Anxiety
8 Ways to Break the Bondage of Worry
I admit it – I can be a worrier. That’s a problem, given Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6 […]
Blog
Evangelism
10 Signs that Your Church’s Burden for their City is Growing
Most churches, I’m afraid, are inwardly focused. Turning a church outward is not easy, but these signs are […]
Evangelism
10 Evangelistic Questions Pastors Ought to Ask of Themselves
If you read this blog regularly, you know I’ve never seen a strongly evangelistic church without a pastor […]
How to Deal with Criticism
I don’t like criticism. I don’t like it when someone negatively critiques my sermon, my blogs, my teaching, […]
9 Differences for Church Leaders When We’re Walking with God and When We Are Not
Recently, I spoke with a group of church leaders about walking with God. In that discussion, we talked […]
10 Ways to Bridge Generation Gaps in Churches
In many churches, generation gaps are still wide. I’ve learned, though, that generations often resist one another without […]
Leadership
The Importance of the Pastor in the Pulpit
Though I don’t believe a plurality of leaders is the only New Testament model of church, I do […]
Global Missions
Lord, Thank You for Telling Us More: Psalm 19
5 Reasons Pauses Matter in Preaching—and Why They’re So Hard to Do
My preaching professor in seminary challenged us to use pauses wisely in sermons—but doing that is not easy. […]
Faithfulness
Remembering Pastors’ Center Senior Fellow Dr. Jim Shaddix
A few years ago, I wrote a blog post entitled, “10 Markers of the Best Spiritual Leaders I […]
spiritual growth
10 Characteristics of Spiritually Weak Christian Leaders
I’m hesitant to write this post because I know I probably exhibit some of these characteristics. Nevertheless, here are some […]
faith
7 Bible Stories/Passages That Help Me When My Faith Struggles
We live in a messed-up world that seems to get even crazier every day. I wish I could […]
faith
10 Ways to Challenge and Stretch Your Faith
Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Still, many of us have a stagnant faith […]
Sermon Preparation
7 Reasons We Preachers Need to Listen to Other Preaching
When I first started preaching decades ago, the primary ways to listen to other preachers were to visit […]
Pastors
7 Reasons Why Ministry Can Contribute to Ego
Ego always lurks at the door of even the finest ministers of the gospel. In fact, my experience […]
christmas
A Christmas Wish for a Nonbelieving Friend
Hi, friend. You and I have had such good times together. We can be apart for months at […]
advent
What Christmas Eve Means
It’s Christmas Eve. Scholars debate the actual date of Jesus’ birth, but the truth of this event is […]
Nativity Story
A Christmas Devotion for This Weekend
They’ve been some of the most gripping moments of my life. I’ve watched silently around the world as: […]
christmas
A Christmas Preaching and Teaching Illustration I Pray Challenges and Encourages You
I remember well the Christmases of my childhood. Seldom did we sleep well on Christmas Eve. I doubt […]
gratitude
12 Ways to Build Thanksgiving into Your Life
We have so much for which to be grateful today. I fear, though, that we too often limit […]
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