When Pastors Must Balance Between Good Cop, Bad Cop

Parents play different roles at times in most families. Some call it “good cop, bad cop,” which I suppose is just another way of describing “grace and justice.” In my family, the roles were pretty well prescribed. My mother was nearly always...

Balancing the Tension Between Pastor, Prophet Roles

A recent conversation with a young pastor friend turned, rather naturally, to the delicate and difficult balance of the pastoral and the prophetic dimensions of congregational ministry. Everyday needs and personal challenges in a faith family call for the deepest...

When A Prophet Fails

A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on August 12, 2012. 1 Kings 19:4-8; Matthew 11:25-30 The preacher is never better than his last sermon. Forget the years and years of week-in, week-out study of the biblical...

The Work and Worth of Prophetic People

A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 29, 2012. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet* like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.*16This is what...

When God Came Down… Nots, Neithers, and Noes

A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on December 11, 2011. Third Sunday in Advent Psalm 126:1-6; John 1:19-28 Suppose our church announced that we were going to have a Christmas pageant. If you chose to attend,...