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It's hard to express just how excited I am about this year's National Conference on Preaching, which is going to focus on the subject of "Preaching Creatively." As we seek to communicate the gospel in an increasingly secularized culture, we must find ways to overcome the hurdles of apathy and complacency we face in the pews each Sunday, and creative communication is one of the essential tools for that task. I can't think of a more appropriate place to talk about preaching creatively than Fellowship Church, where Ed Young, Jr. is pastor. Ed is one of the premier models in today's church for ways to use creative methodologies in reaching people. (Ed will be presenting the keynote address at NCP 2006.) Ed has a new book that's just been released, called The Creative Leader (Broadman & Holman). He helps readers better understand how to use creativity to enhance ministry effectiveness. In his chapter on creative communication, however, he emphasizes that one the most important things for a preacher to remember is to learn from others, not try to imitate them. He says: "You can learn what to do and what not to do by studying others. Notice I said to study others, not copy them. The most important principle for effective communication is to let you be you. Don't imitate another speaker. You can learn some tips and techniques from others but be the unique person God has made you to be. Just be yourself and improve on the personality and skills that God has given you. "Ineffective speakers are counterfeit communicators who seem to transform from their usual demeanor into a foreign, phony version of themselves when they hit the stage. Remember that we are called to preach with our words and also with the lifestyle we lead. There has to be a connection between who we are every day and who we are on stage." (Click here to learn more about Ed's book The Creative Leader. And click here to learn about this year's National Conference on Preaching.) Michael
Duduit, Editor Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael’s blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: A million little falsehoods; Mis-education schools?
Define excellence, then strive for it In the new book Simply Strategic Growth (Group), Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan of Granger Community Church offer a variety of ideas and considerations for reaching your community with the gospel. One of the issues they discuss is the need to determine what will define excellence in your church setting, then aiming at that target: "Our daughter Abby came home from preschool today with an art project. I think it's an animal of some sort. The body is part of a paper plate partially covered with brown crayon. Two big ears are glued to the plate. At least I think they're ears. . . . It could be a rabbit. Or a dog. It very well could be a big rat. All I know for sure is that I love it. My baby girl created it for me, and now it's prominently displayed on our refrigerator along with the rest of her artwork. "I can assure you, however, that this paper-plate creature wouldn't be nearly as impressive if Abby were a senior in high school. Excellence in a preschooler looks very different from excellence in a high school senior. "The same principle holds true for churches. Each church should define excellence based on its size and resources. It should also acknowledge that those expectations will change over time. Expectations for honoring God and bringing him glory will change as ministries grow, and the expectations of those visiting our services will also change. The larger the gathering, the higher the expectations of our guests. Because of that, we need to continue to ask ourselves, 'Is what we're doing and saying bringing honor to God and inspiring the people we are trying to reach?' "This isn't about perfection. God hasn't called us to be perfect. He has, however, called us to do our best. . . . When we offer our best, God is honored and our guests are inspired to return." (Click here to learn more about the book Simply Strategic Growth.)
Why volunteers quit In the January issue of his The Pastor's Coach e-newsletter, Dan Reiland shares insights about enlisting and leading volunteers. He also suggests several reasons why volunteers quit, based on actual comments from church volunteers:
(information
about The Pastor's Coach is available at www.injoy.com.)
Why we come to church to worship In a recent edition of the Brentwood Baptist Daily Devotional, pastor Mike Glenn writes, "All of my friends tell me they can worship God just as well playing golf, fishing on a lake or hunting in the woods. No, I tell them, you can't hunt or fish or play golf in the sanctuary and you can't worship in the same way outside of the church. Sure, you may have a moment or two of wonder, but not the life transforming moment that should happen in the Presence of God and His people. "The first and obvious reason for worship is we need to acknowledge that there is no God but God. You would think this would be obvious, but during the week, all kinds of false gods compete for our attention. This is the time where we reestablish the proper order of our lives. God alone is worthy of our worship. "Second, we gather together to encourage each other. During the week, we often fight our battles alone, but when we get together we are reminded that God is working in a lot of places and in a lot of people. Worshiping together helps us keep the challenges of our lives in eternal perspective. "Lastly, when God is working in your life, you simply cannot praise God big enough or loud enough by yourself. You need the help of your brothers and sisters to praise God. So, we gather on Sunday. We sing; we pray; we worship -- together. It doesn't get any better." [Mike
Glenn will be one of the featured speakers at our National Conference
on Preaching, April 24-26 in Dallas. Click
here to learn more.]
ILLUSTRATION: Money, Greed In the January 12 Turning Point Daily Devotional, David Jeremiah writes, "CNN recently carried a story of a sixty-two-year-old man who was rushed to Cholet General Hospital in France, suffering stomach pain. His family told doctors the man had a history of mental illness and a penchant for swallowing coins, but nothing could have prepared the doctors for X-rays of the man's stomach. It was filled with 350 coins he had swallowed. The doctors performed surgery to remove the mass, but the man died of complications twelve days later. "Few men swallow coins, but millions of people are gorging themselves sick with money and materialism. The Bible warns that the love of money is a primary root of all evil, causing people to stray from the faith in their greed and pierce themselves through with many sorrows. "Take inventory of your life. Are you sacrificing much time away from your family and church because of money? Are you losing needed rest for the sake of a job? Are you working too hard for material gain? "God wants us to be faithful to our work, and He gives us the power to gain wealth. But He doesn't want you to wear yourself out to get rich. Have the wisdom to show restraint."
ILLUSTRATION: Time, Clock There is an old tale of a village that bought a fancy tower clock. Some time after it was installed, a visitor to the town discovered that all the people were sleeping during the day and working at night. When he questioned them about this, they answered, "We have the most unique town in America. After we got our new clock, we began to notice that the sun kept rising earlier and earlier every morning. Finally the daytime hours were dark and the night hours were light. We are petitioning the President for special recognition as the only town in America with such a situation." As it turned out, of course, the new clock had been running slower and slower, all because sparrows were roosting inside it. The people allowed themselves to be controlled by this manmade device. The tyranny of the clock robs us of our enjoyment of life and sometimes makes us tyrants over others. Daily hassles become the norm -- "Hurry, or we'll be late! You've only got five minutes!" -- Is this the abundant life Christ offers? Citation: Ruth Ann Ridley, "Learning to Live in the Limits," Discipleship Journal (Jan/Feb 1983; via Leadership Weekly, 1-3-06)
Plan to attend National Conference on Preaching "Preaching Creatively" is the theme of the 2006 National Conference on Preaching, scheduled for April 24-26 at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX (suburban Dallas). A remarkable team of speakers will be on hand for NCP 2006, including: Ed Young, Jr., Haddon Robinson, Calvin Miller, Dieter Zander, Jack Graham, Doug Pagitt, Steve Wende, Bryan L. Carter, David Allen, Leroy Armstrong, Jr., Ramesh Richard and many more. You'll draw insights and encouragement from the theme-related addresses on preaching creatively, plus great sermons and many practical workshops. Mark your calendar now to be part of the conference. Click here for additional information or to register (or call 800-288-9673). Register before March 1 and save $55 off the regular registration fee.
ILLUSTRATION: Light, Heroism The lonely job of being a lighthouse keeper was usually carried out by men. However, during the 1800's the federal government made provision for widows of recently deceased lighthouse keepers to have first preference to fill the vacancy. Kate Walker's lighthouse keeper husband died unexpectedly and she applied for the position for the Robbins Reef Lighthouse in New York Harbor. Her heroic exploits over the next several years were tremendous. She is credited with the rescue of more than fifty fishermen in peril. She raised two sons alone and tended the lighthouse until she was seventy three years old. Ellyn Sanna reflected on Kate Walker's life in her book, A Beacon of Hope, writing: "Our world is full of men and women who, in their own quiet ways, are as heroic as Kate Walker. These individuals shine the light of Christ over the world. They are beacons of hope that spread the gospel message: We no longer have to live in darkness, for the light of God has come to us in Christ." (from Derl Keefer)
ILLUSTRATION: Hearing and Understanding Joe McKeever shares an episode that took place with his grandchildren: Sometime in the middle of December, Grant, age 11, said, "Mom, I need you to take me to the pet store so I can buy a gift for Beignet" (the dog). Immediately and in perfect unison, the twins burst out, "Shhhh! He's standing right here!" Now, our little friend Beignet heard what was said, but he didn't understand. The children were safe in saying anything in front of him. Likewise, many people hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and do not understand. I heard a worship leader say this week, "There are thousands of people here in our city who have never heard the Gospel of salvation." I expect he's right, but I wonder if perhaps they have heard the words but did not understand the message. We must be faithful in sharing the Gospel of Jesus, but just as faithful in praying the Father to open the eyes of their hearts to comprehend the message. "Do you understand what you are reading?" a disciple asked a traveler reading the Bible. (Acts 8:30) The reader needed help, so Philip climbed into the chariot with him and told him about Jesus. The Holy Spirit gave the man understanding so he received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. http://www.joemckeever.com/mt/archives/000218.html
A man was speeding down the highway, feeling secure in a gaggle of cars all traveling at the same speed. However, as they passed a speed trap, he got nailed with an infrared speed detector and was pulled over. The officer handed him the citation, received his signature and was about to walk away when the man asked, "Officer, I know I was speeding, but I don't think it's fair -- there were plenty of other cars around me who were going just as fast, so why did I get the ticket?" "Ever go fishing?" the policeman suddenly asked the man. "Well, yeah . . . " the startled man replied. The
officer grinned and added, "Ever catch all the fish?"
"Much of the history of Christianity has been devoted to domesticating Jesus, to reducing that elusive, enigmatic, paradoxical person to dimensions we can comprehend, understand and convert to our own purposes. So far it hasn't worked." (Andrew Greeley)
How to Lie to the Bathroom Scales 1. Weigh yourself with clothes on, after dinner, then in the morning, without clothes, before breakfast, because it's nice to see how much weight you've lost overnight. 2. Never weigh yourself with wet hair. 3. When weighing, remove everything, including glasses. In this case, blurred vision is an asset. 4. Use cheap scales only, never the medical kind, because they are always five pounds off -- to your advantage, of course. 5. Stand with arms raised, making pressure on the scale lighter. (Waving them is optional but occasionally helps!) 6. Don't eat or drink in the morning until after you've weighed in. 7. Weigh yourself after a haircut, This is good for at least half a pound of hair. 8. Exhale with all your might before stepping onto the scale. (Air has to weigh something, right?) 9. Start out with just one foot on the scale, then holding onto the towel rack in front of you, slowly edge your other foot on and slowly let off of the rack. This takes time, but it's worth it. You will weigh at least two pounds less than if you'd stepped on normally.
(from Cybersalt Digest)
And finally . . . A Cincinnati judge is hoping that church can be an antidote for racism. According to a January 16 Associated Press story, a 36-year-old man was arrested for threatening to punch a black cab driver and hurling racial slurs at him. After the man was convicted of disorderly conduct, Judge William Mallory gave him a choice: 30 days in jail or attending a black church for the next six Sundays. The man took church. The cab driver said he wished Haines had been jailed instead because, in his words, "Church don't change everybody."
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