Every so often the Circle Church office phone would ring and Marge will say, “Mr. Peick wants to see you.”

We used to receive these calls with some trepidation, never certain as to the exactitude of our position. But, the calls invariably accrued to our benefit.

“I think you need a sign,” Mr. Peick told me one day. And so, we arrived the next Sunday to see that permanent lettering had been painted on the door of the Union Hall:

Circle Church
Worship Services 9:30 to 10:30 A.M.
Discussion Groups 10:45 to 11:45 A.M.

“Mr. Peick wants to see you in his office right away,” Marge intoned one day. I walked to his office and was ushered into the middle of a Teamster policy meeting which took place during the latest strike. The discussion was intriguing to say the least.

The Chicago Locals, for the second time in a row, had held out for a larger salary and benefit increase than had been settled on the national level. It’s of historical interest to note that eventually the strike was decided to the advantage of the Chicago Locals. This, in turn, forced a renegotiation of settlements across the nation.

“Oh, Pastor,” said Mr. Peick. “The reason I asked you to come up here was to tell you that the organ we ordered some months back for the church has arrived and is being installed, so that you can use it this Sunday.”

This unusual relationship with the, Teamsters remained an enigma to some people. Invariably I was asked, “What do you think the man’s angle is?” My response, in all sincerity, was that Mr. Peick had a great interest in the neighborhood and wanted to encourage our efforts in that geographic location. His concern with the church seemed quite genuine.

One time, an article ran in Chicago Today about this affiliation, based on interviews with both myself and Mr. Peick. To my dismay the headline read, “Teamster Boss Gets. Religion.” Fortunately, Mr. Peick took this in good humor as the article had been written by the labor editor and not by the religion editor.

———————————————

Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy

Early on this past week, I had an interesting discussion with a friend I admire. He was convinced that preaching didn’t do all that much in terms of changing lives. This gentleman has a passion for one-on-one discipling, and I have to admit that he is remarkably skilled at it. Anyway, our conversation made me wonder if I was spending too much of my time “riding the wrong horse.”

Then, in God’s providence, I spent part of Friday visiting an inner-city ministry in Chicago. The beautiful work being done there almost brought tears to my eyes. This was not only due to the individual lives being touched, but also because of the colossal scope of what has been accomplished through the 40-plus years this work has been in operation.

The director told me that there were two critically important factors in beginning and sustaining this outreach. One was a mentoring relationship he had with an older Christian leader who I also know and admire. The other was a series of sermons he heard me preach well over four decades back on “The Christian, the Church, and Society.” I was dumbfounded! I remember that preaching series, but I had no idea my messages had impacted his life in that way.

So, preaching and discipling don’t have to be thought of as conflicting, but complementing each other. For me, it was also a timely affirmation of the power of the spoken word.

I write this to remind you that when you preach God’s Word this coming Sunday, please remember that it has the power to touch someone’s life in a manner far beyond what you might ever think. So, do a good job of preparing and delivering that next sermon!

———————————————

Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy

The office area which was provided to Circle Church on the day described in the previous blog posts proved a real boon to us. Not only was it operative during the week, but it did full duty on Sunday.

Classes met in the open area downstairs (which we were welcomed to use), brunches were often held after the services in an attempt to further acquaintances, and eventually our burgeoning nursery was moved from the ladies lounge to the upstairs office. Furniture was moved around, playpens and rubber toys dragged out of their storage cupboards, and parents dropped off babies and toddlers on their way around the block to the Union Hall.

At this time, we had also recently taken on a full-time secretary. Marge was a comparatively new Christian of Polish Catholic background who not only reflected the discouragement which the staff had been facing—imagine the exasperation of working with our staff! Marge, as an attractive single woman soon to face her thirties, had expressed some quandary about her personal future. While sharing the miracles which had happened at Teamster City, I remember saying to her, “Your tum is next, Marge!”

After moving to the new offices, she began regularly dating a doctor who was doing residency work at Cook County Hospital and had been attending Circle Church. When he became ill, the new location of the office made it possible for her conveniently to visit him in the nearby hospital every day. We were not surprised when plans for a wedding were announced.

God has a wonderful way of dovetailing His answers to many prayers.

———————————————

Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy