Category Archives: Christianity

Military types and the church

Posted on April 9, 2014 | 2 comments

   I love that the church where I am pastor (FBC O’Fallon, IL) is near Scott Air Force base.  We have hundreds of military folks in our church and it is a great blessing.  It will be 19 years this summer since I came and I’ve learned some things about the military folks.  (I am a slow learner.)  Here are some things I’ve learned about ministry with the military community.

1.  Military types move.  A lot.  To lots of places.  It isn’t unusual for me to meet a new family moving in from Guam while saying goodbye to another moving to Germany.  Some move in saying “I’m only here for three years so I’m jumping into the church with both feet.”  They look immediately for opportunities to serve and connect.  I love that!  Others say, “I’m only here for three years so I’m not going to get involved.”  The smart aleck in me responds with, “How long will you be here if you do get involved?”

Military families learn how to deal with new circumstances and environments.  The children of military parents learn to make friends and adjust to new things.  Their moves make them interesting to us civilians.  They have seen places we haven’t and enjoyed experiences foreign to us.  We are impressed with the variety of their experiences. 

They are so interesting.  But, they leave us.  And, if we aren’t careful, we guard our hearts against the pain of their departures.  I remind our church often that we must be willing to love each other- military and civilian- even though our hearts are broken when we part.  Love is worth the pain.

2.  Military types deploy. Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Church, military, Uncategorized

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Why I Trust the Bible

Posted on April 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

   I trust the bible.  I believe it to be true and correct and right.  I don’t strain out the concepts of inerrancy and infallibility.  Here are a few reasons why.

1.  I know the Author.  The bible makes a bold claim to be authored by God.  We can say the bible is authored by men under the supernatural guidance of God.  I believe that.  God used men, but He is the ultimate author.  And the closer I am to Him, the more I recognize His word.  I hear His voice as I read His word.  When my wife calls me I know it is her.  I know her voice.  (And, I have caller ID.)  The closer I am to God, the better I recognize His voice.

2.  It stands the test of scholarship. Continue reading →

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Posted in bible, Christianity, Uncategorized

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Not a White Church

Posted on March 23, 2014 | 4 comments

I am not a white pastor. Don’t get me wrong, I am quite Caucasian. I’m named Douglas, get sunburned pretty easily and live in suburbia. That sounds pretty Caucasional…Caucasionistic…Caucaustic? But I am not a white pastor. I am a pastor… who wants to be a man of God.
My church is not a white church. While we have a lot of whitish skinned people in our church we are not a white church. We are a church. And, by the way, Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, Christianity, Church, integration, segregation, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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Why I’m Not More Evangelistic

Posted on March 17, 2014 | Leave a comment

Recently, I was standing outside of a restaurant waiting for my bride. (Sometimes we husbands must do that.) I was alone except for an employee of the establishment. He said “Hi” and I responded with the same. Then it dawned on me. Perhaps the Lord would have me talk with this man about His love.

I spoke to the man and he responded in a way that suggested he was eager to talk. I told him I was a Baptist pastor and he seemed surprised. The older, fatter and balder I get, the less surprised he will be.  🙂

Then I asked him a question. “Do you know what Baptists believe?”  “No,” he said.  “What do they believe?”  I used that opportunity to tell him Continue reading →

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Midnight Worship

Posted on March 10, 2014 | 2 comments

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”  Acts 16:25

On the night my father died, our family gathered in his room.  After weeks of battling physical ailments, death was near.  While we did not grieve as those who had no hope, we still grieved.  And we sang.

As we circled the room where our family patriarch was dying, we sang hymns and choruses of faith.  It felt like midnight in our souls, which made it a good time to worship.  It is good to worship the Lord in the pleasant Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, prayer, Uncategorized, worship

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Unsolicited Advice for the International Mission Board

Posted on March 3, 2014 | 33 comments

Tom Elliff is retiring after a short, but effective stint as the head of the IMB, the international mission agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. Here is some free (like someone is going to pay for this?) advice to the trustees who will choose his successor.

I care deeply about this decision for at least three reasons. 1, I love missions. God grabbed my heart for missions on my first mission trip and I am all in. 2, The church where I am pastor (FBC O’Fallon, IL) is in the SBC, goes on many IMB connected mission trips each year and has a few families from the church serving with the IMB. 3, My son-in-law, daughter and granddaughter serve with the IMB as new career missionaries to Madagascar.

1.  Don’t worry much about who recommends them.  We don’t need any kingmakers because we don’t have any kings.  (Further free advice extends to my recommendation that you read that last sentence again.) Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, Christianity, International Mission Board, missions, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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Why Men Struggle with Friendship

Posted on February 10, 2014 | 1 comment

God made us for relationships. Yet many men- many men- will find meaningful friendships hard to build and sustain. We end up isolated and miss the benefits of close relationships with other men. If that isn’t you, great. But for many men, friendships are like doing a rubiks cube- challenging, intimidating and a little unnatural.
Let me mention three reasons for our difficulty in building lasting friendships.
1. We tend to stay superficial. Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Church, friendship, Sunday School, Uncategorized

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The Segregation of the Church

Posted on February 3, 2014 | 1 comment

There are so many ways to divide the church. Our past has often included division by race. I am glad to see that changing. I love that my church has people of different backgrounds and races. Heaven will certainly include people of every tribe and tongue.
Segregation by race has been accepted and justified by the homogenous growth principle. That is the principle that people tend to come to Christ through churches that are much like they are. But isn’t the ideal something better than churches that are segregated by race?
Today’s churches have a new way to divide.  They are often segregated by age. Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, bible, Christianity, Church, integration, segregation, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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What a Good Sermon Does

Posted on January 31, 2014 | 1 comment

There is some bad preaching out there.  There are sermons that are theological swamp lands and others too boring for the strongest caffeinated drinks.  Some sermons chase rabbits like a hound; others skirt the text like a ballerina.  Preacher, please don’t mislead me or confuse me or, heaven forbid, bore me with this great message.

I’ve been preaching most of my life- 25 years off, 28 years on. At the risk of opening myself to clever comments from amateur comedians who hear my sermons, let me tell you what a good sermon ought to do.

1. A good sermon informs. A good sermon tells us the truth. It teach us God’s word.  That should go unsaid, but because it too often goes undone, it needs saying.  Preacher, tell us what God says, not just what you think.  Tell us what we need, not just what we like or want.  Teach us the bible.  Tell us what God wants us to know.  This is an irreplaceable part of good preaching, but it isn’t enough.

2.  A good sermon inspires.  A good sermon tells us the truth in a way that moves our emotion as well as informs our logic.  It touches our spirit as well as our mind.  Preacher, use a story once in a while.  The bible is full of them.  Use some illustrations.  They grab our attention and they help us to see the truth in a different way.  Preach with some passion and stir us to greater things.

3.  A good sermon implements.  A good sermon applies the text to our lives.  It doesn’t leave us in theory, but connects God’s word to our practical world.  Preacher, answer the question “So what?”  Tell us why we need to know God is the creator.  Tell us why it matters that we understand what grace is.  Move us to action.  Move us to change.  We need to see that God’s word is relevant to our lives.

4.  A good sermon invites.  A good sermon invites us to trust Christ as Savior and to follow Him as Lord.  It invites us on this great journey of faith.  It calls us to decision as it confronts us with the truth.  There is an invitation to something greater and deeper and more real.  Preacher, don’t be satisfied for us to know the truth.  Call us with everything you have to follow the Truth with everything we have.

Excuse me now.  I’ve got to work on my sermon for this weekend.  This needs to be a good one.  Hey, even a pig can grub up a diamond every once in a while!

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Posted in baptist, bible, Christianity, Church, discipleship, evangelism, preaching, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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What Politicians Can’t Do

Posted on January 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

I’m thankful for politicians. Or maybe I should better say, I’m thankful there are people who actively participate in our free country as politicians. Just wish more of them had common sense, biblical morality, a Christian world view and did their own plumbing. But, I digress.
I want to note that there are some limits to what politicians and governments can do. So, before getting too willing to ask our government to take over every aspect of our lives, let me note some things they can’t do.
1. They can’t change hearts. Politicians can change Continue reading →

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