Category: Uncategorized

It was the summer of 1968. I had just finished my junior year of high school and needed a summer job. I was offered a job with a small construction company and began working. Unfortunately, not many weeks into the summer, the company owner came to me and explained that he did not have enough work to keep me...more

Easter is my favorite day in the Christian year.  It is always a high and holy day filled with majestic music, crowded worship spaces, and the affirmation that Christ is risen.  But what happens after Easter?  If you were raised in a non-liturgical worship tradition, you may not know that Easter Sunday is the beginning of a season—the season...more

Today is All Saints Day, a day set aside in the Christian calendar to remember and to celebrate the lives of those who modeled faithful Christian living.  It is a day that challenges us to live the days of our lives as faithfully as we can, knowing that our days are limited. My celebration of All Saints includes listing...more

In the early days of the religious denomination that was later called, “Baptists,” there was one abiding principle that guided the way that these believers thought about faith.  It was this principle that defined how they understood the role of clergy, how they related to others outside their local congregation, how they defined the polity that would guide their...more

When people initially come into counseling, there is often some anxiety about what to expect.  What is counseling?  What happens in this therapeutic environment?  What should a client expect from this experience?  Unfortunately, the word “counseling” implies for many that the counselor’s job is to tell them what to do.  Often, they come looking for someone to give them...more

Every once in a while, I will hear someone referred to as a narcissist.  Some might be using that label to simply refer to someone who is arrogant or has a privileged and entitled attitude.  But the term narcissist is actually a reference to a mental health diagnosis.   Narcissist is an abbreviated reference to the diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality...more

Proverbs 14:4a says, “When there are no oxen in the stalls, the stalls are clean.”  I have a new appreciation for that verse after the holidays.  Our two daughters have been home from college this month.  During the week after Christmas, our son and his wife and two children were with us for a few days.  During that time,...more

Would you be surprised to know that one of the most effective pastoral care ministries in our church is staffed completely by volunteers?  Would you also be surprised to know that this ministry will spend over $100,000 this year and not one dollar of that amount is included in our budget?  Finally, would you be surprised to know that...more

One of my responsibilities at Brentwood Baptist Church is to assess the need for therapy and make an appropriate referral for those in need.  I am often asked, “What is therapy and how does it work?” The word “therapy” comes from the Greek word, “Therapeuo,” which means, “to heal.”  It assumes that there is some mental or emotional or...more

If you have been married for at least five years, I recommend that you find a licensed marriage and family therapist and do some marriage therapy.  It is during these first years that the marital dyad or partnership is formed and conflict cycles, communication styles, and couple patterns are established.  If this dyad is not formed in healthy ways,...more