Happy Mother's Day to my Mother, Ellen Charles! And happy Mother's Day to my wife, Crystal Charles, and the mother of my three terrorists... I mean, children! It was a joy to preach at the Piedmont Bible Conference this week, hosted by Pastor Stoney Enfield and the Prospect Baptist Church in Albermarle, North Carolina. Check out the latest episode of The On Preaching Podcast: Seven Ways to Become a Better Preacher GUEST POST: Book Review of my new book "On Pastoring" (Available June 7, 2016)  Russell Moore: A White Church No More Aaron Earls: 5 Reasons Church Leaders Should Pay...

My wife, Crystal, and I am in Los Angeles today to attend the memorial service for my pastor's (Dr. Melvin V. Wade, Sr.) mother: Mrs. Mary Wade. Prayers appreciated. Shout-Out to R. Wayne Briant for the opportunity to speak at the Southwest Florida Evangelistic Conference with Dr. Stephen Nelson Rummage in Sarasota this past Monday. Check out my new article: Reflections On My First T4G Conference. NOTE: Clear here to see videos of all T4G main session speakers.  Here is the latest episode on The On Preaching Podcast: Praying for Sunday's Sermon Jesse Johnson: Should You Use Illustrations from Movies?  John MacArthur:...

Saturday Shout-outs are back! I have not posted SSO in several weeks, because of glitches that needed to be addresses. Thanks for your patience support! Be on the lookout for my new book, "On Pastoring." It is a short guide to living and leading as a pastor, scheduled to be released June 7, 2016 by Moody Publishers. Check out my latest post: "Who's Holding You Up?" Make sure you check out the latest episode of The On Preaching Podcast: How I Prepare to Preach. The elders of the Shiloh Church spent several days this week on retreat to pray and...

Thank you to everyone who sent kind words for my birthday this week (2/11). I was already an old man at 21-years-old. At 43, I am now ancient!!! A big shout-out to my Mom, Ellen Charles, whose birthday is the day before mine (2/10). She usually comes to JAX for us to spend our birthdays together. This was the first time I went to OKC to be with her. Good times. Love you, Mom! Hope to see you at Together For The Gospel in Louisville – April 12-14, 2016. Ralph Douglas West and the Church Without Walls will host the Isaachar...

It was a joy to speak at the 2016 Moody Founder's Week in Chicago! This weekend, we are hosting our first Family Conference at the Shiloh Church. We were richly blessed to have K. Edward Copeland, along with many other speakers, who equipped our church in the area of faith and family. Hope to see you at Together For The Gospel in Louisville - April 12-14, 2016. Check out the Isaachar Conference hosted by Ralph Douglas West and the Church Without Walls in Houston - April 2 Derek Thomas: Bad Homiletical Models of Expository Preaching Tim Challies: The Hidden Beauty...

[caption id="attachment_6149" align="alignright" width="300"] G3 CONFERENCE: Steve Lawson, H.B. Charles Jr., & Josh Buice[/caption] It was a joy to speak at the 2016 G3 Conference (Gospel, Grace & Glory) hosted by my friend, Josh Buice and the Prays Mill Baptist Church of Douglasville, Georgia. (Click here to read host Josh Buice's reflections on the 2016 G3 Conference). Praying for pastors and churches on the east coast who have to shut down this week and still minister to their congregations during this snowstorm. The Lord be with you! I hope to see you at the Jacksonville Pastors Conference next weekend, hosted...

Happy New Year! May the Lord's richest blessings be with you and yours in 2015! NEW POST: Top Blog Posts of 2015 Check out the Southern Seminary top 5 chapel videos from 2015. Bruce Ware: Advice for Another Year of Bible Reading Justin Taylor: Reading the Whole Bible in 2016: An FAQ Donald Whitney: How I Started Praying the Bible Kevin DeYoung: Ten Check Up Questions for the New Year Tim Challies: How to Finish Over 100 Books in 2016 Colin Smith: Seven Virtues to Pursue for Spiritual Growth Nicholas T. Batzig: Plagiarizing and Quoting in Preaching Jared C. Wilson: The...

Sign up for my newsletter in the box in the right column of this page to receive a free sermon manuscript each week to read devotionally or put fuel in your fire as you prepare to preach. Check out the John A. Reed Jr. Interview. Pastor Reed is the Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. He was one of my father's dear friends. He is my "Pops." We continue to thank the Lord for blessing the Shiloh Church Choir's live CD recording last weekend. Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement. The CD is schedule for national release...

A great, big birthday shout-out to my wife Crystal! We first met in Coach William's World History Claus at Los Angeles High School. We have now been together for more than 20 years. And it has been  an indescribable privilege to watch Crystal grow as a Christian, wife, mother, leader, and friend over these years. I am getting older! She is getting better! But being with Crystal makes me want to be better, too. I love you, Sunshine! Happy Birthday! Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement for the Shiloh Church Choir Live CD recording. It was a great night...

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary. Crystal and I met at Los Angeles High School more 25 years ago. We have been together for more than 20 years. Three kids, two pastorates, and one transcontinental translation later, we are still going strong. Crystal is my Sunshine! I love her desperately. And I pray the Lord bless us to grow really old together - even though I am way ahead of her on that one! Next weekend - December 18, 2015 at 7 PM - the Shiloh Church Choir will record a live worship CD, under the leadership of our Pastor of...

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving morning, the Shiloh Church gathered for worship. It was a blessed time. I shared the manuscript I preached from Psalm 100 in today's weekly sermon email. You can sign up for this weekly newsletter in the column to the right of this page. Check out the new article I posted this week: "Why Expository Preaching?" As you are making plans for 2016, mark your calendars for Together For the Gospel (T4G) - April 12-14, 2016 in Louisville. Jason K. Allen: 5 Words That Strengthen Every Sermon Brian Croft: What if I preach...

I had the privilege of contributing four extended sermon outlines to the Nelsons Annual Preacher's Sourcebook 2016 edited by Ken Hemphill. Check it out! Ray Pritchard: Thanksgiving Sermons Erik Raymond: Using Variation and Surprise in Preaching Peter Mead: Meaningless Chatter Thabiti Anyabwile: Bits and Pieces for Young Ministers: Discipleship, Rest and Reading Derek Thomas: 5-Step Strategy to God-Centered Prayer Thom Rainer: Six Reasons Why Longer-Tenured Pastorates Are Better Cary Nieuwolf: How Pastoral Care Stunts the Growth of Most Churches Jonathan Leeman: 22 Mistakes Pastors Make in Practicing Church Discipline Gavin Ortlund: Why I'm Complementarian  Nathan Busenitz: 10 Questions About Adventism ...