My life has been wide open, as of late, to say the least. My daughter, Meredith was married to Mr. Seth Haas of Birmingham, Alabama, on September 12. Seth and Meredith met at Crown College and were the best of friends. Little did either of them know that God had closer plans for them in the future. We are so proud of Seth. He is now on staff with Dr. Mike Rouse at Mountain View Baptist Church in Alabama. Seth has a heart for God, and for my Meredith, and we are thrilled at their union together. "The Wedding" was beautiful, almost like a fairy tale, with the reception in the garden with live music and plenty of food. Our people worked like crazy to pull all of this off, and they did such a great job.

Then, Dr. James Rushing, my wife's father, went home to be with the Lord just eight days after the wedding. The funeral service was Christ honoring and was truly a blessing to the packed house that attended. It is estimated that there were over one thousand people that came to the viewing the night before the funeral. Dr. Rushing (we call him Popsi) will be missed by all of us but we know one day we will see him again.

The next thing on my list was for me to conduct the ceremonies for the new president to be installed for Macedonia Missions. Dr. Don Richards was the acting president of Macedonia and had resigned after twenty-six years of faithful service. It was my job to help them pass the mantle on to the shoulders of my friend, Dr. Scott Caudill. My, what a great service we had! I wish everyone could have seen the preachers and missionaries gathered at the altar during the missions conference, praying over these two men. It was a great blessing! God gave me liberty as I preached the final message at Corinth Baptist Church. Macedonia will not miss a beat; they are still in good hands with Bro. Caudill at the helm of this great ministry.

All in all, things have been great. The Lord has blessed and Peoples Baptist Church keeps moving on. We are now in a campaign called "20/20 Vision." We have a goal to reach 20 families within the twenty remaining weeks of the year. We already have six new families who have joined the church with more on the way.

The Nationwide Baptist Fellowship is just around the corner. Some of the greatest preachers in America are scheduled to be with us the first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of October. There is much going on and we are anticipating God's richest blessings.

Friday night football is always a special time at PBC. The Knights played Covenant Christian School from Covington and won handily. Standouts, Billy Correll, Matthew McElreath, Josh Newmon, and David Dumas, were constantly in the mix. The standout this week has to be Tee Black. Tee is an eighth grader that was always around the ball and a continual presence in the game. Way to go Knights, and Tee Black.

I Couldn't Be Prouder!

I am so excited about the days ahead. My oldest daughter, Meredith, was married on Friday night, the twelfth of September. As a dad and a pastor I could not be prouder. Meredith has been an absolute joy for the twenty-five years she has been in our home. Her personality is one of spunk and fire yet a life surrendered to Jesus Christ. She has been a godsend to our ministry with her work in the school and the offices. Meredith sings in the church and participates in many special music groups. She is very talented and intelligent; she graduated as valedictorian of Peoples Baptist Academy and graduated from Crown College with honors. I believe that her greatest character trait would be that of loyalty. She is a loyalist to the nth degree. I believe loyalty to be an action of the heart and her heart is consistent with God's Word when it comes to standing true.

Some people think that I am going to be in sad shape when she is married and taken away to Birmingham, Alabama, but quite the contrary. I do not feel that I am losing a daughter but rather gaining a son. Meredith is marrying a young man that she met at college named Seth Haas. Seth is a wonderful young man that loves the Lord. He seems to be exactly what Meredith needs. I am very impressed with his love for God and his passion for ministry, as well as his love for my daughter.

In our house Meredith and I are on the same team while Monica and Trish form another team. The four of us have had so much fun with the "team thing" through the years. I want to conclude by letting you know how proud I am of Meredith, and letting Meredith know that I love her with all of my heart, and letting her fiance' know that he is getting a wonderful Christian girl. Meredith, you have made me proud and you will always be welcome on my team. Our church will miss you, as will I. I will always love you, and when you need your dad . . . I will be there for you!

I have heard it said, "If you shoot at nothing, you'll usually hit it. If you aim high and miss, you will still hit something." Goals are good. All of us should be goal driven, and especially so when it comes to the things of the Lord. In our last staff meeting, I challenged our staff to set goals for reaching others for Christ. It would be wonderful if all of our staff reached their goals by the appointed time. In reality, that may be difficult to do. However, if eighty percent reach theirs, that represents more people reached than if no goals had been set.

Paul said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Here you find this man of God reaching forth to accomplish something for the Lord. I am very intrigued with his choice of words, especially the word press. In other words, we should press the issue. Soul winning is a one-on-one confrontational method. Many times we avoid any type of chance that we could be rejected or refused, but going soul winning is God's method and it works. Jesus said of Himself: "I am come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Why not set some goals about reaching people for Christ? This past week I was able to win a businessman to the Lord standing in my front yard. Opportunities are everywhere if we press on and reach forth. Remember, to reach a goal you must have set one.

A New Look On Life

My wife Trish and I have been praying for a long time about my seven-year battle with multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis, referred to as MS, affects everyone differently. It can invade one's eyes by attacking the optic nerve, or any of the limbs; it can render one helpless to walk, swallow, or even breathe. For me it decided to go after my legs. My legs can get very weak, especially at the end of the day or when I am exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold. Not only do my legs get very weak; they also get very spastic and do not respond in a normal fashion.

Recently, I was contacted through Mrs. Kathi Wright in my church, about a new procedure that has helped many folks, even those with MS. Dr. Matthew Sweat, of the Sweat Institute of Atlanta, told her that he believed he could help me. Truthfully I was skeptical and very hesitant about the whole process; but she gave me a DVD that had been taken of an interview with Montel Williams, the television talk-show host. He suffers with MS and has been tremendously helped by this new procedure.

The Sweat Institute is managed by Dr. Roy Sweat and his son, Dr. Matthew Sweat. These are the men that invented a machine to help realign the atlas and neck regions of the spine. This company is the one that trained the doctor that helped Montel Williams. My first visit was a great experience as Dr. Matthew Sweat took about an hour to talk with me and do x-rays. I went back the next day to receive treatment.

This machine that they invented to realign the neck was awesome. I felt no pain; in fact, I didn't feel anything; but immediately I was helped. I know that to some this might seem far reaching, but all I know is that I am walking better than I have walked in almost seven years. At one time I was almost in a wheel chair, but now I feel as if I have a new outlook on life.

I realize that Dr. Sweat's procedure helped me, but I know it was the Lord that put us together. To Dr. Sweat I say, "Thank you, and please know that you have a friend for life." I also take this opportunity to thank the Lord who is not only the giver of life, but also the sustainer. I know that healing is a gift and that all good gifts come from above. Even though I still have multiple sclerosis, I have been given renewed strength. God is good--all the time!

God Opens the Doors

As most of you know, I have been battling with multiple sclerosis for about six years. I was diagnosed with MS four years ago but I can trace it back to a couple of years before that. MS affects people differently. Seventy-five percent of MS patients go on to lead normal lives, but twenty five percent of those stricken with the auto-immune disease face some very debilitating problems. Mrs. Bob Kelly is bed ridden and has battled this monster for many years. Through it all, she is one of the sweetest individuals I have ever met. The Lord Jesus Christ is always seen in her spirit.

A great door was opened to me recently. A lady in my church, Mrs. Cathy Wright, gave me a DVD of a new treatment that aligns the spine back to its center of gravity. Montel Williams, a talk show host that suffers with multiple sclerosis, has had this same treatment and has experienced remarkable results. This group of doctors contacted me saying they thought I could be helped.

After two hours of consultation and x-rays, an appointment was made to try and realign my spine and atlas. A laser gun was shot into my neck shifting the misaligned vertebrae back into place. There was no pain at all because of the speed of the hammer. I then had to lie still for about thirty minutes. While lying there on the table, I felt as if a swarm of butterflies had been turned loose in my body. Before the treatment my right leg was at least an inch shorter than my left leg. After the treatment my legs became equal in length.

So far, it has been amazing. I am walking better and feeling better than I have been in several years. The doctor was excited and encouraged by the whole process. My gait has changed for the better and my balance has obviously taken a turn for good. My wife and I sat in the car and cried thinking about the possibilities of this treatment.

As soon as I got back to church, I went into the auditorium to try the steps on the platform. I usually have more problems coming down steps than I do going up. I went up and down several times before stopping to kneel at the altar with my precious wife to thank God for His goodness.

I have several appointments with the doctor over the next several weeks to see if this realignment will hold. Please continue to pray that this will heal and get better. Trish and I have been praying for this open door for a long time. Maybe this is the one that God has opened for me!