Sterling Griggs

This election season is turning out to be a doozy, isn't it? I make it a habit to not write or post about politics in a way that is confrontational or leaning towards the endorsement of a particular candidate, and this will be no different. Most people that I know and speak with are frustrated, and with good reason. Not once in my 46 years here on earth have I seen such an electorate so divided yet also so hesitant to cast a vote. Many of my pastor buddies have turned to social media to express their views and distribute their advice and wisdom to those who would receive it. Honestly, I have more often been disappointed by what I have read than encouraged. It's very apparent that my evangelical friends are taking stances against both presidential candidates, and in doing so they are inviting some pretty ridiculous feedback from their parishioners who feel the need to comment while offering no real direction for them to take. When that happens, things just get down right sill...

Have you ever seen a big, strong weight lifter scream like a little girl when he sees a spider? Or how about a seasoned defense attorney freak out over a paper cut to her index finger? Maybe you haven't, but you can certainly picture the scenario in your head and have probably seen something similar. We live in a world where we all want to be seen as tough and fear is a taboo to be avoided. How many movies do you see where the coward is the hero? Yet in spite of our best efforts, if we were to sit in a support group circle together and allow our defenses to come down, we would all admit to being scared of plenty of things. The possibility of our health or the health of our children being compromised Losing a job and being unable to support our families What the future of our country will look like, which means we either have Trump-phobia, Hillary-phobia, Bernie-phobia, Republican-phobia, Democrat-phobia, etc. ad nauseum. Or maybe we are afraid of what we see as internationa...

Sometimes you just gotta write it all down while it's fresh in your head, kind of like a mind vomit that hits the computer keys. Here it is. My apologies to those who involuntarily retch at the mention or thought of vomit. Passion 2015 I have had the absolute joy of attending the Passion conferences now for several years. What started out as a chaperoned trip of college kids to Atlanta, GA, in 2007 has now turned into a much anticipated yearly event that I hate to miss. Yes, it's geared toward 18-25 year olds, but someone has to take them so why not me, right? Do you want to know why I believe Passion to be one of the greatest things going out there for this generation? First, it's not really a conference or even a get together - it's a movement. This is why it makes it so hard to describe to people what you experienced once you return home from a Passion event. Nowhere have I seen so many young adults who intentionally gather for the purpose of exalting Jesus a...

As I herded the kids into the car this morning it was all I could do to keep my eyes open so they would not freeze from the bitter cold and brisk wind gusts. For those of you who are up north, keep your comments to yourself about how "This really isn't THAT cold!" Yes it is that cold for a southern boy living on the coast, so leave me alone. Anyway, just as I was about to put the car in gear I felt a rush of cold air behind me. I turned to see that my five year old daughter decided to push open her door, just because she could. Quickly, I reminded her that we don't open the car doors once we are inside the car unless we had reached our destination and daddy has put the car in park. With that said, I backed out of the driveway and as I headed down the road to an alarm sounded, telling me that a door was not properly shut. Can you guess whose door it was? With impatience starting to hover all over me, I stopped the car and ordered my five year old to open and shut ...

The thumping I felt in my head was not a headache and it was not isolated to my head. My whole body was reverberating from the music that was blaring out of the speakers in this arena filled with over 20,000 young adults who were dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. And I was right in the mix with them. Atlanta, GA, January 17-18 2014 will be one of those weekends that I will not soon forget. You see, on that weekend in Philips Arena, Passion came to town and changed everything. What is Passion? Passion is a conference for college students and young adults but it is also much more than that. I took my first group of students to a Passion conference in Atlanta in 2007 and this past conference was the third such one that I had the honor to attend. Let me give you a brief background. Passion started in the 90's with the vision of a man named Louie Giglio who believed that college students could be the initiators of something big for God. What started as a concert in a...

I'm a people watcher. When I observe the actions of others and hear their words, I try to discern their true intent, if that's possible. My wife has what is known as a "woman's intuition" but, as a man, I wasn't exactly blessed with that gift. So I observe and take mental notes. Now before you accuse me of being some creepy guy that stalks people at the local mall, let me explain. When I say that I observe others, I do what most of you do as well. As I live my daily life I encounter people who do and say all sorts of things, sometimes to me but usually directed at others. And it is to these things that I pay attention. As a father of four kids, I am around kids a lot. I go to the schools in an effort to stay engaged in their educational life and I am around their friends when they are at my home. As a pastor, each week I interact with hundreds of people who cover the spectrum of emotional and mental stability. When I grocery shop, there is a whole other l...

Misinformation makes the world go round. Think about it. When a national or international catastrophe happens the first reports we hear from major news agencies are usually hyperbolic in nature. We know this because of the expected caveats we hear in later newscasts: "Contrary to earlier reports, there was only one suspect not three and there were 4 victims not 13..." The story based on misinformation is more tantalizing to the ears and certainly garners more viewers and attention. This phenomenon doesn't just belong to the media. Books, movies, and television shows thrive on misinformation. The good guy suddenly becomes the bad guy because of a bit of false information that makes others believe he's gone rogue and is out to destroy the country. Sound familiar? It should, because this is the flow of so much of the  crime and suspense entertainment that's out there. There is also misinformation within faith circles which is probably the most damning of all. If...

It is the morning of January 14 and I am sitting in a chair on the beach. Some freakishly awesome weather system has descended upon the North Carolina coast for the past few days, teasing us with spring like weather. Knowing that it will probably turn cool again in the next few days, I had to take advantage of every possible moment I could get outside. Living on the Atlantic coast is probably not the same as living in other coastal regions in other parts of the world. Right now I am observing mini-waves on what is otherwise known as Lake Atlantic. But while the sea is calm and passive today, I still cannot see where it begins or ends. It is massive in it's expanse and it still sends waves crashing to the shore whenever it pleases. As I sit and contemplate this mighty ocean I am simply blown away at the majesty of God, the Creator of not just the ocean but the universe and all that is in it. Consider these words from Psalm 95:3-5: For the Lord is a great God, a great King ...