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Will Rogers once said, "Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save." I've been thinking a lot about time recently. In fact, I'm going to be preaching about the subject at next week's National Conference on Preaching, as the closing message of the final session. (This is the first time I've actually scheduled myself to speak at the NCP; the only other time I spoke there, I was filling in for a scheduled speaker who got sick. So now I have more time to actually think about preaching to all those preachers. Maybe this time I'll be the one to get sick!) Time is both a gift and a tyrant. It can change our lives for the better or send us plunging into despair, depending on how we handle it. Solomon wrote, "For everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." What time is it right now in your life and ministry? For what purpose has God given you the 1,440 minutes of this day? And how will you invest that time for His glory? Michael
Duduit, Editor There will be no issue of PreachingNow next week because of the National Conference on Preaching. The next issue will be dated May 2.
Keys to effective leadership In a recent edition of his TIPS newsletter, Philip Humbert writes, "Harry Truman didn't find a career until late in life. He didn't marry until well into his thirties, and before that he tried a variety of jobs and ventures, including farming and selling men's clothing. His clothing store went bankrupt and he referred to himself as a 'failed haberdasher' for the rest of his life. Because of poor eyesight, he barely made it into the Army, but served with distinction and courage in World War I. In his 40's and 50's he drifted into politics and served as a county commissioner, mainly dealing with road repair. "He never had money and he and his wife spend most of their married life living upstairs in his mother-in-law's home. When he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he was seen as a party hack and given little respect. In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt selected him to run for Vice President after the 'better' candidates were all rejected. FDR thought so little of him, they never had a serious conversation and Truman was told nothing about the atomic bomb until several days after he was sworn in as the new President. "And yet this 'common man' is often viewed as one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century. How can this be? Truman himself often said that there 'are probably a million people more qualified than me to be President, but I'm the one with the job, and I'll do my best.' Throughout his life, he was always known for doing his best, and often astonished people by exceeding their expectations. Here are some of my observations about how he did it. 1. First, he out-worked everyone around him. FDR rarely got to work before 10:00 AM, but Truman was usually up by 5:30 and worked all day long. In his first days as President, the change caught the White House staff off-guard. From the butlers to members of the Cabinet, they had never seen anyone who worked so hard and demanded such from them. One key to his amazing success was simple hard work. 2. Second, he was decisive. Where FDR delayed and avoided decisions, Truman listened to advice, read the reports, made decisions promptly, and once they were made, he rarely changed his mind. He made bold decisions and once made, he knew how to hold a steady course. 3. Third, his personal integrity was beyond reproach. At the Potsdam Conference after the war, he went into Berlin and a staffer suggested they could go drinking or get some 'women of easy virtue,' to which Truman coldly responded that he loved his wife and didn't mess around on her. He kicked the staffer out of his car and never spoke to him again. 4. Fourth, he knew the value of loyalty. He was famous for his life-long friendships and personal warmth. He knew the names of staffers in the White House, and remembered their families. When members of his staff came under political fire, he ignored the newspapers and kept his team together. 5. Fifth and most important, he knew who he was. In the face of enormous pressures and criticism, Truman knew his goals and purposes, remained firm in his beliefs and seldom wavered. He had enormous personal courage and quiet confidence in his own judgment. "Sooner
or later, life confronts each of us with problems that seem beyond
our abilities and asks us to meet them anyway. Whether from illness
or business gone bad, or in some other form, eventually we must
dig deep to see what we are made of. These 'impossible' challenges
reveal our character and give us the opportunity to surprise ourselves.
President Truman did it, and so can we." (Copyright ©
2006, all rights reserved. Contact Humbert at www.philiphumbert.com
or email to Coach@philiphumbert.com)
Time
is up! This is your very, very, very last opportunity The 2006 National Conference on Preaching is next week (April 24-26) at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX (suburban Dallas). (Visit the conference website at www.preaching.com/ncp.) There's still time to register, but you must act now! The theme of this year's conference is "Preaching Creatively." You'll learn about creative preaching in a postmodern age, how to do creative exposition, ways to use story, and much more. 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, Mike Glenn, Leroy Armstrong, Jr., Rick White, Timothy Warren, David Allen, Reg Grant, Jeffrey Arthurs, Oscar Lopez, Calvin Pearson, Steven Smith and many more. You'll draw insights and encouragement from the theme-related addresses on preaching creatively, plus great sermons and many practical workshops. Make your plans today to be part of the conference. Click here for additional information or to register (or call 800-288-9673).
Debunking Da Vinci In a recent web commentary, R. Albert Mohler talks about some of the historical distortions found in The Da Vinci Code (the movie version will be released May 19): "The book's [hereafter TDC] heresies are easily dismissed, and they are -- at least to anyone with a real interest in the identity of Jesus and the history of the church. Calling the Nag Hammadi texts 'unaltered' gospels is like reading the official Soviet histories as objective fact -- complete with leading figures airbrushed out of the photos. TDC claims that the New Testament is simply the result of a male-dominated church leadership inventing Christianity in order to control the Roman empire and subsequent world history and then to oppress women and repress goddess-worship. "In TDC the heretics are the heroes and the apostles are unindicted co-conspirators. The Great Satan is Emperor Constantine, who, it is claimed, never even became a Christian, but knew a good marketing plan when he saw it. Constantine supposedly called the Council of Nicaea in 325 in order to invent the idea of Christ's divinity (and celibacy) and then turn out the heretics, thus burying the real story of Jesus (and Mary Magdalene) forever. "It's all about power," one character explains. That's why Constantine "upgraded Jesus' status." "And the Council of Nicaea? There, TDC reveals, the Emperor led the bishops to declare Jesus as the Son of God by a vote. 'A relatively close vote at that,' the text elaborates. The real Council of Nicaea adopted a creed in order to reject the heretical teachings of one Arius, who taught that Jesus was not of the same substance as the Father. Brown weaves fact and fiction with such recklessness that the average reader will assume all these claims to be factual. The Council of Nicaea did not 'invent"' the divinity of Jesus. This was already the declaration of the Church, claimed by Jesus himself and proclaimed by the apostles. The council boldly claimed this as the faith of the Church and named Arianism as a heresy and Arians as heretics. A close vote? Only two out of more than 300 bishops failed to sign the creed. Not exactly a cliff-hanger. "The Nag Hammadi texts as the real gospels? Not on your life. The texts are easily identifiable as gnostic literature peripheral to the Church. The early Church did not establish the canon (official set of New Testament writings) at Nicaea, though a general consensus was already evident at that gathering. The New Testament writings were recognized and set apart because of their authorship by one of the apostles and by their clearly orthodox content -- in harmony with the other New Testament writings as recognized by the churches spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. "Much more could be considered, but the main issue is this: How plausible is such a conspiracy? The threshold of credibility for this conspiracy requires us to believe that the entire structure of Christian theology is a sinister plot to fool the masses. Further, we must believe that the leaders of this conspiracy knew that Jesus was not the Son of God, but were willing to die for this cause by the millions. As C. S. Lewis once argued, people might be willing to be martyrs for a lie if they are innocently deceived, but very few will die for what they know to be a lie." (Click here to read the full commentary.) http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-12
ILLUSTRATION: Compassion, Revenge Sally related an experience she had in a seminary class taught by Professor Smith. Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons, and one particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone they disliked or someone who had made them angry in the past. Then he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture. Sally's friend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased at the overall effect she had achieved. The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, but was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats. As Sally sat down, thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target, Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall. Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A complete hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced. Dr. Smith said only these words, "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" (Matthew 25:40) No other words were necessary -- the tear-filled eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ. (from Mikey's Funnies)
ILLUSTRATION: Evangelism A few years ago, a preacher was on a cross-country flight. As he often did, he spent the trip reading his Bible. On this particular trip, he was seated next to a woman who seemed upset. "Are you a priest?" she asked, "Do you know any prayers for the ill? My husband (who was seated next to her) is dying of cancer." The preacher led the couple through passages about suffering and life after death. The couple excused themselves to the bathroom, and the preacher was sure he blew it! But the woman asked, "Do you suppose you could sit in the middle seat and tell us more about Jesus when we get back?" The preacher was more than happy to tell them about Jesus; and after a few minutes, they both prayed to accept Jesus into their hearts. Carol's husband died two weeks later. Before he died, the preacher called to pray with him; and the man told him, "I'm not afraid of dying. I know what's coming next!" It's not about the one who delivers the message, but the message itself. Remember that every person you encounter is a chance you have to share the Good News -- even at high altitudes. (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 4/12/06)
ILLUSTRATION: Failure (quotes) In the game of life, it's a good idea to have a few early losses, which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season." (Bill Vaughan) "When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound. Rebuild those plans and set sail once again toward your coveted goal." (Napoleon Hill) "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." (Henry Ford)
ILLUSTRATION: Ambition A lawyer called the governor's mansion at 3:30 a.m., insisting that he must speak to the chief executive on a matter of extreme urgency. Eventually, an aide decides to awaken the governor. "Well, what is it?" demands the governor. "Well, governor," said the caller, "Judge Parker just died and I want to take his place." The response came immediately: "It's all right with me, if it's all right with the undertaker."
Four
'Preaching Truth' conferences set for May, If you live near Salt Lake City, Utah, act now to participate in the one-day preaching conference coming to your area in early May! A new series of Preaching Truth in a Whatever World events are planned for May 2006. These one-day preaching conferences explore strategies for effective biblical preaching in a postmodern world. Led by Preaching editor Michael Duduit and a variety of guest speakers, these conferences offer a valuable time of insight and refreshment for those who proclaim the Word. Preaching Truth conferences will be held in the following cities: Salt
Lake City, UT -- May 3 Please
note: the May 2 conference originally scheduled for the Ontario,
California, area has been postponed until our fall schedule
of conferences. For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth
Some aspiring psychiatrists from various colleges are attending their first class and the professor is lecturing on emotional extremes. "Just as an example," says the professor to one student from a major urban university. "What is the opposite of joy?" "Sadness," says the student. "And the opposite of depression?" he asks of a young lady from an Ivy League college. "Elation," says she. "And you sir," he says to the young man from an agricultural institution. "How about the opposite of woe?" The aggie replies, "Sir, I believe that would be giddy-up."
ILLUSTRATION: Delay The orthopedic surgeon was moving to a new office, and his staff was helping transport many of the items. An office assistant sat the display skeleton in the front of her car, his bony arm across the back of the seat, and began driving to the new location. At one traffic light, the stares of the people in the car beside her became obvious, so she looked across and explained, "I'm delivering him to my doctor's office." The other driver leaned out of his window and said, "I hate to tell you, lady, but I think it's too late!"
"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." (Thomas A. Edison)
One-Liners Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case. Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews. Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors. It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one. The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close. When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there. People want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church. Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever. Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong. If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has. Some minds are like concrete -- thoroughly mixed up and permanently set. I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from? A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the Promises" are just sitting on the premises. We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges. Be ye fishers of men. You catch them; He'll clean them.
And finally . . . The firefighters dousing the fire in a new home couldn't understand why the owner left in the midst of their work -- that is, until they found 239 marijuana plants, worth about $700,000, in the basement. The basement in the Wadsworth, Ohio home was wired for indoor plant growing. Among the items law enforcement officers confiscated were peat moss, 1,000-watt bulbs and large reflecting discs. A Drug Task Force official notes that the marijuana-cultivating system was wired to the home's electrical system in a way that bypassed the meter. Such wiring would help a grower avoid the large electric bills that clue in investigators.
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