Life
Erma Bombeck once wrote about what she would do differently If I Had My Life to Live Over: “I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the ... Continue Reading...
When the Sermon Flops
In a recent article for Pastors.com, Brandon Cox talked about a particular sermon that fell flat – and why: “On a recent Sunday, I kind of bombed. Most of the congregation probably couldn’t tell; partly because... Continue Reading...
You just might be a Scrooge . . .
If you turn on the lawn sprinklers on Christmas Eve to keep carolers away
-- you just might be a Scrooge
If you buy all of your Christmas gifts at a store that also sells gas
-- you just might be a Scrooge... Continue Reading...
Enduring Truth: Restoring Sound Theology & Relevance to African American Preaching
In the new book Enduring Truth: Restoring Sound Theology & Relevance to African American Preaching (B&H Academic), pastor and professor Aaron Lavender describes the crisis in the Black church resulting ... Continue Reading...
Christmas
In the book Christmas Spoken Here (Broadman Press), John Killinger wrote: “One day I was staring through the window of a beautiful little Christmas shop. It was packed with Christmas items, even though Christma... Continue Reading...
Christmas carols
The singing of Christmas carols -- as we now know them -- was abolished in England by the Puritan Parliament in 1649 under pressure from Oliver Cromwell, England's "Lord Protector" who preached against "worldly... Continue Reading...
4 Growth Blockers in Your Church
There are a variety of things pastors can do (or not do) that tend to hinder growth in a church. In an article by pastor Brian Jones, he cites these four growth blockers:
You are afraid to fire staff.
B... Continue Reading...
Christmas Treats?
There are some Christmas traditions found around the world which might seem a bit odd to most Americans. For instance:
In South Africa, a Christmas Day delicacy is the deep fried caterpillar of the Emperor M... Continue Reading...
VIDEO: Emoji Christmas
Emojis have become the language of texts, and the clever folks at Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte used those little icons to tell the Christmas story. This would be a wonderful service opener for man... Continue Reading...
Reading the Bible Missionally
As editor Michael Goheen observes in the introduction to his new book Reading the Bible Missionally (Wm. B. Eerdmans), has become pervasive in North America. Yet that very sense of overuse may “indicate that so... Continue Reading...