I consider myself fortunate to have come of age in the 1960s and to have been educated at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the early 1970s. None of us has much control over the time in which we live. Although…
WWJP? A checklist for testing the Christlikeness of your pastor’s ‘sermon’ about Israel
It’s been said many Christians have two things for Sunday lunch: fried chicken and fried pastor. I once got a Sunday afternoon phone call lambasting me for a Memorial Day homily during which veterans lit a candle not only for…
Doomsday Vault created to preserve conservative preaching against cancel culture
In a world where peer-reviewed evolutionists are taken seriously and LGBTQ people are treated as peers, Bob Jones University and Sermon Audio have come up with a conservative evangelical counter-offensive known as The Vault. The two organizations have joined forces to…
A modest proposal for imperiled pulpit plagiarists
Pulpit plagiarism has been making the news again. “Again” is the operative word. This is not new. A couple of friends, now in their 80s, recall making a wager about which swiped sermon a famous Baptist preacher/evangelist would deliver to…
Where’s the line between finding inspiration in another pastor’s sermon and plagiarizing it?
“Borrowing” someone else’s sermon is one of the top four ways pastors get fired from churches, according to Thom Rainer, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing arm and a noted interpreter of modern Christianity. Rainer made that statement…
‘The Bible says’: Sermons then and now
Like many of you, I have a vivid memory of watching Billy Graham’s charismatic oratory, particularly his crusade in Australia in April 1979. His platform catch phrase, “The Bible says,” still rings true even now. Some 50 years ago, I…
‘Preacher camp’ inspires sermons, ministries and lives of 6 pastors
By Jeff Brumley Every year, interest grows in a combined worship planning and support group that has forged an unbreakable bond between six Baptist pastors. Known as preacher camp, the annual, closed gathering got a lot of attention on Facebook…
You don’t have to preach every Sunday. Try this instead.
We believe there are myriad voices in our congregation that can preach, and we want to develop others who have that vocation. We also desire to start other neighborhood congregations, and we believe a primary obstacle to that will not…
This kind of denomination IS dead
Anyone who has followed my lifelong trek through the maze of denominational staff service, and consulting and coaching with denominational organizations, knows that I believe in denominations. I also believe they have a future that respects their past and present….