Charles and Andy Stanley: A painful father and son relationship

     Today's story was written by CNN's John Blake. It is an intimate account of the complex and at times painful relationship between two icons of evangelical preaching: Charles Stanley and his son, Andy.
     I found Blake's effort to be thorough, fascinating, and engrossing. And for any preachers out there who think that creating large churches or cultivating a huge readership is the key to experiencing a happy life, this account of Charles and Andy Stanley will irrevocably prove otherwise. Here is the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/17/us/andy-stanley/index.html

How to Learn

         The greatest coach of the 20th century, John Wooden, applied four basic laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, correction and repetition.
The Bible is like that: "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right" (II Tim. 3:16.) NLT

Source: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Sept. 19, 1994

Like Water to a Drowning Man

            A prominent bishop was once approached after a service by an old lady. She said to him in a tone of appreciation, “Bishop, you’ll never know what your sermon meant to me. It was just like water to a drowning man!”

            Unfortunately, from time to time I know exactly how that Bishop felt. I hope, though, I never forget the power of the gospel in its purest form:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Rom. 1:16.)

Long-winded Lazy Preachers

Few people appreciate long-winded preachers; fewer still appreciate lazy ones.

While a lawyer, Abraham Lincoln once combined both flaws in a story he told for effect in a trial: "It's a like the lazy preacher who used to write long sermons, and the explanation was, he got to writing and was too lazy to stop."

When Wife Undermines Message

            Ten years ago, a Maryland minister began to attack gambling. The state lottery particularly galled him. His congregation had a number of African-American and lower income members, many of whom were wasting their money on a pipe dream.

            Then he made an embarrassing discovery—his wife won the lottery. Even worse, during the time period of all of those sermons on gambling, she had secretly and consistently been purchasing lottery tickets.

            Shortly thereafter, a reporter from a local TV station interviewed the couple about their recent experiences. The wife clearly felt uncomfortable. The preacher addressed the reporter’s questions in the only way he knew how, “The Lord moves in mysterious ways. His wonders to perform.”

            Needless to say, whether you agree with the preacher or not, the preacher’s message had been severely undermined. If you are a preacher and your wife is making decisions that are diametrically opposed to your message, you either need to change your message, change your wife, or announce that you and your wife agree to disagree.

            I wonder if God wrestles with this regarding the message He wants proclaimed to the world. I wonder when He sees the bride of Christ consistently making decisions that undermine His message, if he feels compelled to change His bride? Does he feel obliged to announce that He and His bride agree to disagree?

            I do know this—He’s not going to change His message.

Wishing You Were Here

         An old story tells about a Sunday school teacher who challenged her kids to go home that afternoon and write a letter to God. The following Sunday, they were to return with their letters.

         A boy who was her student wrote:

         Dear God,

         We had a good time at church today. Wish you could have been there.

         I hope that never happens at my congregation!

How to Write a Sermon?

            I read a few years ago about a boy who was watching his father, a preacher, work on his sermon. The son was fascinated.

            “How do you know what to say?” the boy asked.

            “God tells me,” his dad answered.

            “Then why do you keep crossing things out?”

How to Get People to Stay for a Sermon

[From December 26, 2011 through January 1, 2012, I'm going to be running some of my top viewed posts for 2011. I hope you enjoy these once again--or for the first time. ME]     

        Preaching can be a challenge. However, I would not necessarily recommend the following technique.         

         An old story tells of one of the great preachers of the 1800s, Dwight L. Moody. Once, Moody was the guest preacher at a church.

         Beginning his sermon, Moody warned that some of the congregation usually left before the end of the sermon. Then he said, "I am going to speak to two classes of people this morning; first to the sinners, then to the saints."

         Moody proceeded to address the "sinners" for a while, and then said they could leave. For once, every member of the congregation stayed to the end of the sermon.

While They Were Sleeping

            Here’s something no preacher wants to hear:

            Shortly before she dismissed them to the worship assembly, a Sunday school teacher asked the children her class, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"

            A little girl answered, "Because people are sleeping."

Tired of Your Preacher?

            Back in the 90s, someone sent an item from a Lutheran newsletter. I thought it was funny because it was a takeoff of the chain-letter emails they are so often passed around. It you are unhappy with your preacher, you might give this some thought:

            For church members unhappy with their minister: "Simply send a copy of this letter to six other churches, who are tired of their ministers. Then bundle up your preacher and send him to the church at the top of the list. Add your name to the bottom of the list.   In one week you will receive 16,436 ministers, and one of them should be a dandy. Have faith in this letter. One man broke the chain and got his old minister back."

The Longest Day

          Several years ago, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY shared this tidbit:

* The Reverend Chris Sterry, vicar of Whalley in Lancashire, UK, has preached his way into the Guinness Book of Records with a sermon lasting 28 hours and 45 minutes. Rev. Sterry could not repeat himself or talk nonsense, and could not pause for any longer than 10 seconds. Because the only rest periods were 15 minutes every eight hours, his listeners were warned that they might have to turn away while he used his "pulpit potty."

            Now your preacher doesn’t seem so long-winded, does he?

The Power of Speech

“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.  His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying...” (Matthew 5: 1-2.)

    

Have you ever seen or heard a great speech?  I remember seeing on video once the speech that President Kennedy made at the Berlin Wall in 1963.  Now keep in mind the context in which this speech was given. 

It was the height of the cold war.  The Soviets had built the Berlin Wall in 1961 because so many East Germans were fleeing to the west.  In October of 1962 the U.S. and the Soviet Union had come within an eyelash of nuclear war. 

In the summer of 1963, Kennedy spoke to several hundred thousand West Germans in West Berlin at the Berlin Wall.  Remember, these were people who had mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and assorted kinfolk trapped in East Berlin.  Many were questioning if freedom was worth its price.  Others were losing all hope. 

As he looked over the mass of humanity, Kennedy calmly said:
                

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the communist world.

Let them come to Berlin!

There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future.

Let them come to Berlin!

And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the communists.

Let them come to Berlin!

And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress.

Lass sie nach Berlin Kommen!  Let them come to Berlin!

    

Kennedy then concluded his dramatic speech with these words, "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. "

In that strong, staccato, dramatic, intense tone of voice, Kennedy had resolutely stated his call.  Of that moment the famous historian Arthur Schlesinger writes,  "The crowd shook itself and rose and roared like an animal."  There was an avalanche of energy that surged almost visibly through the square.  It was as if he could have said,  "'March to the Wall-tear it down,' (and) his listeners would have marched." Such is the power of a great speech.

Jesus' speech on the mount was a great speech.  You may or may not know this but it is found in many textbooks today as a model for young students of rhetoric. As good as President Kennedy’s speech was, I believe even he would have said that Jesus’ speech was better. 

We Christians refer to Jesus’ speech in other way; we call it a sermon. Jesus’ sermon has moved people for two thousand years. Such is the power of preaching.

I believe in preaching. I believe in the power of preaching. I always will.