It was our joyful privilege to give tribute to the late Dr. E.K. Bailey during the 2015 Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference. Dr. Bailey was the founding pastor of the Concord Church in Dallas, Texas. He was a faithful expository preacher, who traveled the country proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. To invest in other Bible preachers and teachers, Dr. Bailey also established the E.K. Bailey International Conference on Expository Preaching. In the providence of God, E.K. Bailey was the man who was used to seal the deal for me that expository preaching is the most faithful way to...

      The following is a guest post by Cameron Triggs who is the Pastor of Youth & Young Adults of the Shiloh Church, where I serve as Pastor-Teacher. He blogs at camtriggs.com. Preaching Truth To Youth There is little question that many of today’s youth are increasingly disengaged from church, under engaged with the Gospel, and essentially biblically illiterate. The blogs, debates, and statistics about these continue to wage war but the greatest consensus from the ground states we have a real battle on our hands concerning millennials and the upcoming generation. In "You Lost Me" by Dave Kinnaman he...

The following is a guest post written by DA Horton, who is a church planter and published author. Additional information on DA can be found at dahorton.com. I’ve read more articles and studies regarding the Millennial generation than I care to admit. It seems as if Corporate America, Marketing Firms, and colleges are all vying for the attention and dollars of this generation. All the while, the assumption within the Body of Christ is local churches need to overhaul their entire paradigm of ministry to attract millennials. To level the playing field, let me take a moment to identify just...

  I publicly pray before I start my sermons. I also privately pray as I preach. Can you preach and pray at the same time? You better! Multiple things go through the preacher’s mind as he preaches. I’m not sure the preacher thinks about multiple things at the same time. Rather, the mind quickly and constantly shifts from one thing to another – consisting of good and bad thoughts, true and false, wise and foolish. This is why I pray as I preach. There are three fundamental things I need God to do for as I preach. I Need God...

This is episode #017 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better. I recently had the opportunity to interview one of my preaching heroes, Dr. Steven J. Lawson -  a faithful preacher, seminary professor, and prolific author. Click here to see part 1 of the Steve Lawson Interview.  Click here to see part 2 of the Steve Lawson Interview. I so enjoyed the conversation with Dr. Lawson about ministry and preaching, I thought I would share it with my podcast audience, as well. So this and the following episode will be the audio...

This is part 2 of my interview with Steven J. Lawson, President of One Passion Ministries and Executive Editor of Expositor magazine. Make sure you check out part 1 of my interview with Steve Lawson.  In the first part of our conversation, we talk about Dr. Lawson's background,conversion, education, formal training, and pastoral ministry. Much of this second part of our conversation is about sermon preparation and expository preaching. Steve Lawson is an exemplary preacher. He is faithful to the truth of the word of God. And he is faithful to the hard work of presenting God's word with accuracy, clarity, and boldness....

Steven J. Lawson is the President of One Passion Ministries. He is also a prolific author, seminary professor, and international conference speaker. Lawson is also the Executive Editor of the new preaching magazine, Expositor. I was introduced to Steve Lawson through one of his early books, When All Hell Breaks Loose. It is an exposition of Job. Afterward, I have made it my business to buy and read everything Lawson writes. NOTE: Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Lawson's new book, The Daring Mission of William Tyndale. After reading Lawson for years, I finally heard him preach. And I...

  It was the last day of the revival. I had just finished my ninth sermon of the meeting. I stood to give my lasting remarks. And I said what I was thinking. Usually, I am able to mind my business when I preach away from home. But since I had no intention of ever returning to that church, I took a shot at them. Thanks for putting up with my preaching this week. And for all of your kindness and encouragement. But all the glory goes to God. Any human credit goes to the church I serve. They give...

I heard Dr. A. Louis Patterson Jr. preach for the first time in the late-night service at the National Baptist Convention in Los Angeles in 1990. These services are typically when the major whoopers preach. But Dr. Patterson simply stood and explained the story of the woman with the issue of blood and sat down. It left a deep impression on me. I later visited a church and stopped by their tape booth after the service. There was a tape by A. Louis Patterson. I bought it and listened to it. From that moment, Dr. Patterson became my mentor from...

I am looking forward to the 2013 E.K. Bailey Preaching Conference in Dallas, July 8-11. This conference was the vision of the late, E.K. Bailey, founding pastor of the Concord Church. Dr. Bailey is the "godfather" of expository preaching among African Americans. Outside of Dr. A. Louis Patterson, Jr., I do not know of any Black pastor/preacher that has pointed more brothers toward Bible exposition than Dr. Bailey. The Bailey Conference is now in the capable hands of Pastor Bryan L Carter, who also leads Concord. Under Carter's capable leadership, the Concord Church is alive and well, and so is...

The late Dr. E.K. Bailey, founding pastor of the Concord Church in Dallas, wrote a booklet, entitled, "Ten Reasons for Expository Preaching." In this booklet, Dr. Bailey defines expository preaching: "An expository sermon is a message that focuses on a portion of scripture so as to clearly establish the precise meaning of the text and to poignantly motivate the hearers to actions or attitudes dictated by that text in the power of the Holy Spirit." Then Bailey gives ten reasons why the church desperately needs expository preaching: 1. Expository preaching creates a Bible-bringing congregation. 2. Expository preaching creates a Bible...

Today’s post is a guest post by my friend and brother, Pastor Brian Carter. Brian serves as the Senior-Pastor of the Concord Church in Dallas, one of the great congregations in this country. Brian is also the host and leader of the annual E.K. Bailey Expository Preaching Conference, which will meet in Dallas later this month. The late Dr. E.K. Bailey is one of my homiletical heroes. Through his example and this conference, the Lord used him to influence many African-American pastors toward expository preaching. Brian and his team are carrying on this great work and taking it to new...