Welcome to the Blog page! I will use this page to share brief messages, which I hope will be informative, inspirational, and challenging. I will post several messages a month on this page. I also will share some experiences in my ministry opportunities. I would invite any responses to the things posted here. That response could be sent by e-mail at johned@johnedmathison.org. For more information about John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries, visit our website at www.johnedmathison.org.
When something is hand-made, it usually has more value. It indicates creativity and craftsmanship. Hand-made is an asset in temporal terms, but a liability in eternal terms. Paul said, “When this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (II Corinthians 5: 1) On [...]
It was the greatest in NFL history! It occurred in 1993. I watched it and had a hard time believing it. At halftime the announcers had already given the game to Houston and were interviewing the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, asking him how he would play Houston in the next round of the playoffs. [...]
Otto Graham was quarterback for the Cleveland Browns when they played the Rams for the championship in 1950. Graham recalls, “We were one point behind, moving down the field in the last two minutes. All we needed was a field goal to win. I ran a quarterback draw and picked up about ten yards. I [...]
Late one Saturday a few years ago I returned to Montgomery from North Carolina. It had been a busy week with speaking twice a day to 700 Y.M. C. A. high school students, and commuting about 100 miles round trip to Lake Junaluska twice a day to preach at the Candler Camp Meeting. After that [...]
When I was Pastor at Frazer during one of the construction projects, a big 40 ton crane was moved onto the church property. It had an 80 foot boom on it stretching up to the sky. It was to be used to put the second story beams in place for the new building. I don’t [...]
When something is hand-made, it usually has more value. It indicates creativity and craftsmanship. Hand-made is an asset in temporal terms, but a liability in eternal terms. Paul said, “When this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (II Corinthians 5: 1) On [...]
(I wrote the following article 11 years ago. It was relevant then, but far more relevant today!! It can be found on page 110 of my book Extra Effort.)How can you really invest for the future? Are there any guarantees? Most folks have a mindset that the economic system of America is a place you [...]
When is peanut butter not peanut butter? The Federal Government answered that question recently when the Food and Drug Administration said peanut butter had to be at least 90% peanuts and must meet certain nutritional requirements. Products which don’t meet that standard will have to have new names. At this time, on a voluntary basis, [...]
A good Baptist pastor friend shared with me a terrible omission made by the Southern Baptist Convention’s 1996-1997 calendar of activities. It failed to designate March 30, 1997, as Easter Sunday! The calendar is actually a 16-month September-December long-range planning calendar used by church leaders and produced by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. It [...]
About 1500 funeral directors attended the Death Care World Expo 99. Much of it had to do with introducing new concepts for funerals as demanded by baby boomers. People were told that boomers are opting for shorter, less costly services, eulogies with poems and personal memories, and even post funeral parties. Some want to be [...]