You are here: Home / Archives for Ministry

THE SERMON TEXT

by

ken preaching

 

 

 

 

 

 

(MORMON SCIENTIST DISPROVE MORMONISM THROUGH DNA,

AND THE LACK OF LINGUISTIC,AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfxSscxh8o)

By Ken Blue

Several fallacies surround the idea that the text determines the sermon. It does not. For example, if you are going to preach a wedding, you already know the occasion and the subject. You now search for a text to support the event. The same is true with the funeral. You begin your search for a text you feel appropriately supports your purpose. When you preselect a topic to teach, you then search for scripture to support it. In each case, the event or topic dictates the scripture you will use.
Almost every sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles was a topical message. It would be difficult to find a sermon by the great Charles Spurgeon that is not topical in nature. The 500 sermons by DeWitt Talmage are all topical. Most of the messages by the prophets, by the Lord Jesus and by the Apostle Paul were topical. So, the assumption that the best method is the verse by verse expository method will not stand the test of Scripture.

Having said that, let us not assume that book studies or expository preaching should be neglected. They should not. I believe every book in the Bible should be taught and preaches. Doctrinal and word studies are important. The problem facing many pastors is that they have not learned how to make these studies relevant and helpful to the believers or the lost. They are dispensers of information but not agents of transformation.

When preaching books of the Bible, it best to look at the paragraphs within the chapter and then seek for the one point the Holy Spirit is teaching. The topic should be extracted from the paragraph; the surrounding verses will support your topic and purpose for the message.

Some books do not lend themselves to the above method. Two of these are Leviticus and Proverbs. When dealing with books like these, it is best to look for a topic and then cross-reference to other passages within the book to support the topic or subject.

For the beginning pastor, it is best to choose the smaller books to teach. Stay out of the deep waters until you learn to swim. Don’t be a parrot, simply regurgitating what others have said. Before you study for your sermon, pray and ask God to show you things He wants you to emphasize. The average preacher is preaching in the third person, at people, not to them. What I mean is, he stands before others telling them about people and events that have no relevance, significance or bearing on their daily lives.

As you can see, the text may or may not determine the sermon. If one chooses the topical method only, people will not understand the structure and dispensational nature of God’s Word. So, mix it up. Unless a pastor has mastered the expository method of preaching, he must take care, least he become too “teachy” and stunt the growth of his members and membership growth.

HOW TO KILL A CHURCH; A MILE DEEP AND AN INCH WIDE

by

Kill a church

 

By Ken Blue

All of us have heard of the tragic results when doctors make a mistake and give the patient the wrong injection or pills. Many times the results are fatal. That is one reason others should be brought in to assist and assure that mistakes are not made.

I’m sure no pastor or church member would purposely inject a church with ministry concepts that would kill it. In most cases the intended goal is to make the church better. However, many of those decisions are based on preferences rather than on proven methods.

A few years ago, at a preacher’s conference, I heard a pastor criticize churches larger than his own by accusing them of being an “inch deep and a mile wide.” I discovered that his church was neither an inch deep nor an inch wide. I was more like ¼ inch in both directions.

One sure way to kill a church is to put more emphasis on maturity than reaching the lost. When a church becomes more concerned about teaching than reaching, it is only a matter of time till rigor mortis sets in. The leadership then continues to inject embalming fluid, in an attempt to make the corpse appear to be alive. The shift to teaching will kill church growth.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]One sure way to kill a church is to put more emphasis on teaching than reaching.[/pullquote]

Another sure way to kill a church is to have a dead, dull music service. Dr. Jack Hyles built one of the largest churches in America. I personally heard him say that the KEY to an exciting church is atmosphere. Music and decor set the atmosphere. So liven up and mix up your music. You cannot have an Episcopal song service, a Lutheran sermon, and a Pentecostal invitation.

Finally, you kill a church by making sure that your preaching’s only purpose is to fill up the 11:00 hour. The average pastor has no purpose or theme in his messages to reach the purpose statement of the church; if it has one. Can you connect your sermons, lessons, activities, and advertisement to your church purpose statement? If not, your statement means nothing, or your sermons serve no purpose.

If I had to choose, which I did not, between a church that was “an inch deep and a mile wide or a church that was a mile deep and an inch wide,” the choice would be easy. I would take the wider church every time. I have no interest in a handful of “deeper life Christians” that sit around and criticize those of us who have not reached their spiritual depth. Also, there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who gets saved than there is over your deeper life sermon. So, aim at reaching the lost and infuse new life in your church.

MINISTERIAL WARS

by

MINISTERIAL WARS

Advice on Ministerial Wars

Ministry wars are inevitable. Therefore, the pastor must know the difference between a breeze and a tornado. The pastor who is insecure and suspicious of everyone will constantly be plagued by fears and doubt.

If you believe a matter requires confrontation or a war, contact older pastors in whom you have confidence and seek their counsel and advice. If you have mature and trusted men in your church, it may be helpful to seek their guidance. Regardless of the decision, you must stand up to the challenge and accept the outcome.

Most problems are power struggle or frustrated ambition on the part of some member. Your problems will most likely come from someone who is close to you. That is, a staff member, a deacon, a treasure, a music director or their wives. These people usually get offended because of a policy decision you have made or over budget allocations.

In order to minimize ministerial wars, communicate clearly and lovingly with your congregation. Be transparent in money matters. Give people more information than they need. Remember, people in the dark tend to be more suspicious and will believe the gossip mongers. Silence them, if you can, with light.

You should show humility, but never show weakness. A church that will not change, will not grow. Be slow to make changes and expect to lose some people when you do. The pastor should not seek war or start them. But, he must be alert to the fact that the devil uses wicked men and women to hinder or destroy his ministry. Therefore, get all the advice and help available to you; spend much time in prayer and when the war is over, move forward in victory to build a greater ministry for Christ!

I recommend to every pastor and church worker a book by Marshall, Shelley titled, Well Intentioned Dragons. You can purchase it at Amazon.com

I AM A BAPTIST… BY DENOMINATION

by

I AM A BAPTIST… BY DENOMINATION

baptist
“John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus” – Harry Anderson

There are many reasons given by the brethren why they are Baptist. I am a Baptist by denomination, not by tradition. Many use an acrostic to explain their core beliefs. I will do the same.

B– Born again by regeneration. Every believer is a new person IN Christ.

A-Autonomy of the local church. No other church or denomination has any authority over any other church.

P-Preservation of the believer. The believer is preserved and eternally secure because he is IN Christ.

T-Two ordinances: baptism in water, and the Lord’s Supper. How often these are to be observed is at the discretion of the church.

I-Inspiration of the Scriptures (KJV). We believe the KJV is the preserved Word of God for the English speaking world.

S-Separation of church and state. The Christian is to render to Caesar and to God that which they require. When these are in conflict God is to be obeyed.

T-Two future comings of Christ: Pre-Tribulation rapture and the Second Advent, or the Revelation. We believe the rapture of all Christians takes place prior to the Great Tribulation. The revelation, or Second coming of Christ is seven years later. This is followed by the Judgment of the nations and the thousand year reign of Christ on earth from Jerusalem.

(Note:) We believe it is impossible to have correct doctrine, of the church or of practical Christianity when 2 Timothy 2:15 is ignored. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

SHOULD THE MINISTRY BE PRAGMATIC

by

should the ministry be pragmaticBy Ken Blue

While discussing church growth with a young pastor, something was said, to which he responded, “Sounds pragmatic to me.” I ask him what the word meant; he was not able to give a correct definition. Like so many little lemmings, many follow the rodents over the cliff without any idea what they are talking about or where they are going.

One of the clever tricks of many is to give a negative connotation to a word, associate it with anyone they disagree with, and then smear others by applying it to them. I doubt the average critic has looked up the word or considered how they themselves practice it every day.

The American Heritage Dictionary says pragmatic is: “1. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.”

However, those who would smear others, use it in a context that no matter what one does, they can justify it by the end result or outcome. However, they fail to give the definition that being practical, may in some cases, justify the end results. Let us see if the brethren will stay with us for this lesson.

  1.  God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery and spend time in prison for a crime he never committed. He was later elevated to the second highest position in Egypt. “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5. The purpose in all this was to preserve Israel for the next 400 years. Did the end justify the means?
  2. God killed the firstborn in Egypt, did the end justify the means?
  3. God led the armies of Egypt into the Red Sea to destroy them. Did the end justify the means?
  4. God had Israel to destroy the people in the land. Did the end justify the means?
  5. God had Jesus to die on the cross, did the end justify the means?
  6. God will gather the nations against Israel for destruction. Will the end justify the means?
  7. When the Lord said, “ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” Luke 14:28-30. Sounds like a practical approach when starting a building program.
  8. When God said, “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.” Luke 14:31-32. This passage shows the wisdom of counting the cost before going to war.

Now I can hear those who say, “But, that was God.”  Now, let us discuss your daily decisions. Do you believe your choices and activities will be justified by the end results? If you don’t, there is something haywire in your brain. You believe the end justifies every decision you make, or you are a hypocrite.

Of course there are things that are wrong, and are not justifiable. But, most of the criticism by the brethren is not that you have done wrong, you have just failed to do it their way. I can already anticipate how the brethren will skirt these issues and continue their criticism. You see, when they are speaking of pragmatic; they confuse it with pragmatism. They are not the same. They fail to includes their own decisions as practical. What they really mean is, anyone who does anything practical they disapprove. In other words, If you don’t approve how the other guy does ministry, just tag him with pragmatism.

Here is a list of synonyms: “Demonstrating pragmtic  and common sense: • prudent, • circumspect, • common sensical, • practical, • savvy (US), • wise, • useful.” The two legs of practical common sense is; prayer and the practical. This is the Scriptural approach to all issues in life.