Are you appreciating your staff?

Since 1994, the folks at Focus on the Family have led churches to emphasize “Clergy Appreciation Month” and show appreciation to their pastors and staff year round, but especially during the month of October.

Why? Because it’s biblical. The apostle Paul wrote in I Timothy 5:17, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” Read More»

A man and his nagging wife went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, “You can have her buried here in the Holy Land for $150, or we can have her shipped back to the states for $5,000.”

The husband thought about it, and told the undertaker he would have her shipped back home. The undertaker asked him, “Why would you spend $5,000 to have her shipped home when you could have a beautiful burial here, and it would only cost $150?” Read More»

A man came in from his golf game and his wife asked, “How’d you do?”

“Well, I was hitting pretty well, but my eyesight has gotten so bad I couldn’t see where the ball went.”

“Well, you’re 80 years old, Jack,” the wife said, “Why don’t you take my brother along?”

Jack protested, “But he’s 90 years old and doesn’t even play golf any longer.”

His wife said, “But he’s got perfect eyesight. He could watch your golf ball.”

The next day Jack tried Edna’s idea and took her brother along. He teed up, swung and the ball disappeared down the middle of the fairway. Read More»

The great evangelist D. L. Moody loved to study his Bible, and it occurred to him one day that he had never tackled the topic of grace. He took a day and did a Bible study on God’s grace. A second day was required, and then a third. By the afternoon of the third day, Moody was so filled with the idea of God’s grace that he had to go out on the street and talk to someone about it.

Moody stopped the first person he saw, a complete stranger, and said, “My friend, do you have any understanding of grace?” Read More»

Last month, Shirley Sherrod was asked to resign her USDA position after being accused of racism.

The controversy erupted on Monday, July 19, when conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a heavily-edited video of a Sherrod speech. In the video, Sherrod related a 1986 incident in which she said that she didn’t help a white farmer in South Georgia as much as she could have. She told an NAACP gathering in Coffee County that she “didn’t give the full force of what I could do” as he came to her for assistance. Read More»

It’s been exactly one month since 960 other Fayette residents and I ran the 41st annual Peachtree Road Race, a major part of celebrating the Fourth of July in Atlanta. Since the race fell on Sunday, the challenge was not only running the race, but also timing everything to get back to church by the 10:55 morning worship start. I made it by 10:15.

Running is good stress relief, and I find it a good outlet for a pastor. I’m getting exercise, staying fit, burning calories and praying all at once. In addition, I enter a 5K or 10K every now and then for the thrill of competition. Read More»

It’s exciting to see the Atlanta Braves having a better year. Even Chipper Jones is finally coming around. At the end of June, Chipper was batting .254 with five home runs and 32 RBI. Way off his best years’ production, but after a slow start, his offense appears to be picking up.

Think about what a .254 average means. He gets a hit only one out of every four times he comes to the plate. Or, he fails to get a hit three out of every four times he comes to the plate. Yet, he still gets what? Something like $14 million this season? Read More»

My first car was a green Ford Maverick with the shift on the column and a broken gas gauge. I had to keep up with my miles between gas purchases so that I would not run out. I can’t remember, but I think it was a 1971 model.

I bought it for $500 with my grass cutting earnings. When I was ten or eleven years old, I decided it was time to make some money. I hung a poster in the convenience store down the highway that read “Will mow lawns in Allenwood. Call David Chancey at . . .” Read More»

I appreciate so much Justin Kollmeyer’s recent column on “I know what your pastor did last year. Do you?” I sometimes have to help people understand how I spend the time between Sundays. Read More»

Our family is on the downhill stretch of preparing for my daughter Ruth’s wedding. There are still last minute tasks, but we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ruth’s had several nice showers, and we’re grateful for the generosity and kindness of so many people. Recently, my two older daughters, Rebecca and Rachel, were home to co-host a shower on the north side of Atlanta. Read More»