To preach is to occasionally lay an egg. Every preacher has felt it, and every preacher hopes to never feel it again. What did I do wrong? Why did the sermon flop? How do I avoid this ever happening again? These questions, and many more, hound the conscience of the preacher who’s delivered a still-born sermon. Unfortunately, I’ve not only been on the receiving end of a sermon flop, I’ve been on the delivering end also. From observation and experience, here are five reasons why sermons … [Read more...]
Go, pray, proclaim, repeat
NEOSHO – For a decade, Calvary Baptist has been on mission in Thailand and in Africa. One truth coming from both locales is the need for repeat visits. The work in Africa “Calvary was a guinea pig for the engaging churches that the IMB started. Rick Hedger (now MBC staff) was pastor before I came,” said current pastor Roger Brumley. “First we had to “find the (African) people group we had adopted,” Brumley said. Through the years, they found and ministered to them in Guinea-Bissau, … [Read more...]
Corticelli’s nativity rises from last year’s ashes
RUSSELLVILLE – The little town of Bethlehem is back and bigger than ever. Considering how the drive-through nativity at Corticelli Baptist church ended last Christmas, that’s saying something. A fire sparked by a light that blew into a hay bale took 20 firefighters two hours to douse, but the charred and soaked ground did not dampen the church’s resolve to tell the true story of Luke 2 to its community. The sets and props themselves – and the actors and livestock – were all miraculolusly … [Read more...]
Journey to pastorate included jail time for Fla. pastor
MIDDLEBURG, Fla. (BP) -- It's not the conventional road to the pastorate. "I wouldn't wish [my] story on anyone, but I wouldn't change anything about it, either," said Adam Wiggins, campus pastor of The Creek, a new campus of First Baptist Church of Orange Park, Fla., which is just outside of Jacksonville. Wiggins' path to the pulpit has been complicated, but it has ultimately landed him on staff with FBC Orange Park leading the church's newest effort to minister to an unreached … [Read more...]
Family uses agri-tourism to share Christ
DURHAM – For three years – and counting – a family here has used a seasonal corn maze to share Jesus Christ. The Pumpkin Crate wrapped up its third season October 30. The Brent Luttrull family of Durham uses the Pumpkin Crate to witness of their faith. “It always had and always will have a Christian emphasis. I decided if we were going to do this, we would do so with a purpose,” said Katy Luttrull, who runs the agri-tourism business with other family members. Katy grew up Southern Baptist … [Read more...]
Special offering taken to multiply 42 churches
SPRINGFIELD – If Bob Roberts hears of a church member going out of town, he always inquires where they are going. “We have church plant partners in San Diego, Washington DC, and even Oahu, Hawaii so I like to tell them where they can visit one of our partners for Sunday worship and encourage them,” said Roberts, minister of missions at Second Baptist Church here. Through Second’s “Foundations for the Future” offering, the church has helped support 42 new church plants since 2010. In the … [Read more...]
Rural, urban churches grow in multisite merger
DEVILLE, La. (BP) – The permanent tie between the rural Philadelphia Baptist Church of Deville, La., and the urban Horseshoe Drive Baptist Church in nearby Alexandria is less a merger than it is a joining of forces. About 750 people were in a March 2015 Sunday morning worship at Philadelphia Baptist Church Deville when the 30 remaining attendees at Horseshoe Drive Alexandria asked for help to keep the smaller congregation viable. “It’s very humbling and an honor they would see us as … [Read more...]
Vanhoozer defines the pastor-theologian
KANSAS CITY – Midwestern Seminary’s Center for Public Theology hosted its first major event, Sept. 22-23, as a well-respected evangelical theologian delivered the school’s C.W. Scudder Lectures. Kevin Vanhoozer, author and research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, was the keynote speaker for the lectureship dedicated to exploring the biblical basis for dealing with contemporary social challenges and ethical issues. “One of the greatest aspects of … [Read more...]
Pastor appreciation: Heartfelt letters have impact
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (BP) – While pastors appreciate the marriage getaways and financial gifts that sometimes come their way during Pastor Appreciation Month, Dave Miller suggests there may be something even more important to consider. “I think the best thing you can do if you really want to honor your pastor is to write him a letter,” said Miller, who is president of the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference and pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa. “Tell him how his … [Read more...]
‘Who moved my pulpit?’
Rainer, Thom S. Who Moved My Pulpit: Leading Change in the Church. Nashville: B&H, 2016. 143 pp. $12.99. Nine out of ten churches in North America are either declining or growing more slowly than their communities. As Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay Christian Resources, states near the end of this book, “We are reaching fewer people. Our backdoors are open widely. Church conflict is normative. Pastors and church staff are wounded. Many have given up altogether” (124). Yes, … [Read more...]
Baptist Builders help FBC Bevier raise profile in community
BEVIER – Just because the town of Bevier only boasts 723 people doesn’t mean things aren’t happening. “God has really blessed us,” said FBC pastor Scott Dalrymple. More than a dozen volunteers from Baptist Builders along with volunteers from the church – three of whom have worked on other Baptist Builder projects – constructing a new 50 ft x 132 ft multipurpose building for the congregation. “We’re out here in the country, so this is a big deal in our town and has caused a lot of … [Read more...]
Oldest Baptist Hispanic church in state hits 100
KANSAS CITY – For a century, First Westside Baptist Church here has set the pace for outreach to the Hispanic population within the state of Missouri. Founded in 1916, the church is Missouri’s oldest Hispanic Baptist church. “They’ve persevered,” Ken McCune, multiethnic church planting catalyst for the MBC, said. “They’ve kept the light of Christ shining for a long time in that part of Kansas City. … They’ve been the pioneers, paving the way. The fact that they’re celebrating 100 years is … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- …
- 68
- Next Page »