I was looking for the right image, artwork, or photograph for this blog, so I googled “love” and I looked at the resulting images trying to find what I wanted.   There were hearts.  Flowers.  Couples kissing.  Children holding hands.  Picnics.  Puppies.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Diamond rings. All of them beautiful...

I had an interesting interview a couple of weeks ago.  A doctoral student was conducting research, wanting to find out why a few pastors are able to stay in the same church for many years.  He knew I had been here at FSBCA for 17 and a half years.  He started by saying...

I preached on Sunday, August 21, on A Christian Response to Government and Politics.  In part, I taught that Christians must operate with a much higher standard than do politicians, and even the way we do politics (which is often a very dirty business) must be done according to the ethics of...

This was originally published in the FSBCA Weekly.  It has since been moved to this blog. I knew it was coming, but it still infuriated me when it did.  There are enough people on the “lunatic fringe” of Christianity that it was inevitable. A California pastor posted a video on...

This may just be the strangest blog I’ve ever written. It’s on a topic that I hope you never need to use, “How to leave a church with integrity.” I will start with some honesty.  I don’t like it when members decide to go to another church.  It hurts my pride...

I continue to answer questions submitted by FSBCA members, and I must admit that I’ve received many good questions, far more than can be answered in Sunday morning sermons this month.  (I’m glad to pastor a church of curious-I-want-to-know-the-truth kind of people!)  Many of these questions will be answered in...

In my current sermon series, I’m answering questions submitted by FSBCA members. I won’t have time to answer all of them in a sermon, so I will be answering some of them in my blog. Here’s a good question that came in: If God’s plan was and is for one...

We are entering into the political season, with more announced (and unannounced) presidential candidates than I can count or keep track of.  So it’s time for me to make some political statements that apply to the church and to me as a pastor.  I ask you to read these carefully...

I believe in religious freedom. I also believe in serving people and loving people regardless of their background, their morality, and their faith. So if I’m a baker of cakes, and someone wants me to bake them a cake, I would do so. I would bake them a cake if...

On the night Jesus was born, according to the traditional reading of the Christmas story, the angels said to the shepherds, “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”   “On earth, peace . . .” We have yet to experience that peace on...