Eight months. Actually, eight months and eight days; that is the duration of time, this time around, that I have been writing single-thought columns and have not gathered all of my loose mental squirrels into a single place. But the squirrels are multiplying rapidly now and must be dispensed. Here, then, is installment No. 6 of my random access musings.
1. In Matthew 5-7, Jesus preached the entire Sermon on the Mount, the greatest message in history, in somewhere around 12 to 15 minutes. In Acts 20, Paul preached from somewhere around 6 in the evening until midnight, and a guy ended up dying. That might possibly be something for preachers everywhere to take note of.
2. I have noticed a proliferation of what could best be described as professional church critics. These people almost invariably have podcasts and large social-media presences, and they spend all of their time finding the next minister or ministry to take down. Some may legitimately need to be taken down, some may not, but that, to me, is not the main point. To me, the main point is that anyone with the time and desire to tear others down 24/7/365 needs a girlfriend. Or a job. Or a puppy. Or a life.
3. I am one of those preachers who, for the most part, still wears a suit and tie to preach. And I like really vibrant ties. As a tie guy, my evaluation is that the most epic ties in history were the Rush Limbaugh No Boundaries collection. They were colorful, different and well-made, and if any of you have any still lying around that you do not want, I will gladly take them off your hands (or neck). Recently, though, I became aware of Jerry Garcia ties. They are not quite, but almost as epic as the No Boundaries ties.
4. If you have never listened to the Morrison Sisters sing, you are missing out on a real treat. The Morrison Sisters are actually a dad, Wesley, and three amazing young sisters, Megan, Kaity and Addie, who live in Calhoun, Georgia. Look them up and have a listen. Trust me on this one.
5. My newest verse-by-verse study, this one on Philippians, just went live on Amazon. I call it Philippians: The Treasures of Joy. I gave it that title because, in just four chapters, Paul mentioned joy six times and mentioned rejoicing several times more. It may well be the happiest book of the Bible. Oh, by the way, he was in prison when he wrote it. As it turns out, joy is not dependent on circumstances.
6. We have had a growth spurt at church over the last year. So much so that we are talking about a new building project to greatly expand our seating capacity, a project that we will, Lord willing, once again do entirely with our own hands. I was 27 years old when we first bought an old, rundown building and began lengthy renovations on it. I was 35 years old when we began to build our new church building. I was 42 years old when we began to build our family life center. I am now "I-don't-drink-but-that-Nyquil-is-looking-pretty-appealing" years old as we consider breaking ground yet again.
7. Wednesdays are a long, fun, odd day for me. I begin by teaching a first-period high school Bible class, then I go straight into chapel for K4 (4-year-old kindergartners) through sixth-graders and preach to those much younger ages, and then I preach that evening at my own church to a congregation made up of infants all the way up to octogenarians and every age group in between. In theological automotive terms, I start the morning in a Mustang, quickly switch out to a tricycle and then hop into a Subaru that has enough bells and whistles for the whippersnappers but is also sensible enough to be appreciated by business men and women and venerable senior citizens.
8. We purchased a Roomba for our church foyer. It has a female voice. It also learns to drive by bumping into things. Don't shoot the messenger.
9. Dana and I just celebrated 30 years of marriage. I have gotten to spend almost every day of the past three decades with my best friend. We have raised three children to young adulthood; all of them love the Lord, and all of them still want to hang out with us and talk to us about everything. So, with all due respect to billionaires everywhere, if you want to talk to someone who can tell you how to be truly rich, I'm your guy.
10. A preacher friend of mine called this morning to tell me that his Siri refers to me as Bo Wonder, and I shall now be looking for a super suit and demanding to be referred to as such.
11. I have recently become aware of different preachers who are using AI to produce both sermons and books for them. This, of course, is not OK, FWIW. SMH. (Translation: for what it's worth; shaking my head.)
12. If people in Jesus' day were to ask him, "What are you doing, Jesus?" his answer on any given day might be anything from "Getting ready to heal some blind folks" to "Making a whip so I can beat some fannies and then flip over some tables."
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.