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31Oct 20263 Nov 2026

Salt & Light 2029, First Baptist Church Muncie: five practices of renewal. 1 Make Room, 2 Remember Forward, 3 One Clear Path, 4 All of Us, 5 Celebrate What God Counts. Matthew 5:13-14.

One Email To Rule Them All (At Least, For the Copy + Paste Tasks): More thoughts on limited AI use for “Ad-ministry”

“Should pastors use AI?” I get some truly awful emails advertising what appear to me to be large language model-assisted…

28Apr 202613 May 2026

Pentecost 2026 Family Update

Welcome to our Family Update Letter for 2026! Printable version available at bottom of this post. Click links under “contents”…

13Mar 202625 Jul 2026

A.I. That Doesn’t Steal Your Soul?

It was an hour drive from my friend Tyler’s house to the Ascent Summit this past week. We made that…

Wisdom and Our Maker

30 Apr 20207 Jun 2020

What does Wisdom have to do with our lives now? Is being patient the same as doing nothing? What do the poor have to do with wisdom? How can I…

Living Stones & Home | 4.19.20

19 Apr 20208 May 2020

Contents (click to jump) Opening ReflectionScripture ReadingVideoPrayer Craft OptionDevotional Message (premieres on YouTube 4/19/20 at 6:15 p.m. CDT).ResponseClosing Blessing Opening Reflection "Erin Go Braugh. St. Patrick's Greetings." Wikimedia Commons (Public…

Happy Easter from 7th & James Baptist Church Youth Ministry

13 Apr 202019 Apr 2020

Some students, Sunday School Teachers, and Youth Leaders sat down at home to record an Easter Greeting and a reading of Luke 24:1-12. We hope you had a very Happy…

The Costly Grace of the Cross: True. Sure. Freely Given. | 4.5.20

5 Apr 202019 Apr 2020

Contents (click to jump) Opening ReflectionScripture ReadingVideoPrayerDevotional Message (premieres on YouTube 4/5/20 at 6p.m. CDT).ResponseClosing BlessingGroup Questions Opening Reflection Illustration for Paradiso by Gustave Dore. “The uncreated Might [the Father]…

Expressing An Inexpressible joy | Youth Devotion | 3.29.20

29 Mar 202019 Apr 2020

Contents (click to jump) Opening ReflectionScripture ReadingPrayerDevotional Message (Premiering on YouTube at 6:00 p.m. on 3/29/2020)ResponseClosing Blessing Opening Reflection "Let the leper healed in Mark 1 speak for all the…

Called as resident aliens | Youth Devotion | 3.22.20

22 Mar 202029 Mar 2020

Contents (click to jump) Opening ReflectionScripture ReadingVideoPrayerDevotion (LIVE STREAM)ResponseClosing Blessing Opening Reflection “A sign hangs on the wall .... : 'Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants to do the…

An abundance of scarcity | Youth Devotion | 3.15.20

15 Mar 202021 Mar 2020

Because all church events have been cancelled for today, I wanted to provide an opportunity for students and families to have a time of devotion to the Lord, and a…

“God hasn’t retired”

19 Jan 202013 Mar 2026

Our story is not self-created, nor a mere matter of our past, our culture. It's something given from outside ourselves. Understanding the Old Testament stories like Exodus and how they…

Making Jesus the main attraction in Youth Ministry

3 Oct 20193 Oct 2019

Here is a link to the piece I wrote for the Baptist Standard: "Make Jesus Christ the main attraction in youth ministry" Quotation: This summer, I visited 16th Street Baptist…

“The Otherworldly Nearness of God”

4 Aug 201921 Sep 2019

7th & James Baptist Church * 8.4.19 * Hosea 11:1-11 * Jonathan Balmer Q: Why won’t God abandon His people who relentlessly run from God? A: God is not a…