The fact that I have been in “funeral mode” this past week means that I have also been thinking about one of my favorite modern poets — Mary Oliver, who died just six years ago. For anyone unfamiliar with her work, she wrote beautifully and powerfully about the natural world, the pain and joy of…

Just this morning, while sipping my coffee — one kid clambering on my lap and another watching a cartoon — God spoke to me. But this was not a Moses and the burning bush kind of encounter, nor that of the visions of Isaiah or John the Revelator. Nor (to be clear) was it a…

In the last five years, it has increasingly been apparent to me that whatever the vast majority of Christian churches have been doing, it has not resulted in people being formed in the image and likeness of Jesus. There’s a lot more I’m likely to say about that in the future, but this week it…

This past Sunday, I quoted from a 1957 speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., now titled “Give Us the Ballot.” I have been sitting with that particular speech for some weeks now for a variety of reasons, one of which is just how disappointed Dr. King would be to see his hopes unfulfilled. And…

In this season of getting to know one another, we are learning a lot about what gets done/needs done, how things happen, and why things happen… as well as why we individuals do what we do and care about what we care about. So while I would love to have individual conversations with anyone curious,…

In Georgia where I attended seminary, the legacy and presence of Jimmy Carter was inescapable.  Many of my colleagues made the pilgrimage to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA, to be taught by him in Sunday School there. And as this was 20 or so years ago, President Carter was still quite active in Habitat…

The Community Baptist Church family is excited to welcome our new permanent Pastor, Rev. Michael Strickland! Pastor Michael will be leading his first Worship Service with us this Sunday, January 12th. We invite all to join us at 10:30 AM, in person or online, as we start the newest chapter in our 190 year history.

Our Thanksgiving message comes from our Agapè Preschool students who shared things they are thankful for: Family My friend My sister My cat Family My baby sister Santa My dog in heaven Helping Santa Playing in the snow Snack time CBC and Agapè wish everyone a lovely and blessed Thanksgiving!

Community Baptist Church strives to be an expression of God’s grace in the world, creating sanctuary that welcomes everyone to live into the fullness of life God desires for all. An excerpt from Howard Thurman’s Deep River and The Negro Spiritual Speaks of Life and Death: “There is a bottomless resourcefulness in man that ultimately…

It is Labor Day Weekend, and for some, this is the last chance to get away before Summer “closes down shop” for the year. Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers…