SPEAKING TRUTH: Is there life after death?

As a little boy I stood with my parents at a graveside service when a small plastic shovel was presented to me. I was asked if I wanted to scoop some dirt and toss it on the casket. I turned my head downward, then nervously backed into my mother and declined.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Open Letter – My “Hachie” H.S. Seniors

This past Friday night, I watched as 150 of my students walked across that stage, robed proudly in green and with smiles stretching halfway across the football field.

OUT TO PASTOR: What if I don’t want to act my age?

Throughout my life, I have often heard people telling other people what they should be or do. I do not know where they get the right to say that about other people. I first encountered this attitude with my mother. She would often say to me, “Son, you need to start acting your age.”

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: You can’t afford a bad day!

Welcome to the “Front-Porch.” Every year at this time, I think about the high school seniors who are about to embark on a world unlike any they’ve seen before. I always seem to have a hundred tips I want to offer. Here’s one: Listen, ladies and gentlemen! – You can’t afford a bad day!

OUT TO PASTOR: Soap isn’t always soap

After several months of mayhem in our house, things began to quiet down. It was beginning to get back to our normal way of life. Of course, because of the mayhem, many things that needed to be done did not get done.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: Jordan Ward – scars of a champion

Welcome to the “Front-Porch.” “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14 Seeing Jordan Ward crawl across the finish line was one of the final scenes before I ended my thirty-year coaching and teaching career.

OUT TO PASTOR: Sometimes I feel like a rabbit

I’m not good at a lot of things in life. That list could go on and on and on. However, I am actually excellent at a few things. I think the top of that list is eating, which I do with a passion that might make you smile. I’ve never met a cheeseburger that I didn’t like.

FRONT-PORCH GOSPEL: A mama’s boy

Welcome to the “Front-Porch.” Is it all right to be a mama’s boy? That’s our question. Good luck with this one. You have to be careful when you tread on this holy ground. It can get touchy.

OUT TO PASTOR: The fine art of compromise

After being married for over 50 years, I have concluded the secret of a happy marriage is a happy wife. What it takes to make her happy is worth all the effort. Today, most marriages don’t work. Divorce is on the rise in our country.

SPEAKING TRUTH: Who is God?

As I walked through the Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu, India I observed person after person as they worshiped their Hindu gods. I came to learn that Hinduism has over 300,000 different gods. This contrasts with my Christian faith, which is the belief there is only one true God.