So, the annual Southern Baptist Convention begins in a couple of weeks. Will you join me in praying that God will have His way in all that we do? If you’ve been keeping up with things in Southern Baptist life, you know we’ll be dealing with many issues that threaten to divide us. For one thing, we need to elect … Read More
Pastor Darren Hales to become MTSBC Church Strengthening Director
This is an exciting time to be a Montana Southern Baptist! As you know, Doug Hutcheson retired as our Church Strengthening Director last October. Without a doubt, he left big shoes to fill, but since then, we’ve been diligently seeking God’s next choice to lead our ministry to our established MTSBC churches. I’m delighted to announce that Darren Hales, pastor … Read More
Pray for America on May 3
Speaking to a large crowd in Washington, DC in early 1952, evangelist Billy Graham said, “What a thrilling, glorious thing it would be to see the leaders of our country today kneeling before Almighty God in prayer. What a thrill would sweep this country. What renewed hope and courage would grip the Americans at this hour of peril.” Our nation’s … Read More
Let’s Talk
One of our greatest joys in serving the pastors and churches of Montana is visiting with them. It has been a wonderful blessing to share a meal and the word all over the state this past year. Yet, for all our travel, and all the travel to come this year, I know we still won’t be able to be as … Read More
A New Year with New Possibilities
There’s something about the beginning of a year. All we really do is turn the page on the calendar when we get to January, but something much more than that seems to happen when we do. When January comes back around, we feel like we are starting afresh, with a clean palette waiting for us to get started on something … Read More
What Christmas Has Taught Me about God
For many people today, Christmas is mainly a special time of family togetherness. That’s mostly what I got out of Christmas as a young boy. It wasn’t until I became a Christian as a young man that I understood what Christmas was really about. Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy the family part of Christmas, though not as much … Read More
Create a Culture of Generosity in Your Church
Very few pastors like to talk about money with their congregations. When I was a pastor, I always tried to talk about giving when the church was doing well financially so that no one could think I was just trying to rescue the budget. How God’s people use their money is very revealing about their true walk with God. Many … Read More
Characteristics of Evangelistic Churches
I’m looking forward to our annual meeting in a few weeks. We have powerful speakers, great breakout sessions, and more planned for our time together. I’m glad the meeting is called Refresh. The name reminds us that we should come together expecting God to move in our midst and refresh us by His Spirit and through our fellowship together. We … Read More
Join us at Refresh
It’s hard to believe that summer is nearly over. Denise and I have now marked three of Montana’s four seasons. They’ve been interesting seasons. We’re told, though I have to admit we’re withholding judgment, that this past winter and summer have been two of the most extreme on record. Maybe so. We’ll wait till next year to see if that’s … Read More
Evangelism: Our First Priority
Above all else, Gospel ministry should be first and foremost about telling lost people that Jesus died for their sins and that they can have peace with God and eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, many things are called Gospel work. That raises concerns for me, because if everything is about the Gospel, then we have … Read More