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The great preacher A.W. Tozer wrote these words as the covenant and prayer of a preacher. Here's an abridged version: "O Lord, I have heard Thy voice and was afraid. Thou has called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. Thou art about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, my Lord, Thou has stooped to honor me to be Thy servant. No man taketh this honor upon himself save he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Thou has ordained me Thy messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected Thee, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the servant. "My God, I shall not waste time deploring my weakness nor my unfittedness for the work. The responsibility is not mine, but Thine. Thou has said, "I knew thee -- I ordained thee -- I sanctified thee," and Thou hast also said, "Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak." Who am I to argue with Thee or to call into question Thy sovereign choice? The decision is not mine but Thine. So be it, Lord. Thy will, not mine, be done. "Well do I know, Thou God of the prophets and the apostles, that as long as I honor Thee Thou will honor me. Help me therefore to take this solemn vow to honor Thee in all my future life and labors, whether by gain or by loss, by life or by death, and then to keep that vow unbroken while I live. . . . "Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet -- not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. "I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that could make life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. . . . "And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven." (Click here to read the full prayer.) http://www.sendrevival.com/pioneers/awtozer/the_prayer_of_a_minor_prophet.htm Michael
Duduit, Editor There will not be an issue of PreachingNow next week. The next issue will be dated Sept. 6. Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: How we talk about faith; Did Cindy Sheehan's son die in vain?
The Pursuit of Creativity In his new book Inside-Out Worship (Regal Books), Matt Redman observes, "We human beings are made in such a way that our ears can hear around 230,000 different tones, and our eyes distinguish between 8 million color differences. God has designed us to recognize and value His astounding creativity. More than that, He has formed us to be creative ourselves. As worshippers of the Creator God, and as those made in His image, one of the best ways we express what's going on inside is through outward displays of creativity. . . . "One of the reasons we encounter a lack of creativity in the Church is that we have not created the right environment for it. Creative expression thrives under certain conditions and dies under others. In an environment of harsh criticism, and no room for experimentation or risk-taking, the creative flow will soon perish. Yet, too often in the Church, we live under these conditions and all too quickly clamp down on any new forms of expression. Of course, creative types must learn to submit to authority and to love the people of God in such a way that they will always seek to bring in new expressions humbly and pastorally. But we must leave space to experiment . . ." (Click here to learn more about the book Inside-Out Worship.)
One out of six base moral decisions on Bible According to a recent Barna Research Group national survey, just over half of all adults say they make moral choices "on the basis of specific principles or standards they believe in. Other common means of making moral choices include doing what feels right or comfortable (24%), doing whatever makes the most people happy or causes the least conflict (9%), and pursuing whatever produces the most positive outcomes for the person (7%)." Among those who say they make moral decisions based on specific principles, about a third named the Bible as the sources of those principles. That means just one out of every six adults (16%) claim they make their moral choices based on the content of the Bible, Barna explains. That total is higher among evangelicals (60%) than among non-evangelical born again adults (20%). Barna reports that Protestants are "three times as likely as Catholics to base their morals on Biblical teaching (23% versus 7%, respectively)." Barna also indicates that, "When asked whether they believe moral truth is based on absolute standards or is relative to the circumstances, Americans are divided into roughly equal segments. About one-third (35%) contends that moral truth is absolute -- that is, it is not dependent upon the circumstances. Another one-third (32%) says that morality is always determined by the situation. The remaining one-third (33%) indicates that they do not know if moral truth is absolute or relative. "Once again, people's religious connections relate to their perspective on truth. A large majority of evangelicals (70%) report believing that moral truth is absolute. But a minority of non-evangelical born again adults (42%) holds that same view, and even fewer of the notional Christians (25%), people associated with non-Christian faiths (16%) and those who claim to be atheist or agnostic (27%) embrace moral absolutes." (Click here to read the full story.) http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=194
Why Churches Die The purpose of the book Why Churches Die (Broadman & Holman) "is to expose the diseases, poisons and ailments found in almost epidemic proportions in virtually every church." Authors Mac Brunson (First Baptist, Dallas) and Ergun Caner (Liberty University) discuss the symptoms of these church-borne infections, diagnose a cure, and offer a "biblical prognosis." Pastors and church leaders will benefit from the insights offered, and are likely to recognize one or more of the ailments discussed. In their chapter "Atrophy: Shrunken Faith and Coasting on the Past," the authors write: "Spiritual atrophy -- the deterioration of your spiritual muscles from lack of use -- is such an insidious disease and poison that it afflicts virtually every Christian at one time or another. Resting on our laurels and rejoicing in victories long since fought is so winsome that entire churches have been built on this disease! They have become mausoleums to yesterday and museums to display revivals long ago, rather than sacred places where men and women seek the face of God daily." (Click here to learn more about the book Why Churches Die.)
ILLUSTRATION: Worship There's a story about a man who, leaving church one Sunday, complained about the music. "I didn't like the hymns you chose today," he said. The pastor simply replied, "That's okay; we weren't singing them for you." The pastor may have been too blunt, but he made a good point. In our consumer-oriented world, we sometimes think church services are just for us. But we aren't spectators attending a show; we're participants in the greatest and most uplifting enterprise in the universe -- worshiping God. Though we are blessed in doing it, our worship is not for ourselves -- it is for Him. We are praising God for His power, His glory, His majesty, His wisdom, His holiness, His goodness, and His grace. The
late William Temple, archbishop of Canterbury, put it well in
his oft-quoted definition of worship: "To worship is to quicken
the conscience by the holiness of God, to purge the imagination
by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and
to devote the will to the purpose of God." (Turning Point
Daily Devotional, 8-12-05)
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 Begin This Week Our first one-day preaching conference for the fall will be this Thursday in Denver, then the schedule continues with nine additional events across the U.S. Using the theme "Preaching Truth in a Whatever World," 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) Visit our information page (www.preaching.com/truth) for more information or to register.
ILLUSTRATION: Work, Values A Public Agenda Foundation study, coauthored by Daniel Yankelovich, came up with these top ten qualities that today's workers want in a job: 1.
Work with people who treat me with respect Ponder that list. Notice what isn't included in the top ten: job security, benefits, vacation time, and high salary. Yet most companies still operate as though they are the big four -- the only ways to motivate and keep their employees. (Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, 6-23-05)
ILLUSTRATION: Work, Labor Michael Boyer wrote an article for the National Geographic titled, "A Work-Weary World?" that may give us a little comfort. He notes that Americans are famous for their work ethic. However, according to a study by the International Labor Organization we are no longer the world leaders in hours worked per year. South Korea's booming economy necessitates a six-day work week. In the past few years, South Koreans have averaged 2,390 hours of work per year, as compared to the 1,792 hours of work per year in the U.S. Workers in Japan, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand also worked more hours than U.S. workers. Swedish workers clocked the fewest work hours in an average year, only about 1,337. (King Duncan, "Free At Last!" eSermons.com)
ILLUSTRATION: Persuasion After a trial had been going on for three days, John Smith -- the defendant -- stood up and approached the judge's bench. "Your Honor, I would like to change my plea from 'innocent' to 'guilty' of the charges." The judge angrily banged his fist on the desk. "If you're guilty, why didn't you say so in the first place and save this court a lot of time and inconvenience?" he demanded. Smith looked up wide-eyed and stated, "Well, when the trial started I thought I was innocent, but that was before I heard all the evidence against me." (from Cybersalt Digest)
ILLUSTRATION: Backsliding, Christian Life On June 16, 1993, USA Today carried an article concerning the National Park Service and its rising costs to rescue people who get into trouble in the various national parks across America. Last year the National Park Service spent $1.4 million on 5,000 rescues, not counting the $1.7 million donated by the military in providing search planes and helicopters. The overall concern is that Adventure Tourism -- such as climbing, caving, kayaking -- is getting out of hand. The thought is that if people who get themselves into trouble have to pay for the rescue service, rather than being provided it, they might be more careful. Therefore, if you are hiking and get lost, you would have to pay the financial bill to rescue you, which could go into the thousands of dollars. The title of the article caught my attention: "You Stray, You Pay!" There is an incredible spiritual application to this article. If you stray from God and His will, you will pay for it. It does not matter who you are or what you do, you pay for straying from God. (Ronnie Floyd, "Devotion . . . Struggles . . . and Failures")
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ILLUSTRATION: Golf, Improvement Jack was first up in his foursome. Eyeing the ball, he swung his club and hooked his shot over the fence and down a road where the ball crashed through the windshield of an oncoming car. The startled driver lost control of his vehicle, and it spun into a parking lot and bounced off three cars. Jack raced over to the crash scene and was relieved to find that no one was hurt. Almost immediately, a policeman arrived and approached Jack, who was standing next to the crashed car, eyeing his ball. "Just what are you going to do about this?" demanded the policeman. Jack looked up and said, "Well, the first thing I'm going to do is change my grip."
ILLUSTRATION: Baptism A lady brought a litter of golden retriever puppies to the neighborhood veterinary clinic for inoculations and worming. As the look-alike pups squirmed over and under one another in their box, the vet realized it would be difficult to tell the treated ones from the rest. He turned on the water faucet, wet his fingers, and moistened each dog's head when he had finished. After the fourth puppy, the hitherto talkative client had grown silent. As the vet sprinkled the last pup's head, the woman leaned forward and whispered, "I didn't know they had to be baptized."
ILLUSTRATION: Interest, Commitment In his book, The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard says, "There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses."
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: Prayer, Quick Thinking The new army recruit was given guard duty at 2 a.m. He did his best for a while, but at about 4 a.m. he went to sleep. He awakened to find the officer of the day standing before him. Remembering the heavy penalty for being asleep on guard duty, this smart young man kept his head bowed for another moment and looked upward and reverently said, "Amen!"
"The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time." (Carl F. H. Henry)
A burglar broke into a home and started to gather his loot. All of a sudden he heard, "Jesus is watching you!" He didn't see anything in the dark house, so he went on with what he was doing. Again he heard, "Jesus is watching you!" so he turned on the flashlight, scanned the room, and finally saw a parrot. "Did you say that?" asked the burglar. "Yes," replied the parrot. "What's your name?" the burgler inquired. "Moses," answered the parrot. "That's a strange name for a parrot. Who named you that?" "The same people who named their doberman Jesus!"
Back to school time You Might Be a Schoolteacher If . . . * Every day is a bad hair day. * You worry about getting sued for self-esteem violations. * You believe the staff room should be equipped with Valium salt licks. * You stand on your front porch instructing the neighbor children to "Walk!" * You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to only work 8-3 and have your summers free." * You refer to adults as "boys and girls." * You encourage your husband by telling him he is a "good helper." * You believe chocolate is a major food group. * You can tell it's a full moon without ever looking outside. * You believe "extremely annoying" should have its own box on the report card. * When you are out in public you snap your fingers at children who are misbehaving. * You give your husband "the look" when he "misbehaves." * Putting all A's on the report card would be so much easier. * You think people should be required to get a government permit before being allowed to reproduce, earned by having worked in a middle school for 5 years. * You've encouraged a parent to check into home schooling. * You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac. * You think that caffeine should be available in IV form. * Meeting a child's parent instantly answers the question, "Why is this kid like that?" (from
Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe go to
http://www.sermonfodder.com)
And finally . . . Next time he won't come home without them. One day in 1966, James Lubeck was on his sailboat in Marblehead (MA) Harbor, when he bent over and his wallet slipped out of his pocket and into the water, presumably lost forever. So Lubeck (now 74) was surprised recently to get a call from a fisherman, Antonino Randazzo, who found a sheath of credit cards in the midst of a catch he made in June -- roughly 25 miles from where Lubeck lost the wallet. According to an August 22 AP story, "The sheath was caked in mud, but the 10 to 12 credit and identification cards were in pristine condition." The leather of the wallet, plus the cash and checks that had been in it, were long perished. After learning about the find, Lubeck recalled the experience, including the $300 in expense checks that had been in his wallet when it went in the bay. "Thirty-nine years ago, $300 was a lot of money," he said. So are 39 years worth of late charges on those credit cards.
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