Pastors are notorious for being lone rangers. They are, unfortunately, notorious for being narcissistic. We fall far too easily into the sinfully silly notion that we are the show; we are not. That it is about us; it is not. We must WORK at the recognition that we are in the ministry together with lots of other people. We must […]
Plan to stick with this for a while. Being a pastor is a complicated Calling. The more trips you make around the block the more effective you should be—as long as you don’t always go around the same block in the same way! Serving as a pastor is one of those things that is more art than science. Rome wasn’t […]
Never let anyone or anything steal your joy. This is significant day in and day out. You are a child of the Most High God! You have the hosts of heaven helping you and the gates of heaven waiting for you. Your sins, faults and failures are washed clean. God is with you and for you. Of course, you also […]
I heard it twice this week. Once from “the left.” Once from “the right.” Both on news shows.* “No pun intended.” Here is what is odd. For both of them the pun was intended. It was scripted, crafted, prepared, maybe even tele-prompted. If that is not intended, what is? It was a blatant falsehood—from both sides, both of which claim […]
Should pastors wear a robe and a clerical collar? Should they wear khakis and a sport shirt? What about jeans and a tee shirt? Many have spent much time discussing this. Isn’t that kind of a funny question? Of all the issues that we can talk about, how in the world can it matter how a pastor dresses?!? But it […]
If you are going to serve as a pastor, you better learn to juggle. You have multiple responsibilities: child of God, husband, father, son, pastor, community member, churchman. As a pastor you have multiple tasks: PreachLeadWorship planningStrategic planningFinancial planningTeach adultsTeach young peopleTeach children (these three are dramatically different)Grief counselingPre-marriage and marriage counselingEnd of life counselingBossScholarOccasional plumbing and electrical workLawn mowing […]
What’s the point of not doing your best? What’s the point of not trying to get better? Scripture has some choice words about being a sluggard. Check out Proverbs 6:9-11. There are two schools of thought. One says to work hard on your weaknesses to minimize them. The other says to work hard on your strengths to maximize them. Why […]
Our congregation has begun a year long emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians confess to being perplexed by the work of the Holy Spirit. They say they understand the idea of God the Father and God the Son, but the idea of God the Holy Spirit mystifies. That problem may be more about modesty than mystery. […]
Books galore have been written on preaching. Some of them should be read. There is only one thing you need to know about preaching: it should be a message from Jesus about Jesus. Pretty simple. Simple, not easy. Preaching and, even more so, the preparation for preaching is the hardest thing a pastor does all week. You should be prepared […]
I read two, but only needed to read one, books by Frank Peretti. One was plenty. I mean this in a good sense. In his book, This Present Darkness, he gave a great picture of demonic oppression. He personalized how certain demons plague the people of God. The idea was clear in the first book. I do not suppose that […]