Evangelism

A Healthy Church: Putting the Pieces Together

Is your church healthy? Does it have a foundation that can lead to growth and faithfulness? Are there healthy practices and commitments within your church that interact with other practices and commitments to lead to organizational health and faithfulness? These five components are essential for a healthy church:

Pray More Than You Post and Share More Than You Shout

Farenheit 451 is the first dystopian novel I ever read and it is still my favorite (though I’m working through A Brave New World–if you can call it dystopian–right now, so it could change). I read it in middle school, so I didn’t fully understand the concepts in the book or the purpose behind the …

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8 Keys to Effective Event Evangelism

It is October, which means many churches will be hosting fall carnivals. Most churches hope that these carnivals will result in blessing their community and in sharing the gospel. Event evangelism is not dead, but if it is not done well it might turn out to be a scary failure in your church. Here are …

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Will You Go?

Several weeks ago we commissioned Luke and Patty Tolbert as missionaries to Latvia through the International Mission Board (See my post about them here). Here is the sermon from that Sunday.

Pastor, Share Your Faith

I enjoyed my time at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix, AZ this year. I was reminded this week how much I love being a Southern Baptist. They are my family. Just like my biological family we don’t always get everything right, but warts and all I love the SBC. Several things …

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Pastors: VBS, Because The Gospel Matters

Why do I care about Vacation Bible School? Kids and their parents need to hear the gospel and about thirty-percent of the families who attend our VBS are unchurched. Pastors, make Vacation Bible School a priority. I recognize that it may seem old fashioned and some of you have actually changed the name or maybe …

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What Were You Saved For?

Some of you grammar nazis will point out that the title of this should be, For What Were You Saved? But, proper grammar in this context takes away the impact. I want you to consider what were you saved for? We think often about all that we’ve been saved from. There is no shortage of videos of cardboard …

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Evangelism and Aliens

Martin had worked for an oil company for more than 20 years and was on his way to meet his new boss. He sat across the train from me and talked about his kids. His son was unruly and apparently a disappointment. He liked Donald Trump. He attended church at Christmas and for baptisms but felt …

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Hurt Kids and the Hope of the Gospel

My heart hurts. Another day, more news of children suffering. One kid is neglected because mom prioritizes her boyfriend above her child. Two others are abandoned so mom and dad can get high. Another story of a system that has failed to care for vulnerable children in foster care and in the womb. My kids …

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