By Stewart Holloway Are you going to miss Christmas? It’s only December 2, but the schedule is already busy! If you’re like our family, you’ve looked at your calendar and asked, “What nights do we actually have free in the next 23 days?” The answer? Not many. I even declined an invitation last night because of another obligation already booked! That won’t be the last time that happens. We are so busy with Christmas that it is easy to blow right past it and miss what this season is all about. We ...need to hear again the angels saying, “Hark!” That archaic word means, “Listen! Pay attention! Don’t miss this!” In order to “hark”, you have to slow down, find a quiet spot, and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. When you do, you will hear the gentle whisper, “Don’t miss this!” The “this” is that God came to us! He is Emmanuel, God WITH us! For our church’s Hanging of the Green service this year, I wrote the following poem. Reflect on it as this month begins: Don’t miss Christmas? “How could I?” you say. With the carols, presents, and Santa’s red sleigh? My house is decked out. My schedule is full. There’s no way I can miss Christmas! You must be a fool! Maybe so, I would say. But many have, you know Even … [Read more...]
A lesson on Thanksgiving when the happy ending has not come yet
By Steve Horn Habakkuk ended his prophecy like this: Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18yet I will triumph in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! 19Yahweh my Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights! (Habakkuk 3:17-19) Now, Habakkuk was not always in this praise place. In fact, if you read the whole book of Habakkuk, he was very far away from this place. Habakkuk most likely prophesied just before the beginning of the exile when the sin of Judah is at the peak. Habakkuk questioned God as to how long He would allow sin to reign in Judah (1:1-4). God answered back that He was preparing the Babylonians to deal with Judah’s sin (1:5-11). Habakkuk’s second question concerns how God could use the Babylonians, who were more wicked, to be the instrument of judgment against Judah (1:12-2:1). When God answers Habakkuk’s questions we learn several important truths. God is always at work even if we do not see how He is at work. God will speak at the right time. And so, we … [Read more...]
8. Skills of a church planter: Commitment to church growth
By John Hebert ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – The Scripture has a lot to say about growth of the Kingdom, but perhaps the key passage is Matthew 13 which describes the four soils and the resulting harvest from each. The same chapter also shares a parable that compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, “which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Both of these references strongly convey the idea that the Kingdom of God should grow, and should convict you that your church should grow. Leaders must be committed to developing key skills and gaining valuable experiences that help them grow their congregations. LESSON LEARNED A key principle about church growth is that it is a function of health. A healthy church will grow almost with little eff ort, and an unhealthy congregation will not grow no matter what you do. These concepts are real to me because of something that happened during my first year of marriage. In fact it was less than a year after Kitty and I had recited our nuptials, and we were living in Lecompte, when I decided I would plant my first garden. I went down to the … [Read more...]
Four steps to solving most any relationship issue
By Steve Horn Many New Testament scholars give the educated guess that the book of James is among the earliest, if not the earliest, written New Testament books. If this widely-held thesis is correct, then with James, we have a good look into the issues that the earliest believers in Jesus struggled with in their discipleship. We then observe that we struggle with the same issues. Indeed the sin and struggles of the human heart stretch across generations. At the risk of oversimplifying the issue, but relying on the word of God, can we solve most every relationship struggle with four steps? Let me be the messenger of some “one another” statements from Brother James. Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. James 4:11 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another. James 5:9 Confess your sins to one another. James 5:16 Pray for one another. James 5:16 Think about a church or a convention of churches where we did not criticize one another or complain about one another, but instead confessed our own sin to one another, and prayed for one another. Steve Horn is executive director for Louisiana Baptists. This editorial first appeared on his blog. … [Read more...]
The God of the unlikely
By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) - William and Marion Veitch, a godly Presbyterian couple, lived with their children in a peaceful home in Scotland in the 17th century. William was a preacher in the days when Presbyterians were outlawed, and he lived in fear that sooner or later he'd be arrested. It happened one night in 1680. Royal Scottish soldiers burst in and dragged William off to prison. It was orchestrated by Thomas Bell, a vicar in the established church who drank and used profanity and harbored a burning hatred for the Veitchs. William was taken to Morpeth Prison, leaving Marion at home profoundly troubled. Pouring out her soul to the Lord in prayer, she opened her Bible and drew strength from it pages. As soon as she could arrange it, she set off to visit her husband, for it appeared he would be moved to Edinburgh and executed. Marion's journey took place on a bitterly cold January day. The snow was blinding, and she had to fight the weather on horseback. Night fell, and she trudged on, finally arriving at the prison, half-frozen, around midnight. The guards wouldn't let her see William until morning, so Marion sat by the fire and waited. When morning broke, she was allowed to see her husband for only a … [Read more...]
Patiently wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. - Psalm 27:14 By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - Do you ever get tired of waiting? I do. I’m especially not a fan of waiting rooms. If my appointment was at 8:00, why am I still sitting in the waiting room at 8:27 and don’t see the doctor until 8:45? Waiting bothers most of us. Traffic. Drive thru lanes. Check-out lines. Anticipation of big events. We don’t want to wait. We especially don’t want to wait on God. Unfortunately, it seems God makes us wait more than any doctor’s office. We think surely that the God of the universe - the One who created and sustains all there is - could answer, provide, or direct quickly, even instantaneously. But He seldom does. Often (usually!) He allows us to wait. Why is that? Sometimes it’s to let us realize that what we are waiting for is not really what we need. Other times, God makes us wait to prepare us for what He will do. At still other times, God makes us wait to help us be even more grateful when He does answer. And sometimes God allows us to wait simply to help us grow in our faith and patience. At our church's business leader luncheon on Monday, John … [Read more...]
7. Skills of a church planter: Effectively Building Relationships
By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM)–A few weeks ago my wife posted a picture of the two of us on Facebook and one of my cousins in Ohio commented, or rather questioned in a comment, “Why is Kitty taking a picture with Uncle Huey” (my Dad)? I thought to myself, “Very funny,” but did not post a response. The way we look, certain traits, characteristics, and even parts of our personalities are linked to genetics and is the result of the DNA contributions by our ancestors. Our progenitors set in motion elements of our health, our height and probably our disposition. In the same way that genetics shape our lives, ancient cultures have shaped our society. The ancients made many contributions to modern society: -- the Egyptians developed mathematics; -- the Mesopotamians the wheel, plow and first code of laws; -- the Chinese made contributions to the arts and sciences; and, -- the Greeks gave us philosophy, democracy and the Olympic Games. The Romans, of course, gave us cement. Actually they gave us much more than that, but this contribution led to the actual building of the Roman Empire -- tunnels, bridges, aqueducts, Roman arches and amphitheaters all were … [Read more...]
Jesus is our living hope
By Stewart Holloway PINEVILLE, La. - Do you have hope? Yesterday, I heard a judge say that everyone needs hope. She was right. The hope the judge encouraged was a hope for a better life. Everyone needs a vision for their future, something to look forward to, the feeling that a better day awaits. “To live without hope is to cease to live,” wrote Fyodor Dostoevsky. “What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life,” wrote Emil Brunner. While the judge focused on the need for hope, I’d like to focus on the source of hope. You will never have lasting hope without going to the source of hope. That source is Jesus. I recently read, “Many people see only a hopeless end; but with Jesus you can enjoy an endless hope.” More money will not bring lasting hope. Once you get more, you’ll just need even more. That relationship will not bring lasting hope. At some point, that person will disappoint you. That possession will not bring lasting hope. It will get a scratch, break, or grow old. Nothing will bring lasting hope except Jesus. Everything else is a dying hope. Jesus is a living hope. Fix your eyes on Jesus - not your circumstances. He will bring you hope no matter where you are or what you are going … [Read more...]
6. Skills of a church planter: Partnering with your wife in ministry
By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists missions and ministry team director ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)--In 1985, I was a happily married father of five and in sales management. I was 30 years old and making a good living. My wife Kitty was a “stay at home” mom, although certified as a high school science teacher. We became involved in Evangelism Explosion, a method of sharing the Gospel with others, through our church, Parkview Baptist in Alexandria. It was the first time we had partnered in a ministry effort. The next year I became convicted that God was calling me to the ministry, coming to that realization clearly on a Sunday morning during the worship service, although I had sensed it for a long time. I knew I would need to go to seminary to prepare for ministry, but I was overwhelmed with questions about the transition: How would I provide for my family? Would Kitty be willing to teach and be the bread winner for our family while also raising the children? Would she make enough to support so large a family? How would all this work? Would she even be willing to give up her comfortable life to take on so much responsibility? After all, the oldest of our, then, five children was 10 and the baby was six months old. These … [Read more...]
Pastors need to be encouraged
By Steve Horn And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. (1 Samuel 23:16 NIV) When I accepted the position of Executive Director for Louisiana Baptists, I made this promise: Pastors will be encouraged. Churches are essential to our work, and spiritually healthy pastors are essential to healthy churches. I have been a pastor of four churches. Each church was a different size and had different strengths and weaknesses, but all required hard work. I want to encourage pastors through public ministry to them and private friendship with them to be all that God has called them to be. This will be my daily prayer, daily goal, and daily evaluation. Years ago, I heard the Christian motivation speaker Zig Ziglar speak. The only thing I remember him saying is, “Who motivates the motivator?” We could adjust the words slightly to say, “Who encourages the encourager?” Who preaches to the preacher?” “Who ministers to the minister?” “Who counsels the counselor?” “Who pastors the pastor?” Your pastor needs all of this. We all need a Jonathan to come alongside of us to help us find strength in God. My friend Scott, at the time a doctoral student at New Orleans Baptist Theological … [Read more...]
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