Faith and Generosity at the Auto Dealer

Its rewarding to see Christianity at work at church, but its even more rewarding to see it in a business. Did you read about the retiring auto dealer? Howard Cooper of Ann Arbor, Michigan, did more than just say goodbye to his employees when he sold his dealership and retired....

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Racism Remains

Like many other Southern Baptists, I read with dismay of the situation that occured at First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.  A black couple who had been attending the church wanted to get married.  They scheduled the ceremony and even had the rehearsal on a Thursday night, just two days...

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Murder and Mayhem in the USA

A news article arrested my attention this morning.  It featured a Chicago Funeral Director proclaiming “These Kids Don’t Expect To Live a Full Life” anymore.  In his neighborhood, violence and murder are so common that many kids he talks to expect to die young in a violent death.  It’s just part of their...

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Elda’s Story

There is always something going on at FSBCA designed to help people, and we don’t always take  the time to tell the success stories we hear.  For example, in April, our church was the host site for Project Connect, a ministry sponsored by our church and the Valley of the Sun United Way to...

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Lessons From March Madness

I’m not a University of Kentucky fan.  Those that know me best (or even know me casually) know that I am a fan of another group of Wildcats.  Nevertheless, I learned some interesting things during March Madness about the University of Kentucky basketball team, and many of those things have...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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