Brian Croft

I was grateful to learn that I don’t have the right to dislike and refuse to care for someone’s soul that God had entrusted to me.

You may call it something different, but every pastor knows it well. It is the mental, emotional, and spiritual crash that takes place on Monday as a result of pouring your heart and soul out in the proclamation of God’s Word to God’s people the day before.

The combined stress of marriage and ministry is a unique situation that demands intentionality to keep both a marriage or a ministry from imploding.

I have two categories of a top 10 list: One category of books that explain how to think through pastoral ministry as you do it; the other set to help a pastor remain steadfast in the work.

The awkward silence and uncomfortable feelings you have when trying to visit your folks in your church is not a justifiable reason to stop and neglect them.

A pastor should first come in, love them where they are, earn their trust, then break the news to them of their current state.

The numbers are staggering. Experts estimate that approximately 1,000 local churches close their doors every year. What is even more disheartening about this statistic is that number only reflects Southern Baptist Churches — my denomination. Imagine how that number grows if you added the number of closing local churches from other established denominations, which some assert…

I wish I could say that most of my time caring for pastors is spent teaching them what to do and where to take a church over time, but it’s not. Sadly, my time is mostly spent trying to get pastors to stay longer than a couple of years; trying to help pastors weather the…

When a sermon doesn’t go well, most of us get very discouraged and if the despair is great enough, it might cause us to question whether we should continue to preach at all.

Editors Note: The following excerpt is from Brian Croft’s chapter titled “Clear the Runway: Preparing Your Church for Revitalization” in A Guide to Church Revitalization. This new title from SBTS Press is available for download Monday, June 15, 2015. _____________________ It was a cold Wednesday evening when I walked into this struggling church. A young,…