God and Mr. Peick weren’t through! – Part 3

August 19, 2011 by admin

My years of ministry where leadership is keynoted by gentle prodding, inspiration, prayer, and careful direction-setting had not prepared me for the tools of raw power: “the command” and “the order.”

The common expression around Teamster City is, “If Louie says …”

I may be one of the few persons who addresses this labor boss as “Mister,” which helps to underscore my naiveté about the world of the truckers. During our entire tour we were constantly interrupted by messengers: “Louie, there’s a phone call for ya…” Or, “Louie, the secretary sent me to tell ya …”

“What you need,” I suggested, “is one of those devices that doctors on duty have in hospitals. They buzz when someone needs you.” He thought that was a good idea.

“Go get the carpenter,” he commanded. “The Rev can’t have offices up here without some privacy.”

The carpenter came and instructions were given to enclose the stairwell with paneling and a private entrance.

“Follow me. There are some people I want you to meet.”

I went downstairs somewhat like an obedient and well-trained puppy. In the vast parking lot we ran into Joey Glimco, head of the Taxi Drivers’ Union.

I don’t know much about the system of unions in the city, but I had heard the name before—I wasn’t sure when. He was aware of the church since the auditorium was directly above his first floor offices.

———————————————

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

God and Mr. Peick weren’t through! – Part 2

August 18, 2011 by admin

The office space that Mr. Peick to me to in the front portion of the warehouse building contained a second floor where there was a large open area including two private offices, two washrooms, and two air conditioners.

“Do you think this would work out?” he asked.

It was perfect. Not only was it more suitable to our needs than the present facilities, it would give us proximity to the neighborhood work.

I told Mr. Peick so.

Then he asked, “Do you pay rent where you are?”

We certainly did. In fact, the rent was due at that moment. Without asking how much we paid, he went on, “Well, then this will help you out, Reverend. You can have this space free. How soon can you move?”

At that moment, I wasn’t sure of anything.

“When you get ready to move,” he said, “let me know and I’ll send some of my men over to give you a hand.”

I felt like running back to the staff yelling, “Hey, you guys! Hey, you guys! You’ll never guess what happened!”

But God, and Mr. Peick, weren’t through.

———————————————

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?

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

Share and Enjoy

Time to Stop Talking

August 17, 2011 by admin

There aren’t a lot of people who every week have the privilege of talking nonstop to a group of people for a half-hour or so. Ministers are one of the rare exceptions.

Unfortunately, a lot of these men and women who are relatively good at talking are not as good at not talking. Said differently, they aren’t good listeners. Let me try that again. They often can’t stay quiet long enough to hear what others have to say, and especially, they are unskilled when it comes to giving their full attention to carefully listening to what others have to say about their weekly sermonizing.

This is most unfortunate, because one of the best ways to find out about the transforming effectiveness of sermons is by letting our listeners tell us what impact our words have had on their lives.

Try a question like this: “I’ve preached for four or five Sundays in this recent series; can you tell me if what I’ve said brought about any changes in your life, and if so, what?”

In my mind, that’s not only a fair question, it’s a very important one. People’s answers should prove quite helpful in terms of determining how we are doing our job.

Preachers, who make their living talking, would benefit from cultivating the habit of asking good sermon-related questions, and then listening closely to people’s responses.

———————————————

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?

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

Share and Enjoy

God and Mr. Peick weren’t through! – Part 1

August 16, 2011 by admin

By the end of the summer of 1969 at Circle Church we were behind financially and had received notice to move from the downtown office where we rented space, because the building was to be razed as a part of the renovation process which is eternal to Chicago. After preliminary investigation we realized that the exorbitantly high Chicago-Loop rents would prove impossible to meet continually.

The Circle Church staff at the Tuesday meeting held an extended time for sharing the problem with God. Rarely did we pray regarding finances or physical provisions, having made it a definite policy to trust God. So, these moments centered around a personal examination of our relationship before Him to determine whether our attitudes were proper.

The Zion experiment was in its final weeks and we were all pretty ragged. At the conclusion, I remember Al Nestor saying, “You know, guys, l think we got through.” I thought to myself, “I hope so.” Because we were certainly at the end of our rope.

That afternoon l called Mr. Peick at the Union Hall to inquire if there would possibly be office space somewhere in the complex of properties the Teamsters owned on the near west side. Stating that he was busy at the moment, he asked me to come the next morning.

When I arrived he took me to a large office in a warehouse building in the same block as the Union Hall where we held our Sunday services. The address was 321 South Paulina, and the main part of the first floor was a garage where Union leaders parked their cars. The front portion contained a second floor where there was a large open area including two private offices, two washrooms, and two air conditioners.

“Hmmmm? Air conditioners in summer-hot-hot Chicago?” I thought.

———————————————

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?

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

Share and Enjoy

«Previous Page