We cannot give approval to everyone we meet. We meet people who wear clothing of which we cannot in good conscience approve, use language of which we cannot approve, and live lifestyles of which we cannot approve if we wish to be consistent with Scripture. Unfortunately, a desire to disapprove that of which God disapproves has caused us to be perceived as rejecting the individual whose behavior we cannot condone.

On any given service, I can look across our auditorium and see people whom I’ve led to the Lord, baptized, dedicated their babies, and, in many cases, married their children. To me, our church is just family.

Before transferring a caller to her boss, a secretary will often say, “May I ask, who’s calling?” The importance of a message is often determined not only by the content of the message, but the communicator of that message. In Acts chapter nine and verse four, Saul, the persecutor of Christians, hears a voice as he travels to Damascus.

It is inherent in human nature to blame other people for our problems. All too often, we as pastors wish to blame the maintenance man, the staff member, the deacon, the Sunday school teachers, or others for the failures and difficulties in our church. This human tendency should be avoided.

One area Independent Baptists are not lacking in is our full schedule of conferences and meetings. From coast to coast there are ample opportunities to attend meetings that will “re-charge your battery.”

I use a template document for typing my sermon notes. But I guard against a template philosophy in preparing my sermons. My church deserves fresh sermons that are prayed over and thoroughly studied for—not cycled through.

The Bible declares that God made the world out of nothing—He created! He did not make something out of something—He created something out of nothing. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Let him know if his preaching is a help to you. Point out something specific God spoke to you about.

One of my pet peeves is email. More specifically, it is email that is used as a substitute for a personal touch. Ministry is people work. It involves building real relationships and nurturing spiritual growth.

Most of us are not interested in spending money on something that is broken. We are reluctant to buy a used car until we have done a thorough check with Carfax to ensure ourselves that we are not getting stuck with someone else’s junk.