Have you noticed how people refer to the singing in church as "worship time," as if the other parts of the service are not part of our worship? This is troubling, because Christians should recognize that prayer, saying the creeds, giving, and especially the sermon, are all part of our worship of God. But I wonder if one of the reasons why people do not know this is that preachers have forgotten to worship God when they preach. We may deliver carefully crafted sermons, but if we ourselves are not worshiping God when we do, then that element will be...

Dr. Fred Luter Jr. is the Senior-Pastor of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. He is also the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, the first African-American to lead the convention. Knowing that Dr. Luter would be in town to speak at a conference, I reached out to see if could make time in his busy schedule to chat with me. Even though we had never spoken or met before, Dr. Luter graciously accepted my invitation for an interview. I was blown away by how gracious, humble, and kind Dr. Luter is. And he has a great testimony...

It has been a long, blessed weekend. We kicked off a new session of the 33 Series mens' Bible study Saturday morning. We got off to a good start. Looking forward to the next 5 weeks. The 2013 JAX Pastors Conference was fantastic. I really needed David Jeremiah's message on the Prodigal Son. Dr. Al Mohler's message on heaven was phenomenal as well, and it was great to hear Dr. Fred Luther Dr. Brunson graciously invited me to speak Saturday afternoon, I am grateful for the honor. Thankful to Trey Brunson and the entire First Baptist staff as well for...

I stood, called my text, and began to preach. There was a weird response by the congregation. Something strange was happening, but I didn't know what. I couldn't catch the vibe. The congregation, to whom I had preached several times before, was tentative throughout the entire message. But I couldn't figure out why. After I sat down, it all became clear. Someone leaned over to me and told me the speaker who had opened the meeting several nights before preached the same text and/or message. For some reason, this news made me nervous. At the same time, I was at...

It struck me one day in a Christian bookstore that most of the "church growth" books I picked up in that store were not books on vision but on image. They hadn't been published to help me see the world in a particular way but to help the world see me - were I a megachurch pastor - in a particular way. They were books that enticed the pastor of limited self-image to be like somebody else the world admired. What a cul-de-sac of emotional poverty this is. These books were published to serve the idolatries of megapastor wannabes. -...

Today concluded our 2013 Prayer Emphasis Week at Shiloh. It has been a rich week. We prayed for daily targets this week. There were daily prayer meetings at noon. And we had all-night prayer meeting Friday night. Thanks to staff and volunteers for the labor and sacrifice this week. You make it happen! Glad to have all of our guests in worship today. Shout-out to our music department. You did a great job today! I preached from Romans 10:1-4 about "Praying for the Lost." Sermon Point: The most important thing you can pray for someone is that he or she may...

Happy Saturday! Thanks for reading my blog this week. You can sign up for email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. We have had a great Prayer Emphasis Week at Shiloh Church. And last night's All-Night Prayer Meeting was tremendous. You can now preorder my upcoming book, It Happens After Prayer: Biblical Motivation for Believing Prayer  Don't miss the JAX Pastor Conference next weekend! Russell Moore: Why I Hate Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (and Why I Love It Too) Kevin DeYoung: Why Pastors and Elders Need Your Prayers  Jemar Tisby: 5 Factors in the Rise...

What is a bishop? This is a often asked question I get. It’s a new question about an old term. The word “bishop” is biblical. Different churches and denominations have used it to refer to church leadership and government throughout church history. Yet I often get questions about this term, as it has invaded Baptist ranks. Local churches within self-governing Baptist congregations have become consecrated bishops. As far as I can tell, this trend began with the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship – a loose denomination of Charismatic Baptists. At least, this is when I caught wind of it. It...

One of my former professors preached for me one Sunday morning. As we chatted between services, he asked me about an upcoming speaking event announced in our newsletter. I was scheduled to speak the next five nights at a state convention meeting. It was a rare opportunity. My professor and I joked about the challenges of preaching to preachers. Then the conversation turned. I admitted that, although I was grateful, honored, and excited about spending a week ministering to pastors and church leaders, I was very nervous. Prof assured me that all would go well. I agreed, because I had...

Today we began our 2013 Prayer Emphasis Week at the Shiloh Church. You can download our PEW13 prayer guide here. Each day this week, there will be a one-hour prayer meeting at noon at Shiloh. We will have an all-night prayer meeting Friday night to Saturday morning. We baptized three persons today – two men and one woman. Praise God! As always, it was good to have our guests in worship today. Our children’s choir sung today. Cool. The special music before the message today was a solo of “Is Your All On the Alter?” What a blessing! I preached...

Thanks for reading my blog this week. You can sign-up for free email updates of future posts under the picture to the left. Tomorrow (1/13) begins Prayer Emphasis Week 2013 at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church. May the Lord smile on us as we commit this new year to God in prayer! ChurchLeaders.com: Preacher's Tip: If You Can Keep from Preaching, Do It by H.B. Charles, Jr. Congratulations to Pastor Xaviar Thompson of the Southern Missionary Baptist Church for becoming the new and youngest President of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Vicinity. Have you followed the news...

Dr. James Borror formally introduced me to homiletics at an upstart Bible college I attended in Anaheim. Professor Borror's classes had an immediate and long-term influence on my life and ministry. In the succeeding years, he continued to mentor me by his godly example, wise advice, and faithful preaching. I still have the handwritten notes I took in Dr. Borror's classes more twenty years ago. But I don't really need them. I remember so much of what he taught me, as though it was just yesterday. But there is one word of counsel Dr. Borrow gave that has stuck with...