Pastor’s Blog
Sunday’s Sermon: Never Be Thirsty Again
We are living through a nearly unprecedented moment. We are taking nearly unprecedented measures. And we are facing a once-in-a-generation kind of threat. As we do so, our sermon for the week reminds us that there is great power in how we choose to frame our...
One Church’s Response To The Coronavirus
Different churches are doing different things in response to the coronavirus. All of us are trying to balance the need to be an actively present community of faith with the need to take all appropriate measures for public health and safety, and I don't know of anyone...
Waking Up To Spring
During Lent at Central (the six weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter) we’re focusing on the humanity of Jesus and the ways that Christ’s teaching “awakens” us to what it means to be fully human. This spring as we remember that God has a hand in all of creation as it...
Head Up. Light Touch. Keep Running.
A few years ago, I gave Julie a hang-gliding trip as a birthday present. We spent the night in Chattanooga and got up early in the morning for a lesson at Lookout Mountain where she and two other students spent a few hours with an instructor to learn the basic skills...
Unity and The Lord’s Supper
The first Sunday in October is World Communion Sunday. So this Sunday at Central, we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper in worship as thousands of churches and millions of Christians all over the globe do the same. Over the years, I’ve developed a growing appreciation for...
Yellowstone and the Jesus Worldview Initiative
Two weeks ago, I had the chance to spend a few days in and around Yellowstone National Park with a small group of pastors talking about something called the Jesus Worldview Initiative. The Initiative is being organized by John Pierce and Bruce Gourley at Nurturing...
The Poetry of Faith
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine encouraged me to share ten of my favorite books on Facebook. As I browsed through my bookshelf, I came across some favorite collections of poems, including one volume, Ballistics, by poet Billy Collins that I shared as one of my ten...
When Leaders Fail: The Dangerous Culture of Celebrity
The Global Leadership Summit is a two-day seminar hosted by Willow Creek Church in the suburbs of Chicago and broadcast live to tens of thousands of people at satellite host sites all over the United States and then to satellite sites all over the world. The Summit...
On Calling And God’s Creative Purpose For You
As the kids get settled back into school, many of us shift into planning and calendaring modes and begin to look at where the coming year might lead. As many of us look ahead, it’s a good season to think about calling. What is God’s purpose for me this year? How can I...
Old Newsletters and New School Years
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I came across a stack of newsletters from 1992 in my office yesterday. They were hiding behind a commemorative plaque on a shelf behind my library door. The newsletters weren’t from Central Baptist. They were from...