Tag Archives: Sunday School

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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What Baptists Believe

Posted on January 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

I’m finishing a biography of John D. Rockefeller.  It is 650 pages long- which is about 450 pages beyond sufficient.  I realized that the author- an otherwise excellent writer- doesn’t seem to understand Baptists much.  (Rockefeller joined a Baptist church when young and stayed a Baptist all of his life- though in the more theologically liberal branch.)  Earlier, I read a biography of Harry Truman. (Truman joined a Baptist church when young- though he didn’t stay very connected or influenced.)  The author told me what he had for breakfast on multiple occasions, but hardly spared a word for what Baptists believed.  I doubted that he knew.

I thought to myself, “If those fellows don’t know what Baptists believe, I’ll bet some others don’t either.”  So, here is a brief synopsis.

A couple of quick disclaimers.  Baptist belief in argumentation seems to be overly developed,  so note that there are some differences of opinions about some issues.  Note that this is my belief about Baptists beliefs (as a Baptist believer) and may not necessarily be matched by everyone using that title.  And, these things are believed by many in the broader conservative, Evangelical world.  Also, I can’t cover everything here, so I’ll just focus on a couple of basics.

1.  Baptists believe that the Bible is God’s word Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, Christianity, Church, evangelical, faith, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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Small Groups or Bust! 3 Reasons Small Groups Matter in Church Life

Posted on September 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

   I make a big deal out of small groups (we call our Sunday School classes LIFE groups) at FBC O’Fallon, IL.  Why would I even care since I’m not preaching in those classes?  (Insert your own sermon joke punch line.)  Here are 3 important reasons why Christians should be in a small group in their church. 

1.  For Connection.  People are like legos- made for connection.  Small groups allow people to get connected on more personal levels.  You need that connection- even you computer nerds who are socially awkward!  And, more importantly, other people need you.  Small groups allow us to know each other’s names and favorite ice cream flavors.

2.  For Information.  I don’t let people ask questions during the sermon.  I probably wouldn’t know the answer anyway!  But discussions can happen in small groups.  We can sharpen each other and think together.  It is a great way to learn and study and grow.  Attend a small group bible study long enough and you will probably know much more about the bible than you do now.  And that is a good thing.

3.  For inspiration.  Okay, I can’t relate to the pastor.  He’s kind of weird anyway.  But I can sure relate to that guy in the class who is struggling to live out his faith in a hostile work environment.  I can relate to the lady who wants to shine the light of Christ in her life even though she has a suspicious spot on the x-ray.  Those people inspire me- and I hope I can inspire them! 

   I love small groups enough that Vickie and I are going to teach a LIFE group on Saturday nights for the 7 weeks  our church goes through the “Immersed: 40 Days to a Deeper Faith” study beginning this weekend- even though I already preach my sermon 4 times each weekend. 

   Small groups or bust!

 

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Posted in books, Christianity, Church, discipleship, faith, preaching, small groups, Sunday School, Uncategorized

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Whatever Happened to Sunday School?

Posted on July 24, 2013 | 7 comments

I love Sunday School.  There, I said it out loud.

When I became a pastor 30 years ago (What? 30 years have gone by? But I am so young!)  the question was asked differently.  You know, the question we asked each other when we pastors got together-  “How was your attendance?”  We used to ask, 30 years ago, about how many were in Sunday School. 

30 years later, when we announce our attendance, we answer with our worship attendance.  There is nothing wrong, of course, with tracking our worship attendance.  It is worth noting, however, that Sunday School has been de-emphasized in many churches in this generation. 

I am an unashamed Sunday School junkie.  We emphasize Sunday School in our church-though we have jazzed up the name to “Life Groups”.  Never does a week go by that I don’t mention something about Life Groups.

Sunday School, or however small groups are done, is such a vital part of a healthy church.  I love worship.  It is exciting and important and great.  But let’s not lose sight of the importance of the personal, small group aspect of church life. It is a great place to learn and to experience life together.  Churches who emphasize small groups in addition to worship are the stronger for it.

The Christian life is best experienced together.  I encourage you to get in a Sunday School class or, if you attend FBC O’Fallon, IL, a Life Group. 

Sunday School is worth emphasizing again.

 

 

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