Adam recently posted an article on A Legacy of Faith sharing his thoughts about what people are looking for in preachers. The title was What Too Many People Want in a Preacher. If you did not read that post, I encourage you to do that. As I read his thoughts, a statement came to mind that I heard an older preacher say years ago. At that time, I was in my early years of attempting to preach the gospel. The man who was older than me at that time was probably about the age I am now.  Although I wasn’t around this man a great deal, I still considered him to be sort…

It’s a song we don’t sing very often anymore. Written in 1911 by William P. Merrill, this song has a command we don’t often hear from those in leadership positions today. The first verse reads: “Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things; give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of Kings.” As I have been studying the book of Nehemiah lately, this song kept coming to my mind. The strength of Nehemiah’s leadership in the face of so much opposition has invaluable lessons for us today. Six Traits that Made Nehemiah a Great Leader Nehemiah was a man of passion. When he learned about the remnant…

Elders in the Lord’s Church need encouragement. Their office is the highest office anyone could ever attain, but it carries a weight and a responsibility unlike any other. Too often, elders do their best, yet receive so little encouragement. I hope this post helps lift their spirits a little bit. I am not an elder, but I spend a lot of my time with elders, and I can–at least to some extent–appreciate their role and responsibility. I do not always agree with what elders decide, but, through spending so much time with them, I appreciate what they do, and I want to hold up their hands. So, this post is…

I see them often (not because I am looking to move!). They are the “ads” for preaching openings, as congregations try to summarize what they are looking for in just a paragraph or two. In a large number of these ads, you’ll find words like, “The [name of church] is looking for a younger man who will reach young families.” You might also find descriptions like “dynamic preaching style” or “accessible sermons.” And if you poll a large number of Christians about the type of preacher they are looking for (or not-so-secretly wish they had), they will spend far more time talking about his style or his presentation or even…

I saw the sign. It said plainly, “Not my president!” Before you think this is a political commentary please understand that this sign could have been used in a march this week against Trump or last week against Obama. This sign is nothing new. You see, depending on the situation there are going to be some people who don’t want to submit to the existing authority. There are going to be people who don’t like who is in charge, especially if that authority figure doesn’t stand for or profess what they want to be doing. But you know what? I am not concerned about the people who are saying, “Not…