I am a proponent of planning your preaching. I plan out my preaching a year in advance.  And I urge other preachers to do the same. But any plan is better than no plan. It may be a plan for the coming quarter or month. Or maybe for the next two weeks. Anything beats the pressure of looking for something to preach each week. There are multiple benefits to developing a preaching plan. It saves time. It relieves stress. It allows you to work ahead. It enables you to be intentional about the diet you feed your congregation. And it...

The following is a guest post by Cameron Triggs, Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL. “Well done my good and faithful party planner.” That is one phrase I am positive Jesus will not say to Youth Pastors at the culmination of human history. I am also sure that no genuine Youth Pastor worth a slice of pizza wants to hear those words. Still the pressure to entertain is inevitable in youth ministry. It does not matter if it is a room of six faithful “church kids” or an auditorium full of...

The following is a guest post written by my friend, Charlie E. Dates, who serves as the Senior-Pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, Il. God willing, I will celebrate the second anniversary of my installation as pastor of Progressive Baptist Church a month from now. In most historic black Baptist churches, the installation is the official start of the pastor’s tenure. It’s something like the president’s inauguration. I am fortunate to serve as the senior leader of one of Chicago’s historic churches. I am also fortunate – or some would say unfortunate – to do so as a...

It was early in my first pastorate. There were two Sunday morning worship services. My father’s custom had been to preach two different messages. So that’s what I did. It wasn’t long before I found myself in a jam. Before I started pastoring, I wrote a new sermon every couple of weeks. But it was a whole another thing to produce two new sermons every Sunday. I needed a second sermon idea one week. Reading through a book of sermon outlines (Can one actually read a book of sermon outlines?), I stumbled across one entitled, “Other Little Ships” from Mark...

In the business world, the bottom line is the last line of a financial statement that shows profit and loss. It is about whether the company is earning or losing money. And, as they say, the bottom line is the bottom line. Every field of life and labor has a bottom line. In business, it is making money, earning profits, and increasing revenue. In education, it is passing tests, making grades, or earning a degree. In sports, it is winning games, awards, and championships. Everything has a bottom line. What is the bottom line of Christian ministry? You would think...

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. -...

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...

Ministers aren't kidding when they talk of troubles. It's the truth. Pick any ministry you want, and there will be enough problems in it to occasionally jerk the most optimistic person down off his toes. Ministries are few and far between that have no troublesome concerns stalking in the wings. More than likely, the best church you know about could be destroyed overnight if the right person made the wrong move. Even the best situation is fragile. Whether we know it or not, churches live on the brink. Something could go wrong at any time. If you are going to...

Four years ago, a monumental election took place. And right in the middle of the election, the economy collapsed. But I was not paying attention. I had monumental issues going on in my life and ministry that I was preoccupied with. During the summer of 2008, I was engaged in a process that would eventually result in me becoming the Senior-Pastor of the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville. The Wednesday after the election of Barack Obama, my installation services began. I totally forget to mention that the nation had elected its first black president the day before. My guest...

Twenty-two years ago today, the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles took a chance on a seventeen-year-old boy preacher. It was a Monday night. November 5, 1990. It was about eighteen months after the former pastor, my father, died. The church gathered to select its third pastor. For the record, the church did not meet that night with to select a high-schooler as its new pastor. I was not on the agenda that night. After a yearlong search, the pulpit committee presented three names for the church to consider. (I was not one of them.) And they would...

It was my first extended vacation from the first church I served. I really didn't want to take the time off. But, wisely, the men insisted. With my first Sunday off, I decided to visit Grace Community Church to hear Dr. John MacArthur, Jr. I would often attend the Sunday evening service at Grace. But I had never been there on a Sunday morning. That morning, Dr. MacArthur was preaching about the family. The conclusions he drew from the scriptures affirmed convictions I already held. However, for some reason, I became angry as I listened to the message. I felt...

I am reading J.D. Grey’s Epitaphs for Eager Preachers. It was written before I was born – in 1972. I recently saw it on the pastor's shelf where I was preaching. And the title caught my attention. The late Dr. James David Grey was the pastor of First Baptist Church of New Orleans for 35 years and president of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention in 1951-52. At forty-four, he was the youngest person ever elected to the SBC presidency. Beyond that, he apparently went by initials. Way cool. Early in the Epitaphs, Grey quotes an anonymous...