Seven Reasons You Should “Coach-Up” Your Sermons— I wrote this for LifeWay’s Pastors blog. Regardless of your reasons, the question remains the same: who is analyzing your sermons? If you answered no one, then perhaps these reasons can help to convince you that there is a need. The “Together” of Evangelism— As we emphasize the personal …
Writing in the 40’s, C.S. Lewis found himself “constantly opposed not by the irreligion of our hearers but by their real religion.” The “real religion” of the popular world of Lewis’ time was one that he defined as Pantheism. Pantheism is the religious idea that the universe or nature is one with the divine. Pantheistic …
A Chilling New Front in the War on Religious Liberty— Denny Burk writes on an issue we should all be informed about. Why would the ACLU and gay rights groups remove their support for such a measure? Because the current form of the bill provides an exemption for religious employers. The ACLU et al. have …
Conversion isn’t merely a good feeling. It’s not just a change of mind. It’s not turning over a new leaf. Those things may happen, but they can happen for reasons other than conversion. True conversion is unique. It’s born out of repentance and faith, and its fruit is a changed life. J. Mack Stiles, Evangelism The book …
The Me Time Myth— This article is very beneficial. I’m beginning to see some who are divorcing Chrsitian responsibility and ministry from their family. “Me Time isn’t the glorious missing piece in our lives. Life actually isn’t all about us, as some would have us believe. Our time belongs to God, to our children and …
Since yesterday I wrote about what we are learning from our daughter, today it is appropriate for me to write about what I am learning from and through my son. Wyatt is all boy. He loves baseball, basketball, football, bike riding, and dirt. He is just like his daddy which can make for frustrating interactions …
The nature and question of true conversion is a hot topic in the church today. At the Southern Baptist Convention this year, David Platt found himself in a bit of hot water by questioning the validity of the “sinner’s prayer.” The debate there hinges on the exact usefulness of a canned prayer to bring about …
Tim Brister on evangelism and Sowing the Seed of the gospel. I know there are some caveats to this (people already know they are Christians, etc.), but all the aside, this is really sobering to me. It has been by researchers that the average number of times a person will hear the gospel before they …
Getting to know our neighbors is not always an easy endeavor in today’s society. My good friend Ben Stevens has written an article, “To Love Your Neighbor, You Must Know Your Neighbor,” that can help us in this important aspect of the Christian life. As pastors, we need to encourage our people to get to …
“The healthy evangelist is asking these questions and looking for answers so as to guard the gospel. Here is the critical test. Could you have preached that sermon if Christ had not died on the cross? Could you have developed that Christian leadership principle had Christ not been crucified? I’m not saying be impractical-the Bible …