Honestly, I am all "wrote" out.  I just finished our church newsletter, and I began some paperwork that I need for internship, and hopefully commissioning.  So, I have no idea what I want to write for this post.  It is the end of the month, which means a recap of the top posts of August.  Maybe I will just leave it at that for now, and expect your forgiveness.  Top 5 posts of the month: The Lord's What? Pastors Says F you Sermon...

You have seen the commercials, and, I hope, have laughed along. The Dos Equis market genius The Most Interesting Man in the World is loved by many people. And what is not to love? He’s won trophies for his game face alone. He is the life of parties he has never attended If he were to punch you in the face, you’d have to fight off the urge to thank him. This man's claims to fame are so outrageous, they are too funny not to appreciate. How in the world...

Hopefully, your religion is a lot more than this!...

Honestly, as many of you know, I started going to church during high school so I could hang out with some girl. Occasionally, growing up, there were church services sprinkled here and there. It was not that we did not believe in God. I never heard that—although I doubted for a while. No, church just was not something we did. What a turn of events; it seems like now all I do is church! Having no religious background has its advantages, at least that is...

Gloria loves a deal.  And really, who does not?  You have probably heard about websites such as Groupon or Living Social.  You can find all kinds of deals on these sites.  There seems to be no end to what you can find.  What you need to know right now is that eating and the name Fletcher seem to go well together.  So, Gloria is always looking for a good restaurant deal, including buy one get one and half-off offers.  We...

anotherjohn dot com has met Facebook, and the two of them are playing well together.  My timing was off.  Right before we went on vacation, I made a Facebook page for the blog.  About a dozen people were able to "Like" the page.  And then we left.  The number of "Likes" has stayed put, which is both good and bad.  Good because no one decided to leave.  Bad because no one else came on board. Blog experts talk a lot about...

AnotherNote from | John Fletcher All you need in your life right now is another weekly email, and that is exactly what I am giving you.  Beginning in September our church will send out a weekly email update. It will include important reminders and information about Oak Haven's upcoming events. You'll notice the emails do not say they are coming from the church.  At least for now, I thought it would be important for me to send these out.  The...

Some thought it was a wonderful sermon.  Others thought, "It wasn't your best."  What a wonderful mix.  And to think it was the sermon I almost did not preach.  On my calendar I had scheduled a guest preacher.  That is my calendar, and not necessarily the calendar of others, apparently. I had not been in contact with said guest preacher all week, but assumed everything was in order.  Just to be sure, I did not include specific...

This reporter reminded me of something.  He is showing us the ease with which a car thief can work.  Watch and see. ++If you are reading by email, click here to view the video.++ Well, that is not what he reminded me of.  No, thankfully he brought to light a terrorizing issue.  You see, we have all heard them.  Some of us are guilty of using them.  You know what I am talking about: The sermon illustration that didn't work. ...

You all know I would never take pleasure in anything like what I am about to post. Brittani passed this on to me, and almost died laughing. So, this is all her fault. THE DEAD COW LECTURE This is the best example for paying attention that I have ever heard. First-year students at the Purdue Vet School were attending their first anatomy class with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet. The...

Recently I attended a worship service I felt relied too much on its technology.  I am sure the people who attended appreciated the technology, and it is probably a big reason why they are there.  And, the church seemed to specifically target a populace that would normally not find itself at church.  So, I do not knock the participants, and not even the technology, necessarily.  I have a lot of questions for the church leadership, though,...

Some pastors talk about money all the time. Others tend to shy away from it. Still others claim to have a decent balance when it comes to money talk. Me? I probably do not address it enough in my sermons. My concentration is on showing people the joy of living like God wants. So, I talk about giving in more general terms, giving of time, self, etc. Of course, money is a part of that too and I do my best to remind our congregation of that. But that...

Our church is small.  We have gone with the mantra: We can't do everything; so do something.  With that said, I believe it is important for all of us to understand why we fulfill our ministry obligations.  I do not want our church to be filled with busy work or programs that are designed to make the designers feel good about themselves.  I want ministry groups and activities to be about the gospel.  And I think the congregation wants...

Our family visited two different churches the Sundays we were away on vacation.  What?  You did not think vacation time meant time away from God's people, did you? This past Sunday we joined our usual congregation.  It felt like we had been away for an eternity.  We did miss everyone.  As I had prepared for our first worship service back home I figured I had thought of everything: My welcome was done; the children's sermon, and the...

Once upon a time, before Gloria and I were married, one of my sisters went with us to church on Sunday morning.  I cannot remember exactly how old she was, but I am sure she was younger than any of my children now,  six-years-old.  We sat through the service, and it went along like it normally did.  This Sunday, though, was Communion Sunday.  The minister, Ms. Alewine, led us through the liturgy and reminded us that Jesus told his...

It was the final inning.  Tie game. Bases loaded with a full count and two outs. How would you feel if your oldest child were at bat?  Nervous? Confident? Are your eyes closed, or are you screaming with excitement?  Gloria and I were a little bit of all those.  We watched Brittani's every swing with a little bit of anxiousness and a lot of pride.  Then she took the final ball. Now, we all know what it means to take one for the team. ...

July is full of heat, ice-cold lemonade and family vacations.  I am sure there are other nice things about July--like this.  If you live in DFW, however, you will remember the 30+ days of above 100 degrees!  And, if you are a reader of this blog you might remember some of what I am about to tell you.  After celebrating 10,000 hits last month, we are now pushing 13,000.  Great job, everyone!  Again, your reward will be in heaven. ...

Normally, some song gets stuck in my head and I want to make sure it gets stuck in yours, too.  That is just the kind of guy I am.  So, I look for a video and post it Monday morning.  Or, sometimes I come across something I want you to check out, something I think you will enjoy or appreciate.  Today we have a little bit of both. Who am I to make you choose what to listen to today?  You should be able to decide which song you want...