Articles

Get encouraged & inspired through a variety of topics from ministry life to church leadership development to trending ideas for church growth.

Preaching the Word: An Interview with Stephen F. Olford

Mark A. Johnson

Stephen Olford has had an illustrious career as an evangelist, pastor, preacher, and encourager of preachers. He is noted for his pastorates at Duke Street Baptist Church in Richmond, Surrey, England and Calvar... Continue Reading...

How Do You Capture the Attention of Non-Christians?

R. Larry Moyer

The comment has been made, "Most preachers are like the peace and mercy of God. Like the peace of God, they are completely beyond your understanding and like the mercy of God, you are scared to death they are g... Continue Reading...

What Michael Jordan Knows about Preaching

John D. Duncan

"I'm back." With those words, Michael Jordan left the baseball diamond to return to the basketball hardwood. Like a cool sip of Gatorade on a hot summer day, Jordan's return refreshed basketball fans around the... Continue Reading...

Preaching in a Culture in Ferment

Cory Mansfield

The process of fermentation in wine-making is a helpful image in understanding what is happening in church and culture in the United States at the turn of the millennia. Ripe, succulent grapes are picked from t... Continue Reading...

A New Proposal for Preaching from Proverbs

Dave Bland

When it comes to preaching, the book of Proverbs has fallen on hard times. The thicket of individual proverbs that are located in chapters 10-29 have been marginalized in homiletic circles for a number of reaso... Continue Reading...

Restoring Our Passion for Excellence in Preaching

Leslie Holmes

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Timothy 4:2)Who among us, as a preacher, has not given extra thought to ... Continue Reading...

Random Thoughts

Michael Duduit

As winter fades and spring begins to bloom, I've been thinking about:The Kentucky Derby is finally getting religion. As this issue goes to press, the favored horse is named "Pulpit." Perhaps this could be the b... Continue Reading...

William Barclay, Remarkable Communicator

Alton H. McEachern

William Barclay was one of the most effective communicators of the Gospel in the 20th Century. A classics and Greek scholar, he wrote about the New Testament with amazing clarity. While he was a theological lib... Continue Reading...

Let There Be Lightning<br/>A Realistic Plan for Improving Sermon Word Choice

Ken Langley

Preachers know what Mark Twain knew, that "the difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."Week after week as we labor to put the Word ... Continue Reading...

From the Court Room to the Pulpit<br/>Ten Basic Commandments of Persuasive Preaching I Learned as a Lawyer

Thomas F. Taylor

Recently, I heard about a seminary student who took a preaching course and turned in his first persuasive sermon assignment. His professor returned it with a grade of "D". Concerned and perplexed, the student a... Continue Reading...