Each year, during the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference, we pay tribute to a preacher that should be known and remembered. This year, we paused to remember the life and ministry of Warren W. Wiersbe. Warren W. Wiersbe was a preacher's preacher. He was also a laymen's preacher, who made the word of God plain and clear for any person to understand. Above all, Warren Wiersbe was the Lord's preacher, a man of God who served the Lord in his generation and moved upstairs to his final reward on May 2, 2019. Wiersbe was a pastor, serving several churches...

  There I am, preparing to speak. Someone introduces me, who does not know me personally. So he reads from my bio. Two things capture the congregation’s attention. First, my name – H.B. Charles Jr. “Just in case you’re wondering,” he says, “H.B. does not stand for anything.” I am going to be asked about that later. Usually, I simply answer, “What can I say? My father did it to me. And I did it to my son.” Then the second, bigger details comes up. “H.B. succeeded his father’s forty-year pastorate at the age of seventeen, a senior at Los...

  Because of his sinful disobedience, the Lord fired Saul as King of Israel. He then sent the prophet, Samuel, to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, to anoint a new king.  Jesse presented to the prophet his sons he thought would make a good king. But when Samuel turned his horn over their heads, the oil of God did not fall on any of them.  When Samuel saw one particular son, Eliab, he was convinced he had found his man. Eliab was straight out of central casting. He walked and talked and looked like a king. “Surely, this must...

A friend and I talked about a conference we both attended, during different years. I told him about the year I attended. Then he told me about the year he attended. As he listed the speakers he heard, I asked about a particular name. I knew of this man’s ministry but had never heard him speak.  I inquired, “Can he preach?” My friend answered affirmatively and emphatically. “He knows how to handle the text,” my friend expanded. “And you can tell he’s been with Jesus.” The conversation ended there, because I did not say anything else. I could not. I...

Jerry Black is the Pastor of the historic Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, where he has served since 1991.     I had the opportunity to interview Jerry Black about his life and ministry. Enjoy! [embed]https://vimeo.com/279145176[/embed] Did you find this interview helpful?  Join the conversation in the comments section. Related Resources Steve Gaines Interview Donald Parson Interview The Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference will take place September 18-20, 2018, at the Shiloh Church in Jacksonville, Florida.  This conference is designed to train, model, and promote biblical teaching and preaching. Register TODAY!!!!  

Steve Gaines is the Pastor of the historic Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, where he has served since 2005. He has led several congregations over more than thirty years of pastoral ministry. Gaines is also the immediate past President of the Southern Baptist Convention (2016-2018). Steve Gaines is soul-winning pastor, faithful preacher, and prayer-driven leader, whose leadership, counsel, and preaching a sought-after by many. He is also the author of numerous books, including... Pray Like It Matters by Steve Gaines  Share Jesus Like It Matters by Steve Gaines Pray Like This edited by Steve Gaines When God Comes to Church by...

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend C.J. Mahaney at their annual Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference.  This interview is a snapshot of our time together and provided me an opportunity to share from my heart some key points that I believe will be beneficial to preachers and pastors in every stage of their ministry.  Enjoy!! 2017 Pastors Conference :: Q & A with H.B. Charles & C.J. Mahaney from Sovereign Grace Churches on Vimeo.

  I drove to my pastor’s office to tell him I was going to resign my church. He asked what did I plan to do next. I did not have a plan. I told him I may become a talk-show host. It didn’t matter. I just wanted out! I desired to get married, finish my education, and move on with my life and ministry. I had wasted enough of my youth in congregational conflict. My pastor told me he knew what the problem was. I just wanted to get up to preach one Sunday in peace. He warned me, however,...

The pastor lives under a divine charge to preach the word. He does not have the right to proclaim his own message. He is a herald assigned to declare the message of the King. Every pastor has multiple responsibilities. But the pastor’s primary, central, and definitive function is to preach the word of God. A faithful pastor will not compromise the centrality of the pulpit. It is my desire and determination to be a faithful pastor. Therefore, I strive to guard the dignity of the pulpit that has been entrusted to me. How I live, study, and preach are shaped...

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...

So What is your vision for this church?  I was not asked this question at my first church. I was the son of the former pastor. I had grown up in the church. I was only seventeen-years-old. They assumed I did not have a vision plan for the church. Or that I did not have vision worth sharing. So they never asked. When I met with the pulpit committee of my present church, however, pastoral vision was a big issue. The committee had no real interest in me becoming their pastor. Yet they still wanted to know, “So what is...

Today is the official release of my newest book, entitled, “On Pastoring: A Short Guide to Living, Leading, and Ministering as a Pastor." It is a companion, of sorts, to my previous book, On Preaching. I have been a pastor all of my adult life, serving congregations in California and Florida. I began my first pastorate in 1990 at the age of seventeen, succeeding my father’s 40-plus year ministry at the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. I was senior in high school. Yet this historic, established congregation called me to lead them. I served that congregation for...