Leading Your Church Through Change
If you have ever been whitewater rafting, you know how important the role of the guide is. The responsibility for getting the rafters through the rapids safely falls to the guide. A rafting guide must know the river well, aware of the shallow and dangerous sections that might stop the rafts or even cause them to flip.
Bold or Broken?
On October 19, 1856, Charles Spurgeon was preaching to an overflow crowd of several thousand people at the Surrey Garden Music Hall in London when he experienced perhaps the greatest tragedy of his life. As thousands crowded into the building with thousands more waiting outside, someone shouted that there was a fire and the balconies were collapsing.
What Can Pastors Learn From Nick Saban?
Pastoring is a lot like coaching. I am not sure if you have noticed the similarities or heard others talk about them, but I know for sure that pastoring is a lot like coaching. In coaching, you must help people come together around a common mission, you must help people find their role in that mission, and you must continually help them see the bigger picture of that mission.
Guarding Your Joy in Ministry
According to the Barna Group, 38% of pastors in the United States have considered walking away from ministry in the past year.[1] Maybe this number should surprise me, but it does not. I have heard firsthand about the sadness, grief, and disappointment from friends in ministry. To a certain degree, I have even experienced these emotions myself. But as I reflected on my conversations with other pastors and my own experiences, I began to see that it is not just the difficulties driving pastors to quit—difficulty is a part of ministry. Instead, it is how the difficulties and frustrations steal our joy that causes us to throw in the towel.
Pastoral Ministry and Persons with Disabilities
“Shepherd the flock of God among you,” says Peter to pastors (1 Pet. 5:2). Similarly, Paul exhorts those in ministry to “Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Eph. 4:12). If we pastors want to be faithful in shepherding the flock and equipping the saints, we must know our people...including those not like us.
Pastoral Lessons from John Bunyan and The Pilgrim’s Progress
Pastors are always on the lookout for the next book to help us be more effective and faithful in ministry. Some books help us shore up weaknesses, others teach us how to effectively carry out the everyday tasks of pastoral ministry, and then, there are those that inspire us to persevere through the challenges of shepherding God’s people.
The Temptation of Lesser Opportunities
For a brief time, I had the fanciful idea that a life in the political arena might somehow be in the cards of my future. In college, I worked for several politicians and led the college’s conservative political organization.While I enjoyed my work, it was certainly not the calling I know the Lord had placed in my heart as a teenager. One election cycle was enough for me. Political work is certainly important work and like so many other professions, we need believers in this profession to be light in the darkness.
A Plea to Exhausted Pastors and Their People
I have been back to the traveling aspect of my ministry since July. Since then, I have noticed a consistent reality among those who are leading our churches. It affects pastors regardless of ministry title: lead pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor, or children’s pastor.
Pastor, Pay Careful Attention to Yourself
Last week, my grandma died at the age of one hundred. During her final year, she could not care for herself in any meaningful way. Because she lived across the street from my dad, much of her personal care fell to him. It was a role he gladly accepted, but one that also took its toll on him. Much of his day revolved around when she needed medicine, food, and sleep.
5 Tips for Pastoral Care in an Intensive Care Unit
Death exists as an unnatural act for all human beings to endure. Perhaps the foreign nature of death in the created order causes many of us to either ignore its existence or become infatuated with its mystique. Death was not originally a part of God’s created fabric, but rather God created a world where death could come into existence depending upon humanity’s obedience (Genesis 2:15–17).
Facing Attacks and Criticism
How do we or should we face criticism and attack in our ministry?I just completed preaching through Nehemiah as part of an interim pastorate. We often recite the lessons of leadership learned from Nehemiah, and rightfully so, but something more specific struck me this time: how he reacted to criticism and attack. Nehemiah faced an extremely difficult context with enemies who did not want the people of God to focus upon the work of Yahweh.
Pastors, Preach the Gospel…to Yourself
Can I confess something? I used to hate going to pastor’s conferences.To be clear, this was never the fault of the conference. Most that I’ve attended have done an incredible job of trying to offer a place of rest and encouragement for those in ministry. It wasn’t an issue with the content, who was speaking, or the accommodations available.
Pastor, Focus On Your Weaknesses
It is estimated that close to three-fourths of American adults will set a goal and try to accomplish it in 2021.[1] That means millions of Americans will start the new year trying something new or seeking to improve some area in their life.
A Tribute to an Ordinary Lay-Pastor
Last year I read D.A. Carson’s excellent little tribute to his father titled, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor. I am writing this article in the spirit of that book. Thus I have given it the title, A Tribute to an Ordinary Lay-Pastor. Bob Prentice (1957-2020) is a name few will recognize, yet I am confident that on the Last Day he will be honored by and above many.
How to Pray for Pastors During the Christmas Season
Christmas is my favorite time of year. But often, it’s also the busiest time of the year. Most pastors I know would say the same. Pastors often feel pressure to craft sermons on the incarnation that are new and fresh. Pastors are often asked to be part of every Christmas celebration within smaller groups in the church.
10 Ways the Church’s Christmas Season Will Be Different this Year
This year has been a stressful one. It seems nothing is normal, and we don’t even know if there will be a new normal. COVID has affected so much of what we do as a church—including our celebrating the Christmas season. Here are some ways I suspect church will be different this year:
Brothers, We Are Not Rivals
Nothing beats a good rivalry. The athletics world is full of them. In my neck of the woods, one of the greatest rivalries is between two college football teams: The University of Georgia and the University of Florida (or truthfully, whoever UGA is playing at the time). The Bulldogs and the Gators fight it out on the field every year, gridlocked against each other. Rivalry also extends to other areas of life.
Shepherding Families Who Lose a Child through Miscarriage
October 15th—Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day—is an important day for me and my family because of what happened to us on September 9th, 2015. My wife was pregnant with our second child.
Faithfulness is Still the Goal
For years, I have heard other pastors, seminary professors, and popular conference speakers encourage pastors to pursue ministry faithfulness over “success.” This encouragement is needed because of the dangers of chasing arbitrary successes over trusting that our faithfulness is enough.
Escaping the Burden of Pastoral Work
Pastor, do you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Do you toss and turn at night, restless over lagging attendance, non-existent baptisms, and deficient offerings? Do you stress and worry, half-present at the family dinner table because your mind is still at the office or the last deacon meeting?
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