I’ve been thinking lately about what it means to have a multi-generational church. And please understand that when I use the term “multi-generational church” I’m talking about having a variety of ages worshipping together in our weekend services. Right now, we offer programming for children through the 4th grade for all of our services, and we include programming for 5th and 6th graders on Sunday ...  Read More

This past weekend we had a tremendous Easter celebration here at Mount Pleasant. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make sure we were able to accommodate what turned out to be a record crowd of 4,398. We had five services—three live and two video simulcasts in the Student Ministries Center and still had to use overflow space in the YAC on Sunday morning at 9 and 10:45am. I’m told that ...  Read More

It’s Sunday night and after a great day of worship and a frustrating afternoon of watching my team get pummeled in the NCAA tournament, I find myself reflecting about the previous week. I flew to Tulsa on Tuesday of this past week to meet with both of my brothers and one of my sisters about what the future looks like for my mother now that my younger brother is moving to Savannah, Georgia. The mee...  Read More

Recently Sandy and I traveled to Phoenix where I attended a conference and then spent a few extra days together celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary. While we were there, we spent an evening with some friends from Oklahoma. About six months before I moved to Greenwood, I hired Danny Hughes to be my Worship and Arts Pastor. I was very excited to add Danny to my staff and felt bad that I only go...  Read More

Alright, I’m just going to say it (write it). I’m not good at blogging. At least that’s the way I feel since I haven’t written anything in quite a while. I know it’s the hip thing to do and that almost everyone does it, whether it’s Facebook, My Space, or whatever, but I’m just not good at it. I read a few blogs from time to time, and it seems to me that they fall into one of two categories. First...  Read More

Recently I’ve been reading a book called, Signs of Life (Back to the Basics of Authentic Christianity). In one section the author, David Jeremiah, tells the story of something that happened several years ago to his friend who was a seminary student in Dallas, Texas. As a part of his course in pastoral ministry skills, he was required to spend a Saturday night in the busy emergency room of a large ...  Read More

Well, it’s January 14th as I sit down to write this blog entry (Sorry it’s been so long), and I’m wondering how you are doing with your New Year’s resolution(s). I didn’t really make any resolutions for 2009, but I did think about something I heard a long time ago related to the importance of my thought life. Here it is: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap...  Read More

One of my favorite Christmas stories is about a family who purchased a nativity set at a local store. When they got home, they discovered they had two figurines of baby Jesus. Obviously, when it was wrapped at the store, someone had mistakenly given them an extra Jesus. The mother quickly realized this meant someone would purchase a nativity set that was missing baby Jesus. So she sent her husband...  Read More

Christmas is the season of giving. No one would dispute that. And while many people might wish they had more so they could give more, one Pennsylvania man reminds us that it’s not how much you have, it’s how you handle it.The Associated Press reports in a story dated December 8, 2008, about a tiny church in western Pennsylvania which inherited more than $2 million from a farmer who lived in a mobi...  Read More

One of the most common questions you hear this time of year is, “Have you gotten all your Christmas shopping done?” It’s an easy conversation starter and an easy way to make small talk with someone you don’t really know.Undoubtedly many of us have “gift cards” or “gift certificates” on our Christmas shopping list. I know that Sandy and I do. You can give someone a gift card to a department store, ...  Read More

This past weekend I took a break from the pulpit as Sandy and I traveled to Mount Vernon, Illinois, to visit our friends Jamie and Tammy Allen. Jamie was my college roommate and is the Senior Pastor of the Central Christian Church in Mount Vernon. We had a great visit and were able to attend church with them for the first time.A little over a year ago Jamie was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His ...  Read More

This coming weekend will mark the conclusion of our When a Man Loves a Woman series from Song of Solomon. And while I’ve been blessed by the different things that I have read and studied over the past several weeks, some of my biggest blessings have come in the different comments, cards, and e-mails I have received from many of you.The Bible teaches us that marriage was designed by God…that it was...  Read More