(Back in October, I began a three-part series on “Pastor, You’ll Have to Show Them How.” It reminded the Lord’s shepherds that congregations do not come by great faith, strong compassion, and devout courage automatically. The pastor needs to teach these qualities to their people. I envisioned this as three articles, and did the first two–on how the pastor can teach faith and compassion to their people. For some reason, though, I neglected to do the third one. So, here it is, a few months late. The two earlier articles are found on my blog by scrolling down the archives (right side) to October 22, 2010.)

What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart. (Deuteronomy 20:8)

God did not want cowards in His army.

There’s something about faintheartedness that spreads from one person to another like wildfire. Better to go forward with a small fighting force made up of champions than with a massive one infiltrated with cowards.

Fear and courage are brothers, we are told. They show up at the same time, often hand in hand. But, like the brothers in my family and maybe yours, the competition between them is fierce. They struggle to see which will rule the day.

Fear and courage are both contagious.

Let someone start the conversation by pointing out how strong the enemy is and how weak our side is and how foolish we would be to go forward, and soon, his solo is drowned out by a chorus of like-minded fearmongers.

They had been waiting for an excuse to go home.

Let someone stand up and speak faith and courage, and often–not always, alas–others will step out of the crowd to stand with him. Ten warriors with courage–strong of heart and dead-set on victory–can do more than a thousand who are ruled by fear.

The twelve spies had returned from their forty days in Canaan. Israel’s multitude gathered around, eager for their report. There was good news a-plenty: the fields were fertile, the crops abundant, the orchards loaded, and the barns filled. But there was another side to the report: the land was well-populated, the cities were walled and protected by standing armies equipped with the latest technology. And if that wasn’t enough, there were giants in the land.

This could go either way.

It all came down to leadership.

Immediately after the report, faithful Caleb spoke up. “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

To his dismay, ten of the twelve spies responded: “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” They continued, “That land devours its inhabitants! We were like grasshoppers in the sight of those people!” (Numbers 14)

Caleb, you were outvoted, sir. Sorry. The twelfth member of your team, Joshua, seems to have kept quiet. We wonder why.

All night long, the sleepless congregation tossed in their beds, dwelling on their fears. By sunrise, they had hatched a plan. They would abandon Moses and this invisible “God” of his and return to Egypt. There, they would apologize to Pharaoh and act like none of this ever happened.

Now, at last, Joshua spoke up.

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Cleaning out a stack of papers, here are some of the tidbits I found. If you find anything of use to yourself in teaching or sermonizing, welcome to them.

Here is the makings of a sermon on God.

Nowhere is it written that the Lord of this universe has to be a God of love. It would be just as conceivable that a despot, a tyrant, might create a universe for sport. Or that God may be flighty like some people we know, and create a universe one day, then abandon it as His attention drifts toward some new project.

There are indeed those who think of the Lord of the universe as a tyrant who kills babies or an an absentee landlord who made us but has no further interest in our doings.

Were it not for three overriding facts, many of us might agree with them….

1) This World.

Creation speaks of a great God, a Lord of order and beauty, a Deity of kindness and compassion. My friend Fisher Humpreys asks, “Who but God would have thought of oysters?” And we might add, an octopus? a hippo? a camel? or my Uncle Edwin? The heavens declare the glory of God, and so does the earth.

2)The Bible.

Its revelation of God. This book is unique among the writings of all history. The more we learn about its intricacies and revelations, its teachings and its consistencies, the more we come away shaking our heads knowing, “This is from God.” Only the fool dismisses the Bible as a collection thrown together by a cabal intent on deceiving the world. We all should be so deceived, this Word is so wonderful.

3)The Lord Jesus Christ.

Among those who have walked this planet, He is unique. They said of Him, “No one ever spoke like this man” (John 7:46). We would add, “No one ever was born as He was born.” “No one ever lived as He lived.” “No one taught as He taught.” “No one worked as He worked.” “No one died quite the way He died.” And, then, “No one ever rose from the dead the way He did.”

There, pastor! See if you can find a sermon in there somewhere!

I thought of writing an article called, “Confessions of a Homesick Preacher.” Here are some of the notes I jotted down on that subject.

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A friend e-mailed me today with a question I’ve never heard before.

Referring to Isaiah’s experience of worship in the 6th chapter of his prophecy, my friend said, “Is that descriptive or prescriptive?” That is, does this account of Isaiah’s experience simply show us how he worshiped on that occasion or is it saying this is how it’s to be done, and that all these elements must be present for worship to take place?

My correspondent felt it was descriptive. However, he has friends, he says, who were taught in seminary that Isaiah 6 is a blueprint for worship which must be followed.

I agreed with him. This passage makes no pretense at ordering all God’s children for all time to worship in the same way or to touch all those guidestones. It tells what happened to Isaiah on that day. Period.

All you have to do is think of others throughout Scripture who worshiped God in many different ways. Some had visions like Isaiah, but most seemed not to have done so. Some were shaken to the core, but most seem not to have been. Some experienced a life-changing call into the ministry, but they were in the minority.

What troubles me is how some among us–pastors and Bible teachers–take a wonderful passage with much to teach us and make of it something God never intended.

We turn the coat of many colors into a strait jacket.

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The most blessed period for pastors is usually the two weeks or so just after the last Christmas program has been completed at church and the arrival of New Years.

Think of it. Your church members are out of town, there are no committee meetings, nothing is on your calendar. You are free.

Now, if you have small children, chances are your spouse has plans that involve lengthy driving to see grandparents. No way out of it; you have to go.

However, the good news is the kids will grow up quickly and you’ll be staying at home over the holidays.

What that time comes, I have some suggestions on how to make the most of the down-period between the last of the Christmas events at church and the start of the New Year.

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My first pastorate was the most frustrating of the six churches I shepherded. But I made a discovery that was like striking oil or stumbling over a gold vein.

Here’s what happened.

Just after finishing college, we married and I took a job. The plan was to work for two years and pay some bills, save what we could, and then head to seminary in New Orleans. That, incidentally, is precisely what we did, I’m happy to report.

In the meantime, I wanted to pastor a church. The problem was I was Southern Baptist and had just graduated from a Methodist college (Birmingham-Southern) with a degree in history and political science. My training in preaching, in church leadership, and in theology were practically non-existent.

Not exactly the kind of credentials an SBC pastor search committee was looking for.

Thanks to the recommendation from a preacher friend of my brother Ron, a tiny church some 25 miles north of the city invited me to fill the pulpit. After a couple of Sundays, they apparently decided to live dangerously and made me their pastor. I was elated.

I would remain there for the next year and two months. My short tenure furnished one of the most forgettable periods in that church’s long history. But it taught me a hundred lessons more precious than gold, lessons found only in the school of experience and nowhere else.

The most inspiring moment in that pastorate, however, came the day something hit me which had never occurred to my untutored mind. It came with such force that I laughed out loud at the prospect:

I could resign this church and they would call someone better. I would be free and they would go forward. It was a win-win proposition.

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This is a word for pastors and other church leaders concerning the activities your church sponsors during the Christmas season.

I wish I could tell you how to slow down and enjoy the season. Christmas for ministers is a little like the Thanksgiving meal for mom. She spends so much time planning and shopping, baking and serving, that when she finally gets a chance to sit at the table, she’s too tired to enjoy the feast. She does it for the family.

That’s the ministers. They have a hard time enjoying all the services and ministries of Christmas since they themselves are spread so thin.

Following are a few suggestions–urgings, even (that’s stronger)–as to how to make the most of these events in your church, pastor.

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A few years back, we would hear panicky reports that the attention span of Americans was shrinking to the point that sermons should be down-sized severely and immediately. Whether anyone did that or not, I’m not able to say.

I know for a fact, however, that in some of the largest churches in the country, the pastors regularly devote 45 minutes to their sermons. That should belie the earlier fears.

However, look at Facebook. They give FBers something like four lines to say what you want to say. “Status,” they call it. I imagine that the original thought was people would sign in and actually reveal their “status,” that is, where they happened to be at the moment and what they were doing. However, that got old real quick. There are few things more boring and annoying that reading that “I’m in the car wash” and “On my way to the cleaners.” I mean, who cares?

What Facebook has become for most of us is two things: a means of sharing photos/goings-on with a large circle of friends and family and a platform for our views and convictions.

If I were a pastor, I would get on Facebook immediately and would do the following….

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