Home Sweet Home

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Eastern KentuckyTonight I’m staying at the Hampton Inn in Pikeville, Kentucky. Tomorrow I will be teaching at a Super Saturday event for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. As I type, I’m looking up the hill at the Pikeville College campus where I began my formal studies. I spent two semesters at the college before I transferred to the big city of Morehead, Kentucky where I eventually graduated from Morehead State University.

I spent a large percentage of my life here in these hills and I suppose it will always be “home” to me. I began my life here, grew up in “these parts,” taught school nearby, and pastored for 12 years at two different churches in the area. I often miss the mountains and miss serving as a pastor of a local church here. When I get to make a treasured visit back home I always feel a certain peace and serenity.

I remember when I left the First Baptist Church of Belfry to take a senior pastor position in Northern Kentucky. When my moving truck topped the last hill on the Mountain Parkway, I thought my heart would burst out of my chest. I knew at that moment that I might never live here again.

If you are reading this and you are from Eastern Kentucky, please know that you are blessed if you are able to live your life in these beautiful hills among these wonderful people. Although I have loved the people and places where God has allowed me to live, I know in my heart, this will always be home!

Book of “Acts”

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ActsI’ve been reading the Book of Acts the last couple of days. As I read I am reminded and convicted that the book is about the “acts” of the early followers of Jesus. They did not simply say they were believers; they acted it out each day in the way they lived. Many of them made great sacrifices along the way as disciples and many of them died for the faith.

I ask myself, “What am I sacrificing for Jesus? What acts in my life show that I stand with and stand for my Savior?”

In Acts 5, Peter and some of the Apostles were called before the Jewish religious court and were ultimately flogged for speaking about Jesus. After their brutal beating, the Bible says they they left “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41, NIV).

Wow! I don’t know about you, but passages like this challenge me and convict me. Any thoughts?

Book: “Running with the Giants”

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maxwellI just completed John C. Maxwell’s book, Running with the Giants. Maxwell spent a couple of years of his Bible reading focusing on Old Testament heroes. In his book, he shares what he believes these Old Testament heroes would want us to know about life and leadership.

The book was interesting, but rather predictable. Like most pastors, I have preached on the heroes mentioned in the book and made many of the same observations in my sermons. I recommend the book, but don’t expect this book to reach the level of some of the other Maxwell leadership books.

Book: “When Leadership and Discipleship Collide”

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bill-hybelsTonight, I completed a powerful, short book by Bill Hybels, called When Leadership and Discipleship Collide. Hybels has served for years as Senior Pastor of the Willow Creek Church in Chicago, Illinois. Our staff is planning to attend the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this August.

In his book, Hybels contends that following Jesus sometimes causes us to go against established leadership principles. For example, leadership principles encourage us to surround ourselves with a team of highly qualified leaders. In contrast, Jesus chose a rag-tag group of inexperienced, unproven men to lead the Christian movement.

Hybels contends that discipleship and leadership principles occasionally collide. When the collision takes place, the Bible should always take precedence over “accepted” leadership principles. Hybels wrote:

In those rare cases when the human laws of leadership and the scriptural demands of discipleship do collide, decide on the side of discipleship every time….When the demands of discipleship articulated in the Bible collide with human laws of leadership, read my lips: Defer to the Bible. Look to the Bible. Trust the Bible. And obey the Bible….every time!

This book is a quick, easy read, but it is choked full of helpful, sage advice for anyone seeking to be a Godly leader. Read it. It won’t take long, but you’ll gain a new perspective on the relationship between discipleship and leadership.

Book: “Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him”

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rick-warrenThrough the years, I have believed Rick Warren to be a man of God and an innovative church growth expert. I attended the Purpose Driven Leadership Conference on the Saddleback Church campus and wrote a doctoral paper on the Purpose-Driven movement. In recent years, Dr. Warren has come under attack from many Christians who I believe are short-sighted and ill-informed.

I am thankful for a recent book by Richard Abanes that is written in defense of Dr. Warren. Abanes’ book, Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him, provides insight into Rick Warren, his books, and his beliefs. I found the book to be well written and fairly presented. Abanes provided access into the private life of the Warrens and the Saddleback church. If you have any interest in this subject, you must read the book. I believe that Abanes sets the record straight about Rick Warren and I’m thankful that he does.