I “had to” read John R.W. Stott’s book on preaching, Between Two Worlds, when I was in graduate school (a serious “thank you” to Dr. Billy Smith). I decided to read it again last week and am glad I did. If you are a preacher and have never read this book in word-for-word fashion, may I recommend it to you? There are several things you may not agree with, but Stott’s obvious love for preaching will excite and motivate you to do your best in all areas of the work. I decided not to do a full “review” of this book, since it is so “preacher-specific.” If you have read…

Despite some windy and rainy weather, we were blessed with another great day at Lebanon Road. With this being the final Sunday before our Friends and Family Day, there were several announcements and reminders about that event next Sunday (you are coming, aren’t you?). There truly seems to be excitement building as we head toward that grand day, and I think we will hit and exceed our goal of 501 in our morning worship assembly. Our attendance was quite good yesterday, with 360 meeting together before God in worship of Him. We were blessed to have visitors from Oregon, Virginia, Oklahoma, and other places, and we also had several visitors…

Today is my 31st birthday. Over on Facebook, I have been overwhelmed by the number of happy birthday wishes I have received. They started “trickling in” earlier this week (including one from my buddy James, who works for the Lord in China), but they have flowed today. They have come from all over the place; from Nashville to India (thanks to my Sonshine Singer friend Ricky!). Birthdays are fun, but they also remind us that we only have so much time to serve. There is so much I wish to accomplish in the service of the Lord, and I pray daily that I will do my best with whatever time…

Seven years have passed, and 9/11 still holds a place in our hearts. I hope it continues to do so. This morning, as we got the children up and got breakfast ready, we watched MSNBC’s replay of The Today Show from September 11, 2001. I’m thankful they continue to replay that on the anniversary of the day our world changed. We need to remember our defeats as well as our victories. If you have never seen this 9/11 video called “I Miss Daddy,” get a box of Kleenex ready. I watched it again before posting it here with tears in my eyes. With a small girl of almost 3, this…

I was recently listening to a podcast that was discussing Noah’s Ark. It was not a “religious” podcast, but was, rather, trying to determine whether or not this account actually could have occurred. One of the speakers took a purely scientific side and repeated all the tired phrases “proving” that this never could have happened. He, obviously, bought into the argument that a flood would not have changed the landscape, therefore, the earth must look now like it always has. In other words, for the waters to cover the highest mountains, that liquid would have to be over 29,000 feet deep. Scientists don’t take into account that these mountains are…

We were blessed with some wonderful weather in Nashville yesterday, and the Lebanon Road congregation was also blessed with a great number of worshippers, including many visitors. It may get redundant to read about how many visitors we have, but it continues to be true, and that is so exciting. Following our morning worship services and our Bible class period, we held a fellowship meal at which we honored our new members. Since we had not had a meal like this one for awhile, we honored those who have been baptized or who have placed membership with us since January, 2007. In that time, 46 have become a part of…

Now that both of my fantasy football drafts are completed, I thought you might like to know who is on my team. I’m only posting my “Hitmen” team, since that is the league I’ve been in the longest, and since it is the better team. Here’s the list of guys you should be pulling for every week: QB: Tony Romo Brett FavreRB: Brian Westbrook Darren McFadden Thomas Jones Reggie BushWR: T.J. Houshmandzedah Roy Williams Laverneus Coles Hines Ward Santana Moss Tony GonzalezK: Shayne Graham Jason HansonD: Indianapolis Chicago If you’re not familiar with fantasy football, just know that I will only play half my team every week. Assume that the…

At noon Central time tomorrow, the poll above will be taken down. If you are interested in a podcast where preachers are interviewed about all sorts of topics, please indicate with a vote of “yes.” If not, vote no. So far, the vote is going about like I thought it would percentage-wise, but I’m a bit disappointed in the number of votes. If you wait until the last day to do everything…this is it! For the original post about this possibility, click here.

Winford Claiborne’s short volume entitled Books, Books, & More Books is a series of bibliographies with some brief reviews that he used when asked to speak on this topic several years ago. The books are divided into topics and Claiborne gives anywhere from 1 to 15 books that fit the categories, ranging from abortion to the Catholic Church to the occult. Each book is listed with full documentation so you can search for the book by publisher, author, or title if you are interested. For those who do not know, brother Claiborne reads about 300 books each year (I’m happy to finish 40!), and owns around 13,000 volumes. He reads…

Yes, as you might expect, I subscribe to several podcasts from churches of Christ. I must admit, though, that I am saddened that there are not that many, and many (as you will see) do not update very often. Here are the ones to which I keep a subscription, even if they do not update often. 1. International Gospel Hour: 15 Gospel Minutes. The IGH has a daily radio program all over the United States. These podcasts are the radio programs put on iTunes in bulk. If you like listening to the Gospel preached, you will greatly enjoy Winford Claiborne’s lessons. (Release: weekly programs posted at the beginning of the…