That the leaders led in Israel, and that the people volunteered, O bless the Lord.  (Judges 5:2) No one is a leader all the time in every situation. When the biggest corporate head in America goes to church, as a member of the flock he looks to the pastor as the leader. At his club, someone else is the executive and he is a dues-paying member. Sometimes we lead; sometimes we follow. In their book, Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? Gareth Jones and Rob Goffee wondered what goes into making a good follower. Wanting to find out what leaders expect from members of their teams, they came up wit ..read more

I know what it is to bore myself with my own preaching. It’s not putting words into His mouth to say that one thing the Living God utterly despises is limp, weak-as-tea ministry rendered by insipid, bored disciples who would rather be doing anything in the world than that. I have been guilty of this. And if you have been in the ministry for any length of time, my guess is you know about this kind of failure also. You possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My Name, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Rev ..read more

“Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you….” (Jeremiah 1:8). A friend asked, “Why is it taking our church so long to get a new pastor?” I said, “In my opinion, your search committee is afraid.  They know that certain members of your congregation are quick to pick apart any candidate who isn’t like (a previous pastor, now in Heaven). And they don’t want to take that chance.” What would you say if I said most leaders of our churches operate from fear? You would wisely ask how I know and where I got such information or arrived at such a conclusion. I would have to admit that I do n ..read more

“They said to Him, ‘Lord! Everyone is looking for you.’ He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth’” (Mark 1:35-38). Turning down a lousy request is no problem. –“Hey Joe! Wanna go bungee jumping?” Ha. Not in this lifetime. –“Hey preacher! How about a night of bar-hopping on Bourbon Street!” You talking to me, Leroy? –“Pastor, would you write a book on the superiority of your theological system over all others?”  Uh, no.  But have a nice day. Saying ‘no’ to something you hate to do, do not want to do, cann ..read more

Woe unto you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26) Let’s just come right out and say it up front: Unless someone is not constantly on your case, mad at you, irritated, and upset with you all the time, you are no leader. The would-be leader who fails to recognize this will be constantly bewildered by the reactions of the people he has been sent to serve. He comes into a church with a divine mandate. (This is not pious talk. He has been called by the Heavenly Father into this ministry and sent by Him to this church. If that’s not a divin ..read more

I sit there listening while my pastor friend tells what he’s going through in his church. And sometimes all the alarms go off. I realize he is in a dangerous place in his ministry. Not always, but sometimes, I can tell him this. If I sense a leading from the Holy Spirit or if he and I already have a close enough relationship, I’ll interrupt him. “Brother Bob, can we pause the narrative here a moment? I need to point something out to you.” “My friend, you are exposed. You are a sitting duck. Life has drawn a target on your back. Satan has his gun-sights on you.” “You’d better do something big i ..read more

What follows is a blend of the funny and the serious, what some call “peanut butter and jelly,” the PB for nourishment and the J for delight.  Please bring a sense of whimsy and expect to receive no sermon ideas from this! Thank you. –Joe In the January/February 2015 issue of Preaching, executive editor Michael Duduit (and my longtime friend) tells of a fellow in Florida who carved out a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records with a sermon that lasted 53 hours and 18 minutes.  Well, actually, it was 45 of his old sermons stitched together, not just one.  Michael says th ..read more

“In a multitude of counselors there is victory.” (Proverbs 11:14 and 24:6) I said to Pastor Marion, “I’m glad to exchange notes with you like this. But you need a couple of mentors–older guys with long histories in the ministry–whom you can sit across the table from and talk about these things.” He named two such, a seminary professor and a retired pastor. Pastors often find themselves in tough situations.  At the moment, Pastor Marion is leading his church in a massive building campaign, while working night and day to minister to his growing flock.  In the five years he has been the ..read more

“Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins” (Psalm 19:13). In the months leading up to the U.S. involvement in the Second World War, our country broke the Japanese secret code.  This means that Army and Navy personnel were reading Japan’s messages. We actually knew where their forces were most of the time and what they were planning. All signs indicated they were going to attack the U.S. at Pearl Harbor. And yet, when they did just that–December 7, 1941, that day of infamy–we were completely unprepared. Our battleships were parked side by side close up and made a great target for the J ..read more

The cover of TIME for July 21, 2008, featured Nelson Mandela at age 90 beaming that sweet smile out to the world. Inside were his Secrets of Leadership: Eight lessons from one of history’s icons. You know Nelson Mandela (1918-2013).  A political activist against South Africa’s apartheid in the days when to speak out was to land in prison, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. In 1990, President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk released him. Then, three years later both men received the Nobel Peace Prize.  In 1994, Mandela was elected president of the country. His autobiograp ..read more