Thoughts on Faith from a Garden in March and Pastoral Ministry

For a gardener, like myself, March is an in-between month. The dried, gray-brown stalks on the oak leaf hydrangea, left over from last autumn, stand at attention, like a proud, old war veteran in his outdated, ill-fitting military uniform. And like a Continue Reading

Walking the Tight Rope Between Reserve Chaplaincy and the Pastorate

I trust the following question and answer about chaplain ministry and the local pastorate will provide some opportunity for prayerful reflection by those considering the call. Dear Dr. Milton: May I ask you a question about the chaplaincy? The biggest Continue Reading

The Valley Commandos: Will Revival Return to Wales? And if So?

One of the joys of being associated with the Seminary is being associated with her students. The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and he asked a rhetorical question, "What is our glory or hope or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you…" (1 Continue Reading

Bulletin: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Filibuster for Prayer as We Approach the Fiscal Cliff

Oh if only there were a Jimmy Stewart, a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” congressman who would interrupt the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations and cry out with the passion of an unadulterated patriotism. The cynics called it political naïveté; but the Continue Reading

“Do You Get the Picture?”—Classic Christmas Films through the Lens of Creation, Fall, and Redemption

The greatest stories are stories that show in some way the drama of Creation, Fall and Redemption.Such stories are great not merely because that is the very drama that we are all experiencing (or may experience, for of the three movements, only redemption Continue Reading

My Hope with Billy Graham: A Theological Affirmation

My Hope with Billy Graham: A Theological Affirmation By Drs. Lon Allison, Timothy K. Beougher, Alan Myatt, and Michael A. Milton “Daddy thinks the Lord will allow him to live to 95.” It was not a prophecy but a hope. And the hope was, Franklin Continue Reading

Lest We Forget: Rudyard Kipling’s Recessional as Prophetic Poetry for our Own Day

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) really knew how to spoil a party. One would have thought the cryptic faith of Kipling was a devout Calvinism when he wrote the remarkable poem, Recessional, for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.# For some, the Continue Reading

Inaugural Prayer for 9/14/2012

The Reverend Robert E. Baxter is the most noble man of God that I have ever known in my life. He is, now into eight decades of living, a very active preacher and pastor and encourager of the saints. He is the Associate Minister, First Presbyterian Continue Reading

Entrusted with God’s Truth to Extend God’s Grace (2 Timothy 2:1-2)—An Inaugural Address

An inauguration is not a coronation. An inauguration is a consecration—a setting apart for the purposes of God. This service is a consecration of our institution, our vision and values, and a consecration of our very lives, with my life intertwined Continue Reading

GIVING IT UP FOR GOD: Preservation and Risk in the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:32)

There Is a rather popular phrase (no doubt of spurious origin, although that is a guess!) that has come into the American vernacular. That phrase is, "giving it up…" One may "give it up" for a comedian as he comes on the stage to give his monologue. One Continue Reading