The Agony & the Ecstasy: 7 Years as Pastor of Community Church of the Hills

3 CommentsABOUT ME, MY BLOG, MY CHURCH, Community Church of the Hills, ,

Sunday, August 30, marked the official 7-year anniversary of my being the pastor at Community Church of the Hills. When I first started, we had 81 people. Out of that original congregation, 12 still attend.

The first year was my honeymoon. It seemed everyone loved me. The second and third year, not so much. I learned that in a small church, in a small town, if you offend one person, the whole family and all their friends leave.I offended many during my first years’ learning curve.

Coming directly from a 1,500-member church in the beach cities of L.A. to a small country church in the middle of rural Texas didn’t translate well. I was not very gracious and was way too demanding. I over-emphasized evangelism and talked about Hell ad nauseum.

The first person to leave said it was because I didn’t teach out of the King James Bible. She had gone there 17 years. In that entire time, no one ever taught out of the King James Bible.

Another said that he wasn’t being fed. (Pastors, ever hear that one before?)

Still another complained that she “just wasn’t feeling it.”

Yet another left because someone put a hat on his wife’s chair.

One guy split because he didn’t like being told what to do and another bailed because I shook his hand the wrong way.

Oh! Did I mention that God prevented a church split in 2018? Or that a guy wrote a 4 page letter to the Elders trying to get me fired?

The bottom line? They didn’t love me as much as I thought.

Read More

A Tale of Two Convicts

Pastor's P.O.V.

I began my jail ministry three years ago, September 25, 2019, while visiting “Manny,” a man I had never met before. At the request of his brother who lived 5 hours away, he asked me to visit him after finding our church online.

I began my jail ministry on this day three years ago, while visiting “Manny,” a man I had never met before. At the request of his brother who lived 5 hours away, he asked me to visit him after finding our church online.

Manny said that he had been a Christian for over forty years.

He said that the main reason he was in jail was because he stopped going to church. One thing led to another, with sin finally getting the best of him. God got his attention after he fell too far away by putting him behind bars for what looked to be a long, long time. While incarcerated, he witnessed to everyone who came into his cell, and, with the help of his brother, gave each person a Bible, handing out over 67 Life Application Bibles.

I visited him weekly.

The second time I was there, he asked if I could visit another cellmate. Then a third and a fourth. We talked about the Bible, the Lord Jesus, and I encouraged them all with Scripture, praying for everyone.

One of the inmates, “Rick,” got out several months later and came to our church. The congregation loved and accepted him just as he was. He even started serving in simple ways. A member let him stay in an extra room he had.

Then Covid hit in March 2020, ending my visits to the jail. Still, I called Manny on occasion to check in. Rick continued to go to our church until a political disagreement caused him to leave. He didn’t like our stance on the subject. When I would see Rick stumbling down Highway 281, brown bag in hand, I urged him to come back to church. He didn’t.

Read More

Was Olivia Newton-John a Christian?

4 CommentsFamous and Not-So, Famous Lost Words

The co-star of one of the most popular musicals of all time, Grease, lost her 30-year-long battle to breast cancer this morning.

What were her beliefs? Not much is known specifically, but it appears that she was quite spiritual and a student of many religions.

According to the HollowVerse website “she doesn’t identify with anything–or everything depending on how you look at it. Normally reputable sites claim that she’s a Christian, and that very well could be true, but it seems more that she’s multi-religious, or meta-religious. She has expressed an interest in aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism, but seems to claim neither as a whole.

In an interview with Catholic News she said, “I believe that all human beings are connected, like pearls on a chain. We have in common the search for peace, love and compassion. It is my hope that we can accept and respect each other’s [religious] traditions, no matter what our personal beliefs. This is my intention – to make music that helps to heal the heart and connect us to each other.

“Nature is my church,” she has stated, which belies a hint of pantheism.

Read More

Did My Dad Really Believe?

4 CommentsFamily Stuff

My thirty-year-old prayer was answered: Dad made a profession of faith in Christ after 88 years of unbelief. He was no longer headed for Hell but would have eternal life in a place where there’s no more pain and no more tears. But did he, really? I had my doubts….

(Start at part 1 here.)

I was doubtful because he didn’t sound sincere when he believed. There was no contrition, so sorrowful weeping over all the years he had lived in rebellion to God’s laws. No joy either that his sins were washed away. Maybe he had “believed” because he wanted to please me.

Now my dad was in the Emergency Room because he refused to stay in bed and fell headlong onto the floor. He was barely conscious, had a nasty gash on his forehead and re-fractured his already broken shoulder. He would shout “Get me out of here! Get me out of here!” every time he awoke while trying to climb out of bed. The doctor informed me that this might be the last time I’d ever see him alive. I needed to confirm that his salvation was real, so I asked him if he had thought about our conversation the night before.

“Yes! I believe!” he replied.

“Believe what, Dad?” Then I rehearsed the Gospel again to him. “Do you believe that you are a sinner?”

“Yes!”

And you need God’s forgiveness through Jesus?”

“Yes!”

“You believe Jesus died for your sins, was buried and on the 3rd day rose from the dead?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Dad, I love you, but are you just saying this to get me off your back?”

“No! You can take it to the bank!”

Read More