My guess is that when you go to a fast food restaurant, you look for a clean or mostly clean table at which to eat. I avoid tables that are piled with stuff from a previous customer that wasn’t considerate…
Music fills the air
Music is the universal language. Music is prevalent during this festive time of year. Music is imperative for a soul to really “sing.” Music is very much a part of my family. Melodies and harmonies abound around a family who…
Christmas key time for Hospitality House
By Jeff Brumley It’s always tough visiting loved ones in prison. A spouse or parent can see incarceration taking its toll over the years while they continue to deal with the legal, financial, social and emotional impact of the crimes….
Spears, tridents, pitchforks, and rakes
I am concerned about the focus of the church, or its lack of focus. There was a time when the church in the United States was relatively financially flush and spent its money on a variety of ministries. Churches had…
Clergy self-esteem
If you suffer from low self-esteem, you might not want to go into local church ministry. Of course, if others suffer from your overly inflated self-esteem, you probably shouldn’t go into local church ministry either. Who, then, can survive, you…
Book shares struggles of Baptist women
By Jeff Brumley Growing up Baptist, Jennifer Harris Dault says her calling into the ministry was clouded by comments and assumptions along the way that the pulpit was no place for women. “I had this feeling as a kid that…
Amanda died the other day, but her singing continues
Almost four decades ago while I was serving as pastor of an inner city congregation near a Baptist seminary, I would often have seminary students visit to see if they could obtain some ministry experience as a volunteer with our…
Trailblazing Baptist woman turns 100
By Jeff Brumley It was a cold winter’s night in 1971 when 6-year-old Monica Phillips developed a terrible earache on a family visit to Abilene, Texas. “I had these earaches fairly often and they were quite painful,” Phillips recalled. But…
Pastor, help me figure out my life!
It is a popular question to ask pastors or religious leaders in general: “How do I know God’s will for my life?” or “How can I know what God wants me to do?” Just as folks go to the doctor…
Not about glitter, glamour, and gluttony
Once again this year, the turkey is now soup, the rolls are finished, and the freezer is much emptier than it was this time last week. It was a grand holiday and always has been my family’s favorite. I wonder…
A house divided still
Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln” pulled in $34 million over the Thanksgiving weekend, running a distant but respectable third behind the new Twilight and James Bond movies. When I saw the film over the weekend, the audience applauded as the credits rolled….
Staff your congregation with 22-44 ministry mobilizers
During uncertain economic times how do congregations provide staff leadership that is essential for forward progress? How do congregations add a staff person? How do congregations replace a staff person? How do congregations lower staff costs in response to what…