You never know who you may run into at a Waffle House. “What’s your name?” I asked our waitress as she gave us our menus. “Misty,” she said. We began to talk a little as I ordered a couple of cheesy eggs, and then I asked her how I could pray for her. Our waitress looked […]
December is here, which means it is time to begin planning for the Christmas holiday season! So today I am going to give you a cookie recipe from my favorite American president, George Washington. This recipe, called Jumbals, is from the 18th century, and the flour they used then was fresh-ground whole wheat berry (this […]
I don’t know how many times I see elderly patients in the emergency department who have family members asking them to slow down. They might have come in with a minor injury, or a cold or cough. Their children or grandchildren look at me and say, “Doctor, she is 93 and will not stop going! […]
The Rolling Stones sang a song that said “Time is on my side.” Then the backup singers would chime in: “Yes, it is, yes, it is.” Well, I want to tell you that time is not on your side — no it isn’t, no it isn’t. If you don’t believe it, look at your stomach. […]
On Christmas Eve in 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders orbited the moon 10 times. During that historic day, they photographed the earth rising above the moon’s horizon. “Earthrise” would become one of the most iconic images of our planet. During their Christmas Eve lunar orbit, they read the first […]
Editor’s note: On Nov. 13 and 14, watch the proceedings of the South Carolina Baptist Convention annual meeting live at http://www.scbaptist.org/annualmeeting. Anyone who says he loves Baptist convention business meetings is either being paid to be there or is being disingenuous (or else he also enjoys root canals). I have been serving as a pastor in […]
“We are willing to do whatever it takes to turn our church around.” The desperation in her voice drew me into the conversation. Her church was on a rapid decline with only a few dozen people attending, and she did not want to see it die. So I said, “Would you be willing to change […]
Some evangelical senior statesmen are offering dire predictions for the future of the church if drastic and powerful changes are not soon made. The evangelical church at large, and the Southern Baptist Convention in particular, are losing ground. Culture wars have taken their toll on the faithful, and an increasing post-truth mindset makes sharing the […]
A recent Gallup survey revealed that about 13 percent of Americans smoke marijuana regularly. In 2013, the estimates were roughly 7 percent. I’m not a statistician, so I can’t really speak to how well this reflects the entire country, but from what I see in my work I’d agree that marijuana use is rising. Marijuana use […]
It started with the first family. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. And of course the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on. The problem, of course, was not the apple in the tree; it was the pair on the ground. Our family played the blame game. Our firstborn, Angela, was an only child […]