Category: Newsletter

As I write this, I am sitting at my desk on my first day back from vacation. For the past three Sundays I have not had to preach. I love to preach the Gospel and teach the Bible more than anything, even more than music (and for those of you who know me well, you know that’s saying something). But it’s always good to have a break from the labor of preaching, and I think it’s good for a congregation to have a break from their pastor now and then, too.

So for the past three weeks I have had a rare privilege of worshipping in three different churches as a part of the congregation. I have heard good messages from three different pastors, and amazingly, all the messages had to do with “the church”. In fact, I stole the title for this article from my friend and brother Tobey Johnson, who is the pastor of Gray Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis, where my father and youngest brother are members. (It’s a compliment, Tobey: I only steal from the best!)Read More

Success is not a bad thing. Nor is money, or power. Whenever we set out to do something, we should try to do it to the best of our ability. No one wants to hire a contractor who is only going to do an “ok” job. No one wants the dentist who only gets it right half of the time. We want someone who is good at what they do, someone who will succeed in the task before them. We also want to be that person who does that work. But there comes a point where the drive to be successful can become the ultimate thing, an unappeasable god that sets out to rule us, instead of a tool for us to use.

Our culture is obsessed with success. From the time our kids are in grade school they are taught to compete against each other and to win… at all costs. Why is this a bad thing? Because eventually we all fail.Read More

I had a disconcerting experience at Moody Pastor’s Conference last month. They asked for all the pastors who have been in the ministry for thirty years or more to stand up. I shrugged and thought, “Hey, that’s me!” So I stood up. I looked to my right to see my friend and colleague, Larry Spear, still seated. I said, “Stand up; you’ve been in the ministry longer than I have!” He looked surprised and said, “I guess that’s right!” and stood up with me. We looked around, and we got another surprise: we were part of a minority, probably less than 10% of the total of the thousand-plus pastors at the conference.

When Larry and I first started going to this conference together in the mid-nineties, we used to see this group of three or four older guys, always sitting together and drinking coffee between the sessions. We haven’t seen those guys for a few years…and now we’re the “old guys” sitting around, drinking coffee between the sessions!Read More

I still miss Ginny Franklin. I still hear her feisty, playful voice in my memory sometimes. I’ll say, “Well, I’m trying.”…and I’ll hear her say, “Yes; you’re very trying!” Or I’ll say, “I’m going to go.” …and I’ll hear her say, “Go-right-ahead…gourd-head!” Virginia Franklin was the first person to make my wife and I feel at home in the First Baptist Church of Linton. She was a corker!

One Sunday after church, she took my wife and me out to lunch (again!). This time, we were joined by Max and Katie Slough. Max was the long-time pastor of the Glenburn United Methodist Church; I’d known him before, and we became re-acquainted when we moved to Linton.

Sitting there over what was left of our lunch, I breathed a huge sigh and commented how tired I was after the morning’s services. Max responded, “Of course you are! You preached this morning; virtue has gone out of you, just like when Jesus healed.” He was referring to three references in the King James Bible: Mark 5:30, Luke 6:19 and Luke 8:46.
After a woman with “an issue of blood” touched the border of Jesus’ garment and was instantly healed, Jesus knew it immediately: “And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.” (Luke 8:46 KJV)Read More

I recently overheard in a restaurant a conversation in which one person talked long & loud about “judgmental” Christians & “all the hypocrites in the church”. The other person listened & nodded, agreeing with the assessment. You may be thinking, “You shouldn’t eavesdrop!” I wasn’t; I was across the room. (Some people don’t have an “inside voice”!)

A friend of mine told me about another conversation in which “hypocrisy in the church” and “judgmental Christians” were roundly condemned. People say these things as though the church has a corner on hypocrisy. Actually, it seems to me that you can find hypocrisy anywhere you find people…not just in the church.

We’re always hearing about another politician caught in an embezzlement scandal, or who plagiarized his speeches, or was unfaithful to his/ her spouse. Sometimes they are Christians, but as often they’re not.Read More