Yesterday, Crystal and I took a detour on our way home from Dallas. We went to Tacoma to surprise our pastor, Dr. Melvin V. Wade Sr. (Senior Pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles and former President of the National Missionary Baptist Convention) who graduated last night from the Faith Evangelical Seminary in Tacoma with his Masters of Arts Degree. While leading Mt. Moriah, presiding over a national denomination, and preaching all over the country – along with all of his other personal and pastoral responsibilities – pastor has been diligently studying and continuing his formal education....

Crystal and I had a wonderful day in worship and fellowship with the Concord Church yesterday. Actually, we have a good weekend here – greatly enjoying the time we were able to spend with Pastor Bryan and Stephanie Carter. We really appreciate and were encouraged by their warmth, kindness, and hospitality.Even though I have been deeply influenced by the preaching and ministry of the late Dr. E.K. Bailey, this was my first time ever worshiping at Concord. And it was a great experience. Pastor’s Carter loving and focused leadership is evident in so many ways. And I learned a lot...

Crystal and I are in Dallas. And it’s already a great trip, because Crystal is here with me. She does not (want to and/or get to) travel with me often. So it's really cool to be "on the road" with my wife.We are here to join in the celebration of the 32nd anniversary celebration for Pastor Bryan Carter and the Concord Baptist Church. Concord Church was organized by the late Dr. E.K. Bailey - one of my "homiletical heroes." Pastor Carter has served as senior-pastor of Concord since Dr. Bailey’s death in. And the Lord is continuing to bless this...

I am a big fan of the writing and preaching of Dr. Steven J. Lawson – the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. I was introduced to Lawson’s work more than ten years ago, when I read a book of expositions he published on the book of Job. Since then, I have followed his writing ministry closely, purchasing and reading nearly every work he has produced. And I have always been challenged and edified by Lawson’s writings – both in my personal walk with Christ and my public ministry for Christ. I have equally benefited from...

I try to avoid calling any passage "familiar," calling them "famous" instead. I do this because I don't think we are ever really familiar with any passage. We know the words of certain passages, but the meaning of those passages continues to deepen the more we spend time with them. I was reminded of this last week as I studied Psalm 124. Many Christians know the words, "If it were not for the Lord who was on our side..." But this is a rich passage, filled with powerful images, that calls on us to acknowledge, worship, and trust God for...

Last weekend, I read about a rollercoaster that was stuck on an upside-down turn, leaving its passengers stranded for some thirty minutes. I think I know how they feel. I am going through the same thing concerning my preaching. The struggle continues. Last week, I worked on a passage from Ephesians to preach. But I was not able to put my study into preachable form. So Saturday afternoon, I made some calls to have one of the guys preach in my place on Sunday morning. But when I woke up Sunday, a message from Hebrews took shape as I prepared...

This afternoon, Pastor Burton and my friend Chad Foster gave me a tour of some of the historic sites around Washington D.C. I am a huge history buff. And I was so excited to be able to see some of our nation's important sites and monuments. I only wish I would have had more time to tour the area - and that Crystal, H.B., and Natalie were here. Here are some of the pictures I took.

So I got to LAX Wednesday morning and begin to check-in. But the computer wouldn't recognize any of my information. That should have been a sign to me of how my day was going to go. I had missed my flight – by more than two hours. (For the record, this was absolutely not my fault – this time. But that's another story.) The standby flights they could put me on would not get me to Washington D.C. until 8:15. This, of course, would be too late for me to actually speak in the worship service I was headed to....

This past weekend, I participated in the Los Angeles Community Bible Church's men's retreat, led by Pastor Bobby Scott. Pastor Anthony Kidd and the Westside Bible Church also partnered in this meeting. It was held at the Alpine Camp & Conference Center in Blue Jay (CA), near Big Bear/Lake Arrowhead. The theme of the retreat was, "The Making of a Godly Man." I spoke in three of the sessions – once Friday night and twice on Saturday morning. I was asked to talk about becoming a godly man, father, and husband. And I addressed these subjects from Ephesians 5 and...

This past Sunday morning, I preached from Ephesians 2:11-13 – "Remember What You Were." For all the difficulties I have preparing last week (over the last weeks, for that matter), I was quite relaxed, focused, and eager about preaching Sunday morning. The passage is doctrinal in nature. But there is a practical concern that is addresses that I really felt it was important for MSMBC to hear – the danger to forget and the need to remember. Our spiritual passion is prone to grow cold when we forget how far we were from God without Christ and how God brought...

The past two Sunday afternoons, our congregation has participated in worship services at with other congregations. On May 27, we worshiped with the Paradise Baptist Church to celebrate the 22nd pastoral anniversary celebration for Pastor A.D. Iverson. Pastor Iverson has been a great source of kindness and encouragement to me over the years. And we seem to have a natural affinity toward one another – both being preacher's kids who pastor their father's church. So it was a joy to join in the celebration with other congregations of our city. I brought the message in that service. And even though...

Every year, I go through my "annual homiletical crisis" – in which I really, really struggle in my preaching. For some reason, this year "crisis" (termed this purely on the basis of how I feel going through it) is taking place much earlier - it usually takes place well into the second half of the year. And it's taking on a weird form this time around. I have been struggling to determine what to preach. When I land on a text or subject, my personal study time has been great. But I have also been struggling with turning my personal...