Yesterday morning, I woke up as thunder boomed in the distance and flashes of lightning raced across the sky. The rain was pouring down out of dark, ominous clouds. It was truly beautiful. This was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday because it rarely, if ever, rains on the second day of September. I … Continue reading Daily Devotional September 3, 2020 →

Yesterday, I discovered, after serving as the senior pastor of our church almost fifteen years, I am a complete and total failure.It all started after the staff meeting, when Susan told me someone had called asking to speak to me.  She said he had identified himself as a local attorney and he was not a … Continue reading Daily Devotional September 2, 2020 →

Mary is my buddy.  I see her twice a day.  We hang out together.  Our relationship is one that I have spent time nurturing.  It's important. Mary is a baby calf that was rejected  by her mother.  For the past six weeks, every morning and night, either Shannon or I feed Mary two large bottles … Continue reading Daily Devotional September 1, 2020 →

Way back at the beginning of time when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I went to seminary.  Before that, I thought I had a pretty good handle on scripture and basic theology.  Then, the first day of class, the professor said, "Turn to the book of Zephaniah."  As all the other students immediately opened their … Continue reading Daily Devotional August 31, 2020 →

Rerun of Daily Devotional August 29, 2017One of the real struggles for a church our size is that, between the three different worship services, it is very hard to know everyone’s name.  This means that from time-to-time, I have to explain who someone is.Yesterday, Laura was trying to identify one of our new members.  She … Continue reading Daily Devotional for August 28, 2020 →

I hate texting.  God hates texting.  I cannot find one positive affirmation of texting in the Bible.  Having said that, in the time of COVID, texting has actually become a tool for pastoral care.As painful as this is to share, I want you to see how your three pastors used texting in a very effective … Continue reading Daily Devotional for August 27, 2020 →

Saturday night, I got a voice message from a beautiful five year old girl in the church named Emily. This is what she said: "Hi Pastor Tom, this is Emily. What is God? Call me back." As soon as I heard the message, I realized Dee and Shawna had a little theologian on their hands. … Continue reading Daily Devotional August 25, 2020 →

A few years ago, Shannon planted Knockout roses outside our bedroom windows.   They were beautiful.  Then, when I wasn't looking, they grew into monster rose bushes that scrapped against the windows, causing eerie sounds in the middle of the night. I did everything I could think of to slow their growth.  They didn't get watered … Continue reading Daily Devotional August 24, 2020 →

Rerun of Daily Devotional August 28, 2017 Saturday night I performed a wedding for a family that I dearly love at the Four Seasons Hotel in Dallas.  What made this especially interesting was that it was the first multi-faith wedding I have ever participated in. While I can recite the United Methodist liturgy with my … Continue reading Daily Devotional August 21, 2020 →

Way back at the beginning of time, when I was eleven years old, my father announced that our entire family was going to fast for the day.  The money that would have been spent on food would be given to the poor.Luckily, my mother had already fed us breakfast and packed our lunches for school.  … Continue reading Daily Devotional August 20, 2020 →