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Evangelical

Ministry in the Trenches

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August 2014

August 11, 2014

How to Spot the First-Time Guest at Your Church

Years ago I worked at a church that wanted to work on its outreach, so...

August 05, 2014

Being Surprised You've Been Attending a Baptist Church the Past Few Months

The church I pastor is technically Mt Vernon Baptist Church, but on all of our...

July 2014

July 22, 2014

What to Do When You Blow It on Stage

The mood was set perfectly as I stood up to preach Sunday. We'd just been...

July 16, 2014

This is Why I Give Online

I give online to my church twice a month, and I wish I could say...

July 15, 2014

Why Attending Church Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Maybe you did it Sunday. Woke up, got the kids looking decent, scrambled out the...

July 10, 2014

I'm Doing Something I've Never Done Before Today

Much of ministry (like any profession) is filled with repetition. I preach every week, only the...

June 2014

June 30, 2014

Celebrate Something Small Today

"I've just filled out the paperwork to start community college!", she told me ecstatically. On...

June 25, 2014

Why Pastors Like to Stay Indoors

Yesterday was ministry in a nutshell, a microcosm of what many pastors face week in...

June 24, 2014

The Difference Between Homosexual Orientation and Homosexual Behavior

Today's guest post comes from a friend of mine, Todd Rayburn. Todd is a 2000 graduate...

June 18, 2014

Why Andy Stanley Was Right to Call out the SBC

A semi-controversy erupted last week during the Southern Baptist Convention when popular megachurch pastor Andy...

June 12, 2014

Environments Matter at Church

At Mt Vernon, we are ridiculously committed to creativity and excellence in all of our environments,...

June 11, 2014

The Weirdest Way I Ever Saved a Church Member $700

I've got a guy in my church named Kenny. I wish every church had a...

June 10, 2014

Why the Decline of the SBC is Not as Bad as They Say (and Why It's Worse)

Over the past few weeks the Annual Church Profile of the Southern Baptist Convention has...

June 09, 2014

Tithing Evangelism (With a Few Thousand to Spare)

There are a lot of ways people come to Christ. You wouldn't expect tithing (give...

June 04, 2014

There is a "Third Way" – A Response to Al Mohler

The rising wave of homosexuality in the church has reached the shores of the evangelical world,...

May 2014

May 28, 2014

And Then She Told Me She Was a Lesbian . . . (Part 2)

Yesterday I shared about a recent conversation I had with a woman where I had...

May 27, 2014

And Then She Told Me She Was a Lesbian . . .

Recently I got a chance to practice what I preach in the most unusual and...

May 22, 2014

Help Send Meredith to Rwanda

Meredith Mayo, our Director of Connections at Mt Vernon Church, is attempting to harness the...

May 21, 2014

There's a Story Behind Every Tragedy

The ladies I get to work with at a local in-treatment facility are nothing but...

May 05, 2014

My Two Demonic Encounters

When I was living in Africa back in 1999, I had two demonic encounters within...

May 01, 2014

Growing a Church is Seriously This Simple

I know I've said this before, but pastors like me make church growth too complicated sometimes....

April 2014

April 30, 2014

This is Why the Church Exists

Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we get caught up in the urgent and forget the most...

April 29, 2014

Project Hope in Action

Last night several tornadoes touched down in our county and corner of the state. This...

April 28, 2014

Why I Wear a Simple Red Jersey

If you follow sports at all, then you've probably heard the explosive comments caught on...

April 17, 2014

The Danger of Easter Sunday

I recently talked to a lady whose husband hasn't been to church in fifteen years....

April 16, 2014

The Overwhelming Thing Guests Will Be Looking For This Easter

For churches, Easter is the "Superbowl" of Sundays. The bushes are spruced up, the pile of...

April 15, 2014

Need to Smile? Watch This

Maybe it’s Tuesday and your week has already started to go sideways on you. Maybe...

April 14, 2014

The Myth of the "Unchurched" in the South

As a pastor I've heard the term "unchurched" thrown around for years. I look at...

April 10, 2014

The Small Shift That Could Revolutionize Your Church

It's the difference between attending a party and hosting a party. When you attend a...

April 07, 2014

A Good Kind of Tired

As you drag into Monday, I know you're tired, but is it a good kind...