This is a sermon that I recently preached at the 11th annual Preachers of Grace pastor's conference. In this message I seek to get beyond the fruit of America's problems (LBGT, abortion, gender confusion, corrupt politics) and lay the axe at the root. I firmly believe the root cause for the shape we are in can be traced directly to our independence from the person, presence, and plan of God. We as believers need to examine this issue and call our neighbors to a proper understanding of God.

Every church has a story. If we take the time to learn it we will be educated by the past and encouraged about the future. Give me 30 minutes of your time as I exhort you to learn your local church's history.

Will you be ready to speak if called upon without any notice? Impromptu speeches occur without warning and don't offer any time to prepare. These opportunities to "say a few words" often come up at family events, retirement parties, holiday gatherings, or during times of grief. God providentially places His children before an assembly to give a word of encouragement, advice, or comfort but all too often we shy away from them. The fear of not knowing what to say drives us to decline these invitations. I want to discuss the two biggest hindrances to impromptu speaking as well as give three keys to being ready if the opportunity arrises. In the end, I want more Christians to speak up when the world is looking for answers.

Fred and I discuss our concerns and Biblical objections to a loose but growing movement under the banner of Christian Nationalism. The movement has many leaders and varying opinions but all fall under a desire to merge Christianity with the nation. We give a brief recent history of this movement and discuss many of the errors committed by Christian Nations in centuries past. With the lack of clear biblical support and a track record of oppression and persecution we want to make a case for rejecting this ideology.

Should every God called, Spirit filled, Bible preacher go to seminary? Regardless of your personal feelings on the subject of formal education, there are many in academia who push young preachers to enroll in a Bible college or seminary. Many churches have a certain level of education listed as a criteria to even be considered as a pastoral candidate. Much like the business world, some churches have a pay scale that favors higher education. In certain circles you are measured by your level of education and all to often by the school you graduated from. Is there still a place for effective yet uneducated men in the ministry? In a society that pushes college I want to push back.

How big is your church? This question is all too often used to judge the health of a church. We live in a society that says size matters. But does the Bible say church size matters? Is bigger always better? Is attendance the best factor to measure church health? In this episode we will discuss the weaknesses of using attendance as a standard of church heath as well as identifying some better indicators of true church health.

Rejecting the proper role for each gender in the home and in the church is not our downfall, it's the fruit of it. We began this downward spiral when we rejected our Creator. We were created in His image and mankind has sought to dismiss that truth by explaining it away. This is most recently seen through the folly of evolution. The natural out flow of having chaos as your creator is confusion as to order of this creation. While the world falls headlong down this rabbit hole the church should be clear about our God given gender roles. Sadly our silence and even participation is adding to the confusion. Let us go to the Word of God for the answer to this problem.

Somewhere between Gandhi, the movie Full Metal Jacket, and Barney Fife is a proper understanding of church security. Too many church security teams resemble the cartoon character Dale Gribble from King of the Hill. While others take a pacifist approach to their safety. Let me apply some backwoods logic to a sticky situation. But before we get started I want to update you on the events of my personal life and why I've been away for the last few weeks.

The short answer is that I am a missionary sent out of Lee Creek Baptist Church in Van Buren, AR who works with pastorless churches and churchless pastors. The long answer and biblical support for this kind on ministry are found in today's podcast.

If you're a member of a Baptist church you've been in a business meeting. There's a good chance you've had a bad experience in a business meeting. The bad business meeting is really the result of a bad church or bad leadership in the church. These bad experiences have led a few churches to quit these meetings all together. I don't think this is the answer. I believe you should address the church issues and conduct business to the glory of God. In this episode I'll give some practical advise on business meeting and rebuke those who refuse to hold them. I even make a biblical case for the use of committees, give it a listen.