I’m not usually in the habit of reproducing material from other sources here, but I’m making an exception this time. Most of what you will read below is from Quora Digest. I will add an application that I thought of as I read their material after I have reproduced what I read. ===== March 13, 1964. 3 a.m Catherine’s friends called her Kitty. She was young, just twenty-eight, and petite. Tiny really. And on this particular night, she was screaming for her life, as loudly as she could. After all, there were people all around. Someone would have to hear her. Right? Her shouts went on for thirty minutes, as her…

My mind has been on evangelism as never before lately. On Sunday mornings, I am teaching a Bible class on the subject and it has lit a fire in me that should have been there all along. But it has also caused so many in the class (which has about 30-35 in attendance) to be more confident. We have been blessed with guests at church from their efforts, and we are praying that doors will continue to open–and that we’ll walk through them! Recently, I was listening to a podcast (“God Magnified”) and the discussion was about 1 Peter 3. There is a well-known verse in that chapter that most…

It’s happened to me several times, and I would guess it has happened to you also. How do you handle it when you have tried and tried to reach someone with the Gospel or to win someone back to the Lord, but there just seems to be no change–no movement–on their part? When I have struggled with that, people will just say, “You’ve just got to shake the dust off your feet and move on.” I know what they mean. There is just a time to move on and try to reach someone else. I get it. (It’s possible I’ve even given that advice at some point, although I can’t…

“We’ve used ‘House to House,’ and never really got any contacts.” “Door knocking just doesn’t work in our area.” “We had a huge Fall festival and almost no one came.” “We tried Facebook ads, and it just flamed out with no real response.” Do any of these sound vaguely familiar? Oh, the specifics might be different, but I have heard similar things said nearly countless times. And, to be honest, I have said similar things more times than I care to admit. I’m spending quite a lot of time currently preparing for a class that is coming up quickly. The elders at Central asked me to teach a Bible class…

As this is being released, we are right in the middle of VBS week at Central. Our Vacation Bible School runs from Monday evening through Thursday evening and is a true highlight on our church calendar. After 2020, when we couldn’t have VBS and after 2021, where we had it, but tried to “cap” the numbers a bit, it is a joy to see young people everywhere in our building for this special week again! I have “directed” VBS approximately 16 times over the years. I will admit that my job is basically getting amazing people to lead various departments and letting them shine. It always makes me cringe a…

I love the heart of those who want their congregations to help their communities. There can be no doubt that Jesus “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38) and that we are to be as much like Him as we can be. While we can’t miraculously heal or feed people, with God’s help we can help a lot of people. Christians should want the hungry to be fed, those who are without clothes to be clothed, and the hurting to be comforted. In fact, we will be judged, at least in part, by our efforts–or lack thereof–in these types of areas (Matthew 25:31-46). That said, there is often something that seems…