Notes from the Narrow Road: Observations from a pilgrim traveling along The Way

One of my oldest and closest friends, Dan Smith, has lost his battle with cancer, but is now experiencing victory over death in the presence of the Lord. I am feeling so much as I write these words, but I want to capture some of what he meant to me…what he still means to me. I met Dan in August of 1989, the Fall Semester of our freshman year at Howard Payne University. We were both outsiders, of sorts, who were thrown together in one of those “get to know you” small groups they put you in at college boot camps. For some reason we clicked, and became pretty close very quickly. It must have been Dan’s cool Tom Selleck mustache. I couldn’t grow a mustache. For about two years we remained inseparable. Dan Smith taught me how to live in Christ. When I met Dan I was at a sort of crossroads in my life. I spent most of my teenage years as a juvenile delinquent, running from the Lord. By the time I wandered in to Brownwood to go to college I had stopped running and surrendered my life to Christ...

On May 23 we will honor our graduating seniors. In preparing my message for that morning I realized I had more to say than could fit in one sermon (even one of mine!). So, starting on May 16, we will have three sermons on commencement: answering the call to be in but not of the world. I will ask three questions I think are vital for those who intend to spend any amount of time engaged with the unbelieving world, either on the college campus or in the workplace. Here are the three questions: May 16: Do you have a story of your own? May 23: Are you capable of living for someone other than yourself? May 30: Are you interested in giving your life to something larger than your hopes and dreams? The answers to these questions could determine how the unbelieving world responds to us and the person we claim to worship.

Our strategic plan called for a lot of action in 2010. While we are not meeting all the anticipated deadlines, we are at work on a number of important and exciting things. In the midst of this activity we can see the Lord producing fruit as we seek to accomplish His purpose for our church. In fact, there is so much going on that it is possible to miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. So I have put together some information here that will hopefully allow you to get an overview of all that God is doing at FBC Rockport. Worship · In 2010 I have preached through the book of 1Timothy, and we are winding down our series on “Family Dynamics.” After Mother’s Day I will begin a new series called “Commencement,” which will be for our graduates and for every Christian who wants to follow our Lord to be in but not of the world. This summer I will preach through the book of Romans. · Attendance so far in 2010 peaked at 900 on Easter Sunday. We are back to a re...

As 2010 begins, many of us are prayerfully looking forward to what God will do in our lives, families, churches, and communities in the new year. I emphasized in December how important it was that we not miss God when He speaks, acts, and moves in us and around us. So here are ten questions to pray over, meditate on, and then answer in God's presence. These questions are to help us connect with God's movement in our lives in the coming year. If God leads you to some answers to your questions, and you would like for me to pray with you about these things, please let me know! Here are the questions: 1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? 2. What the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? 3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year? 4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it? 5....

More challenging than it looks! Here is a current list of my top 25 favorite songs on my iPod. In the next post I will have the list of my REAL top 25 songs - the ones played most often. The songs here are not presented in alphabetical order. Let me know what you think and tell me the stories about your favorite songs. "40" by U2 . This song is based on Psalm 40, David's testimony of God's saving action, causing all people to sit up and take notice. May all God's people be able to sing a new song every day of what God has done for them. "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" by Louis Armstrong . I love New Orleans Jazz, and Satchmo is one of the greatest. This song reminds me of all the wonderful memories Kim and I have of our time in the Crescent City, either on vacation or on mission trips. Good memories. "All Because of You" by Kate Hurley . This song was included as a bonus track on some random collection of Christmas music by Christian artists, and ...

It has been a while since I blogged period, even longer since I blogged about the music I am listening to these days. Over a year ago I gave a list of the top 25 favorite songs on my iPod and then a list of the top 25 songs I actually listened to. I have been asked to do it again and I will do so as I have time during the next week. My approach to music is much the same as my approach to all art: it should be experienced with a critical eye. Not critical as in putting it down and finding fault, but as in closely examining something. As Christians especially it is our responsibility to consider well what we expose ourselves to. Therefore we ask questions: Why do I like this song? What does it tell me about life, people, myself, the Lord, etc? What can I learn from it? What do I think about the way it makes me feel? And so on...you get the picture. What I will do is post a list of the top 20 or so songs on my iPod that are my favorites. Last time I did not include Christmas music or cla...

Simon Peter writes to us in 1 Peter 5:8-9, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." As a pastor, I am sensitive to the trials and sufferings of those in our church. As of late I have been troubled by the sharp rise of hardships among our people. As a church, and in the lives of many individual members as well, we have chosen to go down a path we believe will allow us to continue to be shaped by the love of Christ and then be the servants Christ created us to be as we lead all people to be shaped by the love of Christ. There is a renewed interest in worship, engagement with the body of Christ, Bible study and discipleship, serving, missions, and evangelism. In response to all this I believe the enemy has been actively at work in the lives of many. The resul...