I had quite the interesting experience before church began on a recent Sunday morning. As my daughter and I approached the doors, all of the lights were off and the doors were locked. This isn’t unusual as we currently don’t open our doors until 30 minutes before the service starts. As I fought with my keys in an attempt to unlock the door, it suddenly and extremely unexpectedly opened. Standing...
The Fight for Freedom Continues
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Nothing compares to the warm glow of Christmas lights and all of the wonderful happenings that come with celebrating the coming of the Christ child. The amazing displays of aerial explosions celebrating the birth of these United States of America, however, sits in a distant, yet solid second place. As a follower of Jesus, I believe my first...
Bridging the Divide
At the point where the New River meets US 19, between Summersville and Fayetteville, West Virginia, there is an amazing feat of human engineering, The New River Gorge Bridge. If you have traveled through the Mountain State on US 19, you have crossed this bridge, and may have done so unknowingly. If you’ve ever been whitewater rafting on the New River, you most likely have seen this bridge...
Déjà Vu: Something Needs to Change
Have you ever had a moment of déjà vu? I’m sure you have at some point in your life. A déjà vu moment is a moment that you feel you have experienced before. Perhaps you’ve been in the middle of a conversation and the content, from the participants to the exact wording, seems eerily familiar. Or, perhaps something happens to you or a family member and you are absolutely positive you have either...
Listening, Learning, and Discovering What to Say
Have you ever met someone and immediately thought, “This person is awkwardly, even painfully, intelligent?” Before he ever spoke a word, this was my impression of the smartest professor I ever studied under. When I first stepped foot into his office, the framed documents on his wall confirmed my gut intuition and served to increase my bias. He had several Masters degrees and at least two...
Light at the End of the Tunnel
2020 has been a banner year, and the hits just keep coming. I mean, there have seriously been overly dramatic movies that have contained more realistic and tempered plot-lines than what we have experienced thus far. Much like many of you, I am trying to keep it positive. I am doing my best to see the proverbial “silver lining.” I’m working hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at...
Standing as a Shield
During the slow-down of the last few months, I, like many others, have found myself perusing the treasure trove/landfill of videos on the internet. For some reason, Facebook has been recommending UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) videos from past fights. To be completely honest, I have found them incredibly interesting and have watched more than I can count. I, myself, lack the requisite...
In Memory…
As a pastor, funerals are part of the job description. For many of my pastor friends, there is a certain amount of emotional distance they are able to create as they conduct funerals. They aren’t cold people at all, some are far warmer than I am. They have simply learned certain skills that allow them to mitigate the emotional weight that comes with such moments. While I have developed the...
The Weight of Words
Whether or not you are a sports fan, you are undoubtedly aware of the recent documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bull’s domination of the NBA through the 1990’s, culminating with winning the 1998 Championship. In the current void of live action sports or new movie releases, this documentary captured the attention of a large segment of our population by combining several parts athletic...
Back to Business (Leave the Usual Behind)
To one degree or another, most of us tend to be creatures of habit. We all have daily routines and rhythms that we follow as we live our daily lives. I would be willing to venture an educated guess that your routines and rhythms have looked at least marginally different over the course of the past six to eight weeks. In reality, the events of recent weeks have been akin to the shifting of...
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