Tag Archives: Christian

Why I Have a Patriotic Worship Service

Posted on January 6, 2017 | 3 comments

I posted this article last winter but wanted to re-post it for this season. Hope you have a great 4th of July holiday!

 

I love the patriotic worship service our church has each 4th of July Sunday. I would not have thought that to be a controversial statement a few years ago but some theologs suggest this to be a bad thing. I hear them out, but disagree. In fact, some seem to have a wrong idea about what goes on at these events. So, right in the dead of winter, when picnics seem distant, let me suggest some food for thought (that picnic thing got me food focused).

What we don’t do.

We don’t worship our country. We have only Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Church, military, Uncategorized, worship

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Servant Leadership

Posted on January 3, 2017 | 5 comments

Dictators make poor role models for Christian leadership. Oh, they get things done. Their orders get followed– or else. But they are not the example for what God wants for pastors, teachers, parents or any others who aspire to lead like Jesus.

The cautionary story of Rehoboam in I Kings 12 serves as a reminder that dictatorship is a poor replacement for true servant leadership. Remember the advice given him by his wisest, most experienced counselors? “If you will Continue reading →

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Posted in leadership, servant leadership, Christian leadership, Uncategorized

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Transformational Preaching

Posted on November 16, 2016 | 2 comments

Preaching is, for me, like swimming in the ocean. It is an awesome experience if you don’t die!

Nothing is more exciting and nothing is more intimidating. Preaching both charges me up and wears me down. It invigorates and it frustrates. It brings me the agony of labor and the joy of birth. It keeps me up at night and gets me up in the morning. Preaching is big and I know it.

If you are involved in preaching you know something of the dilemma we face. We are tasked with bringing God’s word to man. We are to speak sacred things to sinful listeners. This great responsibility can be a bit overwhelming. But here is what makes it even bigger. We need to preach for transformation.

Nothing is worse than boring people with the greatest news known to mankind. How terrible to think that I can make the gospel sound like average news rather than good news. How Continue reading →

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Posted in preaching, Uncategorized

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Bring Your Wounds to Jesus

Posted on September 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

We are all wounded to some extent. We are wounded by living in this sinful and fallen world. We are wounded by the sins of others. We even carry wounds as a result of our own sins. All of carry scars, all of us know pain and all of us need healing. All of us. Your pastor, your parents, your spouse, your neighbors? All of them are wounded too.
The question is not really Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, spiritual healing, Uncategorized

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Why Pastors Burn Out (and what to do about it).

Posted on September 15, 2016 | 2 comments

I’ve noticed several cases of minister burnout recently. Maybe these cases are more common, or perhaps the nature of social media has caused me to see these cases more readily. But either way, it is cause for concern.

I’m concerned for a couple of reasons. One is because I am a pastor and I know something of that danger in my own life. I’d like to avoid this problem and be able to remain effective in God’s work. Another reason for concern is because I love the church and those who lead the church. They matter to God’s work in our world and they matter to God. I grieve to see my fellow ministry leaders sidelined no matter the reason.

Let me suggest some reasons for minister burnout and what can be done to help alleviate this problem.

1. Ministers are wearied by conflict and complaint.  Ministers love people and want to help them. But their very love for people makes them vulnerable Continue reading →

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Posted in minister, minister burnout, Uncategorized

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5 reasons pastors should read the whole bible each year

Posted on September 6, 2016 | Leave a comment

I began reading through the bible at least once every year for more than 25 years now and it has been a great blessing to my life and ministry. Let me suggest 5 reasons why all pastors and bible teachers would benefit from this spiritual discipline.
1. It helps us see the whole story. How does the OT and NT fit together? After 7 or 8 times through the bible you will begin to see that better. I visited my grandmother while in seminary. She was a Sunday School teacher and so she peppered me with questions wanting to better teach her class. I knew some things she didn’t know- Greek and Hebrew and such. But I quickly realized that she knew the bible in a way I didn’t yet because she read it so much. I determined to know the bible like that.
2. It gives us a sense of context. Taking the bible Continue reading →

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Posted in bible, Uncategorized

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Evangelism Lessons

Posted on August 29, 2016 | 3 comments

I recently gave our church ministry staff an assignment. Share the gospel with at least one person during the next week and report back. Here are some lessons we learned together.
1. We can easily be around only other believers. We work with other believers (at least we think the rest of our ministry team is saved!), serve in ministry with other believers and Continue reading →

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Posted in evangelism, Uncategorized

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What Humility Isn’t

Posted on August 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

Humility is a confusing concept in our self-esteem generation. Perhaps thinking about what it isn’t can help us to consider what it is.
1. It isn’t winning an honor. Probably the most common usage Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, humility, Uncategorized

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Pastors Need Friends

Posted on June 28, 2016 | 4 comments

Pastors struggle to have deep and meaningful friendships. Note the words “deep and meaningful”. Most pastors would say they have lots of friends but often they are more shallow than deep and more superficial than meaningful. There are reasons for that. Deeper friendships can be betrayed. Deeper friendships take effort. Deeper friendships can cause jealousy. Lots of reasons.
I recently finished a Continue reading →

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Posted in books, encouragement, friendship, pastor, Uncategorized

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Those who don’t attend the Southern Baptist Convention

Posted on June 16, 2016 | 10 comments

I just got back from attending the Southern Baptist Convention. It was an unusual and interesting and exciting meeting.
My wife served as the president of the Ministers Wives Conference with about 1,200 ladies attending the luncheon. It was awesome but she is worn out. (Shout out to all who helped her- we love you!)
I was elected the 1st Vice President of the SBC. Don’t you have some suspicions about an organization that would do that?
But I noticed some people who weren’t there. In fact, several Continue reading →

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Posted in missionaries, missions, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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