On September 8, all across the Southern Baptist Convention, churches held baptismal services for new believers. Some Baptists didn’t get the memo about this special Sunday requested by SBC president J.D. Greear. That’s okay because people come to Jesus on many different days and when the Spirit convicts of sin. The idea was to celebrate many new people coming to faith in Christ. Among Missouri Baptists there is a stirring of eternal proportion. After all, God does the saving and we get to … [Read more...]

I wish you could hear all the stories I hear about Missouri Baptist churches baptizing new believers. Just last week I heard of 18 baptisms in one Sunday, five more in another church, and 60 baptisms per year for the last three years in another church. You might think these stories come from mega suburban churches in our state, but I am hearing reports like this from inner-city churches and rural congregations. SBC President J.D. Greear has encouraged all SBC churches to hold a Baptism … [Read more...]

Church leaders either inherently know or learn that if the Lord assigns you to an existing group of people, you must focus on transforming the culture of the people toward the passionate heart of God. This doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a huge investment of love. And past victories do not guarantee success in the future. Great leaders – godly leaders – quickly find the confines of their prayer closets to discover the precise cultural change the Lord wants to impress on a people. … [Read more...]

While at the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs were underway. Unless you were in “airplane mode,” you know that the St. Louis Blues decisively triumphed! A big win for the team. A great win for St. Louis area supporters. The rest of the “Show-Me” state celebrates the winners. As I write, I’m on the plane from Birmingham. I began reflecting/evaluating about the past few days of SBC activity. I must confess that responsibilities as the recording … [Read more...]

Periodically, while reading other state Baptist newspapers, I stumble across an extraordinary column. Such was the case with a column by Matt Tullos, the stewardship development specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. I asked Matt for permission to make a Missouri adaptation of his column for you. “It’s that time again when the sun bids us to flee from the status quo and frolic with the family in favorite locations,” writes Tullos. “Whether you are a one-week mountain man or a … [Read more...]

As soon as I leaned through the doorway of the florist shop, I smelled the spring flowers. And when I stepped into the room, the rush of blooms surrendering their pungent fragrance enveloped me. Immediately, my mind raced to Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is attractive, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” The experience was so … [Read more...]

Churches often hold prayer meetings. How often have you heard the pastor or prayer-meeting facilitator ask, “Do you have any prayer requests?” In most meetings, what follows is a list of prayer requests related to sicknesses and other troubles people we love are experiencing. We should pray for healing, comfort and peace. Too often, however, we spend too much time reciting these troubles and not enough time on our knees crying out to our Heavenly Father. My friend and prayer ministry … [Read more...]

For some reason, pastors really like to preach in their own pulpits on Resurrection Sunday. When I served as a local church pastor, I felt the same way. This year, however, I’m in the pew on the Sunday that commemorates the most important event in human history: the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Allow me to share with you some obscure insights about the resurrection of our Lord. Let’s use Mark 16 as our text, and notice the question posed by the women going out to visit the grave … [Read more...]

Catchy title. I thought so. I read the entire column by Andy Kessler in the Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2018. I know the column’s target audience was the business community. However, as I read, I realized this had application across multiple disciplines. In his days of young adult exuberance, Mr. Kessler was headed out the door of the office with papers and charts to make a pitch to a client. The boss stopped him at the door and asked, “What are doing with all that junk?” Taken back … [Read more...]