“Get the net! This is a big one!” There is nothing more aggravating than watching another man catch fish. My father had a knack for knowing where to throw the lure and how to feel a large bass slowly take the bait. At just the right moment, he would set the hook, and my job […]
What a great name for a pastor: Church. Wes Church, that is. He is the new senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Columbia, having served on staff for 16 years at the church. Even though he is stepping into a new position, he has a history of faithful ministry in the 200-year-old historic church. […]
There is no such thing as self-control. Do you realize you can’t “not” do anything? The more you try “not to do,” the worse it gets. The moment I’m on a diet, I think about Twinkies and Snickers, even when I’m not hungry. When I think about not eating, all I think about is the […]
Medications aren’t cheap. The reasons for this are many and complicated. For instance, research and development costs, coupled with government regulations, make it very costly for companies to bring new medications to market. Those are understandable reasons for increased medication costs. On the other end, there are organizations involved in distribution of medicines that severely […]
The Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) created a stir in 1990 when the Church Training department became “Discipleship Training.” Discipleship was a popular word then, and our leadership rightly emphasized disciple-making as an essential function of the Christian life and every church. I remember much was said and done regarding discipleship, but […]
“I just had an amazing gospel conversation! At our outreach block party, I was talking to a man who was having a tough time, and I shared with him about how God has gotten me through tough times and invited him to our church.” When I hear statements like this, I am encouraged by the […]
Over 2,100 Baptist churches make up the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and every single church has a place in God’s kingdom. The vast majority of our churches average around a hundred people on Sundays, although the large churches get an outsized portion of the attention. Sadly, however, churches of all sizes tend to settle for […]
A man joined the military, and he was issued his identification tag. It noted his blood type (Rh factor) and his religion. Following his name and serial number were the words “A negative Protestant.” Here are some questions for you. Do you see dark clouds in every silver lining? Do you find the difficulty in […]
These are the psalms where the author prays evil or invokes a curse against his enemies. The word “imprecatory” comes from the Latin word imprecatio, meaning the “invoking of evil,” or “prayer.” For New Testament Christians, these psalms are particularly troubling because they seem to be in contradiction to Jesus’ words from the Sermon on […]
For most of my 37 years as a pastor, I primarily used the “Roman Road” when witnessing to lost people (Romans 3:23, 3:10, 5:12, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-13). It did not always lead to an immediate profession of faith, and there were often detours and surprises. I want to share a few of those experiences with […]