How Are You Doing? Dealing with Loss

People keep asking me, “How are you doing?” Majesty Music’s sweet Susan Perry, head of customer service, texted me this morning: “How are you doing?” What to say? I finally came up with, “Ok. Better than not ok. Not as good as wonderful.” How do you respond after losing a close loved one? You fully…

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The Gospel at Street Level

We often urge others to be evangelists, get out the gospel, be a witness, and so on. Most Christians would agree that our business is the Great Commission, but we often struggle with how to put it into practice. There are various barriers naturally in place that may seem insurmountable. For example, as an employee,…

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When A Ministry Is Being Maligned

(A Right Response to Rancor in the Ranks) The Psalmist sang, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes!” (Ps. 118:23) When God’s work is made evident by the gathering together of likeminded constituents, the construction of facilities, and lives being changed, God’s people ought to say, “This is the Lord’s doing;…

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The Kind of People that God Uses

The Ideal What kind of men and women does the Lord use mightily in ministry? In answer to this question, we tend to think of individuals who seem very different from us. We might envision a strong, gifted evangelist who boldly preaches Christ to the masses. Perhaps we think of a rugged, pioneer missionary who…

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Encouragement for Fainting Disciplers

  Does this story sound familiar to you? A young man walks into your church. You eagerly follow up with him, maybe even take him out to lunch. You might even have the chance to lead him to the Lord! As you prioritize your time over the coming weeks, you begin pouring your life into…

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Why the Dearth of Young Preachers? (Part 2)

As part of a study on why it is becoming increasingly difficult for churches to find young pastoral candidates, the president of Barna Research, David Kinnaman noted, “There are now more full-time senior pastors who are over the age of 65 than under the age of 40.” A shortage of young gospel ministers is not…

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YOU Gotta Go to Catechism

The neighborhood in which I grew up teemed with kids my age with whom I had great fun, mostly playing backyard, alley, and ballfield sports, where I made many fond memories.  But I recall many an occasion after school trying to round up a pickup game, and my buddies would say, “I gotta go to…

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Disciplined by Faith: Part 2

In Part 1, I described two inadequate responses to spiritual dryness and practical crisis. First, many turn to worldly methods of addressing their problems or of drowning their sorrows. Second and more importantly for my purposes, many submit to the tyranny of the urgent. Their Christian life is defined by urgent concerns and finding answers…

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Disciplined by Faith: Part 1

Most Christians know the feeling. You sit down to read the Bible and pray, wanting to enjoy a passionate experience of God, but … crickets. You struggle to focus on the text, and what you grasp seems irrelevant to your pressing concerns. Your prayer time is dry, and your burdens don’t feel any lighter afterwards.…

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