We went on vacation last summer to Pawley’s Island on the coast of South Carolina where my family has been going since long before I was born. We pursued the most important things you do at the beach — boiled shrimp and drawn butter, fried flounder, fried oysters, and all the accompaniments. On of the restaurants where we ate had …
Preaching has a long and unsteady relationship with prophecy. I was raised to be distrustful of the kind of preaching that would chart a vision for the church in these “end times” – especially if a real chart was involved! Preachers like these always seemed a little too sure of themselves, given that Jesus himself declared that we “know not …
One of the first sermons I ever preached was a eulogy for my grandfather. I was about one year into seminary, and I had not yet taken a single preaching class. My grandfather, meanwhile, was my hero. It was he who first drew me to Jesus and who first modeled for me a Christ-shaped life; it was he who was …
Pastors have been using other preacher’s material for years. When I was growing up, preachers would regularly quote Billy Graham, Vance Pittman, and Charles Spurgeon. They would also throw in a quote from their favorite childhood preacher or seminary professor. This was common and even expected. Preachers steal lines from each other all the time. If you are ever in …
Max Lucado is the teaching minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the most popular authors in the Christian church today. He has more than 90 million books in print and his newest book is entitled, Help is Here: Finding Fresh Strength and Purpose in the Power of the Holy Spirit. He was interviewed recently …
Early on, human beings seemed to discover that one animal, above all others, can take a liking to us. For that reason, we often speak of the fact that a dog is a man’s best friend. At some point, preachers discovered that the same is true of a book. Books may not be so eagerly affectionate as a dog, but …
A technological society envisions deployment of technology that extends personhood beyond restrictions. In other words, in a technological society, techno-human integration pursues creation of the ideal human through enhancement of human functioning without boundaries. To illustrate the point, let’s imagine development of technologies to overcome a human limitation of getting from the first floor to the second floor of a …
The Baptist minister Alexander Maclaren once said, “The Gospel is not a mere message of deliverance, but a canon of conduct; it is not a theology to be accepted, but it is ethics to be lived. It is not to be believed only, but it is to be taken into life as a guide.” As ministers, we have a divine …
“What is that thing you do where you start with something and then bring it back in before the end of the sermon? That’s really effective. What is that?” My questioner was not only a seasoned preacher in his own right and one of my associate pastors – he was my father. He had been hired by my predecessor and so, …
“Will you be content preaching only once or twice a year?” the interviewers wanted to know. I had, after all, labored through years of homiletical graduate studies. At first glance, the Care Pastor role didn’t seem like a step toward the big pulpit or big platform they assumed I sought. “Yes,” I replied with conviction. I had pondered this over the preceding weeks. “Yes, in large …
