During my sabbatical, I had the chance to read the Vice President’s new book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. I enjoyed it. Vance tells the story of how he went from a committed evangelical in high school, to a discontent atheist in college, to a Roman Catholic as a young professional. The death of his grandmother (“Mawmaw”) led him to have a crisis of faith, diverting him from his evangelical roots. The disillusionment of atheism led him to fellowship with the Cathol

I started my journey as a pastor focusing on youth and music. Every church that I have been a part of that experienced growth had one thing in common—a vibrant, active Junior High and High School ministry. In my experience, churches that do not have something for every age group struggle to bring in new families. The lack of young people in a church was a sign that it would soon die. It was not a matter of if but of when. Just when it seems for many churches that all is lost

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..,” On July 4, 1776, the founding Fathers declared independence from Great Britain, pointing out in the Declaration what constitutes a legit

In many Christian communities, fellowship refers to a deep sense of communion and shared experience. When we read 2 Corinthians 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all," we begin to understand the importance of fellowship. In this verse, we see the Trinity expressed through grace, love, and fellowship. A few years ago, Carrel and I had the joy of experiencing fellowship in an unexpected situation. A

Ephesians 1:3–14 lists spiritual blessings that God pours out to believers. These verses make it clear that these blessings are found only “in Christ”. The phrase “in Christ” can be understood in two different ways. One way treats Christ as a dispensing machine. He is the possessor of the spiritual blessings and hands them out like commodities. If you want eternal life, you simply ask Christ, and He gives you a ticket to heaven. The analogy is like going to a grocery store

Solomon’s main reason for writing Ecclesiastes is to bring people back to a place of “fearing God”. We need to remember that we belong to a sovereign God, a God of providence that enters every part of our lives. In chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon lists 14 pairs of contrast covering all the seasons of life. Solomon teaches that every human activity operates within divinely appointed seasons. God has arranged everything beautifully within its proper time. God has authority o

We just finished up VBS on Friday. It’s my favorite week of the year. It’s busy, chaotic, loud, tiring, and wonderful. The Lord brought many children here. Each day we had about 170 children attending. The Lord also provided lots of volunteers to help—about 60, in fact. Laughter, fun, biblical teaching—these experiences make me realize how much Christ loves our church, and how beautiful she is in His eyes. It’s easy to be pessimistic. We shouldn’t be. Christ is at work at CBC

Imagine this situation. It’s Sunday morning, and you really don’t want to go to church. It’s been a long week. You’re tired, stressed, and your back even hurts. “Man!” you think to yourself, “It sure would be nice to stay home this morning.” A brother in Christ recently found himself in that exact spot. Yet he still came to church. What persuaded him to get up & gather with the saints? He told me he used the “Fishing Test.” This is how it goes. He asked himself, “Do I feel go

I went to a pastor’s conference recently. It was great. Many godly pastors shared and spoke. One lesson that stood out to me was this: every senior pastor needs to prepare their church for the next senior pastor. That thought struck me and has stayed with me ever since. Here me out: I’m not planning on leaving. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me right now. Haha. However, sooner or later, CBC will have another Senior Pastor. He won’t be me. You will have another

Many of you reading this may not be familiar with Lewis Sperry Chafer. Yet, he has had a profound influence at CBC. You won’t find him in CBC history in the old directories, but what you do see are references to Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), of which he was the founder and first president from 1924-1952. Through Dr. Chafer, God was preparing the pastors and teachers that would influence other pastors and teachers, just as Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:2, “and what you have he

The English Bible we hold in our hands today came at the cost of those who risked and even gave their lives so God’s Word could be read in our own language. Before 1300 A.D., church services in Western Europe were conducted primarily in Latin. Portions of Scripture had been translated into Old English—usually from the Latin Vulgate—but were used mainly for study or devotion by clergy rather than distributed among common people. The only English Bible before William Tyndale wa

Our nation is uniquely Christian in ways that other countries are not. Think about countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia. Bible-believing Christianity is far more popular in the USA than in these other countries. Why? With our beloved nation’s 250th birthday coming up, I thought it would be good to reflect upon a specific evangelist who shaped the religious identity of the US: George Whitefield (1714–1770). Born and raised Anglican, White