Revitalize Your Church

A Prayer of a Minor Prophet  by A. W. Tozer (revised/updated by Mark O. Wilson) This is the prayer of a man called to be a witness to the nations. This is what he said to his Lord on the day of his ordination. After the elders and ministers had prayed and laid their hands on him he withdrew to meet his Savior in the secret place and in that silence, farther in than his well-meaning brothers and sisters could take him. And he said: O Lord, I heard your voice and was afraid. You called me to an awesome task in a grave and perilous hour. You are about to shake all nations and the earth and also heaven, that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. O Lord, our Lord, you have stopped to honor me to be your servant. No humans take this honor upon themselves except those called of God as Aaron. You have ordained me your messenger to them that are stubborn of heart and hard of hearing. They have rejected You, the Master, and it is not to be expected that they will receive me, the ser...

On Sunday morning, the preacher stands behind the pulpit and looks out upon a group of people who think they are Methodists.  In reality, a lot of them are Shintos, who are worshipping their dead ancestors buried in the adjacent cemetery. Some are radical Muslims, who believe every interpretation of their favorite preacher is dictated by God Almighty. Others are Buddhist who have to come to church to escape reality. Then, there are those who are just plain pagans that believe the purpose of religion is to get the gods to do something nice for them. (Paraphrasing from Will Willimon;s sermon, "Resident Aliens", in A Peculiar Prophet ) . Photo credit: Juicy Ecumenism,  https://juicyecumenism.com/2014/09/24/another-year-of-decline-for-u-s-united-methodists/ .

"Dusty, musty, wrapped in the mummy-like grave clothes of formalism and modern theology, without an 'amen' in the soul or a 'hallelujah' upon the lips, without the soft flowing pearls of erstwhile tender tears of conviction upon her cheeks, sits the professing church of Jesus Christ today, like a garden drooping; like a fountain that has ceased its flow; and offers but the poor apology of a bucket of muddy water from a hardly reached well." -- Aimee Semple McPherson

Pastor Zach Zehnder just broke the world record for the longest sermon:   53 hours and 18 minutes.  I've preached a few sermons that felt that long.

“Don’t just preach to your congregation for spiritual growth, assuming that everyone in attendance is a Christian; and don’t just preach the gospel evangelistically, thinking that Christians cannot grow from it. Evangelize as you edify, and edify as you evangelize.” -- Tim Keller I found this astute Keller quote in a great blog post, How Andy Stanley and Tim Keller Preach With Non-Believers in Mind, by Trevin Wax.

• God wants his Church to grow up in maturity (not just in numbers). It is clear from the Bible as a whole that God is not pleased with shallowness and immaturity. The Apostle Paul, who was of course a great missionary and church-planter, was not content merely to multiply churches. His greatest aim, he said, was to present everyone mature in Christ (Col. 1:28-29). • The church grows through God’s Word. The Bible is the primary means by which God nourishes his people. The Bible teaches and guides them in what they are to believe and how they are to live. It is the Word of God that grows the people of God. We live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4, referring to Deut. 8:3). Churches that are regularly fed by the Scriptures show healthy growth in maturity and witness. • The Word of God comes to people primarily through preaching. Of course, people can read the Bible for themselves — if they are literate, if the Bible exists in thei...

Steve Furtick , the young,  passionate pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, preached a 24 hour long sermon, promoting his book, Sun Stand Still. Either they took the clock off the back of the sanctuary wall, or he was waiting for someone to fall out the window. Actually, with Steve preaching, it probably felt like only 24 minutes.  I've sat through a few 24 minute sermons that felt like they were 24 hours long.

Now I lay me down to sleep. The sermon's long; the subject's deep. If he should quit before I wake, I ask someone, "Give me a shake!" -- from John Maxwell's book, Everyone Communicates but Few Connect

John Piper Explains His Method of Sermon Preparation

Realize God has called and prepared you for it. (Jer. 1:5) Feel insignificant? That's insignificant. The Lord is your significance. (Jer. 1:6-7) Awareness of God's helping presence takes care of fear. (Jer. 1:8) The anointing delivers the message. (1:9) An anointed message uproots, tears down, destroys, overthrows, builds and plants (Jer. 1:10) Look for lessons in almond trees and boiling pots. (Jer. 1:11-16) Sermon preparation begins with preparation of the preacher. (Jer. 1:17)

If you're going to go to all the trouble of learning the song and performing it -- then SING IT! Sing it loud. Sing it with feeling and like you mean it! -- Seth Godin, Linchpin (p. 197) And to preachers, I'll add -- Make it sing! Preach it like you mean it!

Nine Monday Morning Questions for Church Leaders

What is most personal is most general – Carl Rogers

An outstanding post for preachers from Ed Stetzer

Prayer must carry our work, as well as our preaching. He does not heartily preach to his people who does not pray for them. If we do not prevail with God to give them repentance and faith, we are not likely to prevail with them to repent and believe. -- Richard Baxter

"The clergy, by my consent, would do better if they would pray oftener and preach less." -- Governor William Berkeley, 1671 Methinks the good governor had a point. If you preach more than you pray, you end up blowing hot air!

Over at Sermon Central, Toni Ridgaway, provided a list of 20 Non-Preaching Websites for Better Preaching. Great resources for illustrations. HT Greg Atkinson

D.L. Moody said that all preachers need to teach the 3 R's: 1. Ruin By Sin 2. Redemption By Christ 3. Regeneration By the Holy Spirit

My friend, Pastor Steve Uhtoff, recently directed me to this fascinating research site: Internet Sacred Text Archive

One filled with joy preaches without preaching. -- Mother Teresa