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As this is written, the body of Rosa Parks lies in state in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. She is the first woman to be accorded this rare honor. We know Rosa Parks as the heroic woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in 1955, launching the Montgomery bus boycott. By standing up to a racist system, Parks helped give birth to the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. While the accolades given to her in the media are well-deserved, it's likely that many such news reports will not share what Parks herself said was a major factor in her bold actions: her Christian faith. In her book Quiet Strength (Zondervan), she said, "I'd like for [readers] to know that I had a very spiritual background and that I believe in church and my faith and that has helped to give me the strength and courage to live as I did." (Click here to learn more about the book Quiet Strength) Commitment to Christ has been at the root of countless heroic lives -- men and women whose actions have changed our world for the better. Such Christ-centered heroism is a reminder of the power of Christ living in and through us, and an encouragement to allow Him to accomplish His purpose through us today. Michael
Duduit, Editor Plans are underway for the 2007 National Conference on Preaching, which will be April 24-26, 2006, at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX (suburban Dallas). Our theme will be "Preaching Creatively," and when you attend you'll enjoy a team of great speakers, including Haddon Robinson, Calvin Miller, Jack Graham, Dieter Zander, Steve Wende, Doug Pagitt, Brian Carter and many more. Visit the NCP website (www.preaching.com/ncp) to learn more and to register today.
Early planning helps in gathering powerful illustrations In his book Using Illustrations to Preach With Power (Crossway), Bryan Chapell notes that by planning our preaching calendars well ahead, we are more likely to be able to find those great illustrations that make a difference in our sermons: "No filing system is more important or more basic than knowing well ahead of time what your subject and/or text will be. Having the subject or the text in hand some weeks prior to preaching a message is like having a powerful magnet for pertinent ideas and illustrations. "This does not mean that you should have the entire sermon in hand weeks before it is preached. For most of us this is simply impossible, and even if it were possible, such a practice might rob messages of their spontaneous fire. Still, by knowing generally what a sermon will be about, the preacher can begin to collect, sort, and evaluate illustrations long before they are actually needed." (Click here to learn more about the book Using Illustrations to Preach With Power) How far ahead do you plan your sermons? Click here to take a brief PreachingNow survey on sermon planning. We'll compile the results and share them in an upcoming issue. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=897601470227
Equipping your worship leader In his "Worship Matters" email newsletter from Crosswalk.com, Bob Kauflin encourages pastors to take care in recruiting and preparing the worship leader: "A pastor can serve both his worship leader and his church by taking time to choose carefully the right worship leader. Too many churches have a 'revolving door policy' for worship leaders that is the result of poor planning or research. A pastor should look for someone who loves God's glory, and is not striving after personal recognition. Anyone who wants to lead worship out of love for attention ought not to have the opportunity, regardless of gifting. Other areas to evaluate are family life (as applicable), faithfulness in Bible study and prayer, and leadership gifting. A worship leader is meant to be an example for the church . . . Spiritual maturity can make up for a certain lack of musicianship, but the reverse is never true. "Once the right worship leader has been chosen, a pastor should take the responsibility to train him theologically. Here's a sobering quote from John Witoliet: 'Many worship leaders can't name a single book on the theology of worship. Most denominations (admirably) require preachers to pursue rigorous seminary studies before preaching. Yet we require of worship leaders only that they be willing to attend a single rehearsal or committee meeting. We would do well to lovingly challenge our worship leaders to grow in the knowledge and love of God.' (Reformation and Revival, Volume 9, No. 2, "Discerning the Spirits") "A wise pastor provides a book allowance for his worship leader and offers recommendations on what to read. I know I have benefited from reading books not just on worship, but on topics such as the cross, sanctification, and the Holy Spirit. It's also a good idea to attend conferences with your worship leader that will foster discussion and strengthen your relationship."
More on the value of small groups In a recent sermon, John Huffman shares this: "The September 12, 2005, issue of The New Yorker has a profoundly observant article about Saddleback Church and how Rick Warren's congregation grew. It's titled, 'The Cellular Church.' After describing the phenomenon of Rick Warren's ministry, the success of his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, and the huge mega-church he's built here in South Orange County, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, becomes quite philosophical. He notes that vibrant churches hold one thing in common, no matter how small or large they are. They basically are made up of 'small groups' of committed people who know each other and are united in a common commitment. He quotes philosopher Dick Westley, who writes:
The article goes on to note the church in the United States is becoming increasingly active in producing volunteers who are bringing change to our environment. Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow, who has studied the phenomenon closely, says:
3 More Preaching Truth Conferences in 2005 Hundreds of pastors have already been part of one of our "Preaching Truth in a Whatever World" one-day conferences. Today is our Orlando conference, but there is still time for you to plan to be part of one of the other sessions scheduled for 2005. Location information is available on our website at www.preaching.com/truth. 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):
Here's a comment by a pastor who attended the Philadelphia conference in October: "I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. I found it to be very informative, conducted very well and a blessing to my ministry." (Minister Jeff Hickson, New Gethsemane Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA) 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. Visit our information page (www.preaching.com/truth) for more information or to register.
ILLUSTRATION: Born Again, Evangelism The book Irresistible Evangelism (Group Publishing) includes the story of Jan, a staffer with Athletes in Action. After attending a conference where the importance of listening to unsaved people was stressed, Jan and others were relaxing in the hotel whirlpool. Two adolescent girls joined them in the tub. One of the teens, named Brittany, began passionately telling her friend about an upcoming Wiccan gathering she was planning to attend. Jan says: "Normally we would have tried to counter the girl's ideas, but we decided to listen instead. I said something simple like, 'Wow, you really sound excited about this!' This was all the encouragement she needed to launch into a five-minute explanation of why she was so attracted to neo-pagan rituals. The bottom line was that she'd had a really traumatic time in high school and the Wiccas accepted her. She said, "I've gone through so much crap just trying to make it through high school that I'll probably be in therapy for the rest of my life!" "I tried to mirror back what she said with, 'It's hard for you to even imagine a future where you'd be free from all of the pain you've gone through.' "What came next completely floored me. With a film of tears starting to form in her eyes and with complete sincerity in her voice, she said, 'Sometimes I wish I could be born all over again. I'd really like to start over from scratch.' After a long pause, my friend asked if she would really like to be born again. 'Yes, I really would,' she said." (from Irresistible Evangelism by Steve Sjogren, Dave Ping, Doug Pollock; from PreachingToday.com by way of Leadership Weekly e-newsletter)
ILLUSTRATION: Endurance During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, the last runner to finish in the marathon was an athlete from Tanzania. He'd had a difficult race, to say the least. He'd stumbled at one point and ended up bruised, bloodied -- and with a broken leg! But he didn't quit. Even though everyone else had already finished the race and gone home, he kept at it. Finally, at 7 in the evening, he straggled into the near-empty stadium. There were still about 7,000 people on hand to witness his finish, and all 7,000 stood, giving this battered athlete a standing ovation as he finished his last lap. When
this dedicated marathoner was asked, "Why didn't you quit?"
he simply said, "My country did not send me halfway around
the world to start the race; they sent me to finish it." (Rick
Warren, "Running the Race")
ILLUSTRATION: Fathers In the Fall 2005 issue of In Character, James Q. Wilson talks about yet another reason why having a father in the home is so critical for the future of our society: "After holding income constant, boys in father-absent families were twice as likely as those in two-parent ones to go to jail and girls in father-absent families were twice as likely as those in married families to have an out-of-wedlock birth. What all of this means for the rest of society is evident on the evening news programs. Boys without married fathers populate our street gangs, and these gangs are responsible for an inordinately high level of violence. We rely on the police to control gangs, but the important, and often absent, control is that exercised by fathers. "A boy growing up without a father has no personal conception of what it means to acquire skills, find a job, support a family, and be loyal to one's wife and children. Research on the link between unemployment rates and crime has shown that the connection is very weak. The connection between crime and father absence is much higher. Boys in single-parent families are also more likely to be idle rather than in school or unemployed and to drop out of high school. These differences are as great for white families as for black and Hispanic ones and as large for advantaged children as for disadvantaged ones." (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.incharacter.org/article.php?article=46
From the sponsor of this week's PreachingNow: Studies
in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present "I have been telling friends for years that Dale Allison is North America's most complete New Testament scholar. This book proves it. Here Allison navigates not only the deep waters of the historical-critical method but also the refreshing pools suddenly being discovered among the patristics and Eastern Orthodox. Scholars and pastors will find something to ponder on each and every page. Just when I thought Dale had moved on to other topics, here he is again, setting the record straight about Matthew." -- Scot McKnight, North Park University www.bakeracademic.com/studiesinmatthew
ILLUSTRATION: Praise Mary Lou Retton catapulted to international fame at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American woman ever to win the Gold Medal in the All-Around in women's gymnastics. In 1993, almost a decade after her Los Angeles triumph, an Associated Press national survey named her the "Most Popular Athlete in America." When asked about the secret of her success, Mary Lou said, "To be a complete gymnast, someone should be able to sneak up and drag you out at midnight, push you out on some strange floor -- and you should be able to do your entire routine sound asleep in your pajamas. That's the secret. It's got to be a natural reaction." Because of the countless hours spent in the gym practicing, gymnastics became as natural to Mary Lou as breathing. Does praising God come naturally to you? The opportunity for practice is now so you will be ready to spend eternity praising Him. Through prayer and song, each day is another day to perfect your praise. (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 10-19-05)
ILLUSTRATION: Age, Stewardship A little child in church watched for the first time as the ushers passed the offering plates. When they neared the pew where he sat, the youngster piped up so that everyone could hear: "Don't pay for me Daddy, I'm under five."
"Sometimes when I'm faced with an unbeliever, an atheist, I am tempted to invite him to the greatest gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him if he believes there's a cook." (Ronald Reagan)
ILLUSTRATION: Children, Excuses The school receptionist got a call one morning: "Hello, please mark Tommy Smith absent today." "Why?" asked the receptionist. "He is sick," said the caller. "OK. May I ask who is speaking?" asked the receptionist. "My uncle," said Tommy.
"Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" (Frank Scully)
How to Place New Employees Take the prospective employees you are trying to place and put them in a room with only a table and two chairs. Leave them alone for two hours, without any instruction. At the end of that time, go back and see what they are doing. If they have taken the table apart, put them in Engineering. If they are counting the ceiling tiles, assign them to Finance. If they are waving their arms and talking out loud, send them to Consulting. If they are talking to the chairs, Personnel is a good spot for them. If they are wearing green sunglasses and need a haircut, Computer Information Systems is their niche. If they mention what a good price we got for the table and chairs, put them into Purchasing. If they mention that hardwood furniture DOES NOT come from rain forests, Public Relations would suit them well. If they are writing up the experience, send them to the Technical Documents team. If they don't even look up when you enter the room, assign them to Security. If they try to tell you it's not as bad as it looks, send them to Marketing. If they are sleeping, they are Management material. (from The Good, Clean Funnies List)
And finally . . . It wasn't too hard to track down the person who broke into a Charleston, WV veterinarian's office. They found him asleep in his own nearby office with stolen merchandise in his pocket. According to an Oct. 28 Associated Press story, the 26-year-old suspect owns a tire shop next door to the vet. According to AP, "Charleston police responding to the break-in saw a tire shop employee outside that business early Thursday morning, waiting for it to open. The employee said Mays was inside sleeping. "Mays told police he had heard an alarm go off at the veterinarian's office but did not see anything. He then said he needed to use a restroom and walked into another room where Patrolman S.S. Midkiff saw a computer similar to one that had been reported stolen." Police then searched the suspect and allegedly found cash and vials of veterinary drugs in his pockets.
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