Preaching has been the central element in most Protestant worship services for over 500 years. It’s the main thing pastors do, in terms of time consumption. Yet remarkably few pastors have a strong sense of identity as a preacher.
Not every pastor approaches the task of preaching in the same way. There are at least four distinct approaches to the pulpit.
North American life is more diverse than it has ever been. In my community there are 80 first languages spoken in the public schools. And in my congregation, people from 10 countries of origin may attend on any given Sunday.
If this is true in the heartland of Indiana, it is probably the case where you are also. Every congregation must decide how it will respond to diversity.
Most churches have made this choice already, they just don’t know it.
Like many non-Catholics, I’ve been following the papal election closely and watched on live-stream as the Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was presented to the world as Francis, the 266th Pope.
Most non-Catholics feel about the Pope the same way most Americans feel about British royals. We love to watch them, but we’re glad they’re not ours.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known as a civil rights leader and as a great orator. His iconic speech, “I Have a Dream,” is one of the greatest pieces of oratory in American history.
Yet before he was either a civil rights leader or orator, King was a preacher. He was pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., and preached widely in other pulpits.
Today’s pastors can learn a great deal from King, the preacher.
Super Bowl Sunday has become a virtual national holiday. It is second only to Thanksgiving in one-day food consumption and is the largest television audience of the year. It is also a window into the soul of the American church.
I learned that the hard way as a young pastor serving a very traditional congregation.
Pastor Louie Giglio has withdrawn from participation in Barack Obama’s second inauguration on January 21. He was scheduled to give the benediction.
The pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta had been invited based on his history of involvement in the fight against human trafficking.
Things went south when the blog Think Progress pointed to an “anti-gay” sermon Giglio delivered in the 1990s.
Hurricane Sandy was the largest tropical storm yet recorded and caused an estimated $65.6 billion in damage and leaving 252 dead. When it struck the East Coast of the United States on Oct. 29, 2012, it flooded streets, tunnels and subway lines and cut power an estimated 10 million customers. Some 300,000 homes in the New York City area were damaged or destroyed.
Last week accompanied a team from Fall Creek Wesleyan Church on a mission to help repair some of those homes.
It was an experience I wish everyone—espeically every pastor—could have.
