I knew that the Texas economy was bad, but I didn’t realize just how bad until I heard about the Houston oilman who willed two oil wells to his son and got sued for child abuse. We wonder if in this kind of economy the preacher ought to be talking about stewardship, but I think maybe this is the best of all times to tal...
William Carey is generally considered the father of the modern missionary movement. He was raised in a humble home in England and thus didn’t have the privilege of a formal education, but early in his life he learned to enjoy reading, especially about foreign countries and the marvelous people who lived in those countri...
Have you learned through the years that what you don’t know can hurt you? I heard some time ago about a Mexican bandit named Jose Rodriguez, who lived down close to the border. He made regular trips across the Rio Grande to a little Texas town and he would rob the banks and then he would go back across the river.
Would you open your Bibles to the book of Acts 15:36. In the middle of the great Civil War, Bob Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln came to his mother and dad and said he wanted to join the Union forces and to fight for his country. But his mother refused to allow him to do so and his father supported her because they ha...
Deacon Chairman Bob Cox and I were talking and he shared with me that there are three stages or phases that most individuals and most institutions pass through in their lifetime. They begin as risk-takers, they move to become caretakers, and they eventually wind up at the undertakers. If you think about your own life and most...
I was returning from a convention recently and sat next to the late Ramsey Pollard, pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He said to me, “Paul, after 47 years in the ministry, it is harder to be the pastor of a Baptist church now than any time in my ministry.”
Evidence everywhere con...
Knute Rockne was one of the greatest football coaches ever. In his 13 years at Notre Dame, his teams won 105 games, lost 12, and tied 5. He never had a secret practice. In fact, he sometimes put up a sign for visitors that said, “Secret practice. Come and bring your notebooks.”
On one occasion when an Army scout missed a train connection and didn’t get to the Notre Dame game he was to cover, Rockne obligingly sent him the plays he planned to use against the West Point men. He explained his actions by saying, “It isn’t the play that wins; it’s the execution.”
All great coaches agree: champions are made by majoring on the fundamentals – blocking and tackling. They execute well. Teams seldom win by trick plays or gimmicks.
The same is true of life. Tricks and gimmicks will seldom get you to the top in any endeavor and can never keep you there. Major on the basics in all of life – work hard, honor God, be honest, kind and helpful to others, and go to church regularly.