I did a little cycling this afternoon, and my path took me down the hiking/biking trail that runs along the Ararat River as it winds its way through my hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina. It was a picture perfect afternoon, with the clear water of the river framed by blue skies, distant mountains, and [...]
Archive for the ‘Small Town Life’ Category
A River Runs Near It
Posted in General, Small Town Life on October 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Respect for the Living
Posted in General, Ministry, Small Town Life on September 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I conducted a funeral recently. I must confess: funerals are not my favorite part of being a pastor. But I am humbled by the opportunity that I’m given to walk with families through times of significant loss. And I take seriously the responsibility of helping people see grief through the lens of God’s gracious love, [...]
Just Thanks
Posted in General, Ministry, Small Town Life on May 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s Friday night here in my new hometown of Mount Airy, NC. Although it’s been a slightly intense week (along with normal tasks of ministry and rich-but-unexpected interactions, I actually had at least one committee meeting every night) tonight has been one of those rare evenings that is extraordinarily rewarding, precisely because it’s so ordinary. After [...]
Lovely Feet or Loose Lips
Posted in Current Events, Ministry, My Church, Small Town Life on May 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.” The Prophet Isaiah, Ancient Israel “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” US Civil Defense Slogan, World War 2 I don’t know how many of you are aware of it, but we recently received word in the church office that Calvary Baptist had been [...]
A Minor Twist of Faith
Posted in General, Ministry, My Church, Small Town Life on April 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The church in Mount Airy, NC, that I’ve been serving for almost three whole weeks received a letter in the mail the other day. The letter was from a local family whose 5-month son had been taken to Duke Medical Center to receive treatment for a rare and serious heart condition. As you can imagine, the treatment [...]
The Same Old Ride…But Different
Posted in Ministry, Small Town Life on April 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I finally had a free afternoon to take my first “real bike ride” around my new home town of Mount Airy, NC. I was able to cover just over 18 miles in the time allotted, which is almost the same distance as the typical ride I used to take in my former community of Marshville, [...]
The Greening
Posted in Ministry, My Church, Small Town Life on March 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
We’re entering one of my favorite times of year here in Marshville, North Carolina. The fields that surround our community are beginning to turn the most amazing shade of green, as the winter crop of some unknown-to-me grain erupts into vibrant life. Only in pictures of Ireland have I seen a landscape so richly carpeted [...]
A Time for Clearing
Posted in General, Ministry, Small Town Life on February 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today, I paid to have a large pile of dead tree limbs and other brush removed from my yard. I really hated to waste money on an expense that offers so little in the way of tangible benefit (other than the absence of the pile). But the stack had grown far too large for me to [...]
Say, “Cheese!”
Posted in My Church, Small Town Life on September 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Every year, my little town of Marshville, North Carolina holds a community festival called the “Boll Weevil Jamboree.” Wandering around our area these days, one would wonder why this name was chosen. Cotton is no longer a major crop of the nearby farmers and–even if it was–I’m not sure that I’d choose to immortalize an [...]
“Hot Now” in the Kingdom of God
Posted in Ministry, Small Town Life on July 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
As many of you know, Teresa, Windham and I took at little vacation at the beach last month. We did a lot of the things you’d expect a family to do on such a trip: we played on the shore; we saw a couple movies; we did a little shopping. But among the greatest pleasures [...]