Monthly Archives: June 2014

Two preachers and their stories about the Amazon River

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“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

One of the most productive things a minister can do is to spend time with a good friend also in the Lord’s work bouncing ideas and stories off each other.

Their wives might not appreciate what they are accomplishing–it looks a lot like fun and if she is the left-brained pragmatic one in the family, she can cite a list of a hundred things her preacher-husband could be doing–but let the ministers insist. And persist.

A pastor friend and I were in my office one morning, bouncing ideas and stories off each other.  My favorite thing to do.

We got off talking about the Amazon River.  I have no idea how that happened.

That waterway is 90 miles wide at its mouth and its waters flow 200 miles out into the Atlantic.  Keep that in mind for what follows.

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How to give a commencement address they will remember

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I’ve been watching commencement addresses on C-Span.

It’s not as boring as you might think.

They cut out the introductions and tell you in advance “this lasts 15 minutes” or whatever.

It’s highly educational, particularly for those of us who (ahem) make our living speaking in public.

I’ve heard governors, congressmen and congresswomen, CEOs of big companies, and entrepreneurs, all donning those medieval costumes, some with rather ridiculous soft mortarboards of strange colors, and all trying to say something life-changing to an audience that just wants to get this over with and get in out of the hot sun.

A challenging situation for any speaker, I’d say. .

Some have been entertaining and all have had a certain uplifting quality to them.

The speakers take these invitations seriously, I’m glad to say. Either that, or C-Span refuses to air the ones that bombed.

Anyway, based on my television-watching of the past few days, I’ve decided on the principles of a great commencement address and would like to share them with you.

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The single most encouraging thing you can do for a pastor

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First a disclaimer: I’m a retired pastor, I have no deacons (and no church members), I love deacons, and I’m loving ministry. However, there was a time when life was tough.

That’s what this is about.

I was having trouble with a few deacons. From the day I became their pastor, these men and their families had dedicated themselves to not liking me and being non-supportive in anything I suggested.

Eight years later, we did something.

Amazing, isn’t it, that we waited so long.  But one must not think we did not try a hundred approaches to bring unity among our church leaders.  However, nothing worked.

Finally, in exasperation I told the deacon officers–all of whom were faithful and supportive–that I had had it “up to here” and was ready to bring these men before the church and ask the congregation to take action.

The officers conferred with each other and came back with a most unusual request.

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The time I asked a church member about my preaching

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The pastor had better figure out in a hurry for whom he’s preaching and whom he wants to satisfy before he approaches the pulpit.

If he’s preaching for his audiences–if their response is everything to him–I can assure him there are church members out there ready to pop that little bubble and bring his ego down to earth and send his self-confidence packing.

Here’s my story….

When the husband died, his wife of nearly 60 years was instructing me on how she wanted things done in the funeral.

She mentioned our associate pastor.”I don’t care for his funerals. He talks about himself too much.”

Okay. I had never heard his funeral sermons since he did these only when I was not available.

I said, “What do you think of mine?”

Dumb question.  But I asked for it.

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I don’t much like the preacher either!

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Mickey Crane, pastor of a thriving Free Will Baptist Church in Walker County, Alabama, was telling a group something they needed to hear.

The churches in the area were having a community meeting at a ballfield.  I attended with my mother and sister and wrote down his statement:

“I understand people who don’t like the preacher.  I don’t much like him either and I know him better than you! That’s why I can love and minister to people who don’t like me. I understand.”

How refreshing is that!

And how rare is it.  Listen to some of us preachers poor-mouth about church members who do not like us and you’d think it was our right to receive adulation from the world.

Readers of this website know how pro-pastor I am.  And, from all I read in Scripture, the Lord Jesus is pro-pastor also. In fact, He said things like this….

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