Pastor's Desk

2021-12-04T19:37:00.000-06:00

THE VIEW FROM MARS HILLWhen the Apostle Paul stopped by Areopagus Coffee in Athens, he was favorably impressed. While the baristas there all sported the logo of Mars, Roman god of war, these people were at least spiritually aware. They had posters of all sorts of gods and goddesses. They even had one, picturing a tall red cup, reserved for “the unknown God.” They were celebrating, but

THE 2021 REAL MEN'S CHILI COOK-OFF

2021-02-26T14:36:00.001-06:00

The 2021 Real Men's Chili Cook-off is Sunday, February 28, 6pm, in our fellowship hall. Have your entries available by 5:30pm, gentlemen. Competition is always fierce, so bring your best effort. The winner will take home the coveted Silver Spike "You Nailed It!" trophy along with bragging rights. Ladies, please bring fixings that go with chili--crackers, cheese, chips, and desserts.

SNOWY DAY SAMARITANS

2021-02-19T11:45:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, 17 February 2021, a friend's vehicle was stuck in the snow three blocks from my house. (Such things rarely happen in Memphis!) As I was booking it through the snow to help, a guy passing by on Tutwiler stopped and gave me a ride. Five minutes after his call, my buddy was already getting help from a dude in a really big pickup. A second total stranger was standing nearby just in case he

FACEBOOK CHRISTMAS 2020

2020-12-25T09:48:00.001-06:00

This year, Facebook chose to go fully literal on the opening two words of the carol Silent Night. There was nothing of the worldwide celebration worthy of mention. Hannukah got a half dozen backgrounds for posts featuring dreidels or menorahs, but nothing of Immanuel’s birth popped up behind the rainbow box that had, I assume, nothing to do with Noah and the flood. Oh, if you dug deep you could

WHAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME?

2020-09-29T13:10:00.000-05:00

There is something startling and therapeutic and spiritually significant about closing the estate of someone who’s died. The deceased always manages to leave behind a bunch of stuff. Sometimes family members and others fight over who gets next dibs on the chore of dragging some item through life. Grandfather’s grandfather’s clock must be passed along. Or sold at auction. Often there’s a pile of

WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME

2020-08-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

I never watched the old TV show Cheers, but I was always attracted to the theme song. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. As an 11-year-old kid, I worked at a grocery store next to Harmony Bar. The building was owned by my boss, so I ended up doing some chores on the property. My dad took me there once. I didn't witness a lot of harmony in the darkness of that sad

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO 2020 VISION?

2020-08-07T05:28:00.003-05:00

For all the hype back in January about it being a year for clarity and focus, 2020 has turned our best-laid plans into a blur of uncertainties and cancelations. From gathering with friends to our daily work, from finances to graduations, from health concerns to travel plans to sporting events to shortages of items we’ve always taken for granted, who among us has not encountered massive

Lessons From Wuhan: Recalculating As We Emerge From Coronaville

2020-04-17T21:39:00.000-05:00

There’s nothing so disconcerting as driving down the highway listening to a favorite song, only to have the Siri lady w/ the uppity-sounding British accent disrupt with: RECALCULATING! What she REALLY means is: “You are an idiot! You weren’t paying attention, & now you’ve gone off on a wrong path.” I have been thinking a lot this past week about the idea that our God often uses disruption to

Lessons from Wuhan -- Remember That Easter We All Met Online? -- April 12, 2020

2020-04-13T08:36:00.002-05:00

One night as Easter approached during my senior year at Mizzou, Sam stormed into my room and got right in my face. He was a Jewish kid who was pretty tired of hearing about Jesus from the growing number of guys on our floor who had come to faith. Some of them had “One Way” posters on their walls with an index finger pointing up. Not Sam. He had a poster that read: “No Way” …with a different

Lessons from Wuhan -- Triumphal? -- April 5, 2020

2020-04-13T08:34:00.001-05:00

We are going to be looking at The Triumphal Entry in John 12 when we gather on Zoom this Sunday. Traditions of this season will be set aside this time as we “shelter in place.” Seemed a good idea to depart from the Epistle of James for a few weeks in order to focus on why we celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter. I took some time yesterday to explain the meaning of Palm Sunday to a friend from

Lessons From Wuhan -- Not A Building! -- March 28, 2020

2020-03-28T06:08:00.000-05:00

It’s been often pointed out that the church is not a building--WE are the church. The sanctuary is not that big room with pews—We are God’s sanctuary. He dwells in us. Even so, I missed being in the church building last Sunday, and I missed being with all of you in the…auditorium. Sitting at home just didn’t seem right. I wanted to wish Shirley James a happy birthday in person! Something special

Lessons From Wuhan -- Embrace the Challenge -- March 22, 2020

2020-03-28T06:05:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, we were reminded in James 4:13-17 [ http://odbcmemphis.com/podcast/ ] that our best plans are uncertain, life is fragile…and short, and that our God is very much in control. Open Door’s Board of Elders met Monday evening and made the decision to suspend all classes and services for the week. Not meeting together this Sunday (March 22) was a tough decision, but we agreed it was

Seeing As God Sees

2020-02-04T12:21:00.000-06:00

Reminded this past weekend, once again, of what the family of God looks like. Edwina has been a part of Open Door for a lot of years. In the past four months, she and her husband Lester joined the church, Lester was baptized, and he shipped off to Army boot camp--leaving Memphis right after the burial of his father. As Edwina traveled to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, to bring him home for Christmas,

BROADENING HORIZONS

2019-11-28T08:59:00.000-06:00

Wedding receptions are a curious thing. They are attempts to bring together in celebration those people who are near and dear to the bride and groom. It can seem a curious mix. Some attendees only know either the bride or the groom, so we separate them in the chapel with his friends on one side and hers on the other. As if it were the marriage of Mr. Hatfield to Miss McCoy. The reception can

The Resurrection Direction in Life

2019-04-19T12:00:00.001-05:00

On this Good Friday, I am thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ presented Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb who would die for my sins and be raised from the dead. This year Good Friday coincides with another legacy that has benefited my life immeasurably. On April 19, 1995, the Murrah Buiding in Oklahoma City was destroyed, taking with it the lives of two people I did not have the privilege of

Generational Blessing

2018-08-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

There are moments when God draws back the curtain of day-to-day life and allows us to see the bigger picture of what He's about. Sunday morning, August 19, was just that. As Ethan and I headed toward the baptistry and we had a few minutes to talk, he smiled. "My dad says you baptized him, too." We stood together as the seven year old gave a clear testimony of his faith in Christ, now a little

The Malibu and the Motorcycle

2018-06-01T10:35:00.000-05:00