Author: Daniel Tomberlin

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

When Saul of Tarsus encountered the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus he was knocked to the ground and left blinded. A few days later he received the Holy Spirit and his eyes were opened. His encounter with Jesus Christ challenged everything he knew about the God of Abraham and the Law of God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he presented a renewed vision of God and a new redemptive paradigm in which all of humanity may be redeemed. Even so, he testified that he suffered from poor eyesight (Galatians 6:11).

Continue reading “I Don’t Know Everything”

Several years ago, my wife and I were seated at the table drinking coffee. The phone rang. The caller was Elaine, one of our senior adult women. Her voice was trembling. She said, “Pastor, Gidget is dead.” I didn’t know who she was speaking about, so I asked, “Who died?”

Continue reading “The Strangest Funeral over which I’ve ever Presided”

I resist the temptation to paint with a wide brush. I shudder when I hear a white person suggest that all black men are gangsters; or when I hear a black person suggest that all Republicans are racist. Nor do I embrace the typical conservative line “Support our Police;” just as I resist the insistence of leftist political activists that all police officers are corrupt. I have been suspicious of the Black Live Matters movement, because I really do believe All Lives Matter. However . . .

Continue reading “Black Lives Matter”

I often read and hear that small churches are not relevant to the mission of God and that they should be closed down. Well, let me tell you about the evening I went to close a church.

Continue reading “The Night I went to Close a Church”

We live in a rapidly changing society that has determined to reject the invitation to repent and inherit the kingdom of God. The issue before us is how do we continue to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in a hostile environment?

Continue reading “Calling down Fire?”

Early this past Sunday morning I heard the news of the Orlando massacre at a gay nightclub. My first thought was, “O God please, not some misguided Christian fundamentalist fanatic!” I still remember that before 9-11, there was Oklahoma City and the perpetrator was Timothy McVea.

Continue reading “Reflections on the Orlando Massacre”