Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
The End Has Come
It is time to retire this blog. It was originally designed to be a team blog, but life became too busy for two contributers and so it just does not make much sense to continue this particular blog. I have started a new blog at http://www.jasonmorrison.wordpress.com.
The new blog is not finished yet, but I did begin blogging today, and will try to post one entry daily.
May God Bless You,
Jason
The new blog is not finished yet, but I did begin blogging today, and will try to post one entry daily.
May God Bless You,
Jason
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Lesson Two: Traditions are difficult to change
One of the more helpful tidbits of wisdom offered in my training days at Southern Seminary came from two sources, Dr. Akin (now president of Southeastern) & Dr. Lawless, Dean of Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth. Both these teachers encouraged new pastors to go slow on change and go heavy on love. I believe this to be good advice. And I believe I followed this course at Litle River BC.
But even years of service cannot change some traditions. I remember trying to change our corporate worship time on Sunday morning from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM to 10:45 AM-12:00PM after being at the church for a few years. My reasons were good and biblical. But to no avail, it was easily defeated in a church vote. So we continued to dismiss about 12:15 PM each Sunday.
One of the things I need to remind myself as I am ministering in a new church (for less than four months) is that the typical church member has not spent the last 8 years thinking about Ecclesiology and best church practices as I have. So the change that is needed will be slow going because I should not expect members to be where I am. So I need to preach, teach, and love. Hopefully over time healthy change will come.
Lord make us one.
But even years of service cannot change some traditions. I remember trying to change our corporate worship time on Sunday morning from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM to 10:45 AM-12:00PM after being at the church for a few years. My reasons were good and biblical. But to no avail, it was easily defeated in a church vote. So we continued to dismiss about 12:15 PM each Sunday.
One of the things I need to remind myself as I am ministering in a new church (for less than four months) is that the typical church member has not spent the last 8 years thinking about Ecclesiology and best church practices as I have. So the change that is needed will be slow going because I should not expect members to be where I am. So I need to preach, teach, and love. Hopefully over time healthy change will come.
Lord make us one.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Lesson One: Learning How to Preach
I heard Tim Keller say one time that every pastor needed to throw away his first 90 or so sermons. As a Pastor who has preached 3 sermons a week for over four years now, I realize how poor those first sermons must have been.
I remember my preaching practicum course in Seminary and how we only had about 15 minutes to preach each sermon. Back then, I struggled to preach for 15 minutes, but now I struggle to preach for less than 40 minutes.
One of my first sermons was videotaped and I just cannot bring myself to watch it.
Experience is a great teacher. And there are few things which help develop a pastor's preaching like experience and opportunity. So I just want to thank Little River Baptist Church for enduring those early sermons as God helped me to grow in my preaching. If there is one thing that will definitely stick out in my mind about the four years I spent there, it will be that God taught my how to preach during that pastorate.
And I will always be grateful for LRBC as they gave me my first opportunity to be a pastor. May God continue to bless you LRBC.
I remember my preaching practicum course in Seminary and how we only had about 15 minutes to preach each sermon. Back then, I struggled to preach for 15 minutes, but now I struggle to preach for less than 40 minutes.
One of my first sermons was videotaped and I just cannot bring myself to watch it.
Experience is a great teacher. And there are few things which help develop a pastor's preaching like experience and opportunity. So I just want to thank Little River Baptist Church for enduring those early sermons as God helped me to grow in my preaching. If there is one thing that will definitely stick out in my mind about the four years I spent there, it will be that God taught my how to preach during that pastorate.
And I will always be grateful for LRBC as they gave me my first opportunity to be a pastor. May God continue to bless you LRBC.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Blog Silence
It has been a while since my last post, but I have not had much opportunity to enter the blogging domain recently. The reason for the hiatus was my recent acceptance of a new pastorate in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We moved two weeks ago tommorrow.
In my next posts I will try to reflect and blog about what God taught me through my experience at the first church I pastored. This blog venture will also probably end shortly. Once we have a new website up for Westwood Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, I will begin blogging from there. But until then I will post reflections about Little River Baptist Church and my hopes for Westwood Baptist Church in Tennessee.
In my next posts I will try to reflect and blog about what God taught me through my experience at the first church I pastored. This blog venture will also probably end shortly. Once we have a new website up for Westwood Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, I will begin blogging from there. But until then I will post reflections about Little River Baptist Church and my hopes for Westwood Baptist Church in Tennessee.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Preaching Notes of Six Pastors
In a recent blog series, Josh Harris, Pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland reveals the preaching notes of six pastors. So far, Harris has featured the notes of the following Pastors:
Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.
Mike Bullmore, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin
C.J. Mahaney, Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Ray Ortlund, Jr., Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee
Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, New York
Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington
You can find an introduction to each pastor here: Dever, Bullmore, Mahaney, Ortlund Jr., Keller, and Driscoll.
Click on full name to go directly their preaching notes.
Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.
Mike Bullmore, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin
C.J. Mahaney, Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Ray Ortlund, Jr., Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee
Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, New York
Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington
You can find an introduction to each pastor here: Dever, Bullmore, Mahaney, Ortlund Jr., Keller, and Driscoll.
Click on full name to go directly their preaching notes.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The 37th Ryder Cup
There is nothing like match play golf on golf's biggest stage. The American Team defeated the European team 16.5 to 11.5. Check out this great article by ESPN's Pat Forde where he focuses on the play of three country boys for the American Team, Kenny Perry, J. B. Holmes, and Boo Weekley.
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