Category Archives: discipleship

The Immersed Connection

Posted on June 23, 2014 | 2 comments

Books can have a deep connection with us. I love my connection with books and authors that have been meaningful in my life.
I recently preached in Atlanta in a church that had used my book “Immersed: 40 Days to a Deeper Faith” church-wide. Most of them had read each chapter of the book for 40 straight days, discussed it in their small groups and there was even a sermon series connected to it.
Because of that, we had a special connection- an ‘Immersed connection’. Men and women, teenagers, even some kids Continue reading →

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Recommendations for the Next President of the International Mission Board

Posted on May 24, 2014 | 5 comments

   Perhaps the most important decision that will be made in the Southern Baptist Convention for years to come is the choice of the next president of the IMB.  I say that, not because he will be so critical to the success of the IMB (generally speaking, we need less of man and more of God in our workings anyway), but because a poor choice would be disastrous for the convention. 

   So, here is my advice- offered freely, and worth about what you are paying- to the next IMB president. 

I would like you to focus on 3 things and start one massive new project.

1.  Focus on making the IMB effective.  You should be a big picture guy.  Help the organization reach the unreached and unengaged groups while mobilizing areas where the harvest is ripe.  Keep our focus on disciple-making.  Help us focus on starting churches that can be led by nationals.  Draw our attention to evangelism that moves towards discipleship.  You don’t have to be chase fads- we’d rather you not.  But do consider innovations that Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, Christianity, Church, discipleship, evangelism, International Mission Board, missions, 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 Education Can’t Do

Posted on January 6, 2014 | 4 comments

I spent a lot of time getting educated.  Perhaps I needed more of it than most?  I am so thankful for my educational opportunities and commend education to you.  But let me note some inherent limitations.

1.  Education doesn’t make you wise.  My favorite definition of wisdom is “seeing things as God sees them.”  Education can make you smart, but that isn’t the same as making you wise.  Want some tuition-free advice?  Seek wisdom.  (See the book of Proverbs for additional tuition-free advice on the importance of wisdom.)

2.  Education doesn’t make you godly.  Godliness–seeking to be Continue reading →

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The Heart of the Matter

Posted on December 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

I have treasured Your Word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.   Psalm 119:11

Your heart is critical…

…A friend of mine told me about preaching on the back of a flatbed truck next to Red Square in Moscow some years ago.  The communist government had just fallen and many people there were searching for meaning and purpose.  My friend was put on the back of the truck, given a microphone, and told to preach to the walking masses through a translator. Continue reading →

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High Dives and Discipleship

Posted on December 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

   I still remember my first time jumping off the high dive.

   In the summertime I spent a lot of afternoons at the community pool in my small town.  Most of my time was spent in the shallow end, splashing and playing with my brothers and friends.  I watched other kids jumping off the diving boards at the deep end of the pool.  It seemed fun and exciting, but too scary for me.

   As the summer progressed, I thought more and more about what it would be like to overcome my fears and worries and plunge into the deep, blue water of the deep end.  I even walked by that area of the pool a few times to calculate the possibilities.  The deep water was so inviting, yet I was so frightened to plunge in.

   Finally, I could take it no longer. Continue reading →

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The future of discipleship

Posted on November 15, 2013 | 3 comments

It was Training Union once.  SBC churches had a program for discipleship that was almost universally adopted by our churches.  It met on Sunday nights and was pretty well attended.  There were study course books and diplomas and discipleship had a strong niche.  Life was more patterned; routines more constant.

Discipleship for my church- and many churches- has had to change.  At FBC O’Fallon, IL, Continue reading →

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Why Me, God?

Posted on October 10, 2013 | 3 comments

Maybe you have asked God that question. It is commonly asked of the Lord, I suspect. “Why is this happening to me?” we cry out to God. But why do we ask that question only when facing problems? Why don’t we ask that question when we are blessed? Isn’t it just as legitimate to ask the question “why?” when good things happen to us as when bad things happen? Continue reading →

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When I Become the Dictator of the Southern Baptist Convention

Posted on September 23, 2013 | 2 comments

Don’t worry, there is no imminent coup- and I would hope we would all aspire to something better. But, should I become the dictator of our beloved SBC, there are a few changes I will immediately install.
First, Continue reading →

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Consistency (in praise of)

Posted on September 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

   Our church just started a new sermon series called “Immersed: 40 Days to a Deeper Faith”.  We are using the devotional book I wrote by the same title in conjunction with it.  The idea is to read a devotional each day for 40 days and the 2 chapters of the bible each day as it suggests.  By the end of the 40 days we will have read the books of John, Acts and Proverbs.

   Christians often look for a mountaintop experience- and I like mountaintops.  But less often do believers buckle down to the harder work of consistent bible study, prayer and reflection.  May I put in a good word for consistency?

   There is something beneficial in a steady, long walk with God.  Wonderful experiences are, well, wonderful.  Emotional experiences have some merit.  But a consistent walk day by day is not to be overlooked or discounted.  In fact, I suggest that some of the greatest gains of discipleship are made in the consistency of a devotional life each day.

   Feelings come and go; rise and fall.  Emotional responses can be worked up or worked out.  But a consistent walk with the Lord will get you somewhere.  It will get you closer, deeper and stronger. 

  And that is a good destination.

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