Book Recommendation — Chaim Potok, The Chosen

One of the marks of a great book is for the author to be able to reach out to the world beyond the pages and pull the reader into the pages of the tale he is telling. Louis L’Amour is one such writer that has the ability to put the reader on a horse with him or in the middle of a range war with bad hombres. A. J. Cronin is another such writer who with books such as The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom forces the reader to live out the depth of emotions of his main characters.

Another author whom I was only recently connected with is Chaim Potok. Both Jason Calhoun and Ben Weeks were flabbergasted that I had never read any of his books. I was encouraged to begin with The Chosen which actually was written in 1967. The actual setting of the book is Brooklyn, New York in a very highly concentrated neighborhood of Jews. It is here that the worlds of Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders collide. Reuven’s father is a Jewish scholar who is encouraging the Zionist movement to find a homeland and form a nation. Danny’s father is a very revered Hasidic rabbi who has a powerful devotion to extreme conservatism among the Jews. Although the story surrounds the boys, you should read this book simply to acquaint yourself with the rigors and disciplined training that the Jewish rabbis go through to be set aside in their calling. I was both amazed and motivated by the disciplines of mind and spirit that I found Chaim Potok describing in his narrative.

The book starts off with a bang with Reuven experiencing a very serious (nearly fatal?) injury at the hands of Danny. (I don’t want to spoil the details so I will be vague with the storyline.) As the book tracks their immense feelings of agitation between the two, they ultimately become the closest of friends and it is through this friendship that Potok gives us the ability to see the best of both worlds.

The book also brings the reader to taste events of world history as they were unfolding in the late 1940’s. Roosevelt’s death, the Holocaust, and the development of the nation of Israel all serve as a backdrop to this intensely emotional story. If you are given to thinking, there will be times that you will find yourself putting the book down and contemplating the varying themes that develop in the characters of this story. This book explores areas like commitment, honor, valor, suffering, and the dilemmas that involve the heart and the mind.

In addition, if you are a minister who is involved in the ministry of the Word, I have a feeling that when you read this book that you will discover that very little discipline is in your life concerning study. These Jewish rabbis and scholars are so entirely given to study and prayer it is remarkable. One the remarkable scenes that I really found very interesting was when Danny went on the initial visit to Reb Saunders study and the description that Potok gives to this. I found a lot of motivation to seek a greater depth of life through disciplined study as a I read this book.

I am thinking that if you start with this work of Potok’s, you will invest your time in reading all this author has written.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

The Discipline of Study — Rick Wyser

I met Brother Rick Wyser in May, 1992. He came and preached one of the last chapel services prior to my graduation from Texas Bible College. It was the first time I had ever heard him and still to this day I can remember the message that he preached. It was entitled “The Dullest Word in the Bible” which is duty. I briefly met him then but did not realize that in later years that I would become much more involved with him and his work.

Brother Wyser grew up Baptist but was converted to Pentecost sometime in the 1960’s. He was introduced to Pentecost through his wife’s sister who started attending the church in Alexandria, Louisiana pastored at the time by G. A. Mangun. It was not long before all of Sister Wanda Wyser’s family was in that church and Brother Wyser followed suit.

His educational background has included Texas Bible College, Northwestern, LSU-Alexandria, and a seminary in Andersonville, Georgia. While this was the foundation for Brother Wyser, you will discover that he has put a lot of energy into continuing to develop his ministry with a lot of discipline in study and writing.

The inside track that I had to Brother Wyser developed with a friend of mine who married a girl out of Brother Wyser’s church when he was pastoring in Addison, Illinois. This friend would send me cassette tapes of Brother Wyser and I would listen and find myself very motivated and intrigued by his abilities to preach consistently very solid messages. I received a series on Elijah, another one called “We Must Guard the Gates,” and a host of single messages that were a blessing to me. Finally, one day I decided to give Brother Wyser a call and speak with him. It was a good outing for me because it developed a friendship that has paid some very good dividends to me over the years. I was amazed that being a total stranger that Brother Wyser would talk to me as long as he did. However, I have discovered that if you get him into a conversation about preaching, you are in for a long, lengthy and extremely profitable discussion!

In his early ministry, he spent some time overseas creating some Bible schools in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During that time he knew he would not be able to take very many resources with him so he settled for three: His Bible, G. Campbell Morgan’s Westminster Pulpit, and Alexander Whyte’s “Characters from the Old and New Testament.” During that time, a little over a year, he read all the way through Morgan’s work twice and developed a lot of seed thoughts by reading Whyte’s character studies. He still finds these two sources as very helpful background materials for his current preaching.

When I asked him about how messages came to him, he told me it was primarily through studying that things came to him. Various places like devotional books, varying articles from multiple sources, and old sermon books are very rich in assisting him. He always has a notebook that he will write down thoughts that he can develop into messages at a later point. He told me that it is very important to write down a single sentence that will crystallize what the message is conveying and then build supporting thoughts around that single sentence.

He actually learned how to build sermons from an old classic work by Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon wrote “Lectures to My Students” (which I have read several times and highly recommend) which actually teaches one how to put together three messages at one time. Brother Wyser said he sort of accidentally found this book but after reading it, he applied the study method taught by Spurgeon to his own life of study and preparation.

Brother Wyser when he was pastoring would study for three messages at one time. He would work with gathering material for the message and as he worked it would grow. When all was finally compiled, he would then take it and divide it up into three distinct messages and add fitting illustrations that worked well with what he was preaching. He began with a rough outline and then honed it down to a finished outline and finally a manuscript of the actually preaching notes. He told me it was very important to make sure that you have good transition points in the message so that the whole thing does not become disjointed and unrelated to listening ears. He also told me that by working with three messages at once there is an ability to seek out and find illustrations that can really set up the sermon. One of the benefits of working with three sermons at once is that one will have one “hard” week of study followed by two “soft” weeks of study. For those who are pastors, you can relate very well to the importance of this idea because of the variability that comes with our schedules.

When he read the “Lectures” by Spurgeon, he told me that he started buying up the small collected volumes of Spurgeon’s sermons and reading them. Although he could not remember the names of the books, I am thinking it was those little paperback volumes published by Baker Books that would have titles like “Twelve Sermons on Decision,” “Twelve Sermons on the Tears of Christ,” and “Twelve Sermons on the Miracles” that were popular back in the seventies. A lot of these books are still available but you have to find on-line, used book outlets as they have become the primary sources to look to.

I asked him about some of the favorite sermons that he had preached over the years which was a little difficult for him to narrow down. He has somewhere around 2000 sermons that he has put together over the years. He has presently published 8 years worth of messages through Bible Preaching Resources which is available for purchase. I have been receiving his material for all eight years and have to say that there are some very good things in these volumes.

So with all of this wealth of material, he did pick out a few of his favorites:

The Dullest Word in the Bible—Duty
A series called “The Vital Virtues”—His favorite is a message on the vital virtue of steadfastness.
Here Lie the Bones—On influence.
A Personal God.
God’s Own Master—Love.
The Old Story—A message of his personal testimony.
Don’t Call It A List—From Romans 16, he preaches about the people who are named there and how important it was for their fellowship in the church to help it to continue on successfully. Every person in a church has significance that that fellowship is a reality and not just a bypassing thought of God.

In addition to his sermons, he has a number of Bible studies that are more geared toward series. He did the Elijah series that was a lengthy study (about a quarter) in Addison. Also, a series on Revelation and he worked through the book of Romans 2-3 times when he was in Addison. He also told me about a series of messages from the Song of Solomon that I found very interesting. It was entitled “The Divine Crescendo” and it focused on the escalating relationship that a saint has with God. He keyed in on “Set Me,” “Know Me,” “Hear Me,” and five other elements on the Song. This series is available through BPR. Another series came from the Beatitudes. He entitled it “Don’t Become a Victim” and worked through each one with a bent toward allowing your life to flourish for God despite what surroundings and circumstances that life will present.

When I asked him about authors, he was a very open about sharing those he had personally found to be useful.

R. G. Lee—Full of prose with good flowing thoughts. He purchased everything R.G. Lee wrote which was multiple sermon collections.

Joel Gregory—Very good with expository outlines that can help a preacher flesh out a message.

John Phillips—The “Exploring” series are also very good simply because of the way that Phillips works with his outlines.

Alan Redpath—The classic is “The Making of a Man of God” which is about the life of David. I personally think this book should be required reading for anyone who is going into the ministry. He also mentioned his volume on 1st Corinthians as being very good, entitled “The Royal Route to Heaven.” Redpath also has a series on faith that it is out of print.

G. H. Morrison—Everything he has written is beneficial. “The Wind on the Heath,” “Highways of the Heart,” “The Wings of the Morning,” and “The Weaving of the Glory.” AMG Publishers also has a number of Morrison’s works in hardbound editions that are worthy of your time.

Peter Marshall—The former chaplain to the Senate has some good devotional messages.

George Swann—Out of print but some very good sermons were written by this preacher.

Old Keswick Series—These will be extremely hard to come by but they have some excellent material in them. Most of these books are 75—100 years old.

Wilbur Chapman—An evangelist who has some very good material. A primary speaker at the Winona Lake conferences.

William Albert Munsey—Some very good sermons on eternity.

C.M. Ward—The Revivaltime series are very good if you can get them.

George D. Watson—An old Methodist writer. Available through Schmul Publishers which is reprinting a lot of the old holiness writings that are hardly available in our modern times. Brother Wyser said that Marvin Hicks put him on Watson’s trail years ago.

Arthur Pink—Good for Bible study but very strongly Calvinistic in his approach.

The Layman’s Bible Commentary.

S.D. Gordon—His “Quiet Talks” series are very good. On prayer, power, etc. Brother Wyser gleaned a lot of from Gordon in his early years of preaching to help him to put together sermons.

T. DeWitt Talmage—Very good devotional writer. Called the “American Spurgeon.”

A. W. Tozer—Very good series of sermons on the Holy Ghost.

Jack Schuller—Has a good book called Schuller’s Short Sermons. This will probably be extremely hard to find. Brother Wyser has a set of tapes of this preacher from many years ago that he enjoyed listening to. He thought this man came from an old style Methodist background.

One of the things that Brother Wyser has turned his focus toward in the last 10 years is to assist preachers to become better at their preaching. I have hosted several of his workshops here in Dothan. The first one was “The Six Should Be’s of Preaching” and we had 50+ attendees. The second one was about illustrations and we had 30+ men to attend. There have been several districts that have sponsored his preaching workshops which are a multi-day affair. In Dothan, we did a Thursday night, Friday night, and half-a-day on Saturday and it worked out very well.

The available seminars are:

The Six Should Be’s of Preaching.
So What? (An acronym that explores different areas of preaching.)
On Illustrations (This one is very intense but it gives multiple sources to find good illustrations.)
On Ethics—Encompasses the ethics of preparation for preaching.
Three Ways to Dispense Water—Working with preaching in three ways; topical, textual, and expository.
Expository Preaching

In addition a new development is the Life Catalyst series on the family, marriage, parenting, anger management, depression, self-destructive behavior, and other youth oriented services.

If you ever get the chance to meet Brother Wyser, I can promise you it will be a good investment of your time as he is very interested in helping men become better preachers.

The other posts related to this one are as follow:

The Discipline of Study.
Jeff Arnold.
Scott Graham.
Ben Weeks.
Jason Calhoun.
Doug White.
J. H. Osborne.
John Carroll.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

The Discipline of Study — Rick Wyser

I met Brother Rick Wyser in May, 1992. He came and preached one of the last chapel services prior to my graduation from Texas Bible College. It was the first time I had ever heard him and still to this day I can remember the message that he preached. It was entitled “The Dullest Word in the Bible” which is duty. I briefly met him then but did not realize that in later years that I would become much more involved with him and his work.

Brother Wyser grew up Baptist but was converted to Pentecost sometime in the 1960’s. He was introduced to Pentecost through his wife’s sister who started attending the church in Alexandria, Louisiana pastored at the time by G. A. Mangun. It was not long before all of Sister Wanda Wyser’s family was in that church and Brother Wyser followed suit.

His educational background has included Texas Bible College, Northwestern, LSU-Alexandria, and a seminary in Andersonville, Georgia. While this was the foundation for Brother Wyser, you will discover that he has put a lot of energy into continuing to develop his ministry with a lot of discipline in study and writing.

The inside track that I had to Brother Wyser developed with a friend of mine who married a girl out of Brother Wyser’s church when he was pastoring in Addison, Illinois. This friend would send me cassette tapes of Brother Wyser and I would listen and find myself very motivated and intrigued by his abilities to preach consistently very solid messages. I received a series on Elijah, another one called “We Must Guard the Gates,” and a host of single messages that were a blessing to me. Finally, one day I decided to give Brother Wyser a call and speak with him. It was a good outing for me because it developed a friendship that has paid some very good dividends to me over the years. I was amazed that being a total stranger that Brother Wyser would talk to me as long as he did. However, I have discovered that if you get him into a conversation about preaching, you are in for a long, lengthy and extremely profitable discussion!

In his early ministry, he spent some time overseas creating some Bible schools in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During that time he knew he would not be able to take very many resources with him so he settled for three: His Bible, G. Campbell Morgan’s Westminster Pulpit, and Alexander Whyte’s “Characters from the Old and New Testament.” During that time, a little over a year, he read all the way through Morgan’s work twice and developed a lot of seed thoughts by reading Whyte’s character studies. He still finds these two sources as very helpful background materials for his current preaching.

When I asked him about how messages came to him, he told me it was primarily through studying that things came to him. Various places like devotional books, varying articles from multiple sources, and old sermon books are very rich in assisting him. He always has a notebook that he will write down thoughts that he can develop into messages at a later point. He told me that it is very important to write down a single sentence that will crystallize what the message is conveying and then build supporting thoughts around that single sentence.

He actually learned how to build sermons from an old classic work by Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon wrote “Lectures to My Students” (which I have read several times and highly recommend) which actually teaches one how to put together three messages at one time. Brother Wyser said he sort of accidentally found this book but after reading it, he applied the study method taught by Spurgeon to his own life of study and preparation.

Brother Wyser when he was pastoring would study for three messages at one time. He would work with gathering material for the message and as he worked it would grow. When all was finally compiled, he would then take it and divide it up into three distinct messages and add fitting illustrations that worked well with what he was preaching. He began with a rough outline and then honed it down to a finished outline and finally a manuscript of the actually preaching notes. He told me it was very important to make sure that you have good transition points in the message so that the whole thing does not become disjointed and unrelated to listening ears. He also told me that by working with three messages at once there is an ability to seek out and find illustrations that can really set up the sermon. One of the benefits of working with three sermons at once is that one will have one “hard” week of study followed by two “soft” weeks of study. For those who are pastors, you can relate very well to the importance of this idea because of the variability that comes with our schedules.

When he read the “Lectures” by Spurgeon, he told me that he started buying up the small collected volumes of Spurgeon’s sermons and reading them. Although he could not remember the names of the books, I am thinking it was those little paperback volumes published by Baker Books that would have titles like “Twelve Sermons on Decision,” “Twelve Sermons on the Tears of Christ,” and “Twelve Sermons on the Miracles” that were popular back in the seventies. A lot of these books are still available but you have to find on-line, used book outlets as they have become the primary sources to look to.

I asked him about some of the favorite sermons that he had preached over the years which was a little difficult for him to narrow down. He has somewhere around 2000 sermons that he has put together over the years. He has presently published 8 years worth of messages through Bible Preaching Resources which is available for purchase. I have been receiving his material for all eight years and have to say that there are some very good things in these volumes.

So with all of this wealth of material, he did pick out a few of his favorites:

The Dullest Word in the Bible—Duty
A series called “The Vital Virtues”—His favorite is a message on the vital virtue of steadfastness.
Here Lie the Bones—On influence.
A Personal God.
God’s Own Master—Love.
The Old Story—A message of his personal testimony.
Don’t Call It A List—From Romans 16, he preaches about the people who are named there and how important it was for their fellowship in the church to help it to continue on successfully. Every person in a church has significance that that fellowship is a reality and not just a bypassing thought of God.

In addition to his sermons, he has a number of Bible studies that are more geared toward series. He did the Elijah series that was a lengthy study (about a quarter) in Addison. Also, a series on Revelation and he worked through the book of Romans 2-3 times when he was in Addison. He also told me about a series of messages from the Song of Solomon that I found very interesting. It was entitled “The Divine Crescendo” and it focused on the escalating relationship that a saint has with God. He keyed in on “Set Me,” “Know Me,” “Hear Me,” and five other elements on the Song. This series is available through BPR. Another series came from the Beatitudes. He entitled it “Don’t Become a Victim” and worked through each one with a bent toward allowing your life to flourish for God despite what surroundings and circumstances that life will present.

When I asked him about authors, he was a very open about sharing those he had personally found to be useful.

R. G. Lee—Full of prose with good flowing thoughts. He purchased everything R.G. Lee wrote which was multiple sermon collections.

Joel Gregory—Very good with expository outlines that can help a preacher flesh out a message.

John Phillips—The “Exploring” series are also very good simply because of the way that Phillips works with his outlines.

Alan Redpath—The classic is “The Making of a Man of God” which is about the life of David. I personally think this book should be required reading for anyone who is going into the ministry. He also mentioned his volume on 1st Corinthians as being very good, entitled “The Royal Route to Heaven.” Redpath also has a series on faith that it is out of print.

G. H. Morrison—Everything he has written is beneficial. “The Wind on the Heath,” “Highways of the Heart,” “The Wings of the Morning,” and “The Weaving of the Glory.” AMG Publishers also has a number of Morrison’s works in hardbound editions that are worthy of your time.

Peter Marshall—The former chaplain to the Senate has some good devotional messages.

George Swann—Out of print but some very good sermons were written by this preacher.

Old Keswick Series—These will be extremely hard to come by but they have some excellent material in them. Most of these books are 75—100 years old.

Wilbur Chapman—An evangelist who has some very good material. A primary speaker at the Winona Lake conferences.

William Albert Munsey—Some very good sermons on eternity.

C.M. Ward—The Revivaltime series are very good if you can get them.

George D. Watson—An old Methodist writer. Available through Schmul Publishers which is reprinting a lot of the old holiness writings that are hardly available in our modern times. Brother Wyser said that Marvin Hicks put him on Watson’s trail years ago.

Arthur Pink—Good for Bible study but very strongly Calvinistic in his approach.

The Layman’s Bible Commentary.

S.D. Gordon—His “Quiet Talks” series are very good. On prayer, power, etc. Brother Wyser gleaned a lot of from Gordon in his early years of preaching to help him to put together sermons.

T. DeWitt Talmage—Very good devotional writer. Called the “American Spurgeon.”

A. W. Tozer—Very good series of sermons on the Holy Ghost.

Jack Schuller—Has a good book called Schuller’s Short Sermons. This will probably be extremely hard to find. Brother Wyser has a set of tapes of this preacher from many years ago that he enjoyed listening to. He thought this man came from an old style Methodist background.

One of the things that Brother Wyser has turned his focus toward in the last 10 years is to assist preachers to become better at their preaching. I have hosted several of his workshops here in Dothan. The first one was “The Six Should Be’s of Preaching” and we had 50+ attendees. The second one was about illustrations and we had 30+ men to attend. There have been several districts that have sponsored his preaching workshops which are a multi-day affair. In Dothan, we did a Thursday night, Friday night, and half-a-day on Saturday and it worked out very well.

The available seminars are:

The Six Should Be’s of Preaching.
So What? (An acronym that explores different areas of preaching.)
On Illustrations (This one is very intense but it gives multiple sources to find good illustrations.)
On Ethics—Encompasses the ethics of preparation for preaching.
Three Ways to Dispense Water—Working with preaching in three ways; topical, textual, and expository.
Expository Preaching

In addition a new development is the Life Catalyst series on the family, marriage, parenting, anger management, depression, self-destructive behavior, and other youth oriented services.

If you ever get the chance to meet Brother Wyser, I can promise you it will be a good investment of your time as he is very interested in helping men become better preachers.

The other posts related to this one are as follow:

The Discipline of Study.
Jeff Arnold.
Scott Graham.
Ben Weeks.
Jason Calhoun.
Doug White.
J. H. Osborne.
John Carroll.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

A Tale of Three Kings

I was tired, weary, and defeated just to sum up a few of the massive dark feelings of the soul that night. To that point in my life, I am not sure that I had ever faced the dilemma quite like the one I was now staring down. My heart was dark and my feelings were very spiritually unhealthy to say the least. It would have been very easy to give in to defeat, pack up the tent and go in another direction with my life.

Looking back it was almost thirteen years ago on a late Wednesday night in October 1996. I had come from home from mid-week prayer and Bible study and it seemed as if the world of darkness was doing everything possible to choke the life out of me. What was so strange is that in January 1996, a very distinct directive from the Lord had told me that I would be on the current assignment for four more years. I expected a lot of great things but instead I was grappling with a storm that threatened to overpower me. A blinding and quite unforeseen trial had broadsided me and what little Christian character I had was being eroded by a lot of very carnal emotions to say the least.

I can still remember almost the exact time on that memorable Wednesday night as sometime around 10:35 or so. The house was finally quiet as Teresa and I had gotten the kids down for the night and she was in the back of the house and I was in my study in the front. I leaned back in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk and begin to encourage a dark and brooding stream of emotions. In retrospect and hopefully with an eye toward a little more spiritual maturity, I can see now that it was a shaping process of the soul that God was using to my own benefit. Spiritual growth is very necessary in all of our lives but most of the time it is very painful because it involves a pruning of the soul. But how that pruning is so conducive to greater fruitfulness!

Somehow my eyes flitted to the top of the bookshelf. Tucked in between all of the other inspirational books written by Gordon MacDonald, Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado, and a few others, I spied a little paperback that I had owned for at least 3 years. Numerous preachers had told me that I had to read Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings. I took half of their advice and bought it but never read it. In fact, as I think about it now, I can think of at least ten good men who told me that I needed to read this book. I didn’t ignore their advice it just wasn’t in God’s timing for me to read the book just yet. No doubt when I purchased the book, God knew there would come a time that I would need to read this book. I am of the opinion that this was one of the types of books that Paul encouraged Timothy to bring to him before winter (2 Tim. 4:13).

So at 10:35, I picked up that book and it mesmerized me until shortly after midnight. The impact of this little book (a little over 80 pages) has remained with me to this day. For those of you who have not read it, I won’t give you any details that will spoil it. For those who have read it before, you might want to pick it back up again! It is a tale for the ages because it exposes the fact that within every one of us is either a mad king who worships himself or there is a broken king who worships God. . . . . . and only the pain of trials can reveal what kind of man that we are. . . .

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

A Tale of Three Kings

I was tired, weary, and defeated just to sum up a few of the massive dark feelings of the soul that night. To that point in my life, I am not sure that I had ever faced the dilemma quite like the one I was now staring down. My heart was dark and my feelings were very spiritually unhealthy to say the least. It would have been very easy to give in to defeat, pack up the tent and go in another direction with my life.

Looking back it was almost thirteen years ago on a late Wednesday night in October 1996. I had come from home from mid-week prayer and Bible study and it seemed as if the world of darkness was doing everything possible to choke the life out of me. What was so strange is that in January 1996, a very distinct directive from the Lord had told me that I would be on the current assignment for four more years. I expected a lot of great things but instead I was grappling with a storm that threatened to overpower me. A blinding and quite unforeseen trial had broadsided me and what little Christian character I had was being eroded by a lot of very carnal emotions to say the least.

I can still remember almost the exact time on that memorable Wednesday night as sometime around 10:35 or so. The house was finally quiet as Teresa and I had gotten the kids down for the night and she was in the back of the house and I was in my study in the front. I leaned back in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk and begin to encourage a dark and brooding stream of emotions. In retrospect and hopefully with an eye toward a little more spiritual maturity, I can see now that it was a shaping process of the soul that God was using to my own benefit. Spiritual growth is very necessary in all of our lives but most of the time it is very painful because it involves a pruning of the soul. But how that pruning is so conducive to greater fruitfulness!

Somehow my eyes flitted to the top of the bookshelf. Tucked in between all of the other inspirational books written by Gordon MacDonald, Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado, and a few others, I spied a little paperback that I had owned for at least 3 years. Numerous preachers had told me that I had to read Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings. I took half of their advice and bought it but never read it. In fact, as I think about it now, I can think of at least ten good men who told me that I needed to read this book. I didn’t ignore their advice it just wasn’t in God’s timing for me to read the book just yet. No doubt when I purchased the book, God knew there would come a time that I would need to read this book. I am of the opinion that this was one of the types of books that Paul encouraged Timothy to bring to him before winter (2 Tim. 4:13).

So at 10:35, I picked up that book and it mesmerized me until shortly after midnight. The impact of this little book (a little over 80 pages) has remained with me to this day. For those of you who have not read it, I won’t give you any details that will spoil it. For those who have read it before, you might want to pick it back up again! It is a tale for the ages because it exposes the fact that within every one of us is either a mad king who worships himself or there is a broken king who worships God. . . . . . and only the pain of trials can reveal what kind of man that we are. . . .

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

The Discipline of Study — John Carroll

I continue our series on the discipline of study with a John Kerryesque sort of statement, “I knew John Carroll before I knew John Carroll.” A number of years ago, a friend of mine told me that I should visit an internet forum that was sort of a discussion ground for a lot of disgruntled Pentecostals who spent much time and energy trying to tear down some of the core doctrines and traditions that have been long held. When I ventured into this very weary land (I quit going very shortly thereafter), I kept noting a person who was commenting who went by the name “Coonskinner.” This “Coonskinner” and one other person (of whom I have since learned his identity also) would have about 50 people piling on with all sorts of rude comments and ridiculous innuendo concerning their defense of the faith. I did my best to post and agree with the “Coonskinner” and his valiant friend but because the forum required a special login and registration (to which I tried to gain but never could), I could never post my remarks in agreement with them.

Years passed and about 3 years ago, I was relating to a friend of mine, Scott Phillips, how that I always agreed with what “Coonskinner” had to say on this other far-out forum. When I told him this, Scott began to laugh heartily and told me that the “Coonskinner” was one of his best friends. It was through that friendship that I came to know a very good man who possesses an excellent spirit. About three years ago, I was introduced to the world of John Carroll and I am a much better man for it having come to pass. He pastors in Salina, Kansas but he hails from Oklahoma.

When John Carroll was eleven years, sitting in a rocking chair in his grandmother’s house, he was reading in the book of Acts, specifically chapter 2, when he heard the audible voice of God. He was told “One day you will be preaching about this!” He was so unnerved by this event that he missed supper that night and although his grandmother was aware that something was amiss, he did not tell her what had happened. It was at this very early and tender age that the seed was planted about the future God had planned for him. He would be 19 before he actually preached his first sermon. He has now been preaching almost 20 years.

As with all of these previous men, there are influencers who marked the direction that his life took in ministry.

Loyd Jones — The pastor of his formative years was not really a world-class preacher, just a faithful man who watched his flock. However he did provide some excellent advice to him in the early days of his ministry. He told John to give himself to prayers that were marked by consecration and to study. But as to the mechanical aspects of putting sermons, together no advice was offered.

C. A. Nelson — Brother Nelson was a man who allowed him to preach in the church he pastored. He was a very convicting preacher and this appealed to John. Brother Nelson was a retired District Superintendent for the Oklahoma District when John met him.

O. R. Fauss — Another greatly convicting preacher. A whole lot of men in the age range of late 30’s and beyond can testify of the effect that O. R. Fauss had on them as young men and young ministers. Some of his sermons are on Faithbuilder.

J. T. Pugh — Brother Pugh affected him long before John met him through his preaching. I don’t have the time to go into a story John told me sometime back about meeting Brother Pugh in the Denver airport at one of the most crucial times of his life but he received much spiritual direction during that time from Brother Pugh. When I asked him about specific messages of Brother Pugh, he mentioned two although they are probably not the classics that he is mostly known for. The classics are “You’re First Night in Hell,” “Anointed But Not Blessed,” and “Something Better than Heaven.”

“Fadeless Stars That Never Go Out” was a message that he heard on tape. It was a very provoking and complex message. Jude speaks of “wandering stars” and Brother Pugh took this and compared and contrasted stars with black holes. A black hole is a star that turns in on itself and consumes itself. A man can turn in on himself and quit praying and giving and pursuing and seeking until his ministry shrivels up to nothingness. Or a man can be like Jeremiah who had no converts to speak of, did not have a wife or family and spent much of his ministry in tears seemingly almost in defeat with little outward success. However, the influence of his ministry would be lived out in Babylon by Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.

As a sidenote, I have written a couple of blogs about Brother Pugh in the past. Spiritual Creativity and The Making of a Champion.

John would later meet Brother Pugh and establish somewhat of a relationship with him that remains until this day.

Another message was “Stars You’ve Never Seen Before” by way of cassette tape that produced a very strong prayer meeting after John listened to it.

Verbal Bean — His series “Prayer” and “The Works of the Holy Ghost” were a multi-tape series that John listened to a number of times in his early years of ministry. Both of these series are on Faithbuilder in MP3 format although the audio quality is not the greatest in world due to the age of the tapes.

Derold and Judy Doughty — This is a man who is very important currently in his life. He is who John looks to as a pastor. Judy Doughty is a woman who is given to early morning prayer and has been an inspiration to him in this area.

Gary Howard — This man was an evangelist who preached many times during John’s childhood. He told me that there were messages that Brother Howard preached when he was five and six years old that he does not necessarily remember the content of the message but how there was great depth of the Spirit and provided for long altar services. I am convinced that the key to true revival are those moments that we are able to spend in the altars allow God to work through and to knead the spirit of the man.

I asked John what he thought allowed men to move with such a depth in the Spirit and a feeling of conviction that those in the pew responded to. He told me it was something that our generation does not want to hear but the real keys are pain, suffering, and affliction that will almost break a man in two. Two things we can do with trouble determines how God will let it work for us: 1) The thorn of affliction can be taken to the throne of grace and a measure of grace will come that will sustain a man in his work, or 2) a man can turn that pain inward and become shallow and bitter until it consumes him and those around him.

Before a man can rightly divide the Word, the Word has to rightly divide the man. The Word has the capacity separate soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12) and until this happens, men will always be at a loss to really minister the Word.

A man who has no personal depth will never inspire a congregation to work and reach the high calling that God has for them. Trials have the capacity to move us beyond the places of “maintenance prayer” which basically only covers what our daily needs require. In the Tabernacle, the second altar had to be visited and then one moved beyond the veil into the presence of God at the Ark of the Covenant. There is a place of prayer that moves us into the very presence of God that has to be sought out every day. Far too often, men find a place to pray but never stay long enough find that second wave of the Spirit. Moses left the Tabernacle but it was Joshua who lingered in the presence of God (Exodus 33:11) and it paid huge dividends in his life. When we get into a rush and the hustle and bustle of life it can be taxing to our relationship with God.

When I asked John about sermons that he had heard that over the years had meant much to him, he mentioned three particular men who preached messages.

Mark Morgan — “When the Avenger Arrives” that was preached at the ARK conference. Another one, “When God Changes His Coat” at the Colorado District Campmeeting.

David Shatwell — “How to Heal a Wounded Spirit” which was preached either at Annapolis, Maryland or Madison, Mississippi.

Tony Bailey — “Early Morning Prayer” which he heard 8-9 years ago.

In the past, John had related to me his early morning routine which I found to be inspiring and remarkable. He gets up between 5-5:30 AM for prayer. At this time of the day, there are no disturbances because the world is not yet stirring. He will pray until he touches God and then there is that lingering in the presence of God that will cause his heart to be inclined toward ministry his church. After the prayer, John begins to muse through the Bible, quietly, carefully, prayerfully, and God uses the Word to speak powerfully to him. On a sidebar, when I speak with John on the phone, I never leave the conversation but that he has not dropped a tremendous thought that he has gained from Scripture. In fact, I have a notebook that I drag around with me everywhere and more than once or twice, something he has said to me makes its way into the pages.

While this Bible reading is going on, a cup of steaming Community Coffee is at hand along with a journal (8 ½ X 11) accompanied by a fountain pen. John has been writing with fountain pens since he was a kid and learned the art of it from his granny. His granny had an old wooden barreled Schaeffer that he started with. He has a variety of fountain pens. He has a Schaeffer, a Waterman, several Parker’s, and a utilitarian type fountain pen that he uses daily. Instead of using one that has an active inkwell, he uses the ones with cartridges for the sake of convenience.

When he was telling me about the pens, he said he had an old preacher tell him one time that he was the “youngest, old preacher” he had ever met. John told me that he likes old saddles, old guns, old pocket knives, but he has a special affinity for old coon-dogs (we shall get to more of that later).

So with Bible, coffee, journal, and fountain pen the inspiration starts to flow and he writes out his notes. He has a number of these hard-bound journals as he will usually fill up 1-2 of them every year. These thoughts will end up becoming sermons and Bible studies for him at later points.

The reason he is committed to writing his thoughts out is because every preacher has times when he is almost trying to drink from a fire hydrant and there are other times it is as dry as a desert. He told me that J. T. Pugh spoke of seasons of inspiration and that the inspiration comes but it has to have structure or it will be worthless. The structure is what causes the perspiration.

John then told me that on these early mornings he can feel the power that is expressed in an old song, Shut In With God:

The disciples were praying for the power to fall

Ten days they did tarry, on God they did call

Then God sent His spirit to baptize them all

For they had been shut in with God



Chorus

Shut in with God in a secret place

There in the spirit, beholding His face

Gaining new power to run in this race

Oh, I love to be shut in with God

Of all pleasant places on land or on sea

There’s no place on earth that is sweeter to me

Than to kneel at the feet of my Master and Lord

For there, I’ll be shut in with God

The pathway to Heaven, though rugged it may be

I’ll travel ‘til my precious Saviour I’ll see

Then the gates of that city will open for me

And there I’ll be shut in with God

John stressed the importance of not being a “binge” student. You have to take Brother Wayne McClain’s advice that he had given to him years before, “Gather the manna every day.” So on approximately 330 days of the 365 you will find John Carroll from 5-5:30 AM until 7:00 praying and working through the Scriptures.

He told me that he gained his love for the Word from a Sunday School teacher who had taught him as a kid. Then his aunt gave him a Bible when he was 7 after he had received the Holy Ghost and was baptized in Jesus’ name. Then through the work of his old pastor, who was very doctrinal in his preaching, gave him a love for apostolic doctrine. So with that first Bible (which he requested from his aunt to have red-letters, pictures, and a concordance), he begin to underline all the major parts of doctrine concerning the Oneness of God and the New Birth experience. One day as he was running the references, John 10:30 leaped out at him and it felt as if the revelation of the Oneness of God was pouring into his mind. So at a very young age, he was very much devoted to doctrine. He encourages his young ministers in his church to work messages in such a manner that they can build a bridge from the message to Acts 2:38.

When I asked him about particular books that he read, an amazing world opened up. John has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and actually was a schoolteacher before going into full time ministry. Therefore because of this background he rarely (as in never) reads books that are religious in nature. He learned from his profs in college that if a man will give himself to reading the classics then there is a stimulation toward deep and orderly thinking.

There are three reasons to read: 1) For recreation; 2) To gain information; and 3) To discipline the mind. The latter two are the most important reasons that someone should spend time reading. The classic literature that he has read includes Dante’s Inferno, Plato’s Republic (which is an incredible task in itself), the essays of Sir Frances Bacon, varied works by Shakespeare, and poetry. His two favorite poets are Emily Dickinson of which all of her works are enjoyed and Rudyard Kipling. The two favorite poems of Kipling are “If” and “The Female of the Species.”

He also expressed an enjoyment of reading Mark Twain’s works. Of Twain, he told me that he is deceptively deep and multi-layered in his writings, to which I greatly agree as I have used several illustrations from Twain over the years in my own preaching. He mentioned that Twain could be enjoyed by a 12 year old boy and at the same time could challenge a well educated college professor.

When he told me about the process of putting the messages that he preaches together, he said that he could in no way say he would fall into the category as a Doug White who might spend 10 hours on a message. He said that all week long is basically the process by which the message will be borne during those times of devotion and prayer. The real work of preaching is not so much the event as it is the praying, gathering, and working to put it into a preachable design. When we were talking about the aspect of God speaking to the man he mentioned a provoking verse from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 23:21-22 KJV I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. [22] But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

The dilemma of our days could very well be related to the fact that few are willing to stand in the counsel of the Lord and hear what He longs to say to the His Church. All that was required of the prophets was for them to stand and stay in the place of the Lord until they had heard from God and they could not do it and Israel failed.

As far as his notes, he takes to the pulpit 2-4 sheets of lined notebook paper. He will write out transitional points. His outline ranges from very detailed to very scanty. He uses different colored pens to write with, primarily black, blue, and red. The Scriptures are always in red and the blues and blacks alternate the other portions of the message. He doesn’t use a computer to type of his notes on.

As for his closest friends, they are Terry Harmon, David Shatwell, Doug White, Scott Phillips, and Guy Godwin. All of these friends were met at events/conferences that involved deep moves of the Spirit and consecrating prayer. He told me that for all of these friends that a principle came about in that what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Things will bear fruit in the realm that they are born in. If a friendship is born in a spiritual way, the friendship has a tendency to bring about spiritual change and encouragement.

I asked him about a particular Bible preference and he said he has used a Thompson Chain reference for years. He likes the font and the margins that allow him to write things in the margins. He told me that all of his Bibles over the years have been marked up. I did not tell him but I have told numerous men that they need to write in their Bibles simply for the fact that when they die, their children will have a very valuable gift but it will be much more than that, it will be a legacy passed on.

On a lighter note, I asked him about his coon dogs to which he has a great love for. He has three American Bluetick Hounds. He said these are the best coondogs a man can buy. He has three and they chase coons in the surrounding regions of Salina. Their names are Mabel, Emmy Lou, and Judy.

When I asked him what final advice he might give to young men who are just entering the ministry, he told me he about a Scripture that he wrote in the front of every Bible he has ever owned:

Proverbs 13:20 KJV He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Make sure the friends that you have are men who will make you reach higher and be better. Never associate with those who are always testing the limits and the boundaries seeking to wander off into a spiritual wasteland. Also, if a young man does not want to pray and study, he needs to find something else to do with his life. Finally, get a grip of Truth and never let it go!

There are some various sermons by John Carroll on Faithbuilder.

Also the following sermons are available:

God’s Gift to the Rebellious



The Three-fold Perspective of the Worshipper

The Road Less Traveled

The other posts related to this one are as follow:

The Discipline of Study.

Jeff Arnold.

Scott Graham.

Ben Weeks.

Jason Calhoun.

Doug White.

J. H. Osborne.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

The Discipline of Study — John Carroll

I continue our series on the discipline of study with a John Kerryesque sort of statement, “I knew John Carroll before I knew John Carroll.” A number of years ago, a friend of mine told me that I should visit an internet forum that was sort of a discussion ground for a lot of disgruntled Pentecostals who spent much time and energy trying to tear down some of the core doctrines and traditions that have been long held. When I ventured into this very weary land (I quit going very shortly thereafter), I kept noting a person who was commenting who went by the name “Coonskinner.” This “Coonskinner” and one other person (of whom I have since learned his identity also) would have about 50 people piling on with all sorts of rude comments and ridiculous innuendo concerning their defense of the faith. I did my best to post and agree with the “Coonskinner” and his valiant friend but because the forum required a special login and registration (to which I tried to gain but never could), I could never post my remarks in agreement with them.

Years passed and about 3 years ago, I was relating to a friend of mine, Scott Phillips, how that I always agreed with what “Coonskinner” had to say on this other far-out forum. When I told him this, Scott began to laugh heartily and told me that the “Coonskinner” was one of his best friends. It was through that friendship that I came to know a very good man who possesses an excellent spirit. About three years ago, I was introduced to the world of John Carroll and I am a much better man for it having come to pass. He pastors in Salina, Kansas but he hails from Oklahoma.

When John Carroll was eleven years, sitting in a rocking chair in his grandmother’s house, he was reading in the book of Acts, specifically chapter 2, when he heard the audible voice of God. He was told “One day you will be preaching about this!” He was so unnerved by this event that he missed supper that night and although his grandmother was aware that something was amiss, he did not tell her what had happened. It was at this very early and tender age that the seed was planted about the future God had planned for him. He would be 19 before he actually preached his first sermon. He has now been preaching almost 20 years.

As with all of these previous men, there are influencers who marked the direction that his life took in ministry.

Loyd Jones — The pastor of his formative years was not really a world-class preacher, just a faithful man who watched his flock. However he did provide some excellent advice to him in the early days of his ministry. He told John to give himself to prayers that were marked by consecration and to study. But as to the mechanical aspects of putting sermons, together no advice was offered.

C. A. Nelson — Brother Nelson was a man who allowed him to preach in the church he pastored. He was a very convicting preacher and this appealed to John. Brother Nelson was a retired District Superintendent for the Oklahoma District when John met him.

O. R. Fauss — Another greatly convicting preacher. A whole lot of men in the age range of late 30’s and beyond can testify of the effect that O. R. Fauss had on them as young men and young ministers. Some of his sermons are on Faithbuilder.

J. T. Pugh — Brother Pugh affected him long before John met him through his preaching. I don’t have the time to go into a story John told me sometime back about meeting Brother Pugh in the Denver airport at one of the most crucial times of his life but he received much spiritual direction during that time from Brother Pugh. When I asked him about specific messages of Brother Pugh, he mentioned two although they are probably not the classics that he is mostly known for. The classics are “You’re First Night in Hell,” “Anointed But Not Blessed,” and “Something Better than Heaven.”

“Fadeless Stars That Never Go Out” was a message that he heard on tape. It was a very provoking and complex message. Jude speaks of “wandering stars” and Brother Pugh took this and compared and contrasted stars with black holes. A black hole is a star that turns in on itself and consumes itself. A man can turn in on himself and quit praying and giving and pursuing and seeking until his ministry shrivels up to nothingness. Or a man can be like Jeremiah who had no converts to speak of, did not have a wife or family and spent much of his ministry in tears seemingly almost in defeat with little outward success. However, the influence of his ministry would be lived out in Babylon by Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.

As a sidenote, I have written a couple of blogs about Brother Pugh in the past. Spiritual Creativity and The Making of a Champion.

John would later meet Brother Pugh and establish somewhat of a relationship with him that remains until this day.

Another message was “Stars You’ve Never Seen Before” by way of cassette tape that produced a very strong prayer meeting after John listened to it.

Verbal Bean — His series “Prayer” and “The Works of the Holy Ghost” were a multi-tape series that John listened to a number of times in his early years of ministry. Both of these series are on Faithbuilder in MP3 format although the audio quality is not the greatest in world due to the age of the tapes.

Derold and Judy Doughty — This is a man who is very important currently in his life. He is who John looks to as a pastor. Judy Doughty is a woman who is given to early morning prayer and has been an inspiration to him in this area.

Gary Howard — This man was an evangelist who preached many times during John’s childhood. He told me that there were messages that Brother Howard preached when he was five and six years old that he does not necessarily remember the content of the message but how there was great depth of the Spirit and provided for long altar services. I am convinced that the key to true revival are those moments that we are able to spend in the altars allow God to work through and to knead the spirit of the man.

I asked John what he thought allowed men to move with such a depth in the Spirit and a feeling of conviction that those in the pew responded to. He told me it was something that our generation does not want to hear but the real keys are pain, suffering, and affliction that will almost break a man in two. Two things we can do with trouble determines how God will let it work for us: 1) The thorn of affliction can be taken to the throne of grace and a measure of grace will come that will sustain a man in his work, or 2) a man can turn that pain inward and become shallow and bitter until it consumes him and those around him.

Before a man can rightly divide the Word, the Word has to rightly divide the man. The Word has the capacity separate soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12) and until this happens, men will always be at a loss to really minister the Word.

A man who has no personal depth will never inspire a congregation to work and reach the high calling that God has for them. Trials have the capacity to move us beyond the places of “maintenance prayer” which basically only covers what our daily needs require. In the Tabernacle, the second altar had to be visited and then one moved beyond the veil into the presence of God at the Ark of the Covenant. There is a place of prayer that moves us into the very presence of God that has to be sought out every day. Far too often, men find a place to pray but never stay long enough find that second wave of the Spirit. Moses left the Tabernacle but it was Joshua who lingered in the presence of God (Exodus 33:11) and it paid huge dividends in his life. When we get into a rush and the hustle and bustle of life it can be taxing to our relationship with God.

When I asked John about sermons that he had heard that over the years had meant much to him, he mentioned three particular men who preached messages.

Mark Morgan — “When the Avenger Arrives” that was preached at the ARK conference. Another one, “When God Changes His Coat” at the Colorado District Campmeeting.

David Shatwell — “How to Heal a Wounded Spirit” which was preached either at Annapolis, Maryland or Madison, Mississippi.

Tony Bailey — “Early Morning Prayer” which he heard 8-9 years ago.

In the past, John had related to me his early morning routine which I found to be inspiring and remarkable. He gets up between 5-5:30 AM for prayer. At this time of the day, there are no disturbances because the world is not yet stirring. He will pray until he touches God and then there is that lingering in the presence of God that will cause his heart to be inclined toward ministry his church. After the prayer, John begins to muse through the Bible, quietly, carefully, prayerfully, and God uses the Word to speak powerfully to him. On a sidebar, when I speak with John on the phone, I never leave the conversation but that he has not dropped a tremendous thought that he has gained from Scripture. In fact, I have a notebook that I drag around with me everywhere and more than once or twice, something he has said to me makes its way into the pages.

While this Bible reading is going on, a cup of steaming Community Coffee is at hand along with a journal (8 ½ X 11) accompanied by a fountain pen. John has been writing with fountain pens since he was a kid and learned the art of it from his granny. His granny had an old wooden barreled Schaeffer that he started with. He has a variety of fountain pens. He has a Schaeffer, a Waterman, several Parker’s, and a utilitarian type fountain pen that he uses daily. Instead of using one that has an active inkwell, he uses the ones with cartridges for the sake of convenience.

When he was telling me about the pens, he said he had an old preacher tell him one time that he was the “youngest, old preacher” he had ever met. John told me that he likes old saddles, old guns, old pocket knives, but he has a special affinity for old coon-dogs (we shall get to more of that later).

So with Bible, coffee, journal, and fountain pen the inspiration starts to flow and he writes out his notes. He has a number of these hard-bound journals as he will usually fill up 1-2 of them every year. These thoughts will end up becoming sermons and Bible studies for him at later points.

The reason he is committed to writing his thoughts out is because every preacher has times when he is almost trying to drink from a fire hydrant and there are other times it is as dry as a desert. He told me that J. T. Pugh spoke of seasons of inspiration and that the inspiration comes but it has to have structure or it will be worthless. The structure is what causes the perspiration.

John then told me that on these early mornings he can feel the power that is expressed in an old song, Shut In With God:

The disciples were praying for the power to fall

Ten days they did tarry, on God they did call

Then God sent His spirit to baptize them all

For they had been shut in with God



Chorus

Shut in with God in a secret place

There in the spirit, beholding His face

Gaining new power to run in this race

Oh, I love to be shut in with God

Of all pleasant places on land or on sea

There’s no place on earth that is sweeter to me

Than to kneel at the feet of my Master and Lord

For there, I’ll be shut in with God

The pathway to Heaven, though rugged it may be

I’ll travel ‘til my precious Saviour I’ll see

Then the gates of that city will open for me

And there I’ll be shut in with God

John stressed the importance of not being a “binge” student. You have to take Brother Wayne McClain’s advice that he had given to him years before, “Gather the manna every day.” So on approximately 330 days of the 365 you will find John Carroll from 5-5:30 AM until 7:00 praying and working through the Scriptures.

He told me that he gained his love for the Word from a Sunday School teacher who had taught him as a kid. Then his aunt gave him a Bible when he was 7 after he had received the Holy Ghost and was baptized in Jesus’ name. Then through the work of his old pastor, who was very doctrinal in his preaching, gave him a love for apostolic doctrine. So with that first Bible (which he requested from his aunt to have red-letters, pictures, and a concordance), he begin to underline all the major parts of doctrine concerning the Oneness of God and the New Birth experience. One day as he was running the references, John 10:30 leaped out at him and it felt as if the revelation of the Oneness of God was pouring into his mind. So at a very young age, he was very much devoted to doctrine. He encourages his young ministers in his church to work messages in such a manner that they can build a bridge from the message to Acts 2:38.

When I asked him about particular books that he read, an amazing world opened up. John has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and actually was a schoolteacher before going into full time ministry. Therefore because of this background he rarely (as in never) reads books that are religious in nature. He learned from his profs in college that if a man will give himself to reading the classics then there is a stimulation toward deep and orderly thinking.

There are three reasons to read: 1) For recreation; 2) To gain information; and 3) To discipline the mind. The latter two are the most important reasons that someone should spend time reading. The classic literature that he has read includes Dante’s Inferno, Plato’s Republic (which is an incredible task in itself), the essays of Sir Frances Bacon, varied works by Shakespeare, and poetry. His two favorite poets are Emily Dickinson of which all of her works are enjoyed and Rudyard Kipling. The two favorite poems of Kipling are “If” and “The Female of the Species.”

He also expressed an enjoyment of reading Mark Twain’s works. Of Twain, he told me that he is deceptively deep and multi-layered in his writings, to which I greatly agree as I have used several illustrations from Twain over the years in my own preaching. He mentioned that Twain could be enjoyed by a 12 year old boy and at the same time could challenge a well educated college professor.

When he told me about the process of putting the messages that he preaches together, he said that he could in no way say he would fall into the category as a Doug White who might spend 10 hours on a message. He said that all week long is basically the process by which the message will be borne during those times of devotion and prayer. The real work of preaching is not so much the event as it is the praying, gathering, and working to put it into a preachable design. When we were talking about the aspect of God speaking to the man he mentioned a provoking verse from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 23:21-22 KJV I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. [22] But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

The dilemma of our days could very well be related to the fact that few are willing to stand in the counsel of the Lord and hear what He longs to say to the His Church. All that was required of the prophets was for them to stand and stay in the place of the Lord until they had heard from God and they could not do it and Israel failed.

As far as his notes, he takes to the pulpit 2-4 sheets of lined notebook paper. He will write out transitional points. His outline ranges from very detailed to very scanty. He uses different colored pens to write with, primarily black, blue, and red. The Scriptures are always in red and the blues and blacks alternate the other portions of the message. He doesn’t use a computer to type of his notes on.

As for his closest friends, they are Terry Harmon, David Shatwell, Doug White, Scott Phillips, and Guy Godwin. All of these friends were met at events/conferences that involved deep moves of the Spirit and consecrating prayer. He told me that for all of these friends that a principle came about in that what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Things will bear fruit in the realm that they are born in. If a friendship is born in a spiritual way, the friendship has a tendency to bring about spiritual change and encouragement.

I asked him about a particular Bible preference and he said he has used a Thompson Chain reference for years. He likes the font and the margins that allow him to write things in the margins. He told me that all of his Bibles over the years have been marked up. I did not tell him but I have told numerous men that they need to write in their Bibles simply for the fact that when they die, their children will have a very valuable gift but it will be much more than that, it will be a legacy passed on.

On a lighter note, I asked him about his coon dogs to which he has a great love for. He has three American Bluetick Hounds. He said these are the best coondogs a man can buy. He has three and they chase coons in the surrounding regions of Salina. Their names are Mabel, Emmy Lou, and Judy.

When I asked him what final advice he might give to young men who are just entering the ministry, he told me he about a Scripture that he wrote in the front of every Bible he has ever owned:

Proverbs 13:20 KJV He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Make sure the friends that you have are men who will make you reach higher and be better. Never associate with those who are always testing the limits and the boundaries seeking to wander off into a spiritual wasteland. Also, if a young man does not want to pray and study, he needs to find something else to do with his life. Finally, get a grip of Truth and never let it go!

There are some various sermons by John Carroll on Faithbuilder.

Also the following sermons are available:

God’s Gift to the Rebellious



The Three-fold Perspective of the Worshipper

The Road Less Traveled

The other posts related to this one are as follow:

The Discipline of Study.

Jeff Arnold.

Scott Graham.

Ben Weeks.

Jason Calhoun.

Doug White.

J. H. Osborne.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

A Treasure Trove You Might’ve Missed

The last two days has left me incredibly pressed for time, however I have made a personal commitment to try and blog at least four times a week until the horse falls over so here we go at almost midnight.

For those of you who have been diligently following the “Discipline of Study” posts, I will get back to those probably next week. I have had to go fishing and have some good men out on the line but it will be next week before I can sit down with them. I want to tell you that I am greatly appreciative of all the comments and e-mails that you are sending in regards to this particular series of blogs.

I am going to encourage you to look carefully at a book that is a treasure trove that you might have overlooked. I am speaking of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Currently this book runs secondly only to the Bible as the most published piece of Christian literature. If you have never read it, you are really in for a good treat. I recommend that you get the updated edition by L. Edward Hazelbaker.

I read this book years ago, but it was not until Brother Harrell in Bridge City, Texas urged me to really dig into this classic piece by Bunyan. It was said that Charles Spurgeon read “Pilgrim’s Progress” more than 100 times in his lifetime. If you have read any of Spurgeon’s sermons then you will have at least ran across one or two times that he has mentioned either scenes or characters from the story.

Last night for our mid-week Bible study series, I am patiently working through 1st John and came to the passage in 4:1 where John demands that we do not believe every spirit but rather that we test them. That is to assay or weigh them out through the strong element of spiritual discernment. As I worked through the passage, an illustration that fit extremely well was when Christian and Faithful make their way through Vanity Fair and have to decipher through all of the voices that are clamoring for their attention. It is amazing how well the illustration worked when you read the part where the Bunyan paints up all of his characters in the allegory.

I have preached a few sermons using “Pilgrim’s Progress” scenes as a leaping off point. “The Fight of Your Life” was a message I preached about Christian battling Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. Another message I preached was “Giants Under Junipers” which took into consideration the story of Christian when he was locked up in Doubting Castle and had to escape the dungeon. He had wandered off the right path and it almost led to a terrible ending for him. Another one is “The Magnetism of the Finish Line.”

The whole allegory is concerned with Christian getting to the Celestial City (Heaven) and the battles and characters that he encounters along the way. Mr. Facing Both Ways, Worldly Wiseman, Hopeful, Faithful, and the Man in the Iron Cage are just a small few of worthy characters that will work for very good “sermon spice” as my friend Ben Weeks calls it. Also another very valuable resource to look for in conjunction with Bunyan’s book is Alexander Whyte’s “Characters of Pilgrim’s Progress.” There are three volumes of Whyte’s musings but there are absolutely essential for one who wants to look a little deeper.

Pilgrim’s Progress On-line for free.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

A Treasure Trove You Might’ve Missed

The last two days has left me incredibly pressed for time, however I have made a personal commitment to try and blog at least four times a week until the horse falls over so here we go at almost midnight.

For those of you who have been diligently following the “Discipline of Study” posts, I will get back to those probably next week. I have had to go fishing and have some good men out on the line but it will be next week before I can sit down with them. I want to tell you that I am greatly appreciative of all the comments and e-mails that you are sending in regards to this particular series of blogs.

I am going to encourage you to look carefully at a book that is a treasure trove that you might have overlooked. I am speaking of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” Currently this book runs secondly only to the Bible as the most published piece of Christian literature. If you have never read it, you are really in for a good treat. I recommend that you get the updated edition by L. Edward Hazelbaker.

I read this book years ago, but it was not until Brother Harrell in Bridge City, Texas urged me to really dig into this classic piece by Bunyan. It was said that Charles Spurgeon read “Pilgrim’s Progress” more than 100 times in his lifetime. If you have read any of Spurgeon’s sermons then you will have at least ran across one or two times that he has mentioned either scenes or characters from the story.

Last night for our mid-week Bible study series, I am patiently working through 1st John and came to the passage in 4:1 where John demands that we do not believe every spirit but rather that we test them. That is to assay or weigh them out through the strong element of spiritual discernment. As I worked through the passage, an illustration that fit extremely well was when Christian and Faithful make their way through Vanity Fair and have to decipher through all of the voices that are clamoring for their attention. It is amazing how well the illustration worked when you read the part where the Bunyan paints up all of his characters in the allegory.

I have preached a few sermons using “Pilgrim’s Progress” scenes as a leaping off point. “The Fight of Your Life” was a message I preached about Christian battling Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. Another message I preached was “Giants Under Junipers” which took into consideration the story of Christian when he was locked up in Doubting Castle and had to escape the dungeon. He had wandered off the right path and it almost led to a terrible ending for him. Another one is “The Magnetism of the Finish Line.”

The whole allegory is concerned with Christian getting to the Celestial City (Heaven) and the battles and characters that he encounters along the way. Mr. Facing Both Ways, Worldly Wiseman, Hopeful, Faithful, and the Man in the Iron Cage are just a small few of worthy characters that will work for very good “sermon spice” as my friend Ben Weeks calls it. Also another very valuable resource to look for in conjunction with Bunyan’s book is Alexander Whyte’s “Characters of Pilgrim’s Progress.” There are three volumes of Whyte’s musings but there are absolutely essential for one who wants to look a little deeper.

Pilgrim’s Progress On-line for free.

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

The Discipline of Study — J. H. Osborne

I have a very proper analogy that I would like to use concerning Pastor J. H. Osborne of First Bible Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. That analogy has to do with the prowess and strength that an NFL linebacker has. I was hit with an incredible force, speed, and intensity and I went down in a heap, and it was a blind-sided hit at that.

Several years ago (2003-04), I was invited to the “Fall Classic” that is hosted by Brother Jerry Dean in Bossier City, Louisiana in a smaller group setting. There are about 40-50 men that he invites for this meeting in October and he will ask men from around the nation to preach and teach on a two-night and one full day affair. When I was invited, I was told that Brother Osborne would be one of the main speakers to which I then asked, “Who is Brother Osborne?” and the very subtle answer came back, “He pastors in Indianapolis.” That was the understatement of the year!

Brother Osborne has to be one of the most masterful and engaging preachers that I have ever heard. Furthermore there is an amazing story behind him. He really never saw himself in the role as a pastor or a preacher. He told me that if you would have placed an ad in the paper asking for the most unqualified person to pastor a church it would have been him. Thirty-nine years ago, he began pastoring First Bible Church. His pastor, James Petty, died quite unexpectedly on a Wednesday night, and Brother Osborne was elected pastor on Sunday. He had never preached! He had taught a few Sunday School lessons, led the service, and occasionally led singing but no training at all. In fact, he did not even have a key to the church.

Brother Osborne said he really did not know what to do and despite the fact of having grown up in this church it had never been his desire to preach much less be the pastor. In fact, he shied away from it and attended Purdue University majoring in electronics for a while before being voted in as the pastor.

He said that his ministry in the early days was a lot of trial and error. During those days, Bible schools were discouraged by many pastors because they said that it only turned out “cookie cutter” preachers who were all the same. He had not participated in any weddings or funerals. In fact, he had no mentors at all. In his early days, older preachers were not much on mentoring or on sharing anything. They were “sermon graveyards” in that they would not give anything out. Their sermons and Bible studies died with them after having been preached only to their local church.

After he felt the call and the responsibility of pastoring the church it placed him in a do or die mode. He watched, imitated, learned, and did everything possible to learn the ropes of pastoral ministry and preaching. If he saw something that another man was doing well, he would imitate it and if he saw something that was bad he would move away from it.

He soon discovered one premise about preaching from Romans 15:4. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Everything written in the Bible is for our learning so that we may provide hope to those who are hearing us. The Bible is prophecy, poetry, revelation, parables, songs, and ultimately a book of hope. He always asks himself when he is studying, “Where is the hope in this?”

The primary goal of preaching is to provide the hope of salvation to those who are hearing the preaching. The man by the pool for 38 years had very little hope. Prior to Lazarus being resurrected there was very little hope. But the diligent student will pull the hope from the passage and present it.

Sermons can be studied out and they can be preached out of the mind of the preacher but the truly good ones that will have an impact are those that are “born” in the midst of life’s pressing experiences. As a pastor, he will see certain needs in the church and he will need to address those. Whether they are issues of prayer, holiness, and even tithing, a shepherd will seek out messages that will be “born” in his heart so that he may impact the hearer.

Brother Osborne told me that he enjoys working with words. There are many repetitive words that are in the Psalms as compared to Isaiah. Isaiah was a much more educated man than David was and so therefore the words in Isaiah will be more varied than what one finds in the Psalms of David. However, the repetition of the words can make for some very powerful messages.

Brother Osborne also told me that he seeks out the situations behind the stories. He mentioned a message he had preached sometime ago, “False Gods and Old Nurses.” It was about Jacob weeping for the nurse but oddly he did not weep at the death of Rachel. This is a passage of Scripture that shows some very odd things and it is looking at a circumstance that seems to leap out of nowhere that will give rise to some very good messages. An anointed imagination is very important to have although one must be careful not to violate the integrity of the Scriptures.

Characters will play out the human drama. In every story that we read in the Bible there are stars, co-stars, walk-ons, those in the crowd, and even those who appear to be the wallflowers have something to contribute to the message. Find the people who do not necessarily do the fantastic because all characters in the Bible have a story that needs, in fact must be told. To do this, one has to get off the beaten path and find these sorts of people. An often over-looked character is Hannah’s husband. What about him? “A man named Elkanah” is worth a preacher’s time. We have often heard Hannah, Samuel, Eli, and Eli’s sons preached about, but have you ever heard a message about Elkanah?

In Hebrews 11, “and others” gives us an indication that the Bible is full of “others” who were important to the work of God. They will come kicking and screaming from the pages of the Scripture but they must need to do this for effective preaching to take place. Jonah takes the reader on a trip that is worth a man digging into. However, this kind of study is very hard work and far too many will not give themselves to working it out.

It is important to read the Bible but to study the Bible is going to require the discipline of “little by little.” The Bible ought to be new every time that we read it. It is not so much that the actual words are new but we have to approach the Bible through a sense of having been changed by our experiences since the last time we read it. If you continue to go back to the well of Scripture it will speak much to your life.

Three elements that will help our preaching are tests, trials, and experiences. All three of these categories are separate entities and they will heighten our own experience with God and His Word. Notice John, the closest disciple of Jesus. He heard the heartbeat of God. He heard the blood before he ever saw the blood that was spilled at Calvary. He knew what the hands and feet of Jesus looked like before they were pierced. But it would not be until he reached Patmos that revelation would come to him. Revelation can only come to a man who is in a place of isolation and persecution. Much revelatory preaching can only come to us through the birth of painful experiences. Tribulation, patience, experience, and then the bursting evidence of hope.

Experience is the crucible of life or it can be otherwise called the Patmos Experience. Before God can use a man greatly, He will hurt him deeply! Make experiences and the pain of life work for your preaching. A young man can preach a message and it will be neither good nor bad but an older man can take that same sermon and it will be monumental simply because of the fact of experience and suffering has rendered it effective. Experience makes a difference in the life of the preacher. He told me that every young preacher should to go a morgue and see a body that has a tag on the toe. Young preachers ought to spend time with the terminally ill because all of the extraneous is cut out of their conversation and only what is vital is spoken of.

However a preacher must be very careful that he is not always preaching out of his own experiences because it can taint a church. If he is dealing with the illness of a family member, church problems, or the challenges of putting a marriage back together, he must be careful not to get mired in the trap of preaching as therapeutic. If a preacher is not very, very careful he can allow the experiences of life to force him to preach out of his frustrations. When this occurs, the preacher must get on a new track. Often this can occur if he will change the routine, go to a conference that may give some inspiration, or seek a deeper aspect in his own prayer life.

Brother Osborne told me that he is shocked that he has arrived on the conference circuit because he does not see himself as any better than any other pastor. The whole focus of his preaching has always been more to help his local church than anywhere else and the messages that are heard at conferences and meetings across the country are things that his church has already heard him preach. What a powerful testimony! If a pastor will give himself to the excellence of ministry there will be a time that it will bear fruit.

His closest friend is Pastor Spencer McCool who pastors in Michigan. Brother Osborne has preached several times for him for marriage retreats. They talk frequently and many of their conversations are concerning sermons they are preaching and Bible studies that they are working on in their churches.

When I asked Brother Osborne about books, he again reiterated how totally unprepared and unequipped he was concerning pastoral ministry when he started. He had no friends who could help him and point him in a direction toward books. He frankly had very little idea that there were books of sermons, commentaries, and other books that were available to ministers. So his primary source was the Bible. He did mentioned the old, old (as in 1940’s and 1950’s) condensed Reader’s Digest books that contained shorter stories that could be read through fairly quickly for a source of illustrations and sometimes even a catchy sermon title. A good place to find the books is the Goodwill stores that usually place a price of a quarter on them. You will find obscure cases and people mentioned that will not be things that people run across every day. He was flipping through one of them as we were talking and he mentioned something that might be worked out, “Ten Marks of an Educated Man.” This is the way that a preacher can develop a reservoir of material.

As for his sermons, he has every sermon he has ever preached. Before the computer days, it was a typewriter that the sermons were born on. At the present, he has 22 (8.5X11) binders on bookshelves but he also has a closet full of binders because of shelf limitations. Thirty-nine years of preaching all at his fingertips. The majority of the sermons are alphabetized by title. He has three other categories that he places other sermons in. He has divided his funeral messages, men’s ministry sermons, and sermons that he could preach in other local churches should the invitation be given.

He told me that titles are very important to him and he can remember much of the sermons not so much by their Scripture reference but according to the title. The majority of the notes are laid out in a fairly detailed way in outline form but with a lot of bulleted lists. A few of the messages that he considers “heavy” are word-for-word manuscripts. He said that the test of every set of sermon notes is whether or not those notes can be passed along to another preacher and he can preach them without having to ask the author, ‘what did you mean by this’? Good notes also can serve as a fence to keep a preacher from wandering off into Neverland. Furthermore the making up of a good set of notes can help a man to preach better because it forces him to crystallize his thoughts.

Brother Osborne works with a single legal pad which he spends writing down his thoughts on a daily basis. He never tears a page out of it but goes through looking at the collection and milks them for things to work into messages (Brother Jeff Arnold also does this same thing although not with a specific legal pad but varied notebooks, etc.) As Brother Osborne goes back through the notes he gleans things from them. When it is full, he tosses it in the garbage.

He told me some of the things that is written on the current legal pad he is working with:

-A series of words — Paupers, beggars, poor, and weary.

-Old Foes with New Faces — He does not know where this came from. The picture is of Herod who was a descendant of Jacob. The Edomites. The Amalekites.

-Ego — A Latin word meaning, “I.” Ego is often an exaggerated sense of self-importance.

-Don’t Believe Everything You Think — A sermon about overcoming the power of stray thoughts.

Brother Osborne told me that preaching has always been hard work for him. It did not come easy years ago and it does not come easy now. He noted the importance of writing something down every single day and this helps with the challenge of having that reservoir. He also mentioned that it is somewhat hard to just sit down with the purpose of putting a sermon together although he will do this at times. He has noticed over the years that studying at night is the best outlet for him.

I asked about any lengthy series that he has done in his church. He did a long series on the pearl and how that the gates of heaven are of pearl. Pearls as associated with irritations and suffering and he used the aspects of the oyster forming a pearl for this series. He has also done a series on Holiness, Strong Men, and The Cedar Tree. The cedar is rooted in the earth (terrestrial) and its branches reach up toward the sky (celestial).

When I asked him about any sermons that he had preached that stood out to him over the years, he mentioned, “Marry all the King’s Wives,” “The Silence of a Man” which has been preached at a number of men’s conferences, “The Keeper of the Cellar,” and “The Perils of a Servant.” He is currently working on a book that will have his sermon notes. I feel certain that there will be a market for his work!

As for sharing and/or borrowing other preacher’s messages, he told me that there is a great blessing and value in giving other men your notes. The fact of the matter is that most messages never are preached again and they die with that man and the church where he preaches. Even if the notes are preached verbatim they come through a different voice and will have that man’s experiences bolstering the message. Take the notes and use them but make them your message that comes through your voice.

On a closing note, I will share some of the messages that Brother Osborne has preached that have stood out to me:

“To the Priest Goes the Skin”
“Until the Sun Be Hot”
“When It’s Time to Pay the Dancer”
“Goats”
“Marry All the King’s Wives”
“Wanted: Sons of Issachar”
“The Power of a Bloodline”
“The Perils of a Servant”

In addition, I also have the 2003 and 2004 handwritten notes that I took at Brother Dean’s “Fall Classic” that I will try to transcribe and post sometime before the summer. There are probably 15 pages over the two years. On a sidebar, I would encourage preachers to take notes when you are listening to someone preach as it will focus your attention and you never know what you may glean to turn into a message.

God Bless and thanks for reading. . . .

Philip Harrelson

The Other Links with this series:

The Discipline of Study
Jeff Arnold
Scott Graham
Ben Weeks
Jason Calhoun
Doug White

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul