pastoral ministry

No doubt, there are other questions that may need to be asked, but some of these helped me make this solemn decision.

Every church revitalizer must remember that new life comes about not by pushing all the right buttons, but by the grace of God.

Pastors who try to reap the dividends of authority without making the investment of credibility will quickly find themselves in a leadership deficit.

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 do not want the congregation to see God’s Word as beyond their grasp, that advanced degrees are necessary to engage the things of God deeply. I want to convince them that any Spirit-filled Christian can fully comprehend, apply, and delight in the truths of Scripture.

I have been there, and I know it’s not fun, but in retrospect I think I learned more about honoring Christ with my life during that time than at any other.

What a sad thought, that theology is only for the professional theologians. May we who prize theology stress its place in the church and show how practical it is, for in so doing we will save both ourselves and those around us.

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…

At one time or another, a pastor will likely be confronted by a church member curious about becoming a missionary. Some may be uncertain but still trying to discern their calling. Others may be more assured but want direction on a field of ministry. In these situations, it is the business of the church’s leadership…

How long should a sermon be? As a preaching professor and a pastor, I’ve asked and been asked that question a hundred times. You can preach as long as you hold their attention.

I have seen the story unfold so many times I could tell it in my sleep. A young pastor walks into established church and tries to change the church’s structure and culture on the first day. Instead of getting to know the people, the culture, and his neighbors, he goes full bore after a checklist…

Today — January 11, 2016 — John Piper turns 70. I ‘met’ John Piper in 2000 when I was 19 years old and my summer mission trip leader had us read The Pleasures of God together. I was transfixed, and transformed. Never had I encountered such an explicitly God-centered worldview or such compellingly clear theological…

The best approach for a pastor when entering a dysfunctional, dying congregation is to simply be a pastor to those people.

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.

For 17 years Tom Schreiner has walked the delicate line of serving as both a full-time academic and a preaching elder in his local church. He has written numerous important books and commentaries, including Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ (IVP Academic, 2006); New Testament Theology (Baker Academic, 2008); The King in His Beauty (Baker Academic, 2013); Commentary on Hebrews (B&H Academic, 2015); and his…

Editors’ note: Part I of this article was published earlier this week. Be fun to live with “Joy” is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If your Christianity makes you dreary and dull, you don’t understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit nor what Christ has done. If pastors would reflect the joy of…

“They made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept” (Song of Songs 1:6). The PBS documentary “Carrier” is a fascinating look at life on board the USS Nimitz, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that bestowed its name on an entire class of ships. More than five thousand sailors and marines…

Every new school year there seems to be published several articles (e.g., here and here) with lots of very good advice for new seminarians (or college students in general). I heartily affirm everything in those posts. However, I do have one other piece of advice that I was given in my first semester of seminary…