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It’s back to school time. As you see those eager young students preparing to head off to college, it might be a reality check (and an aid to communication) to consider the annual Beloit College Mindset List® for the Class of 2008 (click here to access the full list):
© 2004 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/releases/mindset_2008.htm Michael
Duduit, Editor Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: Celebrating a Birthday; the Pool of Siloam If you missed this year's National Conference on Preaching, you can still obtain audio tapes and CDs. Click here to learn more. And be sure to mark your calendar for April 24-26, 2006, for the next NCP in Dallas, with the theme "Preaching Creatively." (Click here for more information on NCP 2006)
Preaching is indispensable In his daily commentary on August 9, R. Albert Mohler wrote, "Expository preaching is central, irreducible, and nonnegotiable to the Bible's mission of authentic worship that pleases God. John Stott's simple declaration states the issue boldly: "Preaching is indispensable to Christianity." More specifically, preaching is indispensable to Christian worship -- and not only indispensable, but central. "The centrality of preaching is the theme of both testaments of Scripture. In Nehemiah 8 we find the people demanding that Ezra the scribe bring the book of the law to the assembly. Ezra and his colleagues stand on a raised platform and read from the book. When he opens the book to read, the assembly rises to its feet in honor of the word of God and their response to the reading is to answer, "Amen, Amen!" "Interestingly, the text explains that Ezra and those assisting him 'read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading' (Neh. 8:8). This remarkable text presents a portrait of expository preaching. Once the text was read, it was carefully explained to the congregation. Ezra did not stage an event or orchestrate a spectacle -- he simply and carefully proclaimed the word of God. "This text is a sobering indictment of much contemporary Christianity. According to the text, a demand for biblical preaching erupted within the hearts of the people. They gathered as a congregation and summoned the preacher. This reflects an intense hunger and thirst for the preaching of the word of God. Where is this desire evident among today's evangelicals?" (Click here to read the full commentary) http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-08-09
Are churches designed for women? The September-October issue of Preaching will include an interview with David Murrow, author of the book Why Men Hate Going to Church (Thomas Nelson). In an interview Murrow did with FaithfulReader.com, he observes, "Most churches are female-friendly without realizing it. What do I mean? Studies have shown that women and older adults gravitate toward security. And that's what we provide on Sunday: a secure, unchanging ritual. Evangelistic churches sell security every Sunday: walk down this aisle and your spot in heaven is secured. "Our volunteer opportunities revolve around traditionally female roles: child care, teaching, singing, cooking and social gatherings. A woman has dozens of places to use her experiences and gifts; men have their choice of usher or committee work (The only men who break out of this mold are those who happen to be gifted in the areas of teaching or music). "Men and younger adults, on the other hand, gravitate toward challenge. They like risk, competition and adventure. But these things are discouraged in the local church, because they have the potential to upset people. (That's the 11th commandment in today's church: Do whatever you want, as long as you keep the peace). "Then there's praise music, which gets more romantic by the day (I call it "Jesus is my boyfriend" music). Men are looking for a leader, not a lover. Even the gospel itself is presented in terms of a woman's fantasy: a personal relationship with a man who loves you unconditionally. And we focus exclusively on Christ's soft side. If today's Christ were a radio station, his slogan would be, "All tenderness, all the time." "Obviously, men could use more masculine imagery, illustrations and music. We could offer more volunteer opportunities for men to use their skills and gifts, instead of trying to squeeze men into roles they consider feminine. We should go back to the structure Jesus gave us: a church built on a small-group discipleship paradigm, instead of the classroom model that dominates today's church. There would be less emphasis on studying about God and more emphasis on having adventures with God." (Click here to read the full interview. And click here to learn more about the book Why Men Hate Going to Church.)
Videos and copyright confusion With the increasing usage of video as an element of worship and preaching, there is also increasing confusion about the legalities of such use. In a recent issue of the Church Central newsletter, Anthony Coppedge points out: "Some churches have subscribed to Christian Video Licensing International thinking this license covers them for any video usage. CVLI provides churches and ministry organizations with two options for using their license. The first allows for usage of video from a select list of smaller video production companies (no big name companies here). "Their second license type is called the Total Producer Package, and does cover a few recognizable names such as Artisan Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Classics, Sony Pictures Classics, Touchstone Pictures, Turner Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures. "This covers quite a few movies for playback, but it still doesn't allow for a church to digitize clips or edit from DVD or VHS to another source. That kind of license is called a Synchronization and Mechanical license, and must be obtained from the movie license holder, even if they're a CVLI-listed company." (To read the complete article, click here.)
ILLUSTRATION: Greatness, Character In his Tuesday Mornings newsletter of Aug. 2, Tom Barnard talks about baseball great Ted Williams: "His career ended on a high note. In his final game as a player, Williams came to bat in the eighth inning. It was to be the final at-bat of his long career. The fans in Fenway Park erupted in cheers. Everyone hoped for a dream ending, and Williams came through. He hit a home run, the 521st of his career. "A seldom-told story remains from 1959, Williams' next-to-last season. He struggled at the plate that year, batting a career-low .254. He suffered from a pinched nerve in his neck, and that affected his effectiveness at the plate. It was the first season in his long career that he batted less than .300, with only 10 home runs. At the time, he was the highest-paid player in sports. The Red Sox sent him a contract for 1960 with the same salary he had earned in 1959. He refused to sign the contract until Sox officials lowered the amount by 25%. Williams said, "They were offering me a contract I didn't deserve, and I only wanted what I deserved." That next year he raised his batting average 62 points, closing out a brilliant career by hitting that historic home run in his final time at bat. "How do you measure greatness? In professional sports, the public demands to see the statistics. But in life, how is greatness measured -- public opinion, reputation, record of achievement, honors given? None of these, actually. For the Christian, at least, greatness is not something a person sees when looking in a mirror. Greatness is something Christ sees when he looks at our hearts -- devotion, honesty, humility, simplicity, loyalty, faithfulness, and obedience." (For a free subscription to Tuesday Mornings, write to Dr. Tom Barnard at barnard22@cox.net.)
ILLUSTRATION: Warning In his book Echoes of Eternity, Dennis Kastens says that during World War II the city of Palermo, Sicily, a military objective of the Allied Powers, was to be bombed by the American Air Force. To warn the Sicilians, telling them to flee, thousands of pamphlets were dropped on the city beforehand, but the citizens simply did not believe the warning. They listened, but they did not hear! When the American planes came and dropped their bombs, hundreds of Sicilians were killed; in fact, in some cold, dead hands were found the very pages urging them to leave the city. Jesus urges His disciples not to just hear the words of the kingdom but to actually follow them, to act upon them. (Click here to learn more about the book Echoes of Eternity)
Preaching Truth Conferences Set for Ten Cities A new round of our one-day preaching conferences -- using the theme "Preaching Truth in a Whatever World" -- will be held in cities across the U.S. this fall. Each event will feature presentations by Dr. Michael Duduit, editor of Preaching magazine and PreachingNow, and an array of outstanding guest speakers. Here are dates and areas for fall conferences (exact church location/address is at our website, www.preaching.com/truth):
These conferences will offer insights into the unique preaching challenges of today, and will offer a toolbox of strategies and ideas for effective biblical preaching in today's "whatever" culture. Here are some of the comments from pastors who participated in this conference last fall: "The 'Preaching in a Whatever World' conference was refreshing and informative to me as a pastor-teacher. The information concerning postmodernism and its impact in preaching was both practical and balanced." (Chris Regas, Glenwood Baptist Church, Kansas City, MO) "The preaching conference gave me a fresh perspective concerning the task and joy of preaching the good news." (Ronnie Jones, Gethsemane Church of Christ, Mechanicsville, VA) "Michael Duduit is an exceptional communicator in assisting pastors who take preaching seriously. It was a refreshing and life changing experience for me as a preacher of God's Word." (Mark Street, Milligan Free Will Baptist Church, Johnson City, TN) Visit our information page (www.preaching.com/truth) for more information or to register.
ILLUSTRATION: Grace Gordon McDonald tells this story (which he got from Parker Palmer): It is said that when Cardinal Basil Hume was in his 80's, he recalled a time in his childhood when his mother told him to keep his hand out of the cookie jar lest God see him and be harsh with him. But now, he imagined, if he should stand before God, the Lord just might say, "Basil, why didn't you take two?" (LeadershipJournal.net, 8/1/05)
ILLUSTRATION: Seeds, Soil, Parable of Sower Kathy Hoffman writing in The Upper Room tells about walking in the woods in early spring in her native Georgia when she noticed an unfamiliar plant along the trail. Strikingly beautiful, it had tiers of large, variegated leaves and was crowned by a deep red blossom. Further down the path in the gravel was another plant with four small leaves misshapen from being stepped on. Their color was concealed completely by mud. Kathy was surprised to discover it was the same kind of plant whose beauty had caught her attention earlier. She felt sorry that this little plant had sprouted in such a hostile spot. Then she says this: "Nature does not give seeds a choice about where they are planted. A plant may suffer malnutrition if it grows in rocky soil or be bruised and broken by passersby, and a plant in inhospitable surroundings has no power to move to a more favorable spot. Unlike plants," she adds, "people can make choices that affect their growth." (King Duncan, A Niche for Every Inch, www.eSermons.com)
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ILLUSTRATION: Rules, Thrift An infantry brigade was training in the summer heat, learning methods to counter offensive tactics. That summer, the area had experienced an infestation of rattlesnakes. Officers and NCOs were given one magazine of live ammunition to counter this danger, as several men had already been bitten. So much ammunition was expended shooting, supposedly, at snakes that the post commander demanded that every officer and NCO who had shot at a snake present the dead snake as proof that the expenditure of rounds was justifiable. The next day, the post commander entered his office and spotted a shoebox on his desk. He opened it, revealing a sleepy and sluggish, but very live, rattlesnake. Inside the box were twenty expended cartridges, and a short note. The note said, "I missed!" ("The Good, Clean Funnies List")
ILLUSTRATION: Golf A golfer set up his ball on the first tee, took a mighty swing and hit his ball into a clump of trees. He found his ball and saw an opening between two trees he thought he could hit through. Taking out his 3-wood, he took another mighty swing; the ball hit a tree, bounced back, hit him in the forehead and killed him. As he approached the gates of Heaven, St. Peter saw him coming and asked "Are you a good golfer?" to which the man replied, "Got here in two, didn't I?"
LeaderLinks is a web-based publication for Christian leaders. The July-August issue is now available at www.leaderlinks.com. Interested readers can also go to the site (or just click here) and subscribe to LeadingNow, a monthly e-mail newsletter featuring ideas and resources for Christian leaders. LeaderLinks is a publication of American Ministry Resources, which is the publisher of PreachingNow, Preaching magazine and preaching.com.
ILLUSTRATION: Work, Security After being laid off from five different jobs in four months, Bud was hired to work in a warehouse. One day he accidentally drove his forklift right off the side of the loading dock. Surveying the damage, the owner shook his head and said he'd have to withhold 10 percent of Bud's wages to pay for the repairs. "How much will it cost?" asked Bud. "About $5,000," said the owner. Bud smiled and said, "What a relief -- I've finally got job security!"
Q: What do you get when you cross a Unitarian-Universalist with a Jehovah's Witness? A: Somebody who comes knocking at your door for no apparent reason.
More church bulletin bloopers ~Announcement in the church bulletin for a National PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals." ~Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 pm in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King. ~The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict. ~The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water" The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus" ~Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get. ~Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons. ~During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit. ~The Pastor will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy." ~Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days. ~A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow. ~At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice. ~Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones. ~The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir. ~For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs. ~Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch. ~The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility. ~Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm. Prayer and medication to follow. (from the Humorama newsletter)
And finally . . . The surfer dudes are getting a bit smaller down under. According to an August 12 Reuters story, Australian Shane Willmott is training three mice -- named Harry, Chopsticks and Bunsen -- "to surf small waves on tiny mouse-size surf boards at beaches on the country's Gold Coast. The mice are put through rigorous bathtub training and then some have their fur dyed when it is time to hit the beach." Wilmott explains, "Usually if he is surfing big waves, I usually color his hair up. Because he's white, when he gets in the whitewash it's hard to find him."
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