November Newsletter – Coram Deo

Originally sent to distribution list on 11.04.24. Posting here for convenience.  — Greetings, friends! Thank you for your interest in our church planting journey. For those of you who have recently signed up for this newsletter, we welcome you to our community!  I’m writing to you from Greensboro, NC where our family is attending the … Read more

October Newsletter – Coram Deo

Originally sent to the distribution list on 10.11.24. Posting here for reference purposes. — Hey friends!  Once again, thank you for showing your interest in Coram Deo Baptist Church by signing up for our monthly newsletter. Many of you have subscribed recently, so let me extend a warm welcome to you along with my appreciation. … Read more

Choosing Coram Deo

Decision, decisions. Of all the decisions that come with planting a church, one of the first decisions a church planter must make is to name the church. Depending on the network, core team, or sending church, the choice could come sooner than later. In my case with SendNC (Send Network cooperation with NC Baptists), choosing … Read more

September Newsletter – Coram Deo

Originally sent to the distribution list on 09.04.24. Posting here for reference purposes. — Hey, friends! Thanks for subscribing to the Coram Deo newsletter. Each month I’ll be sending at least one update to detail our church planting progress with a few next steps for your involvement. This newsletter will be our main mode of … Read more

Selecting Deacons: Thoughts on Acts 6

Last year I began preaching through the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. It’s been a true delight to see the early formation of God’s people, indwelled and accompanied by the Holy Spirit as Jesus so promised (John 16:7; Luke 24:49). From pneumatology to ecclesiology, lessons surely abound from the introductory scenes chronicled by Doctor … Read more

Can Women Be Deacons?

That’s a loaded question! I write this post at a strategic time as the office of deacon is on our minds. Each August our church selects new deacon candidates for the next calendar year. As a point of perennial tradition, I try to help our church think about polity — particularly, deacons—at this time of … Read more

Does Divorce Disqualify?

As a Christian first and a local church pastor second, I am continually reminded that Christians are in the “people business.” To be a follower of Christ means to be in the church and serving in ministry at some level (Ephesians 4:10-11). That means you deal with—people. I have often defined ministry as, “filling gaps … Read more

God, Give Me Mountains

And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen. Genesis 8:5 The study of Noah’s life is an extraordinary venture. He was a man who saw the world destroyed, survived a global flood, who populated a … Read more