There is an old saying that is absolutely true; you never have a second chance to make a first impression. All of us have visited churches where our first impression was less than positive.

Our natural tendency is to create our own definitions of purity—building longer and more impressive lists of rules every year. But if we want to please God, we must get our definition of pure religion from the Bible.

What is a “motto”? It is a brief statement used to express a principle, goal, or idea; or it is a saying that reminds us of a truth. Here are some mottos of our support staff:

One of my favorite passages in the Old Testament deals with David and his band of men living in a place called Ziklag. Ziklag was a village or town that was under Philistine control. David had become weary of running from Saul and thought that it might be better to hang out in this outpost city.

Recently a young preacher from our church posted on Facebook that he was going to have the opportunity to preach on a Sunday morning while the senior pastor was on vacation. He was excited about being given the privilege of standing in the pastor’s place to feed the people of God in the most important service of the week.

Recently, on a Saturday morning, I went soulwinning with my three-year-old daughter, Annalene. As we knocked doors, she asked if her job could be to carry the tracts. After she managed carrying the tracts, she asked if she could ring the “ding bells” at each door.

I recently preached on “Give Me that Old Time Religion.” But my text wasn’t from Jeremiah 6 about the old paths. In fact, the message itself wasn’t about the “old time religion” in the sense of preserving a culture from earlier days of fundamentalism.

Very few independent Baptist churches have a written missionary policy. Most of our churches have a burden for missions. However, only a few have taken the time and effort to put their mission purpose and policy in writing.

For a nation that has adopted a mantra of tolerance, someone seems to have missed the memo. In the 9/11 commemorative services at Washington National Cathedral, representatives from several religions will be leading—including a Buddhist nun, an Imam, a rabbi, and a Hindu priest—but no Protestant or evangelical Christian.