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, and now the Raleigh-Durham area. My son Josh shares that passion (check out his facebook note on cities if you are his friend there). While … →

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 to Africa to find a different culture.”  For a lot of us that statement is a no brainer.  But you may be surprised at just … →

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 to the college ministry to the numerous parking garages and mammoth auditorium replete with HD flatscreens.  There were more people in one service than live … →

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 from Hannah, slipped in my suitcase one day years ago with a note asking me not to forget her on my travels (yes, I cried); … →

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 certainly not be his last. I am honored to share with him this project, which we believe deals with some of the critical issues of … →