News & Updates

My college roommate was horrific.  Horrendous.  Awful.  For one solid year he afforded me little than sleep deprivation.  Matt was a professional snorer.  Long hours through the night forced me to cough loudly and wildly to push for silence.  To no avail, I would throw wadded Kleenex at his lousy face.  By morning, a fluffy mound of white surrounded my “friend.” That same snoring monster went on to receive advanced preaching awards in Bible college.  Matt married Sara, and together…

This week I had lunch with someone I hadn’t seen in almost two decades.  We met at Cracker Barrel.  The country store entry way didn’t alleviate the initial, awkward hellos we exchanged to begin our social sizing up of obvious counterparts.  We both are pastors.  He’s currently moving from senior pastor to senior’s pastor.   Eighteen years ago he fired me. Makes you curious, doesn’t it?  Can I make this long story short?  I was a worship leader at this former…

My daughter, Morgan, is gearing up for middle school to wind down.  For the past three years she has flourished at her middle school.  I’ve had a wonderful front row seat to see a metamorphosis from a skinny, awkward, funny sixth grader to a beautiful, confident, rising freshman in high school.This past week, Morgan played her final eighth grade orchestra concert.  Her teacher (conductor) literally passed the baton of my daughter’s heart to the high school teacher in a very…

CHURCH ALERT!  For a richer experience this Sunday, bring 3 bills to church (one small, one medium, and one big one).  You can bring a utility bill, a credit card bill… whatever you can lay your hands on. Now… consider this new research study: Barna researchers presented a series of 20 agree-or-disagree statements to self-identified Christians.  Five described “actions like Jesus” such as, “I regularly choose to have meals with people with very different faith or morals from me.”  Five…

I’ve noticed an alarming trend lately among the younger generation still eating food, taking up space, sleeping, and doing laundry under my roof.  The shocking new normal unfolding daily is the quickness of dubbing greatness to just about anything. We watched a Justin Timberlake “Bring it on down to Veganville” SNL skit that was “awwwwesome.”  Someone downloaded a new song on iTunes that is “Amaaaayzing.”  Additionally, there seems to be great reason for celebration of a new app that apparently…

Something is wrong.  I’ve called good friends and even a few experts.   There is an obvious, hideous, and evil lurking, and I’m just not sure what to do. I ended up buying some Roundup concentrate.  This seems to be taking care of the dark advancement of several varieties of weeds and grasses exploding within my lawn.  A few sprays and the once-thriving vegetation is now brown, shriveling, and placed at bay for a guaranteed four months.  My Spring smile is…

I sat down for my early morning breakfast and noticed the alien sitting across from me.  Are you kidding me… he mixed his eggs with his breakfast potatoes AND poured Tabasco all over the mess?  Who does that? This strange sight prompted memories of another foreigner who sat opposite my sunny-side-up plate.  With great animation this freak proceeded to mash and stir everything on his plate into one ugly pile.  Eggs, bacon, grits, potatoes, and fruit were hand blended into…

This time of year, for me, is a bit funky.  My yard is a mess.  The weeds are in full bloom.  It feels like I’m never gonna get on top of things and see beauty and intentional green things flourishing again.  Sherry tells me, “Just wait.  It will all come back.  Just wait.” May I reflect briefly… one more time… on our church sign.  That THING has been driving me crazy for a while.  It was falling apart.  The once-welcoming…

Tonight is the annual “C3’s Got Talent” talent show (6:30, if you want to come and cheer on next generations).  My son, Michael, will be playing his guitar.  He’s been practicing his brains out.  He’s got his “School of Rock” moves down.  I’m confident Michael will be quite nervous as he hits the big, lonely stage.  Oh the life of a pastor’s kid who wants to be a rock star. I’ve told Michael he should,  “Go for it!”  I hope…

I went the entire Winter without getting sick.  In spite of hearty hand-shakes and high-fiving our Cumberland knee nippers, I avoided the crud so many fought.  I attribute my virus avoidance to my voodoo smoothie Sherry and I drink every morning.  You don’t WANT to know what’s in that thaang! Now Spring is springing, and I caught my first cold.  What’s up with that?  Tis the season for pollen, hayfever, allergens, and a definite needed tweak to my smoothie. I…