New Site

I'm moving my home from Blogger to Wordpress. More importantly, I've dropped the pseudonym. Head on over to Wordpress and check it out.

New announcements will soon follow. Thanks!

The Proverbial Cat And The Bag

Well, the proverbial cat is out of the bag. It was coming, I suppose. But I'm glad it came on my terms.

A few days ago, before I archived my blog, I told my ex-wife Angelica about my blog. She took it real well. I had to tell her because of the book I'm developing with my publisher.

It was actually a lot off my mind. She was very supportive of all of it.

It's also going to be a matter of time as well that I come full out on this blog. Not that it really matters, I suppose. It's not going to turn out that I'm a high ranking Senator, Bruce Wayne, or Andy Stanley.

I'm just pleased that over the past year and a half I've been able to encourage so many people, that so many have felt they could contact me, and that people have enjoyed my blog. Just don't be disappointed when you find out I really am weak.

Out With The Old

I just finished archiving all my old posts.

That means they're not there anymore. Sorry about that.

My story as I originally wrote it doesn't exist on this blog anymore. However, stay tuned. I'm going to summarize it again soon in a much shorter way.

Things are changing rapidly for me in this world and God is giving me the opportunity to minister to a lot of people.

Hopefully, there will be some big announcements here soon, so stay tuned. Thanks to all of you who read this blog and pray for us continually. I know who you are and you are greatly appreciated.

To those fallen pastors out there who read and have reached out, I continually pray for you.

To those fallen pastors who read and haven't reached out, I'm here for you. I know it's hard and I know you think no one cares. I care. And I know it hurts. There's a large brotherhood of us out there. And I'm working on a way to connect all of us together.

Calling All Fallen Pastors

Fallen ministers, I need your help.

I've been blessed with a great opportunity to write a book. The book is about how it is difficult for fallen pastors and churches to reconcile because churches tend to place their pastors on a pedestal.

In the book, I'm going to include real stories from fallen pastors. I can keep them anonymous if need be, but I need to interview as many fallen pastors as I can.

If you're willing to share your story with me, or know someone who might be interested, please leave a comment below or Twitter message me.

Thanks to all, Arthur.

The Practice Of Love

I'm pleased to let you know about a book published by Civitas Press that is being released on May 1, entitled "The Practice Of Love: Real Stories Of Living Into The Kingdom of God."

It's a collection of essays about people practicing the love of Christ. I usually don't recommend books to you, but I have a selfish motive for this one.  I wrote an essay for it.

I've been spotty in my posting lately because I've been doing some writing on the side. My mother was an author and I remember the process she had to endure to get books published. She'd send off manuscripts and query letters by the dozens to only get a barrage of rejections, but she'd press forward.

For me, in this information rich age, the process was easier and I thank God for His mercy and the people at Civitas. I made a comment in a post one day about writing and was contacted the next day by the editor at Civitas Press. They have a heart for writers and good writing. Jonathan Brink, the editor, has made me into a better writer with a lot of input.

I was asked to write a submission on what it means to love oneself. At first, I inwardly scoffed at the idea. I thought, "I love myself just fine, maybe too much." But the request came at a time when I was struggling with reconciling with people I had hurt through my fall.

While writing my submission, I had a breakthrough and realized that I had spent a lot of time beating myself up over sins that God had already forgiven me for. I realized that Christ loved me despite my sin and that He had freely forgiven it. On the other hand, I still hated myself for what I had done. That was the basis for my essay.

I hope you'll buy the book which is available through the publisher and will also soon be available on Amazon. Either way, thank you for taking the time to be a faithful reader.

Candy Crosses

About three years ago, I got into a fierce Facebook argument over Easter candy. Yeah, it was kinda stupid.

A friend of mine posted a picture of "candy crosses" on his Facebook page and asked people what they thought of a crucifix made of chocolate. Oh, yeah, I had an opinion. You bet I did.

But I waited for the first Suzy Sunday School to post her "bright and happy" opinion before I tore her up.

She said something like, "I don't see anything wrong with it. It's just candy and it teaches our kids about Jesus. It's harmless."

I was dripping venom on my keyboard as I responded with something like this: "The Roman cross was a tool of torture that killed our Savior. And we make it into a chocolate confection? Is that really what we should do to celebrate Resurrection Sunday? Let me give you the modern crossover. How about we make little chocolate electric chairs filled with creamy filling? Or lethal injection kits with injectable raspberry goodness?"

Yeah, tactless. And a huge conversation ensued.

But it's three years later and I've changed my mind. I think we should keep candy crosses around.

On my way to church each Sunday, I've got about a 30 minute drive and I love to listen to the AM band on the radio. (Not to mention the junk that's on television each morning.)

The gospel is hardly being preached. Jesus is presented as someone who wants to make us prosper. It's a false gospel meant to make us well, meant to make us rich, meant to make us the happiest people on planet earth.

That's not the gospel.

The gospel is our Savior crucified for our sins, in our place.  We were once the enemy of God but we can now come to Him because of what Jesus did. He doesn't promise an easy life, but suffering if we follow Him.

So we need to keep the candy crosses around. Know why? Because our poor, pitiful modern church has created some pathetic versions of a confectionery, fake Jesus that need to be crucified on them.