Preaching
How to Plan a Preaching Calendar
The primary task of a pastor is to preach the word. This happens in day-to-day conversations of ministry, planned meetings and classes, and the congregational sermons that will be delivered every week.
Articles
Daniel
How the Book of Daniel Brings Hope into a World of Chaos and Confusion
Navigating a pandemic, as a pastor, has been very difficult. Navigating a pandemic, amid incredible social unrest, during a presidential election year, with a church full of people who are suffering in various ways and confused, has at times, felt completely overwhelming. It’s probably necessary to offer a whole list of appropriate caveats before moving on. Over the last several months, pastoral ministry isn’t the only job that’s been difficult and overwhelming.
Editor's Picks
The Pastor and Exercise
As a teenager, I dreamed of becoming an exercise scientist and nutritionist. When I was nineteen, I had one year of college under my belt and was on my way to earning a couple of degrees in these fields with hopes of one day opening my own practice to help others build healthy bodies.
Chapel
Chapel Rewind: Welcome to the Family
Scott Pace, Dean of the College at Southeastern, preaches on Colossians 1:1-8 about being welcomed into the family of God.
Chapel Rewind
Chapel Rewind: The Secret to Enduring Cross-Cultural Ministry
Ronjour Locke, Director of the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership, preaches from Ephesians 3:1-13 on how to endure through the challenges of cross-cultural ministry.
COVID-19
Leading from Online Engagement to In-Person Gatherings
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, every church leader had to make a decision regarding the use of online-broadcasting for their weekly worship services. Some churches chose not to broadcast their services. Others, like ours, decided to utilize technology as a means to continue leading their congregations with biblical exposition and music.
Daniel Tripp
7 Reasons You Should Plan a Preaching Calendar
Pastors are called to do many things. Lead. Feed. Know. Protect. Correct. Counsel. The list goes on and on. But, the primary task of a pastor is to preach. It is through this primary ministry of the word a pastor shepherds his people. So, should a pastor plan what he will preach ahead of time? Should he plan just a few days in advance so he can respond to his Bible in one hand and his newspaper in the other, like Karl Barth encourages us to do? Or, should he plan what he will preach a year in advance by developing a preaching calendar?
Editor's Picks
Pastor, Your Church Needs You to Take a Vacation
There are two types of sleep: BC and AD. Before Children and After Death. God does not take naps, but you might need one. Far too many pastors do not get a proper cycle of rest. In the fourth commandment, God set up a pattern of work and rest. This pattern goes back to the creation account in which God rested on the seventh day.
Anxiety
Battling Anxiety and Depression in Pastoral Ministry (Part 2)
Some of the greatest heroes of the faith battled anxiety and depression. Paul once said he was so burdened beyond his strength that he despaired of life itself, feeling he had received the sentence of death (2 Corinthians 1:8-9a). Likewise, David once prayed, “I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me” (Psalm 69:2).
Anxiety
Battling Anxiety and Depression in Pastoral Ministry (Part 1)
I have been in pastoral ministry for nearly ten years. This ministry has its highs and lows. In the highs, we are tempted toward anxiety. In the lows, we are lured toward depression.
Chapel
Chapel Rewind: Leading the Congregation in Praise
Ligon Duncan, Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, preaches on Psalm 150 about praising the Lord and how that fuels the Great Commission.
Kevin Hall
Leading Difficult Team Members
Difficult team members can hamper team success and team members’ satisfaction. Often, we talk about the toxic person or how to get the right people in the right seat of the bus (or the wrong person off the bus completely). These are worthwhile conversations to have, but not to the exclusion of first making an investment in the lives of hurting or difficult people.
Editor's Picks
5 Reasons to Study Ephesians in Days of Division and Tension
In 2020 I find myself, like many others, bombarded with news reports describing the division and tension ever-present in our country. Many are divided over how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, and racial tension is rearing its ugly head. Moreover, if the American people were not already polarized enough, a presidential election is fast approaching. We are grievously divided.
Adams Lecture
Chapel Rewind: The Perspective of Christ-Centered Preaching
Bryan Chapell, Senior Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, lectures on "The Perspective of Christ-Centered Preaching" for the Adams Lecture Series 2018.
Andy Davis
Chapel Rewind: An Eternal Education of God’s Glory in the Church
Andy Davis, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Durham, preaches on Revelation 21:9-14 about the amazing glory of God that will be on display in Heaven for every believer in Christ.
Christ-Centered Preaching
Helpful Resources for Preaching Christ from Proverbs
I was privileged to do my doctoral dissertation on the book of Proverbs, and I have also written two books on preaching Christ from Proverbs (Preaching Christ from Proverbs and Exalting Jesus in Proverbs). There has been a lot of good work done on Proverbs, but for preachers, I think there are some resources more helpful than others. So, in this post, I will try to list some that have been most helpful to me.
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.
COVID-19
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.
Chapel Rewind
Chapel Rewind: Devote Your Life to Prayer and the Ministry to the Word
David Platt, the Lead Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, VA, preaches on Psalm 8. In his chapel message, Platt encourages us to devote our lives to both prayer and the ministry of God’s Word.
Blake Bowman
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?
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