DEEP // WIDE // LIGHT

To my brothers and sisters in Christ in Philadelphia, Mississippi , After several months of intense prayer, I and Marion and the kids all believe that God is calling us away from Philadelphia. We believe that we have been called to move from Philadelphia to Clinton, Mississippi. We are staying here through the end of the school year, and through all of the graduation ceremonies, and my last day will be Friday, May 27, 2016. I have accepted God’s call to a new ministry opportunity. The church is Wynndale Baptist Church , just south of Jackson in Terry, MS. The ministry is Associate Pastor of Students and Missions. It is exciting to imagine how God might use me (1)in ministry to students and their families, (2)in ministry to this church as an associate pastor, and (3)in ministry in this congregation’s missions efforts as they seek to fulfill the Great Commission. We are also excited about how God might use Marion in her continued work with the STEM Institute at Mississi...

My life? It is no book. My life is but a sentence. And only one, at that. The massive tome of God’s Story Will tell of some who were present During climactic actions and dramatic pauses… But you? And I? One sentence. How will it read? What is the grand narrative? My sentence began With a joyous capital letter. May it end with not the uncertainty of a question, Nor the finality of a period, But with the jubilation of an exclamation!

(This talk was delivered to a children's art show audience on July 22, 2013. The children were instructed to put up their hands to form binoculars around their eyes every time I said, "look.") LOOK! “In thebeginning God created…” And so the best-selling book of all time begins. Out of nothingness, God speaks, and things begin. First, He created light and darkness. Second, He created sky and earth. Third, He created dry land between seas and plants and trees, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Fourth, He created sun and moon and stars, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Fifth, He created fish of all shapes in the oceans and birds of all colors in the sky, and he looked . He saw that it was good. Sixth, He created animals of shapes and sizes and noises, and he looked . He saw that it was good. He also said, “Let’s make people of all shapes and sizes and noises.” So He “created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself...

My brother in Christ Daniel Howard preached for us recently, and God challenged me in several ways. I wanted to share about this. The main points are from Daniel. The discussion that follows is my interactions with it. Colossians 3:1-4 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. This quote begins with "If." There are some who are Christian, and some who are not. These words are for the Christian. Christians then are encouraged to look up, to make our life about God's things, not the things of this world. We need such constant reminders to make our lives about the life of Christ. We often become too bogged down in earthly things to remember the Christ who now owns our...

So we went on vacation suddenly and unexpectedly during Spring Break. We visited the town I was born in - Yukon, Oklahoma. I know, I know, I'm an Okie. I moved to Mississippi when I was six or seven, and I remember very little about my birthplace. The few memories I have are vague. My connection to this town has always been that I really wanted to see it and relive those childhood memories. I'm a bit sentimental like that. I've visited the sites of houses I used to live in here in Mississippi, and enjoyed reminiscing. I even have an empty bottle of root beer that I drank on the morning I turned sixteen, as I watched the sun rise over the Pearl River. When my parents asked if we wanted to go to Oklahoma, I jumped at the chance to see my birthplace. It was fascinating to have fuzzy things in the back of my brain become real in front of me. The fuzzy memory becomes sharply real. The house in which I lived, the elementary school where I went to kindergarten and first ...

i have successfully slain the dragon of temptation this weekend. it felt really, really good. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) let me share with you something from my journal. i'm not sure it's a poem, per se, but i wrote it nonetheless. a friend of mine was struggling with an addiction at the time, and he inspired me to write this. he never read it. he never got the chance to. however, i think it applies to every person's experiences with temptation. my life motto is "Here we go." the reason for that phrase's personal significance to me is found in part in this writing. Trapped Here I am, surrounded by pain. I want out, but to where do I turn? To the left, a future impossible. To the right, my past mistakes. A hand reaches down to lift me out, But as I am raised, something grabs my ankles. I am forced to turn and fight, but I have fought too long. This is my last shot, One last chance to break free. As the dragon w...