As I prepared for my wedding day, I asked my married friends what to expect. Without fail, they all had one prediction: You are going to cry! This was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I have no problem with men crying. In fact, I am a passionate man who is prone to shed tears at moments of sorrow or joy.  I just did not believe it would happen at my wedding. I was cool, calm, and collected, as the big day neared. Whatever my response, I did not expect it to include tears.  Then it happened...  The...

What should I preach this Christmas? Pastors wrestle with this question every year. Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter celebrate the main events of the Christian faith. These holidays spotlight historical facts that establish the foundation of Christian truth. It is often claimed that the major religions of the world essential teach the same thing. That claim is categorically false. And you do not need to be a scholar in theology or an expect apology to explain the uniqueness of the Christian message. You only need to have a biblical understanding of what happened on Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter! Considering...

This past weekend, we celebrated eight years as pastor and people at the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, Florida. In the spring of 2008, I was invited to fill the pulpit one Sunday. I did not view that Sunday as any more than another date on my list of speaking engagements for the year. Three months later, the Shiloh Church overwhelming voted to extend a call to me to be its next pastor. On the second Sunday in November, I was installed as the new pastor of the church. Boy, how time flies! On one hand, it does not seem like...

It was Sunday night, June 11, 1989. I was asleep in the guest room of the late Dr. Roy Allen of the Chapel Hill Baptist Church in Detroit. My rest was pleasantly interrupted, however, when Pastor Allen knocked on the door to tell me my father was on the phone. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to talk to my dad. He had been hospitalized the previous week. It was the first and only time in my life that my father was ever admitted into the hospital. I was concerned about him. And I missed him....

He waited for me to pause from reviewing my sermon manuscript before the service began. As soon as he saw an opening, he asked, “Do you still get nervous before you preach?” I answered him emphatically with one word: “Absolutely!” He was genuinely shocked by my answer. You would assume those who have preached for a long time or who preach regularly eventually get to a place where they are no longer nervous about preaching. Yet even skilled, prepared, and experienced preachers get nervous at preaching time. If they do not, they should. Maybe the most accurate answer to my...

The late Dr. Gardner C. Taylor (1918-2015) was the beloved pastor of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn for 42 years. Along with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, Taylor organized the Progressive National Baptist Convention and was its first president. He was the author of many books. Gardner Taylor was even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Above all, Gardner C. Taylor was a bold, powerful, and eloquent preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is remembered as "the dead of American preachers." One of my favorite Gardner Taylor Messages is entitled, "In His Own Clothes," based on...

Some 15 years ago, I was in a conversation with leaders of the church I served in Los Angeles about music. Someone asked who would I pick if I could hire anyone I wanted to lead music at the church. My answer was simple. Joe Pace, who directed and produced the Colorado Mass Choir. Several years ago, when I began to search for a new music director at the church I currently serve in Jacksonville, Joe Pace joined our ministry team. Pace’s skill, wisdom, maturity, leadership, and experience have been richly enhanced the music department of our congregation. Last year,...

Every year at the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference, we pause to pay tribute to a preacher whose ministry should be remembered. This year, we honored the late Dr. E.V. Hill Sr. E.V. Hill was the longtime pastor of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Pastor Hill touched a generation with his gospel preaching, community leadership, charitable work, racial reconciliation, and media ministries. He was also the author of A Savior Worth Having and Victory In Jesus. Dr. Hill and my father were good friends. He officiated my dad's funeral. He led the meeting when I was called to serve the...

  The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference is still underway on the campus of the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL. Yesterday Jason Allen, Romell Williams Jr. Albert Mohler Jr. and myself preached the word of God and we enjoyed wonderful breakout sessions throughout the day. I pray that you have been richly blessed and that you leave encouraged and inspired to “Cut It Straight”. We are excited about what God has in store for us for today. Shuttle service from the Omni Hotel and Hyatt Hotel to the church campus will be provided throughout the day. Lunch will be...

The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference began Yesterday on the campus of the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, FL. We are grateful to have a line-up of great speakers and teachers who will teach, model, and promote expository preaching and teaching. Likewise, the staff and volunteers of Shiloh are ready and excited to serve the guests on our campus this week. Much prayer and planning takes place for this event to make it a special time for all who attend. Cutting it straight kicked off with a bang yesterday, along with myself, K. Edward Copeland, Robert Smith Jr. and Mac Brunson,...