Church Leadership
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A Defense of Sunday Night Worship
Yes, I think it is a good idea for congregations to have a “second” worship service on Sunday evening. Before sharing some reasons why, let me make a few very clear introductory statements. The Lord’s Church is to meet on the first day of every week (Acts 20:7) to worship.The time of day on Sunday is not specified in Scripture, but is left up to the wisdom of the elders, so long as it is on the Lord’s Day.Whatever that time is, each member needs to be present (Hebrews 10:25) and actively worshiping in spirit and truth (John 4:24).There is no command to worship more than once on Sunday. It…
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Some Thoughts on “Restudying the Issue”
Every so often, word will spread that a congregation has made a massive change. Maybe the congregation has decided to appoint female elders or deacons. Maybe the congregation has decided to allow mechanical instruments of music in worship. These and other similar issues are often made with a big statement by the elders (or by the preacher) along with words such as “after restudying the issue…”. Very often, the leaders will speak of how they have been studying this for some time, usually about a year. Immediately, many push back on that phrase, “restudying the issue.” The reason, it seems to me, is that it is almost exclusively used at…
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A Proverb and the Bible School Program
Leah and I both have a passion for a church’s Bible school program. And our passion for it works out well, because she has such a heart for mostly children’s classes, while I greatly love thinking about teens and adults. We talk often about Bible classes and we try to think about ways to do better–both with our own teaching and in the entire program of work. As we look around congregations (both where we are and other congregations we visit), we see some similar struggles. But there is often one thing that is missing that would help the program improve, and (surprise, surprise) it comes right from the Bible.…
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A Losing Quarterback with a Winning Quote
It was not “just another” Army-Navy football game. There were many factors that contributed to this particular game being unique. This particular game was scheduled for November 30, 1963. That meant that, if it was played as scheduled, it would take place only eight days after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. There were questions about whether it would be advisable to cancel the game altogether. Ultimately, the decision was made to go ahead with the game, but to reschedule it for a week later. That meant that the game would be played on December 7th – the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. There were questions…
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Paul, Sports, and Preaching
Illustrating sermons is an artform. It is one that I have always struggled with. So this is not being written by some expert in that part of sermon preparation. However, there is something I have heard a fairly significant number of preachers say that bothers me. They will be getting ready to share a sermon illustration–maybe their second or third in a sermon–and they’ll say something like this: “Paul wrote about sports a lot, so I’m going to go back to the world of sports.” With that, they will launch into a story from some sport to illustrate the point they are making. Now, let me say this: I am…
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From Pester to Pastor
For a little over two decades of my time as a preacher, it was not uncommon for people to refer to me as a pastor. While I didn’t want to offend anybody who was trying to show respect for me and/or my work, I also did not want to assume a role and/or position for which I was not qualified. So, in an attempt to use a little humor to (hopefully) make a point or cause somebody to think or ask questions, I often responded, “I’m just the pester.” Since a lot of people seem to think that preachers pester people about what they are doing wrong or not doing…
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The Guys at the Back of the Line
I am not nearly as much of a college basketball fan as is our son, but I do enjoy watching games if a team I support is playing (Go Big Blue!!). There is much more about the game that I do not know than there is that I really understand. For example, I understand how the scoring works, what a foul is (even though I’m not sure some officials know that), and other very basic things. High on the list of those things about which I have no clue is how specific plays are designed and executed. When I watch a game, things just sort of happen. I never quite…
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Something Every Congregation Needs to Consider
At Central, we are so excited about evangelism, and about having every member involved in various aspects of that wonderful work. A few weeks ago, we hosted a “School of Evangelism,” and, while we had been involved in some parts of that model already, the work since then has only grown and excitement is everywhere. With that in mind, our sermons recently have also focused on evangelism. While writing the sermon I preached last Sunday morning (I wrote it a few weeks ago), I was doing some thinking about one particular aspect and wanted to share it on here, because it really is something that every congregation needs to consider.…
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Nothing Good Happens When the Wagon Gets Too Full
There is a fairly common situation that can be expressed in a lot of ways. It could be that you have heard (or said) that, in many instances, ten percent of the people do ninety percent of the work or maybe twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work. Sometimes instead of using the ratios mentioned above, you may hear the following expression: “We have too many people in the wagon and too few people pulling the wagon.” Using that analogy, let me suggest that there is absolutely nothing good that will happen if or when a wagon gets too full. There are any number of bad things…
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We’re Still Studying That
I cannot begin to remember all of the times I’ve heard somebody say, “We’re still studying that.” Those who know my background have probably already assumed (correctly) that this is usually said in a religious context. In other words, what is still being studied is what the Bible has to say about some doctrine, practice, etc. I am, in no way, opposed to the practice of studying the Bible. In fact, I firmly believe that all of us, including me, could benefit greatly from doing more of that. Many will remember this very positive description of people who lived in Berea and to whom the gospel had been preached: Now…