MSMBC's 64th Birthday

Following are the notes that I wrote for this past Sunday's bulletin, as Mt. Sinai Church celebrated its 64th church anniversary:

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in him!” – Lam. 3:22-24 (KNJV)

Today, we celebrate sixty-four years the Lord God has faithfully blessed, sustained, and utilized the ministry of MSMBC to his glory. At this point, only God knows how many souls have been saved and how many lives have been changed through this congregation’s witness for Jesus Christ. And we wouldn’t be able to name all the people the Lord has used in a special way to build up the body of believers here at Mt. Sinai. Likewise, many can testify to the various ways this church has been “light” and “salt” to influence our surrounding community (and beyond) for the kingdom of heaven. But as we reflect on the rich history and legacy of this church, one thing must be remembered: God did it all! So it is only appropriate that we pause today, not to congratulate ourselves, but to praise God for all that he has done, is doing, and will do through Mt. Sinai Church.

Mt. Sinai Church exists to win more Christians and to develop better Christians to the glory of God (Matt. 28:18-20). And because this “Great Commission” is executed by the authority of Christ, and with his presence, we have every reason to expect the Lord to do great things in and through us in the days to come. We are truly grateful to God for all that he has already done. But our dreams are even greater than our memories. There are many more souls to win, peoples to reach, and need to meet. That’s why we’re still here. God has much more work for us to do. We must not “be at ease in Zion.” We must steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. After all, the Lord does not need us – any of us. We are mere trophies of his amazing grace. Praise God for it. And may we be faithful stewards of the opportunity we have given to spread the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria.

H.B. Charles Jr.
September 2006

Falling in Love with God's Word

Thanks for praying for me as I finished my preparation for our Midweek Service yesterday. I was finally able to organize my thoughts for preaching, and type them out. The Lord helped me to write myself clear. And the Lord was with me as I preached the message to the congregation. Here is the sermon skeleton:

Title: “Falling in Love with God’s Word”

Text: Psalm 119:97-104

Theme: The wisdom and walk of one who loves the word of God.

Point: To know the word of God is to love the word of God.

Transitional Sentence: In verses 98-104, the psalmist gives three major reasons why you ought to intentionally fall in love with the word of God.

Outline:

I. The word of God will make you wise (119:98-100).

A. It will give you more wisdom than your enemies (v. 98).

B. It will give you more wisdom than your teachers (v. 99).

C. It will give you more wisdom than your elders (v. 100).

II. The word of God will keep you from sin (119:101-102).

A. It will keep you off of the wrong path of life (v. 101).

B. It will keep you on the right path of life (v. 102).

III. The word of God will give you joy (119:103-104).

A. It will give you a holy appetite for scripture (v. 103).

B. It will give you a holy aversion to sin (v. 104).

Getting Ready for Midweek Service

There is both an art and a science to sermon preparation. It's a science, in that there are rules and principles you should follow in order to get it right. But it's also an art. More specifically, it's a mystery. Ultimately, it's a God-thing. I am being reminded of that this week as I prepare for our midweek service tonight. I am working on Psalm 119:97-104. I was planning to preach it last week. But I just didn't have enough time to work through it. So I preached a message on prayer from Philippians 1:9-11 last week. And you would think that the extra time I have had with this text would make my work easier this week. Nope. This reminds me of something that a friend of mine says, "You've got to do whatever the Lord says do in order to be ready to preach" Or something like that. But I thank God for the time I have spent with this passage. It's about the wisdom and walk of one who loves the word of God. And I have been challenged and convicted by the testimony of the psalmist. May the Lord use me as a mouthpiece for the text tonight to call our congregation to intentionally fall in love with the word of God.

My 9/11 Message

"Jesus’ Response to a National Tragedy" (Luke 13:1-9)

I had been up late struggling to prepare myself to preach the next night. And it was early morning before I finally passed out on the couch. But it wasn’t long before I heard the phone ringing. I ignored it. But moments later, the ringing began again. And, again, I ignored it. But when the ringing began a third time, I rolled over. But I didn’t get up. I just laid there starring at the phone sitting on top of the television. I was thinking, “This had better be good.” And it was. When the phone stopped ringing, my eyes dropped to the TV screen. There was an unfamiliar CNN reporter standing on top of a building. And smoke was rising from a building in the distance behind him. It was the World Trade Center in New York City. I jumped up to grab the phone. And when I got back on the couch, the anchorman was reporting that the Pentagon in Washington D.C. was likewise on fire. I quickly checked the called I.D. It was my mother who had been calling. So I called her back. And we talked and prayed. And after our conversation, I went to the bedroom to wake up Crystal and tell her what was going on. But she just grunted something in an unknown tongue and then rolled over. So I went back to the front room to get more of the report. And by this time, the second tower of the WTC was on fire. And at this point it was clear: America was under attack.

I’m sure that since September 11 you have heard many stories like this one, as we rehearse for one another where we were and what we were doing when we discovered that our nation was under attack. And certainly our national conversation about this shared tragedy helps the healing process. But I submit to you that there is no hope in our personal testimonies, presidential speeches, political commentary, intelligence reports, or military briefings. Church, the only hope for our world today is God. No, not the trivialized God of the televangelists. The sovereign, triune, holy, wise, and good God of the Bible. We need to know where God was and what he was doing when nineteen men high jacked four planes and began to pilot them toward prominent national cites. The only way we will find anything redeemable in the 9/11 tragedy is if we look at if from the perspective of the God who sits high and looks low. And Luke 13 gives us this divine perspective as it records Jesus’ response to an ancient tragedy.

According to 13:1, some self-appointed journalists report a tragedy in the temple to Jesus. Apparently, Pilate (the Roman governor over Palestine) sent soldiers into the temple to kill some Galilean worshipers. And they report this blasphemous act with a tabloid flavor, noting that when the soldiers where finished, the blood of both the worshipers and their sacrifices flowed together in one common stream. And this tabloid-like footnote is a hint that they were not giving this report with objective indifference. Their report was loaded with preconceived theological notions. And without commenting on the personal lost, political significance, or legal implications of Pilate’s blasphemous act, Jesus chose to directly respond to the theological assumptions that lay beneath the surface of the tragedy. Notice 13:2-3: “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

And just in case they missed the point, Jesus himself plays journalist and reports to them another incident that was in the news. It was not the political powder keg that Pilate’s murder of the Galilean worshipers was, but it was no less tragic. Eighteen people were killed when a tower near the pool of Siloam collapsed. And Jesus responds to this incidental tragedy inn the very same way he responds to the infamous tragedy of Pilate’s blasphemy. Notice 13:4-5: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Jesus’ response to the tragedies of the text can be succinctly summarized in one word: “Repent!” He didn’t sympathize. He didn’t analyze. And he didn’t criticize. He sermonized. He used the tragedy as a pulpit from which he preached to those who had escaped the tragedy. And I believe the message Jesus gave these self-appointed journalists is the message he has for us today: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” And he declares this message loud and clear through a parable about a useless tree, a frustrated landowner, and an intervening vinedresser.

Listen to 13:6-9: “He also spoke this parable: ‘A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ but he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’” This Parable of the Barren Fig Tree gives us three (3) reasons why the tragedy of death should be viewed as a divine call to personal repentance:

I. The Holy Justice of God

The landowner in this parable is meant to represent God. And the landowner’s order to his vinedresser is meant to represent the holy justice of God. Listen to him again: “Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?” This frustrated landowner orders the severe, immediate, and total destruction of this fruitless fig tree. And it is a sound business decision. This tree was worse than useless. Not only had it failed to produce fruit, but it also occupied space that could be put to better use. And by means of its strong roots, it was drawing moisture and minerals from the soil that was needed by other plants. “Cut it down!” That’s the landowner’s solution for the problem of fruitless trees. And the holy justice of God requires the same punishment for fruitless human beings: “Cut it down!”

The people who reported the murder of the Galilean worshipers held to the traditional assumption that good people succeed in life and wicked people suffer. And so this catastrophe in the temple indicated to them that there must have be some really bad about these victims for God to let them die in such a heinous and horrible manner. It’s the theology of Job’s friends who said to him, “Job, you might as well confess your sins. We know that you can’t be as godly as you appear, because you wouldn’t have the trouble you’re facing if you were right with God.” It’s the Jerry Falwell going on TV and blaming the sins of gays, feminists, and ACLU members for the tragedy of 9/11. But Jesus responds to this notion by saying, “Yes. God is a God of holy justice. But in light of that reality, you can’t afford to judge anybody else. You need to look at your own tree and examine whether your own life is bearing fruit to the glory of God. Did you get that? You are that barren fig tree. God has taken pleasure in you. God has planted you. God has provided for you. God has protected you. And God has been patient with you. And yet you continuously fail to live up to God’s holy standards.

· And so rather than asking why other people have died, you should ask why are you still here.
· Rather than asking why those people died in the temple, you should ask why your life was spared.
· Rather than asking why the tower Siloam fell on those eighteen people, you should be asking why a tower hasn’t fallen on your head.
· Rather than asking why those thousands of people died on 9/11, you should be asking why you weren’t cut down with them.

Let me give you a hard word here. Here me out. One of the reasons why we are so shocked, angry, and frightened by the events of 9/11 is because we have low or no reverence for the holiness of God. Think about it. We rightfully mourn the deaths of those who were killed. However, we sinfully use their deaths as sufficient reason to bomb and kill those who we deem responsible. And we view this as acceptable behavior because we have this godless idea that those who died were “innocent.” Now, from a human standpoint, those who were killed did not deserve to die as they did. They were minding their own business. They were just going to work. They were just flying home. However, from a divine standpoint, they were all guilty sinners who got what they deserved. Now I know that’s heard to hear. Believe me, it’s even harder for me to say. But that’s exactly what the Bible says in Romans 6:23a: “For the wages of sin is death…” And the fact that you would be offended by me saying that those who died on 9/11 got what they deserved indicates that you fail to recognize the fact that what they received is also what you deserved. If we are sensitive to the holiness of God, when we think about those who died we’ll ask ourselves, “Why am I still here?” R.C. Sproul, in his book “The Holiness of God,” writes: “In two decades of teaching theology I have had countless students ask me why God doesn’t save everybody. Only once did a student come to me and say, “There is something I just can’t figure out. Why did God redeem me?”

Mark it down: Until Jesus comes again; everyone dies. Guilty sinners die. And forgiven sinners die. In fact, this sinful world is so offensive to God that not even his own Son, who was holy, perfect, sinless, could live through it without dying. That’s life. People die. But Jesus is teaching us here that the issue is not how you die. The issue is if you die right now, would you be ready to meet God with the assurance that all is well with your soul. I declare that our nation’s tragedy should lead us to repent in light of the holy justice of God. We should remember that with our first sins we have forfeited the right to the gift of life. In fact, that we woke up this morning is an act of divine mercy. God owes us nothing. We owe him everything. If he allows a tower to fall on our heads this today, we cannot claim injustice. Romans 3:10-12 puts it bluntly: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”

II. The Undeserved Mercy of God

In this parable, the landowner orders the fruitless fig tree to be cut down. It’s his vineyard. It’s his tree. It’s his right to cut it down. And the tree deserves to be destroyed. So he gives the order. But there’s something standing in the way. The keeper of the vineyard, though just a mere underling, steps in on the behalf of the useless tree. And in response to the landowner’s order, this vinedresser issues his own order. Respectfully yet firmly, he says, “Sir, let it alone this year also.” Notice the audacity of the vinedresser. He requests that the landowner’s judgment be overturned. And he makes this request without denying the guilt of the useless tree. They tree had failed to bear fruit. Yet, the vinedresser seems to expect the landowner to give the tree another chance, just because he asked him to. And just in case that didn’t work, the vinedresser promised his personal involvement and investment in the tree: “Let it alone this year, also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.” And notice how the defiant concern of the vinedresser is expressed in 13:9: “And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.” Get that. The vinedresser seems to suggest that if the tree fails to bear fruit in the coming year, he would let the landowner cut the tree down. But he himself wouldn’t do it.

Here’s the point: The fact that you are still alive has nothing to do with any goodness, holiness, or righteousness on your part. You are a sinner who deserves to perish. But there has been something standing in the way, restraining the wrath of God that your life may be spared. The biblical word for it is mercy. Mercy is when God chooses to withhold the trouble, judgment, or evil that you rightly deserve. Yes. Not only should we repent because of the holy justice of God, but we should also repent because of the undeserved mercy of God. Think about it. It should have been us who died on 9/11. And, it could have been us who died on 9/11. And yet here we are today. That’s mercy. The only reason we are here today is because God is a God of mercy, grace, and longsuffering. Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Bt thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

One more thing. The vinedresser is the Christ-figure in this parable. And it is because of his intervention alone that the landowner chooses to be merciful. Think about that. The landowner is not at a conference table where a group of his workers give him agricultural advice.
· Only the vinedresser is in the presence of the landowner.
· Only the word of the vinedresser carries any weight with the landowner.
· Only the intervention of the vinedresser saves the tree.
· Only the ministry of the vinedresser can change the hopeless situation.

And as Christ-figure, the vinedresser is a reminder of the exclusivity and sufficiency of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, only repentance of sin and faith in Christ can make us right with God. This is a significant reminder in light of the pluralistic religiosity we have been exposed to during these days of crisis. Mark it down: Our times of national prayer are nothing more than empty rituals and sentimental therapy, if we do not approach God based on his self-revelation of himself in Jesus Christ. Yes. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can be grouped together in that they are the three great monotheistic religions of the world. That is, all three religions claim that there is only one God. But the connection stops there because Christians, unlike Jews and Muslims, believe that this one true God is rightly named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we believe that the only way to get this one God is to receive his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus only is heaven’s wonder, hell’s worry, and humanity’s way out of sin, death, and hell. And so don’t let anyone deceive you. Remember that terrorism is not Islam. Indeed, true Islam is a religion of peace. And terrorism is nothing but a wicked perversion of the Islamic faith. But don’t let that reality lead you to give Islam a level of legitimacy it does not deserve. Yes. Terrorism is not true Islam. However, we must also remember that Islam is not the truth.
John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No once comes to the Father except through Me.”
Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5 – “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ.”

III. The Sovereign Timing of God

Acts 17 records Paul’s message in the pagan academic setting of Athens. He began by telling them. You are some very religious people. Everywhere I look, you have an altar to every conceivable God. You even have an altar ascribed to “An unknown God,” just in case you missed one.” And he went on to tell them, “I come to tell you about this “unknown God.” He created us all. And it is in him we live, move and have our being.” And Acts 17:29-31 records the climax of the message. Paul says, “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Mark it down: God has appointed a day of judgment. Every one of us will one day have to stand before God and answer to him for we have lived our lives. Hebrews 9:27 puts it this way: “And it is appointed for me to die once, but after this the judgment.” Yes. We each have a date with death and judgment. The day is coming. And, worse than that, we don’t when the day is. Some of us will get old or sick and be able to anticipate the day of death. But others of us will die unexpectedly like those people who died in the temple, like those people who died under that tower, or like those people who died on 9/11. God orchestrates our times and seasons according to his sovereign schedule. And he does not always give us a warning before death. And so since we cannot bank on tomorrow, you should get right with God now. That’s what Jesus is saying in this parable: “Repent, while you still have a chance!”

Notice how Jesus illustrates the urgency of repentance in this parable. He leaves it open-ended. The vinedresser intercedes on the behalf of the tree with a request for mercy, forbearance, and longsuffering. But immediately after the request is made, the lights come on. The actors disappear from the stage. And the curtain falls. That’s it. Jesus goes no further than that in the parable. And he leaves us hanging in the suspense of our unanswered questions. Did the barren fig tree ever bear fruit? Did the special care of the vinedresser accomplish anything? Was the tree cut down or spared? We are not given the answers to any of these questions. This is not the way you end a story, but that’s exactly what Jesus does. He never tells us what happens to the tree. And here’s why: The story is not about the tree! It’s about you. Only you can fill in the blanks. You must answer for yourself:
· Why am I still here?
· Am I just taking up space?
· Am I bearing fruit to God’s glory?
· Am I right with God?
· Do I need to get right with God?

Listen. God is patient. But his patience does not last forever. Grace is not infinite. God is infinite and gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace itself is not infinite. God sets limits to his mercy, patience, and forbearance. This grace period will not last forever. The God of the second chance is also the God of the last chance. And you don’t know how must time you have to get it right. Yes. God is slow to anger. But if you are slow to repent, that slow anger will catch up with you. One day – and God alone knows when that day will be – the opportunity to be saved will be withdrawn. And the procrastinator will die in his sins and be lost forever. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” And Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

You’ve probably heard that the legend about Satan plotting with his demons, hosts, and imps on how to take as many people to hell with them as possible. Someone recommended, “Let’s convince them that there is no God.” But they ultimately concluded that wouldn’t work. Only a fool would say in his heart there is no God. Someone else recommended that we should sell them on evolution. Make them believe that they came from monkeys… that there is no creation. But they concluded that wouldn’t work either. They heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament his handiwork. Then someone said, “Let’s convince them that Jesus is a fraud.” But they concluded that wouldn’t work. For in him dwells are the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And believers are complete in him, for he is the head of every principality and power.” And so they debated, argued, and wrestled with the issue for some time. Finally, someone gave the perfect recommendation. “Let’s not deny any biblical truth. In fact, let’s affirm all the truth that is essential to man’s salvation. But, let tell them that they don’t have to be in a hurry to make a decision. Let’s make them think that they have more time than they really have.”

Indeed, the story is make-believe. But the point is absolutely true. And countless souls have died and gone to hell, because they bought the lie that they said, “You don’t have to get repent right now. You can wait until later.” And I plead with you; don’t be one of them. James 4:14 is the truth: “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” The call to repentance is urgent. You should get right with God now. For Jesus says, “But unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
· Come to Jesus, right now.
· Only trust him, right now.
· He will save you, right now.
· He is willing, right now.
· He is able, right now.

There was a time I know, when in the book of heaven
An old account was standing, for sins yet unforgiven
My name was at the top, and may things below,
But I went to the Keeper, and settled it long ago.

So now –

When at the judgment bar, I stand before the king
And He the book will open, He cannot find a thing
Then will my heart be glad, while tears of joy will flow;
Because I had it settled, and settled it long ago.

Long ago, I settled it all –
Down on my knees, I settled it all
Yes, the old account was settled long ago
And the record’s clear today, for He washed my sins away
When the old account was settled long ago.

Working on Labor Day

The National Missionary Baptist Convention is meeting in Los Angeles this week. My pastor, Dr. Melvin V. Wade, is the president of this convention. The meeting was kicked off today with the S.M. Lockridge Gospel Bowl, an all-day meeting of prayer, praise, and preaching. Even though I am not a part of this convention, I was asked to speak in this service today. I was scheduled to be on of the early speakers. So I expected that I would get there in time to hear one sermon, give my message, then go home to lay my burden down and recover from a long weekend. However, when I arrived at 10:30 AM, I discovered the service was moving behind schedule. And the first preacher hadn't spoken yet. I further discovered that I was no longer one of the first preachers. Instead, I was to give the next-to-last message.

Five preachers spoke before me. And they all swung for the fence. By the time it was my turn to preach, it was past 3:30 PM. And I was absolutely exhausted. But the Lord helped me to preach. After my message, there was one more speaker. And it was after 4:30 when the benediction was given. I was totally wiped out. But when I got home, Crystal asked me to run some errands with her. I changed and went out with Crystal. And when we got home about 7 PM, we changed again and went to the consecration service for the convention, which was held at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, where Dr. Wade is pastor. And I heard another good message. But I am out of gas and it is only Monday. And I have to get at it early in the morning to catch up on office work and pastoral care. Likewise, I have to get ready for the resumption of midweek service this Wednesday, where I intend to continue to my exposition of Psalm 119.

Happy Labor Day!

Getting Connected: Building Relationships & Getting Involved

This weekend, we began our month-long ministry involvement emphasis at MSMBC. As we celebrate our 64th church anniversary this month, we will challenge every member to join a Bible study fellowship group and getting involved in a place of service. Biblical community is one of the clearest evidences of authentic Christianity (John 13:34-35). So throughout this month, we will use various means to encourage the membership of Mt. Sinai to get connected to one another and the body-life of the church. I began this emphasis month today with a sermon on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Here is the sermon skeleton:

Title: "Two are Better than One"

Text: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Theme: The importance of fellowship and the benefits of partnership

Point: Two are better than one.

Outline:

I. Two are better than one when you go to work (v. 9).

II. Two are better than one when you fall down (v. 10).

III. Two are better than one when you are left in the cold (v. 11).

IV. Two are better than one when you are being attacked (v. 12)

In the 11 AM message, there was an important idea from verse 11 that I forgot to make. When Solomon says that two lie together in order to keep warm, this refutes the common idea that says, "I need my space." There are some things you cannot survive if you insist on having your "space." You need others who will get close to you and provide the warmth of encouragement. And you cannot wait until life leaves you in the cold to find people who will lie with you. Intimate friendships require time, truth, and trust that must be nurtured before life leaves you in the cold. And when you get connected to others, you can walk this journey of faith with confidence that there will be those who will lie with you when life leaves you in the cold.

HBC2 is Axel Foley This Week

I'm on vacation!!!

Update from Vallejo

I preached my second sermon in the Vallejo citywide revival last night. It was the fifth night of meeting. But the congregation was warm attentive, and receptive. I still don't think I was at my best. In fact, I struggled about what to preach all afternoon. I wasn't even sure what I would preach until I sat down in the worship service. But the Lord helped me to preach. I am convinced that I said what he wanted me to say. May the Lord give the increase. Today, Crystal and I are going to take the kids to a local amusement park, Six Flags Marine World. Of course, after we finish our day, I have one more sermon to preach. So it should be a pretty long day. But I am looking forward to it. I am really glad to have my family with me this week. We have had a good time together. And President Allen Douglas and the local pastors have been extremely kind to us. They have made this a special week for us. Pray for our final night here.

Citywide Revival in Vallejo

Tuesday night, I had the privilege of preaching at the Three Oaks Baptist Church in Los Angeles for Pastor Raymond Chandler. Pastor Chandler and I kind of grew up together as young preachers in the Los Angeles area. And he is now in his third year at Three Oaks, where he is doing a fine work. This is the second year I have been invited to be a part of their summer revival series. It was a good meeting. Members of our congregation were present. And the Lord helped me to preach. Afterwards, we had to pack to get ready for an early morning flight to Oakland. My son sat next to me on the plane and asked a million questions about everything. And it made me think. I never road on a plane with my dad. When I was a boy, we always traveled by car. So it was special for me to be on that short flight with my family, answering my son's ten million questions.

This is my third year preaching the citywide revival here in Vallejo. The past two years, I did the opening three nights. This year, I am closing out the meeting. And, boy, is it a tough position to be in. A young man from Oakland, a Pastor Ivy, preached Sunday night. And I understand that the Lord really used him to kick-off the meeting. And Dr. W.T. Glenn from Fort Worth preached Monday and Tuesday nights. And he was stellar, as usual. After we arrived yesterday, Crystal and the kids settled in at the room. And I went to the noon-day service. Dr. Frank Ray, who is preaching the citywide in Oakland, came over to preach the service. It was definitely the "Noonday Special." Dr. Ray preached so hard that I wanted them to put me back on a plane a send me home. It has been a whole lot of good preaching and teaching going on this week. Last night was okay. I didn't feel like I was at my best. I am not sure if it was because I was tired or what. But I never felt like I was in a rhythm. It was hard to concentrate. And I don't think I was being as clear as I would like to be. I am trusting that the Lord used his word in spite of the weaknesses of this vessel. I have two more nights to go. Pray that the Lord will smile on the remainder of this week and that the Lord would be glorified as lives are changed in Jesus' name.

Writing for the Soul

I didn't really take Jerry Jenkins seriously when I first heard of him. It was a rush to judgment. All I knew about him was that he was the co-author (he would say "author," no "co-") of the Left Behind series (It was Tim LaHaye's idea; but Jenkins' writing). But then I read Jenkins' book Hedges. It was good reading and spiritually enriching. But I did not expect that I would end of reading another book by Jenkins. Ever. Primarily, he writes inspirational novels and contemporary biography. I don't read much of either one of the genres. So while I have enthusiastically recommended Hedges to many people, I didn't expect to read him again. But that was before I stumbled upon Writing for the Soul.

The other weekend, my son and I spent the afternoon together. We did something he wanted to do (We went to a movie.). And we did something I wanted to do (We went to a bookstore.). As I browsed the new releases, I saw Writing for the Soul. I noticed the title before the author. But when I saw that it was written by Jenkins, I was sure to buy it. I started reading it as soon as we got home. And I took it with me virtually everywhere I went until I finished it. Jenkins is intentionally easy to read. He strives to write for the pedestrian, not the intellectual. So his writing is accurate, brief, and clear. I learned a lot of helpful writing tips from both his example and his advice. Writing is a pretty complete overview of the writing process. Jenkins gives counsel on subjects ranging from choosing projects, to getting started, to overcoming writer's block, to writing clean prose, to getting published. By the way, Jenkins doesn't believe in writer's block. He recommends a "seat-in-chair" strategy that keeps pressing on until you meet your deadline. Jenkins gives counsel that I disagreed with and/or didn't understand, at times. But even then, I still appreciated the candid insights of a veteran writer.

Toward the middle of the book, Jenkins turned his focus on writing fiction. I plodded through this section, even though I am not interested in either reading or writing fiction. And Jenkins' writing continued to keep my attention with his clear and insightful recommendations. At times, Jenkins would pull over and gives side notes to those writing nonfiction. But even where the focus was clearly on fiction, Jenkins challenged me to always strive to be creative in writing. And the various challenges to would-be writers were numerous. In fact, Jenkins often encourages by trying to discourage. He is honest and realistic about the work of writing. And he warns that if you should not consider writing if you are not up for the hard work and unique challenges. Jenkins does this to help the reader clarify his/her sense of calling to write.

Writing for the Soul is about exactly what its title promises. Whether it be fiction or nonfiction, Jenkins encourages "inspiration" writing, as he calls it. He believes that writing is a sacred task. God has revealed himself to humankind through his written word, the scriptures. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is referred to as "the Word" in scripture. Much of the teaching in the New Testament consists of actual letters from apostles to particular individuals and congregation. And church history has clearly proven the spiritual impact that the printed page can make. And in this information age, and with the high-profile success of recent inspirational titles, there is a great opportunity today to reach the soul through writing. May the Lord raise up many faithful men and women in this generation, who will use the printed page responsibly to spread the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I Stood Up Because I Was Stood Up

My sermon preparation was in limbo the whole week. Last Sunday, I preached Ephesians 1:15-19, intending to follow it up with a message on the final part of the passage (vv. 19-23). But I was not sure if I would get to do it today. Months ago, I preached for Dr. "Fill-in-the-Blank," who was scheduled to be in town this weekend. And we discussed him coming to preach for me today. And when I saw him again not too long ago, we confirmed that he would preach for me today. However, we didn't talk again until yesterday. So I wasn't sure if he was going to actually come today. And it put my sermon preparation in limbo this week.

Yesterday, I taught a seminar at the church in preparation for the fall semester of our Sunday School. It was a good time. But I was exhausted when it was done. When the guys asked me what I was going to do about today, I looked at my cell phone. I had one message on it (...That's rare... It's usually full... I am not the best at phone messages and call backs... Confession is good for the soul, but bad for the reputation...). I listened to it. It was Dr. "Fill-in-the-Blank." He was calling to let me know that he was in town. I called him back and we made logistical preparations for him to be picked up to preach our two morning services. Then I promptly went home and went to sleep.

It was after 8 PM when I woke up. I had heard the phone ring a couple of times. But I didn't roll over to pick it up. But as I got out of bed, I looked at the phone. I had missed 7 calls and had 5 messages. I checked the messages (...I was really on a roll with this answering messages thing yesterday...). and each one of them was from Dr. "Fill-in-the-Blank." The first message was to let me know that he was just going to preach the 11 AM service. The last message was to tell me that he had received a call from Bishop Noel Jones and that he was going to be preaching today at the City of Refuge. Doc was apologetic. I was understanding. I trust we'll get together some time down the road. As I headed back to bed, Crystal asked me was I going to preach. "Yes." Then she asked me what I was going to preach. "Me and the Lord will talk about that in the morning. I'm going back to bed." And, indeed, I woke up this morning with a message on my heart. I preached Philippians 4:6-7 - "God's Answer for Your Anxieties." I didn't have my A-game today, for various reasons. But the Lord's grace was good enough and his power was at work in my weakness. While preaching, I knew that I was not standing up merely because I was stood up. God had a specific message for his people that he wanted me to proclaim today: Pray your worries away!

Midweek with no Midweek

I have had a weird feeling all day long. And I think I am just putting my finger on what it is. It's midweek - Wednesday - and we are not having Midweek Service at Mt. Sinai. We have "gone dark" for the month of August. And we are to resume our regular schedule at the beginning of September. I intend to continue my exposition of Psalm 119 then. But today there is no service. And it feels downright strange. There are weeks when there is midweek service here and I am not here. But that's the point. If I am out of town on a Wednesday, I'm on a different schedule. But being in the office on a Wednesday with out Midweek Service, I feel the oddness of this break from the routine.

There are three meetings on my schedule today. I have been doing administrative work most of the day. And I have just finished two chapters of the books I'm reading this week (for the curious, it's "Writing for the Soul" by Jerry Jenkins). On a "normal" Wednesday, whatever that is, I would be sweating over my study notes and sermon manuscript. And I would be feeling the pressure of the upcoming service. Today, the time seems to be going at a snail's pace. But if I had to preach tonight, I would be trying to lasso the hands of the clock to get them to slow down a bit. This is the first week in some time that I have not had to preach between Sundays. I am to give the eulogy at a funeral in the morning. But that is not the same. That will be a 10-15 "meditation," not an exposition. And, frankly, as good as it feels to be from out from under the grind this week, this midweek with no midweek is reminding me what a joy, privilege, and blessing it is to minister the word of God. Thank God Sunday is coming soon!

Preaching @ Mt. Gilead

Last night, I began the first of three nights of preaching (8/8-10) at the Mt. Gilead Missionary Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas. Pastor Terrance Floyd is the organizing pastor of this young congregation, which is about four years old. This is my third time here for Mt. Gilead, I think. I was invited several years ago to preach for them during the Simultaneous Revival here in Wichita. It was a great experience and a wonderful honor to minister the word to this infant congregation, which may have been about a year old. I was truly grateful for the privilege and opportunity. The next year, I was unable to come during the simultaneous meeting. But Pastor Floyd invited me back during a later part of the year. And I was glad to come. And it is good to be here again with the wonderful congregation. Pastor Floyd and I have become friends. He is a kind and humble man. He loves the Lord and is striving to become a better pastor a preacher. I am very encouraged by the fact that when we talk I usually receive some type of report ongoing education is pastoral leadership and expository preacher. Rather than coasting, as many pastors are tempted to do, he is diligently striving to become a better pastor. Praise God for that. Remember me in your prayers for the next two nights. And remember Pastor Terrance Floyd and the Mt. Gilead Church in your prayers, as well.

We Made it to the end of the Hymn

Yesterday, I concluded our study of the "Hymn of Grace," recorded in Ephesians 1:3-14. I closed the mini-series with a message on Ephesians 1:11-14, entitled "Our Inheritance in Christ." Originally, I intended to do this extensive passage in four messages. However, it ended up taking me six messages over a 7 or 8 week period to finish. This has been an enriching study fore me. And I hope the congregation has been blessed by the messages that I have preached. I was concerned that I would spend to much time explaining doctrine that I would miss the heartbeat of the text, which is a call to praise. In this text, Paul is not merely doing theology; he's "praising on paper." And I wanted that spirit of grateful praise to permeate the messages that I preached. I am not sure I pulled that off in each message. But I believe the messages were generally consistent. This Sunday I plan to begin the second part of chapter 1, which is a prayer for spiritual enlightenment. At this point, I intend to preach this passage in one message. But, we'll see. As you remember me in prayer this week, ask God to help me to be faithful and clear in my exposition of the word of God.

Will Willimon on "Felt-Needs"

In an interview published in the Summer 2006 edition of Leadership, United Method Church bishop and noted author William H. Willimon makes the following comment about ministering to "felt-needs" in preaching: "Jesus doesn't meet our needs; he rearranges them. He cares very little about most things that I assume are my needs, and he gives me needs that I would've never had it I hadn't met Jesus." Wow!!!

The Healing after the Storm

Last week, I participated in a conference for pastors and other spiritual leaders that dealt with the spiritual "storms" ministers experience in Christian service. I was assigned this topic to address: "The Healing after the Storm." Early in my pastoral ministry at MSMBC, I went through an extended period of congregational conflict. Of course, my experience does not make me an expert on the subject. However, I am still serving the congregation where it all took place. That a least makes me a "survivor," whose story may be of some value to others who are in the storm. So I agreed to give a lecture on the dealing with the aftermath and overcoming the challenges the result from congregational conflict. I really didn't know what to expect before the conference. So I prepared the talk as best I could, not really knowing what exactly the host wanted from me and the seminar. I ended up making several big points, woven into parts of my personal story, which I shared with the guys:

I. Prepare for healing before the storm.
II. Protect your health during the storm.
III. Pursue healing after the storm.

I am sure that I did not say anything revolutionary that hour. But I did endeavor to be honest, challenging, and encouraging. As I took comments after the lecture, I was reminded of the fact that most pastors are good men. Yes, there are some bad pastors who give the rest a bad name. And even the best of pastors have glaring weaknesses and make stupid mistakes sometimes. But for the most part, pastors are men who love Jesus and the church, and are striving to win the lost and nurture the saints to the glory of God. Yet, many pastors find themselves in very difficult situations that cause them to question whether or not ministry is worth all the trouble. This sad fact is often missed in the midst of the overemphasis we seem to put on a few celebrity preachers.

Unfortunately, the drop-out rate among pastors is getting higher and higher as the years go by. And much of the conflict that causes pastors to throw in the towel has absolutely nothing to do with the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Most often, pastors get beat up by congregational leaders and members who are determined to fight about power, money, and titles. Now, to be fair, I must admit that we cannot tell which came first; hurting preachers or hurting congregations. It's kind of chicken-or-the-egg kind of situation. But the fact is that some churches hurt preachers because they have been hurt by preachers. But my concern here is that many good and godly pastors are leaving the ministry because of "the politics of personal destruction" that takes place in many congregations. But I want you to know that there can be healing. Sometimes pastor and congregations cannot heal together after a season of conflict. But it can happen. Encourage your pastor to hang in there. You may not know how much he deals with in order to minister to you from week to week. Encourage him any and every way you can. And, brothers, keep standing on the word of God and know that it will be a solid rock that will hold you up in the midst of the various storms of pastoral ministry.

Citywide Revival in Corpus Christi

I am in Corpus Christi, preaching a "citywide" meeting for three nights. I was originally invited by Pastor Kevin Pullum and the Friendship Baptist Church. And he graciously expanded his plans to include other local congregations. The meeting is now taking place at St. John Baptist Church, which is led by Pastor Derrick Reaves. The meeting opened well last night. I like preaching in Corpus. And I enjoy being around all the pastors that I have met here over the years. And so I really had a good time in worship with them last night. And the fellowship with the pastors has been encouraging. I was really impressed with how well-planned and organized the service was last night, with it being planned on short notice. The churches really did come together and work together with great unity. I was very encouraging to see it cooperation among churches. Believe me, it doesn't happen that way everywhere. I have two more messages to preach and I will be on my way home. Please keep this meeting and the pastors and congregations of this community in your prayers.

From San Diego to Beaumont to LA to Corpus

It has been a rather busy week or so. Last week, I preached the citywide revival in San Diego California. The meeting was Monday through Thursday. Friday morning, I flew to Beaumont, Texas to close out the family conference for Pastor John Adolph and the Antioch Baptist Church. I preached Friday night and flew home Saturday. I mostly rested Saturday and goofed off with Crystal and the kids. Sunday, I continued our exposition of Ephesians with a message of 1:8-10, entitled "The Mystery of his Will." We had a good day. I have been in the office most of the day, preparing to leave in the morning. I am scheduled to be in Corpus Christi tomorrow night to do three nights for Pastor Kevin Pullum and the Friendship Baptist Church. However, I received news in staff meeting afternoon that the meeting has been changed to a "citywide" meeting that will be hosted by Pastor Derrick Reeves at the St. John Baptist Church. Either way is fine by me. Both of these brothers are good and godly men who serve faithful churches. I look forward to the time of worship and fellowship.

I know all of this sounds a bit hectic. The good news is that at the end of the month of August, I will be mostly done with all of my traveling for "revivals" for the rest of the year. I am very excited about that. I look forward to settling down and spending more time at home with my family and congregation. The Lord has given me strength and blessed me to juggle quite a few different obligations at the same time. But I am really looking forward to have a few less balls to juggle in the air. Being on the "road" has taken it's toll on me in many ways recently. But in the providence of God, my schedule is lightening up right in time. Praise God for that. And continue to pray for me, my family, and MSMBC.

The San Diego BMU Citywide Revival

I am in San Diego this week preaching the annual citywide revival of the local Baptist Ministers United group. Pastor Willie J. Smith is both the president and the host, along with the Calvary Baptist Church. I am preaching each evening with Dr. David Kelly who pastors the Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. The meeting closes this evening. It has been a good week of worship and fellowship. And I praise God for the lives that have been touched and changed by the ministry of the word this week.

Thanks, Again, For Your Prayers

Thank you for praying for my family last week. Crystal is feeling much better and is getting stronger every day. Praise God for that. I appreciate all of the cards, phone calls, and expressions of concern. God bless.

Preaching @ Central District

I am in Louisville, Kentucky. I am preaching at the 137th Annual Session of the Central District Baptist Association. Pastor Bernard Crayton, of the Little Flock Baptist Church, is the moderator. And Pastor Gregory F. Smith and the Hill Street Baptist Church are the hosts. The meeting began on Sunday night and ends tonight with the moderator's address. I brought the closing message during the preaching conference yesterday afternoon. And I also brought the message during the youth session last night. I have one more message to preach, this afternoon, during the Women's department session. Though no one really knows me or knows of me at this meeting, I have been treated with such kindness. And my messages have been received attentively and warmly. I praise God for this privilege and pray that the messages will bear much fruit to the glory of God.

I was really honored to have Dr. Walter Malone present as I preached yesterday. He is the pastor of the great Canaan Christian Church. I had the wonderful privilege of preaching for Dr. Malone several months ago. And he was so kind to me. I was encouraged to have him present. I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. T. Vaughn Walker, who pastors the First Gethsemane Baptist Church here in Louisville. He is also the first and only tenured African American professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary here in Louisville (Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president). I heard him speak at the beginning of the year at an SBC evangelism conference an Anaheim. The story of his church really blessed me at a critical time. I also learned that his congregation was featured in a Tom Rainier's book, Breakout Churches. I just started that book last weekend. And I was really honored to meet him yesterday. And I was very honored to have him sit in on my two messages yesterday.

On My Way to Louisville

Yesterday, was a long but good day. I continued our exposition of Ephesians with a message on verses 5-6, entitled "Spiritual Adoption through Christ." In Sunday School, I began a four-part series I'm calling, "A Biblical Understanding of Charismatic Experiences." Yesterday's lesson was called, "Should Christians Pray in Tongues?" I actually lost my voice during the first service yesterday. And by the time Sunday School began, I had a sour throat. But by the time I got to the second message, I was feeling a lot better. God is good. I don't usually preach my way out of hoarseness. I praise God for giving me the strength to preach. And I pray that our congregation is being enriched by our exposition of the Hymn of Grace (Eph. 1:3-14). God willing, next Sunday I will pick up our study with the redeeming work of Jesus Christ (1:712). And George is to teach Sunday School on "Does God Give Direct Revelation Today?" I look forward to hearing his lesson.

After church, I received a big shock. Before Crystal left, she wanted to know what time I was leaving for Louisville Monday morning. When I looked at the paper, it said I was leaving at 11:50 Sunday night. The paper had been sitting in my mail tray all weekend. But I did not think to look at it. I usually don't travel on Sundays. So I just assumed that I was leaving Monday morning. When I got of the shock, sort of, I began to copy the notes that I needed for work I have to do while I am away. This took several hours. Then I went home and packed. And after I got something to eat and took a brief nap, it was time to head for the airport. All of this was quite humbling, to be honest. I was so upset and tired and... upset. But in the process of the evening, I was gently reminded by the Spirit of things I have been recently learning and teaching about responding to times like these. In fact, one of the messages that I intend to preach today will directly address that issue. So I felt convicted about getting so upset. And I felt a little stupid for not handling my scheduling better. I still have a lot of growing to do. I trust that this will not happen again. And I hope that if it ever does, my attitude will be better.

Anyway, I am writing this post at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. It was midnight when I left LAX. I arrived here at Chicago about 6 AM. And I have a two-hour lay-over here. I am scheduled to get to Louisville about midday. And I have two messages to preach today for the Central District Baptist Association of Louisville. And I have one message to preach tomorrow, possibly two. At the same time, I have a lot of work to do to be ready to preach our Midweek Service at MSMBC Wednesday night. I am scheduled continue our exposition of Psalm 119 with verses 89-96. So the next several days will be quite interesting, to say the least. But I trust God that God's grace, strength, and wisdom will be sufficient. Pray for me.

Fond Memories @ Youth Explosion 2006

This weekend is our Youth Explosion weekend at MSMBC. Last night, we had a banquet for our youth, led by Pastor John Scroggins. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship. Our guest speaker was Pastor Reginald Payne, who serves the Full Gospel Baptist Church here in Los Angeles (by the way, the name of the congregation does not reflect its theology). Reginald and I grew up together here at Mt. Sinai. He is a few years older than I am. His mother was one of the key lay leaders here in the churc during my father's pastorate. And Aunt Pat, as I called her, used to babysit me. When she did, she would make Reggie take me with him when he went somewhere. And so we kind of became friends because we had no choice. Yet we have remained friends down through the years.

When I preached my first sermon at the age of 11, it was an appendix to the youth choir's musical. Reginald was the president of the choir. I think this is tell. Reggie was the leader of the choir, even though he couldn't sing a lick. But he was clearly a leader to the young people of our church. A few years later, Reggie began preaching. I remember the night in Dallas when he shared with me that he had been called to preach. We sat up talking all night long talking about preaching. Shortly after Reggie started preaching, a few other young men began preaching, as well. Soon my dad had a small army of "boy preachers," who were vying for any and every opportunity to minister. So my dad turned the youth department over to us, with advisors, of course, who carefully monitored our every move. We was in charge of the second Sunday services, which my dad would let us preach. And we have a lot of other activities that gave us opportunities to minister. And one of our bright ideas was a youth banquet (I know it took be a long time to get back here, but I finally made it back to my original thought).

As I sat with Reginald last night, I thought about all the silly ideas we came up with for our youth banquets. Now, here we are, racing toward middle-age, pastoring churches where our young people are coming together. It's kind of surreal to me. I look back and cannot help but to praise God for bringing us such a mighty long way. In fact, some of the very young people we served with were at the banquet last night, still members of our respective congregations. But, now, they are there to oversee their own children! You can't begin to imagine how weird it is to pastor people that you grew up getting in trouble with. And to lead people who disciplined you when you got into trouble. But I thank God that I was a part of a congregation that nurtured my faith in Christ as a boy. And I pray that MSMBC will increasingly be a congregation that strategically invests in the spiritual development of its young people to the glory of God.

America's New Preacher

I recently read Shayne Lee's book, America's New Preacher: T.D. Jakes (NYU Press). I cannot begin to tell you how fascinating this book is. I almost couldn't put it down. First of all, Lee is a talented writer. A professor of sociology, currently teaching at the University of Houston, Lee analyzes both the good and bad implications of Jake's phenomenal success. And he carefully connects Jakes' rise to prominence to the larger religious scene in America today. Likewise, this is the one of the first major biographies of the life and work of T.D. Jakes to be written. Yet, later writings on Jakes will have a hard time reaching the standard of this book. This is not a puff piece, which simply sings Jakes' praises. But, at the same time, it's not a hatchet job, either. Lee doesn't have an axe to grind. He is not trying to bury Jakes. He seeks to be as objective as possible. And I think he does a pretty good job. From just reading the book, it is hard to tell whether Lee personally agrees with Jakes' philosophy or not. And that reflects the heart of the book's message. Lee argues that Jakes is a bundle of contradictions and that the paradoxes of his life and ministry are purely American.

In New Preacher, Lee tells the story of Jakes upbringing in West Virginia, his conversion to Christ, and his early days of ministry. He carefully tells the story of the convergence of various factors that led to the "overnight success" of T.D. Jakes. He also tells how Jakes, unlike many others who reach the spotlight, strategically used his 15 minutes of fame to build his ministry into a movement, of sorts. On one hand, Jakes was absolutely determined to be a successful minister, though one has to question the biblical validity of his view of success. Aat the same time, much different things happened to bring him to prominence that he could not have planned. But he definitely maximized those moments to build a ministry empire. This empire includes his tremendous financial success. But it also includes the compromises he has had to make (and continues to make), in order to maintain all that he has acquired. This shrewd and determined focus on maintaining success may be best seen in Jakes' "Mega-Fest" conference, which is a few weeks away. When his staff became concerned a few years ago that attendance at their different conference was beginning to slowly drop, the idea came to merge all of these conferences into one major gathering. The results was the first "Mega-Fest" in Atlanta in 2004, which drew more people than the 1994 Summer Olympic Games.

Lee's chapters on Jakes' media savvy, contradictory feminism, and focus on prosperity are all provocative. But one of the interesting features of this book to me is how it describes the religious climate in America that made the "overnight success" of T.D. Jakes possible. These dynamics would include the rise of Neo-Pentecostalism, the development of televangelism, and the decline of denominationalism. Many people are key to these developments. But of the various people mentioned, the sections about Carlton Pearson were most compelling to me. Lee argues that there would absolutely not be a T.D. Jakes if there were not a Carlton Pearson. Yet, the meteoric rise of T.D. Jakes happened at the same time Pearson's ministry was rapidly plummeting, because of his embracing of a doctrinal heresy of "Christian universalism" (which is an oxymoron). Interestingly, when Jakes himself was confronted a few years ago about his Oneness Pentecostal convictions (which deny the Trinity), he artfully dodged the matter, so that his ministry would not see the same sad fate Pearson experienced. Lee argues that Jakes is America's new preacher and that those who would be successful will have to follow his model. Sadly, I think he's right. But he is only right if you agree with his definition of success. And I do not. We are not called to be America's preachers; but God's preachers. May this book not be read as a model to follow; but as a warning to heed.

Speaking @ 1st Goodwill

There is no Midweek Service at MSMBC tonight. We have the night off. But I am scheduled to speak at the First Goodwill Baptist Church here in Los Angeles. By brother-in-law, Clinton Smith, is the pastor. He is also a son of MSMBC, who served here with me for about 10 years before he began his pastorate. I believe he is in his third year of service there, if I remember correctly. The congregation had been throughout a lot before Clinton arrived. And and Lord has and is using Clinton to stabilize the congregation to continue its great legacy of ministry for many years to come. I am very proud of the work Clinton and Tracey are doing there. And I pray that tonight's meeting and message will be an encouragement to them. Pray for us.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Be safe. Have fun. And God bless.

Chosen by God

Yesterday, I continued our exposition of the book of Ephesians in our Sunday morning worship services. I am still in the "Hymn of Grace" (1:3-14). And yesterday's message was on verse 4: "even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (ESV). Basically, it was a sermon on the doctrine of election. The 8 AM message was a disaster. I am still adjusting to the time frame of this new 90 minute service. And it was close to 9 AM when I got up to preach. So I basically had about 20 minutes to preach. I kept watching my watch and the clock on the wall. And at some point, in the beginning of point 2, I found myself preaching the end of point 3. For some reason, my mind inadvertently pushed the fast forward button. So, I kind of just abandoned my outline and just preached different portions of the message with the time I had left. I am not sure how obvious it was that something wasn't going right. If so, the congregation was very kind. The 11 AM meeting was better. I was much more relaxed. There was something important in point 2 that I forget . And I just went back to get it toward the end of the sermon, and didn't feel it broke my flow at all.

I think I was very nervous. After all, this is the doctrine of election I was preaching. And I really wanted to do a good job. I wanted the message to be doctrinal and encouraging. I am not sure I accomplished all that I intended for the message to present. I have been thinking all day about things I would have done differently or things I could have done better. But I believe that the message was faithful and clear. And I hope that it was encouraging, as well. Likewise, I was exhausted all day. I barely slept Friday night. And I didn't sleep Saturday night. I think it had something to do with how nervous I was about the message. And there was another issue. I had studied verses 4-6 to preach. But as I was studying, I saw two sermons emerging. And it really wasn't until Saturday afternoon that I finally decided to preach just verse 4. And I also had to get a feel for how I would approach a message on verses 5-6. Really, I had been struggling all week about which part of the text to actually preach Sunday. I think I made the right decision. But time will tell.

Here is the skeleton of the sermon:

Title: "Chosen by God"

Theme: Ephesians 1:4

Point: Praise God that he has freely chosen you for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Outline:

I. God has chosen us for himself.
II. God has chosen us in Christ.
III. God has chosen us before the foundation of the world.
IV. God has chosen us to be holy and blameless.

Going to Calvary

Tonight, I am scheduled to preach at the Calvary Baptist Church here in Los Angeles. The Rev. Virgil Hill is the pastor. Calvary is the congregation that was pastored by the late, Dr. Manual Scott Sr. Later, Pastor Jarvis Collier, who now serves in Kansas City, was the pastor. Hill has been at Calvary for a few years now as it doing a great work. Not only is he actively working to develop his congregation, he is also passionate around reaching young people. He leads a college preparatory ministry that is helped many young people in the Southern California area. Hill is also the leader of the Young Adult Department of the Western Baptist State Convention, of which I am a part. He is a kind and warm brother, and a strong preacher in his own right. I am honored to have the opportunity to minister the word to this historic congregation again. This will mark my second or third year doing this meeting for him. If I am correct, it's a youth and young adult emphasis service. Either way, I am excited about Mt. Sinai and Calvary having the opportunity to worship together again. May the Lord be glorified in our time together tonight.

The Who of Your How

The Lord richly blessed our Midyear Tune-Up last night. The worship was warm and the testimonies were encouraging. And the Lord used Pastor Terry Brooks to bless us in a special way. The pastor of New Horizon Baptist Church in San Diego, Brooks preached a message entitled, "The Who of Your How," from Lamentations 3:21-24. He reminded us that God is calling the shots and that God can be counted on in every situation. The bottom-line is that you don't have to know how you are going to make it, as long as you know the One who has everything under control. It just seemed to be such a fitting message for our members to hear at this midpoint of the year. And, personally, I just hit the spot. I praise the Lord, indeed, for all that he has done this year. And I trust and pray that the Lord will continue to smile on our lives and body-life today throughout the remainder of the year. God is faithful.

Midyear Tune-Up 2006

Tonight, Mt. Sinai will meet together for a one-night revival that we call our Midyear Tune-Up. At this midpoint of the year, we stop to offer the Lord our grateful praise for all that he has already done for us so far this year. Likewise, we spend time in believing This young man prayer together, asking God's blessings to be upon our life and work for the remainder of the year. It is usually a special time in the life of our congregation. And I expect that tonight will be no different. Our guest speaker will be Pastor Terry Brooks of the New Horizon Baptist Church in San Diego. This young man is a visionary leader and a sound preacher. And the Lord has been granting him greater influence in the Southern California area and in our state convention, since his arrival from Gary, Indiana. I really look forward to sitting under his preaching tonight. If you live in the Los Angeles area, join us. I bet you could use a "midyear tune-up" too. For the rest of our friends around the country, please remember our meeting in your prayers today. God bless.

One Of Those Days

So I came home this morning to pick something up. I wasn't in the house for five minutes. But when I got back into the car, it wouldn't start. I went back inside and waited a few minutes (as if that would do anything). But it still didn't start. So I called AAA (#1) to come out. The AAA guy came a gave me a jump. I let the car run for 20 or so minutes. And then I headed for the office again. I decided to go to a local bookstore to pick up a book that I wanted. I was in the store for twenty minutes. But when I came out, the car wouldn't start again. So I missed staff meeting, sitting in a parking lot waiting for AAA to come out (#2). I got a chance to read a good piece of the book I had just bought waiting for the AAA guy to show up. And when he did, he gave me a jump. All was well. Then I headed to the church. But the car stopped again. This time in the middle of Sepulvada. So I called AAA again (#3). And this time they didn't send a guy to give me a jump. This time, they sent a tow truck out, who towed me to the car dealership. I was there for quite a while before they got my car processed and gave me a loaner, so I could get to the office. I finally made it to the office and was able to finish my preparations for our church meeting tonight (which went well, by the way). But it had to be the Lord. I was tired, distracted, and frustrated. Nothing seemed to go right today. But the Lord kept my mind and heart on him. I prayed as I waited for the AAA guy(s). I am very excited about that. I had not control over my day. But I had control over my attitude about my God. Praise the Lord for the fruit of the Spirit!

Count Your Blessings

Yesterday, I continued my exposition of Ephesians with a message on 1:3, entitled, "Count Your Blessings." I didn't sleep Saturday night. I was restless because I was very nervous about preaching Sunday morning. I'm not sure why, though. I was very excited about the message. And I was eager to be in worship. But I was very uptight about my message. I had worked hard on it. I even had an extra week to work on it. But I still struggled in preparing it. In fact, about 5:00 AM Sunday morning, it went from a four-point outline to a three-point outline. And I continued tinkering with is until it was time to go into worship. But I don't think my internal "whatever" was very evident in either of the presentations of the message. The Lord really did help me to preach clearly, I believe. And the more I preached, the more excited I became about the message - both times. Here's the sermon skeleton:

Title: "Count Your Blessings"

Text: Ephesians 1:3

Point: Every person who is united to Christ by faith is already richly blessed by God.

Outline:

I. The Proper Response to the Blessed Life: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
II. The Exclusive Means to the Blessed Life: "in Christ"
III. The Infinite Scope of the Blessed Life: "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places"
A. We have a sufficient blessing in Christ. "every spiritual blessing."
B. We have a spiritual blessing in Christ: "every spiritual blessing."
C. We have a secure blessing in Christ: "in the heavenly places."

Yesterday afternoon, we fellowshiped with the Rhema Community Church in La Puente, CA. My longtime friend, Ronald Saunders is the founding pastor. The congregation is only three years old. And they have only been in their own facility for about a year now. But God is blessing this young congregation. And I am proud to see how the Lord is continuing to you this young man, who I deem to be - hands down - one of the best young preachers I know. I pray that the Lord would continue to bless this church to grow, both spiritually and numerically. And I pray that God would continue to use Ronald in greater ways. I was glad that we could join in with them in their celebration, which is the first time they have had such a celebration service. And I pray that my message and our presence was an encouragement to them.

Speaking of encouragement, the highlight of the day was the fact that more than thirty members of MSMBC stayed around the church after our morning services to ride together to Rhema Church. We chartered a bus. And we didn't really do it until the last minute. I didn't even announce it until last Wednesday night, and I failed to mention it during either of our morning services yesterday. And I was quite surprised that so many joined us on the bus. I hadn't intended on riding, but George and I decided to at the last minute. I read my manuscript most of the way there. And I gazed out the window on the way back, half asleep. But I can't describe to you how encouraging it was to be with the members of MSMBC on that bus, not to mention the other members who drove out for the service. I call these "post cards for heaven," through which God reminds us that we are still on his mind. God knows I needed one. And he sent it right on time and in a special way. Praise God!

Halfway Up Mt. Everest

Last night, I preached the eleventh stanza of Psalm 119. I am now halfway up this Mt. Everest of the Psalms. I have been richly blessed by my personal study of this passage over the past several months. And even though it has been difficult preparing some of the messages, I have really enjoyed the sermon preparation process, as well. It has kept me on my toes to wrestle through the theme of each of these eight verse sections, while maintain the main thrust of the psalm. And I have enjoyed preaching these messages to Mt. Sinai on Wednesday nights. I have missed some weeks, but every time we pick it back up, the congregation is ready, attentive, and encouraging. May the Lord's blessings be on the remaining studies of this remarkable psalm.

Here is the sermon skeleton from last night's message:

Title: "Making it Through the Middle Miles"

Text: Psalm 119:81-88

Point: You can make it through the middle miles of life if you wait on God's perfect timing and walk in God's unfailing love.

Outline:

I. Wait on God's Perfect Timing (119:81-84)
A. Wait on God's salvation (v. 81)
B. Wait on God's comfort (vv. 82-83)
C. Wait on God's verdict (v. 84)
II. Walk in God's unfailing Word (119:85-88)
A. Walk with spiritual discernment (v. 85)
B. Walk with spiritual devotion (vv. 86-88)
1. The Lord will help you (v. 86)
2. The Lord will sustain you (v. 87)
3. The Lord will revive you (v. 88)

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I have found it absolutely impossible not to think about my father today. H.B. Charles Sr. was my father, my pastor, my hero, my mentor, and my friend. I succeeded my father as pastor of the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, which he served for better than 40 years. The Lord took my father home to glory in June, 1989. I was only 17-years-old at the time. And I cannot begin to explain how devastating that was to me. However, over the years, I have been able to recognize the invisible hand of divine providence at work in this. And I am able to thank the Lord for knowing and doing what was best for me. But that doesn't change the fact that I miss my father terribly. I didn't preach Father's Day for about ten years after his death. I think the thoughts of my father were too much for me to concentrate on a preaching assignment. In fact, it was only after I have a son of my one that I dared to press through to preach on Father's Day. I have done well over the past few years. But this year I really miss him. Interestingly, none of my thoughts about my dad today bring me the pain of loss that I used to feel. It is just one of the days where I am thinking much about him. At this point, more than half of my lifetime has passed since my dad's death. But it doesn't feel like it has been that long. And there is even a sense in which it feels like is still with me. Of course, I don't mean that in any mystical sense. I only mean that my life is filled with so many memories of my father that it is virtually impossible to forget him.

My father was a whale of preacher. He was not a student of exposition. But he was a faithful preacher. His style was more textual. And his presentation style was similar to the other orator's of his day. He didn't really "whoop," either. And he couldn't stand the fact that I, as a boy preacher, was determined to "shut it down"! My father used to regularly warn me that I was not going to get far with all that "whooping and hollering," as he called it. My father was an avid reader who had an extensive library. In fact, his was larger than mine is now. And he would regularly push me to read. If I would ask him a simple Bible question; he would send me to a book, rather than giving me the answer himself. I thought this was ridiculous. And I didn't understand the significance of all those books. I would readily traded in a book for a tape of Jasper Williams, Donald Parsons, or C.A.W. Clark. Unfortunately, I didn't learn to love books until after my father died. After his death, I received less than a hundred of his books. So I have had to build my own library over the years. But I have done so, trying to take advantage of the many things my father tried to teach me. I hope he would have been proud of the man and preacher that I have become.

My father was also a good pastor. I am still amazed by how many different people are convinced that they each were my father's dearest member. He just never met a stranger. And he loved the people of Mt. Sinai passionately. I was the son of his old age. And by the time I began preaching (at age 11), my father was basically finished with revivals, conventions, etc., even though he maintained some participation in these areas of ministry. But his focus was Mt. Sinai. And I greatly benefited from that. And so did the church. My father was a disciplined student. And he would teach the Monday night Sunday School Teacher's Meeting each week, after having taught the exposition of the Sunday School lesson at the Minister's Conference earlier that day. He would meet with us preachers each Tuesday night. And he would preach two different messages at 8 and 11 AM on Sundays, rarely repeating himself. This did not include all of the pastoral care and visitation, counseling and meetings, and local political matters my father was involved him. Yet he did it all with an unforced rhythm.

Lastly, my father was a good father. Certainly, he was a flawed man. And in my short time with him I saw him make many mistakes. Yet, he was quick to admit when he was wrong. And he was willing to make changes when he needed to. He trusted people very easily. And though this would result in him getting burned many times, he never really held it against the next person who sought to win his trust. He was a very busy man. But I never felt that I was in competition with his ministry work. I don't know how he pulled that off. But I praise God for it. He was a strong man who could be as stubborn as steel, at times. Yet, he was also a very gentle man who could sit and read the scriptures and weep for hours over the joy of spiritual discovery. He loved clothes. But he gave away just as many as he bought. Even to this day, I meet preachers who tell me my dad gave them their first pair of nice shoes or their first nice suit. Somehow, I was an expert at getting under his skin. I didn't do it on purpose, most of the time. But I would really frustrate him. I think I should have listened more and questioned him less. But as mad as he would get at me; his primary form of disciplining me was to withhold affection. That was the most painful thing he could do to me, at a point. And even to his death, my father would hug and kiss me. It meant a lot to me, communicating the things that he didn't say with actual words. But he also knew how to use words to communicate his love, as well. He gave most of the people in his life a nick-name. And I was no different. He called me "Bish" (Long Story!).

I thank God for my father today. I also praise God for my "Sunshine" - my wife, Crystal. And I deeply grateful to God for the two precious children he has given us - H.B.3 and Natalie Marie. And I thank God for all the blessings of our life together. God is a good God.

A New Beginning

Do you ever have times in your life when you feel like you just need a fresh start or a new beginning? That's how I feel in this season of my life. I am not sure why I have been feeling like this. And I am sure that these feelings are right, which is why I really haven't responded to them. Yet, I must admit, that these feelings for me real, and they have been pretty hard to shake. My life has been richly blessed by God. And I really don't have any legitimate reasons to complain. But there is an internal restlessness that I cannot explain, and that I cannot explain away. These feelings may be nothing more than the natural response of one who has reached the "middle miles" of ministry, having served my present pastorate for more than fifteen years now. So I keep running the marathon that the Lord has set before me.

Recently, I have described my feelings to a few friends in boxing terms. In boxing, there are knock-out artists, who can take you out with just one punch. I have faced some of those in my ministry, and have proven to have a pretty good chin. But in boxing, there are also those technical fighters who don't have big punching power, but they can take you out with an accumulation of punches over the course of the fight. I feel like I have been on the receiving end of quite a few jabs, at this point. But what do good fighters do in these situations. They keep fighting. And that's what I intend to do, with the help of God.

I know that this post is way more personal than anything I have ever written on this blog. Or, it feels that way, at least. I usually try not to write a post when I am thinking this way, lest I sound cynical. For the record, I am not. I do write this post with a vulnerable sense of candor, hoping that someone who reads this will be encouraged to keep fighting through the championship rounds. God is faithful.

The Humanity of Preachers

Preachers are human beings! This may seem to be an unnecessary statement of the obvious. But it's not. It's something that need to be remembered by both people in the pew and people in the pulpit. Preachers are only human beings. They are not super-saints, preaching machines, or holy angels (By the way, I do not think the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3 are grounds for calling pastors "angels."). We are just plain old men. Or plain young men, in my case. (And, by the way, I am being intentionally gender specific). We are men. This is something that we preachers seem to forget. I have often said that pulpit ministry can breed hypocrisy, if you are not careful. God uses preachers in a unique way to exalt the Savior, edify the saints, and evangelize the lost. But sometimes we allow the fact that God uses us to make us think that we are more than what we really are. People hold us in high esteem. And we allow that to cause us to act like we have reached a level of spiritual maturity that we, in fact, have not. And in some instances, we are just be sensitive to the fact that we ought to be examples of what we preach. And knowing that we fall short, we sometimes fall into the trap of being phonies, rather than being authentic. And then some men have leaders and members who are just looking for a way to attack them. Believe me, for the few pastors who are "celebrities"; there are hundreds more who faithfully labor for the Lord under excruciating conditions. And they are fearful of letting people around them see any kink in their armor. So they live out an image of what people think the preacher's life is supposed to be, rather, than being who they really are, by the grace of God.

So I thought I would just remind us all that preachers are human. We have good weeks and bad weeks just like you. We are loving and mean, just like you. We have circumstances in life to kick us around sometimes, just like you. If you faithfully attend corporate worship, there are times when show up even though you don't feel like it. Well, guess what. There are some times we preachers don't feel like showing up, even though we are the ones who are supposed to deliver the message of God. We are human! We face challenges with our faith, obedience, health, finances, mates, children, self-image, etc. just like every one else. So, members, please stop treating preaching like sanctified celebrities. And, preachers, let's stop acting like we are sanctified celebrities. Pray for humility, openness, and diligence in your spiritual walk, so that the work of the Lord doesn't come before the Lord of the work. Invite others to pray with and for you. Take a risk. Be yourself. Trust that God is faithful. And rejoice that God uses weak, sinful, limited human beings for his glory!

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." - 2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

Thanks For Your Prayers

I preached in Tyler, Texas, last Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday morning, my wife called me while on I was on my way to DFW airport to catch my flight home. When she told me what was going on, I called on my coworkers to the house to take her to the hospital. A few hours I landed to bad news. I don't feel comfortable going into detail. But the good news is that Crystal is doing better. She has been home resting and recuperating. And she is feeling much better today. Thank you to all of your who have called, sent card, emails, and flowers, or have come by to check on Crystal. I really do appreciate it all of your love and kindness. All is well. But please continue to keep me and my family in your prayers.

I did not go to midweek this past Wednesday. I stayed with Crystal. And I really did go into the office for the rest of the week, except to pick up my mail, find a few books in my study, and to attend an early morning prayer meeting. I was not sure I would be able to attend church Sunday. When I was clear that I would be able to be there, I immediately knew what I was going to preach. I preached the sermon I was intending to preach at midweek, from Psalm 119. I was preaching to myself. But I trust that others were encouraged and edified by the message. Yesterday, was also the second week of our second service. And I also had an afternoon service to preach. But the Lord was faithful. I really wasn't tired all day. But when I got home, I passed out as soon as I laid down. Today is my first day back in the office. I feel a bit overwhelmed, trying to catch up on everything that I missed. But I am glad to be able to get back to work. Pray that the Lord will bless my work this week.

The Return of a MIA Blogger

I am in Tyler, Texas. Tonight, I will preach the the second of two sermons at the Liberty Baptist Church, where Mark Hood is the pastor. God willing, I will fly home in the morning to be with Mt. Sinai for our midweek service. I am working on a message from Psalm 119:65-72 entitled, "How Has the Lord Dealt With You?"

It has bee more than a week since my last post. And boy, what a week. First of all, my wife had received news that her father was sick. So she went to check on him in Midland, TX. It turns out that his situation was not as dire as was first communicated to her. But I am still glad that she went to personally see how he was doing. Crystal makes countless sacrifices for me, our kids, and may work. So when she said she wanted to go to Midland, there was absolutely no way I was going to object. Last week, I was scheduled to preach Tuesday through Thursday for Pastor Garfield Burton at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Washington D.C. We had prepared for a babysitter to watch the kids, with both of us being away. But Tuesday the closer the time came for me to leave, the more uneasy I was about leaving. Finally, late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, I decided that I had better stay with the kids. Pastor Burton, a true friends, was very understanding. I owe him a big one. And I pray that he did my absence was not too detrimental to his work. There are many times I do not want to get on a plane to go preach. But this is one of the rare times I have cancelled a meeting in the last minute. The last time was about ten years ago. So it was hard for me to make that phone call to Pastor Burton. But I am sure that I did the right thing.

The kids took it easy on me last week. And it was really good being with them, even though we missed Crystal a lot. At the same time, I was getting for our second service, which began this past Sunday. And I was also getting ready to begin two new series this past Sunday - Ephesians in our worship services and "Membership Matters" is our mass Sunday School hour. I also seemed to have a lot of pastoral care and administrative things to come up last week. I wasn't even supposed to be in town. So you would think I would have had a relatively easy week. But That was not the case. I ended up with a lot on my plate. And it was very taxing on me. I thought about blogging everyday. But I just couldn't get to it.

Sunday was a great day. Our new 8 AM service began. Our congregation gave a "new commitment" offering. And the Lord blessed my message on Ephesians. When I begin an epistle, I like to start off with an overview of it. So I preached a message covering the entire six chapters of Ephesians. This is not how I usually preach. But I thought the Lord helped me to summarize the content, themes and movements of Ephesians. This Sunday, God willing, I will pick up the study with the "Hymn of Grace," recorded in Ephesians 1:3-14. During the month of June, I am teaching our updated new members class to the entire church at the Sunday School hour. Sunday was the first lesson. I think it went well. I look forward to the rest of the series. We also made some structural changes to our services and add some new procedures for follow-up and assimilation. I think there was some awkwardness to it, being the first week. But I pastor such gracious and patient people. I am really grateful for their willingness to follow my leadership. Oh, yeah. It was really hot during the second service! We are having more electrical work done on our building. It's another chapter in a long story. And the stage of the work this weekend prevented us from using our AC system. Yet, the congregation fought through it and were quite attentive to the message. That is, those who did not have the "spirit of sleep" jump on them.

Well, that's it. That's a (somewhat) brief summary of what I've been up to the past week. Thanks for the calls and emails, checking on me. All is well. Blog you later.

Well, Why do YOU travel so much?

I am going to do something here that I don't really intend to do again. I am going to respond to comments that were posted anonymously. When I first read these comments this morning, I was a little taken aback. I don't think the questions themselves bothered me. I love questions. But I don't think I was able to make out the the tone or spirit of the questions. And the fact that the questions were submitted anonymously made it all the more difficult for me to discern whether or not this is a person I should ignore. So in the future, I won't answer direct questions that are posted anonymously. You don't have a write out a bio. But you should at least give me your name. However, I can't resist these questions. So I will make an exception here.

Here are the comments: Why do pastors travel so much? Well, why do YOU travel so much?Is it a calling? popularity?Is it to subsidize a mediocre compensation package from their local church?Why?I know traveling and preaching at meetings USED TO be the "in thing" but why do pastors do 20 - 30 revivals a year with a growing membership at home?

Admittedly, I think it's kind of strange to defend the fact that I am a preacher who is passionate about preaching. I have been called to preach. It is what I do. I am in awe of God's grace toward me and count it a privelege that the Lord would use someone like me to do something as important as this. And I am still a young preacher, who is gratefully surprised that I am invited to preach as often as I am. And I still become rather eager about the opportunities I get to preach the word. I recognize that I am getting older and now have changing responsibilities. And I trust that in the days to come I will be wiser about the invitations I accept. However, I don't think it's appropriate for me to apoligize for preaching. It is pretty interesting that there are many preachers who have no reputations for actually preaching. Yet, they are celebrated as great "men of God." May God raise up many more men who are committed to faithfully proclaming the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ as every opportunity.

Back to the questions... Is it a calling? I am not sure I would that terminology. I know that I am called to preach. But I don't know if it would be accurate or appropriate to define my calling any more narrowly than that? Is it for popularity? All I would say to that is that you should go back a read some of my previous posts and answer that question for yourself. What I do is anything but glamorous. The toll my preaching schedule takes on me is more obvious than any of the rewards. But that is not just true for the traveling that I do. It also applies to my regular schedule of duties at MSMBC. As for compensation, I will say that I am not wealthy, but Mt. Sinai takes care of me and my family. And I don't have any needs. This frees me to travel to preach without concern for money. I have never taken a invitation based on potential compensation. I never know what I am going to get, if anything, when I go to preach. I have never checked-up on a pastor or church before taking an invitation, so see how well they will treat me. I have never asked for a certain amount. I have never complained to a pastor about how much he has or has not given me. I have never refused a return invitation on the basis of finances. I have never... well, you get the picture. It is not about the dollar for me. Period. And those who know me well can vouch for me on that.

I am not sure what the commentor means when he/she says that traveling to preach used to be the in-thing. I don't know what that means. Really. And, yes, I am a part of a growing and loving congregation. However, I do not believe the growth of MSMBC is directly related to how much I do or do not travel. There are growing churches where the pastor is not very accessable at all. And there are non-growing churches whose pastors never travel to preach. I am convinved at this point that the growth or lack of growth of a church is ultimately a matter of the sovereign providence of God. Indeed, there are human factors of faithfulness and fruitfulness that are involved. But the Lord Jesus Christ is the sole and sovereign head of the church. It's life, health, and growth are in his hands.

Now, let me make a confession. I think, at this point, that I preach too much. But I make this statement with much fear and trembling. In my posts, I often speak of how tired and homesick and whatever I am. But none of that compares to the great fulfillment I receive by seeing people feed on and grow from the word of God. I have had to repent many times for sitting in a service wondering why in the world I was there, only to later see the Lord use my feeble preaching to change people's lives. It's an amazing experience. In a recent conversation about my schedule, I made the comment that if I didn't go to a certain place, my sermon would not be missed. My friend rebuked me. And I am glad he did. It was a thoughtless, presumptuous, and sinful statement. I do not know what God is up to in these matters. But I do know that I want to be a part of it. May the Lord help me to do better at putting first what he tells me to put first when he tells me to put it first, so that he will be first in every area of my life. Sola Deo Gloria!