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The tragic story of the killing of several Amish schoolgirls has touched the nation. In the aftermath of the shootings, it's been fascinating to see how the response of the Amish people has shocked and impressed the news media. Several times in recent news reports -- on TV, radio and print -- I've heard reporters comment on their surprise at the way the Amish people have dealt with this tragic episode in their community. Instead of responding with bitterness, they have reached out to the family of the killer, inviting them to come and share in the time of grief. The reporters I've heard have been stunned by this reaction. It's one more reminder that in an age of rancor and hostility in so many areas of our culture, people are drawn to authentic Christian commitment and behavior. Just as an ancient culture was attracted to Christ when they saw how His followers loved one another, so it is in our own day. Could it be that one reason the church seems to have less and less impact on our own pagan culture is that we don't often look much like Jesus? May our Amish brothers and sisters remind us that when the church looks like the church, it will make an impact on others and will draw people to Christ. 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: Free Speech?
Experiences aid in retention In a recent issue of Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox, Alan Nelson (editor of Rev.) tells pastors that, "If you want to elevate retention, implement experiences. A few weeks ago, my family and I went to Sea World in San Diego. We waited in a winding labyrinth for 80 minutes to go on a three-and-a-half-minute float ride. Why would so many people stand in the heat, swilling $3 bottles of water you can buy at Costco for 25 cents, when they fidget if a worship service goes five minutes over the unofficial finish time? It's the experience. "Last year, I took a $1,200 course to be certified as a trainer by the American Society of Training and Development. ASTD is a 70,000-member organization whose members include Fortune 500 companies, which take training return on investment as a serious matter. The concentrated two-day event was little more than an immersion into active learning skills. I can almost guarantee you that you'll never receive active learning training in any seminary. "We've relegated preaching to a Westernized classroom audio presentation that results in less than 10 percent retention at best. Active learning engages the senses and often the body so that retention is raised upward of 90 percent. We grossly overestimate what people retain from lecturing, even with fill-in-the-blank outlines and PowerPoint visuals. Jesus often utilized experiential learning that engaged people physically and relationally, such as putting mud on a blind man's eyes, washing feet, passing bread and wine to learners, and having a coin pulled from the mouth of a fish. By employing active learning ideas into staff and board meetings, Bible studies, and large group worship services, you significantly increase the amount of what people will remember. (For more experiential resources, go to www.unforgettables.org.)" (To read the full article, click here.)
Preaching Tithing In an article for the SermonCentral newsletter, pastor Dean Shriver asserts, "ultimately, 'tithing as worship' isn't about percentage of income. It's about the overflow of one's heart. 2 Corinthians 8:5 is clear. When we first give ourselves to the Lord, any act of giving pleases him -- whether above or below the 'benchmark.' 'For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have' (2 Cor. 8:12). "How then, can we preach the tithe? First, we recognize that 'tithing as covenant' has no direct relevance to New Testament believers. Second, we acknowledge that 'tithing as legalism' is just plain sin -- both for those who practice it and those who preach it. Only the principle of 'tithing as worship' remains. That's the tithing we can preach! 'Tithing as worship' is our opportunity to acknowledge that God is God. He is ruler over our lives. He is the source of every blessing we enjoy. More than that, 'tithing as worship' expresses our allegiance to God in a very personal and concrete way. And finally, 'tithing as worship' manifests a heart overflowing with thanksgiving towards God. "With this in mind, perhaps we should be less concerned with whether people tithe and more concerned with why they tithe. Ultimately, tithing isn't about percentage of income or money in the plate. It's about worship!" (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.sermoncentral.com/document_extras/DeanShriver_10_09_06.asp
Top
ten reasons to be part of the The third International Congress on Preaching will be April 17-19, 2007, in Cambridge, England. Among the many reasons for you to plan now to attend, here are just ten:
David
Jeremiah and many more! What other reasons do you need? Registration is now available at an earlybird discount -- register today and save $55 off the normal rate. To learn more visit the website at www.preaching.com/icop or call (800) 288-9673 (outside the US, call 615-312-4245.)
Persistence pays In the Oct. 3 edition of his Stan's Leadership Newsletter, Stan Toler writes, "It usually happens near the completion of a project. The deadline approaches. The troops are restless. The expectations are high. But it just isn't coming together. You're tempted to call it a day to quit. At first it seems like the easiest way out, if not the best way. "In his speech at his induction into the baseball hall of fame, baseball great Mickey Mantle turned to the baseball commissioner and said, 'Thank you very much, Commissioner. I would really like to thank you for leaving out those strikeouts . . . I was the world champion in striking out.' And he was. His 1,710 strikeouts topped Babe Ruth's record of 1,330. Yet both are recognized as some of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport. "What is that factor that keeps others going while you're ready to throw in the towel? Mickey decided to keep going. Tenacity is the ability to put a shoulder to the boulder. To keep pushing until there is a breakthrough. Mantle is in the hall of fame because he refused to let the strikeouts rule his thinking or his life. Because of his tenacity, Mantle is better known for his hits than his misses. "What will be your story? Will you be known more for throwing in the towel than for carrying the torch? I like the story of the little boy who threw a baseball into the air and tried to hit it with his bat. After about six strikes he turned to his father standing nearby and said, 'You know, Dad, I'm a pretty good pitcher!' "Decide to persevere. Acknowledge what you are able to do and what God is able to do through you and then simply use the best of your ability to keep going. Others have. So can you." (To subscribe to Stan's newsletter, visit http://www.stantoler.com/)
ILLUSTRATION: Rules, Legalism According to the story, Queen Victoria was once at a diplomatic reception in London. The guest of honor was an African chieftain. All went well during the meal until, at the end, finger bowls were served. The guest of honor had never seen a British finger bowl, and no one had thought to brief him beforehand about its purpose. So he took the finger bowl in his two hands, lifted it to his mouth, and drank its contents -- down to the very last drop! For an instant there was breathless silence among the British upper crust and then they began to whisper to one another. All that stopped in the next instant as the Queen, Victoria, silently took her finger bowl in her two hands, lifted it, and drank its contents! A moment later 500 surprised British ladies and gentlemen simultaneously drank the contents of their own fingerbowls. It was "against the rules" to drink from a fingerbowl, but on that particular evening Victoria changed the rules -- because she was, after all, the Queen. It is "against the rules" not to wash your hands before you eat and on that the Pharisees called the hand of the disciples who follow Jesus. But Jesus recognizes their hypocrisy and he quotes from Isaiah, "These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." (Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com)
ILLUSTRATION: Tongue Jewish rabbis tell the story of Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel, who one day asked his servant to go to buy some good food for him in the market. When the servant returned home, he presented the rabbi with a tongue. The next day, the rabbi told the servant to go to the market to buy some bad food. Again, the servant returned with a tongue. When the rabbi asked the servant why he returned with a tongue both times, the servant made this astute observation: "Good comes from it and bad comes from it. When the tongue is good, there is nothing better, and when it is bad, there is nothing worse." (William R. Baker, Sticks & Stones: The Discipleship of Our Speech)
ILLUSTRATION: Choices The Chicago Tribune reported that on March 3, 1995, a 38-year-old man walking to his job decided to take a shortcut across eight lanes of the Tri-State Tollway. After making it across the four northbound lanes, the wind blew off his hat -- it went back into the lanes he had just crossed. When he tried to retrieve it, he was struck by an 18-wheeler and killed. Life is strung together by choices. Like pearls on a thread, our choices are linked one to another until the strand of our life is complete. Every time we come to a fork or crossroads in life, the choice we make eliminates those we could have made. And the results are undoable. When we make the right choice, that's good. But when we make the wrong choice, what's done is done. It can be forgiven, but not changed. When David was running from Saul, a village that gave him assistance was later massacred by the king. David no doubt grieved the rest of his life over choosing to endanger those innocent people. If you have made a choice that led to sorrowful consequences, accept God's forgiveness and resolve to learn from your mistake. What's done in life is done. But that doesn't mean it has to be done again. (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 9-12-06)
ILLUSTRATION: Delay, Helping Drew and Timmy were brothers. One day Mom and Dad had to go into town, and Dad told Drew, "While we are gone I want you boys to clear away the dirty dishes, clean your room, and mow the grass." When they returned nothing had been done. Dad was very upset. He asked Drew, "What have you been doing while we were gone?" Drew replied in a low voice, "Nothing." Dad then turns to Timmy and asks, "What have you been doing?" Timmy replied, "Helping Drew."
"Our God is a God who not merely restores, but takes up our mistakes and follies into His plan for us and brings good out of them. This is part of the wonder of His gracious sovereignty." (J. I. Packer)
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ILLUSTRATION: Decisions, Options A priest was preparing a man for his long day's journey into night. Whispering firmly, the priest said, "Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil!" The dying man said nothing. The priest repeated his order. Still the dying man said nothing. The priest asked, "Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?" The dying man said, "Until I know where I'm heading, I don't think I ought to aggravate anybody!" (Mikey's Funnies)
One-day
preaching conferences Three more Preaching Truth in a Whatever World events are still available for Fall 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: Bradenton,
FL -- Nov 28 For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth
"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." (W.T. Purkiser)
You might be a redneck if . . . Your standard of living improves when you go camping. Your prenuptial agreement mentions chickens. You have jacked up your home to look for a dog. There is a belch on your answering machine greeting. None of the tires on your van are the same size. You hold the hood of your car with your head while you work on it. Your town put the new garbage truck in the Christmas parade. Your local beauty salon also fixes cars. Your doghouse and your living room have the same shag carpet. You've ever slow danced in the Waffle House. Starting your car involves popping the hood. Your garbage man is confused about what goes and what stays. You whistle at women in church. You actually wear shoes your dog brought home. You've been in a fistfight at a yard sale. You carry a fly swatter in the front seat of the car so you can reach the kids in the backseat. You think people who have cell phones and e-mail are uppity. (from
the Daily Dilly)
And finally . . . Chad must have missed the day in Sunday School when they talked about "honor your parents." As a result, the 20-year-old Wisconsin man has been charged with armed robbery after trying to rob a tavern owned by his parents, according to an Oct. 11 AP story. A bartender told police she recognized Chad Rinas' voice during the hold up. Rinas had been working at the bar earlier in the evening and finished his shift at 9 p.m. the night of the robbery. Later that night the bartender was closing up the bar "when she turned and saw a man in a gray hooded sweat shirt and ski mask pointing a gun at her, the complaint said. The man told her to get down and then shoved her to the floor. The bartender said that when she turned, the cash drawer and her purse were gone." The unfortunate son has been charged with armed robbery with use of force, obstructing an officer and two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping. He faces up to 42 years in prison if convicted. No word about whether he'll get out for family reunions.
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