5 Temptations for Successful Preachers
When a young preacher is given acclaim for his pulpit work, he may find himself dealing with an onslaught of egotistical forces, powerful voices all telling him how wonderful he is, how brilliant are his teachings, how gifted his delivery, and yes, how superior he is to his colleagues.
The moment he starts believing that rubbish, he’s in trouble. From the moment he sips of that kool-aid, he becomes less and less valuable to the Lord’s work, less helpful to the Lord’s people, and more susceptible to the enticements of the flesh.
Heralding the Gospel in our Jerusalem
Why do we struggle so much with heralding the gospel in Jerusalem? Why are we comfortable with hopping on a plane and sharing the good news to a people we’ve never met yet uncomfortable with sharing the good news to our neighbors and co-workers, those we know and see every day? I think we need to understand this question to be faithful ministers of the gospel.
The High Calling of Everyday Living
I still think that there is a great need to call Christians away from the “Suburban” malaise that American Civil “Christianity” (in quotes, since it is a pale imitation of the real thing) has created, where the desire for comfort and security takes precedence over the willingness to take risks and make sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom. But that being said, Bradley seems to me to be correct about how we often have a tendency to swing the pendulum too far the other way. Certainly we want to be on the front lines of transformation in needy places, but that is not the calling of every Christian. We can glorify God in the ordinary as well.
What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Judge not’?
It would appear that Jesus is prohibiting the sort of judgmental criticism that is self-righteous, hypercritical, and destructive. He is prohibiting the kind of judgment we pass on others not out of concern for their spiritual health and welfare but solely to parade our alleged righteousness before men.
Of course there is a place and time to heed the warnings, to listen to those who caution us, and to refrain from ill-advised activity. But, fear can keep us from seeing truth when it is right in front of us. Fear can prevent us from doing good when we know we should act. Fear can blind us to blessings, opportunities, and life abundantly.
Get real with people. Tell them about the times you’ve struggled and then let them know how Christ brought you through. Let them see the real you. The one who walked the dark roads. The one who knows that there is a better place. Show them your hope. Speak words of light into their lives.
Communicate How You Communicate
Your church may have stellar events, programs and even great communication strategies, but the best laid plans can get derailed by the simple lack of clearly and concisely communicating how you communicate.
There is no better way to complement the work you’ve done in crafting a focused, strategic communications plan for your church than to pair it with a plan to regularly communicate to the congregation where to access information. Tell them how you communicate.
Now it’s your turn: take the quiz, see how you do—and then, to help decrease the incidence of immigration illiteracy, please share this page with your friends by clicking the Facebook “recommend” button at the top of the page.
Researcher decodes prairie dog language, discovers they’ve been talking about us
According to Dr. Con Slobodchikoff, who turned his vocalization analysis on the Gunnison’s prairie dog of Arizona and New Mexico, the chirps these animals use as ‘alert calls’ are actually word-like packages of information to share with the rest of the colony. Amazingly, these unique sounds were found to both identify specific threats by species, such as hawks and coyotes, and to point out descriptive information about their appearance.
New York PBS station criticizes reality TV with fake subway ads
EW has obtained copies of all five posters that will appear in subways until the end of June, and while we’re 98 percent in agreement with the sentiment and snark, we also kiiiiinda want to see Knitting Wars on the air, if only because the “It’s Sew On” kicker had us in… stitches.
School says deaf boy’s name sign looks too much like a gun
Brace yourselves, because this is the dumbest thing you’ll hear all day. The Grand Island (Neb.) school district is forcing a 3-year-old deaf boy to change the way he signs his name, because they say his gestures violate their weapons policy. Preschooler Hunter Spanjer’s personalized name sign is a registered sign with Signing Exact English — a modified form of American Sign Language — and involves extended index fingers that the district says resembles a gun.