Happy Saturday! Thanks for reading my blog this week. You can sign up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. We have had a great Prayer Emphasis Week at Shiloh Church. And last night's All-Night Prayer Meeting was tremendous. You can now preorder my upcoming book, It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer  Don't miss the JAX Pastor Conference next weekend! Russell Moore: Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (and Why I Love It Too) Kevin DeYoung: Why Pastors and Elders Need Your Prayers  Jemar Tisby: 5 Factors in the Rise...

What is a bishop? This is a often asked question I get. It’s a new question about an old term. The word “bishop” is biblical. Different churches and denominations have used it to refer to church leadership and government throughout church history. Yet I often get questions about this term, as it has invaded Baptist ranks. Local churches within self-governing Baptist congregations have become consecrated bishops. As far as I can tell, this trend began with the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship – a loose denomination of Charismatic Baptists. At least, this is when I caught wind of it. It...

One of my former professors preached for me one Sunday morning. As we chatted between services, he asked me about an upcoming speaking event announced in our newsletter. I was scheduled to speak the next five nights at a state convention meeting. It was a rare opportunity. My professor and I joked about the challenges of preaching to preachers. Then the conversation turned. I admitted that, although I was grateful, honored, and excited about spending a week ministering to pastors and church leaders, I was very nervous. Prof assured me that all would go well. I agreed, because I had...

Today we began our 2013 Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church. You can download our PEW13 prayer guide here. Each day this week, there will be a one-hour prayer meeting at noon at Shiloh. We will have an all-night prayer meeting Friday night to Saturday morning. We baptized three persons today – two men and one woman. Praise God! As always, it was good to have our guests in worship today. Our children’s choir sung today. Cool. The special music before the message today was a solo of “Is Your All On the Alter?” What a blessing! I preached...

Thanks for reading my blog this week. You can sign-up for free email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Tomorrow (1/13) begins Prayer Emphasis Week 2013 at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. May the Lord smile on us as we commit this new year to God in prayer! ChurchLeaders.com: Preacher's Tip: If You Can Keep from Preaching, Do It by H.B. Charles, Jr. Congratulations to Pastor Xaviar Thompson of the Southern Missionary Baptist Church for becoming the new and youngest President of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Vicinity. Have you followed the news...

Dr. James Borror formally introduced me to homiletics at an upstart Bible college I attended in Anaheim. Professor Borror's classes had an immediate and long-term influence on my life and ministry. In the succeeding years, he continued to mentor me by his godly example, wise advice, and faithful preaching. I still have the handwritten notes I took in Dr. Borror's classes more twenty years ago. But I don't really need them. I remember so much of what he taught me, as though it was just yesterday. But there is one word of counsel Dr. Borrow gave that has stuck with...

Happy New Year! I hope the this first week of 2013 has been a good one for your and yours. Thanks for reading my blog. You can sign-up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Please pray for the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church that we would be a more faithful and fruitful congregation in 2013. You can now pre-order my upcoming book, It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer Happy Birthday to my longtime friend and prayer partner, E. Richey Jones. You still have time to register for the First Baptist JAX Pastors'...

Happy New Year! Here is an God-focused prayer for the new year. O LORD, length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from thee, but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth thy praise; testify thy love, advance thy kingdom....

We made it to the last year of 2012. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness! There were only two Sundays this year that I did not preach.  There were definite points where I needed to take a break and didn’t. But I thank God for his sustaining and strengthening grace. I love the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church! We have only service today, at 9 AM. It was a blessed service of worship. Glad to have all of our guests in worship today, including Pastor Meadows of North Carolina. I preached from Psalm 42. I entitled the message, “Overcoming Spiritual Depression.”...

Well, it's the last weekend of 2013. My last Saturday Shout-Outs for the year. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading my blog. You can sign up for free email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Check out my Top Posts of 2012. Shout-out to SermonCentral for posting my article on sermon introductions: 9 Powerful Ways to Introduce Your Sermons John Piper: Where Was God in All the Goodness of 2012?  A new, free e-book from Desiring God: "Still Not Professionals" Justin Taylor: Reading the Bible in 2013 Collin Hansen: My Top 10 Theology Stories of 2012 Joe...

I needed a hobby. A diversion. Something. So I started writing on my blog more, among other things. Along with reading, writing is one of the most relaxing things I do. My increased writing led to a blog site update, which led to even more writing. Most weeks, I write a "Notes from Sunday" recap and "Saturday Shout-Outs."  I often write one or two other posts a week, as well. Here are some of the top posts of 2012.. Top Posts Things I've Learned Along the Way 10 Recommendations to Gospel Artists from a Loyal Fan and a Concerned Pastor...

We had a blessed day of worship and fellowship at the Shiloh Church yesterday. My Bible Study Fellowship group met for the last time this year. We continued out study of 1 Timothy 2:8-15. I focused on verses 13-14: "The Theological Basis of Gender Roles" I am learning a lot from this study of 1 Timothy. We had a Parent-Child Dedication during our 10:15 service. I led both services. It felt like I was on my feet all day. By the time, 10:15 rolled around, I was wiped out. But the Lord gave me strength, as always. Praise God! I...