Articles

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.

Philip Crouse Jr.

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.

Nathaniel Martin

For Pastors: A Unique Seat in the Audience of Your Life

Every Sunday, you stand on a stage to share God’s message to people who are engaged, indifferent, or not physically present. You walk through the audience shaking hands, listening with concern, and loving those who may not love you back. You hear heart-wrenching stories of loss, life-changing sin, and gossip from angry people who have forgotten the mission and vision of the gospel. You may not complain, but sometimes you wonder if what you do makes a difference.

Melanie Ratcliffe

Preaching After a Rough Week

An airplane cuts through some clouds without the slightest jostle. Other clouds jolt the plane with such turbulence that people lift out of seats as in a school bus barreling over railroad tracks at 60 miles per hour. Like clouds, the trials that generate a rough week come in all shapes and sizes.

Quentin Self

The Long Road of Discipleship

Our world has developed an obsession with speed and efficiency, and at times, it seems as if everything in life has been affected in one way or another. Major League Baseball instituted an assortment of rules aimed at speeding up games. Fast-food restaurant chains compete to get customers their food as quickly as possible. Businesses regularly push workers to maximize efficiency by completing the same amount of work in less time.

Philip Crouse Jr.

Preaching to Short Attention Spans

In a world of endless distractions, it can seem that attention spans are getting shorter. We see how digital media is designed to cater to short attention spans by feeding people with snack-sized news stories, tweets, and videos, in order to keep their gaze captivated for as long as possible before they get bored and move on.

Mark Young

Heart-Orienting Truths for Navigating Conflict

It is inevitable. At some point, probably soon, you will encounter some form of conflict in ministry. Maybe it will come in the form of a disagreement among your elders, pastors, or deacons. Conflict may arise from a misunderstanding between you and your spouse. It could be that there are a few sandpaper-people in your life, and when they come around, discord follows behind them. It is not a matter of if, but when. Conflict will come.

Jesse Welliver

Tips for the Trial Sermon: Preaching in View of a Call

A few months back, our church called a student pastor to join our pastoral team. Like many churches, ours formed a search committee to seek after God’s man for this particular role. After months of diligent searching, they unanimously landed on a recent graduate from Southeastern Seminary. He came highly recommended by his past professors as well as pastors at his then-current place of ministry.

Neal Thornton

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.

Philip Crouse Jr.

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.

Micheal Pardue

Pastor, Does Your Church Sing the Psalms?

If you are a 21st-century evangelical, you probably do not sing Psalms in your church with any regularity. Perhaps the only Christians you know who sing Psalms are Presbyterians. These people tend to have an odd fascination with the Old Testament and use words like “Covenant,” “Jehovah,” and “brethren.” Simply put – Psalm singing seems strange to you. After all, are we not supposed to be governed more by the principles of the New Testament than the Old Testament when it comes to worship? Surely New Testament worship has little place for dull, dusty, dead Psalms.

Zack DiPrima

Leading Your Congregation to Pray During Global Heartbreak and Hopelessness

The international news this week was bleak. We watched a desperate situation unfold in Afghanistan as men and women swarmed to the airport, clinging to departing planes. We heard stories of Afghanis who fear for their lives because of political or religious reasons. We saw video footage of flattened houses following the earthquake in Haiti.

Anna Daub

The Power of a Preaching Process

My family and I moved from High Point, North Carolina to Dallas, Texas in March. The “settling in” process has taken far longer than we imagined. Losing one of our children in a pile of boxes is no longer a threat but there are still at least a dozen boxes that remain unopened.

Quentin Self

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.

Daniel Ritchie

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.

Philip Crouse Jr.

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).

Jeremy Bell

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.

John Ewart

The Importance of Connecting Biblical Commands to Gospel Truths

Years ago, a high-school student stayed behind after a Bible study to talk with me one-on-one. The lesson that evening had been on the importance of a consistent prayer life. The young man was a growing Christian, a leader, and yet, he confessed how badly he struggled with prayer.

Philip Crouse Jr.

Book Review: Answering God’s Call, by Scott Pace

The story is familiar. One chilly, autumn Lord’s Day morning, a young man—a high school senior—is converted as he listens to the pastor enthusiastically press home the words of Jesus: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Scott Lucky

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.

Eric Roseberry