In this time of isolation, it is comforting to know that the Spirit of God is not limited. We are free to participate in the work of the body from our own living rooms or food pantries.
Church
Life in a small-town church is often very different than many of us realize. It is important to remember the small, rural church during a time of pandemic and crisis.
A crisis is a magnifier that tends to reveal cracks – but also highlights needs. What type of feedback are you receiving? Are your congregants enjoying your extra emails, texts and phone calls? Has this season revealed your need to spend less time on large group events and more time on one-on-one ministry?
Even during a pandemic, church leaders can have a significant impact on the lives of their congregants by being wise stewards of both technology and finances.
Pastors and church leaders make God their refuge and strength and thus rise to the occasion by marshaling practical and theologically-informed strategies in place for church life and by teaching the wisdom of Scripture concerning God’s faithfulness.
Christians have been here before, and we can take comfort and wisdom from the actions of those who faced these kinds of things well. During the first 100 years or so of the early church, there are letters written by Roman governors during times of plague talking about the behavior of this strange new group …
You don’t need a degree in philosophy to incorporate apologetics into sermons. A solid study of basic logic, worldviews and arguments for Christianity and against other viewpoints can fortify those in the church to have a winsome reason for their hope in Christ
The sweetest comfort I found in my grief was knowing that my baby is with Jesus. That he or she will never know loss, pain, cold, grief, disappointment or sorrow. That all their soul will ever know is joy in the presence of God.
Trying to make sense of tough topics, most people will end up online and in social media listening to friends or cultural icons. Nothing compares, however, to how a pastor will be around after the service, available over email and present the next week.
Joyless people are miserable people. They haven’t tasted and seen that the Lord is good. They haven’t yet learned that it’s through our times of suffering that the Lord often does his best work. I have been in a joyless place, and chances are you have, too.
Discouragement may come to the godliest and most talented of God’s ministers in the church. But as we remember to reflect on God’s good providence, His willingness to let us lament before Him, and how He has rescued his servants who sank deep into despair, we can find our moorings and press on to serve …
There is something incredibly special and valuable about a leader who will cultivate a culture where their team feels safe.
Preach God’s Word with passion this coming weekend. May the repentance of sin and placing faith in Jesus get our utmost attention. Let’s remove every unnecessary, uncomfortable distraction from the proclamation of Gospel.
Pastors are shepherds who need to teach their flocks how to protect themselves against wolves, both human and demonic.
Doubt is best worked through individually with trusted friends. If leaders confess doubts on major Christian doctrines, their congregations may lose confidence in their leadership, equate doubt with unbelief, or be thrown into an unnecessary crisis of faith themselves.
Christian leaders should encourage artists in their congregations to use their God-given talents to the uttermost, either as a full-time vocation or otherwise. These artists should not be considered second-class citizens in the church simply because they are not pastors, chaplains, church staff workers, employees at parachurch ministries or missionaries.
Maybe your heart is in a cold state and the Bible isn’t fresh to you. We can easily begin to see it as a Book to preach rather than one that feeds our soul.
Weddings honor marriage. The visual of a man separating from his parents and uniting with his wife esteem marriage as highly valuable.
Every person in every pew needs to hear the Bible preached in ways that warm the heart and mobilize the mind.
Pastor Appreciation Month is a special time that congregations set aside each year to honor their pastoral families for their sacrificial dedication.
