A friend and I had a long conversation. It was a typical discussion that happens when pastors get together. We tried to fix all of the problems in the church and the world before we got up from the table. As is typical, nothing changed when we finished our conversation. After an extended debate about transitions and succession, we considered our own future retirements from pastoral ministry, God willing. “When I retire, I’m not going to church anymore,” my fried joked. “I will do like my members and just watch the services via livestream.” My friend assured me that...

A Guest Post by Joe Pace Colossians 3:16 teaches us that there is an undeniable relationship between the preaching/teaching ministry and music ministry in our worship.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Now to be clear, you can sing without the Word; you can play an instrument well without the Word; you can talk without the Word; BUT you simply cannot worship without the Word!  It is only with the truth of God’s word that...

My local theater has a new “Silence Your Cell Phones” announcement. It states that you came to the theater to enjoy what is on the big screen. And you should not allow the little screen on your cell phone to make you forget what you came to see on the big screen. This is not the time for selfies, text messages, or social media. It is time to drink a cola, eat a tub of popcorn, and enjoy the happenings on the big screen in front of you. Movies are for entertainment. It may be a comedy, drama, horror, historical,...

We are beginning a new feature here called, WORD & WORSHIP. It will consist of articles, reviews, and videos by me and my ministerial colleague, Joe Pace, who serves as the Pastor of Worship & Arts at the Shiloh Church. Our goal is to offer biblical guidance and practical help in the dealing with the relationship between music and preaching in corporate worship. We believe music in worship should extend and support the teaching ministry of the church (Colossians 3:16). And we hope to help teaching pastors and music ministers to strike the proper balance for the edification of the saints and...

The phone rang in my hotel room. It could only mean one thing. My ride was in the lobby. It was time to go preach. I grabbed my Bible, iPad, and ball cap, and headed out the door. I knew I needed to take another look at my manuscript on the way to church. So I searched for it in my iPad, as I walked to the elevator. Found it. As I glanced over my sermon, I struggled to remember the message. So I braced myself to have to preach from the manuscript. Most of the time I preach only from...

  Have you heard the one about the Civil War soldier who couldn't decide whether he wanted to fight with the Union or the Confederates? So he wore Confederate gray pants and a Union blue jacket to war. And he was shot by both sides! I imagine this is how Gospel Music artists often feel. Many Gospel artists feel their gifts and work are unappreciated by the church and disrespected by the world. They really don't know which side to fight for. But, with all due respect, this local pastor and passionate fan begs you to pick a side! No,...

 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25 Here are 25 reasons why you should regularly take part in the public and corporate worship assemblies of your local congregation: 1. The word of God teaches it (Heb. 10:24-25). A high and correct view of scripture demands regular church attendance. 2. Corporate worship is where the preaching and teaching of God’s word takes place (2 Tim....

Let’s face it. We’ve all done it. We have all had those times when we participated in corporate worship services without truly worshiping God in spirit and truth. We have all gone through the motions. We have all sat in services with our minds and hearts being at some distant place. Why does this happen? You love God. You have been looking forward to going to church all week. The worship was uplifting, the music was inspiring, and the sermon was edifying. But, somehow, you missed it all. As the worship flowed, you were fault-finding. As the musical praise was...

There will not be a Midweek Worship Service at Shiloh this evening. We will meet in the morning for a special Thanksgiving Day Service at 9 AM in our Coleman Auditorium. Start your holiday be joining us for corporate worship. God is the source every good gift and perfect gift. And he is worthy to be praised for all of his undeserved benefits toward us. Hope to see you there! “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

So there I was in a worship service at the National Baptist Convention in Kansas City last week. Between messages, during the offering, the woman sitting next to me said to me, “Now you know you should not be playing with your phone during worship.” I explained that I chose to use the Bible on my phone and that I was simply following along with the text during the sermon. She accepted my explanation but added that using the Bible on my phone is a temptation to check emails or do something else in church. All I could say was,...

Why? Why do we do what we do? What is our ultimate goal? Why do we dress as we dress? Why do we allot time as we do in our services? Why do we preach as we preach? Why do we sing, and why do we sing it the way we do? Do we care about what the world will think of our activities? Where is God in all this? Do we seek to meet Him in His truth, begging the Spirit to use the word to reveal to us the depths of our on hearts so that we may...

Like many Baptist congregations, the church I serve practices what is called open Communion, rather than closed Communion. This means that every professing believer who is present for our Lord’s Supper services is welcome to participate, whether they are a member of our local congregation or not. By extension, it also means that every true believer is welcome to participate no matter what his or her age may be. Any and every child who has received the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord and sincerely intends to follow Christ is encouraged to commune with us at the Lord’s Table. And...