Reforming the Deacons (14): These Men Have No Business Being Deacons
Larry expects to be elected a deacon of the church he and Eloise recently joined. After all, why shouldn't he? He owns the paper mill at the edge of town and employs a third of the men in the church....
View ArticleReforming the Deacons (15): "Let the Veterans Teach the Rookies"
There were some 20 or 25 deacons in the room, men of all ages and backgrounds, some professional, some blue-collar. I was privileged to serve as their pastor and over a pastorate of nearly thirteen...
View ArticleOpen Sesame Scriptures
As a child, I was enthralled by the story of "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves." This ancient Arabian story tells of an everyday working guy, Ali Baba, who happens to overhear thieves discussing their...
View ArticleWhat God Did For Me. You too?
Yesterday in the church where I was guest-preaching, the worship leader confessed to the church he had a sin problem. "A major one," he emphasized. And no one blinked an eye. That minister was on safe...
View ArticleHow To Tell The Senior Adult is Still Alive
Today, a nurse visited our house on behalf of an insurance company. My wife and I are taking out what's called "long term health insurance" in case either or both of us ever have to go to a nursing...
View ArticleForget Your Good Deeds; Remember Others' to You
I'm at the age where the Lord gives me small glimpses of Heaven. The message on Facebook last evening came from a classmate of one of my sons. They graduated from high school nearly 30 years ago, so...
View ArticleThe Business About Loving God's Law
The Old Testament is saturated with references on loving God's law. Love a law? Apparently it's such a big deal with God that He had Scripture-writers to urge it everywhere. The First Psalm, for...
View ArticleReforming the Deacons (16): "Teach Them Churchmanship"
We pastors make many mistakes in our dealings with deacons, which is probably understandable. In a lifetime of ministy, a pastor might log a half century leading as many as ten churches. That means he...
View ArticleReforming the Deacons (17): "Teach the Deacons (and Other Leaders) to Welcome...
When Henry was elected a deacon, his family was elated. When he was ordained, they were proud. But when his phone rang late one evening with a church member on the other end of the line complaining...
View ArticleQuestions You Will Be Wrestling With the Rest of the Way Home
Some issues never get settled. Some truths never become fully known. Some questions never yield their answers completely in this life. That's where faith comes in. We go with the evidence that we have,...
View ArticleGospel Substitutes
Often on Sunday morning, I'll post something on Facebook to encourage pastors. I particularly love to encourage the ones who may be preaching to members of their congregation who despise them and are...
View ArticleRomans 8 continues to bless.
Two or three years ago, when our denomination focused on Paul's Epistle to the Romans for the annual Mid-Winter Bible Study, I taught the book in several places and wrote a number of practical articles...
View ArticleThe Congregation's 10 Commandments of Preaching
In the absence of a union of Pew-Sitting Sermon-Hearing Church Goers (PSSHCG) to let pastors know how the congregation is receiving their sermons, we are hereby taking it upon ourselves to act on their...
View ArticleYou Know You're Called to This Work When....
My pastor friend was about to conduct the most difficult funeral of his nearly-20 year ministry. He and I had discussed it and I had prayed for him. His heart was breaking for the young family that was...
View ArticleGo to the New Blog!
We've Moved! The new address is: http://joemckeever.com/ Update Your Favorites/Bookmarks! This site will no longer be updated. Comments are closed. Please click here for the new website....
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