Posts by Steve Burchett
Two Angels on a Bloodied Slab
Guest Author: Brian Verrett Peter and John raced to the tomb to look for their Lord (John 20:3–4). Though John won the race, Peter stooped and looked into the tomb seeing only linen cloths, a face cloth, and empty space (vv. 4–7). John then looked, saw the same, and went home with Peter (vv. 8–10). Mary remained outside the tomb weeping (v. 11). When she looked into the tomb, she saw more than empty space. Surprisingly, “she saw two angels…
7 Questions for Purposeful Conversation with Believers
We’ve got to move dialogue with believers beyond a superficial level if we are going to really know and encourage one another. But where do we even start? Here are seven questions you might ask. They might be useful in a variety of settings, such as when you have someone (or a family) over for supper, when spending time at the park, when you’re on a long car ride together, or during a fellowship meal with your church. 1. When…
When God Used a Stutterer
Must limitations and weaknesses keep us from effective ministry? And how should we think about others in the church who have glaring, limiting imperfections? James Alexander Stewart was experiencing enormous success as an evangelist. By the age of 20, he was so sought after that he was preaching four or five times a day. He also filled his hours with evangelism in the streets and in homes. This was too much for a young man to handle alone. Stewart commented:…
The Way to Grow a Church Numerically
The early church grew in numbers. “ . . . there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (2:47). “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (5:14). “ . . . and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…” (6:7) “ . . . (the church) multiplied” (9:31). Thinking about increased numbers is acceptable if…
11 Ways to Enliven Group Prayer
We don’t have to settle for cold, lifeless group prayer. Here are some strategies to bring heat and life into those times together. [1] God looks not at the elegance of your prayers, to see how neat they are; nor yet at the geometry of your prayers, to see how long they are; nor yet at the arithmetic of your prayers, to see how many they are; nor yet at the music of your prayers, nor yet at the sweetness…
Gospel Advance in Rome and an Ethiopian Hospital
When hard times come, what do people hear from your lips? Suffering in Rome Those who saw Paul in Rome under house arrest awaiting trial (see the end of Acts) probably didn’t think he was doing so well. After all, he was in chains! I can imagine the guards who were chained to Paul in four hour shifts initially thought Paul would be like any other prisoner. Even the believers throughout the Roman Empire who were aware Paul was in…
Leaving One Church for Another Close By
At least initially, no one who believed and was baptized and came into the membership of the church in Corinth could then leave that church and join another close by. That was not an option since there was only one local church in the area. Each Sunday, and possibly other days of the week, all of the believers in Corinth gathered at Gaius’ house (cf. Romans 16:23). Church shopping was still a future phenomenon. Times have changed. I live in…
How I Introduced Daniel 7
I spent seven weeks teaching through Daniel 1-6. It was so enjoyable and fairly easy to keep people engaged. But in the back of my mind I knew that the sometimes dreaded second half of Daniel was looming. I understand why some Bible teachers exposit the first half of the book and then punt with a line like, “Sometime in the future, we’ll come back and work through the much more complicated chapters 7-12.” Most who have said that haven’t…
Happiness, Hospitality, and Hundreds: The Most Loving Church I Have Ever Experienced
The Lord saved me when I was a freshman in high school in the context of a para-church ministry. Unfortunately, I didn’t commit to a local church at that point in my life. Oh, I attended church — actually, more than one. But I wasn’t taught the importance of baptism nor the necessity of having godly leaders over me and the accountability of fellow believers in an individual church. During college, I was a Bible major, ironically to become a…
Ten Most Popular CCW Articles in 2024
Though the following articles were not all written in 2024, these were our most popular. A snippet of each article is included. 10. Confessionism: the Misuse of 1 John 1:9 — Jim Elliff “For many years earlier in my ministry, I made statements such as the following: ‘In order to be restored to fellowship with God and to be filled with the Spirit you must confess every known sin to God.’ What am I to think fo such instructions now?”…
The Mistake of Being Quick to Strategize and Slow to Pray
My wife and I recently realized we’ve become quite the “strategists” with our children. When they share dilemmas with us, we are quick to offer (oftentimes) dogmatic counsel without asking clarifying questions and, more shamefully, without praying. We eventually get to prayer, but not as soon as we should. You would think that now that our kids are moving into adulthood, we wouldn’t still fail in this area. Yet, here we are, so we need the following two reminders from…
Robert Chapman’s Great Aim
I recently spent time with the man who was my pastor my final year in seminary. My wife and I had one of the best year’s of our lives as members of the little church where he was serving as a pastor for the first time. By his own admission, he wasn’t a very good communicator yet — he shook his head reflecting back on his poor public speaking skills — but biblical content was always there, and we all…
Ten Correctable Mistakes We Make When Preaching and Teaching
I’ve been teaching the Bible regularly and often since 2001, and I’m still surprising myself, sometimes in the worst ways. I went back to listen to a message on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, a story that everyone should find riveting. The first half or so seemed engaging, but about 60% of the way through, my tone and word choices communicated a major reduction of awe and wonder. This led me to reflect on this question: “What…
Responding to Admonitions
I knew I was going to miss my connecting flight. Still, I sprinted through one of the world’s largest airports to get to my departure gate. As predicted, I was too late and put on the stand-by list for a flight three hours later. As I sat at my new gate, tired from a weekend of ministry, I noticed an unfriendly ticket agent who never quite made eye contact with anyone, even people speaking directly to her. The wrinkles on…
Say “Goodbye” to Social Media?
I used to utilize social media much more. I still view it, but I can’t remember the last time I posted. I’ve wondered if I should eliminate it entirely. Here are a few reasons why I might just say “goodbye” to social media. 1. Social media is an easy way to waste time. That does not mean all time on social media is wasted, but too much of it in my life has been. What I think will only be…
Single, Yet Pursuing Marriage
There are two places in the New Testament that teach about singleness as a chosen way of life for some (Matthew 19:10-12, plus various verses in First Corinthians 7), but that’s just about it. Have you ever noticed in Paul’s letters, when he lists categories of people, he includes wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and masters (cf. Ephesians 5:22-6:9; Colossians 3:18-4:1), but there is no category of single adults? Why? Paul was writing to the norm, and the shift from…