War Ship Small Groups

I recently had a student who designed a new small group system for her church and called them War Ship Small Groups.

And she was uniformly eaten by a couple of students for using battle language … I guess because that kind of language is pointedly missing from the Bible (I don’t know which […]

Preaching Sin?

When it comes to preaching about “sin” of any sort, I’ve always been of the opinion we should confront sin in the same manner Jesus did … he only ever confronted the hypocritical religious people. He didn’t tell Zacchaeus or Matthew to stop stealing. He didn’t tell the fishermen to stop swearing. He didn’t […]

Is Your Worship Pre-Christian Ready?

Few churches know how to offer adequate hospitality to a non-Christian visitor. Being nice, loving, warm, and friendly isn’t the same thing as being hospitable. For instance, does your church bulletin use any of the following words:

InvocationBenedictionDoxologyPrayer ResponsePastoral PrayerHymnOfferingIntroitPreludePostludeor a host of others)

If so, then the bulletin isn’t pre-Christian ready because a […]

Don’t Start with the Bible

When I went to seminary, we were taught that the best, most authentic, relevant way to preach was to create an expository sermon. For the uninitiated that’s a sermon that starts with a scripture passage, “expose” it by digging in to teach what the passage says, what the author meant, and then apply it […]

Tell ‘Em What To Do

What’s the most important thing about your sermon?

Is it the scripture you start with?
The introduction that gets the congregation on board?
The stories they’ll remember for the rest of their lives?
The exposition of the deeper truths of the biblical passage?
The application of those truths to real life?
The invitation?

Let’s agree that they’re all important. A well […]