The Therapy of Rain

I am sitting here listening to the rain splash against my window. There can be few more relaxing moments than listening to rain make its way from heaven to earth. Rain is a necessary nuisance. Rain can be relaxing if one is laying in bed trying to rest, but rain can be a tremendous pain if one is driving on a roadway. Rain is needed to sustain life, because sunshine alone will not stimulate and produce growth. It takes sunshine AND rain. That is how it is in the life of a believer of Jesus Christ. God never promises that trouble(rain) won't last long, God just promises that it won't last always. I have grown to the place where I have stopped trying to figure out what the rain is doing to me and think about what it is doing for me. I feel the ol song that the seasoned saints sang which melodiously declared, "Rain on me Jesus, til I walk right, Rain on me Jesus, til I talk right". Rain on me Jesus.......

Life from an Airport Terminal

On the road again. I have been afforded many opportunities the last few years to spend a large amount of time in airports. I have had to travel to preach, go to school, and finish up doctoral work. I love traveling, even though it does get tiring and exhausting. I love experiencing new places and meeting new people. There is so much to learn from exposing oneself to different people and places, and in my case, churches. I enjoy sometimes just observing people in the airport. You see people scurrying from one end to the other, you see others who are obviously flying for the first time based upon there need to having to go through the metal detectors multiple times at the security checkpoint. I enjoy seeing people adjust in this place of transition from one destination to another. That is life, always in transition and us having to adjust to it. Sometimes we are delayed, other times we are early. Sometimes we have to make connections and other times we miss it or the flight is cancelled all together. Speaking of flights, I hope I don't miss mine...Peace, RevCEGJr

Faith is......

I have been examining the perplexities and profundity of Faith the last three months from the pulpit of Tabernacle Baptist Church. I have been preaching through Hebrews 11, the Hall of Fame of Faith. I have been challenged personally in this study and I hope that our church has been inspired and challenged. There are so many levels and layers to Faith, and whatever it is one subscribes to as a standard of Faith, we can not argue that unless one has Faith, it is impossible to please God and God rewards those who have Faith. The reward is not something tangible, rather the reward is God and God's sustaining power. I have had many episodes in my own life where I have had to just have Faith in God. I will be completely honest, it was not easy, matter of fact, it was extremely painful. It is difficult at times to reconcile a loving God with periods of pain and hardships, however, we are required to just put our trust in God. Many would argue that this is "blind hope", with no basis of validity or substance. There are many who allow trials and tribulations to completely dry up their confidence in God. The one thing that helped me in those moments where I felt like letting go, is when I remembered that God has never let go of me. I pray that God continue to use me to help others in this constant pursuit of developing and strengthing one's Faith, not just as a Pastor/Teacher, but as someone who knows first hand what it is to lean and depend on God. Peace and Blessings, RevCEGJr

Monday Morning Blues

Monday morning can be the best and worst day of the week for a preacher. It can be great because it is a day of refreshing, reflection and restoration. I try and sleep late and catch a matinee movie or whatever else requires little or no brain action. I have endeavored to take better care of myself. I used to be one of those guys who had to be in the office 7 days a week. I have learned that this is unhealthy. I am an overachiever and a workaholic. This is a bad combination, but I am nearing 30 and I want to do what I am doing for a long time. Monday can be horrible, because it is the shortest day in the week, besides Saturday. One does not feel Sunday until Monday, especially if you have to preach multiple services on Sunday. It also gets to be a drag if you have to travel and preach on a Monday. Today I missed my flight to a revival in North Carolina. I will barely have enough time to throw some water on my face, change clothes and go to church. Mondays.........

Happy Birthday PaPa(Big E).....

Today would have been my grandfather's 84th Birthday. I miss him so much. Thanks for everything Grandpa.......Love Always.............

MARCH MADNESS.....

I must admit this is one of my favorite times of the year. I love basketball. It is ironic that the last two places that I have pastored have been football states(Alabama and Georgia). I am rooting for Wake Forest, but I have......winning it all(got to keep somethings to myself). We have a busy weekend coming up at church. Tonight is the third installment of our "March Gladness" Revival. Pastor Delman Coates and Pastor Arthur Jackson III have already preached and it has been awesome thus far. I am excited that tonight, Pastor Jasmin Sculark is with us. I know that we are going to have a high time in the Lord. Tomorrow, we are having a Movie Night for our married and engaged couples, where we are viewing "Fireproof". On Saturday, there is a Mens Conference at Paine College and I have a wedding to officiate in the afternoon. Then it time to have worship on Sunday. Did I also mention that I am in the final leg of my doctoral work and I am trying to put the finishing touches on my project. Whew.......Needless to say, it has been a hectic time.

PS-Tomorrow also would have been my grandfather's 83rd birthday. Miss you Papa.

When God's Glory Fills the House....

What happens when God shows up in a mighty way and the GLORY of God fills a place. We had one of those worship experiences that leaves a believer speechless. The 11am service at Tabernacle yesterday was simply AMAZING. This came off of what i considered a pretty substandard 8am worship. Everything that could go wrong at the early service, did go wrong. Mics were not working, instruments were not being heard, and the atmosphere was not conducive in my opinion to receive the Word. I was preaching the 10th installment of my By Faith series through Hebrews Chapter 11. I preached a message entitled "When God Crosses His Hands" from Hebrews 11:21. I hope that I was faithful to the intent of the text.
The catalyst for the spiritual outpouring was our Mime Ministry, which performs on our Youth Sunday. They ministered to the song "Say Yes" and they performed with such passion and power. Even the kids seemed to be in a different place. There was utter pandemonium, to the point where I did not know which way to take the service. We still had not done the announcements, welcome, offering. We had an altar call and many joined the church. We preached and took up an offering and went home. Many were lingering in sanctuary even after the benediction because it was such a sweet spirit in the place. I must admit that I am still on a spiritual high. I have received so many emails from people who said they have never experienced anything like that before. In the book of Exodus, it speaks about a moment in the history of Israel where after they built the Tabernacle, that the Glory of God filled the Tabernacle that even Moses could not enter. It is my prayer that my life and the life of the church will not be the same and that all of us get to be closer to God, in a more intimate and real way. Soli Deo Gloria!!

I have just figured out

I have just figured out how to blog from my phone. I hope this keeps me consistently writing.

I'm BAAAAACCCCKKKK

It has been a very long time since I have written a blog(almost 2 years). Finishing up my doctoral project has renewed an interest in writing for me. I hope that I stay consistent in this endeavor. I want to write a few devotionals and just some insight and perspective on life and ministry. I have been blessed the last few years to pastor the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga. I have enjoyed the assignment that God has granted me. I pastor some wonderful people who allow me to be the pastor that God has created me to be. I hope and pray that through this blog, I can minister to the masses through real and honest dialogue. Let the blogging begin.......