Reflecting on 50 years of Ministry Saturday, Dec 6 2025 

Uncategorized , , , , , kennethbow 2:48 pm

Reflections on 50 years of preaching and modern preaching.

One half of a century: In some ways it seems a blink of an eye, in other ways it seems like a bite of eternity.

50 years ago I was 23 and today I am 73. At the end of last July, 2025 I reached 49 years of full time ministry. At the end of July 2026 I will complete 50 years of full time ministry. So much has changed and much has remained the same. 

My focus today is ministry and preaching. Concerning preaching I am referencing style, content, and delivery. These are my somewhat random thoughts.

Recently, over the last few years I have noticed in myself I prefer slower, quieter preaching. I kind of drifted into that without planning or even recognizing it was happening.

It seems to me I gradually began to see this in myself and began to analyze my thoughts. I found myself being disloyal to the loud fast preaching and decided to not allow negative thoughts to influence me in the years that remain in my life. I had found myself grimacing when the screaming got loud. As lame as it may sound I sincerely began to seek God for what He thought as opposed to what I was experiencing.

I may be misreading this next part as to what happened to me, but I see the poetic justice God uses at times in what happened. 

I had been given a small book on Hebrew words as a birthday gift by a dear lady in our church. I have been reading it slowly and carefully. While in the mindset of considering modern preaching it seems God straightened out my thinking.

There is a small Hebrew word TAL. It is the word for dew, morning dew. The small book ignited my thinking on how God speaks to us. This book emphasizes how the dew is so important in scripture. It is used 37 times if I have counted correctly. It is always used in terms of blessing.

As I pondered this I realized God has two major ways to send the water to earth that earth must have to survive. God uses dew and rain.

There are two ways the Word of God comes:

The dew – gentle, quiet, soaking over time -this is teaching.

The rain – loud, powerful, saturating fast – this is preaching.

Both are heavenly.

Both are divine.

Both are needed.

But they are not the same.

THE DEW OF TEACHING: SLOW, CONSISTENT, NOURISHING

The dew falls silently in the night when no one hears it.

It doesn’t shout.

It doesn’t announce itself.

It simply appears.

I will be as the dew unto Israel…

Hosea 14:5

Dew is personal.

Dew is delicate.

Dew doesn’t run off – it soaks in.

Teaching is the dew of heaven.

It comes quietly into the spirit,

line upon line,

precept upon precept.

For precept must be upon precept… line upon line… here a little, and there a little.

Isaiah 28:10

This is teaching:

where the pastor calmly

opens the Scriptures,

and expounds the Word,

and truth sinks gently into the soul.

Pentecostals love the shout 

but we also need the stillness of instruction.

For the dew of teaching forms roots.

THE RAIN OF PREACHING IS SUDDEN, POWERFUL, AND REVIVING.

Now look again at the text:

My doctrine shall drop as the rain…

 Deuteronomy 32:2

Rain is bold.

Rain is public.

Rain makes a noise on the rooftops.

Rain gets everyone’s attention.

This is preaching.

The voice lifts.

The anointing strikes.

The Word thunders like Elijah on Mount Carmel:

there is a sound of abundance of rain.

1 Kings 18:41

When preaching falls,

chains break,

altars fill,

sinners weep,

and backsliders tremble.

Rain produces shout,

but dew produces depth.

Rain revives quickly,

but dew sustains quietly.

THE CHURCH NEEDS BOTH THE DEW AND THE RAIN

Some churches only get dew 

and the saints grow knowledgeable but grow dry in passion.

Some churches only get rain 

and the saints shout but lack foundation.

Their spirituality only lasts a few days.

But God intended both.

In my search I discovered there is no place on planet earth where dew is not found. In some arid locations it is the only form of hydration for plants, hence a desert. Dew is quiet but causes nourishment daily. None of it is lost. It slowly works its purpose without any waste or runoff. The Bible uses dew as a metaphor for blessing. 

Rain is more noticeable. Rain can be gentle or intense. Rain can bless or cause destruction by flooding with cloud bursts. Rain can be forecast by weathermen. All rain is not salvaged. We must have drains and gutters and French drains due to overflow. Rain was used as a form of judgment in the days of Noah’s ark. Rain has more forms and intensity. Rain is loud and obvious. 

As I pondered this I began to feel like God was chiding me and correcting me. It was clear from a Bible perspective both are needed to give life giving water to our earth.

My conclusion is we need both dew (teaching) and rain (preaching). 

When I began to travel as a young evangelist I was 23 and only knew how my pastor did things. Brother Terry, my pastor, was a strong teacher.  Our general church life was we would have a long revival of six weeks or so and then Brother Terry would teach and establish the new converts. He also preached at times but in my memory he taught more often.

It seems to me this was the case with many churches in the 1960-1970 era. The large churches of those decades were built by men of teaching and preaching (dew and rain). Men like Paul Price, the Davis brothers, David Gray (used charts at times), Voar Shoemake, Clyde Haney, and others. 

I say this to encourage young preachers. Preach it hard and loud and long. 

Bring the rain!

Those of us who have many miles on our odometer can also take confidence in the value of the dew (teaching). The manna was attached to the dew so never doubt the value of teaching.

Numbers 11.9

9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

In Simple Terms

If an environment is very dry or very stable in temperature, dew will not form. 

Jesus said I would that you were either hot or cold.

Just as there are places on earth where dew is rare, there are hearts where the spirit’s moisture no longer settles. 

Dryness comes when prayer ceases, when the air of faith grows thin. 

But just as Elijah prayed and the heavens gave both rain and dew again,  revival always begins when someone kneels and calls upon the Lord.

So let us not become deserts.  

Don’t let your faith become dry in the heat of distraction.  

Let the dew return – the quiet Word that roots us.  

Let the rain fall – the power that renews us.

When the dew rests upon our spirit, truth takes hold.  

When the rain pours from heaven, the fruit appears.  

And when both move together: teaching and preaching, Word and Spirit — the Church becomes a flourishing field under open heavens.

Lord, make us a people who receive Your dew in the dawn and Your rain in the storm that Your Word may live in us,  

and through us, the earth may be refreshed again.

 

Holiness and the Talmud Thursday, May 1 2025 

Doctrine , , , , , , , kennethbow 10:21 am

Holiness:

I want to post about our survival as a people-the Aposttolic church so I decided to include the note on the Talmud because it supports our position on holiness in this present day. The Torah is the Jewish name for the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible. The Talmud is the collection of commentary from Jewish Rabbis on the Torah. Why would this be important to us as Gentiles? My answer is it provides such a beautiful example of how to survive in a world that does not understand us as Apostolics. To live in our world, which views us as outdated and eccentric, is becoming more difficult as society drifts farther and farther from the principals of the Bible. The Jew has survived in every century, in every culture, and in every continent. The Jewish life is as strong today as it was 2000 years ago. As Apostolics, we need to adopt some of the same principles to insure we do not lose our identity. The five books of Moses can be written out in about 350 pages. The Talmud now takes up 523 books in 22 volumes. As the Jew was scuttled from empire to empire, the need arose for a protection from the blows without and the pressure from within. The Talmud has provided that. The Talmud has become the home of the Jew no matter where he lives in the world. The Talmud has single handedly provided the survival of the Jewish person. As Apostolics, it appears to me that we are in danger of losing our heritage of holiness. More and more I see whole churches assimilated into our worlds culture and mores. We need holiness and separation more than ever before. The way we dress and live must not die with this generation. As simple as it may seem, our standards are what will keep us separated from the world. Simple things like sleeve length, and the distinction of dress between male and female, are critical to the survival of the Apostolic heritage. It provides us with the cold concrete of protection from the blows that come from without. In the Talmud, there are many issues that may seem insignificant. But upon inspection the Talmud provided the Jew with answers to the baffling questions of life. The Talmud has done more to preserve the Jewish way of life than any other factor. This oral law that has been discussed over the centuries has kept the Jewish people uniquely Jewish. It is my hope that our holiness standards will keep us Apostolic in a world that has lost all sense of direction. The Rabbis have haggled over every phase of Jewish life. They have argued over every word and comma. In the process of mulling all this over, they created a mandate for survival in a hostile world. When the world attacked, the Talmud was there to soften the blow and stiffen the will. Other ancient cultures have faded from the earth, but the Jew has survived. Can we learn a lesson from them? The authors of the Talmud seemed to think that no issue was too small to discuss. They would debate for months whether a person could wear a false tooth on the Sabbath. A tailor could not take his needle in his hand just before the Sabbath because he might forget and go out with it. You could have candy in your mouth as long as it was put in your mouth before the Sabbath began. They discussed for nine years one statement in the law; “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.” From this one issue came the whole idea of Kosher food and food that was not Kosher. Our first response might be, that is foolish and insignificant. But never forget it is the small things that have kept them as a people. They have survived. We need to appreciate the “small” things if we are going to preserve this Apostolic way of life. Our standards of dress are important to our survival. Our standards of what we watch and what entertainment we allow is important to our future. Our survival depends on the small things. I will be the first to admit that the Rabbis went to extremes to preserve the Jewish way of life. However, it is beyond argument that the Jew has survived while other people have been assimilated and have vanished from the stage of time. Our survival as a distinct people depends on the small things. We must maintain our holiness and our standards of life. When they become unimportant, you can write the epitaph of the Apostolic movement.

 

Preaching Still Works Sunday, Mar 30 2025 

Uncategorized , , , , , , kennethbow 8:06 pm

Preaching Still Works

Let me tell you something: preaching still works. I don’t care what the world says, I don’t care what culture tries to cancel, the preached Word of God is still God’s chosen weapon to change lives.

It works in the church. It works in the streets. It works in living rooms. It works on the radio. Preaching just works.

Romans 10:14 says, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” Oh, you better believe it—God uses the foolishness of preaching to confound the wise, to break the chains of sin, and to raise the dead things back to life.

Preaching isn’t just talking—it’s declaring. It’s proclaiming. It’s releasing the fire of Heaven into the hearts of people. 

When that anointed Word goes forth, demons tremble, sickness flees, and hearts are pierced with conviction. Preaching is a lifeline, a sword, a trumpet in Zion. It tears down strongholds and lifts up the Name that is above every name—JESUS!

That’s why you need to get involved. That’s why you need to say amen or waive your hand or stand up or do something to show. Yes, I support this. Yes, I am involved. Yes, I’m on board.

You can have your lights, your programs, your productions— if there’s no preaching, there’s no power. It is the one indispensable thing needed to build a church. You must have preaching.

Paul told Timothy, “Preach the Word. Be instant in season and out of season. ” That means when they want it and when they don’t. Because somebody’s soul is hanging in the balance.

Preaching works—because God watches over His Word to perform it. So when the Word is preached, miracles break out. When the Word is preached, prodigals come home. When the Word is preached, revival breaks loose. Preaching makes things happen.

Matt 4.23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,…..

g2784. κηρύσσω kēryssō; of uncertain affinity; to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel): — preacher(-er), proclaim, publish.

AV (61) – preach 51, publish 5, proclaim 2, preached + g2258 2, preacher 1;

to be a herald, to officiate as a herald to proclaim after the manner of a herald -always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed. To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles and other Christian teachers…

It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe

John preached Matt 3.1

Jesus preached Matt 4.23

Jonah preached Matt 12.41

Apostles preached Acts 8.4

Paul and Barnabas preached Acts 15.35

1 Cor 1.18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 Cor 1.21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

1 Cor 2.4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

Titus 1.3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

So don’t stop preaching. 

Don’t water it down. 

Don’t compromise. 

Preach it hot, preach it holy, preach it full of the Holy Ghost. 

Because preaching still works!

Why Preaching Still Works:

Romans 10:13-15

“For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher?”

Preaching is God’s Method, Not Man’s Idea

“How shall they hear without a preacher?”

Church, preaching didn’t come from a church board or a conference committee—it came from the mind of God. 

From the prophets in the Old Testament to John the Baptist in the wilderness, to Jesus Himself declaring, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”to the Apostles—God has always used a voice to carry His message.

Preaching is not a TED Talk. It’s not a motivational speech. It’s not entertainment.

It is the divine delivery system of Heaven’s message to Earth.

Preaching Breaks Chains and Builds Faith.

Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

When the Word is preached—faith is born. 

When Peter preached, 3,000 souls were saved. 

When Paul preached, demons fled and dead men rose.

The preached Word builds up what the devil tried to tear down.

It breaks addiction. 

It heals hearts. 

It stirs the sleeping. 

It calls the prodigal home.

You may not remember the preacher’s name… but you’ll remember what God did through that Word.

Preaching Carries Power Because It Carries God’s Presence

1 Corinthians 1:21 – “It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

Don’t let the world call it foolish. Heaven calls it fire.

When preaching is under the anointing—it’s not the preacher talking—it’s the Spirit of God declaring war on darkness.

When preaching goes forth, it’s not just volume—it’s violence in the spirit realm, tearing down strongholds and lifting up the Cross.

Preaching invites the presence of God to invade the present moment.

Preaching Still Works—So Preach On!

The devil would love for the Church to go quiet…

He doesn’t mind a little worship, or a little fellowship—as long as there’s no preaching.

Because when we preach:

• Heaven listens

• Hell trembles

• And hearts are changed

So preach on preacher.

Preach when they shout, preach when they stare.

Preach when it’s popular, and preach when it’s not.

Preach in the pulpit, preach in the streets—preach in power and with fire.

If you’ve been running —it’s time to surrender.

If you’ve forgotten the power in the Word—it’s time to return.

And if you’re hungry for the fire of God to fall again—get to this altar and ask for fresh oil.

Two things about preaching

Number one it is the only indispensable thing in building a church. You can build without a building you can build without music you can build without a lot of things that we like, but preaching is the one thing you cannot do without. 

Number two preaching is the only element that every church in the world uses they may use different music or wear robes or have big cathedrals or meet in living rooms, but every one of them have preaching 

Because preaching still works.

 

The Key Thursday, Dec 5 2024 

Biblical history and Church news and Doctrine and New Testament , , kennethbow 11:50 am

The Key 

Matthew 16.13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

(Among the Hebrews the symbol of keys did not refer to the priests; it referred to the scribes, the teachers of the law whose duty it was to unlock the truth of God. The scribes had failed miserably in their office by not recognizing their Messiah- and now the Lord committed the keys to Simon Peter.)

After telling the parables of the kingdom, the Lord had said, “Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). 

When Peter made His inspired confession of faith (16:16), he became a scribe “instructed unto the kingdom of heaven.” When the Lord said to him, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (16:19), He was saying in effect, “You are my scribe.” Simon Peter used these keys to open the door first to the Jews, and then to the Samaritans and then the Gentiles—  he was in essence the scribe to show them the way of truth. He took the key Jesus gave him and unlocked the door.

But these keys were much more than the doors they unlocked in Acts 2, 8, &10. Jesus had given Peter the key of David, which is prophesied to be given to Messiah in Isaiah 22.22.  

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder;

so he shall open, and none shall shut;

and he shall shut, and none shall open.Jesus had the keys to give to Simon Peter. 

Rev 1.18 Jesus has the keys of death and hell. 

In Rev 9 and also in chapter 20 Jesus has the key of the bottomless pit. The keys belong to Jesus to give to whomever he chooses. 

It is altogether possible he has a key he would like to give you today.

For the next few blogs I would like to write a few things about a key that will transform your life.

Stay tuned…

 

Sabbatical Tuesday, Feb 13 2024 

Uncategorized , , , , kennethbow 8:19 am

 Sabbatical

7.11 am EST 

Sunday February 11, 2024

Nassau, Bahamas

What is a sabbatical?

  • By definition, a sabbatical is a period of paid leave granted to a teacher, or other worker for study or travel or rest. It is a biblical concept. God required the priests every few years to take time off.

Why would God require a sabbatical?

  • A sabbatical is a time that provides a step away. Cessation of activity in our daily routine- much like sleep provides a cessation of activity to refuel, to rest, to recharge, to re-energize. It is a similar concept, but extended.

What are the goals and or benefits of a sabbatical.

  • Probably the number one goal is to step outside normal routine so the mind will flow in a new direction. It’s to step away for a period of time of a month or even up to a year. Some sabbaticals last longer than that.
  • For me it’s a time to evaluate and look back over the last 25 years while I have been in Washington. What are the achievements and lack of achievements? What are the successes and what are the failures? It is critical to remain unbiased and fair with yourself. I want to be honest with myself!
  • It is a time to re-prioritize. To look at what you’re spending your time doing and what are the results of that. It’s a time to remap your future. To sift through your responsibilities and ask yourself which of them are the most important? Am I spending enough time on those? Am I being derailed by less important things? Going forward how do I need to change the map of my life? What do I need to delegate to others? Is there any area of my life that I need to restructure?

So that is and was my purpose. To take time to let life slow down. To let the mind be at rest. To provide an opportunity for my thoughts to be creative. It is a time to say to yourself and to those you are responsible to, whatever amount of life I have left, how do I spend it?

After I was in Madera, for 10 years, I took a 30 day leave of absence or sabbatical if I can use that term. Personally, I feel like it was a turning point in my life. It prepared me for the major life things that I would encounter that I didn’t know were coming.

As I began to approach the 25 year mark in Washington state, I felt I needed that same getaway time to refocus, re-evaluate, and re-prioritize.

Looking back over 25 years, I want to appreciate and celebrate every success and accomplishment that we have had. All church success is a joint effort between God, a pastor, and a congregation. God will not do it by himself. A pastor cannot do it by himself. A congregation is not capable of doing it by themselves.

A sabbatical is not a vacation. There is a major difference. A true sabbatical means a break from your work. It is an extended period of time to travel or rest, and seek personal growth.

For me, I felt the need to look back at 25 years and assess it. I felt the need to look at what had been done, to see the things that I felt good about, and then look at the areas I could have done better. 

The second purpose was to analyze as best I could, what I could do going forward. As I age and my physical limitations began to show up, I felt the need to stop and say – what can I still do well and how can I contribute?

I am very thankful to all the people who make our church work. There are so many that contribute daily, weekly, and monthly. I want to be very careful, that I not take credit in my own mind for what they have done, for it is truly their achievements. Many, if not most of these, people would have had achievements no matter who had been the pastor here. I realize my primary job is to bring out the best in those that I am responsible for. To try to build them to be better. To try to maximize their life and accomplishments.

In my opinion we have a good church and we have good membership. I accept the fact I could have done things better. When I look inside myself, I know that I have tried. That is not an excuse. That is an honest evaluation. Going forward I want to continue to be honest with myself, and to give my best effort, as long as I am the pastor.

I realize what I contribute in my 70s will be different than what I contributed in my 50s and 60s. As simple as it may sound, I still want to give the best of what I have to offer. Possibly there are some ways I can offer more because of experience. That is my hope.

It is believed that a sabbatical offers an opportunity to invest in personal leadership. Reading the reports and testimonies of people who took sabbaticals, they generally report greater self clarity. They report restored confidence in their skills, and usually return with a fresh outlook and energy. It seems like they are able to go back to the core of who they are, and to shed some of the barnacles of life that tend to attach themselves to all of us.

In the year 2018 15% of the academic world allowed and recommended sabbaticals. Why?

Reduced stress is one benefit. 

In September 2022 I was on an airplane flight to Arkansas to preach at Dr. Scheel’s meeting. My Apple Watch gave me a notification that my heart rate had dropped to 30 and had stayed there for 10 minutes. After this alarm, I went to the doctor and they ran tests. This morning I counted up the days since that happened. It’s been 17 months or actually 513 days. Not once during that 513 days did I sleep one night without my heart dropping to 30 beats a minute. It usually occurred 2 to 3 times a night and my Apple Watch would always notify me.

This morning when I woke up, I checked my heart rate as I have for the last 500+ days. Maybe it is a coincidence that this happened during this sabbatical, during this time of getting away and trying to allow myself some mental rest, but for the first time in 513 days my heart rate was normal all night long for a solid eight hours. The range was from 50 to 60 bpm which is a normal range. It has been normal for three consecutive nights at this writing.

Will this continue I don’t know. All I’m trying to say here is thank you for giving me this opportunity to decompress, to reflect, and to look to the future, and try to remap by taking this short sabbatical. I had accepted the fact over the last 17 months that low heart rate at night would be my new norm for as long as I lived. Today I am very thankful that that might not be the case.

God Bless