It was Memorial Day weekend, 2008. It was my first visit to the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. The weekend started that Friday evening with a dinner reception in the church’s dining room. Some people sat smoking me over. To others, I was just another face. That’s what happens when a church is looking for a pastor. Mike Rodgers was different. I felt like I knew him before I met him that night. I had heard him preach several times on the Internet. He was preaching through Exodus on Wednesday nights. And I remember the sermons were very encouraging....

This has been a difficult week in the life of the Shiloh Church Family. Last week, one of our faithful and beloved pastors, Mike Rodgers, suddenly transitioned from earth to glory. Pastor Rodgers' passing has left our entire congregation with heavy hearts. Mike was a man of God, a loving shepherd, and a spiritual mentor to many in our church. He is already missed. But we are strengthened by the gospel that he preached to us and the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. Thank you to all of our friends and well-wishers...

Once when Swiss theologian Karl Barth was asked what he thought was the most important word in the New Testament, he asnwered, "Huper." Huper is a preposition meaning "on behalf of" or "in place of." So when Barth called huper the most important word, he meant that the most important of all truths is that in salvation Jesus takes our place to bear the punishment for our sins so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). - James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?, p. 102

I love my congregation. What a church! Thanks for praying for the Shiloh Church family this weekend. Yesterday was a difficult day for our congregation, as we mourned the death of one of our faithful and beloved pastors, Mike Rodgers. Yet there was joy in the midst of sorrow. Please continue to pray for the Rodgers family and the Shiloh Church. God is so faithful The day of worship started with a spirit of heaviness. But over the course of the day, you could sense the Lord lifting our spirits as we worshiped him. Great is the Lord! Likewise, remember...

The Shiloh Church family suffered a great loss yesterday, as one of our faithful and longtime pastors, Mike Rodgers, suddenly transitioned from earth to heaven. We are all saddened by the news. But we remember that in times like this, Pastor Rodgers would encourage us to trust in the Lord and to praise God anyway! Please pray for the Rodgers family and the Shiloh Church. Likewise, one of our deacons, W. Knight, was in a horrible car accident yesterday and came out with only a few bruises. Sparing mercy! Shout-out to the Dallas Minister’s Conference for the privilege of speaking...

"It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Christ's Cross. For whether we are thinking about the necessity of the Cross, the meaning of the Cross, the preaching of the Cross, the offense of the Cross, or the way of the Cross - however we may think about it - in every case what we are saying, and must be saying, is that the Cross is central to Christianity. Indeed, we are saying more. We are saying that without the Cross of Jesus Christ there is no true Christianity at all." - James Montgomery Boice, Whatever Happened to the Gospel of...

  Things I have learned along the way… I have been in pastoral ministry for over 21 years now. I started my first pastorate when I was 17-years-old, still a senior in high school. I served Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles for almost 18 years. And it has been my privilege to serve the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville for a little more than 3 years now. I have learned a lot about pastoral ministry over these years. Of course, I still have quite a bit to learn. I hope to be a lifelong learner. But...

It was another great day at the Shiloh Church. God be praised! Quick testimony: I love my church! We baptized seven people today. Praise God! During our 8 AM service, the choir did, "He's Worthy," recorded by Jonathan Greer in the 80s. Great song! Glad and grateful for all of our guests today. J. Moss was our guest soloist at 10:15. He did "Praise on the Inside" and "Good and Bad," from his new CD. What a blessing! I made the big mistake of trying to sing after J. Moss. What was I thinking? I continued in my study of...

Today is a pretty special day for me. I signed contracts this morning to publish my first book. It has been my prayer to write a work for publication for many years. In fact, this blog was initially started to give me practice in writing. The Lord has graciously opened the door for me to write a book to be published. And the Lord held it open! But I need your prayers. My deadline for submitting the completed manuscript is October 15. I have more than half of the work complete already. For the most part, I have more rewriting...

Thursday and Friday, I preached for Pastor Terrace Floyd as a part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church. I first preached for Pastor Floyd when the church was less than a year old. We became fast friends. It is great to see the progress of the church. May the Lord's continued blessings be upon their labors for Christ. Congratulations to Dr. and Mrs. Rudolph McKissick, Sr. as renew their vows today, marking 50 years of marriage. Dr. McKissick, who serves the Bethel Baptist Church with his son, R. McKissick, Jr., is one of the senior...

Going directly from a call to preach to leading a church is extremely rare. Good! Preachers need the maturation that comes from serving with or under another pastor, before leading their own congregation. Yet many associate ministers wish they could just skip this process. Pastors treat associates as flunkies. Congregations neglect the vital role associate ministers play. Members view associates as step-parents, substitute teachers, or “garbage-time” bench riders. It can be discouraging. But it doesn’t have to be. Your time as an associate minister can be an affirmation of your ministerial call, a time of spiritual development, and a fruitful...

I am a student of expository preaching. I believe in expository preaching. I am convinced that expository preaching - preaching that explains what the text means by what it says - is the most faithful way to preach. Yet I cringe when someone brings up the subject. Expository preaching is a new buzzword. Everyone is doing it. But not really. They used to sing, "Everybody talking about heaven ain't going." New verse: "Everybody talking about expository preaching ain’t doing it.” That’s fine. Really. It is. If your preaching is not expository, that’s okay. But it is not okay to be...