“An idealist believes the short run doesn’t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn’t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run” –Sydney J. Harris

“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” –Thomas a Kempis

“We must stop setting our sights by the light of each passing ship; instead we must set our course by the stars.” –George Marshall

“This is the great conversion in life: to recognize

Preaching is personal.  The preacher who tries to be something different in the pulpit from what he is outside of the pulpit will eventually suffer from an identity crisis.  When public persona doesn’t coincide with private practices, men have trouble remembering who they are.  Life and ministry develops internally. Authentic, Spirit-filled preaching is cultivated before and after the worship service, not during.

It is the burden of my heart to encourage men of God to order their private worlds in such a way that their ministry flows from the inside out. With that notion in mind, I am pleased to …

Criticism is like a shot in the arm: It hurts but it eventually helps.  To think you are above it is folly.  To think you don’t need it is arrogance.  The reason we find criticism so difficult to deal with is because it touches the area of our heart that is often guarded and relentlessly defended: the area of pride.  We may never admit it, but failure to embrace criticism is an attempt to claim perfection.  Granted, not all criticism is substantiated, warranted, or deserved; but our response to the criticism is often the measuring rod of our character.

Knowing …

Have you ever listened to yourself on a voice recorder?  I will never forget the first time I heard myself preach from a cassette tape.  My heart sank as I heard the sermon. I cringed as I listened to the dialect, tone, and inflection of my voice.  “Something had to be wrong with the tape, or the recorder,” I thought, “there’s no way I sound like that.”

But I did…that was really me.  The raw reality of myself came into light that day like never before.  It was as though I was introduced to myself for the first time.

Such

Contrary to popular belief, you can be saved and enjoy it.  As a matter of fact, the only real way to enjoy this earthly life is by possessing eternal life.  If Christians are to be the happiest people on earth, shouldn’t the place they congregate be equally joyful?  Church should be a place of excitement…oftentimes it is anything but that.

They do sound similar…sanctuary, cemetery.

A sanctuary is a place of the living; a cemetery is a place of the dead.  A sanctuary functions in light, a cemetery functions in darkness.  A sanctuary is a place where we eagerly desire …