As a boy preacher, I had many opportunities to preach, but my father did not allow me to receive an honorarium for my preaching. But it didn’t matter to me. If I had the money, I would have paid pastors to let me preach! These early opportunities taught me not to put a price-tag on my ministry. I remember one of the first times I received an honorarium; it was a couple hundred dollars, but you would have thought it was a million bucks! Not long after, I went to the mall with several friend and I spent all the money...

Welcome to episode #048 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. Most episodes of the podcasts are solo discussions I lead about some aspect of sermon preparation or deliverer. It had been my desire to do interview episodes about preaching and preachers. With this episode, you will find conversations with pastors, preachers, and professors sprinkled with solo episode. In this episode, I interview a new friend, Daven Watkins, who is the Pastor of First Baptist Church in Pelham, Alabama, where he has served since March 2015. During his years of formal training for ministry, Watkins...

Michael Duduit is the Dean of the College of Biblical Studies at Anderson University in South Carolina. He is also the Dean of the Clamp Divinity School at Anderson University. And he is the Dean of the chapel. Yet Duduit spends his life training men to preach both within the academy and beyond. Some thirty years ago, Duduit started Preaching Magazine, a periodical for preachers about preaching. Edited and managed by Duduit, this magazine has been a longtime and trusted resource for pastors and preachers. Each year, Michael leads the National Congress on Preaching in cities around the country, featuring faithful...

I landed at LAX from preaching. My cell phone rang as soon as I turned it on. When I answered, a friend chastised me about not responding to a message from the deacon chairman of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. There were no messages on my phone. No messages at home or the office, either. Then it came to me. I rarely used the phone in my study, and didn’t even know the number. But I asked my assistant to check the phone and, sure enough, a deacon from Florida had left a message. My friend told...

Welcome to episode #47 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. I believe effective preaching involves faithfulness to the text, clarity of the message, and passion in the delivery. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll talk about protecting your voice for preaching. Main Content Here are 8 tips for protecting your voice for preaching:  Get Some Rest. Drink Plenty Of Water. Avoid Exotic Vocal Cures. Get Good Monitors. Pace Your Presentation. Guard Your Instrument. Do Your Homework. Don't Worry About it. Recommend Resources Power In The Pulpit by Jerry Vines  Moment of...

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! – Psalm 115:1   Yesterday, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church celebrated 142 years of God’s faithfulness! Many congregations do not make a big deal about church anniversaries, others ignore them outright. A church anniversary observance is often dismissed as another annual day, steeped in church tradition, and not Christian mission. I beg to differ. Statisticians report that some 4,000 churches in America close each year. Every week, multiple congregations – for one reason or another –...

This weekend, the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church celebrates 142 years of God's faithfulness. Praise the Lord for all that He has done, is doing, and will do through and for the Shiloh Church! I love my church! Today was our church picnic. Sunday, we will celebrate together in corporate worship. I am beyond excited that Dr. Fred Luter of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, and the first African-American President of the Southern Baptist Convention, will be our guest speaker this weekend. Thank you for your prayers, notes of encouragement, and offers of support in my nomination for president...

This past week, I prayerfully agreed to be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, which will take place in Dallas in 2018. The Pastors' Conference is held every year in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. It has been my joy to preach the pastors' conference on several occasions. It would be a privilege to lead it in 2018. I am grateful and honored that Ken Whitten of the Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa Bay has agreed to nominate me at the upcoming SBC meeting in Phoenix. I am also grateful for...

Divine Assurance For Christian Suffering (1 Peter 5:10-11)

Welcome to episode #46 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. I believe effective preaching involves faithfulness to the text, clarity of the message, and passion in the delivery. In this episode of the podcast, we’ll talk about advice for using quotations in your sermons. Main Content Here are 5 pieces of practical advice about using quotations in your sermons:  Decide if you want to use a quotation. Be careful about who you quote. Make sure the quotation makes the point. Use short quotations. Do not use too many quotations. Question:  Do...

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. – Job 23:10 Trust God’s heart when you cannot trace God’s hand. Have you ever heard this statement before? Have you ever said it before? What does it mean in terms of real-world faith? Job can help us answer these questions. As he suffered, Job complained against God: “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to...

It was a joy to speak at the WorshipGod Northeast Conference this week in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks to my friend Bob Kaulflin for the invitation and opportunity! Read my latest article: God Does Not Answer Selfie Prayers!  Check out the latest episode of The On Preaching Podcast. In this episode, we'll discus "Tips for Clear Communication in Preaching." For The Church: H.B. Charles on the Pastor's Most Important Weekly Tasks  Nathan Busenitz: Ten Reminders for Preachers Justin Taylor: Where Did the "Billy Graham Rule" Come From?  Tim Challies: What We Lost When We Lost Our Hymnals Erik Raymond: The Only...