|
A Baptist pastor accepted the call to a church in Sledge, Miss. The day that he moved in, a 90-year-old woman drove up and greeted him in his driveway. “I’m Mrs. Irby,” she said. “I was a Presbyterian until my husband died, then I went back to the Methodist Church. But I don’t ever intend on coming to your church. I just came by to say welcome to the community.” With that, she drove off, spinning wheels ... Read More
|
|
I heard about a church that called a pastor with a vote of 200-3. The pastor spent his first six months trying to find out the names of the three who voted against him. Then he spent the next six months trying to please those three. Read More
|
|
Last week a shared some of my favorite messages on our church sign. Here are some others I’ve enjoyed seeing at other churches. Read More
|
|
Last week the marquee on our church sign said, “OUR CHURCH IS LIKE FUDGE, SWEET WITH A FEW NUTS.” It got quite a reaction, as members discussed who might qualify as the “nuts.” Read More
|
|
Once I was in church singing “Open Our Eyes, Lord,” and I suddenly realized that I was singing it with my eyes closed. Read More
|
|
Are you making a New Year’s resolution? Popular ones include: weight loss, exercise, getting back to church, and reading the Bible. Read More
|
|
I heard about Marie, a 90-year-old woman, who could no longer go Christmas shopping. So she decided to send checks instead. Read More
|
|
I was glad to read recently that drinking coffee can help your short-term memory loss. You see, I’m a forgetful, coffee-drinking preacher. Read More
|
|
Children may not always spell it right, but they will usually tell it right. Let me explain. Read More
|
|
Denis Waitley tells of a mother who took her 5-year-old son Christmas shopping at the mall. After many hours, the boy was worn out, so she took him to see Santa Claus, thinking that would help. He was pushed forward to sit in Santa’s lap. Read More
|
|
I read about a kindergarten teacher who prepared her class for Thanksgiving by telling them all about the Pilgrims coming over on the Mayflower and settling at Plymouth Rock. She told how the Pilgrims endured their first winter and celebrated their blessings in a feast with the local Indians. One little girl went home and told her mom every detail that she could remember. Her mother asked what the Pilgrims and Indians ate that first Thanksgiving. Stumped ... Read More
|
|
Sometimes a pastor feels awkward when he is called upon to visit somebody he does not know in the hospital, but it is really embarrassing when he visits somebody that he does know but he does not recognize! That happened to me recently. Let me explain — and I will change the names to protect the innocent. Read More
|
|
I have a guest columnist this week — my Mom. Read More
|
|
Baptists get a pastor the way a ball team gets a coach: they have a search committee that tries to find a good pastor and steal him from another church. Read More
|
|
A pastor should not try to be a referee, unless he just enjoys making people angry at him. Trust me on this one. Read More
|
|
Last week I wrote a tongue-in-cheek column about "Top Biblical Ways to Find a Wife." In the interest of balance, this week I present Top Biblical Ways to Find a Husband: Read More
|
|
The Bible says, “A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22, HCSB.) Did you hear about the young preacher who prayed, “God, give me a beautiful wife and a big church”? God gave him a big wife and a beautiful church. But at least he got a wife! Read More
|
|
What do you say to a choir member who can’t sing? Church isn’t the TV show “American Idol.” In church, you don’t have people like Simon telling soloists that they can’t sing. So what do you do when Sister Bertha belches off-key or Brother Bob botches the choir special? Read More
|
|
A Mississippi preacher once jumped into a lake and grabbed a 12-pound bass with his bare hands! Read More
|
|
This past Sunday morning, the early worship service at the church I serve as pastor seemed perfect — or so I thought. A couple had shared about their call to missions. A man had shared how Jesus had saved him from sin and changed his life so much that his whole family accepted Christ. People had come forward to join the church, and we had closed with a reverent celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Read More
|
|
Too often in church, folks wear masks. They’re afraid that if they’re vulnerable about their struggles, they’ll be hurt emotionally. Read More
|
|
Once I had a deacon whose brother-in-law died. We’ll call him “Billy Ray” (not his real name). As far as the deacon knew, his brother-in-law did not have a pastor, so they asked me to conduct the service. But at the cemetery a preacher showed up that nobody knew anything about. Let me explain. Read More
|
|
We’ve all seen them: church signs with messages on their marquees that make us stop in our tracks. Some are inspiring, and some are humorous. The best ones are both. Then some are hilarious without intending to be, like the one that read, “Don’t Let Worries Kill You. Let the Church Help,” or the one that said, “Revival Cancelled Due to Illness, Service As Usual.” And, sadly, some are crude and mean-spirited, but this is a humor column, ... Read More
|
|
“I didn’t get a thing out of your sermon today!” That’s what a deacon’s wife told me years ago at the end of worship, and I understood why she said it. Let me explain why. Read More
|
|
A pastor in Lincoln, Mo., was sitting on his patio, drinking iced tea with his wife as he worked at the table on his Sunday sermon. Read More
|
|
Although the following story about “back row Baptists” did not actually happen, it’s still a favorite of mine: Read More
|
|
A man told me he was visiting another church, and a cell phone started ringing during the sermon. It rang several times, and finally a person answered the phone and proceeded to carry on a conversation while the pastor was trying to preach! Read More
|
|
I love bulletin bloopers, especially announcements that sound OK until you read them out loud. For example, an oft-quoted church bulletin blooper described a ladies group collecting used clothes. The announcement said, “The ladies of the church have cast off clothes of every kind, and they may be seen in the church basement Friday afternoon.” Read More
|
|
Make-believe is fun. Every child loves to pretend. That’s why a little boy will throw a stick on his shoulder and march like a soldier, and a little girl will cradle her favorite doll in her arms like a loving mother. Read More
|
|
There’s an old joke that goes like this: you can tell that you’re in a country church when you call for “Bubba” to take up the offering, and a half-dozen guys stand up and come forward. Read More
|
|
It was a warm December day in Poplarville, Mississippi. Were it not for the Christmas arts and crafts on the courthouse lawn, one would have guessed it was September, not December. As I milled around and looked at items, a church member named Robin rushed over excitedly to tell me something. Read More
|
|
In the old days before cell phones and national calling plans, telephone companies reported that the largest number of “collect” calls were made on Father’s Day. For the younger generation who don’t know what I’m talking about, that means Dad got a call and he had to pay for it! Read More
|
|
Below are some questions that children gave to a Bible test. They have not been retouched nor corrected. (For example, incorrect spelling has been left in). Would you get a better grade? Read More
|
|
Summer is coming, which means vacation Bible school is coming. Read More
|
|
The coldest baptism in my life was in Hot Coffee. Read More
|
|
Pastor Rob served a tiny church in North Carolina that had a big problem with Tiny. “Tiny” was the nickname of a very large man who had harassed his Christian neighbor for years, but through the quiet testimony of this neighbor, Tiny had been converted to faith in Christ, and wanted to be baptized. Read More
|
|
Do you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia? It is the most widespread superstition in America, better known as fear of Friday the 13th. Read More
|
|
A few years ago a man entered a barber shop in Tupelo, Miss., looking for directions to a church. Read More
|
|
Next week, the King James Version of the Bible celebrates its 400th anniversary, as it was first published on May 2, 1611. Read More
|
|
A pastor in Clearwater, Fla., preached one of the shortest sermons ever recorded. The topic was “Sin.” He got up and said, “Don’t do it, Amen.” Then he sat down. Read More
|
|
View Archives
|
