On Thursday, February 28, 2019, the Shiloh Church Choir will record a live worship CD with Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Music. I was introduced to Sovereign Grace Music years ago, while I still served in Los Angeles. I met Bob Kauflin some years ago, as we served in a conference together. Our introduction and budding friendship involved many fruitful discussions about the gospel, corporate worship, and music. In the providence of God, those conversations led to an opportunity for our respective ministries to do something together to serve the larger church. I am grateful and excited that the Shiloh...

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. – Ephesians 6:18   January 13-20, 2019 is Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, where I serve as pastor. As a congregation, we start the year seeking God’s guidance, power, and blessings on our lives and ministry work together. We believe it happens after prayer! There are a lot of things you can do to help the situation, after you have prayed about it. But there really is nothing you can do to...

“So, how did you get from Los Angeles to Jacksonville?” I am regularly asked this question. I give the same answer each time: “The Lord dragged me to Jacksonville kicking and screaming.” This is no dig at Jacksonville or the church I serve. It is an honest statement about how my pastoral transition to Jacksonville took place in 2008. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In a real sense, I was born and raised in a local church there. My father pastored the congregation for 40 years. More than a year after his death, I was selected to...

It was a joy to serve as President of the 2018 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Dallas this past week. The conference theme was, “Fulfill Your Ministry." Our goal was to challenge and encourage pastors and church leaders to be faithful to their calling to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in and through local church. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:5 I am deeply grateful for the Southern Baptist Convention body electing me as president of the Pastor’s Conference in Phoenix last year and for the...

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! – Psalm 115:1   Yesterday, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church celebrated 142 years of God’s faithfulness! Many congregations do not make a big deal about church anniversaries, others ignore them outright. A church anniversary observance is often dismissed as another annual day, steeped in church tradition, and not Christian mission. I beg to differ. Statisticians report that some 4,000 churches in America close each year. Every week, multiple congregations – for one reason or another –...

In Deuteronomy 6, we are given our historic confession of faith in verses 4-6. It states: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” That is the great truth God wants all of his people to know. God wants Israel to know He is one, He is the Lord, and He is to be loved with all of our being. However, we must ask an essential question about God’s ultimate declaration. How do we...

This has been Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church. Our simple goal is to begin our year in prayer, submitting to God's will and depending upon power. And it has been a great week! In past years, we have prepared prayer guides with specific targets to pray for each day. And we had a daily prayer meeting at noon to pray together. But we have done something different this year. On Sunday, members wrote prayer requests on cards and brought them to the steps around our pulpit. And we left them there, asking members to come throughout the week...

Our Fall Church Institute begins tonight at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville (Sept. 26-28). These three nights will be a concentrated time of Bible study and proclamation. Each evening, at 6 pm, classes will be held on Christian discipleship. David Olford of the Olford Institute (Memphis) will teach on principles and methods of Bible interpretation. Shelia Bailey, President of Shelia B. Ministries (Dallas), will lead sessions for women. Lloyd Blue, who leads Lloyd C. Blue Ministries (Dallas), will teach the class for our men. Our Children’s Pastor, Lucious Johnson, and our Youth Pastor, Donald Lewis, will also lead...

Tonight at 7 PM, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church will be having our annual Midyear Tune-Up Service. At this midyear point, we pause as a congregation to praise God for what he has done in the first half of 2012 and pray to God for the remainder of 2012. The Lord has been faithful to us. Personally and corporately, we have much to thank God for. And we are expecting God’s greater blessings on our lives and labor for him in the months to come. Our guest speaker will be Dr. A.B. Sutton Jr., who is the founder and pastor...

"First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV) Today is the National Day of Prayer. Let us use this as occasion to remember our nation in believing prayer before the Lord God. Our country is filled with many political, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual problems. But nothing is too hard for God. It happens after prayer! Tonight at 7 PM the Shiloh...

Today is Make a Difference Day 2012 at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. MADD12 is a special day of "servant evangelism," in which we blitz our community and city with good works that demonstrate the love of Chirst in practical ways. Here are some of the projects we will be participating in: Ride With Me for Autism Hubbard House Domestic Walk Duval County Public Schools Multiple Pathways Project City Rescue Missions IM Sulzbacher Center Hope Totes for the homeless Clothes collection/give-away Free car wash Cleaning up trash in several neigbhorhoods Passing our gospel tracts and fliers And more... We believe the...

Oh, well. All good things must come to an end at some point. Tonight will conclude our Wednesdays in the Word 2012 series of services. W But I trust we will end with a bang tonight. Mr. Preacher, Dr. Maurice Watson – Senior-Pastor of the Beulahland Bible Church of Macon/Warner Robbins (GA) – is our guest speaker tonight. Maurice Watson has preached at Shiloh several times over the past threes. We were challenged and encouraged by his past visits. I expect that tonight will be no different. Pastor Watson is one of my favorite preachers. His life and ministry have...