The Daily Docket (9/4/14)
A Tale of Two Mars Hills— A very good analysis from Eric Geiger. The Marriage Bed for the Exhausted Wife— This couple used to connect intimately multiple times per week, even daily. That dwindled to twice per week, then once. Now the exhausted wife avoids sex as much as possible and the couple is distant emotionally, …
The Daily Docket (9/3/14)
When Childhood Has Become A Race— Every parent needs to read this. Could it not be that our ambitions for our children’s success, however we define it, busy our children out of opportunities for their real formation? In my own family, what’s most important seem to be the insignificant events: meals together around the table, Saturday …
Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church
Mental illness and the church, not many people are talking about this issue, but it is real and it is affecting individuals and churches all across the landscape of Christianity. In my own church, mental illness is a normal reality with which we wrestle on a regular basis. We have many young people and adults …
The Daily Docket (8/26/14)
10 Leadership Lessons Learned From My Mentor– This is a good article from Chris Hefner. The great thing about the lessons he has learned from his mentor is that he has shared them with me. I have been mentored by Pastor Greg Mathis by proxy, and his leadership has benefited me greatly. One Space After …
You Taught My Child When I Couldn’t
Yesterday, we celebrated children’s day in our church. It’s an annual tradition, we celebrate the kids who are moving into the student ministry and we invite our children to participate in leading worship. They greeted us, led us in singing, prayed publicly, read scripture, collected the offering and even participated in the sermon. It was …
Sermon Checkup
Several years ago, I was involved in an email discussion about sermon evaluations. A friend and fellow pastor was inquiring about how to do a more effective job at sermon evaluation in his context. Here’s how I responded, “I use a sermon outline with a central question (I creatively term it The Big Question or …
Preaching and Praying Yourself Hot
Earlier this week I took time to listen to a short video on sermon preparation featuring Bryan Chapell, Mike Bullmore, and Alistair Begg. The entire video is worth your time if you are a preacher or a teacher of the Bible. It was Alistair Begg’s summary of sermon preparation that jumped out at me. As …