1943 was a long time ago, and life was different in Avondale back then. Avondale (also known as Coldwater) was an unincorporated area, and the population was less than 2000 people. At the time, it didn’t have a High School. Litchfield Park High School had been founded in 1928, and it...
The Man In The Dumpster
On Monday, I heard the beep of the intercom on my phone. I was expecting the standard, “John Doe is here to see you” or “You have a call on line 1.” Instead, the message was totally unexpected, “Hey, Pastor Jack. Holly says there’s a man in our dumpster. Can you check it...
Another Sex Scandal?
Three sex scandals are in the news this week; unfortunately, that’s about normal by a Tuesday. One deals with a candidate for president, one deals with a young musician, and the other deals with a college football program. I’m thankful that none of the three deals with a church . . ....
What’s My Real Job?
I get the question often. Sometimes it’s in jest from a church member, “So you only work on Sundays, right?” At other times it comes from someone outside of the church that thinks of a church as “open” only on Sunday mornings, “I know you’re a pastor, but what’s your...
Dare Greatly
Two weeks ago, the members of Estrella Falls Baptist Church (our Goodyear congregation) decided to stop meeting. Most of these members have started attending FSBCA. It was a tough decision and a hard decision. It was not a decision that any of us enjoyed making or that we made lightly. But we did not fail. In our...
How Does She Do It?
I don’t brag about my wife nearly enough, but it’s time that I did. Last week, my wife Dawn went for four days to visit our daughter Kimberly and her husband Tim in Utah. Dawn was just a little bit worried about leaving me with a busy church schedule and responsibilities...
Seven Days In Utopia
As I’ve mentioned before, I like to promote good movies that are also good movies. I want a movie to be both enjoyable and to present a worthy theme. I don’t necesarily expect a movie to be blatantly Christian, but I don’t want it to undermine Christian morality or to attack the...
Race Matters, Especially In The Church
I read a disturbing blog today about race and the church, and I’ve been thinking about it all day long. Essentially, the blogger (Ed Stetzer) reminded me that churches are still far too segregated in many ways: Over 90% of churches in the United States are racially segregated, with 80% or more of the congregation comprised...
Praying Jake
I read this poem last Sunday, and I had several requests for copies, so I thought I’d post it on my blog. However, let me share with you a few disclaimers: (1) I have been unable to find the author so I can’t give proper credit. (2) Don’t take the...
The Value of a Good Movie
I love a good movie. But let’s be honest about it; seldom do we agree on the definition of “good.” For some people, a good movie is set in the old west. (Especially if it stars John Wayne!) For my daughters, the best movies are musicals with love stories. One of my...