By Stewart Holloway What does it take to be a champion? It has been fun to watch LSU football this year. Since I work Sunday, I usually go to bed on Saturdays long before the game is over, but I couldn’t do it this year. It was too much fun to watch the team work as a unit to execute amazing plays, and I loved the sincere passion of Coach O. The man is living his dream. Not many of us get to do that, but he is - and he is making the most of it. I’ve also enjoyed watching our oldest son fall in love with LSU. After making a few games at Tiger Stadium with my mom, he’s hooked. He may even rival Rebecca’s passion in the years to come (but good luck with that). As a leader, I’ve watched this season asking, “What’s the difference?” I’m sure there were a lot of football technicalities at work, but it was the leadership of Coach O that I think made the difference. It is obvious Coach O genuinely loves this state, LSU, his team, his staff, and the fans. While love motivates, it was wisdom that brought the difference. Coach O was wise enough to realize that he didn’t have all the answers, so he recruited the right players, hired the right people, and even brought in others to speak into his team through the year on key points. The … [Read more...]
Skills of a church planter: responsiveness to the community
By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM) - The Areopagus is just a bare marble outcropping near the Acropolis in modern-day Greece. It is an important tourist attraction because at one time it was the place where major decisions were discussed in the city of Athens – even court sessions were held there, especially murder trials. By the Apostle Paul’s day, it was a place where new ideas were heard by the philosophers of the city. More importantly for our purposes, it was the place where Paul made a speech to city leaders known as the sermon on Mars Hill. In that speech Paul skillfully adapted his message using cues from the culture to more effectively communicate the Gospel, piquing interest by putting the message in terms that made sense to the locals. He was responsive to the community. Serious church planters and leaders should always be responsive to the communities they are trying to reach. He must speak the language of the community -- not just the dialect, but the local narrative or context, especially the prevailing elements of the culture. In Athens the narrative was philosophical in nature, and it’s clearly visible in Paul’s approach recorded in Acts 17:22-23. … [Read more...]
A wonderful time to begin again
By Waylon Bailey I love the new year. I love that you get to start over, make resolutions to make you better and a better person, and look at things in a different way. At the beginning of this new year, I am beginning my blog again after a few weeks without the responsibility of daily writing. It was good for me to do that, but I am thankful to start again. I want you to know that I appreciate your reading and your encouragement for this daily exercise. As we begin this new year, I have three resolutions to make. First, to live more disciplined. Discipline and organization run hand in hand. Both are required to be truly effective. Both run through almost every decision in life. The person who controls his time and deals with the true priorities will accomplish more and will feel more fulfilled in doing so. Second, to live as healthy as possible. My mother you used to say, “You are what you eat and what you think.” Eating and thinking are paramount in living a healthy life. If you don’t think right, how can you live right. Health is much more that how much you weigh; it is who you are on the inside as much as on the outside. Third, to help other people be more disciplined, physically and spiritually fit, … [Read more...]
Believe, follow, disciple in 2020
By Lane Corley What does Jesus want for me this year? Jesus has actually already decided what He wants for us in the new year. We could answer that question with so many great promises from Christ – Abundant life, Joy, Fruitfulness, Eternal life and so much more. As I think about that question, three words stick out to me: BELIEVE – FOLLOW – DISCIPLE. Believe Jesus wants us to believe him for big things. When asked what the work he wanted us to do was, Jesus replied – Believe! (John 6:29) That’s it. Jesus wants us to believe. The promises he gives for belief range from joy to supernatural power. It’s believing in, trusting in, and staying connected to Jesus that fuels everything in the Christian life. The older I get the more I understand why Jesus talked so much about believing. It’s hard. To believe, we fight doubt, fear, negative thoughts, doubters, fearmongers, critics, and more. What do you need to believe Jesus for this year? Salvation, Provision, Power, Overcoming Doubt and Fear? Make this year a year of BELIEF. Follow What did Jesus call people to do? Simply to Follow Him (Matthew 4:19). To follow someone means to make them the leader on the highway of life. You’re following their lead, listening to their … [Read more...]
The word for 2020: pray bigger prayers
By Rebecca Holloway It started as the faintest whisper in my soul several months ago. Why can’t you pray for that big thing you want to happen in your ministry? Why can’t you pray to be totally delivered from that problem instead of using it as your crutch? Why can’t you pray more fervently for Evan to be healed? The whisper shocked me. Why indeed, Lord? I pray all the time. Why haven’t I prayed for these things and many more that are desires in my heart? And haven’t I actually prayed for these things? The answer that has come back to me in the waning days of 2019 is, “You pray too small.” I have journaled my prayers for years, but some days, they become rote and stale. “Give Stewart a word for Sunday.” “Forgive my sins.” “Heal Evan.” “Let Zach be a witness in his school.” “Give me opportunities to speak and lead worship.” And so on and so forth. But the Lord has shown me that mechanical, mindless prayers are not going to cut it anymore between Him and me. He wants me to pray big. He wants me to pray bold. And He wants me to pray with faith. You see, somewhere in the midst of this last decade, I stopped believing God could do what He said He could do. I have stopped trusting Him to do big things. … [Read more...]
Gives thanks today; rejoice now
By Joe McKeever JACKSON, Miss. (BP) -- Last Sunday, we sang "When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!" (E. E. Hewitt, 1898) Something occurred to me. Sure, we'll "sing and shout the victory" when we see Jesus face to face. Anyone would. But He wants us to "sing and shout the victory" now, in the middle of the battle. How do we know? Scripture is loaded with this subject: -- "He giveth songs in the night" (Job 35:10). "In the night His song shall be with me -- a prayer to the God of my life" (Psalm 42:8). -- "When men revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12). -- "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines; though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food; though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls -- yet, I will exult in the Lord! I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet. He … [Read more...]
Prone to wander
By Gevan Spinney “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:7-8... Not long after I was saved in 1992, I was in church one Sunday morning and the music minister said, “turn to page 15.” I was sharing the hymnal with my momma and singing about raising my Ebenezer and I thought, “that is weird”, my mind had a picture of me holding Ebenezer Scrooge over my head. Then we sang the fourth verse and it was if I had written it. I mumbled, “Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be” that is me. Then I sang, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.” As those words came off of my lips they began ring in my soul. On the outside I looked fine, my shirt was starched and ironed, I smelled of cologne, my hair was nice and neat, I smiled and said hello to those who greeted me. You couldn’t tell from the outside, but on the inside I was prone to wander. For nearly 18 years the devil had control of my life. I filled my life with people and substances that … [Read more...]
Take time to reflect on God’s gift to us this Christmas
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...]
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