Category: From The Desk of Pastor Gene

In 1991, we purchased a new maroon Chevrolet Lumina with a gray cloth interior, the car version, not the mini-van. As a matter of context, I was stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in Universal City, Texas northeast of San Antonio. Cheri and I and our two sons, who were in elementary school at the...

In a game of athletics, whether soccer, hockey, basketball, or football, scoring for the other team is somewhat easy. An inadvertent tip here and a deflection there is all it takes. You may have watched a basketball player get disoriented and drive to the opponent’s basket and score a goal only to find out, with...

  People use the phrase, “If you build it, they will come” and often contribute it to the 1989 classic movie, “Field of Dreams.” However, the original phrase was, “If you build it, he will come.” Ultimately, the movie was about one farmer following his dream and building a baseball field in his cornfield. In...

How excited are you about “coming after” Jesus or, in other words, “following” Jesus? Do you know the expectations? Do you understand the cost? I want to warn you before you read the rest of this, it isn’t the typical religious self-focused, health and wealth diatribe. So what does Jesus say about the expectations of...

The idea of a king having sovereign authority is relatively unfamiliar to most Americans and, for that matter, not welcome.  Obviously, we as Americans, rebelled against the King of England and gained our independence in 1776. At best, in the modern era, we catch a headline here and there and maybe a glimpse of English...

In the 1996 movie, “Jerry McGuire,” when sports agent Jerry McGuire, played by Tom Cruise, asked Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding, Jr., “what can I do for you?, Rod answered, “show me the money.” After all, if you were a professional athlete, what else would you ask of your sports agent?...

As a Christian parent and now a grandparent, I’ve gleaned wisdom from God’s Word and years of experience allowing me to share a few things about parenting. My goal is for children to know, love and glorify the Lord as they follow the example of their parents. Let me say, that Cheri and I made...

Are the words “giving,” “offering,” “collecting” or “tithing” a source of frustration, confusion or anger for you? Do you feel guilt or shame when you hear these words? First, you’re not alone. Knowing from several sources such as Barna Group, Pew Research and Lifeway, the large majority (80%) of Americans give only 2% of their...

There is an interesting and humorous story about a pastor with a reputation of being humble. The parishioners, deacons and other leaders of this particular church often marveled about his humility. These leaders even went as far as giving him an award for his humility. Unfortunately, that is when the pastor’s reputation quickly changed. He...

Several years ago, going back to 1980, I was a new Christian, newly married and new to the Air Force. We arrived at our first duty station in Arkansas and began looking for housing and for a church. With Cheri’s parents help, we found a church to belong. It was a church plant with lots...