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The Key of “B-Natural” and “I am not asleep”

James Dixon is a friend who lives in metropolitan Washington, D.C. and serves as pastor of a very vibrant African-American church. When I worked as pastor of a church in the same area, our two congregations would, from time to time, worship together and share in...

Eschatological Preaching, 2

One of the finest examples of what I mean by “eschatological preaching” is the address Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. That address concerned, of course, very real problems which confronted the nation...

“Eschatological” Preaching

Whenever I have stopped to ponder my practice of preaching, as I have lately been prompted to do, I have returned, almost always, and again just now, to a late-19th century classic, Phillips Brooks’ Lectures on Preaching, in particular to his well-known description of...

My Wish and Prayer

The environmental crisis gushing up from the Gulf of Mexico, threatening marine life and the delicate, vital, and beautiful ecosystems of marshlands and shorelines is, among many other things, a cause for grief, a call to prayer, and a summons for thoughtful...

Church Music–The Way to Heaven’s Door

This past Sunday, First Baptist Church of Asheville had a service of dedication for our new hymnals, a significant event for us, because it reaffirmed the centrality of God-focused, joyful and reverent worship for our community of faith. Our music ministry led us to...

Freedom and Resurrection Faith

Montezuma, GA, the little town where I once lived and worked, is only a few miles from Andersonville, site of the dreadful Confederate prison-camp where Union soldiers were kept in horrific conditions. The air is thick with the ghosts of suffering and hostility, but...