The job of the preacher may be multi-faceted, but the one thing people expect their preacher to do is preach. There are some who would say that preaching should never change, that it should be done exactly the same way that it was done 200 years ago. The problem with that is that people don’t [...]
Someone asked a seminary professor how many points a sermon should have? He answered, “At least one!” How long should a sermon be? Two hundred years ago, the average sermon was much longer than the average sermon of today. An older preacher told me years ago, “Watch your congregation and make sure you finish before [...]
There is plenty of church business to be dealt with, but the more it can be handled behind the scenes, in small groups, the better. It is always best, when matters that come to floor of the general business meeting, have been studied in a small group meeting, then brought to the floor as a [...]
Many churches have in their bylaws that they will conduct their business meetings according to Roberts’ Rules of Order, but in the actual meeting, Roberts would never recognize his rules! Congregations with which I have been associated appreciate doing things a bit more informally, as long as things are going well. It is important, however, [...]
Each local church has to have a way of handling matters of business. In some denominations, many of the more important matters, of far reaching effect, are handled at a higher level than the local church. In others, such as Baptist churches, the congregation makes the ultimate decisions. I recently heard about a congregation where [...]