One of my hopes in this blog is to take time here and there to point out the lives of southerners who have modeled the progressive values I am embrace as a progressive redneck preacher. These southern embraced the best of their values, their culture, and their faith, while also rejecting the slave-holder logic still holds many of us back in the south.
I would like to introduce – or reintroduce you if the case may be – to a rather peculiar man named Vernon Johns. He was a man who few know of, but for those who do; a man certainly unlikely to be forgotten. Vernon Johns was an odd bird, yet his story deserves retelling.
The following is from a recent devotion written by Rev. Ken Klaus, retired Lutheran Hour Speaker:
"The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost." 1 Timothy 1:15
It was in the 1800s when the poor, little girl from London gathered together her courage and went to church.
Talbot Davis, a Methoblogger and megachurch pastor in North Carolina, recently posted the rough version of a sermon he recently delivered that culminated in an invitation to Christian discipleship.
I appreciate him doing this because it is nice to be able to see how a pastor works through a sermon to arrive at this spot. I think we all benefit when we can see how others work.
A week or so ago I was asked by a colleague in ministry who is in a new appointment to come talk to his finance committee. He was new in ministry and his church had just reconstituted a functioning finance committee and languishing for several years. They were looking for training on what they needed to do, and for some reason it was suggested that I might have something to offer.
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