Ten Rules for Improving the Church

I.         The bookstore shelves groan under the weight of “self-help” books. The kind that tell you how to improve various aspects of your life.             A.        I would like to offer a different type of self-help: a way you can improve the church — all by yourself!             B.        It sounds like a tall order, but it is not.                         1.         Each…

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The Nature of Criticism

Text: Judges 7:19-8:3  I.         It is hard to do much of anything without running into someone complaining about it.             A.        Clem Thurman tells this story: “When I was a young lad on the farm in western Oklahoma, we had a team of mules. It fell my lot to work those mules quite often, and I soon found…

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Consider the Source

Text: II Chronicles 24:15-22   I.         A fellow preacher, whom I’ve corresponded with for several years, wrote concerned about how to address a problem.             A.        He had recently contacted a man who had been in a preacher’s training program and moved into the area a few months prior. Interestingly, the man had been in the area before…

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How do you handle criticism?

Question: What are the biblical teachings concerning criticism, forgiveness, and how to deal with criticism? Criticism has many faces, but I’m inquiring about the kind that can mar a person’s self-esteem and his good reputation. Answer: How you handle criticism depends on why you are being criticized. “For this is commendable, if because of conscience…

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Some Thoughts About Offering Criticism

by William Barclay “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first” (Revelation 2:19). There is something very interesting about this verse. The letter to the church at Thyatira is to be a letter of warning and of criticism,…

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Should We Criticize Others?

by Kent Heaton The nature of truth is that it exposes error. In a world fueled by a politically correct presentation of non-offensive language, criticism is not accepted. This is especially true when this criticism speaks of religion. Challenging the teachings and beliefs of others is perceived as a personal attack upon the moral character…

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Is It Right to Criticize Another Person’s Religion?

by Kevin Kay It’s not only right to criticize false religion, no matter whose religion it is; it’s the faithful Christian’s responsibility. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:7-9). Paul criticized those who tried to bind the shadows of the Mosaic law on New Testament Christians (Colossians 2:16-23).…

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That Church Isn’t Doing Anything!

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 1:24-30   I.         Periodically criticism is leveled at a church – not just this church, I’ve heard it said against many churches – “That church isn’t doing anything!”             A.        I will admit that there is always room for improvement.                         1.         There are many things I wish we had accomplished.                         2.         I sure there…

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Fault Finding

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:11-18   I.         The golden rule – Romans 13:9-10             A.        Much of our life is involved in relating to other people.                         1.         We need the cooperation of others in so many ways.                         2.         And so many people are just plain hard to get along with.             B.        God’s laws are easily summed up in…

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