John R. Rice was, arguably, the leading voice of Fundamentalism in the 20th century. At its peak in the early 1970’s, his weekly paper, The Sword of the Lord, boasted a circulation of over 130,000. Back in those days, as a young Southern Baptist disturbed by the direction of the Convention, I read the Sword faithfully. Articles such as “Southern Baptists–Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing,” “Death in the Pot at Furman University,” and “Liberalism at Southern Seminary … [Read More]
Yesterday, John Stott died at the age of ninety. Stott was one of a handful of men who helped bring about an evangelical renaissance in North America and the British Isles during the middle years of the twentieth century. Of that generation of giants, Billy Graham and J. I. Packer are the only two who haven’t yet departed to be with their Lord.
Numerous tributes have already been written about Stott; no doubt many more will … [Read More]
Don’t say I didn’t tell you. My friend J. D. Payne has recently committed another act of literature, Evangelism: A Biblical Response to Today’s Questions. It is worth the read for many reasons, one of which is his desire to provide a theologically-driven treatment of evangelism. He argues that biblical doctrine “is exciting and provides nourishment for the follower of Jesus (1 Timothy 4:6),” and therefore offers biblical-theological responses to 33 of the most pressing … [Read More]
You’ve been served notice: SEBTS student Brent Crowe (vice president of Student Leadership University) has recently published Chasing Elephants: Wrestling With the Gray Areas of Life (NavPress, 2010). This creative and helpful text is an examination of the biblical subject of freedom in Christ and seeks to build a theology by which Christians can evaluate and make moral decisions in the gray areas of life. Crowe states, “While some of these gray issues might seem … [Read More]
Clayton King is a machine. He has been a good friend of mine for 17 years now, and I’ve watched him preach 200-300 times per year, start Crossroads Summer Camps and Crossroads International, and at the same time manage to publish numerous books, the most recent of which is Amazing Encounters with God: Stories to Open Your Eyes to His Power (Harvest House, 2011). This book encapsulates much of what I have admired about him … [Read More]
In his recently published Muslim Conversions to Christ, Ant Greenham argues that, despite the difficulties of reaching the Islamic world with the gospel, individual Muslims do put their faith in Christ. Greenham, Assistant Professor of Missions and Islamic Studies at Southeastern, identified from the literature a range of conversion factors and consequently conducted a qualitative study of eleven male and eleven female Palestinians in January 2003 to identify their … [Read More]
Engaging exposition requires the preacher of God’s Word to develop a comprehensive and structured method for moving from his study notes and research to the completed sermon. John Stott says, “the golden rule for sermon outlines is that each text must be allowed to supply its own structure.”* An effective teacher of the Word of God recognizes the wisdom of honoring the substance and structure of the text. What he says should be faithful … [Read More]
The main idea of the message (MIM) is the heart and soul of your sermon. The MIM is derived from the MIT and channeled through the Purpose Bridge.
Just as the text has a singular theme/complement your teaching must have a singular theme/complement as well. For the MIM, you ask the key question, of yourself rather than of the biblical author.
The Main Idea of the Message
Theme: What am I talking about?
Complement: What am I saying … [Read More]
This is where you transition from the study to the message, from the past world of the biblical period to the present world of the here and now. To ignore this dimension in the hermeneutical/homiletical process can be fatal to what happens when you stand up to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. Basically, you are to fulfill the assignment of a divinely called translator. Your job is to translate the precious and eternal truth … [Read More]
Tony Merida and Rick Morton have written an excellent new book titled Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care (New Hope, 2011). You may have heard that Tony, formerly pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, will be joining the SEBTS faculty this summer as associate professor of preaching. He will also be the lead pastor of a new church plant launching this fall in Raleigh, Imago Dei Church.
New Hope Publishers have set … [Read More]
