Tag Archives: church

4 Helpings of Birthday Cake

Posted on April 20, 2015 | 1 comment

Sunday was my birthday. I loved sharing my birthday with hundreds and hundreds of people at church. I love my church despite all the “humaness” that keeps us from being perfect. My church, like yours, is filled with people who have messed up and fallen. It is filled with people like Continue reading →

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Posted in blessings, Church, family, friendship, Uncategorized

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Connected by Faith

Posted on February 23, 2015 | 3 comments

The church where I was saved many years ago just bought 500 copies of my devotional book “Immersed: 40 Days to a Deeper Faith”. They are going to use it for a church wide series beginning the week after Easter. Many churches have used the book that way now, but there is a special connection you have with the church where you gave your life to Christ.

I trusted Christ as my Savior and Lord in the old worship center at Continue reading →

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Posted in books, Christianity, Church, faith, Uncategorized

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Growing Spiritually

Posted on February 2, 2015 | 2 comments

If you want to grow deeper in your Christian faith I recommend the following.
1. Read big chunks of the bible. Read the entire bible for yourself several times. It will take several times through to really begin to put it all together and see the big picture well- but it will be worth it.
2. Memorize some scripture verses. Be strict about it (best said with a German accent- roll the “r” on “strict”). Get it exactly right, word for word. This will force you to really know the verse.
3. Pray all the time. That is, pray every time you think about it. Have an attitude of prayer.
4. Pray systematically. Pray for specific Continue reading →

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Posted in bible, Christianity, discipleship, prayer, Uncategorized

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A God Centered New Year

Posted on January 1, 2015 | 1 comment

I would like to be more God centered this year. Instead of having God on the periphery, wouldn’t it be better if God was at the center of our lives? Here is a bit of what that might look like.

1. A God centered life loves obedience. God is really big on the whole holiness thing. No compromise on this one. It matters deeply to him and should to those of us who follow him. If I am not obeying God, he isn’t at the center of my life. I’ve put him over in a corner and maybe taken him out on Sunday mornings, but he isn’t at the center of my life unless I am obeying what he tells me to do. This year I want to obey what God tells me to do through the Bible and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

2. A God centered life seeks God’s will. The core question isn’t really what you want to do. The most important issue is what God wants you to do. Wise is the Christian who wants God’s will more than his or her own. After all, God is smarter than us (some make that easier on God than others), knows the Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, new year

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Football and God

Posted on September 27, 2014 | 2 comments

I love this time of year- warm days, cool nights and beautiful colors. But I also love it because it is football season! I’ve enjoyed football since I was a kid. Dad told me about playing football in the Army, we watched football together on TV (I miss my Dad’s arguments with Howard Cosell through the television screen) and played in the backyard.
I started playing football for real as a scrawny freshman in high school. I was unprepared for the pain and sweat associated with the sport. Somehow I survived and talked myself into playing again as a sophomore. I grew a little and got faster and found some success. I found more success as a junior and senior.
Small though I was, I played football at Wheaton College. I played a lot as a freshman, started every game the next three years and was captain my senior year. (The talent level was lower then!)
I can’t play anymore, of course. (I just pulled my hamstring typing that last sentence.) But Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Church, faith, football, Uncategorized

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Unsolicited Advice for Seminaries

Posted on July 31, 2014 | 3 comments

Seminaries have tremendous influence in church life- for good or for bad. I prefer the good. (Does that make me a legalist?) So, with that in mind, here is my unsolicited advice (which is about the only advice I am usually allowed to give) for seminary leaders and professors.
1. Be practical. Seminary needs to be about more than imparting information. We can be educated, intelligent, knowledgeable and still be terribly ineffective in ministry. Don’t forget that that the goal of the M.Div. is more than just training students to get a Ph.D. Help us prepare to become pastors and staff members and missionaries. Make Hebrew practical. How does it help us preach to a diverse congregation? How can it help us translate the OT into the language of an unreached people group? Go beyond imparting information. Help us apply that information to hands-on ministry.
2. Teach leadership. (See point 1 for more information on why.) Pastors can leave seminary woefully unprepared (yes, woefully, I say!) to give the leadership that will be needed by them in the pastorate. They will be called to give leadership in congregations with great diversity of opinion. (I haven’t noticed any shortage of opinions on what a pastor should do.) Ineffective leadership can lead to dictatorial mandates or waffling indecision or unhappy power struggles. Ministers do have leadership responsibilities so teach us some basic principles that will help us to lead in an effective and Christ-like manner.
3. Recognize the twin dangers of Continue reading →

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Posted in Church, education, seminary, Uncategorized

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A Patriotic Worship Service

Posted on July 6, 2014 | 5 comments

I love the patriotic worship service we have at FBC O’Fallon, IL each 4th of July weekend. It is exciting, moving and fun.
Once in a while, I read others who complain about churches having a patriotic service. They remind us of the dangers of patriotism replacing worship and zeal for the nation replacing zeal for the Lord. Duly noted.
But I do believe we can keep a proper perspective of the role of God and country. The first point of my sermon on Sunday was “We have earthly responsibilities but a greater allegiance.” (I preached from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Daniel 3 and the greater allegiance referred to the Lord, not D.C. My wife says it was the greatest sermon preached in the history of Christendom- but Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, military, Uncategorized, worship

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Northern Southern Baptists

Posted on May 12, 2014 | 2 comments

I am a Northern Southern Baptist (NSB). That makes me sound “directionally challenged” I know. But I was born this way.
I grew up here in Illinois as a Southern Baptist. My grandfather and father were saved (they recognized they were sinners, repented and placed their faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection and were forgiven by Him) back in the 1930’s in a Southern Baptist church here in Illinois. So, they became NSBs. Did you know there were NSBs that long ago? I was raised in Illinois where my father was a bi-vocational pastor. Hence, I was an NSB.
After 14 years in the beautiful land of Texas where I attended seminary and was a pastor, I came back to Illinois to pastor 19 years ago. I am an NSB.
There are three things I want you- especially the larger Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) world- to know about NSBs.
1. There are more of us than you might know. My state convention is called the Illinois Baptist State Association and we have about 1,000 churches. Many of them are small, and that is a lot less than southern states with much smaller populations, but there are more of us than you might have known. Many NSB churches started as “southern clubs” as southerners moved to the north for jobs. However, they were usually very serious about the gospel and found themselves reaching folks who weren’t from the south. Some transitioned into NSB churches with the strong theology of the SBC, but culturally connected with their neighbors in the north. If they remained southern in mindset they tended to decline as the inflow of southern transplants slowed. If they became NSBs, they often did very well.
There are some strong NSB churches. The church Continue reading →

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

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My Second Favorite Missionaries

Posted on May 6, 2014 | 1 comment

   It will be hard for anyone to replace my favorite missionaries.  My son-in-law, daughter and grand baby (with another on the way) are serving with the International Mission Board in Madagascar.  But let me tell you about my second favorite missionaries.

   James and Sonya Herron serve with the IMB in Uganda.  They were “normal” members of our church (can anyone be called normal with me as their pastor?) who began going on mission trips to Uganda with our church.  Then, they started leading mission groups from our church.  Then, Continue reading →

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

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Finding Salvation

Posted on April 29, 2014 | 3 comments

   I recently baptized a young Air Force pilot.  His wife gave her life to Christ many years ago.  But he felt that he was self-sufficient.  He didn’t need God.  If others did, that was fine.  He didn’t need anything else.  He was smart, successful and talented.  He would be just fine without giving control of his life over to God. 

   His wife prayed for him often.  She even persuaded him to join her in worship on occasion.  Their son attended our Christian school and he trusted Christ as his savior.  He was baptized in our church.  But dad, well, he just didn’t need God in his life.

   And then, one Sunday, God just broke through the stubbornness.  God showed him Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, evangelism, faith, military, Uncategorized

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