Tag Archives: preaching

 Ministering to Mr. or Mrs. No

‘Mr. or Mrs. No’ are fictional names of real people in many Baptist churches. They are people who possibly mean well but over time have developed a stranglehold on the growth and health of their church. They possess an outsized influence and people either like them, are afraid of them or are determined to overlook them.   Mr. or Mrs. No make life difficult for pastors. Not because they always say “no” to everything the pastor wants to do, but because they have never learnedContinue reading ” Ministering to Mr. or Mrs. No”

Invite a Young Man to Preach

We live among a gold mine of young preachers in Kentucky.   Kentucky Baptists have access to three separate institutions where hundreds of young men are being trained for ministry leadership and many of them are being trained to preach.  Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville and Boyce College and The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryContinue reading “Invite a Young Man to Preach”

Caring for Your Pastor

Good pastors are hard to find. Some churches that are without a pastor have spent two years or longer in a search for their next one. Currently there are approximately 280 Kentucky Baptist churches searching for their next senior leader.  But what if you already have a good pastor? What are you doing to helpContinue reading “Caring for Your Pastor”

Great Days at Clear Creek

By all measurable accounts, Clear Creek Baptist Bible College — nestled in the foothills of Appalachia — is doing great. A recent report shows enrollment at Clear Creek is up by more than 80 students since last semester.   But not only is the school growing numerically; it is also growing spiritually. Over the pastContinue reading “Great Days at Clear Creek”

Do You Have Worms?

My wife Connie recently discovered that we have bagworms on one of our evergreen trees. Bagworms can infest trees and shrubs and, if left untreated, can destroy your favorite sources of beauty and shade.   We searched online to develop a plan for ridding the tree of these unwanted pests — which included removing theContinue reading “Do You Have Worms?”

Growing into Your New Role

I’ve never accepted a ministry position that — in the first six months — I didn’t want to go back to what I was doing before.   In fact, if your new ministry position doesn’t require you to grow into it, then I wonder whether the Lord called you to that role.   The Lord stretches HisContinue reading “Growing into Your New Role”

These Men Can Preach!

The CAPS Program (Cumberland Area Pulpit Supply) at Three Forks Association in Hazard, Ky., was born 17 years ago out of a concern from two local pastors to raise up supply preachers for churches in their community. These pastors put together a one-year course that included a monthly meeting, a hot meal, an hour ofContinue reading “These Men Can Preach!”

The Pipeline

There are currently 303 Kentucky Baptist churches searching for their next pastor. These churches are located throughout the commonwealth and represent our unified effort to advance the gospel in Kentucky. Most of those churches are looking for a bivocational pastor and are discovering that are very few, if any, qualified men in their area toContinue reading “The Pipeline”

Teach Me to Preach

When I first started preaching, I had no idea what to do. I had listened to sermons but had no concept of how to prepare one. So I prayed fervently and practiced reverse engineering to figure out biblical exegesis, sermonic structure, sermon content, illustrations, applications, introductions and conclusions.  I remember hearing one preacher humorously sayContinue reading “Teach Me to Preach”