, which included Welch’s juice at buy one get…

Julie Anderson’s 1999 book, Choosing Gladness, was meant for ladies, but we men might need to read it, too! The book’s subtitle, Letting God Occupy Your Heart, speaks to the nature of the book. I like the use of the word “choosing” in the title. Anderson does a good job of making the point that gladness is a choice, and she does so quite often in the book. That is something, I feel, those of us who preach need to present more often. The theme verse for the entire book is Ecclesiastes 5:20: He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of…

Another tremendous day on Lebanon Road/Pike! Despite June heat and a brief electrical glitch, things went wonderfully yesterday. During the opening prayer of our Sunday morning service, the microphone and PowerPoint projectors went out. Later, we learned that about 1/3 of the building was without power. We’re not sure what happened, but it affected the air conditioning on a day when it was 95+ degrees outside. It made for an interesting worship service! Thankfully, about half-way through my sermon, the power came back on. Those things happen, and the one leading the service did a great job of working without the microphone. We had great attendance yesterday, with 316 in…

A group from Lebanon Road leaves tomorrow morning for a mission trip to Winder, Georgia. There is a great group going, with 23 from our congregation! J.D. is in charge, and has put in many hours of preparation. The group will be doing some physical work during the day, and then holding a Vacation Bible School in the evenings. Please pray for them as they travel and as they work. We know they will do a great job. Speaking of VBS, ours is coming up soon: We hope you will plan to come and be with us! (More about that in the coming weeks.) On to the links for this…

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. Oddly, because of a mission trip and Maywood Christian Camp, this will be the first time we have ever gotten to go alone (without camp clothes on) on a date for our anniversary. The funny part is, since we haven’t done that in so long, we had trouble figuring out what to do! I love Leah. There are scores of reasons, but I want to list 9. Trey Morgan, on his blog, always lists the number of things he loves about his wife on her birthday. I love that idea, but I’m going to do that on our anniversary. Here are 9 things I…