I would like to talk about self-control.
My words to you this week come in video form . . . from a message I gave at a chapel service at Dallas Theological Seminary.
So grab a cup of coffee and your Bible. Let me both encourage and challenge you about an essential trait we all need for longevity in ministry—self-control.
—Pastor Chuck
When someone says to me, “Chuck . . . I got a lot out of the message,” I usually try to respond in a way that allows him or her to be more specific.
After I say, “Thank you, I’m glad it was helpful,” I’ll usually ask, “Did it make sense?”
“Well, yeah.”
“How did it make sense?” I’ll probe. It’s very interesting to hear people say, “Well, in this way . . .” I find that their response often connects just as I had intended. And that’s a good feeling.
But it’s a terrible feeling when they tell you something quite the opposite of what you intended.
I’ll never forget my preaching on divorce one time to a large congregation in Texas.
If I have one strength in my teaching it would have to be the application of Scripture. For the life of me, I don’t know why that’s true. It might just be a habit of my life that I can’t let the text rest until it’s been applied. But I appreciate others telling me that it’s one of my strengths. I think it can be yours, too.
For this blog entry on application, I want to get very practical. Let me share with you in three short lists what I have found to be helpful in the process of drawing application from the Bible.
If I make one mistake more often than any other as a preacher, it is assuming more than I should about my congregation.
And having begun on those shaky assumptions, I begin building a great big sermon when the foundation has not been laid. I’ve discovered it’s better to keep the message simple (but not simplistic), to take it a little slower and to establish a good, firm foundation. Then I can build my case.
I’ll never forget when I was asked to speak to an audience who didn’t have a lot of biblical knowledge.