Founder’s Day
Gateway Seminary was founded in 1944 as a result of a prayer meeting. Pastor Isam Hodges invited six deacons and their wives to his home to pray about starting a seminary to train ministry leaders in the West.
Responding to Abuse and Abusers
Southern Baptists are facing the significant challenge of how to respond to sexual abuse in churches and by church leaders. The scope of the problem demands churches, church leaders, and denominational leaders confront it aggressively. Gateway has been and will continue to be proactive on these...
Revealing Reactions
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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has had a rough few days. He inflamed the abortion debate with comments on late term abortion. He was then castigated for a racially insensitive photo on his college yearbook page (he later denied being in the photo). His future in public life is pending. The...
Celebrating
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In July 2020, Ann and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We (mainly me at first but Ann jumped in as well) decided to expand the celebration to include several key moments in our relationship. Last September, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day we met.
Blood Moon
Over this past weekend, we experienced a Super Blood Wolf Moon eclipse. This phenomenon happens when the moon passes fully into the shadow of the earth. It was particularly spectacular because it happened when the moon was at its closest point of its orbit to earth. This celestial color show was...
Appreciation
This past weekend, our church hosted its annual leadership development conference and volunteer appreciation luncheon. I missed it because I was speaking at another church’s leadership training conference and appreciation dinner. Both of these churches recognize the importance of leadership...
Perspective Renewed
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Over the end-of-year holidays each year, I usually take a media fast for a few days - meaning I disconnect from news sources and ignore most of what’s happening in the world. Frankly, it’s usually no great loss. Preening politicians, narcissistic celebrities, and overpaid athletes carried on...
Breaking Out of the Christian Subculture
The longer you serve as a Christian leader, typically the less connected you are with unbelievers. That’s one of the dirty little secrets of Christian leadership. We are supposedly on mission to unbelievers, yet our job requirements isolate us in the Christian community. Being a Christian leader...
Suicide Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported more than 47,000 Americans killed themselves in 2017. Since 1999, the suicide rate has increased by 33 percent. Going back to 2016, while more than 45,000 people took their own lives, the number who attempted suicide and survived...
Private Baptism
Over the years, a few people have asked me for a private baptism experience. I have always declined. A private ceremony undermines key purposes of baptism – a public witness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and public identification with a community of believers.