I preached three of morning services yesterday. Then I hightailed it to catch a flight to Los Angeles to meet my family. We traveled home for the weekend to celebrate the retirement of my pastor Melvin Von Wade Sr. has led the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles for forty-two years. Pastor Wade is a part of the legendary Wade family. His father, Dr. J.C. Wade Sr., pastored the Salem Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska for nearly half a century. During this pastorate, Wade Sr. developed a reputation as one of the leading African-American preachers in the country....

I have just returned from the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Session in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a busy but blessed week. Having preached five times Sunday (a big mistake I do not intend to repeat), I caught a flight to Phoenix through Atlanta. The flight to Atlanta was uneventful. My connection was scheduled to leave Atlanta at 9:35 PM. Because of mechanical difficulties, it did not leave until 3 AM Monday morning. As you can imagine, I spent the rest of the week trying to recover. The SBC Pastors’ Conference kicked off on Sunday evening, led by David Miller. Between...

I landed at LAX from preaching. My cell phone rang as soon as I turned it on. When I answered, a friend chastised me about not responding to a message from the deacon chairman of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. There were no messages on my phone. No messages at home or the office, either. Then it came to me. I rarely used the phone in my study, and didn’t even know the number. But I asked my assistant to check the phone and, sure enough, a deacon from Florida had left a message. My friend told...

This past week, I prayerfully agreed to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, which will take place in Dallas in 2018. The Pastors' Conference is held every year in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. It has been my joy to preach the pastors' conference on several occasions. It would be a privilege to lead it in 2018. I am grateful and honored that Ken Whitten of the Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa Bay has agreed to nominate me at the upcoming SBC meeting in Phoenix. I am also grateful for...

November 5, 1990. I ditched school that Monday morning. I had a funeral to preach. For the first half of the year, I preached the 11:00 AM service at my father’s church on first Sundays. But the first Sunday in August was the last time. I preached a sermon that Sunday, entitled, “Waited Time On God Is Never Wasted Time” (Job 14:14).  In a meeting after the service, it was decided that I should not be allowed to preach any more until after the church called a new pastor. I was also asked to meet with pulpit committee. The committee...

Here are ten preachers who have influenced me. 1. H.B. Charles Sr. My father was the first and _____ influence on me. 2. Melvin V. Wade Sr. 3. John F. MacArthur Jr. 4. E.K. Bailey 5. Ralph Douglas West 6. John Piper 7. Jasper Williams Jr. 8. Steven J. Lawson 9.Warren W. Wiersbe 10. John A. Reed Jr.

Several weeks ago, we had a membership meeting at the Shiloh Church. During the meeting, I made several comments about the trial in which George Zimmerman was accused of murdering Trayvon Martin. The next day, a member sent me a note thanking me for sharing my thoughts about this important matter. That note stuck with me. He was right. Outside of my passing comments in that meeting, the members of my congregation had no way of knowing how their pastor processed these events. I strive to preach the Bible, not current events. But this time my silence on a big cultural...

It is my funeral. My family and friends have gathered to pay their final respects. Songs of praise have been lifted. Scripture has been read and prayers have been offered. Now it is time for remarks. My children go to the microphone. They are going to talk about their father. What will they say? My goal is to live my life in such a way that when my children speak of me, after I am dead and gone, they will be able to say at least three things about me. I know my father loved God unconditionally. Many obituaries state...

Someone hears or sees my name, somewhere. They Google me. Whatever pops up, including several YouTube clip links. They click the links. There I am, probably in revival somewhere. It is the last few minutes of the sermon. I am happy and in mid-whoop. They read the comments below - good and bad. An opinion is formed. Sometime later, they meet me in person. They tell me they have heard me preach. "Where?" I ask. Answer: "On YouTube."  I reply, "Don't believe anything you see on YouTube." They laugh. I laugh, too, even though I wasn't making a joke. Good...

I attended my grandmother’s funeral yesterday in Oklahoma City. I was in town for less than 24 hours. And it felt like I was in the air – coming and going – longer than I was on the ground. But I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend and be with my family during this important time. Eula B. Sheffield, my mother’s mom, lived a long, rich, and full life. She was a free spirit, a straight talker, and a relentless lover of her family and friends. She had a tough exterior. I cannot remember one occasion when...

This week I have been in an intensive Old Testament Survey class at the Jacksonville extension of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. (For the record, thank God there is a Gordon-Conwell in Jacksonville!) This OT Survey class was taught by Dr. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Dr. Kaiser is the former president of Gordon-Conwell and a very respected scholar, teacher, and author. This class has been a such a benefit to me this week in helping me to put my Bible together, as it were - the unity of the Bible. Dr. Kaiser’s focus has been the promise-plan of God in the Old...

As I wrapped up a phone conversation with a friend yesterday, we exchanged prayer requests. I was hesitant to share my prayer requests, even though this brother is a longtime and trusted prayer partner. I was hesitant, because I did not know how to express what my sense of need is. I have been struggling with that a lot lately. I concluded that if I could not share where I am with this brother, I wouldn't be able to do it with anyone. So I took a shot at it. And, once again, I rambled. When someone asks me how...