Christian Living Resources, Bible Study Tools, Jesus Christ

Barren, unproductive, lifeless believers are either blind or short-sighted, and have clearly forgotten they were ever forgiven for their sins in the first place.

It occurred to me while dining out with my wife that churches could benefit from studying what these eating establishments are doing, and what they're not doing.

Our previous blog told of ten mistakes Margaret and I made over a half-century of marital "bliss." Here's what we got right.

Margaret and I made enough mistakes the first time through for several marriages. What interests people and benefits other marriages is learning from our mistakes. Here are our top 10.

Here are 10 signs (evidences, indications) that the church to which you belong is unhealthy.

Think of Romans 12 as a template, a form (or pattern or framework) which may be laid over the entire 21 verses, and which depict a healthy church.

Guess what, pastors are human and more like you than you could ever imagine.

There is one huge reminder which needs to be passed along to pastors now at the point in their ministry where they are courting search committees. Here is what the pastor search committee is looking for when they visit your church...

An epidemic is sweeping our land in the form of church dissension over the smallest of issues. What's a pastor to do?

Here are ten ways churches signal newcomers that they are not wanted.

Since gifted church members are usually unaware of their spiritual endowments, let's have a small band of church leaders who are constantly on the alert for fellow members who have spiritual gifts which they are not using or under-utilizing in the Kingdom.

I wish for your church a small, dedicated group of people who are called, gifted, trained and faithful in helping people into the kingdom of God. Call them soulwinners or witnesses. I call them midwives.

In this third entry in the series on Church Members Extraordinary, we learn that most people read the "ugly" countenance of others wrongly.

Deacons and other mature leaders of the church have a responsibility probably not spelled out in their bylaws, but as necessary as any given them in scripture or by the membership: Be on a constant lookout for trouble and troublemakers within the congregation.

I'm proposing that every church needs to have four teams of workers who will focus on people in the congregation who need our help.

I'm a veteran. A veteran minister. I received the call to preach in April of 1961, which means we have recently passed the half-century mark for that anniversary. I began pastoring in November of 1962, and was ordained on December 2. I served 6 churches as pastor for 39 years and one as a staff minister for 3. Does this qualify me as a veteran?

There are times when ministers do the most self-defeating things. Not all of them, thankfully. But enough to warrant our addressing the issue as a caution to the rest of the Lord's stable of shepherds. Here is my personal list of the 5 most frustrating things pastors do.

This is the moment the preacher has had on his mind and heart all week long. Now, he has done this for years, and by now you would think he's got it down to a science and he can do this blindfolded--lead worship, read scripture, offer prayers, preach the Word, inspire the congregation--but not so. This is not like anything else anyone on the planet does.

"Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee the crown of life." What does it mean to be faithful? It means to live by faith, by a confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ that sends us into the world to represent Him, to serve Him by loving and serving others. To live by faith means to obey Him and remain steadfast for Him against overwhelming odds, in the absence of good feelings, even when circumstances force us to stand alone.

Church people hear hundreds of messages, lessons, and sermons. They are fed such a relentless stream of revelations, insights, truths, principles, and biblical information that few of them walk into the sanctuary, take their seats, and look toward the pulpit expecting to hear something life-changing.