Manliness: The Needed Virtue of Our Day
“Be a man!” - The Apostle Paul What does it mean to be a Man? -I tend to like how the ancient Romans defined manliness, which was “living...
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Shepherding Thoughts
by Pastor Ben Francis
Welcome to Shepherding Thoughts: An inside look at a Southern Baptist Pastor's comments on navigating popular topics in Christianity and Religion.
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Ben Francis
- Dec 21, 2022
- 2 min
The Importance of Fathers...
We are living in a time when our society is not only devaluing the role of the father, but also the very idea of manhood. For most every...
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Ben Francis
- Nov 27, 2022
- 4 min
Giving Thanks for the Small, the Difficult, and the Sometimes Ugly.
The Discipline of Spiritual Gratitude It doesn’t take long to look around a Church or spiritual community and find problems. Whether it's...
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Ben Francis
- Nov 23, 2022
- 4 min
A Glimpse of Life without Worry...
Wild things, Peace, and Wendell Berry “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours...
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Ben Francis
- Nov 14, 2022
- 5 min
Lord, Thank You for this Sickness.
Learning to thank God for our afflictions… Throughout our lives, we all experience the normal pains, sufferings, and struggles of having...
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Ben Francis
- Oct 30, 2022
- 3 min
Look at the Leaves…
Autumn Reflections Autumn is my most favorite season of the year, mostly because of the diverse canvas of colors that burst forth from...
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Ben Francis
- Sep 20, 2022
- 2 min
Help for Christian Parents.
Resources for Christian Parents Our church is currently studying through Ephesians, and this coming week we come to the passage on...
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Ben Francis
- Aug 29, 2022
- 5 min
What are the Essentials of Christian Faithfulness?
Have ever wondered, “What does it really mean to be a Christian? Like, day-to-day? What does that look like?” I often fear that the...
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Ben Francis
- Aug 3, 2022
- 6 min
Is My Life Too Busy?
Is my life too busy? Probably… Busy; busyness: The state of having or being involved in many activities I remember stepping off the plane...
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Ben Francis
- Jul 24, 2022
- 5 min
Are We Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids?
Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids A Review Parents, are we raising emotionally healthy children? It's a tough question. It's tough because...
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Ben Francis
- Jul 21, 2022
- 4 min
A Christian View of Dieting, Part 1
In this series of posts, I want to think through dieting and its implications, not only for our physical bodies, but for our spiritual...
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Ben Francis
- Jul 15, 2022
- 8 min
Christians Should Judge each Other...Right?
“Only God can judge me!” That’s what the license tag said on the car parked in front of me. It's not an uncommon thing to hear in the...
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Ben Francis
- Jul 5, 2022
- 6 min
The Pastor and the Dietitian...
Over the last year or so—as I have been reading and educating myself about food, diet, exercise, and the like— it occurs to me that...
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Ben Francis
- Jun 23, 2022
- 3 min
What I'm Reading, June 2022
June has been a good month for a number of reasons, but it's been an especially good month in the book department. I’ve been thoroughly...
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Ben Francis
- May 11, 2022
- 4 min
Are Hymns Important? Yes!
We are living in an age when music is doing all sorts of things. Churches are attempting and trying a number of musical variations in an...
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Ben Francis
- May 6, 2022
- 3 min
In Praise of My Wife…
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and while the holiday is man-made, the regular celebration of mothers is a good and right gift...
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Ben Francis
- Apr 18, 2022
- 6 min
They're Teaching Kids What!? - Culture Shifts...
American culture is changing. In some ways, that is no great news. Culture is always changing and shifting to some degree. But right now,...
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Ben Francis
- Apr 18, 2022
- 3 min
What I'm Reading These Days...
It will come as no surprise to anyone that I am a big fan of books. I love books. Books make up a big part of my life. I turn to them for...
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Ben Francis
- Apr 3, 2022
- 7 min
The Commodification of Discipleship.
A building Crisis comes calling… Have you ever thought about how odd it is to walk into a grocery store? It is odd to walk into a store...
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Ben Francis
- Mar 28, 2022
- 5 min
The Crooked Path of the Christian Life
“The Christian life is a long obedience in the same direction.” - Eugene Peterson. The Christian life is a long obedience…full of twists...
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