The title of this post makes it sound like it is going to be about the speech mothers sometimes give to their children but I promise, it isn’t. I was talking to a preacher a month or so ago about…you guessed it, preaching! He’s a good preacher, probably a great...
In his book On Preaching, H.B. Charles, Jr. writes about the origin of the Greek word “to preach.” Says Rev. Charles: The word Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:2, where he charges Timothy to preach the Word, was originally a political term, not a religious one. It...
I think a lot of preachers can relate to the title of this post. Maybe I’m assuming too much. Maybe I’m the only one to whom it applied. But I kind of doubt it. But don’t overlook the subtitle and the obvious premise that expository preaching has as...
A group of young youth ministers gather around a coffee shop table discussing youth ministry calendars. Drawing a blank for the fall, they begin to joke. “Hey, I know! How about a hay ride?” A general chuckle and sip. “Yeah, and then we can end up at a bonfire where...
A group of young youth ministers gather around a coffee shop table discussing youth ministry calendars. Drawing a blank for the fall, they begin to joke. “Hey, I know! How about a hay ride?” A general chuckle and sip. “Yeah, and then we can end up at a bonfire where...
J.I. Packer has a classic definition of preaching as “letting texts talk.” That’s brilliant. Simple and brilliant. The goal of biblical preaching is to let God’s Word speak. However, this is the classic definition because it addresses the perennial problem...
Preaching isn’t easy. That last sentence would qualify me for the title of Captain Obvious with some. While it may be lacking in sophistication and nuance, it is nevertheless an extremely true statement. If for no other reason, we know preaching is difficult...
You’re as good as you need to be. Life doesn’t change. Your ministry is reaching everyone it needs to reach. Once a leader, always a leader. Not. None of these things are true. No matter how much we grow, we can develop even more, which allows us to continue leading...
Effective leaders grow. There is never a point at which a true leader has arrived. Effective leaders take opportunities to soak up new information, explore new directions, and sharpen needed skills in their work and with people. Their constant desire to improve feeds...
You know what they say (whoever they are). The more things change the more they stay the same. Truth is, some things never change. I was recently thumbing through a copy of the church study course book Guiding Young People in Bible Study (W.L. Howse, 1955) and came...
