Senior Writer’s Block

During my days as a youth pastor, I worked at a camp each summer where every time the camp director rose at the end of a meal to give the campers some new information for the day, the kids would break out into a song: Announcements, announcements, announcements: A terrible way to die, a terrible…

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Cruise Control

Summer is movie blockbuster season, and there’s no movie I’m more excited about than the new Mission: Impossible — Fallout flick coming out at the end of July. It’s not because this is one of the greatest movie franchises ever (it’s not), nor is it because it has all the elements of a good spy thriller, including…

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When I was in college, I took an involuntary vow of poverty and majored in history. One of my internships was working as a historical interpreter at Gettysburg National Military Park, site of the great Civil War battle in 1863. Every day of the summer, I gave a 90-minute walking tour of different parts of…

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When to Shut Up

As preachers, we spend most of our time trafficking in words. We’re constantly thinking about the words we’re going to speak to a congregation each week, which also means studying the Word of God in the words of the Scriptures. Then we deliver those words and receive the words of encouragement (or rebuke) from the…

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Adam and Eve Day

One of the most arduous tasks of the Christmas season at the Kaylor household is the annual assembly of the Christmas tree. We have had the same artificial tree for the last 22 years. We bought the tree because of my allergies. Now that it has 22 years of holiday dust on it, it’s probably…

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The Cutting Room Floor

So, you’ve just finished writing an epic sermon that is sure to cause your congregation not only to be overwhelmed by the Spirit, but also to marvel at your stunning command of biblical exegesis and the brilliance of your powerful illustrations. This one is definitely a home run — a grand slam, even. Problem is…

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