Earlier this spring, I experienced the high honor of preaching at First Baptist, Wentzville, a very gracious church with a heart for the Word of God. While I was preaching, I had this incredible thought run through my head that absolutely blew me away. Yes, honest preachers have all experienced this phenomenon. You are speaking and – boom! – thought bursts into your mind that has very little to do with the text, but it profoundly impacts your perceptions. This time my text was 2 Kings … [Read more...]
Leadership in transition
Since we asked the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Executive Board on March 6 to launch a search for the next executive director, Sharon and I have received so many good wishes from Missouri Baptists and from believers all over the country. We are deeply humbled. We pray the transition creates an atmosphere of continuity throughout the search process while maintaining leadership clarity. This transition is a process of changing leaders with the least amount of disruption for the missionary … [Read more...]
Comprehensive care, strategies
James, the first-century pastor of the embryonic church in Jerusalem, was given the task of instructing the diaspora with truth that honors God. James doesn’t pull any punches in his inspired writing to the churches scattered all over West Asia and the Middle East. Obviously, he knew that churches without clarity of truth tend to isolate themselves and drift into all kinds of aberrant behavior fueled by the flesh of humanity. As a result, they have the potential to discredit the Lord Jesus. … [Read more...]
I wish I was younger 2.0
Exactly ten years ago, I penned a column about the great Baptist layman and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. He told a story about his 44th wedding anniversary. He said his wife looked at him one day and said, “Honey, I wish I was younger.” “Why?” Zig replied, thinking about the adventure of four decades of marriage to the woman of his dreams. “If I was younger, I could be married to you even longer,” she answered. Amazing story about a couple that loved each other through some of life’s … [Read more...]
Be a somebody
If you aren’t a somebody, you’re a nobody. Our Western culture spews out this mindset on so many levels. In public schools, students too often are bullied by their peers into thinking they are hopeless and irrelevant. Book and movie plots expose how some employees are demeaned by words of condemnation and rejection in the workplace. Some parents wound their children with words like, “You’ll never make it in the world,” or, “You won’t amount to much.” Some marriage partners choose to … [Read more...]
Consider the value of regenerate membership
Baptists are an independent lot. If a question is asked in a Baptist context of four people, don’t be surprised with a dozen opinions. Critical thinking, which does not imply meanness, manipulative or contrarian thoughts or actions, is part of the landscape of historic Baptist life. Being a participant in a local Baptist congregation is how many Christ followers learned to think more deeply about the word of God and how it applies to the will and ways of God at work in and through a group … [Read more...]
A fitting close for people of faith
For 2021, the International Mission Board posted the following statistics: 592,408 people heard the gospel; there were 176,795 new believers, and 22,744 new churches. Our team of missionaries could not have attained those benchmarks were it not for your participation in the gospel through the Cooperative Program and the designated Lottie Moon Offering you gave through your local church, where every dollar goes to the mission field. And yet most of the world remains lost – 59 percent of the … [Read more...]
Backstory for a key holiday: Thanksgiving
While we think of gathering family and eating more than we should – along, of course, with Black Friday sales – we should know there were faithful people who nearly died centuries ago, yet gave thanks to God for life, a new home and a fortified faith. No matter the generation, every generation of authentic Christ-followers experience some form of cultural pushback. Why? Because they choose to be more aligned with the word of God rather than accept the more convenient norms of their … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists: Post-annual meeting observations
“Just take five more minutes on your current project,” said a time-management guru. And, to my surprise, she was right! When I practice this little gem, I am more effective with the use of my time. It works on the Internet, too. Before you send an email or post a comment or send a text, pause and proofread your words. You would be amazed at how many of your thoughts have been misapplied by auto-correct, or your sentences don’t make sense because of a missing word. It is a healthy habit … [Read more...]
You don’t want to miss this moment
If you’re a dad and granddad, as I am, you have incredible opportunities to pour your life into your children and grandchildren. Together, we are compelled by love to invest time and energy in shaping their lives for success in life. Most parents try really hard to be at every ball game, school play, and other expressive activities. Many parents engage further by coaching or immersing themselves in the interests of their children. There are a host of ways parents can disciple their children … [Read more...]
‘See ya later, Good Friend’
The presses were up and running and I had just returned to my Oklahoma editor’s desk. Stella, my admin assistant said I had a call from the Missouri Baptist executive director. The conversation went something like this: “John, who is out there who could help us launch a new state paper here in Missouri?” It did not take me long to collect my thoughts and say, “The list is short, and few are conservative enough, experienced enough to lead a sustainable publication. The top of my list is … [Read more...]
Back to school signals back to Sunday school
The kids are lined up at the school bus stop. They are ready to board the big yellow bus to start fall classes. I know I am a little late talking about the beginning of the “school year” but I confess to questioning why schools don’t wait to start until after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day. The back-to-school process also signals “Back to Church” and “Back to Sunday School initiatives”. During the summer with interruptions from vacations, mission trips, time away for rest, and lest … [Read more...]
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