What Are You Fanatical About?

Posted by on 10.29.07 in Church Trends, Churches

Before leaving Grand Ledge this morning, I had breakfast with Andrew, Brian and John—the three staff pastors at Grand Ledge Baptist Church. Andrew I have known for 17 years but I just met Brian and John this weekend. The church recently voted to go to a unique three-way co-pastor system in which the three pastors will toge …

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Grand Ledge Baptist Church

Posted by on 10.28.07 in Churches

Tonight I preached my final message at Grand Ledge Baptist Church. This was the closing weekend of a month-long emphasis on missions. This evening we began with a live video interview via the Internet with a missionary couple serving in Bolivia. This is an example of how technology has made the world smaller. Not many years …

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Sermons at Sierra Bible Church

Posted by on 10.17.07 in Churches, Sermons

In my last message at Reno, I promised the congregation that I would post the text of my five messages on knowing God’s will. Here they are:How Can I Discover God’s Will For My Life?Sense and Nonsense About God’s WillThe Hardest Prayer You Will Ever PrayDon’t You Believe in Miracles? When You Nee …

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All In For Jesus

Posted by on 10.15.07 in Churches, Sermons

On Saturday Marlene and I flew to Reno, Nevada to speak at the Fall Conference at Sierra Bible Church. This is the second year in a row that we have come to Reno for the conference. Last year when I preached on doubt, I used the illustration of poker players going “all in” in order to win the game. That’s what we have …

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Five Down, Five to Go

Posted by on 10.9.07 in Churches, Keep Believing Ministries, Travel

A few random thoughts on why we do what we do . . .1) We are the middle of ten straight Sundays when I will be away from Tupelo. So far on consecutive Sundays I’ve been in Chicago, Normal, IL, Durango, CO, Thailand (two Sundays), and Los Angeles. Starting this Sunday it will be Reno, NV, Schroon Lake, NY, Grand Ledge, …

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Pastor’s Seminar in Los Angeles

Posted by on 10.6.07 in Churches, Preaching, Travel

This morning I met with these men at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. After eating breakfast together, we spent 2 1/2 hours talking about preaching. In the photograph the man to my immediate right (in the striped shirt) is Pastor H. B. Charles, Jr. It was at his invitation that I came to Los Angeles this …

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Preaching This Sunday in Los Angeles

Posted by on 10.4.07 in Churches, Preaching, Travel, Uncategorized

This Sunday I’m preaching at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California where H. B. Charles, Jr. is the pastor. He is one of my favorite pastors in America and has been for several years. I say that even though we have never met in person. Back when I was pastoring in Oak Park, he somehow found me …

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Calvary Baptist Church

Posted by on 9.16.07 in Churches, Travel

Today we are at Calvary Baptist Church in Normal, IL, a city in central Illinois on Interstate 55 between Springfield and Chicago. Normal is next to Bloomington, home of Illinois State University. We came at the invitation of Pastor Ralph Wingate, a good friend I met a few years ago. Several times we had lunch in Oak Park w …

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How to Leave a Church

Posted by on 9.14.07 in Churches

This week I received an email from someone I do not know asking for some advice. Recently they left the church they had attended for more than eight years. It wasn’t anything doctrinal and it apparently didn’t have anything to do with worship styles or mode or baptism or a new building program. They left because …

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Why Churches Change So Slowly

Posted by on 9.4.07 in Churches

During lunch with a friend, the conversation drifted to the question of why churches get stuck in a rut and never seem to change. Eventually one key insight emerged. Every organization is perfectly calibrated to produce exactly the results it is producing. That “calibration” is mostly invisible, but it is there, and it is h …

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