Portrait of a Shriveled Saint

Willi Ossa was an artist who worked as a janitor at night in a church on New York's West Side to support his wife and infant daughter. During the day ...

Ministers Tell People What to Do

Returning home from church, our five-year-old Emily announced she wanted to be like the man who stood in front.

"You want to be a minister?" asked my wife.

When Pastors Don't Connect

For 25 years, part of my pastoral ministry has been to hold services in a nursing home. One of the "regulars" has her television remote control attached ...

Disruptive Preaching

A meaningful thought on the heart of the pastor from my home church would often be unintentionally demolished as it passed through his lips. The conscience, ...

Principles of Preaching

It is not necessary for a preacher to express all his thoughts in one sermon. A preacher should have three principles: first, to make a good beginning, ...

Bad Preaching

I know a minister whose shoe laces I am unworthy to unloose, whose preaching is often little better than a sacred miniature painting--I might almost say ...

Preaching Is Undemocratic

Preaching is the most undemocratic of routines in a free society. Week in, week out, people come and listen for a half-hour at a time to someone like ...

Let Me Preach with Enthusiasm

O God, let me preach with enthusiasm because of what Christ did, not because of what the crowds think ... because of the salvation we have, not the size ...

Super Pastor

A pastor needs the tact of a diplomat, the strength of Samson, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon--and a cast-iron stomach.

Respecting Delegated Authority

Let's say you came to my house for a party and the cars were lined up along the street and you pulled in the empty driveway. A little girl came out ...