The Threads Blog

Anyway, this week as we continue on into Romans, we come to see how our faith should impact how we relate with others. This is so important because we, church leaders (and if you are reading this you are a leader), have two big responsibilities: seeing people grow in their faith and unleashing them into the world, and seeing the gospel change people’s lives and their destinations. We do all that through love. It is the love of Christ that restored our fellowship with the Father and it is His love that allows us to join Him in the redemption story.

So, I just returned from one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. The weather was incredible. No jacket needed. I ate all of my favorite Louisiana dishes in just 31 hours; beignets, red beans and rice, fried oysters, best hamburger known to humankind, catfish, crawfish ettouffee, pralines, and a roast beef poboy. This high intake did require eating off of friends’ plates. : ) Casual, fun, and sometimes off key French Quarter jazz is like no other and was the best use of my $1 on the trip. The highlight, however, of my 31 hour trip to New Orleans was connecting with 15 future college ministers at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. These young men and women are bright, eager to learn, and excited about shaping the world through the campus. The future of collegiate ministry is in great hands!!

Are you a college student, seminary student, or young adult looking for an opportunity to serve this summer? Then look no more. Threads by LifeWay is joining hands with LifeWay’s Children’s and Student Camps also known as FUGE Camps and Ridgecrest Conference Center to offer ministry opportunities to you this summer. Don’t Delay! The Hiring Process has already begun!

My wife has been at home sick for the past three days. As all of you married guys know, when momma is down the whole house is down. So for the past few days it has been me and my little girl hanging out and riding around town together. My wife thinks I drive too fast and is constantly “reminding” me to slow down. I generally practice the rule of driving with the flow of traffic. This system has served me well, since in my 15 years of driving I have not received a speeding ticket. The funny thing is, my daughter has heard my wife “remind” of the speed limit so many times, she felt it was her job to do while mommy was sick. As I was heading to drop her off at her school, she told me to slow down three times in five minutes. I must admit, this time it brought a smile to my face. While I was not speeding, it was still funny to hear her “reminding” me to slow down.

I’m the first to admit that sometimes I’m not very cultured when it comes to good, classic music. So when we were putting together the playlist for Red Revolution and someone said the name Mahalia Jackson, I thought, Who is that? Come to find out I’ve been missing out on one of the greatest gospel singers ever. She didn’t make it on our playlist, but here’s one of my favorites, “Walk in Jerusalem,” with a nice little photo montage too.

Well, I was in San Diego, CA last week for the National Outreach Convention. We had some time after the event to drive over to La Jolla beach, which is beautiful by the way.

We found this place called Wave House that had one of the coolest attractions I’ve ever seen. Check out the video.

What good is theology? How much different is theology than geology or paleontology? In essence all “ologies” are simply the study of something. So theology is the study of God. The true beauty of theology and the first 11 chapters of Romans is that there is much more than just the study aspect. Learning about God is wonderful but it can’t stop there. That would be kind of like taking a CPR class but doing nothing when someone needed your help. Our learning theology should lead us to live differently. If we understand anything about God it should change how we interact with Him and His creation. So, I want to ask you a fun question, and I want to hear some answers. I get stats on how many people read this thing so I don’t want to see 1,000 readers and two responses.

Sat down with Chad Jordan, Editor of LifeMatters, today to talk about the upcoming Winter issue of the Bible study. Check out the video. You can connect with Chad at his blog

One of the recurring themes in the Bible, is found in Exodus 4:2. God asks Moses a question He asks all of us many times during the course of our lives. “What is that in your hand?” Moses is wielding the least threatening of all weapons that might threaten Pharoah, a a mere shepherd’s staff, the signature of the most downtrodden of workers. God uses that staff to humble the most powerful nation on Earth at that time.