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.
Articles
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?
Kevin Hall
8 Reasons Questions Are Helpful When Offering Unsolicited Input
Recently, I was assisting a missions organization with team development. During conversations about healthy conflict, feedback, and buy-in, a team member asked for advice on how to give constructive feedback in a non-threatening way—especially when no one has asked for your input. With the right heart and proper attitude already in place, one of the best ways to contribute in that scenario is to ask good questions.
Holy Spirit
Weaponizing the Spirit in Preaching
Every preacher that I have ever met has a genuine desire to preach powerful sermons. It seems that the general consensus among those who teach or write about powerful preaching is that you must diligently and “sacrificially” pray for Holy Spirit power in order to anticipate spiritual potency in the pulpit. To use a common metaphor, your spiritual gun must be loaded before you fire your sermon.
Chapel Rewind
Chapel Rewind: Speak Up for the Vulnerable
Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor at Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C, preaches from Proverbs 31:1-9. Those who are pro-life speak for those who cannot speak for themselves like the unborn, the poor, the widowed, the abused, the immigrant, the hurting and the needy.
COVID-19
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:
Anger
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?
Chapel Rewind
Chapel Rewind: The Essential and Prominent Place of Preaching in Worship
John Piper examines the biblical warrant for the prominent place preaching holds in worship both historically and today.
Pastoral Ministry
How to Pray for Smaller Churches and Their Pastors During the COVID-19 Crisis
Since mid to late March, this has certainly been an interesting season of ministry for all churches and their pastors. I currently serve as a pastor of a small church in Louisburg, NC, which is 20 minutes from the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. This season of COVID-19 is unique as I try to strategically shepherd and care for my church members.
COVID-19
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.
Pastoral Ministry
Struggling with Spiritual Disciplines
I imagine most church members would find it hard to believe their pastors struggle with practicing spiritual disciplines. If any group of people should excel at personal Bible reading and memorization, prayer, worship, evangelism, fasting, and a number of other important Christian exercises, it should be the shepherds.
1 Peter 1:14-22
Chapel Rewind: How Are Christians Special?
Mark Dever, Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., preaches on 1 Peter 1:14-22. He passionately exhorts that Christ’s blood is not special because of some magical force, but that it’s special because of who He is.
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