These are some books that I found, well, boring. Or, at least not as helpful as I had hoped. Some of them I finished. Some, I didn’t. I feel like there are too many other good books out there that are waiting for me to read them, so I try not to waste my time on books I do not enjoy. What are your thoughts on that? Would you rather stick it out and finish what you started? And, what are you thoughts on each of these books? Which ones have you read, and which ones did I miss the
Read more →When people hear that I have a few books, almost everyone says, “You know, I’ve always wanted to write. I just can’t find the time.” I am frequently (at least once per decade) asked, “Do you recommend any resources to get me started?” Honestly, I’ve sifted through a lot of junk. Most authors, it seems, are introverted, and sit on years of pent-up anxieties and frustrations. Most are profane, having too much alone time to contemplate their anti-God lives. Most authors are secular in tone and content, and although their books might inspire me to write or give me good
Read more →The 2016 Southwest Baptist Youth Conference of the Heartland, or YouthCon, hosted over 1,300 people for three days of activities, games, prizes, singing, and, of course, preaching. The spirit of the conference was sweet, and the young people were genuinely interested in pleasing God. The following are all the sermons from the conference… Click below to expand…
Read more →CLOSE YOUR MOUTH (30 Verses) Pro. 3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Pro. 4:24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. (Distorted, crookedness) Pro. 10:13-14 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. 14Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. Pro. 10:18-19He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
Read more →This tri-fold brochure explains the “Ice Cream Sundae Relationships” lesson on dating and marriage. It is a good visual illustration and object lesson for teaching young people the importance of having relationships built God’s way. Click here to download
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I wrote the following letter to parents back on April 12, 2011. Hello, Parents! I know I’m not the boss… you are. I know I’m not the parent… obviously, you are. But, I feel a big-time responsibility to help these teens’ spiritual lives in any way that I can, and I want to be sure to speak up if I can be a help. I know you’re primarily the ones who are always looking for ways to help their spiritual lives, and I appreciate that about our parents VERY much! YOU are the primary reason they are where they are,
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Abdel felt the shudder of the not so distant battle as he prayed for the gas to pump faster. It barely trickled out, like a garden hose turned halfway on. When fighting intensified in Lebanon in the 1980’s, the locals hoarded gasoline, never knowing how long the next battle would last. Come on, come on, Abdel thought as the fuel dribbled into his dust-covered four seater car’s gas tank. Behind him, a man honked his horn. Anxious. No, scared. Abdel (fictional name—Edgar Feghaly’s assistant) fumbled with his wallet, paid the cashier and jumped in the car, glancing in the mirror as
Read more →I scrolled through my Twitter feed today and saw a picture of a big shot UFC fighter that recently got knocked out. The picture was from a businessman, and the caption read, “There’s no ‘undefeated’ in entrepreneurship.” Every entrepreneur fails. Every great entrepreneur learns from failure. I do not mind making mistakes. I just hate making the same mistakes twice. I embrace mistakes. They are opportunities to improve. But one only improves when he is intentional about learning the lesson. Our Preaching Rallies are embarrassingly riddled with mistakes. I’ve messed a lot of things up. We have been inefficient with
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I am always bummed for people that miss out on events like the Preaching Rally. Our church puts in SO much effort, and it is such an enjoyable day that we want everyone to be a part of it! One way we try to generate that sense of “missing out” is to celebrate the Preaching Rally the next day in church. When we celebrate something, we are expressing its importance and communicating to everyone that it was an event that was worth being involved in. Our church celebrates the Preaching Rally a few ways: Photos. As mentioned previously, the photographers
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“…in Jesus’ name, AMEN!” The piano starts to play. Everyone crowds toward the back door. A youth pastor tracks down a 7th grade boy who is already lost. A youth group is taking a group photo on the platform, and another is loading onto their bus. Plenty of “Good-bye” and “Thank you” salutations are said between comrades, fellow youth-pastors-at-arms. The last bus pulls away. Whew. All done. What a day! Time for a nap. But wait… there’s more! Following the Preaching Rally is another list of stuff to do. Thankfully, the POST-PR list is not as long as the PRE-PR
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