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It was the fall of 1998.  God was calling me to preach.  Nikki and I had no idea where God would take us, but we were up for whatever He had in mind.  My family and I are not the sharpest pencils in the box and we are far from perfect. However, the one characteristic that I continually see within my crew is that we will go where God sends us. 

We have had the privilege of being part of a number of church's.  Each congregation has blessed us in many w...

In drawing near to the close of another year, I find myself helping my youth pastor prepare to take a step into full-time pastoral leadership in Indiana.  He is transitioning from our youth department to becoming the senior pastor of a church in northern Indiana.  So as I help prepare him for his new normal, I started writing down leadership principles that I thought would be helpful to him.

I have been a student of leadership most of my life.  At the age of 1...

When you walk through the halls of your local elementary school this time of year, you see Thanksgiving decorations that include pilgrims, indians, turkeys and fallen leaves.  I love this time of year.  

When you look back to the founding of this country you find that America's earliest settlers were called pilgrims.  By definition a pilgrim is a person that journeys to a sacred place for religious purposes. The word pilgrim used as a verb means to travel or w...

The first command that God gave to Adam and Eve as a married couple, was to be fruitful and multiply. (see Genesis 1:28)

He was looking for these two God fearing human beings to reproduce and give birth to God fearing children, that would in turn grow up, marry and give birth to God fearing children etc.

This is why the sin of homosexuality and sin of rejecting your God assigned gender is such an abomination. These two sins are rebellion against this first ...

1 Samuel 15:22–23 (NKJV)

22 So Samuel said:“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

(read all of 1 S...

Looking back over the last few chapters of Judges you find an atrocity that took place in a city called Gibeah of Benjamin. You find a man threatened by a group of sexually immoral men. They wanted to take a Levite that had befriended this man and have their way with him.(see Judges chapter 19). Instead they take the man's concubine and rape her all night long and bring her back to the door of the home where she if found dead the next morning.

The man who owned the concubine...

A few weeks ago our church did something new, something different.  Instead of meeting at the church for our normal Sunday evening worship service....we worshipped beyond the walls.  For several weeks I promoted this opportunity for our church to go "Beyond The Walls" and worship by reaching out to our community in service and by witnessing.  Over 34 church members converged at Victory Park in the heart of Norwood, Ohio.  

In going beyond the walls our go...

Well, it's Christmas time and with this holiday comes the giving and exchanging of gifts.  Often times the exchange of gifts is a little unfair or unequal.

When my brother was in Junior High he had drawn names in his home room class at school.  He and a friend were to then buy a Christmas present to exchange with one another costing $10 or less.  My mom and my brother go shopping and they find a board game for $10 and made the purchase.  My  mom wrap...

Everyone has faith, but not everyone has saving faith.  All human transactions are based on faith.  We cannot go through a single day without exercising faith. 

• Every time we mail a letter we exercise faith in the post office.
• Every time we deposit money in the bank, we exercise faith in that institution.
• Every time we take medicine we exercise faith in our Doctor and our Pharmacist.
• Every time we walk into a building or cross a b...

When writing my last blog on January 13th I was about to transition from one church to another as Pastor.  I was preparing to preach a trial sermon in Norwood Ohio on January 25th.  The blog was about following Jesus and the word transition or change.  Today, February 17th I find myself living in Cincinnati, leading a wonderful group of people at New Bethel Baptist Church and praying for God's strength, guidance and wisdom as I walk in this new day.

The word n...