Archive - July, 2009

Friday Links Roundup: 10 Elders Edition

July 31, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Sunday will be an historic day in Lebanon Road’s story.  Lord willing, we will install three more elders to our eldership, giving us 10 shepherds.  We are anticipating a wonderful day as we hear from each of the new elders.  They will each speak for a few minutes about their hopes and dreams for Lebanon Road.  Talks like that truly whet our appetite to work even harder in the Kingdom!  If you are near Nashville, why not be a part of this very special service?  We’ll start at 9AM.

On to the links for this week:

1. Steve Higginbotham writes a wonderful response to a former President leaving his religious affiliation.  This article is more than a news story, though, as Steve gives some good thoughts behind was the President said.  Learn from “Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptists.”

2. I laugh at those times when the clock and calendar align to make some strange mathematical anomaly.  Joey Sparks reminds us of some far more important events, though, in “Never Again in History.”

3. We often note how concerned we are with the lack of Bible knowledge in our nation.  But what about in our churches?  Read “Bibleless” from Forthright Magazine for some great thoughts.

4. We’ve all visited an unknown congregation and been worried about what would happen.  Robbie MacKenzie shares some thought-provoking questions on the subject in “What If I Came to Your Church?”

5. While I think any congregation that preaches the truth is “great,” Thom Rainer’s article will still help you desire for your congregation to remain strong.  Read “Why Some Great Chruches are No Longer Great.”

6. I love the idea of going against culture when culture is sinful and downtrodden.  Read Ziglar Pure and Simple’s article “Counter Culture.”

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We are looking forward to seeing some friends this weekend and then looking forward to a wonderful Lord’s Day.  We hope to see you at Lebanon Road then.

If not, no matter where  you are, don’t forget the Lord on His day.

Ask the Readers: Encouraging Future Preachers

July 30, 2009 in Uncategorized with 2 Comments

Tomorrow on iPreach, Dale Jenkins and I will be talking about holding preacher training camps.  Several of these are held all over the country, and do a great work. (If you’d like to be in on the discussion, join us at 10AM Central on Talkshoe.com and then search for iPreach.)

I’d like some  help ahead of time, though.  Besides preacher training camps, what are some “formal” ways you and your congregation encourage young men to preach?  Most of us “informally” encourage by telling the young men they do well when they lead, or simply by encouraging them, but what are some ways you help them in a more concrete way?

Please leave ideas and suggestions in the comments.

I Love Church Vans!

July 29, 2009 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments

Sunday and Monday nights, I got to continue an odd “love” I have.

vans at SYSWe were at the Area-Wide Gospel Meeting in Paducah and, as we walked up to the Carson Center (a performing arts building), there were lots of church vans in the parking lot.  When I see that many church vans, I read the names of every one I see.  I saw vans from Fulton, Kentucky; Dexter, Missouri; Paducah; and many other places.

Whenever we host something at Lebanon Road–and when we used to host things like our youth rally at 9th Avenue–it was my tradition to walk around the parking lot and look at all the congregation’s vans that were parked there.

Why?  Because that large number of vans represents something else, and it’s something far greater than just a pile of metal and gears.

It’s so nice to know that congregations still get along and support one another in efforts to teach and preach the Truth of God’s Word.

I see those vans as a symbol of unity! Each one represents a congregation that has decided to spend money for fuel and has taken time out of their congregation’s schedule to attend the effort being put forth.  It is a great thing to see all those vans (and cars, too, but they aren’t as fun to look at!).

We need to support one another in any way we can.  Just coming to a Gospel Meeting, VBS, youth rally, or other service is a great way to show your support for the time and effort spent planning that particular event.  It is a way to build relationships while learning more about God.

What event will you support in the coming days?

“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to

dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).

A Video of Beech Island

July 28, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Enjoy a 1:50 video of some of the great things that happened in Beech Island last week.  This video is in honor and memory of Glenn Nichols, the preacher at Beech Island who was killed in a car accident earlier this year.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21zOSLkVpbc

Friday Links Roundup: LRYG is Famous Edition

July 24, 2009 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

We have a group of folks away this week.  They are working in Beech Island, South Carolina, on a mission trip.  We support the congregation there and our folks have been doing all sorts of community projects.  They will also be conducting a Vacation Bible School tomorrow.

Their work has gained some local attention from the media, and they are probably going to return with sunglasses and bodyguards from all their coverage!  Two local TV stations have run stories this week about the work.  Here is the ABC story (which focuses more on a parallel project) and here is the NBC story (which features nearly our whole group).

I’ll be leaving Sunday afternoon to preach in Murray, Kentucky, at the Glendale Road church of Christ.  I’m looking forward to that engagement, and then we’ll be spending Monday with my family in Paducah.  Monday night, we’ll be going to the Area-Wide Gospel Meeting held in Paducah at the Carson Center.  Dan Winkler is the speaker, and we will enjoy hearing him present God’s Word.

On to the links for this week:

1. If you know me at all, you know I love singing.  Congregational singing is a wonderful thing, but we must do our best at it (just like everything else in our Christian life).  David Courington writes of an interesting account and uses that to make this point in a great way.  Read “I Wanta Sing, Sing, Sing…”.

2. Having just finished summer camp a few weeks ago, I understood the sentiments of Trey Morgan’s post “Taking God for Granted” completely.

3. Our kids spend quite a bit of time outside: playing in the backyard, going to the park with mommy and daddy, and doing other things.  However, far too many kids only use the outside as a way to get to the vehicle.  Is this causing more problems than we might think of?  Albert Mohler explores in a reprint of a classic post.

4. We all make mistakes.  (You might want to read that one again!!!)  However, how do we handlethose mistakes?  Often, that’s what makes or breaks a job, a marriage, or a friendship.  Management Craft posted “10 Ways to Handle Your Mistakes.”  Preachers, you might find some good material here for preaching on repentance.

5. I don’t ride a bike, but the process does provide some good illustrative material.  Seth Godin–the author of Tribesand the #1 personal blogger on the internet–writes a “winning” formula called “Winning on the Uphills.”

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We are looking forward to a wonderful Lord’s Day.  If you’re near Nashville, we hope you’ll come by and see us at Lebanon Road at 9AM Sunday!  For our Western Kentucky readers (both of you, mom…dad), we look forward to seeing you, too!

No matter where you are, don’t forget the Lord on His Day!

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