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Defining a “Successful” Gospel Meeting
For me, this is Gospel Meeting season. As this article is being released, I am finishing up a meeting in Vinton, Virginia, and then Central will host our Gospel Meeting in a couple of weeks. (With Hiram Kemp speaking…and you’re invited!) For many years now, I have heard members, preachers, and elders talk about Gospel Meetings. Should we still have them? How do we get more people to come? Are they worth it? This article won’t give a full answer to all of those questions, but maybe it will give some clarity of thought to them. From the outset, though, let me state my bias. I am still one who…
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Bear-ly Living
It is not unusual for communities to establish a sort of identity (and maybe raise a little revenue) by establishing some sort of unique celebration, event, etc. For example, my hometown is Metropolis, Illinois. Even though there are no tall buildings to “leap over with a single bound,” there is a “Superman Celebration.” I now live in Paducah, Kentucky where the National Quilt Museum is located. Each year, our population increases temporarily because of “Quilt Week.” I’m sure you can come up with many, many more examples of events and celebrations like these. I recently became aware of one such event/celebration that may, at least to me, be among the most unique ones in existence. If…
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Standing Alone
Jim and I went over into southern Illinois to do some visiting the other day. It was a road I hadn’t been on in a long time and I enjoyed the beautiful trees just beginning to change to their Autumn colors and the huge fields full of grain that was ready to be harvested. As we rode along I noticed one particular field of soybeans and standing in clear sight in the middle of that field was a lone stalk of corn that had somehow survived the summer in that field of another crop. It looked almost comical standing there two feet higher than the soybean crop. It looked out of…
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The Most Controversial Thing about Parents in Our Society
It is hard to watch, read, or scan the news and not see some story or headline about parents. Maybe it has to do with school curricula. Maybe it has to do with the medical establishment. Maybe it has to do with local sports’ leagues. But it is quite an interesting thing to hear the word “parents” in the news so often. It got me thinking about something that is quite telling, but also extremely sad. And it may just be the most controversial thing about parents in our society. What is it? That they are actually acting as parents! What does it say about our culture that parents trying…
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Thank You, Mr. Wills
Do you recognize the young man in the picture? Does his name, Frank Wills, help at all? What about the fact that he is wearing some kind of uniform? Does the picture of the lock help at all? You may be interested to know that Jeff Bezos recently thought that it was valuable enough to pay $62,500 for it at an auction. Those of us who have been around a while probably easily recognize names like John Dean, H. R. Haldeman, John Erlichman, John Mitchell, G. Gordon Liddy, Chuck Colson, and, of course. Richard M. Nixon. We probably would have a fairly easy time identifying most of them by their pictures as well. Although half…
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We’re All in This Together
To be honest, I’m a little new to this whole thing, you know, the whole, “I’m the one who writes, and you’re the ones who read.” And I’m sure you’re wondering “What’s a fifteen year old girl doing writing this article?” Well, I’ve actually brewed up a topic for this article, believe it or not. The topic in question is our called duty to work as “God’s Army.” But what does that mean? I’m not in the army, right? Why are God’s people supposed to be an army? Isn’t that violent? As a younger christian I never was able to grasp this idea; the idea that we are a called…
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When the Preacher Responds
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…
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Ruined by a Towel Rack
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…
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How Soon We Forget
I just attended my class reunion for the class of ‘67… yes, that means that I graduated from high school 55 years ago… and yes, that means I’m getting old. I had a wonderful time with those classmates who were able to come and we reminisced about those happy high school days when we were young and full of energy. I remember hearing the phrase “remember when” a great deal on both Friday and Saturday evenings. There were some things I had forgotten about until someone would give the details and it would all come flooding back. We enjoyed being with one another again, reliving the past and hearing about what is…
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Words Matter, Literally
I’ve had the idea for this article for a long time, and have just waited for something newsworthy to use as the basis for getting it on paper. Recently, that happened, and I hope it shows the power of one word and how the meaning of words really matters. Words mean things, and those meanings can change over time. However, there are some changes in meaning that can have serious consequences if we do not think them through. If you look up the word “literally” in a dictionary, you know what to expect; or do you? We know what that word means. We use it to emphasize something that might…
