Our Blog

This summer Vickie and I had an opportunity to visit an island called Curacao. One of the fun things we did was ride a catamaran. The place we were staying had created a harbor that was safe behind a rock wall. The wall protected people from the wind and waves of the ocean. Riding the […]

The Face of Immigration in Alabama Tonight I visited an undocumented couple in need of housing. They have a young son who they love and care for. He is the reason they came to Alabama. They wanted him to have a chance for a better life. He was born here in the United States and […]

From One White House to the Other A group of Baptist pastors and ministers from across the country were invited to the White House for a nonpartisan briefing concerning public-policy and justice issues. I received the invitation from Dr. Robert Parham, Executive Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville,Tennessee. I was honored to […]

Familiar site driving around this morning. Hundreds of yellow hardhats and volunteers and disaster relief trailors line stretches of winchester road today. Everyone working hard to remove debris, cut fallen trees, and clean up trash. I believe that God is with us during the storm and that God smiles big watching God’s people respond with […]

Recently Vickie and I had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii. I wrote a paper for an International Conference on Arts and Humanities and was asked to come and present the paper. The conference was sponsored by the University of Hawaii. The paper was entitled “What the Heart Knows – Theopoetics and the Renewing Power […]

We live in the South where we like our tea sweet, our talk slow and our religion hot. We pride ourselves on being neighborly. We practice hospitality and compassion with our neighbors. If someone is sick we take them food, if their house is destroyed we help them rebuild. We even wave at complete strangers […]

Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins has created an amazing amount of criticism—and all of it coming before the book has been released! The criticism comes based on a two and a half minute video introduction that features Bell basically asking questions concerning heaven and hell. The video segment doesn’t attempt to answer the questions. The criticism comes […]

The news report stated that the President’s State of the Union address would be different; Senators would cross the aisle and put aside their partisan differences and sit together. This is in response to the shooting that occurred earlier this month in Arizona. It is a way to show respect and unity at a time […]

We were all uplifted and challenged on Sunday as Bill Hoffman talked about his wife, Tammy, and her unwavering faith during her recent battle with pancreatic cancer.  Bill emailed me a transcript of what he said and gave me permission to post it on our website. I am honored to share this with all of you. […]

Well, I have officially celebrated my first Christmas as a husband and it was great.  It is strange to not be in Texas for this holiday; but I have loved being around my Huntsville and Locust Grove families! I really, really enjoyed the Christmas eve service.  I loved writing a children’s story for it, and […]

It was the day after Christmas all through the land, snow was falling and ruined Rob’s plans.  He had a wonderful sermon with both laughter and joy, it was going to be fun for every girl and boy.  But the weather was really bad, the icy roads made Rob nervous, so he called Pastor Robby, […]

Tammy’s Lesson Plan for Life Tammy Hoffman was a beloved member of Locust Grove and this entire community. She was a valued and loved teacher at Riverton. Tammy’s legacy is one of faith and love. The following essay was written by Tammy after she had been diagnosed with cancer. This is something I call Tammy’s Lesson […]

Thanks for a great trip!  Vickie and I will forever be grateful to you for all you have done for us. We love you and count it a joy to be a part of the Locust Grove family. Below you will find a few pictures from our trip to Maine.

I recently read Barbra Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. She talks about the practice of pronouncing blessings. We have the potential to pronounce blessing over the people we come in contact with. Pronouncing blessing is a powerful way to encourage others. This is an ancient and biblical practice. We have the potential to bless family and […]

David Platt, in his new book Radical, points out a dilemma that he faced when becoming the Pastor of a megachurch. He says that his model for ministry is Jesus, who is really more like the Pastor of a minichurch! I understand this dilemma that David faces; I still struggle with it every day. I suppose that all […]