belief

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas from the Gipsons!

There’s a odd hush that comes upon a town at Christmas Eve. It’s not that people aren’t still working. Those days when everyone got off work for Christmas are long gone. But a calm still manages to descend as families gather, and the majority of stores shut off their lights and workers head home. That’s…

So as the joke goes, “A baptist pastor dies and goes to heaven…” But inevitably the day finally came that I did. Right now, I’m standing by a roadside. But I don’t know how I got here. Everything looks different, but also strangely familiar. There are flowers, trees, grass, and sky, but not like…

Dave's message about the importance of gratitude, recorded live at North Naples Baptist Church, Naples, FL

On Youtube, there is a video of a camel falling into a crowd of people during a church Christmas production. It is in turns hilarious and terrifying to watch, as the huge beast stumbles and sits down on a section of pews. Thankfully, the crowd moved out of the way quickly and no one was…

I was in a staff meeting for a secular job once, and our company was exploring ways to help us “get in touch with ourselves spiritually”. Even with two master’s degrees in religion, I wasn’t totally sure what that meant. But I was happy to be employed, so I pasted a smile on my face…

It's amazing how some religious people have absolutely no sense of humor. Actually, it makes me sad. I’ll never forget a quote I read from one religious leader regarding humor… “There are no jokes in our faith. There is no humor in our faith. There is no fun in our faith. There can be no…

My son is almost 26 now. He used to be kind of small, but he started working out and bulked up quite impressively. Oh, and I work out too. I lift about 250 pounds. Out of bed each morning. When I was joking with him about his new workout routine, his response stung a bit.…

Today is New Year’s Day 2018. It’s 10:30 am and I’m sitting drinking coffee. And no, I don’t plan to get out of these pajamas any time soon. They are my warm and cozy home for the rest of the day, after quite a wild night out. No, I’m not suffering from a hangover, but…

There is a cultural phenomenon I believe is only found in churches. Mind you, not in all churches, but definitely in a unique few. They are the flag ladies. And they can be a bit scary. They’re the equivalent of a church dance team, although their feet hardly ever leave the floor. In some churches…

I remember passing this sign as a college student in Alabama. It was on a piece of property right next to I-65, just north of Prattville. It was certainly easy to laugh at and dismiss, with the red devil complete with pitch fork and tail. Of course, nothing in the Bible depicts him in such…