CCBlogs thinking critically, living faithfully

"My life is my message." --Mahatma Gandhi

At the annual meeting of the Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) that was held in Jonesboro November 10-11, messengers approved a “Policy on Receipt of Property, Cash, and Non-Cash Gifts by the Georgia Baptist Convention.” The policy states, If there are questions or concerns as to whether or not the Georgia Baptist Convention should accept or retain certain funds or property, where the acceptance

So far this year I have noticed two new commercials featuring Santa Claus; one is for a cell phone company and the other advertises a credit card. This is wrong. Everyone from my generation knows that Santa Claus officially endorses only one product.

(A sermon based on Acts 1:1-14 for Sunday, November 16, 2008) On the fortieth day after Easter, according to Luke, Jesus ascended from the earth to assume the place he occupies still today: his place at the right hand of the Father. During those forty days Jesus had appeared several times to his disciples. What experiences those must have been! He came and went, so they were accustomed to

(A sermon based on Acts 1:1-14 for Sunday, November 16, 2008) On the fortieth day after Easter, according to Luke, Jesus ascended from the earth to assume the place he occupies still today: his place at the right hand of the Father. During those forty days Jesus had appeared several times to his disciples. What experiences those must have been! He came and went, so they were accustomed to

During my first semester at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 1979 I had the privilege of taking a course on Job that was taught by Dr. Clyde Francisco. One day Dr. Francisco was talking about the 1974 tornados that had caused so much destruction in Louisville. His garage had been hit and he was working with a claims adjustor to determine the value of the garage contents,

(A sermon based on Matthew 20:20-28 for November 9, 2008) At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year 1918 the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I went into effect. The United States began to observe Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. In that year President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that included the following words. To us in

Final score: Georgia 42, Kentucky 38 My preseason predicted score: Georgia 28, Kentucky 18 Summary statement: A win is a win is a win--but don't we remember when Georgia could play defense?

Getting a house ready to sell continues to be a pain. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Last Friday night, Summers Field in my hometown of Barnesville, Georgia hosted its last football game. The Lamar County Trojans will begin play in a new stadium next season. Summers Field was for many years the home of the Gordon Military High School and Gordon Military College

My last day as Pastor of The Hill Baptist Church is November 23 and so I am experiencing my last days here. I am looking forward to beginning my ministry at the First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald, Georgia on December 14 and I anticipate reflecting upon and writing about the early days of that experience. For now, though, I am thinking about last things—the things that I am experiencing for the

1. I miss Tim Russert. 2. All indications are that this year's turnout will set a record. That's good; there's no excuse for the vast majority of eligible Americans not voting in a presidential election. 3. Every individual and business and group who contributed money to political campaigns this year ought now to contribute at least the same amount of money to a charity of their choice. 4

I took advantage over two weeks ago of the opportunity to vote early and so I am grateful that I can say that I have now voted in every presidential election since I became eligible to vote in 1976. My good father preached to me the importance of exercising the privilege of voting; “If you don’t use it,” he said, “you’ll lose it.” I am proud that both of our children have already voted, too; I

(A sermon for Sunday, November 2, 2008 based on Mark 1:16-20) We are told nothing of what kind of day it was—whether it was cloudy or clear, cold or hot, rainy or dry. We are told nothing of what was in the fishermen’s minds—were they happy or sad, focused or distracted, fresh or tired? We are told nothing of what had been happening in their lives before this moment—had they ever seen Jesus

Final score: Florida 49, Georgia 10 My preseason predicted score: Georgia 34, Florida 14 Summary statement: Florida played as well as Georgia played badly.

Getting a house ready to sell is still a pain. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ With all due respect to the Ramblin’ Wreck over at Georgia Tech, the biggest game of the year for Georgia Bulldogs fans is the annual tilt with the Florida Gators down in Jacksonville. It may not be hyperbole to say that tomorrow’s contest is the most important one in the history of the storied series.

My post about the mother of the sons of Zebedee appears today at EthicsDaily.com.

Seventy years ago tonight, on October 30, 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Radio Theatre on the Air presented their infamous broadcast of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. Whereas Wells’ 1898 story about a Martian invasion of Earth was set in England, the radio broadcast had the events of the invasion occur at Grovers Mill, New Jersey. The format of the radio presentation featured fictional

It’s funny how you keep finding new things when you keep on reading the Bible. I noticed something this week that I had never noticed before. Some of you when you read this will say, “I can’t believe that you never noticed that” and perhaps I should be ashamed. But, it is what it is and it’s new to me. More important, it’s meaningful. My story begins with the Synoptic Problem. I hope you’ll

Did you watch World Series game four last night? It looks like the Phillies are going to win the Series and that's fine with me although I was pulling for the Rays for Cinderella reasons. How long 'til Spring Training? Anyway, I'm not bugged by the baseball. No, I'm back on one of my pet peeves: the way in which the National Anthem is treated. I like Patti Labelle. She's a good singer.

(The Hill Baptist Church holds an annual Memorial Service at which we remember those church members who died during the last year. This is the sermon I will deliver today, October 26, 2008, at that service. The text is 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.) We all know about death. Over the years a pastor has the blessed privilege of being present with people in the final stages of life, sometimes even at