Allen Nelson IV 
We’ve been walking through the book of James at Perryville Second Baptist Church in 2019, and we’ve finally arrived at chapter 5. In this passage, James gives a stern warning to the rich. His point is not that being wealthy in and of itself is sinful, but that there is a way to misuse wealth … Read more
Before the Throne: Reflections on God’s Holiness is scheduled to print Spring 2019. Dr. David Steele, who also reviewed From Death to Life, graciously agreed to write a review for my new book. I thought I’d share it in hopes of building a bit of anticipation and to show you some of the heart behind this work. As … Read more
It may not sound all that fancy but our family of 7 once took a Mother’s Day drive in our then 9-year-old Dodge minivan on some back roads here in Perry County Arkansas. It was a fun time of singing, enjoying each other’s company, and seeing some of the beautiful scenery that is almost literally … Read more
Grateful to put up another review of From Death to Life: How Salvation Works. This one comes from Jeffrey Perry from Landis, NC. Jeffrey led his youth group through a study on this book and has graciously shared his insight below. I asked him to share because I really think this book is useful for men’s … Read more
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. This is James 4:8a and what we’ve been looking at together over the last couple of posts. In this final post, we want to look at how to obey this verse and what we are doing when we don’t obey this verse. How to … Read more
I have been blessed once again with some great brothers who have been willing to read my second book, Before the Throne, and offer these kind endorsements: I like this book and the direction it takes us. Who can get a complete view of God so that he can sit back and say, “Now I see … Read more
We’ve been talking about James 4:8. Last time we looked at how this verse is a command, a commitment, and a comfort. In this post, we want to continue to think rightly about the truth we receive from this great verse. Scripture is God’s self-revelation to man. And this verse reveals 3 key things to … Read more
I wrote recently about a difficult experience in my first pastorate that ended with me finding no other way out but to resign (See: Young, Restless, and Unemployed). My ideas of preaching the Word, seeing a church revitalized, and staying for the long-haul where dashed in only twelve months. In today’s post, I’d like to … Read more
In preaching through the book of James at Perryville Second Baptist Church, we inevitably came upon James 4:8. Funny thing about preaching through books of the Bible is that you just so happen to cover every verse in a particular book! I think this particular verse is one of the most important verses in all … Read more
I do not claim to be a scientist or mathematician, but I plan to dabble in both these disciplines a bit in this post. I want us to consider a verse in the Psalms about stars with mindblowing implications. The verse is Psalm 147:4 — He determines the number of the stars; he gives to … Read more
I had the joy recently to read a new book by Bryan Elliff entitled Surplus: Fearless Generosity in 2 Corinthians 8-9. This is Book 1 in a new series of books called the Bristol Series coming out from Christian Communicators Worldwide (CCW). Disclaimer I know Bryan Elliff personally. I don’t know him as well as I would … Read more
The date was October 10, 2010, at a Southern Baptist Church in a community of about 3,500 people. At 24 years old I accepted my first call to pastor. That’s quite a bit older than some (think Charles Spurgeon!). But not quite as old as maybe some of you reading this. I made it 12 … Read more