JAPAN KESWICK CONVENTION, Speakers and Council Members, 2008 One of the great joys of my preaching ministry was the opportunity to preach in a series of Keswick Conventions in Japan. I preached in Osaka, Kyoto, Hakone and Tokyo. I am standing in the center and to my left is Jonathan Lamb, Keswick speaker and current chairman of the English Keswick in Keswick England. Jonathan is a wonderful preacher. He is also associated with Langham Ministries...a contiunation of John R. W. Stott's ministry on a global scale. The Keswick theme is: All One In Christ Jesus!

My Friend and Mentor, Dr. Stephen F. Olford

I was very blessed in the providence of God to know Stephen F. Olford. I first heard him when I was sixteen and I first met him when I was seventeen. For more than 35 years, until his death in August 2004, he was a significant instrument in the hands of God in teaching, mentoring and shaping my life. I am indebted to God for the life of Stephen Olford and for his friendship.

There is no direction in my study room to which I can turn without seeing evidence of Dr. Olford's life. Hanging on my wall, over my desk, is beautiful verse, a dupicate of the one that hung in Dr. Olford's study. It contains a saying by the Scottish preacher, Robert Murray McCheyne: "Oh God, make me as holy as a saved sinner can be.", taken form I Peter 1:16.

The line that I think of most often is the sentence from a letter to Stephen Olford from his father, a line that became a turning point in his life. "Only one life, 'Twill soon be past, Only what is done for Christ will last."

I encourage younger pastors to find an older man of God who has walked with God and attach yourself to him, spend time with him and learn from him.

I was blessed to have known Stephen F. Olford

Preparing For The Lord's Day

What do you do to prepare for Sunday and your time of fellowship with the people of God and your worship of God? Are you intentional in your preparation? I direct these thoughts to myself first and foremost. Certainly the pastor should be prepared for worship and preaching and ministry. But so should the members of the congregation. The question is sometimes asked: Does good listening make good preaching or does good preaching make good listening? The answer is: Both! However, when the people in the congregation come to church with a sense of anticipation of what God is going to do and say it makes a big difference. For me preparation for Sunday includes the routine study and prayer of a pastor, but it also includes guarding Saturday and being careful with the use of my time and energy. I generally seclude myself to my study by Saturday afternoon and do not engage in social events or anything that requires time, or physical and emotional energy. I do this in order to assure that I am rested and alert for the Lord's Day as much as possible. I encourage you, fellow Christian, to think seriously about preparation for worship. Worship is not controlled by a switch that is turned on at 10:30 on Sunday morning and is turned off at 12:05 on Sunday afternoon. How we worship God Monday through Saturday has a direct affect on how we worship Him on Sunday! Soli Deo Gloria, BR