Pulpits are interesting things. They come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, configurations, etc. In my experience, the basic function of a pulpit is to provide a convenient place for a preacher to lay his Bible and whatever notes he may have. Some pulpits may have additional things that seemed to be designed to help. There may be a light placed in such a way so as to help the preacher read the material he has placed on the pulpit. There could be a microphone to help amplify his voice. In recent years, some churches have installed screens in pulpits so that the preacher can look down and see the PowerPoint…

I was recently asked to present some material for the Cedar Springs church of Christ in Louisville, Kentucky on the book of Zechariah. It was difficult to condense fourteen chapters into one forty minute presentation, but I tried to at least hit the high points of the particular aspect of the assignment given to me. There was one point that was outside the scope of my assignment that I think is important enough to discuss here. The point is made in just four words, but those four words are, at least in my mind, very powerful. When Donna and I returned home, I resumed teaching a class I’ve been teaching on Wednesday…

I remember it very well. I was preaching a sermon on the subject of being a Christian husband and, as the sermon went on, I realized that I had not been the type of husband that I was preaching about. So, at the conclusion of the invitation song, I motioned for people to be seated even though no one had walked down the aisle. After that, I walked back up to the pulpit and publicly repented of not being the type of husband I needed to be, asking God and my wife for forgiveness, and seeking prayers of encouragement. It was the only time I had ever responded in that…

I’ve been reading a book recently by brother Charles B. Hodge, Jr. entitled All Christians are Leaders. It might be possible for me to fill another book with some of the insights I’ve gained from that experience, but I will limit myself to one story he told in his book. Brother Hodge wrote that, for years, he was known as the “man with a towel.” When he was preaching full-time, white towels were purchased and the word “servant”  was stamped on them. These towels were given to men when they became deacons. There were also “Towel Sundays,” at which time towels were presented to people who “served in the shadows.” These people had been…

The following post is the first “rerun” I can remember doing for A Legacy of Faith. The reason that I am doing this has to do with a conversation I had recently while attending Polishing the Pulpit. A brother asked me to send him a copy of this post, but I couldn’t find it at the time. When I did find the post, I could no longer find him and I had no contact information for him. One of the reasons that I couldn’t find the post was that it was written far enough in the past that I was still preaching “full time” when I wrote it. While that is no longer true…

Recently, I was listening to a discussion among some men on the radio about a pizza restaurant they had visited. During the discussion they mentioned the fact that, when they walked into the restaurant, there was a sign that welcomed them (and others) to the restaurant that had been recognized for ten years in a row as the cleanest restaurant in that particular chain of restaurants. The curiosity of one of those men caused him to ask an employee what they did in order to earn that distinction. That, in turn, led to the young lady giving him and his friends a tour and discussing the procedures they had in place to…