COVID-19

For Pastors’ Wives: Living in the Land of “Re”

We are living in the land of "Re": re-entry, re-gather, re-opening. In other words, starting again. Businesses and churches are re-opening, but people are still getting sick. Plans for the fall are happening, but with necessary precautions and heightened sensitivity.

Melanie Ratcliffe

Free to Dream: Pastors and Imagination

Perhaps it started with The Phantom Tollbooth. I still remember reading the children’s fantasy novel when I was a child.[1] The strange, and at times bizarre, text captured my imagination. I sat eagerly with the hero as he drove his toy car through the mysterious tollbooth, and I was catapulted into a magical kingdom alongside him.

Stephen Stallard

How to Pray for Your Missionaries During the COVID-19 Crisis

When originally asked to write this article, COVID-19 was the talk of the town. Yet, in just a week’s time, a worldwide killer virus that has claimed nearly 400,000 lives, stymied the global economy, and persists in over 200 counties has taken a back seat in the headlines. Just weeks ago, our streets were eerily empty. Now they are eerily full with protests. America is on fire. As believers, we take seriously the commandment to love God and love neighbor. And therefore, we ask ourselves: What am I to do? How can I help?

Blake Bowman

10 Questions to Consider Before Regathering

The possibility of churches gathering again soon has raised several important questions, including: What date should we regather? How do we greet folks from a social distance? How do we take the offering? How will we accommodate our entire church family when we must deal with spacing? Here, though, are some more questions I think we need to ask:

Chuck Lawless

The Phantoms of Pastoral Ministry

I must confess: I am a pastor, and I have anger issues. No, not issues because of ministry or because of church members. Just issues — because I’m me. I want what I want when I want it. And if I don't get it, I tend to get mad. I’ve learned to hide it well, I think. But if you get close enough you’ll pick up on my anger. Yet God sees it all. I can’t hide from him. That even tempts me to anger. Goodness, I have issues. Can anyone relate?

Neal Thornton

Grief: The Silent Dilemma

For those called into the ministry, we have been given an amazing opportunity to love God’s people and encourage them towards growth. However, we are also on our own spiritual journey and must be open and honest about our own spiritual health. The COVID-19 pandemic has steered all of us into uncharted territory.

Amber Henderson

Pastors, Keep Fighting The Good Fight

Do you ever feel weary from the battle of Christian ministry in this broken world?Think of the last few weeks: a global pandemic, extreme isolation, escalating counseling concerns, #AhmaudArbery, another beloved pastor’s death, and on top of all that the daily pressures of the church.Seasons like this remind me of why the Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to, “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). The Christian ministry is lived out on the battlefield of a broken world. Perhaps you are currently weary in this battle and could use encouragement to keep fighting. I would like to offer you an acrostic, F.I.G.H.T., that has been particularly helpful to me in difficult seasons. My hope is that it will aid you in your battle.

Clint Darst

3 “Essentials” to Weather the COVID-19 Crisis

Maybe you’ve heard the word “essential” a lot during this COVID-19 crisis. Essential businesses. Essential workers. Essential supplies like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, face masks, and decent internet. Or, even more essential items such as ventilators and PPE. But, these aren’t the essentials I’m writing about today.

Kevin Hall

The New Normal: Preaching to a Camera

In a perfect world, preaching is normally a point-in-time experience in front of a live audience. However, we don’t live in a perfect world, and these certainly aren’t normal times. We’re currently living with a ‘new normal’ in just about every area of life and ministry, and that includes preaching.

Jim Shaddix

The Psalms: A Book Designed For God’s People During Times Of Crisis

William Carey is considered a hero by many Baptists. He is the Father of the modern missions movement and called churches to spread the gospel throughout the world. He even risked his own life to practice what he preached. The Lord blessed me with the ability to spend a summer in England on the Oxford study trip. In Oxford, in the basements of the Angus Library, is Carey’s personal Bible. What makes this Bible extra special is that some pages are clearly more worn than others. You can tell which sections of the Bible were Carey’s favorites.

Michael Mills

For Pastors’ Wives: What You are Experiencing is Not Normal

Real talk, ladies. What you are experiencing is not normal, but maybe you wish it were. You husband is home like you’ve always wished he would be. How many times have you begged your husband to come home early for dinner, to attend your son’s baseball practice, or take turns reading to your little ones at bedtime? Well, guess what? You’ve got your wish! He’s home. Are you enjoying this newfound togetherness, or have you found yourself desiring more space? Whatever your reaction, I challenge you.

Melanie Ratcliffe

Grace For Anxious Hearts

Unsettling. Disorienting. Strange. Unprecedented. These words dominate the conversations I’ve been having with pastor friends over the last several weeks. There is much we don’t know about COVID-19, but we are all acutely aware of how much our lives have changed.

Jason Wredberg

Pastor, Are You Successful?

Pastor, what is your personal definition of “success” as a follower of Jesus? This can be a tricky question, because, the line between your role as a pastor and follower of Jesus in probably blurry, like a chalk batter’s box after nine-innings of baseball. Often, you’re unsure where one role ends and the other begins.

Quentin Self

Don’t Look at the Mud–See the Stars!

At Mayhill Baptist, I’ve been preaching through 2 Timothy. Recently, we landed on 2 Timothy 4:6-8, and I got hit between the eyes with a quote I read in one of my commentaries. I mean, right from the beginning of sermon prep, I was battling tears as a sea of conviction swept over me in my study.

Matt Henslee

Meet My Neighbors

When the pandemic is over, will you be closer to those around you? Will you know more than just their names? Movies on the lawn, dinners, and front yard bonfires are what we look forward to now. Maybe that will become the norm instead of the exception.

Melanie Ratcliffe