I am guilty of letting my mind run wild like a hyena! Thoughts enter my head and sometimes I do not even put forth the effort to control them. The result is that I find myself giving too much time to a negative mindset. A pastor friend, Kent Workman, refers to this activity as “stinkingContinue reading “Put a Stop to Stinking Thinking”
Author Archives: webmaster3375
7 Lessons from a Hike
Dr. Charles Stanley, in a pastors’ conference sermon, encouraged pastors to save their money and take their family on a nice vacation each year. When I heard that sermon on cassette tape, Connie and I had two toddlers and were barely making ends meet financially. But we took his advice to heart and started puttingContinue reading “7 Lessons from a Hike”
What Could You Do in 10 Years?
Recently, I participated in the 75th anniversary of one of our great Kentucky Baptist churches. This church started in 1948 with a small band of believers who had a vision for impacting their neighborhood for Jesus. Those Christ-followers worked, prayed, gave and sacrificed to purchase land, build buildings, hire staff and accept leadership roles —Continue reading “What Could You Do in 10 Years?”
How Many Days Do You Have Left?
4,509. That’s how many days I have left if the Lord allows me to live to age 70. Psalm 90:10 says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:12 exhortsContinue reading “How Many Days Do You Have Left?”
Leaders Must Do This
There is a plethora of helpful advice in print, podcast and video available for leaders today. A simple internet search on leadership will deliver thousands of pages of resources, webinars, training opportunities, professional certificates, books and more. One topic of interest in leadership study today is that of human flourishing. Churches and ministry organizationsContinue reading “Leaders Must Do This”
Please Accept My Apology
My generation grew up watching the sitcom Happy Days each week. Fonzie was a main character in the show and had a reputation of being a bit of a rebel with a high “cool factor.” In one episode, Fonzie — or the Fonz as he was known — needed to apologize for a wrongContinue reading “Please Accept My Apology”
The Culture Ate Our Strategy
Calvin Wilkins, a much-loved and well-remembered Kentucky Baptist pastor and former KBC Mission Board staff member, once told me of a young pastor who wanted to find a new place to serve. The young man expressed to Calvin that he wanted to pastor a good church, a church like the one Calvin was pastoring. Bro.Continue reading “The Culture Ate Our Strategy”
The Critic Helped Me
Many leaders have been encouraged and emboldened by the words of Theodore Roosevelt in his speech, “The Man in the Arena.” In that speech, Roosevelt said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.Continue reading “The Critic Helped Me”
Lord, I Don’t Like Him
Years ago, I found myself holding onto hard feelings against a key ministry leader in a church I served. This brother had the gift of criticism. I know he did because he exercised it each week when I finished preaching. My dislike for him had reached a point where I didn’t want to beContinue reading “Lord, I Don’t Like Him”
My Name is “Hard Times”
Years ago, I heard a pastor tell of a man who came to the church office in need of assistance. When the pastor asked his name, he said it was “Hard Times.” With a smile the pastor said, “No really, what is your name?” The man pulled out his I.D. and sure enough it wasContinue reading “My Name is “Hard Times””
Dr. Todd Gray 