“Utmost importance!” That sounds serious! Just how important and how serious is the preacher’s personal spiritual growth and his personal time with the Lord? The purpose of this article is to address the importance and implementation of spiritual growth ... Read More »

In a culture that is increasingly privatized, individualized and scandalized, the need for preachers to care genuinely for those to whom they preach perhaps has never been so important. Whether he chooses to acknowledge it or not, the manner in which the preac... Read More »

Local churches have had legendary battles over the temperature setting of thermostats. Who gets to control the temperature in the sanctuary: the pastor or the trustees? While a pastor can concede the temperature setting of the sanctuary thermostat to the trust... Read More »

Some Christian clichés are passed around in our circle of churches because they sound nice. They may not always be theologically air-tight. Take this one, for instance: When God closes a door, He opens a window. Climbing through windows is becoming of a burgl... Read More »

Karl Barth, the famed and influential German theologian, was quoted as saying, “One must do theology with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.” I suggest that just as Barth stated that theology has a dual quality of biblical and world educat... Read More »

As text-driven preachers, we long to “rightly divide” the Word from the pulpit. We go deep into the structure of the text, analyzing the syntax and semantics, longing for the truth of God’s inspired Word to awake our souls as we aim to awake ... Read More »

I’m not a very creative person. As a matter of fact, more often than I wish to admit, I’m confronted by the fact that I’m a pretty predictable guy. That’s not to say I don’t have creative moments but that those moments tend to come slowly over time. ... Read More »

In 1967 Charles E. Hummel wrote a little book, which he titled Tyranny of the Urgent. In it Hummel argued that we often live in this tension between the things that are “urgent” and the things that are truly important, with the urgent usually winning out. ... Read More »

To assume that our autonomy often fosters a spirit of independence is not much of a stretch, but to acknowledge that it infiltrates the preaching event probably escapes most of us. It certainly has for me often. I suggest that in the preaching event we battle ... Read More »

Let’s face it. We have all seen their faces. Bill looks likely to snore at any moment. Cindy seems to be staring off into outer space. John’s iPhone has him on lock. The youth giggle flirtatiously. Even worse, you watched at least a dozen folks who attende... Read More »

The Apostle Paul depicts the clear description of the gospel in his statement, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the... Read More »

Within the course of a normal day I wear several hats: resident theologian, primary preacher, chief administrator, counselor, hospital chaplain, bereavement specialist, and most importantly husband and father. These responsibilities alone are more than the res... Read More »