Entries by Stephen Brazzel
Lessons for Pastors from Joseph
Matthew 1:18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. We don’t know much about Joseph, the husband of Mary. We know he was a carpenter. He wasn’t wealthy. He […]
Life Doesn’t Always Meet our Expectations
Luke 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. We know this verse from the beginning of the story of the birth of Jesus. Confirming all that goes before and after it, this verse fits right into the truth that nothing was normal was Jesus. […]
Let’s All Stand and Greet One Another
This morning I came across an interesting blog from Thom Rainer called, “Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Guests.” The title grabbed me. It’s often a challenge to get someone to walk into the door of your church the first time, it seems obvious that we should avoid things that cause them to not […]
Annual Meeting Summary
The 92nd edition of the UBA Annual Meeting was this past Monday at Providence Baptist Church. Many thanks to pastor Bryan Lipscomb and his congregation for being such great hosts. We had lots of food and a great spirit of fellowship all evening. We also want to thank Shane Stover and the worship team from […]
Numbers – 4 Reasons we Count
There are many ways to measure church growth that have nothing or little to do with numbers. We want spiritual growth (how do you measure that). We want people to be more loving, more generous, and generally more Christlike (there is no yardstick to measure that one). Because of this outlook, some people protest any […]
Ready to Move Forward
The IMPACT Conference has only been over a few hours as I write this. I’m exhausted and yet invigorated at the same time. I was so encouraged by those attending who were excited to learn, to grow their knowledge and skills to do ministry. I was encouraged by those who came to share their expertise […]
Hello from London!
The last Sunday in July I had the privilege of preaching at this church in London. Cross Street Baptist Church is in the midst of a revitalization effort. Started by Charles Spurgeon, their pastor today is Nestor from Venezuela. Nestor has been there six years and the church has grown from only a few to […]
The Power of the Cross
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8 Usually, when we “fall in love” with someone we are in love with the best of that person. We present our best to one another. Ladies put on the make-up and do their […]
Rebuilding a Kids Ministry
One of the greatest challenges to bringing a church back to life is overcoming the lack of children and young parents in the congregation. With Vacation Bible Schools happening across our association, it’s easy to forget that many churches have no kids, or very few kids in them. Sometimes, as a congregation ages, the only […]