​A Word to the Wise by Harold Gregory, Founder of SBCAL
 
“It matters little if there is frost on the roof if there is fire in the boiler.”
Harold Gregory, Local Missions: Keystone of All Missions, 1949
 

​A Word to the Wise: Barna Study Finds 2 in 3 Pastors Struggle with Porn
 
Barna’s groundbreaking study, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon—produced in partnership with Pure Desire Ministries— found that two in three pastors (67%) say that they've struggled with pornography use at some time in their life, and one in five (18%) would say that it's currently an issue. 

​The larger cultural statistic Barna found is that 58 percent of Christians use porn.
 
In a culture saturated with sexual content, it’s no surprise that pornography affects many inside the Church—including those in leadership. But what’s often missing in the conversation is honesty, hope and a clear way forward.

Barna email, 6.3.25, 2 in 3 Pastors Struggle with Porn

A Word to the Wise: How to Handle Tough Conversations (Dan Reiland)
 
3 guidelines to help you prepare for the tough conversation:
1) Learn the power of one sentence.
When we’re anxious during a challenging conversation, we tend to over-talk. We talk all around the core of the real issue, and we end up not being direct enough to accomplish the purpose of the moment. 
In the vast majority of those tough moments, the heart of the entire situation is best delivered in one sentence.
2) Understand the secret behind the moment.
It’s not really a secret, but we don’t talk about this very often. When you try to power up to get through the tough moments on your own, you will typically overdo it and therefore not realize the outcome you hoped for.  
The “secret” is in the preparation and involves how you engage God.
When you invite God into the process of a difficult conversation, you gain a quiet confidence that translates to spiritual strength in the moment.
3) Measure your outcome by inner peace, not outer perfection.
As I mentioned, the outcomes are never guaranteed. The other person or group can choose their response. But when you enter into the tough moment with inner peace, the potential for great results increases exponentially.
When you enter in unsure, you will not likely gain the results you pray for.
When you are clear, and at peace with God, you have done your best and need to leave the outcomes to Him.
Experience may be gained slowly because you don’t practice this on a daily basis. But the companion to tough conversations are honest conversations, and they can happen often and will help you become better at the tough ones.  
Dan Reiland, 5.26.25, How to Handle Tough Conversations, https://danreiland.com/how-to-handle-tough-conversations/

​A Word to the Wise: 8 Ways to Pray for Missionaries, Chuck Lawless

1. Get to know us, and pray for our ministry. The best remedy for this problem is to get to know “real live” missionaries and ask us how you can be praying for us.
2. Pray for our people. Missionaries carry the enormous burden each day that their target people group would come to know Christ. Living in isolated places, often disconnected from the outside world or even other believers, we face doubts that slowly creep in: Does anyone else care if these people accept Christ? Is anyone else even praying for them? 
3. Pray for our physical health. Mission leaders often send people to “hard places” with little clean water and no adequate medical facilities. Moreover, the markets where food is purchased or the restaurants where food is prepared are often unsanitary. Pray for us to stay healthy so we continue to faithfully proclaim God’s Word.
4. Pray for our spiritual health. Similarly, some missionaries live in places that are spiritually hard, wrestling in a battle against “this present darkness” (Eph 6:12). Since we are putting ourselves in spiritually dark locations, our walk with the Lord is critical. Pray for us to pursue holiness each day. 
5. Pray for our marriages. Paul teaches that marriage is a picture of the gospel (Eph 5:31) and that a healthy marriage is critical to ministry effectiveness (1 Tim 3:2-5). Pray that both husband and wife would share a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their missionary calling.
6. Pray for our families. Issues like whether our children adjust well to a new cultural setting, have a stable schooling environment, or develop local friendships can affect the health and happiness of the family. Pray for wisdom as we lead our families.
7. Pray for our ability to communicate. One of the primary markers of long-term effectiveness on the field is the ability to communicate well in the target language. Pray that we would love our target language and would choose to be life-long learners.
8. Pray for us to have boldness. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul asked this church to pray that “words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” Like Paul, we need the Spirit to embolden us to faithfully share the Word with the lost around us. Pray we will have this boldness.

Chuck Lawless, 5.12.25, 8 Ways to Pray for Missionaries

A Word to the Wise: The Root of Words, by Paul David Tripp
 
James unequivocally declares that our communication problems cannot be solved by normal human means. Changes in location, situation, education, training, exercise, or the nature of the relationship will not solve the problem.
 
What we speak is directly related to what we want. Our words are one means to get what is important to us. An idolatrous heart produces words that serve the idols that grip us, which are often destructive and hurtful to others who stand in the way of our idols.
 
Word problems reveal heart problems. The people and situations around us do not make us say what we say; they are only the occasion for our hearts to reveal themselves in words.
 
How does this change begin? James 4:7-10 holds the answer.
 
Change begins at the level of the heart. Our passions, desires, thoughts, and motives must change. We must renounce the idols that have replaced God and turn our hearts back to him so that our words will reflect a heart ruled by God alone.
 
Because Jesus died, this transforming grace is freely available right here, right now.
​
Paul David Tripp, 5.14.25, Wednesday’s Word, https://www.paultripp.com/wednesdays-word/posts/the-root-of-words

​A Word to the Wise: 8 Reasons We Can’t Give Up on Our Non-Believing Friends
 

1. God’s still doing the work of drawing people unto Himself. He will be doing so until believers from every nation, tribe, people, and language gather around His throne (Rev 7:9-10). The family member or friend for whom you’ve been praying for a long time might well be in that number.
2. We don’t always know what’s going on in the hearts of others. We might think we do, but we can’t fully know what others are thinking. I’ve seen situations where someone who seemed to be hardened was actually considering Christ – just quietly and unbeknownst to me.
3. We don’t always know what God’s up to in their lives. I’m so glad that God works according to His plans, but I’m still learning how to trust Him with His plans. What I’m learning is that God isn’t obligated to give me the details when He’s working in somebody else’s life.
4. God’s timing for responding to our prayers is seldom our timing. He doesn’t operate according to our calendar or our clock. He’s not rushed, nor is He ever late. His delay in answering our prayers is not evidence that He doesn’t care – so we can’t give up.
5. God loves our family and friends more than we do. He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, and He is love in His very nature. That love ought to allow us to rest in His work in our lives and the lives of others.
6. It’s the enemy who wants us to give up on others. Ultimately, what he wants us to do is not just give up on others, but rather give up on God. “After all,” he says, “God surely doesn’t care if He hasn’t answered your prayer yet.”
7. Some of us can speak of God’s answering prayers many years after we started praying. If you’ve read this blog for some time, you know we prayed for my dad and mom for 36 and 47 years, respectively, before the Lord dramatically changed them. 
8. Many of us can talk about others who never gave up on us, no matter how far we had walked away from God. They kept praying for us. And kept praying for us. And prayed some more, until God saved us. In many cases, we’re our own best example of why we can’t give up on others.

Chuck Lawless, 5.5.25, https://chucklawless.com/2025/05/7-reasons-we-cant-give-up-on-our-non-believing-friends/

A Word to the Wise: Love Through Punctuality: Why Being on Time Matters
 
3 Reasons Why Being on Time Matters
1. Punctuality Is a Form of Love
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2
2. Punctuality Reflects Integrity
“Let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No,’ no.” – Matthew 5:37
3. Punctuality Is Part of Your Witness
“So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:12
 
Strategies for Punctuality
The heart is the most important part of this thing, that’s why I began with the “why.” But here are some super practical ways to be better at being on time.

1. Plan in Reverse – Instead of asking “What time do I need to leave?” ask, “What time do I need to start getting ready?”
2. Build in Buffer – There will always be unexpected delays—especially if you have kids. So don’t try to time everything out perfectly. Always try to overestimate how long it will take.
3. Dress, then Rest – A lot of times we end being late because we were relaxing and waited until the last minute to start getting ready. Instead, get ready to go first, then spend some time relaxing before you actually have to leave. Bonus: This way is a lot less stressful.
4. Set a Leave Alarm – This assumes you’ve already figured out when you need to be out the door. But once you have that time, then set an alarm 5–10 minutes before that time. That way you don’t lose track of the time, or have to constantly be checking the clock.
5. Prep the Night Before - This applies more for morning appointments. But laying out your clothes, getting your lunch or whatever else you need together in advance, these simple steps can save you loads of time (and anxiety) in the morning. And they can help you be punctual.

Reagan Rose, Redeeming Productivity, 4.22.25, https://redeemingproductivity.com/punctuality/

A Word to the Wise: Ken Sande
 
One of the best ways to improve your relationships is to develop the habit of drawing attention to EGGs. Not the ones you cook or search for at Easter, but the innumerable Evidences of God’s Grace that he lavishes on you and those around you … and calls you to recount to others.

Ken Sande, 4.16.25, One Simple Habit That Transforms Relationships

A Word to the Wise:
 
The Bible calls us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This is a better framework for thinking about the Bible than "applying" its principles to our lives.
 
I believe there's a better word than "apply," and that's "transform." In fact, I can't think of any passage in the Bible that instructs us to apply the Bible to our lives as I have described it above. It's simply not the verb used. Sometimes, we are called to hear, obey, and keep God’s commands. At other times, there are other words like "being transformed from one level of glory to another" or "growing in knowledge," and such words name the general way in which we grow in the word.
 
What's a better general term than application? I believe we need to consider the words "contemplation" and "transformation." When you contemplate the Bible, you reflect on what it says so that it can transform you from the inside out. This aligns with how the Bible talks about transformation. For example, Romans 12 says, "Don't be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."
 
What happens is that when you reflect on Scripture, you contemplate in your mind what is being said about reality, and you come to know what is true about reality—whether that's about yourself or the world around you.
 
So rather than asking, "How do I apply this Bible passage to my life?" we might ask, "How does contemplating this truth transform how I see reality?" When we do this, the Bible doesn't become a manual for extracting principles; it becomes a lens through which we see the world as it truly is—created, fallen, and being redeemed by God.
 
Through contemplation, the Bible transforms us from the inside out, renewing our minds and changing how we interact with everything from the stars above to the miracle of new life.
I am not saying “applying” the Bible is bad. I simply think there is a better way to generalize what we are doing when we read the Bible to know God. We read to be transformed from the inside out by what we have contemplated in his word and world.
​
Wyatt Graham, 4.2.25, Don’t Apply the Bible to Your Life. Do This Instead. (One of Trevin’s Seven, 4.11.25)

A Word to the Wise: A Simple Truth to Fight Temptation (Chuck Lawless)

Here is the way Jesus taught us to pray about temptation: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13). Albert Mohler, my president for many years when I served at Southern Seminary, notes these conclusions about this text:

• First, we must recognize that temptations are a real, daily threat to our life with Christ. 
• Second, we must understand that we are not able to resist temptation by our own power. 
• Third, we must pray for endurance in the fight against temptation. 
• Fourth, we must pray that the Lord delivers us from our own personal patterns of temptation. 

What most catches my attention, though, is that Jesus taught us to pray about temptation before we get into it.

Chuck Lawless, 3.28.25, A Simple Truth to Fight Temptation