The Way

 Every time an older person dies, a library burns. - African Proverb I remember hearing this proverb in early 1993. I had just started working at LifeWay Christian Resources in November of 1992. I was on a trip with a co-worker and he mentioned this proverb and it has stuck with me since. R. Clyde Hall, Jr. Earlier in 1992, I was still working as a student minister in Nashville, I had led some conferences for the Baptist Sunday School Board,  and I got to know some of the leadership in the youth area of that organization. One of those leaders I had met in my seminary days as he had come to visit some of the classes I was taking. The first time I met Clyde was in a seminary class and he asked me to stay after class and talk with him a minute. I had no idea why he singled me out but I am glad he did. He really just wanted to get to know me because one of my profs had told him that I was someone he should get to know. (Yep, I was shocked too.) Fast forward to Summer 1992 and I ge...

To say that I have been remiss in blogging for basically the last two years is . . . well, in a word, accurate. You would think that with the "home time" due to the onset of Covid in early 2020,  I would have found (made) more time to sit, reflect, pontificate, put down in words the "goings on of the Turners." I didn't. But . . . here we are in the week leading up to Christmas in 2022 and alas, I find myself sitting down, reflecting, pontificating (in my head) and putting down in words the recent (ish) goings on of the Turners. Sit back, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and be ready to be amazed! At least, hopefully entertained !  For the uninformed, we moved to Rome, GA in June of 2020 after living in Nashville for 30plus years! We left many friends with little to no fanfare because most things were still shut down due to Covid. That was a weird end to our time in Nashville in many ways. I took a role a WinShape and get to work alongside a team of incredib...

Recently there have been a couple of our friends who have passed away. I think at times like these, I can quickly do a half-hearted attempt at grieving and not really slow down enough to allow the loss to really sink in. Some of that might be a defense mechanism on my part. As I reflect on the death of each of these people, some of the first things that come to mind are: 1. What amazing people each of them are.  2. The immense number of people who credit each of them with having an influence in their life (including me). 3. The similar values that each of them held and lived consistently. 4. The way that each of them is remembered by their family. 5. The fact that each of them had a significant influence in my life yet they never knew one another or even that the other existed. 6. They both loved Jesus well and their love for Him was the reason that they served and loved Him and others so well. Dana Hacker was a beautiful soul that Sondra and I had the privilege of getting to know ...

Sondra and I are excited to let you know that I have accepted a job with WinShape Foundation in the WinShape College Program . In this season of Coronavirus it does not seem to make much sense to change jobs and make a move but we have learned that as God reveals Himself it is ALWAYS best to be open handed and obey. We will be moving to Rome, GA at some point when the current restrictions are lifted. There are many things to be worked out but I will start with WinShape on May 11. We will give you details as we know them. In the meantime, you can catch this video that I did with our pastor, Michael DiMarco and it will provide a few more details. My three years at Friendship Community Church have been a great season of growth, refinement, learning and pruning in my own life. I am grateful for the people, the experiences and the growth that I have been a part of among this family of believers.

It seems as though all the normal has been turned upside down. COVID-19 is something we did not even know about a couple of months ago. Our normal is no longer and probably comes at a great time in our lives. I have become complacent. I will share more later about some things I have been thinking and praying about but with this being St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to re-share a story I have shared many years before. From Slave Patricius to St. Patrick So for many, St. Patrick's day is about green beer and pinching others, but the real story of Patricius is far from green beer and pinching. Today we celebrate the life and work of St. Patrick who brought the good news of the Gospel to the Emerald Isle and her people. Who was this man Patrick, and what were his great accomplishments that so many should celebrate him more than 1500 years after he left this earth? Like St. Nicholas, whose identity has been utterly changed into that of a child's Christmas fantasy, the n...

Many of you know that Sondra's parents were born and reared in the beautiful country of New Zealand (NZed). To be honest, I was so geographically ignorant that I did not even know where NZed was until Sondra and I started dating in 1984. But since then, I have grown to love NZed and the people who live there. The news that usually comes out of NZed revolves around the beauty of the country side and the amazing number of sheep that call NZed home. There are also reports at times of the devastating earthquakes that can happen in that region of the world known as the " Ring of Fire ." Every time that NZed is in the news,  I can tell you that the Turners focus in to hear and know what is going on.  But when we hear NZed in the news, we see peoples' faces. Faces of family and friends that we have grown to know and love. So when the latest news came out of NZed this past weekend, while we wanted it to be news of the beauty of the islands and its' people, the focu...

I shared this with our students a few months ago after the massacre in Las Vegas. In light of yesterday's school shooting at Marshall County High School in Kentucky, I was reminded once again of the urgency of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. I am praying for those families who have been directly impacted. May God provide peace, comfort, strength, grace, forgiveness and mercy. You are welcome to use this very short, non-exhaustive look at evil and the believer's role in prayer and action. (This is designed as a conversation piece, not a full on presentation.) Even biblical writers complained about pain and evil: Evils have encompassed me without number.   Psalm 40:12 Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?  Jeremiah 15:18 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.   Romans 8:22 God did not create an evil world – Genesis 1:31 Evil i...

This has been a great year for us as a family. Morgan and Wilson are still living in Jackson, Tennessee. Wilson just graduated with his BS in Nursing and starts a new job at Jackson General in January. He just finished his job at Starbucks so no more discounted coffee for us. Morgan is still working in enrollment at Union University and travels some which brings her our way at times. They are very active in their church and small group. They have proven this past year that anything is possible. We are incredibly proud of them. Shelbi and Mark are still living in Rome, Georgia. Shelbi is a nurse educator and Mark is still running WinShape Camp for boys. (He actually is the operations guy, but believe me, organizations do not run smoothly without a good operations guy. Thus, he runs it.) They recently bought a new house, moved in during a snow storm and are enjoying all the joys and challenges of home ownership. They also are co-owners of a new escape room in Rome set to open Dec....

First, let me thank each and every one of you who prayed for and gave money for our missions experience in Guatemala. Your sacrifice of time and money contributed to a great work that God is already doing in the area we were privileged to serve. Sondra and I are both grateful and humble that you would invest through us in the work that God is doing in the area of Las Conchas (The Shells) on the outskirts of Guatemala City. Those of you who gave financially, be watching your mailbox soon. We departed from Nashville on July 4th and took Sondra's mother with us. Sondra's aunt and uncle have been missionaries in Guatemala for nearly 49 years and we went a couple of days early to spend time with them. Sondra's mother traveled well and we arrived rather late on the 4th and got settled in for the night. The next day, we met up with with Sondra's cousin Harvey, and his wife Sharon and the whole lot (notice the NZ way of saying all of us) of us headed to a house down on the c...

This week, Sondra and I have been blessed to host her cousins and their friends at our home. Noel and Janet are successful "farmers" (livestock and Christmas trees) and their friends, Julian and Nikki (whom we have not met before) are self-employed remodelers (that is my term for what Julian explained) who are all from New Zealand. They are traveling the States visiting Janet and Noel's daughter and son-in-law in NYC and then making their way back to Houston via train and rental car. They were gracious enough to add us into their itinerary and stayed with us two nights. AND IT WAS A BLAST! On the way back from dinner on Monday evening, the boys and I were driving down a country road close to our house when all of sudden, Julian says, "What is that?" I asked for some clarity as to what "that" meant and he said those little shining lights that keep going on and off.  I looked up and said, "Oh, those are lightning bugs or fireflies." They w...

Sondra and I are going on a mission trip to Guatemala in July. Here is a letter that we are sending out asking you to pray for our team and to consider supporting us financially. Thanks for praying and considering a financial gift as well. Dear friends and family, Paul and I have the opportunity to be a part of a mission trip to Guatemala.   We will be going July 8-15, 2017 with a group from Hermitage Hills Baptist Church.   This is Sondra’s fourth trip to Guatemala and Paul’s first.   Our focus this year is discipleship and training through vacation bible school for children and discipleship and bible study for youth and adults.   In previous years part of our time has been spent on construction, but that is not our focus this time.   The church project in Las Conchas is almost complete, and we actually hope to hold the first service in that location while we are there!   What a celebration this will be! We are asking that you would consider su...