Aaron
Moses had a unique call to leadership. He was unsure of his ability to lead, had a serious speech problem, and avoided God’s call on multiple occasions. Keep reading the biblical account though, and you’ll find that he eventually became one of the most dynamic and effective leaders ever presented in the Biblical text. God [...]
The Light at the End
There are few moments in life that are truly transcendent. The day I placed a ring on her finger, the birth of my firstborn, perhaps one or two other memories. But there is one in particular that haunts me… a moment that I am unable to get out of my head. – – – – [...]
Paralyzed
Christmas Eve, my father-in-law’s life changed. A stroke nearly took his life, but God had other plans. The months that followed have brought about much improvement. Sometimes overnight; sometimes excruciatingly slow. And yet God was in the midst of the uncertainty. For uncertainty gave way to hope. Hope gave way to healing. And healing gave [...]
10 Leader Choices
Several years ago I had the opportunity to interview and perhaps go to work for Perry Noble, Senior Pastor at NewSpring Church in South Carolina, but came to Birmingham instead. I still follow Perry and have always been impressed with his insight into leadership. This week he posted a list of 10 choices a Pastor/Leader [...]
Why I’m Catholic
I have a confession to make: I’m not Catholic. In fact, for much of my life “Catholic” was a four-letter word. My childhood church thought heaven was going to be a small place because: (1) most other Baptists were going to hell. (2) All non-Baptist denominations were going to hell. (3) The Catholic church was hell. I was [...]
Calling All Saints
I grew up in a self-described “independent, fundamental, bible-believing, Baptist church.” You’ll notice that I capitalized Baptist and not bible. Oddly enough, I typed it that way before I’d even realized. Perhaps my heritage is more ingrained in me than I care to admit. I greatly appreciate the emphasis my home church placed on doctrine, [...]
Lutherans Go Gay
In a move that should surprise no one these days, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has voted to allow sexually active gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. While this may sound like a ground-moving decision it is in reality only a minor shift from their previous stance of allowing gay [...]
Back to Church Sunday
September 13 is “National Back to Church Sunday”, proving once and for all the church itself is the church’s worst enemy. Only a step above the western-themed “Round Up Sunday” and more nebulous “Friend Day”, National Back to Church Sunday even has a terribly awful logo to go with it. Honestly, if I were currently [...]
Play me a song Mr. Pianoman
“So what is your vision for the future of the music ministry?” I looked up from my latte just in time to make eye contact. Too soon. He caught the glimmer in my eye and the slight smirk that had just betrayed my heretofore stoic facade. I’d been asked this question before… and he knew [...]
20th Grade
“I know how much education means to you and how awesome of an opportunity this is for you.” My friend could not have summed it better. Six years ago I left the hallowed halls of Dallas Seminary for the last time, not sure where the journey of life would take me or if I’d ever [...]
Dangerous Pursuit of Growth
Three years ago, Jack Trout wrote an article for Forbes that discussed the danger of making growth your mission. That desire for growth is at the heart of what can go wrong for many companies. Growth is the by-product of doing things right. But in itself, it is not a worthy goal. In fact, growth [...]
What if the Church Was Run Like the State of Illinois?
This week we heard the disappointing news of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevish’s arrest. Why was he arrested? For allegedly requesting payoffs for soon-to-be-President Obama’s vacated Senate-seat appointment. Which made me think… Boy, I’m sure glad America’s churches aren’t run like the state of Illinois. Seriously. Otherwise we’d have a ton of churches and pastors giving [...]
Cathedrals Make A Comeback
Lifeway Research recently discovered what many of us in the church world already knew: the unchurched prefer cathedrals to contemporary church design. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than what most think of as a more contemporary church building. The survey found [...]
Magazine Pulled from Shelves
RALEIGH, N.C. — What was supposed to be an honor — a cover story about a group of successful women pastors — has instead been tarnished for a Durham non-denominational church leader. Sheryl Brady, the 48-year-old pastor of The River Church, was featured among four other women pastors on the cover of Gospel Today, a [...]
525,600 minutes
How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights In cups of coffee In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes How do you measure A year in the life? A year ago we began planning and working towards a new online presence for [...]
How to Go to Hell
COLUMBUS, OH — Mixed feelings. That’s the best way to describe how people feel about a controversial church sign that was seen in Blacklick this past week. For 24 hours, the message board outside Havens Corners Church, 6696 Havens Corner Rd., read, “I kissed a girl and I liked it, then I went to Hell.” [...]
The Crew
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about this group of people… The crew. It has now been over four years since I stood with them as leader of the volunteer ministry they participated in. Some were techies, some weren’t. But no matter. Most importantlym, all were friends. In the ensuing years, many have moved on to [...]
Website Update
Coming September 20, the new Mountaintopchurch.com. It has been a loooooong time coming, but we’ve worked through most of the details and are nearing a launch. Having completed the design phase, the new website has been turned over to us and we are populating the information now. Its going to revolutionize our online presence and [...]
Dead at 15
I did not know him, or his family, yet I can’t get him out of my mind. Curtis Geesamen. A 15-year-old kid who, as many us once did during our summers, joined his church and others for a week-long youth camp focused on fun and spiritual renewal. During a simple game Curtis suffered blunt head [...]
The Sermon That Changed My Life
The year was 1995. O.J. Simpson was on trial, eBay was founded, and I was closing out my high school career. As a part of a local barbershop group in my hometown, named Twice, I had the opportunity to travel a lot. Our group performed for senior events, lodge parties, the occasional school function, and [...]
Goodbye, Dottie Rambo
Christian Music lost one of its most prolific and loved songwriters on Mother’s Day. In fact, other than possibly Fanny Crosby, no other songwriter has done more for Christian music. You may not know Dottie, but if you’ve around long you’ve heard (and loved) her music. Writing over 2,500 songs in her lifetime, she was [...]
A Sad Wake-Up Call
“Pastor: Minister in Sex Sting Resigns” … you read a news headline like that and you never think that it is going to be your church. The byline kept hitting closer and closer to home: Dallas-area, Megachurch, Baptist. Could it be? OMG. IT IS PRESTONWOOD! That is exactly what went through my mind. My next [...]
Department of Redundancy Department
Church signs have always been a bit humorous to me. And as technology progresses worldwide, I think they simply keep getting worse. I’m not sure who designs these things, but the sign companies need to invest in real graphic designers. News Flash: You’re giving the church a bad name… er, face. But until today, I’d [...]
Church Trailer Thief
Talk about not just doing church, but being the church…. One weekend in early March, Kinetic Church (a church plant in Charlotte, NC) had their church trailer stolen, it contained about 75% of the entire church’s belongings; leaving the church with virtually nothing. As a result, Kinetic Church created five billboards and multiple web banners [...]