God chooses the strangest people to do His work in the earth. In 1 Kings 18:20-39, the story is told of Elijah the Prophet who calls down fire from heaven. It is a dramatic account of one man calling out to God and receiving an awe-inspiring response.

About 11 years ago, I became a pioneer. After 25 years as a pastor of churches that were established when I began to serve them, I chose to plant a new mission congregation. I became a “church planter,” a “pioneer.”

I read an article this week in “Sharing the Practice,” the journal of the Academy of Parish Clergy, of which I am a member. The title of the article was “Driving on Empty.” It hit home.

For years I have been concluding our church services by giving a blessing which includes the words, “God is not mad at you.” I say this because of the scripture in 2 Cor. 5:19 which states, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s sins against them.” He HAS forgiven us, he DOES love us, and he will NEVER leave us or forsake us.

It seems that I am soon to be made a bishop. It is a position which I have not sought, for which I have not campaigned, and, in all truth — at least for the past few years — have not desired.

For the most part, I tend to stay out of local politics. This is not one of those times. I read recently that Peachtree City officials met in a workshop to look at the possibility of changing division directors and the city’s fire and police chiefs to an “at-will status.” If this is ever seriously considered, it is, in my opinion, a very, very bad idea.

A number of years ago, I went to a professional basketball game. After battling the traffic, searching for a parking space, walking an exhausting distance, and pushing through the humanity that flooded the stadium, I finally found my seat and prepared to thoroughly enjoy my very first NBA game sans television. Within a short time, I wished I had stayed home. The game, except for the last four minutes, had all the excitement of watching grass grow.

On Friday night, June 8, just before midnight, John Holloway suffered a massive stroke. The next night, he would undergo an emergency surgery to save his life. Since that time, he has spent most of the past three months in hospitals and a rehabilitation facility.

A few weeks ago I attended a training session of the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Chaplains, or GALEC. The several day sessions took place at the beautiful Baptist campground and convention center in Toccoa with about 60 chaplains from across the state in attendance.

Recently, I was one of 60 or more law enforcement chaplains gathering in northeast Georgia for several days of training.

I do not like lightning, hot one little bit. Rumor was that an uncle of mine was struck by lightning when he was a kid. I cannot testify to the validity of the account but, from an early age, I was taught that lightning was downright deadly.

Sometimes, with all the bad reports and unfortunate news we receive, it is vital and encouraging to hear some good news.

It’s too hot to go back to school! Up in the Midwest, school doesn’t start for another two weeks and, for the most part, it’s cooler up there than it is in Georgia.

I was eating lunch alone a few days ago in Newnan, Ga., at the Red Lobster. It was one of those rare times when I had some down time, no appointments, was in non-clerical clothing, and the cell phone remained quiet.

My wife, a professor of nursing, often displays a pin on her clothing that has become, for her, a favorite symbol. That symbol is a turtle.

God is either in control or He is not. If He is not, then we are on our own to work out things as best we can and the whole of life is senseless, futile, and without meaning. If, however, God is in control, then whatever comes, both the good and the difficult, has meaning and ultimate purpose.

I click when I walk. It’s a bit odd, but I’m getting used to it. It’s better than the alternative.

I had been falling quite a bit — enough to alarm one of my sons, who suggested that I might want to sell my house and move into a ground-level dwelling that would eliminate stairs.

It’s too easy to quit these days. Quitting, in fact, is seen as an acceptable path, almost a virtue. Don’t like a course in school? Drop it. Don’t like the pastor? Get another one. Don’t like your church? Find a new one. Work a little tough? Quit. Having a rocky marriage? Get a divorce. Parents a little hard on you? Run away from home. Unexpected pregnancy? Kill it.

Vacations can often be a source of stress and anxiety. All too often, these times away can be filled with travels, schedules, deadlines, places to go, people to see and, by the end of the vacation, one is in need of a vacation from the vacation! Such are the vacations I now attempt to avoid.

Over the years, I have had people come to me and suggest that the reason that someone is going through a difficulty or a tragedy is due to (a) God’s punishment; (b) God’s displeasure; or (c) God removing His protection.

Life is filled with unexpected interruptions and undesired events that may send us reeling. A few years ago, I was driving to a hospital in Atlanta when the cell phone rang. My secretary instructed me to pull over and, when she was certain that I was off the road, told me that she didn’t know how or why or what his condition was but that my son, a police officer, had been shot.

There is a popular notion that ministers have emptied themselves of ambition and that they do what they do without regard or consideration for position or prestige. It is a myth.

A number of years ago, I left my home in northeastern Tennessee. I am, after all, a member of the clergy and one either goes where the churches are or one plants and pioneers a new church. In those days, I went where the opportunity presented itself which, in 1980, was in Colorado and, in 1983, to Georgia.

We are saying, “Farewell,” to two dear friends on Sunday. When we began a new congregation in our living room in September 1996, David and Pat Jones and their family were vital components of what was to become Christ the King Church. For nearly 11 years, they have been faithful, giving, supportive, and hard-working members—the kind every pastor dreams of having.

I fell off the platform a few Sundays ago at church. Actually, we call that area where the altar, or communion table, resides, the “sanctuary.” So, technically speaking, I fell out of the sanctuary into the chancel.

I didn’t buy a Mother’s Day card this year. While most of the people I know were talking about the gifts they were getting for their moms, I kept uncharacteristically silent. It’s been over 10 years since Dad died and Mom followed him about six years later.

An Associated Press release has reported that Gordon Wayne Wright, age 57, is accused of distributing sexually explicit fliers that included images of his two ex-wives. Evansville, Ind., police arrested Wright and charged him with distributing obscene matter and invasion of privacy

There is a move afoot to have the state of Georgia, following the lead of some other Southern states, through its representatives, apologize for its role in slavery.

Nearly all of us have experienced those dark moments when we seem abandoned to cruel and undeserved fates. It is then we cry, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”

Last week I participated in two meaningful events. The first was a “Renewal of Vows of Holy Matrimony” for seven couples at our church who completed a course designed to strengthen marriages.