Articles

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

Chapel Rewind: Longing for God

Chuck Lawless, Vice President for Spiritual Formation and Ministry Centers, preaches on Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 about longing for God in times of despair as a follower of Jesus.

Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership

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

Chapel Rewind: Watch Your Life and Doctrine

Tony Merida, Pastor of Imago Dei Church Raleigh, preaches on how we don’t need more conference speakers; we need millions of faithful ministers who will saturate the nations with sound doctrine.

Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership

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

Chapel Rewind: The Gospel and “Those” People

Josh Wredberg, Redeemer Community Church in Fuquay-Varina, NC, preaches on Jonah 4 about how seeing grace as only for certain people with certain sins is a misunderstanding of both sin and grace.

Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership

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

Trusting God When Plans Suddenly Change

I’ve never been one to journal much. A few months ago, my wife bought me a journal. I had been wanting to begin writing in cursive again, so I thought, “Hey, this is a good opportunity to track things that I’m praying for.” I know, a very holy reason to begin to practice a discipline that has greatly benefited many brothers and sisters throughout history.

Tyler Daniel

The Proverbial Pandemic

If there has ever been a time that pastors could legitimately say, “They didn’t teach me this in seminary,” it would certainly be now during this COVID-19 global pandemic. We’re all having to navigate new territory and uncharted waters, whether it be learning how to use unfamiliar technology or just finding an ample supply of toilet paper. Of course, there are people on the planet who are in much more dire straits. Nonetheless, it’s definitely a season in which all of us are having to learn stuff that we haven’t been taught.

Jim Shaddix

For Pastors: How to Love Your Wife Well During the Pandemic

A lot has changed in the past two weeks. Not only has your church shifted services to a virtual platform, but your family most likely is in your space 100% of the time. Both situations bring inevitable stress on you, but these changes can also impact your family, especially your marriage. It's crucial during this time that you pay attention and love your family well. If, when the Pandemic is over, we lose those closest to us, then we lose. How can you protect and prevent that from happening? I believe one way is by loving your wife well.

Melanie Ratcliffe

What a Difference a Week Makes

Perhaps you’re familiar with the saying, “What a difference a week makes.” The saying highlights how much things like the weather forecast to the price of gas can change in a short period of time. But, considering the drastic effects of recent events, this traditional maxim has proved to be even more true. From public school shut-downs, extreme fluctuations in the stock market, stay-at-home orders, to the rapid spread of disease and death, our lives have been rapidly and completely turned upside down.

Scott Pace

Should Churches Observe the Lord’s Supper Online?

With the COVID-19 pandemic making church gatherings unwise at best, many churches in recent days have moved to live-streaming or offering their services online. My own church has been one of those. Psalm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday are approaching. In many churches, these have been times when an observance of the Lord’s Supper has seemed especially appropriate and meaningful. But should a church observe the Lord’s Supper online, with members partaking in their homes? I think we can best answer that question by reflecting on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. Why did the Lord command us to do this practice in the first place? What are we saying when we do this?

John Hammett

Parenting During a Pandemic

Parenting is hard. This is a statement that rings true to anyone with children in their home on even the best of days. What about when crisis strikes and the circumstances change? What happens when all the other people to whom we have been entrusting the care of our children are all of the sudden not able to be present in their lives? This is exactly the parenting predicament in which we find ourselves in the world of COVID-19 and the Shelter-in-Place regulations. Suddenly, we as parents find ourselves learning how to be teacher, coach and counselor in addition to being a 24/7 parent.

Chris Rafferty

Prayer Without Words

Perhaps you have been there. Maybe you happen to find yourself there now, a place where you cannot seem to conjure up words to pray. Your lips can make the movements, but nothing comes out. How is it that you got to this point? Maybe you have found yourself getting caught up in recent news headlines. Maybe the repeated blows of life have left you feeling as if all hope is lost. Maybe you’re like me and suffer with bouts of anxiety. Or maybe you find yourself in this position for no known reason at all. All you know is that you cannot seem to muster up adequate words to present to our holy God.

Brandon Ward

6 Reasons the Coronavirus Threat Won’t Likely Turn Churches Outwardly—And What We Might Do About It

I read about the hope many of us have that this current global crisis will turn our churches toward the Great Commission, and I genuinely hope that’s the case. I’m convinced, though, that won’t happen apart from an undeniable move of God in our midst.

Chuck Lawless