On my mind today

We put up the Christmas tree last week, although it's not fully dressed. We put up the garland and the other Christmas-y things around the house. No biggie, right? Wrong. We didn't get to decorate last year since we were between places, living half in one house and half in another. Thus, no Christmas decorations which are a big deal for both Julie and myself. But this year, in our new home, we're going full bore for more reasons than that. As you well know, this is Josh's first Christmas. We're only at December 1 (almost) and it's already been better than I could've imagined. This Christmas really will be like none we've ever known.

As I'm writing this, the Cardinals have just beaten my beloved Rangers. While I'm heart-sick about losing for the second consecutive year, after a lifetime of waiting to get to the Series, the pain of the moment won't overwhelm the perspective time will bring. Last year, we got horse-whipped in the Series. This year, we had it down to the last strike before the whole thing went to pot. Perhaps by writing about some happier times, I'll be able to temper my disappointment. May 1974 - I had just turned 6 yrs old. My mom got tickets for our family to go to the old-school Arlington Stadium (that's it). I'd never seen such a site! They were playing the much-hated Yankees. We had great seats and I'll admit it - I was hooked. From then on, most every year my parents took me at (or near) my birthday to see the Rangers play. Year after year, spring training would come and, with high hopes, we'd eagerly look forward to getting to the playoffs - much less ...

This week @ CBC, we're talking about Generosity. What that means and people who we known who are generous. It brought to mind one of the most generous men I've ever had the privilege to know. When I graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 1990, I received a scholarship to attend Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth. (Truth be told, I was third in line to receive it. The only reason it came to me was the other two turned it down to pursue other options). The scholarship was awesome and a blessing beyond measure, but it only covered tuition. I still had to live, eat, buy my books and gas to get back and forth. Knowing my penchant for eating (a frequent habit of mine!), I found work through a friend at Sears, right down the street from Southwestern Seminary. Although the store has since closed due to a declining clientele and neighborhood, I learned much about generosity and investment in the future in my 5 years there. Most significantly, I learned how to be generous ev...

I've just reviewed my last blog post. I'll tell you the truth - I'm not in the least surprised by the date - March 28, 2011. Significance? That date is B.J. - before Joshua. He was born on April 11. I couldn't speak to that here since the case was pending and in the six months since then, we've been a little busy. A brief run-down for those who I don't get to see often. March 9 - We got the call about a baby who needed a home. Although it wasn't settled, we were one of six couples being considered. March 23 - We were officially approved as the adoptive couple for an unknown gender child. April 8 - We were informed that the birthmom was to be induced on April 11 and we needed to be there. April 10 - A Sunday. After the AM services, we told only a bare minimum of people and left to get our child. We went with an empty car seat, empty arms and expectant hearts. Truly, our lives were about to change. April 11 - 11:25 AM - Joshua David Wood was born! ...

Monday morning gives me a few minutes to consider the previous weekend - and if the rest of the year goes as wildly busy as the first three have gone by, it will be Christmas in about two weeks! - Charniece's retirement service was awesome! It was a outstanding reminder of the power of long-term service. She has served the Lord so faithfully for so long here at CBC - her legacy here will be long-remembered. Thanks to Will Cumbee and the hospitality crew for making the event so special! - The beginning of our Red-Letter Series got off with a bang! The message of grace and forgiveness we found in the mouth of Jesus in John 19 is a poignant reminder of God's calling on our lives to give forgiveness just as freely as we have received it. NOT easy. There are many who struggle with forgiveness throughout their lives - either giving it or receiving it. I hope you'll pray with me for them. - Julie and I went out to dinner Friday night (HOT DATE!) at El Chico on the Loop in T...

I'm back in my office this morning, following a quick trip to New Orleans / Baton Rouge for a conference and some R & R. It's not often I'll take a Sunday out in the middle of a series, but this conference was too good to pass up. The Greer-Heard Conference , held at New Orleans Baptist Seminary , was entitled "Can we trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus?" Styled in a point-counterpoint format, this conversation was headlined by two eminent scholars: Dr. Craig Evans and Dr. Bart Ehrman . While you may not recognize their names, in our little scholarly world, they are straight-up ROCK STARS! One of them - Dr. Evans - believes the answer of the question to be yes. The other, Dr. Ehrman, believes the answer to be no. So why discuss it if we know their answers before we begin? Because this is a key question many are asking today. To understand the answer, however, we've first got to understand the question. Can we "trust"? To t...

As you may have heard, I'm out of town this weekend. We've taken a weekend out to travel to southeastern Louisiana for two purposes. (1) To see Julie's side of the family who live in Baton Rouge. Her parents, her sister and her family - we're the only odd-balls who live somewhere else. (2) To dine with heretics - at least one of them. I'll be leaving Julie in Baton Rouge in just a little while to head down to New Orleans for the Greer-Heard Conference at New Orleans Seminary. The title for this year's conference is "Can we trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus?" You already know my answer - a resounding YES! But there will be at least one person at the conference who will say "no." I LOVE these conferences as they provide an opportunity to engage my brain in a different way than I normally do. It should be a fascinating discussion. Check back with me later in the weekend for a run-down on it. In the meantime, for my CBC family, ...

Just home from church tonight but I'm far from tired even though I feel awful! (I hate sinus stuff! They've been draining all day!) I live for Sundays, but there are some that are bigger than others! This one counts as one of those! - I was all set to close out the service this morning, when Anna Jacobson came down to tell us she had invited Christ to be her Lord! Nothing gives a pastor more joy than to see someone proclaim Christ as their Lord! That NEVER gets old! Rock on Anna! We'll baptize her soon! - After worship this morning, Julie and I had lunch with Randall and Suzanne Cooper at Jalapeno Tree - once I found them! I had a couple of meetings after church so they told me to catch up with them there. The only problem was they didn't tell me where "there" was! Makes a body feel unwelcome! I finally did find them after I went to Chilis and then to Posados! - Tonight's service was our vote on our Vision 33. Our Long Range Plan Committee h...

It's a few minutes after 8 PM on Sunday night. We just got home from church. Wow! What a day! - Welcome Ray and Holly Rawlinson, CBC's newest members! Coming to us by bapism, Ray and Holly are awesome! They and their two small kids are joining us in our crazy and passionate pursuit of Christ! - The second in our "Toxic" series - Toxic Words - was the message this AM. It's been surprising to me how strongly people have responded to this series! I've had people ask me several times this week about this series! Awesome! That means God is working in spite of my shortcomings. This next week will get people talking - Toxic Relationships. - We ended the day with a round-table discussion of our Vision 33 proposal from our Long Range Planning Committee. It was an outstanding time of fellowship, questions and answers among our family! I opened our Q & A time with 1 John 3:1 - "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we might...

I'm sitting at home now - at 2 PM on Wednesday afternoon - when I normally would be finishing my preparations for Wednesday night and Sunday. For the second week in a row, we've been forced to cancel our Wednesday night services due to inclement weather. Bummer. I hate canceling! It makes feel like I'm giving up. But with all the moving parts of a CBC Wednesday, we were convinced it was the right call. The best example I can offer to that end is this. When I walked out to my truck to go to my regular Wednesday lunch meeting, there was ice on every side of my pickup! The side mirrors were coated in ice and I had to YANK the door open to get in! The springs groaned under the cold load as I sat down! I'm not THAT heavy! So for now, I'm sitting at home, with a fire in the fireplace, Julie seated just a few feet away and our dog sitting contentedly between us.

I spent the day today roaming Cherokee County with the Jacksonville Leadership Institute, a group that was kind enough to allow my knucklehead to join them for the year as we explore the in's and outs of life in our area. Each time we meet (just once a month), we cover a specific genre or theme of life here. Last month, it was Education. Next month, it's politics in Austin. This month was History and Tourism. We visited the Rusk Heritage Center, the Rusk, Footbridge (547 ft in length!), the Texas State Railroad, the KOA Campground (what a view!), Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari and Love's Lookout. Without a doubt, the best part was the Texas State Railroad. Although I've never been a huge fan of trains, I, like most, are intrigued by them. Even more so today. We were given the "back-stage" tour of their shop where they work on the trains keeping them operational and rebuilding them back to their vintage glory. Since there's no instruction manual ...

I've never been a political animal. It's not in my nature. Growing up, I was always told to leave politics and religion alone. I messed up the religion one, but I've kept the politics one intact. Until now. For the first time in my life, I watched the election returns with a deeply vested interest for two reasons: (1) The JISD bond election. As a member of the facilities committee, we spent hours this past summer working on the proposal that now finds life with the passing of that bond. It surprised me how emotional it was for me to see that it had passed. It's a HUGE step forward for our city and the children of Jacksonville. (2) James, my dear brother in Christ for all of my adult life, was up for election as the US Congressional Representative for the 5th district in Oklahoma. It was riveting! To see the returns come back with James' lead seeming to increase each time we saw it was thrilling! Today, we wake up to a new world where James is no longer J...

Friday night, October 29 in Nacogdoches, I was witness to the weirdest game I've ever seen. We (Jacksonville) went down to Nacogdoches to play knowing that a win (or even a loss by less than 8 pts due to tiebreaker rules) guaranteed a return to the state football playoffs. A Nacogdoches win by less than 8 pts would give them a victory but eliminate them from the playoffs. Confusing? You should've been there in person. When was the last time you saw a team with a chance to win take a knee just to keep the game going? It happened. Or throwing a ball intentionally almost to the parking lot? Many of us who were there won't soon forget it. I won't bore you with the details. Instead, you can read a full account of the game here . Suffice it to say this: when the game ended after a national record 12 OTs, we'd played more than 5 hours (officially the game began at 7:30 PM and ended at 12:54 AM Saturday morning), seen almost 1,400 yds of offense, 18 touchdowns in...

Today is my beloved Julie's birthday! It's a bummer that it falls on a Wednesday - a work day for me. I'll make it up to her tomorrow. That's sort of been our method over the last ten years. I'll make it up to her later. My wife has the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job, especially when it comes to me. She has more "IOU's" for missed things due to church events, funerals, weddings, Sunday School class parties, fellowships, hospital calls, etc.., than I'll ever be able to repay. At least our vacations have been rather sheltered. Only once have we had a trip get interrupted. But it has happened - and she has ridden through it all with me. Julie grew up as a pastor's daughter. (sidenote: Her parents are awesome! When I grow up, I hope I'm half the man her dad is.) But Julie knew the challenges of pastoring far better than I did and wanted no part of it for her own journey. Thus, when I asked Julie to marry me, I assured her...

So I'm home and it's Sunday night. Generally speaking, it's a good thing to not do any "heavy lifting" kind of stuff on Sunday night. My brain tends to be a little weak after a full day like we always seem to have on Sunday! Tonight is a little different. Julie is at Super Summer on the campus of East Texas Baptist University. She's working at the camp this week, so I'm rolling with Dodger this week. It's a bummer, but it's just as well. The only night I have this week without something on it is Saturday. So I'm glad Julie's there. I'll deliver our students there tomorrow with Steve Edwards. Julie and I met at Super Summer 1993, so it's almost like we've come full-circle for her to go back. - Welcome to Lauren LaFleur and Ellen Maxwell, CBC's newest members! We're thrilled you've joined us in this crazy journey! - An awesome day of preparation for VBS. It's a good thing - we start VBS tomorrow m...

In what has become a regularity, we find a discussion about the spirit of competition and the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. In what has to be one of the most repulsive acts of partianship in recent memory, a young lady pole vaulting for her team finds herself in the midst of this debate. Rather than rehash it, go to the Sports Illustrated article and see it for yourself. Warning: I was less than enthused about one of the coaches involved. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/highschool/05/11/track.controversy/index.html?xid=shareFB While no one disputes that the rules does indeed exist and that she was indeed outside the bonds of that rule, the spirit of the law should have been invoked. Did her jewelry grant her an unfair advantage? Did it interfere with competition? Was it the reason she was able to clear that pole vault bar? What is fair isn't always what is right.

I'm in Corsicana, getting ready for Tory's funeral at 3 PM today. After the visitation last night, I came back to my hotel room alone (Julie's at a retreat in Glen Rose this weekend) and prayed. Thanks to each of you who have sent words of condolence to the family and for promising to pray today for all involved. Coming back to Corsicana got me to thinking about how the Lord has brought me along in my life. Some of you may not know this, but here's a nugget of truth: I never planned to be a pastor. I was in youth ministry for about ten years when I felt like the Lord sent me to get a PhD and teach college level New Testament or Greek. I prepared myself accordingly, preparing myself with academics and academia. In the fall of 1999, when Memorial Baptist in Corsicana asked me to be their interim pastor while they sought a "real" pastor, I agreed - knowing it wasn't permanent. Julie and I were about to be married the following May (and after she had...

If you've read my FB status, you've seen that I've asked for prayers for 13 year old Tory Cantu. That's her with her mother, Robyn. They were members of Memorial Baptist Church in Corsicana, the church I pastored for 7.5 years. I've known them since 1999 when Tory was just a little snot-jockey. I baptized Tory in 2006. When Robyn's mother passed away in 2006, I did her funeral. On March 29th, Tory was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract infection. No biggie, right? They gave her some antibiotics and sent her on her way. Until it was a biggie. She went into convulsions that same day. They took her via Careflight to Children's Medical Center in Dallas. Since that time, Tory has been in a fight for her life. They've taken extraordinary measures to try to "right the ship" but things are not looking good. There's the background for our holy moment of the day. When I got to my office this morning, there was a message to call Robyn. Many ...

One of the challenges we face as Christians is the perception people have of us. Frequently, we're faced with overcoming people's preconceived notions about Jesus and what it means to be a believer before we can share our faith with them. What do people think about Christianity? Really? Four college guys decided to find out. They took a video camera and went across the US (in their first movie " One nation under God" - click here for that one ) and most recently went to Europe with the same premise. They called their new movie " Beware of Christians ." When you watch the trailer, I bet you'll understand why I thought it worth our time. They asked two simple questions - Do you know Jesus? What do you think of Christians? While it's not a joy to watch or hear the pained responses, we, as believers, would do well to listen. Here's the trailer below.

It's been a long while since I addressed this issue last and it's high time to revisit it. Yesterday, there was a meeting held at the Hong Kong Buffet on S. Jackson (Hwy 69) to discuss the upcoming alcohol referendum. Progress Jacksonville (the pro-alcohol group) was invited to speak as well as Family First Jacksonville (the pro-family group). It was intended to be a forum where the public could hear both sides of the story and perhaps make an informed decision. I hope it was a beneficial dialog. George Douglass, co-chairman of Progress Jacksonville, presented his case as did Matt Montgomery for Family First. (FULL DISCLOSURE - I'm a board member for Family First Jville). I've collected some of the articles and news stories about it. They are listed at the end. Just for the record, let me say this is NOT a strictly moral or religious issue for me. If someone wants to have a beer with their mexican food or a glass of wine with their supper, that's between th...