When I think I’ve got it bad, I remember Paul of Tarsus. I’ve had my opportunities to complain, but Paul always had it worse than me. Most theologians and historians agree that He was probably on the upper crust of the economic scale in the first century but then there was that Damascus road experience,…
Author: Matt Tullos
You Will Never Mock People into Heaven
A friend of mine sent me a video yesterday that, at first, made me smile and then made me wince because I realized what kind of impact that it would have on my spiritually lost friends and family. The church can’t afford to be mockers at the expense of the next generation. There are plenty…
The Overcommitted Deacon
5 Keys to Surviving the Storm It had been an especially difficult year for our church. A number of key long-standing members abruptly left our church in protest to the changes we had incorporated in our schedule in the hopes of reaching new people. At our monthly deacon’s meeting, we were discussing the issue when…
Disaster Relief from the Aftermath of Ian
Yesterday I had an opportunity to go to Wauchula Florida and participate in disaster relief. This was a great opportunity to see faithful Tennessee Baptists serving.
I put my hand over my mouth
It’s something in the core of most people: a desire to find out what or who causes messes. And no one likes to get the blame for a mess. As children we blamed our brother or sister for the broken vase and when we’re older we blame our self-sworn enemies for the broken world. And it…
The Empowered Life Workshop Notes
Todd Proctor, John Harrison and Kathleen Doyle How do we order our lives? It has to be an inner journey. It’s all about adoption. We are not earning a relationship. This is how evangelicals often mis the point. This relationship with the Spirit is not something done to us, but with us. When you grow, you…
Set Your Mind to Work
The phone rang. It was Derrick. Again. He was the guy in our church that could turn a five-minute stand-up meeting into a full-on Wednesday night, 9 PM, filibuster! “I don’t think we should proceed with the church renovation. We really ought to crunch the numbers on the carpet before we spend the money. And…
Ammunition, Not a Ride
It’s been heartbreaking to watch the conflict in Ukraine. Our hearts break as we’ve watched the suffering caused by a delusional despot wreaking havoc on innocent civilians. Those citizens include many believers and churches. Amid the senseless shelling, the blasts, the refugee crisis at their borders, the hour-by-hour toll of warfare on the people of…
He Giveth
Annie Johnson Flint’s life declares the greatness of God in the midst of confusion and pain. She was orphaned as a baby. She lived in a home that bordered on poverty and spent her days as a caregiver to her adopted mother who suffered from a number of strokes. In midlife, she also fell ill…
God Still Moves (And we do too)
Don’t you love the process of putting all your earthly possessions in boxes and moving across the country? I didn’t think so. Who would? I’d much prefer staying in one place but for some reason God has other plans. When we move ourselves without the assistance of professionals we look like the Beverly Hillbillies. If you’re…