Archive for November, 2006

I love students. Enough said. I could write books about them. But here are a couple who have meant a lot to me.  Walter Strickland III just started his last year in the MDiv at SEBTS. I preached at Walter’s home church, Valley Baptist in Bakersfield, California, when he was much younger.  Walter has become a [...]

“The single most effective way for Christians to ‘reach’ the US would be for 25% of them to move to two or three of the largest cities and stay there for three generations.” Tim Keller  “So there was great joy in that city.” Acts 8:8 (HCSB)  “I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:10 [...]

  One of the more common subjects of discussions among Southern Baptists today regards those who are leaving, have left, or are considering leaving the SBC. I can sympathize to some extent. As a younger man in seminary in the 1980s, I considered the possibility as well, disillusioned by some things I had seen and [...]

Okay. Ed Stetzer is my Paul (imitate him) and Jonathan Merritt my Barnabas (Doc you have to do this). I have decided to try this twittering thing. Who knows, 3 people on earth may care.  I am not really sure I do, but I am going to give it a whirl.  Now if one of [...]

This week I had the joy of speaking at Spiritual Emphasis Week for Wake Christian Academy in Raleigh. WCA is one of the largest Christian schools in the area. I speak regularly at such schools, but I have to say I had one of the best times ever with these students!  I met many who [...]

Folks who know me well would know my great passion for reaching the cities of the US. I am grateful for all our strong focus on international missions at SEBTS. I just returned from Thailand myself. Still, my heart breaks for the great cities in America. I have lived in some: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, [...]

I already mentioned how I love and appreciate Johnny Hunt and have for the almost 20 years I have known him. I saw this quote at Baptist21.com that encouraged me: “We have to acknowledge that many people are doing church differently in many contexts right here — we must acknowledge that you do not have to travel [...]

First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, would rank as one of the greatest, most historic churches in the SBC. I had the great joy of making my first visit to FBC this past weekend, and what a treat it was! First Jax has one of the most impressive sites you could imagine, from the preschool building [...]

A razor blade. Cold steel. Sharp. And used. Sounds like the perfect gift, right? Not really.We all love gifts. If you look around your room or office you will likely see a few gifts that would not bring much on Craigslist, but you treasure greatly. In my office I have a few: –A Barbie doll [...]

One of the great joys I have now that I am not-so-young-a-leader anymore is to help others. I have had the honor of writing or co-writing many books.  My colleague Mark Liederbach, easily one of the brightest ethicists and most popular campus teachers around, is publishing his first book with me (info below). This will [...]