“Morrison of Wellington,” George H. Morrison (1866-1928), during his era was no doubt the most popular preacher in Scotland. A Presbyterian pastor, for twenty-six years he faithfully shepherded the flock at Wellington Church, Glasgow. Surrendered totally to ministry, he chose not to serve on committees, preferring rather to spend his time on what he considered were his greatest responsibilities to the church – mornings in study and afternoons in visiting his congregation, making an average of one thousand calls a year! Primarily an expository preacher, his Sunday evening sermons targeted the specific needs of his sheep and standing room only crowds gathered to hear him. Many of these sermons are in print and worthy of your reading. I like what Warren Wiersbe said of Morrison in his volume, “Living with the Giants,” a statement we preachers should take to heart: “Morrison’s preaching strength lay in his knowledge of the Bible, his knowledge of his people and their needs, and his ability to put both together in an imaginative way that reached the heart.” [Read more…]

Do you ever find yourself losing your joy in ministry? I mean, all the commitments, obligations, responsibilities, problems and unnecessary distractions become so overwhelming that you just slam the study door, turn off the lights, fall flat on your face on the carpet (if you are blessed enough to have carpet!) and cry out to God, “I just can’t do this myself! I am tired, I am mentally fatigued, my strength has failed e’re the day is half done”…..you know what I mean. [Read more…]

“Congregations will gather around a pulpit from which living water is flowing!” –E. Stanley Jones

“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Now, just because I quoted E. Stanley Jones, don’t go around saying that he is my favorite role model in ministry. I certainly do respect him for laboring 66 years as a missionary evangelist to the upper castes of India, but I do have a problem with much of his theology. But when he said that “congregations will gather around a pulpit from which living water is flowing,” I just had to say, “Amen!” [Read more…]

Luke Chapter 24

Though the term Easter is found but once in the King James Version (Acts 12:4), and is translated “Passover” in nearly all other translations of that text, it is a term that is commonly acknowledged as representing the day of the week in which our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave. Certain chapters of the Bible seem to bear a theme that helps us to recognize their content, such as Hebrews 11 is the “Faith” chapter; I Corinthians 13 the “Love” chapter; Luke 15 the “Lost & Found” chapter; Ephesians 6 the “Soldier’s” chapter; John 3 the “New Birth” chapter; and Luke 24 is often called the “Easter” chapter. [Read more…]

A sizable share of my ministry over the past several years has been to assist churches find pastors. The question that I am often asked regarding prospective candidates is, “What are their strengths and what are their weaknesses?” Strengths have a tendency to be more observable while often weaknesses more imperceptible. Strengths are generally visible while weaknesses are more hidden. Strengths often can be detectable through casual acquaintance, weaknesses, on the other hand, usually only surface when there is a more familiar relationship. It is not uncommon to converse about our strengths while discussing our weaknesses lies outside our comfort zone. [Read more…]