I hope you had a good and safe Independence Day this week. Thanks for reading my blog. Here are some of the posts, events, and articles that caught my attention this week. You can sign-up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Please pray for the 2013 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference that will meet in Dallas, July 8-11. A big shout-out to Pastor Bryan Carter and the Concord Church for the sacrifices made to host this great conference. Jackie Hill: Love Letter to a Lesbian   Joe Carter: "Preachers of L.A." Brings Prosperity Gospel to...

Thanks to Pastor Romell Williams for preaching the word at the Shiloh Church this week during our Midyear Tune-Up. Shout-out to those of you who have shared with the ways you are benefiting from reading, It Happens After Prayer. Hope to see you at the 2013 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference in Dallas, July 8-11. Pastoralized: 5 Quick Reasons to Manuscript Your Sermons Greg Breazeale: Who is the Hero of Your Sermon? Trevin Wax: Let the Tone of Your Sermon Match the Tone of the Text  R. Albert Mohler: "Waiting for the Other Shoe" - The Supreme Court Rules on Same-Sex...

There are two primary reasons why you should pray. The first is obedience to duty. That is, we should pray because the word of God commands us to pray. Period. The second reason why you should pray is more pragmatic: Prayer works! God answers prayer. It pleases God to meet the needs of his children through the means of believing prayer. But while answered prayer is one of the great motivations to pray; unanswered prayer can discourage your prayer life. If your prayers are not being answered the way you desire, I recommend that you do two things. Continue to...

I praise the Lord for the opportunity to worship corporately and publicly with the saints of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church today. In my Bible Study Fellowship, I taught on 1 Timothy 6:1-2: "The Ethic of Christian Servanthood." In verse 1, Paul gives instructions for serving unbelieving masters. In verse 2, Paul gives instructions for serving believing masters. (I plan to teach verses 3-10 next Sunday). As always, it was good to have our guests in worship today. I preached from Daniel 9: "Prayer that Makes a Difference"  Daniel 9 records one of the greatest yet neglected prayers of the Bible....

Thanks to Dr. George W. Waddles for the opportunity to address the National Baptist Convention's Congress of Christian Education this past Tuesday in St. Louis. I am also grateful for the presence of Moody Publishers at the congress and the opportunity to sign copies of It Happens After Prayer. Shout-out to Pastor Patrick Walker for the opportunity to speak at the New Macedonia Baptist Church in Washington D.C. A big shout-out to the 2013 NBA Champion Miami Heat!!! The 2013 E.K. Bailey Conference is fast approaching. But you still have time to sign-up. Every Preacher should read Saving Eutychus by...

I hope you had a great Father's Day weekend! I thank God for my father: H.B. Charles Sr. My father died on Father's Day weekend. And I used to find Father's Day very painful. But I was filled with grateful memories this weekend. I only hope that I may become half the man and preacher my father was. I am indescribably thankful for my three children - H.B. III, Natalie Marie, and Hailey Breanne - also known as, "The Terrorists." We had a fathers-sons breakfast Saturday morning at the Shiloh Church. It was a good time of fellowship among Christians...

In my pulpit I preach from the Bible for two reasons. First, I am not smart enough to preach anything else. If I were to preach on social issues, there are sociologists in my congregation who would know far more about them than I. If I were to preach on political issues, there are politicians who would know more than I do in that field. Second, I am too smart to preach anything else because I know that God blesses his Word and it will not return void. - O.S. Hawkins, Jonah: Meeting the God of the Second Chance, p....

The following is a guest post by Cameron Triggs, Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL. “Well done my good and faithful party planner.” That is one phrase I am positive Jesus will not say to Youth Pastors at the culmination of human history. I am also sure that no genuine Youth Pastor worth a slice of pizza wants to hear those words. Still the pressure to entertain is inevitable in youth ministry. It does not matter if it is a room of six faithful “church kids” or an auditorium full of...

I am looking forward to the 2013 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference in Dallas, July 8-11. This conference was the vision of the late, E.K. Bailey, founding pastor of the Concord Church. Dr. Bailey is the "godfather" of expository preaching among African Americans. Outside of Dr. A. Louis Patterson, Jr., I do not know of any Black pastor/preacher that has pointed more brothers toward Bible exposition than Dr. Bailey. The Bailey Conference is now in the capable hands of Pastor Bryan L Carter, who also leads Concord. Under Carter's capable leadership, the Concord Church is alive and well, and so is...

Thanks for reading my blog. You can sign up under the picture to the left to receive free email updates of future posts. H.B. Charles Jr.: Summer Vacation for Fulltime Christians Pick up my new book, It Happens After Prayer. I started doing radio interviews for the book this week. This is new for me. But I am grateful for the opportunities. The 2013 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference is fast approaching. Hope to see you there. Check out Thriving Summit Conference hosted by Eric Mason. And pick up his new book, Manhood Restored. Sign up for the Expositors Summit at...

Summer is a needed time of rest and relaxation for many people. This break from the various responsibilities of home, work, or school is a good thing. However, there is no such thing as a vacation, leave-of-absence, or sabbatical from your responsibilities as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while" (Mark 6:31). This call also applies to present-day disciples. Even though your life in Christ is supernatural; it's not superhuman. If you do not ever come apart, you will eventually fall apart. All of...

So learn about Jesus! Follow the sacred counsel of Ezekiel and eat the scroll. Learn about Jesus for His word is a lamp unto our feet (or for our present moments) and a light unto our paths (that is, for our future) amidst moral blackouts and human power failures. Learn about Jesus for what a tragic mindset in the church that many will go here and there to be bigger, better teachers, lawyers, doctors, but when it comes to Christian education, many choose to be mental moral midgets, spiritual shrimps and shorties, religious runts, whose inner growth is stunted by the...