Sterling Griggs

By now you've all seen or at least heard what happened. Cam Newton, the Carolina Panther's MVP quarterback and emotional leader, sitting sullen before a bank of hungry reporters. His answers are brief, his mood dark. Having just lost the biggest game of his career barely half an hour before, he's still trying to process it all while the world is demanding that he give a polished thesis of the results. Finally, after only a few minutes and within earshot of an uber loud opponent's comments, Newton abruptly stands and walks away from the interview, leaving the media with all sorts of ways to spin what they had just witnessed. Yes, Newton could have responded better and most talking heads and Monday morning quarterbacks have been very critical of him for that. But of course, that's easy for us to say. When the team that I cheer for loses, I usually am not gung ho about it. In fact, I can get a little bit sullen myself and I didn't even get close to sniffing th...

The other night I took my son to watch my alma mater, Wake Forest University, take on a local college team in an exhibition fundraiser soccer game. If you know anything about me at all, then you know that can be pretty passionate about Wake Forest sports, no matter what sport it is or how good or bad of a season they may be having. And yes, I even celebrate when the field hockey team gets a big win. As I got settled in to watch the game with a few friends of mine, my son and his buddies went off to kick the soccer ball around with a whole bunch of other kids whose parents dragged them along to watch a game they could care less to see. Us "big kids" were discussing all sorts of issues, including the cost of tuition at Wake Forest University. I asked one of my friends who graduated a few years after I did how much tuition was now and, before he could answer, the two ladies sitting on the bleachers a few rows in front of us turned around and, in unison exclaimed, "Too mu...

The other week, right before Easter, a long-time friend shared an article with me about the death of Jesus. The author of the article asked the question, "Why did Jesus die?", and the reason he gave wasn't quite the one I was expecting. He said that Jesus died primarily to show us what love looks like. Now I don't disagree that dying for someone is a supreme act of love, but in the case of Jesus it was more than just one shining moment that put Him on that cross. When Jesus went to the cross, He went as a sacrifice for our sins. In other words, if Jesus didn't die on the cross and then rise from the grave, we don't have forgiveness of sins. Did love compel Him to die? Yes! But His blood actually purchased something for you and me. The cross stands as more than just an example of affection. As I mulled these things over in my mind, I began to wonder about what the word sacrifice really means. Sometimes we say that we are going to make sacrifices in our li...

"When you heard a story 'bout the hero dying for the villain?" (Trip Lee One Sixteen ) Let's go ahead and clear the air from the get go - there isn't much about what Jesus did on the cross for us that makes sense. Was His sacrifice beautiful, His love unconditional, His redemption of us incredible? Yes! Does it fit into our rational thought processes? No! When we see someone guilty of a crime, especially one that is heinous and barbaric in our eyes, we want justice. For some that means the death penalty while for others they demand life in prison with no possibility of parole. Keep the criminals in their cages so that they can no longer prey on the weak and the innocent. Question: If the Red Cross knocked on your door and asked if you would be willing to donate your organs - your very life - to a terminal death row inmate, how would you react? "Um, no thanks, but I appreciate the free snacks that you give when I donate blood." You see, ...

There has been a firestorm over the recent posting of a video in which Victoria Osteen literally opens the Pandora's box that all of her and her husband's critics have been anxiously waiting for. Don't get me wrong - what she said from the stage was nauseating and thoroughly unbiblical, yet the glee expressed from the Osteen's opponents was no less horrific. As a conservative evangelical Christian, I get it. Joel Osteen and his wife have been less than forward with the truth of the gospel and have chosen instead to proclaim the merits of living a life where all God wants for you to be is happy. Their ministry is watched and heard by millions of people who in turn simply adore Joel and his wife, hanging on every word that they say. They make people feel important and special and valued by God. And indeed people are. But when any man or woman who claims to be God's mouthpiece speaks for God words that are not found in His word, then Houston, we've ...

Man, I messed up big time the other day. My words and my actions totally threw my life out of balance and I spent a lot time trying to make amends for my sinfulness. I'm sure you can relate to my dilemma because you've probably recently found yourself in the same spiritual quagmire. You royally blew it and now you feel slightly less worthy than a piece of maggot-infested garbage. Why do we continue to struggle with the same old sins for which Jesus suffered and died? Maybe your issue isn't what you've just recently done but rather what haunts you from your past. There was that time in your life when you were far from God, living a life that now makes you want to retch. Or perhaps you are the product of abuse, whether it was sexual, physical, or emotional. Your view of yourself is so low that you struggle to move on because of the guilt and feelings of inadequacy that you can't seem to shake. But then God stepped in and the miraculous happened. Jesus found you a...

In the spring of 1989 I plunged head first into the Greek system at Wake Forest University by joining a fraternity. True to what you may have been led to believe on TV or in books, many fraternities indeed ARE as crazy as you think, and my fraternity was on that list. Not all the fun that we had was destructive and evil - I have some really great memories and still keep up with some pretty awesome guys - but for the most part debauchery was the primary goal. Now as a kid raised in a conservative Southern Baptist church, hedonism and Sunday school don't mix together too well. I knew all too well the lessons from the Bible and the truth that lay behind them, yet they were not enough to keep me from wanting to run to the dark side for a time and enjoy all of it's guilty pleasures. Was I properly taught the Scriptures? If I were truly saved, would I have gone down this wayward path? What went wrong? You see, the Bible teaching that I received growing up was first rate and I wo...

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...

" I believe in God ," the man said to me. " I just do things my way. I mean, after all, I'm going to heaven when I die because I got baptized and prayed a prayer. I don't need to do all that religious stuff to prove anything to anybody. Besides, only God can judge me. I'm not that bad of a person. " I've had similar conversations like this with many people over the years and I'm sure you've either heard or even said these kinds of things too. Is that all we need to do, simply believe and then live as we want to? This begs the question: What should happen after you repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ? For many, the feeling that comes when they surrender their lives to Christ is an emotional rush. The weight of the world is lifted off of their shoulders and they are giddy like a little schoolgirl. Freedom, forgiveness, and redemption are incredibly fantastic! But once the "honeymoon" is over, what now? Let me answer...

Like most of you, I was shocked, saddened, and ticked off when I heard the news of the bombing that occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The first thoughts that came to my mind were, "What in the world is going on here? What are people thinking?" I have the same kind of reactions when I read and hear about high school girls who get raped at parties after they have passed out from drinking too much alcohol. It makes me even more sick to learn that guys are taking their pictures and passing them around social networks as if these girls are the punchline in a funny joke. Then when I hear that some of these girls have taken their own lives after learning that what has been reserved as intimate has been splashed all over teenagers phones, I immediately want to hold my three daughters a little closer. When I saw the news story about the abortion doctor who performed numerous illegal abortions and even went to the extreme of killing some of these babies outside...

The other day I joined in an online conversation centered around the origin of Easter. If you didn't already know, Easter was not originally a Christian observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ but rather it was a pagan celebration of fertility. Over the years and through the influence of Christian leaders, the occasion of Easter was transformed into the time that Christians celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the discussion continued it was mentioned that even though the original purpose for observing Easter had nothing to do with Jesus, it was cool how even the most pagan of occasions can be redeemed by God. There is nothing that God cannot make new. God is in the redemption business. The culmination of His redemptive plan came at the cross, with the death of Jesus redeeming mankind from sin and death. It was at this point that a rather curious statement was made. Another guy that I did not know interjected with his belief that the ultimat...