I have spent years of my tenure as a preacher teaching preachers, training preachers, writing about preaching and preaching. All of my 53 years as a preacher I have heard over and over the statement that “We have a preacher shortage.” A once popular statement related to this statement was “For every new preacher who begins preaching there are two or three who are leaving.” Through the years there have been numerous responses with efforts to curb or eliminate the preacher shortage. These have included: Schools of Evangelist,   Schools of Preaching, Colleges with Bible Departments, Schools of Biblical Studies, Bible…

Growing up in a small village, population 200-plus, it was easy to recognize and know your neighbor. I remember one family had a couple of boys who were known to be “rough and rowdy”; another family was referred to as the “gossips”; another as the “holy rollers”; one was called “those rednecks”; another had the reputation of being “stand-off-ish,” etc. Because of man’s carnal nature the practice of giving families “nicknames”; seems to be a popular practice. Whether positive or negative, right or wrong, it creates a reputation.      Think of the families you know or have known and ask…

Unless one has been exiled on Mars or has just awakened from a Rip Van Winkle sleep, he realizes the family in our country is in deep trouble and its growing deeper. Yes, and even families which claim to be Christians and “churchgoers.” One teenager said, “I’m sitting on the edge of the pew waiting to graduate from high school, reach my 18th birthday, and quit this forced on me church going.” Surveys and polls continually reveal that we, across all religious lines, lose approximately 85 percent of our members between 18 to 25. We have watched the divorce rate…

Some of us remember these statements: “The family that prays together stays together.” “The family is the backbone of the nation.” “The community is a reflection of the families who live in them.” When you hear the word FAMILY what comes to mind? Sadly, when some hear family in cause’s painful memories; others are filled with happy memories. From the first family—Adam and Eve—until the most recent family, families have faced challenges. Some families have grown stronger and closer together, while others have deteriorated.      Whatever happened to family?      “There is no such thing as society: there are individual…