Church Blog (Page 17)

I recently established contact with a great friend that I attended school with for twelve years in Gaffney and at least one semester at CCU ( Clemson Christian University). We enjoyed a lengthy discussion as we covered quite a few topics. We talked about our wives and families. It was a joy hearing about spouses and the accomplishments of our children. Career paths were discussed. Mark was the strength coach for the Utah Jazz and I used my association with…

In Second Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 12, Paul exhorts those in the Corinthian congregation to, “Greet one another with a Holy Kiss”. In today’s culture, expressions of affection can be misinterpreted , awkward, and sometimes even illegal. We are in a day and age where caution is a sound decision when evaluating “touchy” situations. It’s particularly difficult for me and I am sure others who are apt to side hugs, put an arm around a shoulder or slap a back.…

I am giving the current weather conditions and, I guess, Thee One who controls the climate, none other than the Almighty God, a heads up… As if he doesn’t already know my feelings. It is getting to the point where I may start complaining about the heat. I, the most Rev. B. Andrew Oliver, am a man of principle and one of my beliefs is: Never complain about the heat because January is coming! But it’s October and I am…

My friend Richard was being recruited about 100 years ago by my college alma mater. He was a rather gifted athlete and the football team wanted to get to know some of the talent pool. The weekend event was basically a sales pitch, complete with meals and a variety of gatherings and Richard was allowed to bring buddies. He did not need to convince me that I needed to go with him when he asked. Free meals, hobnobbing with coaches,…

Take the time to read the inspired words of Paul in 1st Corinthians 12 this week. You will find that he informs the Roman Church and the church today about unity and giftedness in the church and in the process, confirms that…you can’t do it all. At one point in my life I was convinced I could, that was until my wife shared with me that this was not possible in a marriage that involved her and when my kids…

I was going to write concerning another topic until I typed in the date of today’s newsletter offering….9/11. Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing on that date, back in 2001. I was Minister of Youth at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church at the time and our church secretary was our own, Christa Harmon’s mother, Peggie Williamson. She brought a small TV from her home and was watching it. This was quite unusual for her because…

It took me a couple of years before consenting to participate in speech therapy. At first, I did not want to admit I needed it. I just needed to read a book or pray real hard and I would soon become the new 2020 version of Billy Graham. I had convinced myself that I was an old dawg unable to learn new tricks and that the aforementioned therapy would consist of gimmicks, tricks, and shortcuts that could be used to…

When Sharon Fisher told me that she was interviewing for a position at a neighboring congregation, I couldn’t blame her though I did consider, for very selfish reasons, contacting the aforementioned inquiring congregation and sharing some harmful or questionable information but I couldn’t dig up any dirt on our volunteer newsletter editor. I could always use innuendo and some incomplete information to keep her in our midst. She misspelled a word in my newsletter article once and I think she…

Happy Wednesday Poplar Springs 🙂 Andy is doing what he does best this week – driving all over the place and putting in 700% of the work we expect of him. He didn’t ask any of us to help him out but I’ve taken over the newsletter anyway in his absence to share a devotional thought with you as we wrap up the summer and begin looking ahead. Four extremely brave adults (David Bryson, Robert Callahan, Heather Wright, and Jessi…

I was a junior at CCU (Clemson Christian University) when I volunteered to teach a Sunday School class of eleven year old boys. I prayed about the situation, felt a calling to fill the vacancy and I reassured myself with these words, “How hard can it be?”  It did not take long for Ol’ Andy O. to realize he had taken on a God-sized task. The first Sunday I taught the class, I understood that there was more to preparation…