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The faces are the same, the names are the same, but there's an "Under New Management" sign hanging in the window. As of June 1, Preaching magazine and related media (including Preaching.com, the National Conference on Preaching, and the email newsletter you're reading now) have become part of the Salem Communi-cations family. We join a great team of Salem publications (including Youthworker journal, CCM Magazine, and others), some great websites in the Salem Web Network (like CrossWalk.com, Christianity.com, ChurchStaffing.com, etc.), and more than 100 radio stations across the country. I'm excited about becoming part of the Salem team. It's been an increasing challenge to produce a publication as an independent organization when most magazines are now part of groups of publications. Now that we are part of a larger media group, we'll have the opportunity to expand the reach and ministry of Preaching as we seek to serve those who proclaim the Word. Most important of all, we are part of a team with a commitment to Kingdom service and sharing the Gospel. The leadership at Salem is committed to helping pastors and preachers, and their investment in Preaching is a reflection of their desire to serve the church. That's why this partnership is such a positive step for all of us. Our entire Preaching team has become part of the Salem staff; I will continue as Editor-in-Chief of Preaching. Our hope is that the only changes you'll see are positive ones, as we work with Salem in building even better resources for those who preach and teach the Word. Michael
Duduit, Editor There will be no issue of PreachingNow next week. The next issue will be dated June 20. Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael’s blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: Bilingual ballots and the law; Global warming.
The Application Acrostic In a recent issue of his Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick Warren talks about the importance of application in preaching and shares his own application acrostic. Warren writes: "I ask 12 questions related to the text.
"Remember, for most people the sermon is the only pastoral care they ever get in their life. They're not going to get one-on-one time with you. What you give them in a message and how you help them with their problem ends up being pastoral care from the pulpit. That's why it is so critical that you deal with the personal application. "But you also need to make a corporate application, where you deal with the implications of how the Bible relates to the church as a body. Fewer pastors do this. They'll make the personal application, but they won't make the corporate application to the church. If you want your church to grow, you must learn to do both at the same time. You need to make both personal application and corporate application in the same message." (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=260&artid=4529&expand=1
Making a First Impression In a recent Pastors Today newsletter, Rick Ezell talks about the importance of the first experience visitors have when they come to your church. He notes, "You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Your first-time guests have some simple desires and basic needs. They decide very quickly if you can meet those criteria. The decision to return for a second visit is often made before guests reach your front door. Use the following questions as an evaluation tool: • Are you creating the entire experience, beginning with your parking lot? • Are you consciously working to remove barriers that make it difficult for guests to find their way around and to feel at home with your people? • Do newcomers have all the information they need without having to ask any embarrassing questions? • Are your greeters and ushers on the job, attending to details and anticipating needs before they are expressed? • Does anything about your guests' first experience make them say, 'Wow!' and want to return?" (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%3D162588&M%3D150034%2C00.html
Marriage Protection Amendment The proposed Marriage Protection Amendment will be brought to the Senate floor today or tomorrow. If you'd like to make sure your state's Senators hear from you on this issue, the Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121, or you can get your senators' direct phone lines by visiting www.senate.gov. Does it matter? In Monday's Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson observes, "Unfortunately, a lot of politicians don't get it. They argue that we do not need a marriage amendment. If we want to keep marriage between one man and one woman -- which they say they do -- then all we have to do is pass state referenda. Nineteen states have already done so. So amending the U.S. Constitution is unnecessary. "Well, these politicians apparently do not understand the inexorable logic of a series of cases that make it virtually certain that when state statutes barring gay 'marriage' reach the Supreme Court, they will be struck down. Other politicians understand all too well, and when they claim that we do not need a marriage amendment, they are being disingenuous. . . . "The Supreme Court, following its own precedents, will declare any law restricting the right of homosexuals to marry unconstitutional. The die is cast. An appeal is already coming up from a Nebraska case in which a judge threw out a statute banning gay 'marriage' as unconstitutional. Within two years this will be at the Supreme Court, and the axe will fall. "Just as with Roe v. Wade, the Court will take away the states' rights to legislate. The time to act is now. Don't let politicians deceive you and tell you this is a state issue. The Supreme Court has already closed the door on that." (Click here to read the full commentary) http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=2395
ILLUSTRATION: Christian Life, Influence Chuck Swindoll relates that during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men to the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there. After investigating they reported: "The only silver we can find is in the statues of the saints standing in the corners." To which the radical soldier and statesman of England replied: "Good! We'll melt down the saints and put them in circulation!" That brief but direct order states the essence of the practical goal of authentic Christianity. Not rows of silver saints crammed into the corners of cathedrals, but melted saints circulating through the mainstream of humanity. Where life transpires in the raw. On campuses where students carve through the varnish of shallow answers. In the shop where employees test the mettle of everyday Christianity. At home with a house full of kids, where R&R means run and wrestle. In the concrete battlegrounds of sales competition, seasonal conventions, and sexual temptations, where hard-core assaults are made on internal character. On the hospital bed, where reality never takes a nap. In the office, where diligence and honesty are forever on the scaffold. On the team where patience and self-control are checked out. The cost factor of being a saint occurs on Monday and Tuesday and throughout the week. That's when we're "melted down and put in circulation." "Sunday religion" may seem sufficient, but it isn't. And pity the person who counts on it to get him through. (Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, 5-30-06)
ILLUSTRATION: Sexual Immorality In a recent sermon, John Huffman encouraged his listeners not to grow indifferent in the face of a growing cultural bombardment with sexual immorality: "It is so easy to become indifferent to the sexually immoral stimuli we face daily in our culture. This week's Time magazine reports a "96 percent increase in TV scenes with sexual content from 1998 to 2005, according to a survey of programming from a broad sampling of shows." When you go back and see the reruns of "Cheers," "Seinfeld" and now "Friends," you can see the steady increase in overt and covert sexual material. Now zero in on "Desperate Housewives," and you wonder how much more gratuitous can it get. And we tend to anesthetize ourselves to it."
ILLUSTRATION: Grace, Dependence, Good Shepherd In his One-Minute Uplift email newsletter, Rick Ezell writes, "In the highlands of Scotland sheep often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they can't get out of. The grass on these mountains tastes very sweet, and the sheep like it. They will jump down ten or twelve feet to a ledge with a patch of grass, and then they can't jump back up again. The shepherd hears them bleating in distress. The shepherd may leave them there for days, until they have eaten all the grass and are so faint that they cannot stand. Only then will the shepherd put a rope around the sheep and pull them up out of the jaws of death. "Why doesn't the shepherd attempt a rescue when the sheep first get into the predicament? The sheep are so foolish and so focused on eating that they would dash away from the shepherd, go over the precipice and destroy themselves. "Such is the case with us. Sometimes we need to experience a little bit of death before we can enjoy the abundance of life. The Lord will rescue us the moment we have given up trying, realizing that we can't liberate ourselves, and cry to him for help." (From Defining Moments, © 2001 Rick Ezell)
ILLUSTRATION: Communication, Education A kid and his mom were walking on the sidewalk in Dallas. The kid, being 100% Texan, upon seeing some cowboys, said, "Hey Maw, look at them thar men with them thar bowed laigs." She said that if he didn't start speaking correct English, she was going to send him to a Shakespearean English school. A little further along, they saw some more cowboys. "Hey maw! Look at them thar men with them thar bowed legs!" he said. So, true to her word, she sent him off to a Shakespearean English school to learn correct English. He came home several months later on vacation. As they walked together down the sidewalk, they saw some cowboys. "Hark!" he said, "What manner of men are these who wear their legs in parentheses?"
ILLUSTRATION: Children, Answered Prayer A husband and wife were unable to have children. After consulting everyone who would listen to their problem, they consulted their family priest. "My children," the priest began, "The Lord will listen to your prayers, and I am sure that you will be blessed with children shortly. In fact, I am planning a stay in Rome, and while I am visiting the Vatican, I will light a candle for you." "Thank you, Father, thank you!" said the couple. Before leaving, the priest turned and said, "My stay in Rome will be for quite some time-15 years. But when I return, I will be sure to pay you a visit." And so, 15 years came and went, and the priest returned to the U.S. While resting on his porch one mid-summer morning, he remembered the promise of paying a visit that he had made 15 years ago. So he made his way to their home, and upon arriving at the residence of the couple who'd sought his council years earlier, he rang the doorbell. Sounds of crying and screaming children filled the air! Overjoyed by the thought that their prayers had been answered, he entered the house. More than a dozen children filled the house from top to bottom! In the midst of all the chaos, stood the wife. "My dear," the priest said, "your prayers have been answered! And where is your husband? I wish to congratulate him on your miracle!" "He just left for Rome," she said. "Rome? Why did he go to Rome?" asked the priest. "To blow that candle out" came the harried reply.
From the sponsor of this week's edition: Would you like help as you prepare to teach? Like most of us, you likely are time bankrupt . . . you wish you had more time to dedicate to the important commitments in your life. One way thousands of pastors have better invested time is by using Bible Navigator study software. Now one of the best-selling electronic biblical resources, Bible Navigator has a huge variety of materials and capabilities to enrich your sermons. It enables instant access to Scripture, commentaries, illustrations, Greek & Hebrew audio pronunciations and so much more. See what thousands of your colleagues depend on each week. Select from four editions of Bible Navigator starting at only $19.95.
ILLUSTRATION: Compliments, Intelligence Donna the computer programmer worked in an office with two other programmers, Tom and Phil. One day she asked Tom, to help her implement some new software applications. When Tom sat down with Donna to show her how to make changes to the files, she said, "I'm so glad you're teaching me instead of Phil." Surprised, Tom asked why, since Phil was far more experienced than he was. "Yes," Donna said, "but I feel much more comfortable with you. I get nervous around really smart people."
Salt Lake City 'Preaching Truth' conference Thursday Only
one more Preaching Truth in a Whatever World seminar is available
until the fall -- this Thursday (June 8) in Salt Lake City.
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. For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth Coming up this fall: A new series of Preaching Truth conferences will be held this fall. If you'd like information on hosting such an event in your area, drop us a note (truth@preaching.com) and we'll send more information.
"All of God's revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking." (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)
Things to think about Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin? Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is a boxing ring square? Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips? Why is it considered necessary to nail down the lid of a coffin? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is it that rain drops but snow falls? Why is it that to stop Windows, you have to click on "Start"? Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
And finally . . . There's a movie coming out this summer called "Snakes on a Plane." But for Monty Coles, one was quite enough. According to a June 3 Associated Press story, the West Virginia pilot was enjoying a leisurely flight at 3,000 feet in his Piper Cherokee when he saw a stowaway peeking out from the plane's instrument panel: a 4-½ foot snake. "Nothing in any of the manuals ever described anything like this," said the 62-year-old man. But advice given 25 years earlier from his flight instructor came to mind: "No matter what happens, fly the plane." Coles attempted to swat the snake but it fell to the pilot's feet, then darted to the other side of the cockpit. While maintaining control of the single-engine plane with one hand, Coles grabbed the reptile behind its head with his other. "There was no way I was letting that thing go," he said. "It coiled all around my arm, and its tail grabbed hold of a lever on the floor and started pulling." The next step was to radio for emergency landing clearance. "They came back and asked what my problem was," he said. "I told them I had one hand full of snake and the other hand full of plane. They cleared me in." After a smooth landing, Coles posed for pictures with the snake, then let it loose. "That snake resides in Ohio now," he said.
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