The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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This COVID-19 crisis has revealed a great many things about us. You have probably learned a lot about yourself in the last six months, right? Crisis does that to you. Crisis isn’t just an accelerator, it’s a revealer showing you some surprising things about yourself - some good,some not so good. Since COVID struck in mid-March, many of us have seen more than a few habits, wants and preferences revealed. It may be wise to take stock in what we have learned so far. You never know how much you lov...
By Beth Thomas In these uncertain times, we all need something or someone to believe in. One church in South Montgomery County has begun a campaign, which is gaining unexpected momentum with a simple, yet moving message of hope. If you’ve been able to get out and about these last few weeks, you might have noticed all of the campaigning signs and posters that have been popping up all over the place. Billboards, ads on the radio, and signs placed in yards or at stop signs are all encouraging p...
Mastering our mouths, taming our tongues, watching our words is one of the toughest things to do! We use words all the time, not only in our conversations but also in our emails, texts, social media, blogs, posts and tweets. We are a nation of talkers! “Self-control means controlling the tongue!” – Proverbs 13:3 Another way to put it: He who guards his mouth controls himself. The Book of James has this to say about the tongue: “...but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, f...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated the following truth: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter most.” In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, my family lived in Mobile, Ala. where my Dad was serving as the Senior Pastor at St. Marks United Methodist Church. The black leaders of the Civil Rights movement in Mobile requested to hold a peaceful rally and a march in support of voting rights and other issues of equality. The Mayor of Mobile, Geo...
The Secret 4 C’s of Success Three military recruiters accepted an invitation to speak to the Senior Class of a local high school. It was agreed that each recruiter would take fifteen minutes to make his pitch. The army recruiter went first, but he spoke for more than twenty minutes. The navy recruiter also spoke for twenty minutes. The Marine Corps recruiter, realizing that his fifteen-minute speech had now been cut to about two minutes, walked to the podium and spent the first sixty seconds in...
In 1988, Bobby McFerrin released this famous song, which is still enjoyed by millions around the world as a light hearted, fun, happy song! In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, maybe some would think it a bit shallow. But I would say there is some great truth backing up the song. In fact, Jesus had some very pointed things to say about worry and teaches us that worry is a waste of time. Every time that song, Don’t Worry Be Happy, comes to my mind, I think of what Jesus had to say about w...
I'm not sure how you and Marie labeled any carryovers to other pages/sections ... ------------------------- A message of encouragement from Lester and Janeese Spencer As Christians, because of Easter and the Resurrection, we are people of faith! Through the resurrected Christ, God has given us His Spirit of power, love and self-discipline! “God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” Paul, 2 Timothy 1:7 With the onslaught of information being rel...
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Alcatraz Island sits in the middle of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by almost two miles of turbulent and treacherous water. For nearly one hundred years, the island housed a prison, and the place earned the nickname “The Rock” because it was inescapable. Constructed as a United States Army fortress in the 1850s, the twenty-two-acre island became an Army prison during the Civil War. In 1933, Alcatraz was turned over to the Department of Justice to be used as a federal penitentiary, and dur...
Several years ago, I went scuba diving with my sons. Although it was not the first time we’d dived together, and it certainly would not be the last, this particular trip was special, because it was the trip in which Joshua, my younger son, earned his certification as a scuba diver. His older brother, Harden, and I were already certified, and we accompanied Josh on one of his first open-water dives, which are part of the certification process. On this particular open-water dive, we were in the Ba...
I read about an enlisted soldier who was walking along a Bavarian road. World War I was over. Germany was defeated and devastated. The land around him was scorched by the destruction of war. This little fellow decided to end it all. With the Fatherland finished, what was the point of living? He came to a river, and he looked over a bridge railing to the icy waters down below. He decided to jump. He looked around again, and saw people aimlessly wandering about trying to find what was left of...
I really need Christmas this year! Let’s face it! There is a lot of division and mistrust in our culture, in our communities and in our country right now. On the political front, we are so divided! More divided than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. We negatively label each other as Democrats, Republicans, Socialists or Libertarians. We are stereotyped as liberals or conservatives or moderates. It seems we have a hard time having civil conversations about things that matter deeply to us. T...
Free For All is the name of a new book I have written set to be released this December! The subtitle is 4 Things God’s Amazing Grace Can Do For You. In this book, we will explore four different ways we can experience God’s grace. God’s grace is truly free for all. The following is an excerpt from Free For All set to be released this December on Amazon. We find this SCUBA story in the chapter of the book where we explore God’s prevenient grace and the fact that it goes before us and surroun...
We all need to be encouraged, inspired and challenged, right? One of the ways I do that is by reading quotes. So, I often search for and screenshot quotes I like and keep them on my iPhone for future reference. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa “Stand for what is right even if you stand alone.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter....
Part Two This month we continue exploring the seasons of the great life of King David with Part Two in our series. Last month we covered the first two seasons: The Season of Bethlehem and the Season of Gibeah. This month we will look at the last three. Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to...
Part One Have you ever considered that your life is a journey through different seasons? Your life is not just a meaningless series of ups and downs but rather an evolution of you becoming all you were designed and meant to be! Of course, when it comes to the seasons of life, one can evolve into a wiser person who grows closer and closer to their creator through each season or one can chose to waste each season and keep repeating the same bad habits and learn nothing. One path leads to a more in...
Fifteen members of the Church of the Nazarene, most from the Alabama South District, visited Cuba on a “Work and Witness” mission in June. We were able to provide labor and supplies to assist with painting and refurbishing a church in the Havana area of Juanelo, as well as experience the people, culture, and country of Cuba. Visiting with the pastors of numerous churches throughout Cuba provided the opportunity to reflect on the work of the Church in the world. Witnessing first-hand the imp...
“Don’t Worry. Be Happy!” Remember that song? It was written and sung by Bobby McFerrin and was a huge hit in 1988! It is still a popular song at parties, bars and football games. It sounds so easy. Just don’t worry and you will be happy. But the truth is there are a lot of unhappy people, aren’t there? I do think most folks really want to be happy, but many just don’t know how. Happiness, many believe, is related to luck or a positive attitude or providence. But I believe happiness is very sim...
Who was the greatest leader who ever lived? Before you answer, let me give you a definition of leadership. John Maxwell defines leadership this way: “Leadership is influence. Nothing more and nothing less.” So, to put the question another way, who has been the most influential person in history? It’s not a trick question. You may be thinking like the little boy when the preacher was doing a Children’s Moment one Sunday morning. The Preacher asked the kids, “what is brown, furry, climbs tr...
The construction of the beautiful Gothic Cathedral, Notre Dame, “The Cathedral of Paris”, began during the reign of King Louis VII in 1163 AD and was completed in 1345 AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a worldwide Parisian icon. It was the location of some of the most important moments in the history of France and survived many wars including WWI and WWII. It has inspired the architecture and construction of many Catholic and Protestant Churches around the world. Notre Dame is the off...
May 2 was the National Day of Prayer when we pause to thank God for our nation, seek forgiveness for our sins and ask his guidance in the future. There were at least two major proclamations before the event was formalized. The Continental Congress called the colonies to pray in 1775, and President Lincoln asked the nation to pray in 1863. Our modern observance was created in 1952 under President Truman and amended under President Reagan in 1988 to fall on the first Thursday in May. Every preside...
The Heart of the Christian Faith is the Resurrection! The Christian faith is based upon an event and that event is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, "All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection." (Phil. 3:10) Why was the resurrection so important to Paul. Because he knew that everything hinged on the fact and the power of this event. Paul understood the following facts very well. Through his death on the cross,...
I’d like to preface this by saying, this is my opinion. While I feel that technology and social media are key to living in today’s world and while there are some good things that can come from the web and hand held devices, I feel that there is more harm being done to the masses. What if everyone that picked up their device, picked up the Bible instead? Picture this: You’re at a sporting event supporting a child and you look around and all you see are people hovered by the nearest power outle...
The recent tornado in Lee County, Alabama, was devastating with 23 lives lost—several in a single family. How sad that things changed for these residents in such a short time. U.S. presidents are expected to make appearances following disasters in order to boost morale. We remember President Obama touring Tuscaloosa with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in 2011. Likewise, President and Mrs. Trump visited the Auburn area to survey damage and offer encouragement. The president received criticism for a...
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for those who were lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time, money, and effort to...