The Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church is becoming one church in two locations. For several years, we have prayed about planting a church in Jacksonville. As we prayed, we were increasingly drawn to Orange Park, southwest of our downtown location. We entered 2014 with plans to plant in Orange Park. One of our pastors would lead it. We would rent a school auditorium or something to meet in. And we would send out members to join the new work. As we met with the Jacksonville Baptist Association leaders for advice; we first learned that church facilities in Orange Park might become...

Easter Sunday 2014, before I gave the benediction at the end of the worship service at the Shiloh Church, I took a few minutes to point out that I was preaching for a new pulpit desk. Many in the congregation did not notice anything different. But to say I was excited  is an understatement. More than that, I was moved by the gravity of the implications. Simply trying to make note of the new desk before we dismissed, I started rambling on about the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers. Our Media Team captured the moment and thought...

  On July 30, 2008, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville met to call a new pastor. I was one of two names to be considered that Wednesday night. I had mixed emotions. First all of, the momentum was moving toward me being called to Shiloh. Yet I had been in this situation before. And after momentum toward a vote, another congregation overwhelming voted NOT to call me. It was embarrassing. And I did not want to go through that again. At the same time, I was sure that if Shiloh called me, I was not going. The Lord was blessing...

We pause this week at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church to thank God for five years the Lord has blessed us to serve him together as pastor and people. It seems such a cliché to say that time flies. But it really doesn't seem like it has been five years already. These years have been filled with good days and bad days. But through it all, our sovereign, good, and faithful God has richly favored our partnership in the gospel. I believe the Lord joins pastors and people together. And I am grateful that he has given me the privilege...

November 5, 1990. This is a date indelibly sketched in my heart and mind. It was a Monday evening. The congregation at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles gathered to select a new pastor. My father, H.B. Charles, Sr., served the church for four decades. Eighteen months later, the church was ready to call a new pastor. I had no plans of attending this meeting. I thought it would be too difficult to sit through a meeting where a new man would be called to the church my father served for so long. But I changed my mind...

Four years ago, a monumental election took place. And right in the middle of the election, the economy collapsed. But I was not paying attention. I had monumental issues going on in my life and ministry that I was preoccupied with. During the summer of 2008, I was engaged in a process that would eventually result in me becoming the Senior-Pastor of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. The Wednesday after the election of Barack Obama, my installation services began. I totally forget to mention that the nation had elected its first black president the day before. My guest...

It was Memorial Day weekend, 2008. It was my first visit to the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. The weekend started that Friday evening with a dinner reception in the church’s dining room. Some people sat smoking me over. To others, I was just another face. That’s what happens when a church is looking for a pastor. Mike Rodgers was different. I felt like I knew him before I met him that night. I had heard him preach several times on the Internet. He was preaching through Exodus on Wednesday nights. And I remember the sermons were very encouraging....

This has been a difficult week in the life of the Shiloh Church Family. Last week, one of our faithful and beloved pastors, Mike Rodgers, suddenly transitioned from earth to glory. Pastor Rodgers' passing has left our entire congregation with heavy hearts. Mike was a man of God, a loving shepherd, and a spiritual mentor to many in our church. He is already missed. But we are strengthened by the gospel that he preached to us and the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. Thank you to all of our friends and well-wishers...

I'll give you one guess who that handsome young man to the left is. Before I go any further, let me answer your burning question: Is that a Jheri Curl? Answer: Absolutely not! I only use juices and berries on my hair. Bonus Q&A: Yes, those are Gazelle glasses I am wearing. What you know about that?!?! This is a newspaper clip I found recently in a book. It is from local church newspaper in Los Angeles called the A.C.C. (R.I.P.) I was just eighteen-years-old. It is an advertisement for my first pastoral anniversary celebration at the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist...

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:21-23 This weekend, we will celebrated 137 years of God's faithfulness to and through the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. It has been my privilege to serve this great congregation for more than three years now. I am grateful to lead a congregation with such a rich legacy and yet with great potential. God has been good to us. And the...

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