Trinity Baptist Church

I was walking toward the store from my far out parking spot, which was the closest one available, when I saw a car pull into the close in spot marked, “Handicapped.”  There was nothing unusual about that, because the car had the little wheel chair logo on the tag, but when the driver got out and started for the store, I noticed he was a young guy in his late 20’s, who was obviously in very good physical condition.  He thought the handicapped tag made it okay for him to park there.  He had an integrity problem.

Integrity problems come in a thousand different forms.  An integrity problem boils down experiencing immediate gratification at the expense of what is really right.  Prov 20:7 says, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

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 listen the same way they did 200 years ago.  We have the advent of television and computers to thank for that, but it remains true, nevertheless.  Today, people are visual learners, for the most part, therefore, visual aids are important.  After all, the goal of preaching is not merely to impart information, it is to impact the hearers with a message in such a way that it will go home with them, and they will remember it long after it’s been delivered.

Many churches are now using drama, video, and object lessons to get the point across.  Jesus told stories, which was a pretty radical thing in His day.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

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 they do.”  It is entirely possible to have great material, yet lose the attention of your audience because it was too much for one sitting.  There are times when the Holy Spirit will direct a service in such a way that it will go longer than normal.   I have experienced services that lasted several hours, but not very many.  Most people feel far more friendly toward two shorter sermons, than they do one very long sermon.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

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 recommendation from that group.

Steve Echols, Associate professor of leadership, at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote an article on the subject in which he said, “a number of churches have moved away from the traditional monthly business meeting.  This is particularly true among new church starts in recent years.  Other larger churches have moved to quarterly meetings that are more informational than volitional.”

There are a number of reasons why new church starts grow at a faster rate than do established churches, and perhaps this is one of the factors.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →

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, when things are not going well, to make a straight line back to these formal rules of order.

In a friendly meeting, people will sometimes address one another when they have a question or observation concerning a matter to be decided.  This is fine, if the atmosphere is friendly and the matter is moving toward conclusion.  On the other hand, when matters seem to be getting less friendly, the moderator need to take immediate control and instruct all persons wishing to speak to seek permission from the chair, and then to address the chair with any comments.   The congregation needs to be educated in these matters to know which recommendations they can make to help bring the congregation out of a troublesome business meeting.

There will be times when matters of business will be taken very seriously by church members, and it is very important that people come away with a feeling of unity.  It is of extreme importance that the moderator of the meeting know how to maintain order and keep control of the meeting.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Bro. Don - No Comments →