Evangelizism – Pathway Journey

August 28, 2026August 27, 2026

Spiritual Change: What does “born again” mean?

Young seedling growing beside a lake at sunset

Nicodemus, a respected leader of the Jewish Sanhedrin came to Jesus under the cover of darkness to get some answers. Jesus quickly directed the conversation to the subject of ‘change.’ He told him, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NKJV). The learned, religious scholar’s mind was blown, basically asking, “How can this be?

Many people have a hard time grasping this spiritual transformation. The born-again experience is not a change of mind or a different way of living—it is a spiritual rebirth. The result of this rebirth will change the way we think and the way we live. We must put the horse in front of the cart. Spiritual rebirth must come first.

The foundational truth to this subject begins with the way we were created. God, the triune God (Father, Son, and Spirit) created us in His image. We also have three distinct parts. Our innermost being is our spirit, not to be confused with the Holy Spirit. This human inner spirit is the part that is reborn in a born-again person. It is something only God can do when we first believe and trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026

Tell It To Your Children

One of the most powerful commandments in the Old Testament is the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The Lord commanded the children of Israel to love God with all their being. They were to tell it to their children in the morning, at night, and as they went about their day.

October 28, 2025October 27, 2025

Good Intentions

I remember in the late 1990’s having good intentions about door-to-door visitation. I, along with some fellow ministry workers, knocked on every door of a nearby city’s government housing projects. We had good intentions but nothing tangible resulted from it. Maybe one person visited our church but no new converts. I know we encouraged a few people, but we never saw a harvest of our efforts.

I learned that building relationships is more effective than cold-calling.

Churches and mission organizations are full of good intentions. We have to be honest and ask ourselves the question. Are our good intentions bearing fruit or do they just make us feel better about ourselves? We often learn by trial and error.

July 24, 2025July 24, 2025

Central Message of Christ, Crucified and Resurrected

When God called me to preach, he called me to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He did not call me to be a motivational speaker, telling folks to be a “Better You.” Yet, in the process of discipleship, we often guide our disciples in necessary life skills. But our overwhelming call is to tell the story of God’s love in the gift of HIs Son. This love is demonstrated in the sending and dying of His Son Jesus on the cross for our redemption. The resurrection of Jesus is a confirmation of His deity.

The main theme of our preaching needs to be Christ, crucified and resurrected.

April 25, 2025April 24, 2025

Paul and Silas’ Response to Persecution

Join me in a little stroll through Acts chapter 16 as we journey with Paul and Silas.

We must minister to those God sends us and work with those God brings alongside us.
Paul on his second missionary journey was accompanied by Silas. Silas was not Paul’s first choice as a traveling partner. Barnabas was Paul’s first missionary partner on the first journey. While planning the second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas had an argument about whether to take Mark who had abandoned them on the first trip. Paul did not want him to go, but Barnabas insisted. Unable to come to an agreement, they separated and went different ways.

March 7, 2024March 6, 2024

What Has Changed? Times or People

Recently when I was preaching, I said something that really resonated with my audience. The statement I made was this: “Often people will say that times have changed. But that is not true. Times have not changed; it is people that have changed.”

The rural community I lived in as a boy was not perfect. We had a few rough folks living among us. The little farmhouse we lived in had a screen door and wood door with the top third being three panes of glass. It had a lock, but I never saw the key to it. We never locked the front door. We would sleep inside with an unlocked door. In the summertime every window would be raised and only a flimsy screen separated us from the boogey man outside.

January 26, 2024March 1, 2024

Looking Into Their Eyes

I have seen some pitiful folks in my time. It is not the ragged clothes I see or their crippled limbs, but their eyes that give me a glimpse of their misery and hopelessness. I believe every person was granted to exist by God; this in itself makes me know that there is dignity in every life.

Many choose to take a path that is not God’s best, but some seem to have it thrust upon them by poverty, abuse, sickness, or where they were born. I have come to know with more awareness and certainty of the dignity of every human being. I know Christ loves them just as He loved the women He saved from a stoning, the demoniac He delivered from legions of demons, and even my wretched soul.

March 30, 2023March 29, 2023

Do We Look For Another?

When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask a question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3 NKJV). It seems a strange question coming from the prophet who saw the Spirit descending like a dove on Jesus and hearing the voice of the Father declaring from Heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17 NKJV).

One would think John would not have had any second thoughts. Of course, I can sit in the comforts of my home and speculate, but I’m not in a cold, damp, stinking dungeon. Maybe he thought, If the Messiah has come, then why has my situation turned into a miserable mess?

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022

Goodbye Ole Okra

My old lover of hot summers is about to fade as the sunny hours grow fewer and the hot begins to turn toward cold. I am a son of the South, so I love okra, that odd vegetable that fills our summer plates and occasionally takes some space in our soups. Our Louisiana cousins put it in gumbo, and we love it too.

Our regional preferred dish is breaded and fried. I am one of the odd ones who also loves it boiled, leaving it slimy and slick. It chews easy and goes down quick.

July 14, 2022July 13, 2022

True Conversion

If I remember the story correctly, a man in conversation with the famous evangelist D. L. Moody, pointed to a drunken man on the street and said, “Moody, isn’t that one of your converts?” Moody replied, “Yes, that looks like one of my converts.” Implying that the work of man does not change an individual but only a true work of grace by Christ can convert.