Source: He Told It Like It Is (page 65)

For a congregation to please the Lord, we must follow His plan. God has not left it up to our own thinking as to how a congregation of His people is to be organized. Philippians 1:1 makes it clear that there are “overseers and deacons” along with all the saints. First Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9 give us the qualifications for those men who would serve in the roles of elder and deacon. There are no two ways about it: God has a pattern for the organization of His church. That said, a congregation cannot just give men the right title and then claim to have it all figured out!…

Maybe some information about me would be appropriate to “set up” what is to follow. It might help in knowing where I’m coming from. I entered my adult professional life as a high school teacher. The idea of preaching the gospel had, at that time, never entered my mind. When I started preaching, I did just that. I just started preaching.  I started preaching without the benefit of having gone to a Christian university, a preacher training school, or even an older preacher to mentor me. About all I had was a supportive wife, a Bible, a few books, and a desire to preach. Along the way I did take some classes and bought more books,…

  Today, Polishing the Pulpit begins in Sevierville, Tennessee. This annual event is one of the highlights of our year, as around 4000 Christians will gather to study God’s Word and grow closer together. Throughout the week, several members of A Legacy of Faith will be speaking or leading singing. Below is a list of where we’ll be. If you’re going to PtP, make sure you say hello! We always love to meet new folks. Saturday 9:00AM: Donna Faughn (“A Lesson on Finding Grace”; ladies only): Ballroom B 10:00AM: Jeremiah Tatum (“Digging Deeper: The Lord’s Supper”): Hotel Cade’s Cove 5:30PM: Adam Faughn (congregational singing; new songs): Exhibit Hall A Sunday…

Last Wednesday, I posted a short list of 5 things that elders need to hear regularly. But this helpful communication cannot be a one-way street. There are many congregations where members feel as if they do not hear from the elders, except when (1) there is a change in the staff, (2) an elder is being appointed or resigning, or (3) there is a great need for money. While that may not be completely true, without intentional effort by the pastors, it can certainly seem that way. Further, if elders just say, “If you’d ever like to attend one of our meetings, feel free,” they are going to get virtually…

Telemachus was a monk who lived in the 4th century. He went to Rome and found chaos in the streets. The commotion was over the gladiators. He was amazed that four centuries after Christ had come people were still killing each other for sport. When he arrived at the Coliseum the gladiators were shouting, “Hail Caesar, we will die for Caesar.” He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said, “In the name of Christ, forbear.” The crowd protested and began to shout, “Run him through, Run him through.” A gladiator came over and hit…

Balance. It’s one of those words we hear a lot in religious circles. Those of us who preach are encouraged to try to make sure that our preaching is balanced. Many times, our preaching is designed to encourage people to live a balanced life.  I think I learned a technique that will help our balance when I was visiting with an elderly brother years ago. Somehow the subject of my fear of heights came into the discussion. My elderly brother informed me that he had no such fear. In fact, I think he thought it strange that I did. Here was his logic. He asked me if I could walk on a board that was a…

One week from today Jim and I will begin our yearly journey to one of our favorite places – the Great Smoky Mountains. We go to attend Polishing the Pulpit, a conference for Christian people of all ages and areas of service in the church. I can’t say enough good about this gathering of people, so I won’t even attempt to do that. I would, however, like to share with you some of the feasts you can enjoy should you be able to attend. PTP is a physical feast for our family. Not only do we get to visit with some of our immediate family daily, we also get to see many people we…