July 1 Note from Dr. David Olford

Dear Friend of Olford Ministries International,

Greetings in Jesus’ Name! 

I am happy to announce that we are scheduling two Institute events for the last quarter of this year, 2020.

The first is our “Essentials of Expository Preaching and Teaching” Institute. This is scheduled for Tuesday through Friday, October 20-23. This will be a time for practical training and spiritual encouragement.

The personal, practical and spiritual aspects of the preparation and delivery of Biblical Expository messages will be our focus.  This event will be held at GMF’s Stephen Olford Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The facilities here will be ready for those who come. We will follow whatever guidelines are recommended at the time. Our numbers will be limited to provide adequate social distancing.

This event will provide instruction, interaction, fellowship, and spiritual enrichment. There will be a workshop session where participants will discuss two passages of Scripture together. These will be sent to the participant after they register. This Institute begins Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. and ends Friday with lunch at 12:30 p.m.

The schedule is very full with sessions all day and into the evenings. Meals are a part of the program because they allow time for interaction and fellowship, and provide program continuity. The deadline for registering will be September 20.

The second event will be a Practical Preaching Workshop to take place Tuesday through Friday, November 10-13. This workshop will be limited to seven people.

Each participant will preach an expository message. Each message will be discussed after it is presented. A full manuscript of the message (to be preached) is to be sent ahead of time or provided upon arrival. Towards the end of the workshop, these manuscripts will be the basis for further discussion and critique. (The preacher does not have to preach from the manuscript itself. The manuscript will aid in a further discussion of the message.)

These activities will be done in an atmosphere of encouragement with the sole goal of providing helpful input to strengthen the participant’s expository presentation of Scripture. Time for reflection and goal setting will be provided in the program.

The Practical Preaching Workshop begins at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday and ends with lunch at 12:45 p.m. on Friday. The deadline for registering for the “Workshop” is October 10.

A full schedule can be sent upon request. Contact Betty Peppenhorst at [email protected] or call 901-453-6422. Further information about these events can be viewed by going to www.olford.org and clicking on “Residential Courses.” Then, you can find the specific Institute event.

We ask for your prayer as we prepare for these events. If you are interested yourself, we will be happy to give you more information. At the same time, if you know someone who could benefit from these events, we’ll be happy to contact them.

Sincerely and in Christ,

David L. Olford – President

PS: Lord willing, other residential events will be scheduled for 2021.

STATEMENT OF BELIEF

Years ago my father, Dr. Stephen Olford, crafted this “Statement of Belief” concerning expository preaching. It regularly appears in our Institute notebooks.

“I believe that the expository preaching of God’s infallible Word, 
in the power of the Holy Spirit,
concerning Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,
is the ultimate hope for
humanity’s deepest need, church-wide renewal,
national righteousness, and social justice in the world.”

I include this statement here to explain our passion for Biblical expository preaching.

Yes, there are many practical aspects to this matter of preaching. But, behind the “work” that must be done are beliefs that drive our concern to help those who desire to “rightly divide the Word of truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.” The authority of Scripture, the power of the Holy Spirit and the Centrality of Jesus Christ are fundamental to faithful preaching. Then it is in the nature and purpose of God’s Revelation to address humanity’s deepest need which is a right saving relationship with God Himself.

Also, the church will only be renewed and revived genuinely by repentance, faith and obedience to God’s truth. Then, rather than being out of touch with the issues of our day, true righteousness and justice are revealed from Genesis to Revelation and must be proclaimed for the glory of God and the good of man.

Our concern is not just to help preachers have a better “this” or a better “that,” although we certainly want to encourage practical improvements. Our concern is with the people who need to hear the gospel, a church that needs to be strengthened to “shine” for Christ, and a world that needs truth that will lead to salvation and real changes that accord with God’s righteousness and justice. Towards those ends, we seek to encourage and further equip preachers and teachers of God’s Word.

 “PREACH THE WORD” (2 TIMOTHY 4:2)