Three posts in a reasonable time frame? You should pause for a moment and collect yourselves, for this must surely be an omen. Probably not, but best to take a moment anyway. I'll wait. *Insert appropriate waiting time here* Hello! Now that you're back, I suppose it's time to make good on my promise from … Continue reading 2023 in Review

Despite the content of my previous post, I am a pastor and this is a Christian blog, so I do want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope that you and yours have a wonderful time celebrating the remembrance of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior. May the Peace of Christ … Continue reading Merry Christmas!

Beloved Readers ... It is my great joy to inform you that ... I FINALLY graduated with my M.Div.! I will pause for a moment for you to rejoice with me. Please take your time. Okay, now that you're back, I thought I would begin this year by doing a quick retrospective on the year … Continue reading 2022 in Review

Greetings STPeeps! (No one uses the term "peeps" anymore when referring to friends on the internet. While it has gained a negative association with the lovely marshmallow treats [of which I'm one of the few on the planet who love Peeps], I think we should bring the term back!). So, I know it's been a … Continue reading Podcasting

In the past, I've made my feelings about social media pretty clear. However, I do sometimes find myself wishing I could still post that great picture of my food or my dogs or that particular locale on vacation for a the untold masses to "like" and "share" and rain accolades down upon me. True, I … Continue reading Microblogging

I think I may have already written on this topic before in a previous post, but I thought it might be good to revisit it, especially as it relates to our human experience, and particularly to Christians and to pastors. I also know that there are multiple works written on this topic (because I've read … Continue reading Why we need Fiction

Greetings STP folks. This post will be short and primarily to make sure that it goes out to all of you who subscribe by email. As the title suggests, I have reworked the design of the website as well as added new content. Briefly, let me explain why I did a redesign. Honestly, I was … Continue reading New Design

The adorable bane of my existence. I was finally able to mow the lawn yesterday after a month. When I tell you this, dear reader, I need you to be able to properly grasp the anxiety that had built up within me due to not being able to mow the lawn. It's simply been too … Continue reading Of Dragonflies and Mole Hills

This is my actual whiny face. Just ask my wife. Greetings all! I know it has been almost 7 months since I last posted, so my apologies for the long delay. I always feel like I'm offering excuses for not keeping up this blog, and then I always feel like I'm always feeling like I'm … Continue reading Quick Whiny Update

I couldn't help myself with this title. It's pretty cheesy, but that's the pastor's curse isn't it? Coming up with cheesy titles? Even so, the title is indicative of the context of this post, so I'll simply beg your pardon and move on. Over the course of the past few weeks, I have been reading … Continue reading A Canine in the Kingdom of God

"Adoration of the Shepherds" by Dutch painter, Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656) I have been meaning to write a few posts over the course of December, particularly about the Church season of Advent and Christmastide. And while this blog is and was intended to inform and discuss these topics with those that happened to read it, … Continue reading Two by Two

I find it fascinating how, sometimes, a series of events (such as a conversation or an article) leads us towards a particular conversational path, reading direction, or even a way of thinking. In the case of this post, as you have no doubt already discerned based upon the title, my recent "series of events" has … Continue reading Meaningful Membership: Being the Church

“I felt that I had been born anew and that the gates of heaven had been opened. The whole of Scripture had gained a new meaning. Now the phrase ‘the justice of God’ no longer filled me with hatred, but rather, it has become unspeakably sweet…” - Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will Greetings … Continue reading Reformation Day

Greetings fellow sojourners! I pray that all is well with each and every one of you. A few days ago, I was sitting on the couch reading and I realized that time had gotten away from me since my last post and an entire month had gone by without nary a word from me. I … Continue reading Imago Dei: To Work it and Keep it…

For those who know me, the example I am about to use will not come as a surprise. For those who don't, I hope it will help make my point. There is a scene in episode 5 of season 3 of the beloved series Star Trek: The Next Generation where the ever inquisitive and almost … Continue reading Familiarity and Loss: Mourning the death of someone you’ve never met.

Grace and Peace readers! It has been a few weeks since you have all heard from me, so I thought I'd post a quick update to let you all in on what has been going on with me lately. As you have no doubt guessed from the title of this post, my wife and I … Continue reading Update: The Stress of Moving

Greetings and salutations readers! This week, I thought we'd pick back up with our 5 Solas posts so as to keep us on track to finish before the anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation on October 31st. As I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago, this particular post should have … Continue reading 5 Solas of the Reformation: Sola Fide

Welcome to the end of yet another month! It doesn't seem possible, but 2021 is already halfway over. After the tumultous year that was 2020, it almost doesn't make sense that we are already halfway through the year, yet... here we are. As the title of this week's post suggests, we will be looking at … Continue reading Book Review – Beautiful Outlaw: Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus by John Eldredge

Greetings all and welcome to a new week! I feel as though I have a bit of explaining to do. No, you did not miss a post, I simply just didn't post one last week. I would like to say that it was because I was out of town and just simply didn't get around … Continue reading Coming Attractions

As promised a few weeks ago when we discussed Pentecost, I want to take a week and dive into the season known as "Ordinary Time." This season is both ordinary and far from ordinary. So, without giving you a long, purposeless intro, let's look more closely at the longest "season" of the Christian Year. A … Continue reading The Christian Year: Ordinary Time

Greetings and Salutations readers! Welcome to the end of May and yet another book review. This month, I wanted to look at a book that I had to read for one of my seminary courses. While this might not be one that you would normally pick up for your summer beach vacation, I do think … Continue reading Book Review – Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church by Gregg R. Allison

The Lord is here! His Spirit is with us! Welcome to Pentecost friends! We have come to the end of Eastertide, Christ has Ascended, and His Spirit has been poured out on all flesh (see Joel 2:28-29 & Acts 2)! Today (well, technically yesterday) begins the season known as Ordinal Time or Ordinary Time. I'll … Continue reading The Christian Year: Pentecost

Welcome to a new week, readers! As you can guess, this week we're going to begin a discussion on the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation. Why? Because we are 5 months out from the 504th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation (October 31, 1517) and this series of posts will take us … Continue reading The 5 Solas of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura

Greetings and Salutations all! It has been a while since we began to dig deep into this particular theological discussion, but considering more recent current events, I thought it might be beneficial to focus our attention back on what really matters - God, the Gospel, and our place in God's creation. In this case, our … Continue reading Imago Dei: How We Image the Trinity

Okay, so I know this seems weird to a lot of folks... "How can Journaling be a way to bring glory to God?" But, if you will spare me a few moments of your time (and I'm assuming that by reading this blog you're willing to do so), I will try to explain. There are … Continue reading Journaling – To the Glory of God

Here we are again at the end of yet another month, which means it's time to look at yet another book about Christian life and practice. This month, I want us to take a look at this quick read by Kendall Vanderslice called "We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God." As … Continue reading Book Review – We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God by Kendall Vanderslice

Happy Monday, readers! I beg your forgiveness on the tardiness of this post, I have been working on school work this morning and neglected to set this post to upload early, hence the lateness. As you can clearly note from the title, I wanted to chat a little about the need for rest, a "theology … Continue reading Vacation: A Theology of Rest

Greetings and Salutations to you! I hope that your Eastertide has gotten off to a great start! This week, I wanted to share with you another audio file in our "From the Pulpit" series that I started last month. However, this month's edition comes with a great and fun twist... I am not the only … Continue reading From the Pulpit: Tenebrae

He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Welcome to Easter! Welcome to the season of Easter! Welcome to 50 days of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in power, authority, and majesty! Welcome to the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in victory over sin, Satan, and death itself! As we did with the … Continue reading The Christian Year: Eastertide

This month, I want us to look at a book that I read recently for a preaching class that I just completed for seminary. In class, we were split into two groups to give a presentation on a book, and this one was the book that I was assigned. Ironically, this book in many ways, … Continue reading Book Review – Preaching as Reminding: Stirring Memory in an Age of Forgetfulness – by Jeffrey D. Arthurs

I've struggled with this post. Frankly, I've struggled with it because it's such a hot button issue in our culture today, especially in Christian culture. Personally, I used to enjoy discussing politics, but now it turns my stomach. I used to enjoy good debate and a free exchange of ideas about real issues that had … Continue reading Psalm 33 and Christian Nationalism

Greetings all! In the effort to continue keeping things interesting, I thought it might be fun to randomly upload some sermon audio from some sermons of mine. For this first post, I'm uploading two sermons. What a deal! Seriously, though, these two sermons are essentially "transitional" sermons. The first is my final sermon from my … Continue reading From the Pulpit

This week, I wanted to attempt to address an issue that I think has been plaguing our society for quite some time. Admittedly, the argument can be made that this issue has been plaguing humanity since The Fall. However, because we live in the age of social media, I do think that we have all … Continue reading Imago Dei – Seeing Others as Image Bearers of the Godhead

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com In an effort to continue building off of the topics I mentioned in my first post, I thought I would attempt to tackle this issue of distraction and the Christian Life. As I have done in my two previous posts, I will begin with a disclaimer: I by no means … Continue reading The Cancer of Distraction: The Christian and the Digital Age

Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com As I mentioned in my first post "Firsts Things First," after 3 years in my first pastorate, I have recently accepted a call to become the preaching elder of a new church in Tennessee. Before moving on to discuss some of the other topics that I brought up in … Continue reading Finishing the Race: The “Art” of Leaving Well

Greetings and Salutations! As the name of this blog suggests (and my "about me" over on the home page states), my name is Nick and I'm an elder (or pastor) of a church in West, TN. As indicated by the title of this post, I wanted to get all of the "first things" out of … Continue reading First Things First