When I meet new people, initial conversations often raise the same questions. It begins with my name. Yes, my name is H.B. No, it does not stand for anything. I don’t know. My father did it to me, and I did it to my son. The next set of questions is about the church I serve. The detail that typically captures attention is that the church I serve is in Florida. The conversation turns to whatever the person thinks about Florida, good or bad. Then I am asked if I was raised in Florida. I answer that I have lived...

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 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...

As I prepared for my wedding day, I asked my married friends what to expect. Without fail, they all had one prediction: You are going to cry! This was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I have no problem with men crying. In fact, I am a passionate man who is prone to shed tears at moments of sorrow or joy.  I just did not believe it would happen at my wedding. I was cool, calm, and collected, as the big day neared. Whatever my response, I did not expect it to include tears.  Then it happened...  The...

There two big days in my life. I do not remember the date of the first one. It was a Saturday night. My parents sent me to bed. Church was in the morning. But I couldn’t sleep. Throughout the night, I wrestled with the implications of the gospel my father preached and my mother sang. At some point during the night – or morning – I surrendered my life to Christ. I was only six years old. But that dateless night was real to me. I believed that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And I knew that...

Today is a blessed day in my life. It is the fifteenth anniversary of my marriage to my Crystal. Crystal and I met at Los Angeles High School. She was in the tenth grade. I was a senior... and a senior-pastor (but that’s another story). We met in Coach Williams’ World History Class. It was the easiest class in the school (Do the math: the football coach was the World History teacher!). Our first (romantic) words to one another were... Crystal: “Did you do the homework?” Me: “Nope. You?” Crystal:  “Me neither.” After that class, we did not see one...

Today, the Lord has blessed me to see my 40th birthday. I am in shock that I am now 40. Where in the world did the time go? Let me think about it… I have been following Jesus for 34 years. I have been preaching the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ for 29 years. I have been pastoring God’s people for 23 years. I have been married for more than 14 years. I have been a father for 13 years. Yep. I guess 40 years makes sense, after all. The Lord has been good to me....

Twenty-two years ago today, the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles took a chance on a seventeen-year-old boy preacher. It was a Monday night. November 5, 1990. It was about eighteen months after the former pastor, my father, died. The church gathered to select its third pastor. For the record, the church did not meet that night with to select a high-schooler as its new pastor. I was not on the agenda that night. After a yearlong search, the pulpit committee presented three names for the church to consider. (I was not one of them.) And they would...

Today is my big brother’s 50th birthday. I thank God for Kevin B. Willis Sr. and the blessing his life is to me. I preached my first sermon when I was 11-years-old. What I remember best about that service is my brother being there and extending the invitation afterward. I wanted to go to Bishop College, because Kevin went to Bishop. (Unfortunately, when I finished high school, there was no more Bishop College. But that’s another conversation.) I remember the first time Kevin heard me preach after our father passed. Afterwards, he told me two things: (1) You are a...

Happy Mother’s Day! I am grateful to God for my wife, Crystal, the mother of my three children. We did not torture her as severely today, in honor of Mother’s Day. We had quite a few guests in worship today. Grateful. We did Charles Jenkins’ new song, “Awesome,” corporately. It is a beautiful song. Our Children’s Choir sang today. It was great to have them participating on Mother’s Day. Our Men’s Chorus led the special music. It is encouraging to have men lead out in praises to our God. Praise God for the one who was baptized today. I preached...

We had a great day yesterday at the Shiloh Church. I love Easter Sunday morning! One of my favorte Easter quotes is from John Irving: “Anyone can be sentimental about the Nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you don’t believe in the resurrection, you’re not a believer.” A very special thanks to all of our staff and volunteers for your diligent service. You made our guest feel welcome. You ministered with excellence. You sacrificed your comfort for others. You brought glory to God. You made it happen. Thanks again....

Several months ago, one of our staff pastors shared with me how an older pastor had offended him with unkind words. I tried to encourage him. I don’t remember exactly what I said. But it went something like this: “Don’t worry about it. Older preachers have a way of… us younger preachers.” Staff member’s response: “Did you say, ‘Us young preachers?’” Ouch. He was right. I am not young anymore. Today is my 39th birthday. I have been a pastor for more than 21 years. I have been married to my wife, Crystal, whom I met in high school, for...