In preparing for leadership talks for a conference, it became clear to me that there are four key skills you must master in order to thrive as a pastor. Here they are (in no particular order): Keeping the Sabbath. A 24-hour period of when you cease your primary vocation. Time Management. Your success or failure every week is determined by … Read More
Dr. Martin Luther King on Love
“Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ingredients in Caring for the Sick
Today’s guest post comes to us from Rick Warren for Pastors.com. The Christian approach to pain, suffering, and sickness is compassion, mercy, tenderness, and caring. Matthew records, When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36 HCSB) He had compassion. If you’re going to be … Read More
Sam Jones on God’s Order of Things
“The curse of this age is that we have put gold above God, chattels above character, and mammon above manhood. We have inverted God’s order of things.” -Samel Porter Jones – passed on this day in 1906
Jonathan Edwards on Preaching on Hell
“If I am in danger of going to hell, I should be glad to know as much as possibly I can of the dreadfulness of it… I think it is a reasonable thing to endeavor to fright persons away from hell.” – Jonathan Edwards
The State of the Church in 2016
Today’s guest post comes to us from Barna.com. The Christian church has been a cornerstone of American life for centuries, but much has changed in the last 30 years. Americans are attending church less, and more people are experiencing and practicing their faith outside of its four walls. Millennials in particular are coming of age at a time of great … Read More
Jonathan Edwards on the Results of Salvation
“Conversion is a great and glorious work of God’s power, at once changing the heart, and infusing life into the dead soul; though the grace then implanted more gradually displays itself in some than in others.” – Jonathan Edwards, born on this day in 1703 in East Windsor, CT
Lazy Staff Syndrome
Today’s guest blog comes to us from Tony Morgan, Chief Strategic Officer and founder of The Unstuck Group. I can’t believe I’m writing this article. I had always assumed that Christ-followers would always model a healthy work ethic, especially if they’re paid to engage ministry. My assumption is challenged, though, by a growing culture of laziness infecting many of our … Read More
John Wesley’s Rules for Preachers
Today’s guest post comes to us from Nathan Finn for BetweenTheTimes.com John Wesley (1703-1791) was one of the key leaders of the Evangelical Awakening in Britain during the mid-eighteenth century. Circumstances drove Wesley to adopt itinerant evangelistic preaching, an idea he picked up from his friend and former student George Whitefield. Once Wesley embraced itinerancy, he extended his movement’s influence by … Read More
Ten Observations about the New Testament Church
Today’s guest post comes to us from Scot McKnight, a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. Scot has also authored more than fifty books and is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL. A local church has the capacity to adjust itself to its environment and, so long as the … Read More